Reborn As Super Heiress

The auction was located at a garden-style five-star resort hotel in the northern suburbs of the Imperial Capital. Although it was called a hotel, it was actually a small private park.

However, it was winter at the time, and the park, which should have been lush with greenery and fragrant with flowers, appeared somewhat desolate.

Nonetheless, the exquisite artificial lake was quite impressive. The water was clear, and a few unknown water birds floated on the surface. Several pavilions and towers stood by the shore, with a corridor leading straight to the end. Strolling in the corridor and enjoying the scenery of the lake was truly soothing for one’s mood.

Walking along the corridor, Huo Sining assisted the elderly Zhou Shitao as they arrived at the entrance of a grand hotel. A gigantic revolving door stood before them, flanked by two security guards responsible for greeting guests. Every guest needed to present an invitation letter to enter.

Just as Huo Sining was about to hand over the invitation, a cheerful laugh suddenly came from behind: ”Old Zhou, you’re here too! Oh, and Huo girl is here as well.”

When Huo Sining turned around, she was greeted by a group of people approaching her. They were experts she had previously met while participating in the ”Folk Treasure Hunt” program, including Zhuang Xiangyang from Shuimu University and Professor Shi Qingyun.

These experts were also accompanied by their own apprentices or students. Although Huo Sining didn’t recognize the others, she was very familiar with the girl Shi Qingyun brought. It was none other than Li Xuanbing, whom Huo Sining had worked with at the Taicheng Ancient Tomb.

Huo Sining and Li Xuanbing had some minor conflicts at Taicheng Ancient Tomb but later reconciled with a smile and a handshake. After parting ways at the ancient tomb, Li Xuanbing had even reached out to Huo Sining. Although not frequent, they had become acquaintances.

Seeing Huo Sining, Li Xuanbing was also a little surprised but quickly smiled warmly and walked briskly over to grab Huo Sining’s hand, saying with a smile:

”Huo Sining, you’re here too, that’s great! I was just telling Professor Shi that I didn’t know anyone here, and here you are. By the way, when you performed magic at the Spring Festival Gala, I realized you were a magic master! That Mermaid Princess tribute was simply spectacular! I told my classmates I know you, and they all want me to get your autograph!”

Huo Sining felt embarrassed and said, ”I’m not a celebrity in the entertainment circle, why would they want my autograph?”

Zhuang Xiangyang, who overheard, couldn’t help but interrupt, ”You can’t say that, Huo girl. Your fame now is no less than those entertainment stars. My little grandson keeps talking about learning that magic trick from the Spring Festival, referring to it as the Magic Miss performance.”

Upon hearing Zhuang Xiangyang’s words, Professor Shi Qingyun and a few other experts couldn’t help but laugh, while Huo Sining’s face turned slightly red. She humbly replied, ”You’re too kind. I’m just performing little tricks to entertain, nothing significant.”

As they were chatting, a tall, well-dressed middle-aged man with well-combed hair emerged from the revolving glass door. He walked out smiling and said:

”Mr. Zhou, Professor Zhuang, Professor Shi, you all came together. Haha, I’ve been busy arranging things inside and didn’t have the chance to greet you properly. I apologize for the oversight.”

”Mr. Xu, what are you saying? We are not ones who care about such formalities. Why would we need to be greeted? We can just go in ourselves.” Although Zhou Shitao was somewhat eccentric, he gave Xu Shilong due respect in such settings.

Upon hearing Zhou Shitao’s words, Xu Shilong’s smile widened, and after a few more pleasantries, he led everyone standing at the entrance inside.

With her arm linked through Zhou Shitao’s, Huo Sining entered the auction hall, which was already bustling with people engaging in various conversations. As soon as people saw Huo Sining and her group enter, the hall fell silent.

Seeing Zhou Shitao leading the group, many people’s eyes lit up, and those who reacted quickly were the first to approach, all greeting Zhou Shitao. Zhou Shitao soon became the focal point of the gathering.

Feeling impatient dealing with so many people, Zhou Shitao furrowed his brow. Xu Shilong, ever perceptive to others’ feelings, quickly stepped in to ease the situation:

”Mr. Zhou is here with his disciple for an exchange, so let’s not rush. There’s plenty of time to interact once the auction begins. Let Mr. Zhou find a seat and rest for a while first!”

With that, Xu Shilong gently steered away the crowd eager to chat with Zhou Shitao and led him inside.

Though reluctant, the others knew it was impolite to linger, so they stepped aside. However, some quickly caught on that Zhou Shitao was accompanied by his disciple this time.

Zhou Shitao had several disciples, but his earlier disciples had long completed their training and rarely attended events with him. Ji Kun usually accompanied Zhou Shitao, so everyone was familiar with Ji Kun.

But this time was different. As the crowd searched, they didn’t find Ji Kun. Instead, they saw a young girl, about twenty years old, affectionately holding onto Zhou Shitao’s arm and closely following him.

This surprised the onlookers, leading those unfamiliar with the situation to whisper among themselves.

”Didn’t they say Mr. Zhou brought his disciple? Why isn’t Ji Kun here, but rather an unfamiliar young girl?”

”You don’t know? Mr. Zhou took on a new disciple a year ago, as a closed-door disciple. That closed-door disciple is the young girl you see before you.”

”Are you kidding me? This girl looks like she’s only about twenty. Isn’t she still in college? Why would Master Zhou take on such an unknown student as a disciple?”

”That’s unclear, but I watched this girl on the Imperial Capital TV Station’s treasure appraisal program. On TV, she seemed quite knowledgeable when appraising items, and her explanations sounded convincing.”

”You’ve mentioned that it was recorded. It might have been pre-scripted with a script to follow. Such programs can’t always be taken seriously. Whether she’s truly skilled is something we’ll only know when she demonstrates it.”

”...”

The crowd buzzed with discussion, and everyone realized the girl holding Zhou Shitao’s arm was his disciple. Their gaze towards Huo Sining became different, filled with envy, admiration, reluctance, or dismissiveness. Every look was full of curiosity, scanning Huo Sining like a spotlight.