Rewind With A Superstar System-Chapter 115: Art Auction (2)

<🎧 Song Recommendation: Alexander Hamilton by Leslie Odom Jr., Anthony Ramos, Daveed Diggs, Okieriete Onaodowan, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Phillipa Soo, Christopher Jackson, Original Broadway Cast Of Hamilton> (it’s a long one! 😭)

...

Listening to the hushed whispers of the parents sitting near the back, Von learned the man’s name was Edward. He was a massive real estate tycoon and one of the school’s financial supporters.

And Edward was making sure everyone in the room knew it.

The man was treating the auction like a personal shopping spree. He raised his paddle for almost any item he showed even a passing interest in.

So far, Edward had laid claim to eleven different artworks all by himself, dropping hundreds of dollars just because he could. And the most infuriating part? It wasn’t even his blonde daughter’s turn yet. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Von sighed heavily. ’This is boring. Can it get to Naomi already?’

Losing interest in Edward’s ego trip, Von pulled out his phone and started playing a video game right there against the back wall.

The rapid tapping of his thumbs attracted several disgusted glares from the rich snobs sitting in the back rows, but Von couldn’t care less.

He had only been playing for about ten minutes when the auctioneer’s voice boomed through the speakers, calling out a number that made Von look up.

"Five thousand dollars!"

The entire room let out a collective gasp.

Von slipped his phone into his pocket and looked up at the stage. Edward’s blonde daughter was finally standing under the spotlight. She was smiling innocently, playing with a lock of her hair, looking incredibly pleased with herself.

Von squinted at the easel to see what masterpiece had commanded such an insane price. He almost laughed out loud.

It was a normal plainly painted clay vase. It didn’t even have a single drop of glaze or design. It was a literal, plain white vase.

"Five thousand dollars for The Vase of Profound Emptiness!" the auctioneer announced with excitement as he pointed toward the front row. "Do we have any counter offers?"

Of course, the room remained dead silent. Who in their right mind was stupid enough to spend five grand on a freshman’s plain pottery project? It was absolutely nuts. It was just Edward inflating his daughter’s status to make her the unquestioned star of the night.

"Going once!" the auctioneer called out into the quiet room. "Going twice! And... Sold!"

The gavel slammed down heavily onto the wooden podium and the front rows erupted into polite, enthusiastic applause.

"An absolutely breathtaking new record for the Freshman Gala!" the auctioneer beamed, gesturing to the blonde girl. "Congratulations to our artist, and a massive thank you to Edward for his continued, unparalleled generosity to this institution!"

Edward offered a smug, lazy wave from the front row as his daughter skipped happily down the stairs to join him.

The applause slowly died down, leaving a heavy, exhausted silence in its wake. The crowd was clearly ready to go home.

The auctioneer cleared his throat, adjusting his tie as he looked down at his final cue card.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, for our last auction of the day... Naomi Varley."

Two staff members carefully carried a massive canvas onto the stage, placing it securely on the wooden easel under the bright spotlight.

A moment later, Naomi walked up the stage stairs. She looked nervous, her hands clasped in front of her as she stood next to her work.

The auctioneer looked down at the flashcard in his hand, adjusting his glasses.

"And for our grand finale, we have a magnificent piece titled The Celestial Burden," the auctioneer read smoothly. "The artist describes this as a visual representation of responsibility and the overwhelming weight of existence, captured through a cosmic lens."

With a dramatic flourish, the staff pulled the dark cloth away from the canvas.

It was a breathtakingly large painting done on a massive solid board. The background was an endless, deep expanse of space, filled with scattering stars, nebulas, and the cold void.

But the centerpiece of the painting was what drew the eye. A massive, shadowy void figure made up the majority of the canvas. The figure had its hands outstretched in a hyper-realistic manner, and resting perfectly in the palms of its hands was the Earth, surrounded by multiple other planets and the entire solar system.

It was an amazing artwork by all standards. The shading, the raw emotion, and the incredible detail of the planets reflecting light against the void figure were masterclass level.

Unfortunately, most of the wealthy people sitting in the hall weren’t actually interested in profound artwork. They just wanted safe, bright, boring paintings to hang in their living rooms. To them, this was too dark.

"We will start the bidding for this grand piece at 100 dollars," the auctioneer announced. "Do I have 100 dollars?"

Before anyone could even raise their paddle to offer the minimum, Edward’s voice echoed from the front row.

"110 dollars," Edward said lazily.

People shifted in their seats, exchanging confused glances. Edward had been dropping hundreds of dollars all night. Why was he suddenly lowballing the final piece with a ten-dollar increase? Did he not value the craft at all?

"110 dollars," the auctioneer said, recovering quickly. "Going for 110."

Usually, the other parents would step out the moment Edward got involved, considering he always made the highest offer and no one wanted to offend the millionaire.

But a man sitting a few rows back, who actually had a good eye and really liked the artist’s technique, decided he gave a shit.

"150 dollars!" the man called out.

Edward didn’t even turn his head. He just raised his paddle again. "160 dollars."

The man frowned, refusing to give up that easily. "170 dollars!"

Before Edward could respond, a woman on the opposite side of the aisle who recognized the sheer value and effort of the artwork raised her paddle. "200 dollars!"

"We have 200 dollars!" the auctioneer pointed. "Going for 200!"

In the front row, Edward let out an irritated sigh. He didn’t actually want to bid high for this dark, gloomy piece of art.

The only reason he was bidding at all was because his daughter had whispered in his ear and asked for it. But now, these random people were dragging the price up and wasting his time. He decided to end it right there.

"300 dollars," Edward declared, increasing his bid by a whopping hundred bucks in one go. His tone effectively silenced anyone else who was considering joining the fray.

The woman who had just bid thought about it for a few seconds, but she had already purchased an artwork earlier in the night. She lowered her paddle and decided to give up.

"300 dollars to Edward," the auctioneer said, scanning the quiet room. "Going once. Going twice—"

"4,000 dollars."

The voice came from the very back of the hall, calm and completely unbothered.

It was none other than Von. He wasn’t having any of their bullshit today. He had been watching the entire exchange silently, completely deadpanned as he realized that Naomi’s magnificent art was about to be sold for pennies just because these rich snobs didn’t understand it.

In the front row, Edward didn’t look back. Instead, he looked down at his daughter. The blonde girl was staring up at him with pleading eyes.

She knew Naomi personally, and they definitely weren’t friends. She knew that if some other person bought Naomi’s artwork for an expensive price, the entire school would praise her.

The blonde girl’s plan had been simple, force her dad to buy Naomi’s art for a cheap price, take it back to the dorms, and then publicly discredit it by claiming they purposely bought the worst artwork of the day out of pity.

But now, some random guy in the back was completely spoiling her plans.

Seeing his daughter’s desperate, pleading eyes, Edward set his jaw. He wasn’t going to let anyone in this room outspend him. He raised his paddle high.

"5,000 dollars," Edward called out, matching the exact number he had just spent on his own daughter’s art.

There were several loud gasps in the room. Five grand for a single piece was already a massive record, and now two pieces had hit that mark.

But before the auctioneer could even acknowledge Edward’s bid, the voice in the back called out again, completely unfazed.

"15,000 dollars."

Edward froze. He didn’t expect such a ridiculous, overwhelming bid. Unable to stop himself, the man was forced to turn around in his seat to see exactly who he was dealing with. He cursed himself silently, wondering which crazy person in attendance was throwing around that kind of money.

His eyes landed on a young guy leaning against the back wall, dressed in a plain hoodie and wearing a black face mask, casually holding his paddle up.

The auctioneer was even sweating with excitement. "F-Fifteen thousand dollars for The Celestial Burden! Going once! Going twice! Sold!"

The gavel cracked like a gunshot and the entire room erupted. Everyone clapped and cheered, the applause deafening as the shock of a fifteen-thousand-dollar freshman painting set in.

Meanwhile, standing in the back, Von let out a quiet breath. He was already thinking about how he was going to explain to Emily that he just threw away fifteen grand on an artwork.

’She’s gonna kill me.’

But despite that, Von didn’t have a single regret. It wasn’t just any artwork. It was Nana’s. And no one was going to disrespect her while he was in the room.

The applause slowly faded as the auctioneer wiped his forehead with a handkerchief.

"Thank you, thank you all!" the auctioneer smiled broadly, gesturing to Naomi, who looked like she was completely frozen in shock.

"And a massive thank you to our brilliant artist! This concludes our last auction of the day. As always, we would like to take a commemorative picture with the highest bidder and the artist of the night."

The auctioneer looked straight ahead and his eyes locked onto where Von was standing in the shadows.

"Do you mind coming down to the stage, good sir?"