Closer to Revealing My True Self-Chapter 363 - 263 Which Big Shot_2

He had added many friends in the chat app.

It wasn’t until Feng Yi sent the older teachers waiting for cars to a nearby hotel and only the driver Jia and Feng Yi himself were left in the car that Feng Yi finally relaxed.

He opened his phone again.

The online auction was about to begin, and the items provided by the awarded individuals or teams had already been introduced.

Feng Yi scrolled through these introductions one by one.

He had offered a pair of sunglasses.

The most famous photo of him, the one where he’s grasping a young dragon, "Brother Se’s" claim to fame, featured those sunglasses, which Feng Yi was now auctioning off.

These sunglasses were made of a new type of biodegradable, environmentally-friendly material. Deciding to offer them for the awards ceremony, Feng Yi had them specially cleaned and repaired, signed the frame, and arranged them in a custom glasses case.

The person in charge of the auction had adjusted the lighting while taking pictures to clearly capture the signature on the sunglasses.

Without lingering, Feng Yi went on to check out the other items.

The other awardees had offered various items, including specimens, hand-made straw sandals and weaving instruction, and camping knives...

Feng Yi took interest in one item, the field research notes of an elderly gentleman.

They were handwritten.

The gentleman had written many notes over the decades, eventually compiling them into volumes, some published, some digitized. The one he offered was just one of these volumes.

Feng Yi was quite intrigued.

If one were out in the field on a mission without a phone, without recording devices, without electricity, how does one organize their thoughts and note down the important things under limited conditions?

Would this be of great help when writing mission reports later?

As a "Guardian" who had just transitioned from a layman to a novice, these veterans’ notes were well worth learning from.

He messaged Yi, instructing to bid on the notebook on his behalf.

He skimmed through the day’s photos, selected a few to post on social media and his friend circle.

After replying to a few congratulatory private messages for his award, Feng Yi switched to the social media app, only to see that the top comment with the most likes in the comment section was an emoticon—

[[Blushing]]

It was a screenshot of Feng Yi smiling during the award ceremony, to which someone had photoshopped blushing cheeks.

Feng Yi: "..."

He took a deep breath.

He closed the social media app and stopped looking.

Feng Chi also sent him a message:

[Bro, don’t worry about the auction, you’ve got me! I’ll bid on those sunglasses for you!]

Feng Yi quickly replied:

[No need, save that money for investing in your new life!]

Feng Chi: [Okay [Obedient]]

While verbally agreeing, Feng Chi was thinking to himself that even if he didn’t buy it, he could drive up the price!

In places unknown to Feng Yi, many people were keeping their eyes on this online auction.

Several brands with a keen interest in cooperation who had always been turned down by Feng Yi were now resolved that no matter what Feng Yi put up for auction, they had to buy it!

Refusing cooperation was fine, as long as they could get hold of the item and ride on its publicity to essentially advertise it.

Those who saw the commercial value in Feng Yi were all watching the online auction closely.

The marketing teams from each brand had their promotional posts ready, waiting to publish them immediately after they won the bids.

The countdown on the page ended, and the auction began.

On the auction page, apart from the bidders and the organizers, the exact amounts were not visible to the public.

The event was overseen by multiple departments, including the United Assurance Bureau, so the onlookers knew there was no room for cheating.

What was bid was what it was, and after the transaction, apart from taxes, not a penny would be lost; all proceeds would go to the Guardians’ Fund for environmental causes. Nobody dared to embezzle this money.

The public would only know the total amount raised after completion of all auctions. The individual amounts each item sold for would remain unknown.

However, the auction was still in progress, the total had not been announced yet, and therefore, everyone was unaware of how much had been raised in total.

Feng Chi stared at the auction page, his hands trembling as he clicked to make a bid.

The bid he had just made, which he thought was quite high, didn’t even stir a ripple before it was pushed aside by others.

Feng Chi sent a message to Feng Yi, attaching a screenshot of the recent bidding:

[I did my best! [Image]]

[What comes next is out of my hands. Brother, do you know who those big shots still fighting over it are?]

Feng Yi looked at the image sent by Feng Chi and frowned.

Honestly, Feng Chi’s bid already seemed very high to him, but it was immediately outmatched, driving the price to an outrageous level.

Feng Yi replied: [I don’t know.]

Although he didn’t know exactly who was still in the bidding, looking at the contest on the auction page, he guessed it might be some of the brands that had approached him before.

He intended to contact Yi, asking him to purchase these sunglasses for himself, but while typing, he deleted the message.

Remembering the advice given by Professor Zhou and Steve that day, Feng Yi ultimately decided not to intervene.

Such matters could be stopped once, but what about the next time? He couldn’t always use this method to intervene.

Buying it himself could also lead to people talking.

Forget it, let them be.

Feng Yi was also curious, who would ultimately win the bid for these sunglasses and how would they use them to gain even greater benefit?

Feng Chi continued to watch the auction page too, joining the other onlookers in relishing the spectacle.

Meanwhile, Feng Yi was filled with emotion.

The amount on his bank card was still dependent on how much his parents gave him, and he knew very well that for someone like him, who still relied on his parents, he was merely a kindergartener in the eyes of the capital giants. In such times, he could only join the other onlookers, holding a melon and watching from the sidelines, with no real power to influence the outcome.

He needed to stand up on his own!

Online, other spectators initially laughed and enjoyed the show, but later, they couldn’t even muster a laugh.

The auctions that started at the same time at other places had ended, but this one was still battling on.

Since it was for charity, with authoritative agencies monitoring the entire process, everyone knew that even if it sold for a high price, Feng Yi wouldn’t get a penny of it.

[Either they really want to buy it, or they’re helping to increase the status.]

[With the current state of affairs, it doesn’t seem like the latter, it’s more like they genuinely want to buy it because they’re not short of money.]

[Who is this foolishly generous person?]

[You should say, which philanthropist, as this money is all going to a foundation for public welfare.]]

[Maybe it’s a little game for some capitalists?]

[If it’s a capitalist game, that would explain it, the money spent could be doubled in returns.]

[Deeply feeling how valuable the traffic of the information age is.]

[Reminds me of a saying: Magnates only play with magnates, capital follows capital.]

The spectating netizens began to speculate which parties were still in competition.

Perhaps an eyewear-focused brand? An outdoor sports brand? A web celebrity management company?

"We’ll know which one it is when the auction ends!"

That’s what the onlookers thought.

However, after the auction finally ended, there was silence online.

Searching on social platforms, not a single company posted news of a successful bid; only a few mentioned their regret at losing the auction.

[Wait a moment, they might still be brewing something.]

[Right, promotional operations also need to be planned.]

[After spending big money, they must certainly squeeze every bit of value out of those sunglasses, how could they be content if they don’t earn it back several times over?]

Two days passed.

A week passed.

Still no news.

One day, by Cui Lake, in a residential area.

The butler received a package, brought it back to the room, and opened it.

After taking out the sunglasses from inside, examining them, and verifying they were genuine, he carefully placed them in the collection cabinet.

A satisfied smile appeared on his aged face.