As soon as Ma Lan heard that the jade bracelet was worth five to six million, her eyes lit up like light bulbs!


“A jade bracelet? Where is it? Let me see!”


Ye Chen immediately became cautious and said, “Mom, it’s in the bedroom, but I’m planning to return it.”


“Return it?!” Ma Lan frowned. “Are you out of your mind? A bracelet worth millions, and you want to return it?”


Ye Chen calmly explained, “I only did a small favor for someone, and they gave me such an expensive gift. It’s not appropriate.”


Ma Lan snorted disdainfully—“What’s inappropriate? If he’s willing to give, why shouldn’t we take it? Where’s the bracelet? If you don’t want it, I do!”


Ye Chen sighed internally. He knew his mother-in-law had no good intentions.


That bracelet was actually meant for Xiao Churan, but he hadn’t found the right opportunity to give it to her yet.


Now, his father-in-law had blurted it out, and Ma Lan was already eyeing it like a hawk.


It wasn’t that Ye Chen couldn’t afford a bracelet worth millions—he had nearly ten billion in his account.


The problem was that Ma Lan simply didn’t deserve it.


With her selfish, greedy, and loud-mouthed personality, even a thirty-thousand-yuan bracelet was already a luxury for her.


But Ma Lan was unwilling to let this opportunity slip away.


A bracelet worth millions—just imagining the envy in her mahjong friends’ eyes made her thrilled!


She urged impatiently, “Where’s the bracelet? Bring it out and let me see!”


Sitting nearby, Xiao Churan knew very well that once her mother got her hands on it, there’d be no getting it back.


So, she immediately stepped in—“Mom, since it’s meant to be returned, we shouldn’t even take it out. What if it gets damaged? How would we explain that?”


“You’re really planning to return it?!” Ma Lan’s expression changed.


She stood up angrily, scolding, “Are you two out of your minds?”


Xiao Churan knew her mother was about to start throwing a tantrum, so she firmly said—“Mom, stop. I’ve already discussed it with Ye Chen. It’s settled.”


Ma Lan realized that her daughter wasn’t going to back down.


Seeing millions slipping away, she felt her heart ache.


Her eyes turned red with tears as she wailed dramatically—“Having a useless son-in-law is bad enough, but now my own daughter isn’t even on my side! I might as well just die!”


Xiao Churan, helpless, put a piece of meat into her mother’s bowl and said—“Alright, Mom. I’ll buy you a bracelet in the future.”


Ma Lan’s eyes twinkled—“You promise?”


The Day of the Auction


The day of the Zhenbao Pavilion auction arrived.


Early in the morning, Ye Chen had just stepped out of his bedroom when he saw Xiao Changkun already waiting anxiously in the living room.


As soon as he saw Ye Chen, he rushed over excitedly—“Ye Chen, let’s go quickly! We can’t be late!”


Ever since he got the invitation, Xiao Changkun had been too excited to sleep, waking up early to wait for Ye Chen.


The Zhenbao Pavilion was a prestigious antique association in Jinling.


It was founded in a luxurious estate on the outskirts of the city by a real estate tycoon, who was passionate about antiques.


He invested one billion yuan to establish the exclusive society, attracting many prominent business figures who shared his interests.


When Ye Chen and Xiao Changkun arrived at the Zhenbao Pavilion, they saw a line of luxury cars parked outside.


The worst among them was a Porsche.


In contrast, the BMW 5 Series that Ye Chen drove looked completely out of place—like a wild chicken in a nest of phoenixes.


Still, Xiao Changkun was too excited to care.


As they walked toward the entrance, he nervously handed over his invitation for verification.


He was slightly worried—what if Ye Chen had been tricked and these invitations were fake?


But the security guard quickly scanned the invitation and politely said—“Gentlemen, please enter.”


Only then did Xiao Changkun finally relax, grinning with satisfaction as he and Ye Chen stepped inside.


A Familiar Face Appears


Just as they entered, another figure strutted confidently into the venue—


It was Xiao Hailong.


Dressed in a flashy designer suit, he looked around smugly—until he suddenly spotted Ye Chen and Xiao Changkun.


His expression twisted with shock and anger.


“What the hell?!”


How did these two nobodies get in here?


The Xiao family only received one invitation, and he had it—so how did these two losers get in?


Remembering how much humiliation he had suffered at Ye Chen’s hands, Xiao Hailong’s face darkened.


Fuming, he stormed over and shouted aggressively—“Ye Chen! How did you get in here? Do you even know where you are?!”


Hearing that obnoxious voice, Ye Chen frowned slightly.


Xiao Changkun smirked smugly—“Oh, Hailong, you’re here too?”


Xiao Hailong, who despised both Ye Chen and Xiao Changkun, scowled—“What are you two doing here? Do you even have an invitation?”


“Of course we do!” Xiao Changkun immediately retorted.


Xiao Hailong’s eyes narrowed—“You two? Get an invitation? From where?”


Ye Chen glanced at him indifferently and said—“Xiao Hailong, how we got in has nothing to do with you.”


Xiao Hailong sneered—“Two lowlifes like you could never get a Song family invitation. I bet you stole someone else’s to sneak in!”


Ye Chen couldn’t be bothered with his nonsense, so he simply turned away—“Let’s go, Dad. Don’t waste time on an idiot.”


“Stop right there!”


Xiao Hailong stepped forward, blocking their way, his face filled with hostility.


He glared at Ye Chen and snapped—“What, are you guilty? You must have used some shady trick to get in here! A place like this isn’t for you. Hand over your invitation!”


At this point, Ye Chen was starting to lose his patience.


He had tried to ignore Xiao Hailong, but this fool kept pushing his luck.


His gaze turned cold—“You? See my invitation? You’re not worthy. Get out of my way.”


Xiao Hailong’s veins popped with fury.


Since when did this useless son-in-law dare talk to him like this?!


His face contorted with rage, and he lunged forward, grabbing for Ye Chen’s arm—


“You’re not leaving until you explain yourself!”