And then Zou Tiandi went up on stage as well, donating five hundred thousand to the orphanage on behalf of Tiandi Entertainment Group, which drew a hearty round of cheers from the crowd! Compared with Xie Yufeng's two hundred thousand, this was a very large sum from Zou Tiandi!

"Thank you, Mr. Zou!" Tang Yun knew perfectly well that he was Zou Ruoming's father, but the thought that Zou Ruoming now treated her with such deference had swept away all her old resentment. She even felt a little grateful to Zou Ruoming: if he had never bullied her, how could she ever have crossed paths with Wei Zhao? In the end, he was still her matchmaker!

"No need to thank me. Lending a hand to the orphanage is the responsibility of every entrepreneur. When it is a charity gala hosted by Ms. Tang Yun herself, opening my own wallet is a duty I cannot decline!" Zou Tiandi meant these words for Wei Zhao's ears, and the message was plain enough: I am here to support Tang Yun, and were it not for Wei Zhao, he would never have given away so much money.

"Hehe, my thanks once again to Mr. Zou!" Tang Yun smiled. She was no fool, and she naturally took his meaning.

Having made his donation, Zou Tiantd stepped down from the stage in high spirits, today's mission accomplished to perfection.

After that, a great many well-known local entrepreneurs came up and donated, though the sums were nothing like Zou Tiandi's, ranging from ten thousand to fifty thousand, with nothing spectacularly large among them.

All of this lay within Tang Yun and Gu Mengyao's expectations. After all, this was only a small-scale drive organized by the school; that these people donated anything at all, out of consideration for Gu Pengzhan, was good enough. Zou Tiandi alone had been the surprise, giving because of Wei Zhao.

As for Fatty Lai's side, Wei Zhao had not informed him. Wei Zhao had no wish to put on a show of it; Fatty Lai could donate to the orphanage in the name of Dr. Guan's Pharmaceuticals without ever passing through the school's gala.

Good deeds are not performed for others to see, and Wei Zhao wanted no idle reputation for himself.

"Next, we move on to the following segment of the gala: the auction!" Having tallied the total donations and the list of donors, Tang Yun took the stage and announced the next segment.

"Every lot in this auction has been donated privately by individuals, and all proceeds from the bidding will go to the orphanage," said Gu Mengyao.

That was what Gu Mengyao said, though in fact most of the items had been put up by Gu Mengyao herself, with a number contributed by Gu Pengzhan; and these, precisely, were the things the tycoons cared about most. As the richest man in Songshan City, Gu Pengzhan's household could hardly be short of treasures.

The donations so far had merely been the appetizer. The real main course was this auction. Rare calligraphy and paintings, curious artifacts and precious stones, these were the favorites of that crowd of celebrities.

"The first item up for auction is a painting and calligraphy scroll donated by Principal Ding Binggong, executed by Principal Ding himself. Principal Ding's reputation needs no introduction..." Tang Yun introduced the first lot. Since this was not a proper auction, with neither a big screen nor a catalogue, she could only describe it aloud, while Shen Yushu and Feng Xiaoxiao were left to display the pieces.

Ding Binggong was a calligrapher and painter. His fame throughout the country was not especially dazzling, but he was still a notable figure in academic circles. His work was good and much sought after in Songshan City. Naturally, the prices were not high either: the dearest piece he had ever sold went for fifty thousand, and that had been an award-winning work.

The piece now on the block, though painted with evident care, was plainly not worth as much as a prize-winning work.

"Two thousand!" The reserve price was one thousand, and within moments someone had bid it up to two thousand.

"Three thousand!" After that the price climbed steadily all the way to eight thousand, where it was won by an entrepreneur.

Of course, eight thousand was more than enough to satisfy Ding Binggong. His works generally fetched around five thousand; eight thousand was already top dollar.

The items that followed included some of the birthday gifts Gu Mengyao had received, fine artisan pieces Gu Pengzhan had given her, along with several contributed by Shen Yushu; donations from ordinary students and teachers were represented as well, though most brought in very little, a thousand or eight hundred already counting as a good price.

Only a root carving by a celebrated master, put up by Gu Mengyao, and an inkstone donated by Gu Pengzhan fetched a high price. Evidently the celebrities in the audience knew their goods; what was fine and what was valuable, they could tell at a glance.

"The next item to be auctioned is the final lot of this auction!" Tang Yun picked up the auction list and read from it: "The final lot is a kiss, contributed by Gu Mengyao... ah?"

The instant she finished reading the list, Tang Yun visibly froze, and the young lady standing beside her froze as well.

Auction off her own kiss? Who had slipped that in? What kind of absurd joke was this?

But catching sight of Xiaoshu off to the side, where the lots were being displayed, winking and grimacing at her, Gu Mengyao more or less understood. Xiaoshu and Xiaoxiao had been in charge of compiling the list all along, and since the auction was hardly a formal affair, nobody had previewed it; neither Gu Mengyao nor Tang Yun had looked it over or rehearsed a run-through beforehand, so it had simply been brought out and read aloud.

By now the words were out, and backing down would be too much even for Gu Mengyao to manage. It touched her reputation, true, but an auction was an auction; to declare now that it had all been a joke, who would believe her? And even if someone did believe it, Gu Mengyao had no intention of making a fool of herself.

Glaring at Xiaoshu and her endless making of faces, Gu Mengyao wished she could march over there and give her a beating. This Xiaoshu who was forever asking for a thrashing, what sort of mess had she stirred up this time?

But before Gu Mengyao could get a word out, Shen Yushu had already come scampering over, snatched the microphone from Tang Yun's hand, and called out: "Campus beauty Gu Mengyao's kiss! The auction is on! Reserve price, ten thousand! Bidding starts now!"

Gu Mengyao was furious beyond words, glaring at Shen Yushu, unable to fathom what the girl was after. Was this the sort of thing one joked about?

Yet Gu Mengyao was no fool either, and in the next instant a possibility occurred to her: could it be that Shen Yushu had arranged this deliberately for Wei Zhao, so that Wei Zhao might win one of her kisses? Judging by how Xiaoshu usually carried on, the guess had real plausibility to it.

At this thought Gu Mengyao felt both shamed and enraged, yet somewhere inside she grew quietly reassured. If Wei Zhao won it, then so be it; but if someone else did, Gu Mengyao would rather be dead.

Gu Mengyao's reasoning, sound as it was, had overlooked one thing: among today's guests there was a wildly fervent admirer of hers, and that man was An Jianwen.

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