Chapter 178: The Celebrity’s Heart Is Finally Opening Up to Me

The reason Malrik hadn’t continued fighting Lucas over the pink diamond necklace earlier was simple.

Gemstones had a relatively fixed market value.

No matter how beautiful the necklace was, paying several times its actual worth simply wasn’t a smart investment.

Businessmen hated losing money.

But paintings...

Were completely different.

Especially works by legendary masters.

To ordinary people, they were merely pieces of art.

To true collectors...

They were priceless treasures.

And according to the information his friend had just sent him~

There was an extremely high probability that this unsigned painting was an authentic work by the legendary Salvador.

More importantly...

Malrik clearly remembered hearing that the Mudwhisk Family Patriarch adored Salvador’s paintings.

His private collection contained dozens of Salvador’s masterpieces.

If he could obtain this painting and present it to the old patriarch as a gift...

The Mudwhisk Family certainly wouldn’t treat his company unfairly.

Perhaps...

The company would even gain access to cooperation opportunities and resources that ordinary companies could only dream of.

Compared to that...

One hundred million dollars was nothing.

This was an investment.

A very profitable one.

After Malrik called out a bid of one hundred million dollars...

The banquet hall erupted once again.

Many guests believed he was merely trying to recover the face Lucas had taken from him earlier.

Others began suspecting there was something unusual about the painting itself.

Otherwise...

Why would three influential young men compete so desperately over an unsigned artwork?

Regardless...

Once the bidding reached one hundred million...

Everyone else quietly gave up.

The painting’s starting price had only been five hundred thousand dollars.

Now...

Its value had increased two hundred times.

This was no longer an auction ordinary people could participate in.

Just then...

Durnik slowly raised his bidding paddle.

"One hundred and ten million."

Although his voice remained calm...

His heart had already become restless.

Very soon...

The Mudwhisk Family Patriarch would celebrate his one-hundredth birthday.

If he could personally present this priceless painting as a birthday gift...

It would undoubtedly leave a deep impression.

Ever since childhood...

Durnik had always lived in the shadow of his two elder brothers.

Neither his father nor his grandfather had ever placed high expectations on him.

When the family business expanded...

His brothers entered the Mudwhisk Group.

He...

Was left outside.

Unable to gain recognition...

He eventually founded TikTok Live Company on his own.

Although the company had become one of the industry’s giants...

Compared to the vast empire controlled by the Mudwhisk Family...

It was still insignificant.

If this painting could finally earn his grandfather’s approval...

Perhaps...

He would finally receive an opportunity to join the family’s core business.

That possibility alone...

Made this painting worth fighting for.

His gaze remained firmly fixed on the artwork.

No matter what...

He wanted to win it.

At that moment...

Lucas calmly raised his paddle once again.

"Two hundred million."

The entire hall froze.

Even Durnik and Malrik stared at Lucas in complete confusion.

Both of them shared exactly the same thought.

Who taught this guy how to bid?

Normal people increased the price by five million...

Or ten million.

Lucas...

Simply doubled it.

It was as if money meant absolutely nothing to him.

Lucas noticed their resentful stares and simply scratched his forehead helplessly.

He had originally wanted to stay low-key.

All he wanted...

Was to help Gold buy back the painting.

Unfortunately...

Neither Durnik nor Malrik seemed willing to back down.

Since that was the case...

There was no point wasting time increasing the bid little by little.

He preferred solving problems in one move.

Across the hall...

Durnik’s face gradually reddened.

His palms were already covered with sweat.

TikTok Live Company could barely gather around three hundred million dollars in available cash.

If he exhausted every dollar just to buy this painting...

Any unexpected problem within the company could immediately create a financial crisis.

Yet...

After only a brief hesitation...

He still raised his paddle.

"Two hundred and ten million."

He gritted his teeth.

Compared to gaining his grandfather’s recognition...

The company could wait.

Even if he had to mortgage assets afterward...

It would still be worth it.

Almost immediately...

Malrik also followed.

"Two hundred and twenty million."

His expression was equally determined.

The Reid Group already possessed wealth.

What it lacked...

Was influence.

And the Mudwhisk Family possessed influence beyond imagination.

If the Reid Group could establish a closer relationship with them...

Its future development would soar to another level.

Therefore...

This painting could not be surrendered so easily.

Lucas looked at the two of them and couldn’t help sighing.

He hadn’t expected them to be this persistent.

Without another word...

He casually raised his paddle once more.

"Three hundred million."

A collective gasp spread throughout the banquet hall.

Earlier...

Everyone had believed Lucas’s one-hundred-million-dollar necklace was already his limit.

Now they finally realized...

That had merely been the appetizer.

The real feast...

Had only just begun.

Many young women looked toward Lucas with sparkling eyes.

Young.

Handsome.

Incredibly wealthy.

And generous beyond imagination.

It was almost unfair for so many attractive qualities to exist in one man.

Several socialites had already begun planning how to approach Lucas after the banquet ended.

Meanwhile...

Durnik’s voice had become noticeably hoarse.

"Three hundred and ten million."

His breathing grew increasingly heavy.

Malrik immediately followed.

"Three hundred and twenty million."

Compared to before...

His confidence had clearly weakened.

Lucas looked at the two of them speechlessly.

They really were as stubborn as cockroaches.

Even now...

They still refused to quit.

He slowly raised his paddle one final time.

"Five hundred million."

Silence.

Absolute silence filled the banquet hall.

This time...

Neither Durnik nor Malrik spoke.

Instead...

Both men shot to their feet almost simultaneously.

Durnik couldn’t hold himself back any longer.

He pointed directly at Lucas.

"Lucas!"

"Are you out of your damn mind?!"

Lucas merely shrugged innocently before looking around at everyone present.

"There can’t be anything wrong with being compassionate, can there?"

"This is today’s charity auction."

"I simply thought..."

"I should contribute a little more."

The banquet hall instantly became strangely quiet.

Several ladies looked at Lucas with eyes full of admiration.

Not only was he unbelievably rich...

He even claimed to be spending half a billion dollars purely out of generosity.

In their eyes...

He had become almost perfect.

Lucas completely ignored everyone’s reactions.

Instead...

He quietly opened the back of the painting.

Hidden beneath the frame...

He discovered two small handwritten lines.

Happy Birthday, Gold.

Below it...

Was the date the painting had been completed.

Lucas glanced at today’s date.

Then looked at Gold sitting quietly beside him.

The two dates...

Were exactly the same.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

The auction hammer finally fell.

"Five hundred million..."

"Going once."

"Going twice."

"Going three times."

Bang!

"Sold!"

"Congratulations, Mr. Gray, for successfully winning this masterpiece!"

"And with a final price of five hundred million dollars..."

"It has officially become the highest-priced painting ever sold at one of our banquets!"

Warm applause immediately echoed throughout the hall.

A hostess respectfully carried the painting to Lucas.

Lucas briefly admired it.

Although he honestly couldn’t appreciate paintings...

He carefully placed the painting back into its protective case before gently handing it over to Gold.

"Happy birthday."

His voice wasn’t loud.

Yet those two simple words instantly struck the softest part of Gold’s heart.

For a brief moment...

She completely froze.

Her beautiful eyes widened behind the sunglasses.

She had never mentioned today was her birthday.

Not to Lucas.

Not to anyone here.

Yet...

He knew.

He had remembered.

At that instant~

[Ding!]

[Qualified spending completed.]

[Amount Spent: $500,000,000]

[Target Cashback Multiplier: 10x]

[Congratulations, Host!]

[Cashback Received: $5,000,000,000]

Looking at the five-billion-dollar rebate notification, Lucas almost laughed.

As expected...

Spending money really was the fastest way to become richer.

The more he spent...

The more money the System returned.

It was practically addictive.

Meanwhile...

Gold stared blankly at the painting in her hands.

Her fingers trembled uncontrollably.

She had originally believed Lucas wanted to buy the painting for himself.

After all...

A legendary Salvador masterpiece was priceless.

Any collector would treasure it.

She never imagined...

Lucas would spend five hundred million dollars...

Only to place it back into her hands without the slightest hesitation.

No conditions.

No requests.

No hidden motives.

Just because...

He knew what the painting meant to her.

Inside the entertainment industry...

Gold had seen too much hypocrisy.

Too many smiling faces hiding knives.

Too many people approaching her only because of her fame, influence, or commercial value.

Sincerity...

Had long become something incredibly rare.

Yet Lucas...

Had repeatedly done things no one else would.

First he protected her.

Then he helped her.

And now...

He had spent an astonishing five hundred million dollars simply to return a birthday gift that originally belonged to her.

For the first time in a very long while...

Gold genuinely felt touched.

Her eyes gradually became moist.

She lowered her head slightly, carefully hugging the painting against her chest as though afraid someone would take it away again.

After several seconds...

She finally looked at Lucas.

Although her face remained hidden beneath the mask and sunglasses...

The gratitude in her voice could no longer be concealed.

"...Thank you, Lucas."

"...Really..."

"Thank you."

Her voice was unusually soft.

Almost gentle.

It was completely different from the confident superstar everyone knew.

At that moment...

She wasn’t the internationally famous Gold.

She was simply...

A granddaughter who had unexpectedly recovered the most precious birthday gift her grandfather had ever given her.

The System notification rang out once more.

[Ding!]

[Gold Favorability +10]

[Ding!]

[Gold Favorability +10]

[Ding!]

[Gold Favorability +10]

[Current Favorability: 40]

Lucas glanced at the notification and smiled faintly.

It seemed...

This legendary superstar had finally begun opening her heart to him.