Chapter 348 I Want The Painting


    Ca returned to the auction house a few momentster.


    Her sight immediately caught Terence who was sitting before her as soon as she sat. One of his arms


    was around Rena''s shoulder as they talked sweetly.


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    "Where have you been? Why are your hands cold?" Noah asked.


    Following the direction of Ca''s gaze, Noah found who the woman was looking at. "What''s wrong? I


    thought you two were together earlier. Why are you back so upset while he seems very happy sitting


    with that beauty?"


    Ca withdrew her gaze and felt her eyes heating up. They began to brim with tears. Thus, she bowed


    her head and searched for a napkin. However, there wasn''t any close to her. She turned to Noah and


    without further ado, pulled the edge of his sleeve and dried her tears.


    ttered by her sudden reaction, Noah ced his arm around the woman''s shoulder and gently


    stroked her back. "Don''t feel upset, okay? Moving on so fast only means that he doesn''t deserve your


    love," he said. He then took a list and showed it to Ca.


    "Stop crying and cheer up. Look at these items. Choose whatever you like."


    Ca managed to distract her mind from Terence who was just sitting across her. There was no way


    around it anyway. She saw him bid for expensive items one after another and gave them all to Rena. It


    annoyed her so much that Terence didn''t even turn to look at her as if she wasn''t there at all.


    It was easy to tell how pleased Rena was that time. She was smiling ear to ear.


    Thest item to be auctioned was a painting called Starry Night. Ca''s eyes instantly lit up the


    moment she saw it. She cried, "Noah, I want the painting!"


    It was the only one in the list that she thought was worth trying. She skipped the others as she didn''t


    want to waste money on them. However, this one was outstanding and gorgeous in all sense.


    "No problem!" responded Noah. He immediately held up the paddle in his hand.


    Meanwhile, Ca was busy scrutinizing the painting that fascinated her so much. It was then that she


    heard Rena''s voiceing from the front. "Terence, this painting is extremely beautiful. Could you bid


    it for me?"


    "Sure. You can have anything you want. Just raise your paddle." Terence''s voice was mild. Rena then


    excitedly raised the paddle in her hand.


    Only a few dared to bid on items whenever Terence was involved.


    However, Noah was determined to go against him so it was different this time around.


    The price started at one million. However, the bid hit fifty million in just a few minutes and was still


    going up.


    "Noah, stop! I don''t want it anymore. It''s getting outrageously high." Ca reached out to press Noah''s


    paddle down. The Hua family might be one of the most powerful and richest in HA City. However, it was


    far outdone by the Ans when it came to wealth.


    If the price kept going up, it would bring a loss for Noah.


    It could have been okay if thepetitor was another person, but it was Terence.


    As a reaction to what she did, Noah moved her hand off his paddle and held it up stubbornly.


    Rena called out the price again and again, seemingly not bothered about overpaying. She turned


    around and nced at Ca. She then smiled at her disdainfully.


    After a while, the price was raised to ny million and almost reached one hundred million.


    Ca suddenly stood up and walked out.


    She passed Terence on her way but she didn''t even nce at him.


    Noah watched her leave and frowned. He then dropped his paddle and followed her out of the auction


    house.


    That instant, Terence won the bid. He then signaled Nathan to go through all the formalities on his


    behalf.


    The auction was over and Rena was smiling widely.


    She was following Terence out of the auction house. "You are so kind to me, Terence. I''m going to hang


    this painting on my wall and watch it every day," she said in a ttering tone.


    A slight smile cracked Terence''s lips when he looked at her.


    "Rena, that painting is not for you. You can take any except that."


    Rena''s smile gradually faded. Her confusion was all over her face when she confirmed, "Are you going


    to give it to..." She hesitated and intentionally stopped before she spoke that name out.


    There was no need for Terence to mention any names at all.


    Ca was the only one who wanted the painting at the auction aside from her.


    "Of course not! My grandfather likes paintings too. It''s for him," Terence immediately denied.


    Rainer brought the car and stopped before them as they talked.


    "Oh, I see. That''d be fine. I surely don''t mind." Just as fast as it faded earlier, Rena was back to smiling


    again. She didn''t really care about who the painting would go to, as long as it wasn''t for Ca. She


    hardly knew anything about art anyway.


    The only reason why she bid earlier was to beat Ca.


    "Get in. We''re going back," said Terence while considerately opening the passenger side for her.


    Then they drove away.


    Little did they know that Ca was just sitting inside the car behind them. She had been staring at the


    two with eyes dimming in frustration.


    "Girl, let''s go. It''s gettingte," Noah said.


    Ca didn''t respond and just remained staring intently at the direction where Terence''s car went. Then


    slowly, she lowered her head, making it hard for Noah to understand what she was thinking.


    Terence had said those cruel words earlier before the auction. She was now confused if he meant what


    he said.


    He also once promised that he would marry no one else but her.


    She was sure that he meant those words back then.


    However, she couldn''t be sure after what he had said to her tonight.


    He was like a different person earlier. His eyes were cold and his actions, entric.


    Noah started the car and began driving to HA City.


    Ca was still drowning in her thoughts at that time and didn''t even notice it. They were already on


    their way when she finally shook the thoughts off.


    She then turned to Noah, who was focused on driving and asked, "Why don''t you let the chauffeur


    drive?"


    Ironically, Terence barely drove whenever he was going out while Noah seemed to enjoy every bit of


    driving. He almost didn''t need a chauffeur.


    She was more than sure that Noah could afford to hire a driver, given that he was the leader of a group


    "Distrust, I guess," Noah replied, holding the steering wheel tightly. His voice was bleak.


    "Distrust? Howe? The chauffeur''s only responsible for driving the car. They are never involved in


    anypany work. Why don''t you trust them?" Studying his face, Ca noticed how his expression


    changed a bit.


    He then tugged at his cor before speaking, "I had a chauffeur before. He worked for me for three


    years and I trusted himpletely. We were driving on the road one day when he suddenly drove the


    car to the sidewalk." He paused for a while.


    Ca was surprised by what she heard. "Why? And then? Was anybody injured? He didn''t mean to do


    that, right?" she pressed, waiting for the rest of the story.


    Noah evaded her stare and looked ahead. He stopped the car and gazed at the traffic light. It was red.


    "I thought there was something wrong with the car at first. So I told him to rx and I''ll take


    responsibility for everything,"


    he continued,ughing emptily as he recalled the scene.


    "I was more than disappointed when he told the police that it was me who instructed him to run over


    those people. He even said that I did it because I spotted mypetitor on the sidewalk."


    Silence upied the car after Noah paused. "It was good that no one was killed or injured by the


    incident. After the investigation, the police announced me as innocent and I wasn''t to be med for it."


    A sigh of relief came from Ca as he finished. "You were lucky that the police were wise and didn''t


    mistake you for it."


    Although she had no clue about what exactly happened, Ca was aware of how it was like to be


    betrayed.


    The lights turned green. Thus, Noah started driving again.


    "That''s the reason why I prefer to drive myself. I will be driving as long as my health permits. I wouldn''t


    get a chauffeur again."


    Nodding, Ca understood Noah''s worries. As people would say, once bitten, twice shy. It might be like


    a mental obstacle that Noah needed to ovee.


    "I see. So you only believe in yourself now and rarely trust others because of that?" she asked.


    Looking at her, Noah mildly grinned, "Not really. I still trust people around me. It''s just that I don''t trust


    everyone the same way."


    Ca looked back and asked slowly, "Oh. Then how much do you trust me now?"