Chapter 1Bidding on My Life: The Heiress's Revenge

On the eve of the college entrance exam results, my childhood-sweetheart-turned-gold-digger fiancé, Julian Sterling, decided to publicly auction off 365 of my most intimate photos in a shady underground club.

To save my reputation, I was forced to bet everything I owned.

But Julian's "white moonlight," his true love Sarah Snow, always bid exactly one dollar more than me.

Cornered, Julian suggested I bet my SAT score.

In the end, I won back my photos with a perfect 1600 score and the entire fortune of the River family.

I thought this absurd auction would never hold up in the real world.

But the next day, every asset my family owned was legally transferred to Julian's name.

And me? The valedictorian, the Ivy League hopeful? My SAT score came back as a zero. Meanwhile, Sarah Snow, a girl who struggled to pass basic algebra, suddenly had a perfect 1600 and was the top scholar in the state.

I requested a rescore, but the result claimed I had turned in a blank test.

Worse still, Julian didn't keep his end of the bargain. He leaked my private photos anyway. They spread like wildfire.

Unable to bear the shame, I jumped from a building.

In my final moments, I learned the truth: Julian was bound to an "Auction System."

As long as the auction concluded successfully, whatever was wagered—money, property, abstract concepts like test scores—would be forcefully transferred by the system.

He designed the entire auction just to goad me into betting my SAT score, stealing my future to give it to Sarah.

Reborn, I found myself back at that nightmarish auction. Facing my treacherous fiancé and his smug lover, I decided to go all in.

"I light the Sky Lantern!"

......

"Whoa, look at that figure, that tiny waist! The River heiress really lives up to her name as the city's top beauty!"

"Hmph, looks innocent on the surface, but clearly she's wild in private."

"I told you she was easy, but you didn't believe me. And she thinks she's good enough for our Julian?"

Wolf whistles and crude jeers erupted from the stands filled with trust-fund babies.

On the big screen, hundreds of my private photos were displayed. Some were candid shots from my bedroom; others were blatantly Photoshopped fakes.

The architect of this humiliation, Julian Sterling, sat in the VIP box, his arm around Sarah Snow, looking down at me with amusement.

"Oh, Sister River," Sarah cooed, feigning distress but eyes gleaming with triumph. "How could you take such indecent photos? Some even with... well, you have quite the heavy taste! There must be a misunderstanding, right? Explain it to Julian!"

I ignored the green tea bitch and stared daggers at Julian.

"Julian Sterling, have you forgotten who built the Sterling family? You're just a dog raised by my family!"

Years ago, the Sterling family faced financial ruin. To save themselves, they sent five-year-old Julian to my family as a "child groom."

Basically, he was my charity case.

His current status was entirely thanks to the River family lifting him up.

But my words struck a nerve. Julian slammed the table.

"Evelyn River! Do you still think your family rules this city? You're confused. Right now, you are the dog we're playing with!"

"Let the auction begin! 365 private photos of Evelyn River. Starting bid: one dollar!"

The crowd went wild.

"Haha, one dollar? That's humiliating. I'll start with ten thousand!"

Others chimed in:

"One million! Just an appetizer, don't fight me for it!"

Just then, Sarah raised her hand.

"I can't bear to see Sister's photos fall into the hands of perverts. I'll buy them for her. Five million!"

I sneered internally.

She wasn't being kind. She was baiting me.

Julian's "Auction System" meant that whatever the winning bid was—cash, assets, or otherwise—would be forcibly transferred.

They wanted to swallow the River family whole!

And to ensure I couldn't make a comeback, they needed me to bet my future—my SAT score.

I treated them like family, and they repaid me with ruin and humiliation.

Rage burned in my veins.

You like bidding wars? Fine. Let's play.

"I light the Sky Lantern!" I announced, my voice cutting through the noise. "I bet all my savings, my real estate, my cars, and every single share and company owned by the River family. Total value: ten billion dollars! I'm all in!"