“Hmph, playing tricks. I wonder how long you can keep this up!” Jason snorted coldly, clearly displeased.
Jacob also gave up on pressing Leo further. In his view, Leo was probably just guessing blindly, and in the end, it would come down to luck.
Nicholas maintained a calm exterior, but inside he couldn’t help feeling a bit anxious and worried.
From the current situation, it seemed that the Meredith family would likely choose the real cauldron. Even if Leo picked the real one for their side, they would still have to compete with the Meredith family in the end.
At that point, it would come down to their resources.
In terms of wealth, the Meredith family was stronger than the Bloomer family. After all, the Meredith family had always been ahead in business.
So it was foreseeable that the final auction would be a fierce battle.
Once the hostess collected all the cards and handed them to the short, stout man, he raised the cards and said, “Now that the Bloomer family, Meredith family, and Watson Family have made their choices, I will announce them in front of everyone and then reveal the number of the real cauldron!”
The murmurs in the room immediately ceased, and everyone’s faces lit up with anticipation and excitement. Although they were not part of the competition, witnessing the three major families vie for the Dragoncloud Cauldron made attending the auction worthwhile.
The stout man opened the first card and announced loudly, “The Watson Family chose… Cauldron No. 1!”
Jair Sterling and Levi Sterling exchanged a glance, feeling a surge of nervousness. They now hoped that the Meredith family had also chosen Cauldron No. 1.
“Next, let’s see what the Meredith family chose.” The stout man continued, opening the second card. “The Meredith family chose Cauldron No. 2!”
After announcing the Meredith family’s choice, the previously quiet room erupted into noise again.
“I guessed it right! It is Cauldron No. 2!”
“I had a strong feeling earlier that Cauldron No. 2 was the real one!”
“It looks like the Watson Family is out. Now we just have to see what number the Bloomer family chose. If they didn’t pick No. 2, then the Meredith family will likely take home the Dragoncloud Cauldron at a bargain price.”
Amidst the chatter, Jair Sterling and Levi Sterling deflated like punctured balloons, slumping back into their seats.
On the Bloomer family’s side, Jason suddenly stood up from his chair, muttering to himself, “It really is No. 2. My intuition was right!”
Jacob felt as if his heart was being clawed at by a cat and quickly asked Leo, “Dr. Leo, which cauldron did you choose? It’s No. 2, right?”
“Mr. Jacob, rest assured, I won’t choose wrong,” Leo replied with a smile.
Jason and Jacob exchanged a look and felt a glimmer of hope. Jason hurriedly asked, “You mean… you also chose Cauldron No. 2?”
Leo smiled without saying anything.
“Now, let’s announce the Bloomer family’s choice!” The stout man opened the last card. Upon seeing what was written on it, his expression froze.
He then looked towards the Bloomer family’s table with a puzzled and astonished face.
Seeing that he was delaying the announcement, Jason couldn’t help but stand up and urge, “Director Mosley, hurry up and tell us the result!”
Everyone’s eyes were now focused on the stout man, curious about which cauldron the Bloomer family had chosen.
“The Bloomer family’s choice is…” The stout man hesitated before continuing, “No choice. They abandoned their choice!”
The card in his hand indeed read “Abandon Choice.”
Abandon choice!?
The previously quiet room erupted like boiling water as everyone turned their bewildered gazes towards the Bloomer family’s direction.
What was the Bloomer family thinking? Even if they had Master Obrien on their side, they could have at least guessed randomly. Why abandon their choice?
Jason and Jacob felt as if their heads were about to explode upon hearing this. They thought they must have misheard.
On the Meredith family’s side, Josiah and others were initially stunned but then burst into laughter.
Jason wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked at the stout man uncertainly. “Director Mosley, what number did you say again?”
“Mr. Bloomer, your side did not choose a number but wrote ‘Abandon Choice’ instead.” The stout man walked over to Jason and handed him the card.
Jason took it mechanically and indeed saw those two words: Abandon Choice!
Jason’s body swayed twice before he collapsed back into his chair.
Jacob snatched the card from Jason’s hand and after reading it, pointed at Leo angrily. “Leo, what do you mean by this? Are you deliberately trying to prevent us from getting the Dragoncloud Cauldron?”
Jacob was furious. Even if Leo had guessed randomly and guessed wrong, at worst they would just accept their bad luck.
But Leo had written “Abandon Choice,” which seemed like he was intentionally sabotaging them!
What kind of grudge was this?
Jason snapped out of his daze and tried to grab Leo by his collar but missed as Leo easily dodged him.
“Leo, why did you do this?” Jason demanded as he tried to make another move.
“Stop it!” Nicholas roared angrily. “Sit down!”
Seeing his father enraged, Jason reluctantly sat back down.
Nicholas turned to Leo with a look of sorrow and sadness in his old eyes. In a hoarse voice, he said, “Dr. Leo, I admit that our Bloomer family has not treated you well in the past. I thought everything was behind us…”
Nicholas started coughing violently. After a while, he looked up again, appearing even older.
He grabbed his cane with a trembling hand and sighed deeply before turning towards the auction hall’s exit.
Nicholas’s sorrow stemmed partly from not obtaining the Dragoncloud Cauldron but more so from realizing that Leo had not forgiven the Bloomer family.
He had invited Leo to this auction to show goodwill and hoped to gain Leo’s favor for the Bloomer family.
Nicholas knew about the questionable authenticity of the appraisal certificate; thus, there was still a possibility that Leo was of Bloomer bloodline. Given this possibility, Nicholas had to leave room for reconciliation.
But now it seemed that Leo would neither forgive nor favor them.
Master Obrien approached with a smug smile and mocked, “Dr. Leo, so you were an undercover agent for the Meredith family all along. I misunderstood you earlier; I apologize for that. Thank you for handing over the Dragoncloud Cauldron.”