Chapter 21: A Gentleman Never Leaves a Grudge Unsettled

In the blink of an eye, the price of this home storage unit soared to around two thousand dollars.

Those passersby who were short on cash shook their heads one by one and dropped out of the bidding.

Most Americans live paycheck to paycheck, some even relying on debt to get by, with hardly any cash on hand.

There were very few who could readily pull out a few thousand dollars.

The onlookers who came hoping for a bargain or just to join the excitement mostly had only a few hundred or a thousand dollars, so naturally, they couldn’t compete in such a bidding war.

As these casual bidders withdrew, only a group of professional treasure hunters remained, still vying for the unit.

Among them were the Garcias and those two guys named Parsons.

“Two thousand one hundred dollars, any takers?” The auctioneer spoke rapidly, his eyes fixed on the remaining professional bidders.

The next moment, Parsons raised his hand.

“Here, Mike,” the auctioneer immediately pointed at him and swiftly announced the new bid: two thousand two hundred dollars.

At that moment, Xiao Ran suddenly made a move.

“Two thousand six hundred dollars.”

Raising his bid significantly, he gave Parsons a subtle nod filled with provocation.

His sudden intervention left everyone present momentarily stunned.

Parsons paused, then ground his teeth and muttered curses under his breath.

“Fuck! I knew this bastard would jump in to cause trouble, just like last time when he retaliated against Leon!”

While cursing quietly, Parsons was very clear in his mind why Xiao Ran was causing trouble.

It was obviously revenge for what happened earlier at the airport.

Silvia and the Garcias, who were also interested in this storage unit, looked at Xiao Ran in surprise.

“Sean, didn’t you say this unit wasn’t your target? Have you changed your mind?” Elaine asked softly, curious.

Meanwhile, those watching the livestream suddenly erupted with excitement.

“Xiao Ran, are you getting back at those two white pigs? Be careful, don’t overplay your hand!”

“Damn right, Xiao Ran! A man who doesn’t retaliate against his enemies isn’t a true man!”

Clearly, these were a bunch of bystanders who enjoyed stirring up trouble.

Xiao Ran smiled softly and quietly explained:

“This unit isn’t my target, but I never said I wouldn’t bid.”

“I’m planning to push the price up to drain the competitors’ cash and take a little revenge on those two.”

“For every unit from now on, I’ll raise the bids to try and thin out the competition.”

“That way, when the unit I want finally comes up, there might be fewer rivals.”

“With this bidding strategy, it’s also hard for others to figure out which is my real target!”

Hearing this, laughter immediately broke out in the livestream chat.

“Hahaha, Ran, you’re so wicked, so ruthless—I like it!”

“Damn! Xiao Ran, aren’t you asking for a beating? Take it easy!”

Xiao Ran ignored their comments and whispered a few more words to Elaine.

He gave a different explanation—this was all to exhaust the opponents’ resources and confuse them, hiding his true purpose.

Elaine laughed immediately after hearing it.

“Sean, you’re really something else!”

While they talked, the price of the storage unit had already surged to three thousand five hundred dollars.

When the auctioneer announced three thousand seven hundred, Parsons hesitated briefly, then raised his hand to accept the bid.

Before he could lower his arm, Xiao Ran struck again, instantly pushing the price up to four thousand two hundred dollars, a jump of five hundred dollars.

Raising the bid, he made a gesture inviting Parsons to respond.

Seeing this, everyone understood instantly.

There was clearly a grudge between these two. It was obvious that this Chinese guy was taking revenge.

But what exactly the grudge was, no one knew.

Looking at Parsons, after being provoked repeatedly by Xiao Ran, he could no longer contain his fury.

“Fuck you! Are you targeting me?”

Parsons cursed loudly through clenched teeth and prepared to charge at Xiao Ran.

Security guards who had been watching them closely immediately intervened.

“No fighting here, Parsons, you know the rules!”

“If you have a grudge, settle it after you leave.”

Parsons had no choice but to stop, pointing angrily at Xiao Ran.

“Idiot! So you figured it out! Yeah, I’m targeting you. What of it?”

“You know damn well why I’m after you.”

“Do you want me to spill the beans? If I do, you won’t be able to make it in this business anymore—neither you nor your friends!”

Xiao Ran didn’t hold back at all and fired back with curses.

He even gave Parsons a high and unmistakable middle finger.

Parsons’ face instantly paled, as did Justin’s. Both looked very displeased.

They knew Xiao Ran was right.

If the airport incident came out, their reputations would be ruined, and they’d never work in this industry again.

Thinking about the consequences, the two men’s faces turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.

After this little episode, the auction continued.

Parsons made a throat-slitting gesture to the auctioneer and reluctantly withdrew from the competition.

Seeing him drop out, Xiao Ran lowered his flag and stopped bidding.

He had only five thousand dollars in cash and couldn’t continue.

Though he quit, cheers erupted in the livestream, the atmosphere lively and supportive.

“Well done, Xiao Ran! That’s exactly how you deal with those scumbags!”

“Damn! Facing them head-on—how come I never realized Xiao Ran was so fierce before?”

Xiao Ran just smiled without responding.

The auction went on but with far less intensity.

After seven or eight more rounds, the unit finally sold for six thousand three hundred dollars.

The buyers were none other than Garcia and Silvia.

As soon as the auction ended, Garcia pulled down the rolling door and locked the unit with his own padlock.

Everyone then left the place, following the auctioneer toward the second unit.

On the way, Silvia suddenly moved closer.

“Thank you, Sean. If you hadn’t stirred things up, Parsons and the others wouldn’t have given up so quickly.”

“Otherwise, we’d have had to spend a lot more to win this unit!”

Xiao Ran glanced at the beautiful woman and replied softly:

“You’re welcome, Silvia. I hope you make a big profit from this unit.”

He felt a twinge of regret saying that.

Hidden beneath a black tarp inside the unit was a nearly new Steinway grand piano, perfectly intact.

He estimated that the Steinway alone could fetch tens of thousands of dollars.

If it weren’t for the lack of cash and nowhere to store such a treasure, he wouldn’t have let this unit slip away so easily.

After some casual chatting, Silvia suddenly changed the subject.

“Sean, what’s your grudge with Parsons? Can you tell me?”

“Was it something from the lost luggage auction last time? What did those idiots do to make you target them?”

Xiao Ran didn’t reveal the truth but shook his head with a smile.

“It’s nothing, just a small matter. Not worth mentioning.”

Silvia didn’t believe him but didn’t press further.

In no time, they arrived at the door of the second unit.

As the doors rolled open, the interior was revealed.

It was a personal unit belonging to a surfing enthusiast, modest in size.

In plain sight were a dozen or so surfboards.

Some were covered in graffiti, giving off an artistic vibe.

Besides the boards, there were several cardboard boxes and two shelves draped with dust covers.

There was space behind one of the shelves, but whether anything valuable was hidden there was unknown.

At the instant the unit’s contents were revealed, the young man who had earlier tried to bother Elaine visibly brightened.

Xiao Ran noticed this reaction clearly.