"That person is Mr. Victor, the Punisher of the Super Management Bureau. He is a Metallurgist in the Earth Realm and one of the strongest people in the human world."
He took a sip of the red wine in the glass and spoke softly as if talking to himself, while looking at the old man in a red robe who was giving a speech on the stage in the distance, and glanced at Qi Ji beside him with a smile.
After all, it was a formal occasion, so Qi Ji did not wear the old and simple black cloak today. Instead, he bought a fairly decent outfit.
He wore a light grey single-breasted narrow-collar coat, a blue vertical striped shirt, white cropped trousers, and a pair of classic black and white canvas shoes.
She wore a small, light-colored hat on her head, with the brim of which she had deliberately pulled down a little. The shadow it cast covered the upper half of her face, preventing her from attracting too much attention.
The waist-length black hair was tied up, revealing the slender and delicate neck.
The whole person's color tone is very bright and refreshing. Even in today's summer when the temperature is high, it does not give people a stuffy impression at all.
In fact, most of this outfit was "cut" and "processed" by Qi Ji himself after he bought the raw materials at a fabric and leather store.
After all, in this world, there are basically no clothes with such modern and simple styles, and some materials have not yet been invented, such as modern rubber and polyester.
Seeing that the other party completely ignored him and just looked at the bustling venue, the young man smiled, put down his wine glass, and changed the subject.
"Miss, your outfit is really unique," he praised politely but sincerely, "I have never found a consistent style in the empire. Did you design this?"
"What do you think," Qi Ji suddenly turned around and said without any tone, the content of his words having nothing to do with the young man's question, "among the people present, which one has a higher chance of succeeding in the 'bid'?"
Although she did not answer his question and her tone was very cold, the young man could not help but feel happy when he saw that she took the initiative to talk to him and no longer ignored him.
He then cleared his throat gently, restrained his overly ostentatious emotions, and smiled modestly:
"I think the real protagonist of this charity event is none other than Viscount Mossante."
"How to say?"
Qi Ji raised an eyebrow, with no surprise on his face.
Looking directly at that absolutely beautiful and flawless face at such a close distance, even with the brim of the hat blocking his view, the young man was still so stunned that his heart skipped a beat and his breathing became a little disordered for a moment.
But he quickly calmed down and spoke in a calm, confident but not arrogant tone:
"Viscount Mossante is not only the nobleman with the highest status and the most wealth among the participants, but also a gentleman of perfect virtue..."
He succinctly expounded on the deeds of Viscount Moissant, with clear ideas and elegant and detailed conversation. He was obviously a well-educated young man with elite education.
"…So, I think that if those eleven poor orphans can all find a home that can bring them happiness, the one who has contributed the most must be Viscount Mosante."
Qi Ji nodded silently, then ignored him and continued to leave him aside.
The young man was about to say something else when the red-robed old man on the stage named Victor finished his speech.
As the plump middle-aged host spoke, eleven figures, some tall, some short, some fat, some thin, some male, some female, walked out from his right side.
They walked to the center of the stage with shy and nervous steps, stood in a row in front of the host, facing the audience, but glanced away shyly, unwilling to look those dignitaries in the eye.
"I always have a feeling," Qi Ji took another sip of the juice in the cup and murmured to himself, "These children are not waiting to be 'adopted', but are being 'auctioned'."
The young man was slightly startled when he heard her words, then smiled jokingly and said:
"Miss, although what you said is a bit unkind, in a sense, it is also somewhat appropriate."
He shook his head slightly and said helplessly:
"Which of the people present here is not in a high position and has a wealthy family? It is difficult for people in this position to do anything without considering their own interests.
"Perhaps only a man of noble character like Viscount Mossante can devote his love so selflessly."
His words were actually a subtle way of showing off: there were no ordinary people present, and I, a young, high-quality male, was also one of those “present”!
Qi Ji smiled slightly coldly and did not respond to him. He glanced below the stage and suddenly saw a familiar figure.
Nancy's team member, "Executor" Richard, the unlucky guy who injured his eyes because of spying on Qi Ji's attack.
He did not wear the red and white uniform of an executor today, but instead changed into a formal suit, looking no different from the other participants.
"It would be easier if someone from the Executioner Team was present..."
Qi Ji nodded secretly, and then continued to remain a bystander, watching those dignitaries who were willing to adopt go on stage to speak and choose the children of their choice.
If more than one person is interested in the same orphan, they will continue to talk about their own outstanding family background, status, and abilities, trying to prove that they are more suitable to be the child's adoptive parents than the other person.
It really feels a bit like the bidding atmosphere at an auction.
As time passed, the eleven orphans on the stage found their future adoptive fathers and mothers one by one, and then were taken off the stage.
Before long, four children found their homes, leaving seven on the stage.
Among them was Claire, the little girl rescued by Qi Ji that day.
"Strange," At this moment, the young man who had remained silent suddenly frowned slightly, "Why didn't Viscount Mosante show up?"
Until now, the noble, kind and loving old gentleman had just been watching from the audience with a calm smile on his face, as if he was just a spectator.
"Maybe he's waiting for something."
Qi Ji said softly with an unfathomable smile on his face.
Just when someone was about to adopt the fifth child, the Viscount of the Mossante family suddenly put down his wine glass and walked towards the stage.
When the man saw Viscount Mossante approaching, he immediately realized that the old nobleman wanted to compete with him.
So he looked at the child he liked with a little regret, took a step back, and gave up.
"Sir," Viscount Mossante walked onto the stage, smiling with great reserve, and said to the host, "I plan to adopt all the remaining seven children."
"what?!"
"all?"
"That's seven! What happened to Viscount Mosante?"
"..."
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the audience, and everyone looked at Viscount Mosante with incredible surprise.
Chapter 214 Gifts
There were no twists and turns in the subsequent development of the matter.
Although everyone was extremely shocked by Viscount Mossante's act of accepting the remaining seven children at once, on second thought, they felt that this seemed to be more reasonable and not unreasonable.
The fact that this old nobleman still had no spouse or children was well known in Sunset Harbor's upper circles, and even the ordinary people there had heard of it.
When they got the news that Viscount Mossante was going to participate in this adoption meeting, their first reaction was that he was going to find a successor for himself.
A person who will inherit real property worth millions of aires and the title of viscount in a few decades must be carefully selected.
Otherwise, the fate of those properties would not be much better than being divided and plundered by the branches of the Mosante family.
Therefore, the fact that Viscount Mossante adopted so many children was enough for others to understand.
With Viscount Mossante's financial resources, raising seven children would be no problem at all.
Therefore, he can devote a lot of resources to these lucky ones, train them to become sufficiently cultured, talented, and capable successor candidates, and finally select the most outstanding one and entrust everything to her.
This makes perfect sense.
After understanding this truth, everyone quieted down and tacitly agreed not to go on stage. They handed over the custody of the seven children to the viscount, with no intention of challenging him at all.
The host also announced directly:
"Then, these seven lovely and lucky children will be the Viscount's adopted sons and daughters from now on."
Viscount Mossante walked slowly to the front of the children, with one hand behind his back and the other hand gently stroking the head of a little girl right in front of him.
"What are your names?" He said softly and gently, "My name is Dawn Mossante. From now on, we are a family. Don't be so polite."
He had a kind and gentle smile on his face, which made him look very approachable.
Most of the seven children were infected by this smile. They let down their guard and nervousness and whispered their names in their childish voices.
Only Claire, who was standing at the edge of the queue, spoke with a strange tone.
A layer of doubt appeared on her pretty and clean face, and her eyes were staring blankly at Viscount Mossante.
It seemed as if she saw something that puzzled her, but she was not quite sure, so in the end she did not say anything extra and just remained silent.
"Oh, right."
Viscount Mosante suddenly seemed to remember something, turned around and glanced at the audience, and ordered:
"Bona, please bring up the gift."
As soon as he finished speaking, a man walked out from the crowd. He looked like a butler, wearing a conservative suit. He was a little younger than Viscount Mossante, but half of his hair was white.
The butler came to the stage holding an exquisite wooden gift box in both hands and walked slowly to Viscount Mosent:
"Sir, please."
Then he freed one hand, opened the lid of the gift box, and showed the side revealing the inside to the audience.
Everyone looked closely and found that the gift box contained several very exquisite necklaces.
Although the shape is not luxurious or exaggerated, the texture and design are extremely high-end, and it is obvious at first glance that it is a piece of jewelry of considerable value.
There are two types of necklaces, one is a silver chain with a dark blue gemstone; the other is the same shape as the former, but the chain is black and the gemstone is a dark and beautiful ruby.
Five necklaces of each of two different types are arranged in an orderly manner in the silk grooves inside the gift box.
Viscount Mossante held up a ruby necklace with both hands, and then put it on a little boy beside him:
"Keep it safe. This is my gift to you."
He repeated this action and gave the necklaces in the gift box to the seven children.
The boy gets a ruby necklace and the girl gets a sapphire necklace.
In the end, he gave away a total of seven necklaces, four to men and three to women, with three necklaces left in the gift box: one red and two white.
He waved his hand, and the butler closed the gift box, put it away, and returned to the stage.
Obviously, these necklaces were prepared in advance by Viscount Mossante, but he was not sure how many children he would adopt and what the specific gender ratio would be, so he prepared a few more as a backup.
After giving the gifts, Viscount Mossante walked behind the children, faced the audience, and bowed to everyone:
"Thank you very much for your kindness, which has enabled the other four children to be happy."
Warm applause broke out from the audience, announcing that this charity adoption event had officially come to an end.
The formal ceremony was over, and next was a sumptuous banquet.
The gentlemen and ladies began to chat, and the spacious and luxurious venue became a social place for the upper class.
Those who have lower status and family background but hope to get more opportunities and connections also seize the opportunity to chat with the dignitaries around them, hoping to be appreciated or respected.
All in all, there's nothing to watch.
Qi Ji finished his third glass of sparkling juice, put the glass with ice cubes back on the bar counter, jumped off the high chair, and walked out of the venue.
"Miss, are you leaving?"
The young man leaning against her was slightly stunned, then quickly stood up, took a few steps forward, and asked reluctantly.
"I'm going to the bathroom."
Qi Ji didn't even turn his head, said this perfunctorily, and walked into a small door in the corner of the venue.
That was indeed the direction leading to the public washroom.
The young man felt relieved upon seeing this and leaned back against the bar, admiring the girl's figure and face in his mind while tasting the expensive red wine.
Qi Ji walked along the clean and tidy corridor to the end, and in front of him was the wooden door of the bathroom.
She walked in and closed the door, turning to face a wall.
Then, reach out one hand and press your palm against its surface.
"brush--"
A slight wave spread out from the tiled wall, as if at this moment, the solid wall had turned into some kind of liquid.
A dreamy glow emanated from the gaps between the waves, quickly outlining complex contours in the air.
It was a double-opening "door", unreal and strange.
The thick but translucent door leaves are engraved with extremely mysterious and complicated reliefs, full of an ancient and mysterious atmosphere, like mythological murals handed down from the distant and forgotten ancient times.
This illusory "door" appeared on the surface of the wall, and then the two leaves slowly turned and opened inward, revealing a constantly rippling and distorted wave of light.
Qi Ji took a step forward and walked directly into the dreamy waves, and his figure disappeared in an instant.
