Megan secretly felt relieved. Thankfully, Ashley had been blind enough to reject Maris back then; otherwise, she wouldn’t have stood a chance now. The room fell silent again. The auctioneer was so excited that his hairs stood on end. "2 million and 70 thousand dollars! The bid for this bronze cauldron has reached 2 million and 70 thousand dollars! Does anyone wish to go higher?" As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, the crowd erupted in excitement. "It actually reached 2 million and 70 thousand dollars! No wonder—it’s Mr. Maris!" "Everyone knows how obsessed Mr. Maris is with antiques. He’s even won auction items worth over a hundred million before!" "But this bronze cauldron doesn’t seem to be worth that much." "Maris just bought the matching porcelain piece from the same collection—there’s no way he’d let this one go." There was plenty of discussion among the attendees, but no one else placed a bid. The auctioneer’s voice rang out again. "2 million and 70 thousand dollars, going once! Any further bids?" The room remained silent, Maris let out a small breath of relief. He didn’t just collect antiques; he also resold them. With his keen eye, he had made a considerable fortune in the past. In a few years, when the entire collection was auctioned off together, the price would undoubtedly multiply! The auctioneer, realizing that no one else was bidding, knew that the price had been settled. He continued, "2 million and 70 thousand dollars, going twice." Just as he was about to announce the final call, a voice suddenly rang out. "2 million and 745 thousand dollars dollars!" The voice wasn’t particularly loud, yet the confidence in it made it sound as though the bidder were sitting in his own living room. The entire hall erupted into chaos.Maris and Megan turned around in shock to see who had spoken. It was Arthur! Maris’s expression twisted into one of fury. Him again! Him again! Nothing good ever happened when he was around! How dare he bid? Does he even have that much money? Maris instinctively turned his gaze toward Ashley. Could it be that Ashley had spoiled him to this extent? No, the Gibson family had fallen. Ashley was just a student—she probably didn’t even have that much money herself. Given her personality, she would never take money from her family just to buy antiques for him. Antiques were a luxury hobby for the wealthy, something collected for leisure. Could U have misjudged Arthur? Where did he come from? He looked so young, barely an adult. The only Gray of real prominence was the one from Cloudia Corporation, but there were no other well-known billionaires with that surname. Maris never even considered the possibility that Arthur could be connected to the legendary Cloudia Corporation. Cloudia Corporation was an entity even Zane respected. In just two years, it had grown from an unknown startup into one of the most recognized corporations in Lioran. Such rapid expansion could only be the work of a mastermind on Cloudia Corporation’s board. There was no way this immature-looking kid could be involved. The entire room was stunned. Arthur had remained silent the whole night, only to suddenly place a bid now? And he didn’t just raise the bid—he jumped straight to 2 million and 745 thousand dollars dollars! Even Ashley was shocked. She had never heard him mention an interest in antiques before. But seeing Arthur’s calm and composed demeanor, she refrained from asking any questions. The discussions in the crowd grew louder than ever. " 2 million and 745 thousand dollars dollars? Can he really afford that?" "That’s not an outrageous amount, but for an ordinary person, it would take a lifetime to earn." "If he dares to bid here, he must be able to afford it. There’s no way the auction house would tolerate anyone messing around." "Maybe he really does have money—just look at how relaxed he is." "Could he be some rich upstart from a small town? Maybe we just don’t know about him yet." "At his age, he’s probably still in school. Even if he comes from money, it’s his father’s wealth, not his. He’s just a rich kid." "That’s true. If he were from an ordinary family, Ashley probably wouldn’t even be interested in him." The auctioneer’s excited voice cut through the chatter. "2 million and 745 thousand dollars dollars! The bid for this bronze cauldron has now reached 2 million and 745 thousand dollars dollars! Are there any further bids?" Instinctively, the auctioneer turned to look at Maris. Seeing him glare daggers at Arthur without saying a word, the auctioneer felt a twinge of disappointment. The higher the final bid, the bigger his commission. Naturally, he wanted every item to sell for the highest price possible. But since Maris wasn’t making another move, he had no choice but to continue, " 2 million and 745 thousand dollars dollars, going once." Just as he was about to go further, Maris suddenly gritted his teeth and shouted, "3 million and 430 thousand dollars!" The entire room erupted in astonishment!