My Christmas vacation was meticulously planned, but my boyfriend kept complaining about my spending. To save money, he actually put me up for “auction starting at one dollar” on a travel companion app. Whoever bid the highest would get my companionship for the next three days. He even called it “resource sharing.” Watching the bidding price on the app steadily climb, and seeing my boyfriend’s smug face, I just smiled. He had no idea that the top bidder on the list was someone I’d called in. It was Christmas break, and my boyfriend, Brendan, and I were on vacation in Hawaii. Standing by the ocean, with the gentle breeze blowing, it should have been utterly blissful. But Brendan, standing right beside me, was lecturing me about money for the third time. “Aurora, I just don’t get it. This Airbnb is over three hundred dollars a night. What’s the difference between this and one that’s a hundred bucks? Don’t they all have a bed and a bathroom?” “We’re here for a holiday, not a budget trip.” I stared at the distant horizon, unwilling to argue with him on our first day. “So a holiday means wasting money? Look at you, you just *had* to buy that new dress before we left. Five hundred dollars! That’s my whole month’s grocery budget!” Here he went again. Brendan’s cheapness was practically coded into his DNA. When we ate out, he’d always find the cheapest coupon deals or bargain combos. For movies, he only bought the Tuesday discount tickets. For my birthday, the gift he gave me was a thermal mug he’d won in a raffle at his company’s annual holiday party. I always tried to tell myself he was just frugal, that he still cared about me. But this trip, his stingy nature was amplified in this unfamiliar environment, turning him into a truly selfish and petty jerk. At lunchtime, I wanted to go to a popular, trendy restaurant I’d found online. Brendan’s face immediately darkened. “One hundred forty dollars for a single chicken stir-fry? They might as well just rob us!” He dragged me through the winding alleys of the old town, finally stopping in front of a grocery store. “Here, instant noodles, all kinds of flavors. Problem solved.” I looked at the instant noodles he was offering, my stomach churning. “Brendan, we’re on vacation.” “So what if we’re on vacation? Does that mean we don’t have to be responsible with money?” “Aurora, I’ve noticed you’re spending more and more lately. We’re going to get married and buy a house eventually. You’re putting a lot of pressure on me.” I yanked my hand away from his and walked straight into the restaurant. “Eat it or don’t. I’m going.” I ordered two dishes for myself. The chicken soup was fresh and delicious, the stir-fried meat sweet and tangy. Not long after, Brendan showed up anyway. He didn’t say a word to me. He just sat down and grabbed a fork. He ate faster than anyone. When the bill came, he stood to the side, fiddling with his phone, showing no intention of paying. I paid the bill. Two hundred sixty-eight dollars. He glanced at the receipt, a sarcastic smirk on his face. “How lavish, Princess.” “One meal, and you’ve blown three days of my salary. Impressive.” I couldn’t be bothered with him. I just walked straight out. Back at the Airbnb, I was exhausted and just wanted to lie down and rest. But Brendan was sitting by the window, messing with his phone. He kept glancing up at me, a strange look on his face. I couldn’t help but ask, “Brendan, what are you doing now?” He turned the phone screen towards me, a triumphant grin spreading across his face. “Aurora, I’ve figured out a great way to earn back our travel expenses.” “Look, this TravelBuds app, it’s really popular.” I leaned closer to look. The screen showed an interface similar to a dating app. He pointed to a post and said, “See this? Someone’s looking to split gas money. They could save hundreds of dollars on a trip.” “What does that have to do with us? We didn’t drive here.” Brendan’s smile widened. “We can share other ‘resources’.” He typed rapidly on the screen, then shoved the phone in my face. The screen displayed a newly published post: 《My girlfriend is too extravagant. This Christmas trip is breaking the bank. Starting bid of one dollar for three days of her companionship. Highest bidder wins. Photos included. Absolutely worth it.》 Below the post was a candid photo of me by the beach. In the picture, I was wearing my new dress, smiling brightly. All the blood rushed to my head, and my face burned. “Brendan! Are you insane?! Delete that right now!”
What did he think I was? An item to be auctioned? Brendan, however, casually pulled his phone back, even turning on the speaker, listening with relish to the constant “ding-dong” sounds from the app. Those were the notification sounds of people placing bids. “Delete what? It’s fun!” He leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs, looking like a mastermind with a brilliant plan. “It’s performance art, Aurora. You wouldn’t get it.” “Besides, if someone actually bids high, won’t we make back our travel expenses? We might even turn a profit.” I literally couldn’t believe my ears. “You’re publicly humiliating me!” I lunged to snatch his phone, but he easily dodged me. “Aurora, don’t be so dramatic! It’s just a joke.” “Anyway, people are bidding. That means you’re popular. You should be flattered.” I was trembling with rage, but he was admiring his handiwork. “Oh, someone’s already bid fifty dollars. “Not bad, not bad. Looks like you’re worth something.” He even showed me the chat logs of his friends in their group chat, practically worshipping him. “Dude, you’re a genius! How’d you even think of this?” “Aurora’s hot enough to fetch thousands, right?” “When the money rolls in, drinks are on you!” I stared at those disgusting messages, my breath coming in short, sharp gasps. So, in their eyes, I was just a commodity, something to be bought and sold. “Brendan, I’m telling you one last time: delete it!” “No.” He held his phone high above his head, a defiant smirk on his face. “Unless you promise me that for the next few days, you won’t spend a single extra dollar, and all expenses will be decided by me.” He thought he had me exactly where he wanted me. But watching his smug face, the fury in my heart slowly, strangely, cooled. Getting angry over a scumbag like him wasn’t worth it. I sat back on the bed, staring at him coldly. “Fine.” “I’d like to see how much I’m worth.” Brendan froze for a second, surprised I’d given in so quickly. The smirk on his face widened even more. “That’s more like it, Aurora.” He walked over, intending to hug me, but I recoiled in disgust. “Don’t touch me.” He just shrugged, didn’t push it, and turned his attention back to the auction post. “Whoa, one hundred! This user ‘SilentBreeze’ is serious!” “And ‘MountainMist’ isn’t bad either, up to one hundred twenty!” I pulled out my own phone, opened SnapChat, and found a contact I barely ever spoke to. It was my boss, Alpha. I just sent him a message: “Are you there?” He replied instantly. “Yes. Everything alright?” I took a deep breath, sent him the link to Brendan’s auction post, along with our current location, and started typing. “Alpha, I know this is incredibly presumptuous. I’m in a bit of a bind right now.” “My boyfriend, to save money, put me up for auction on this app.” “I don’t want anything to do with him anymore. Could you do me a favor and turn this farce into a full-blown spectacle?” After sending the message, I felt a knot of anxiety. Alpha was the CEO’s son, a classic corporate heir. At the office, he was always impeccably dressed in a suit, his expression stern, radiating an aura that kept everyone at a distance. Our only significant interaction was at a company retreat, where I got blackout drunk and threw up on him. The next day, I went to apologize, terrified I’d be fired. But he just gave me a blank stare and mumbled, “Maybe don’t drink so much next time.”
After that, he seemed to pay a bit more attention to me, occasionally offering me advice on work matters. But after Brendan and I got together, we hadn’t been in touch. I wondered if he’d think I was crazy, or if he’d laugh at me. My phone vibrated. It was Alpha’s reply. “Alright. What do you need me to do?” I glanced at Brendan, still gloating over the bids, and smirked to myself. I replied to Alpha. “It’s simple.” “Bid for me at a price he can’t refuse.” “Then transfer the money to me.” Alpha was silent for a few seconds. “Understood.” “Send me your account details.” I sent him my PayPal QR code. After doing all that, I put down my phone, feeling like the pent-up frustration in my heart had finally found an outlet. Meanwhile, Brendan was still giddy over the small, steadily climbing numbers. “Two hundred dollars! Aurora, look! It’s already two hundred dollars!” “Oh my god, we’ve almost made back the cost of our Airbnb for this trip!” I looked at him coldly. “Really? Just two hundred dollars, and you’ve sold three days of my freedom. You’re quite the schemer, aren’t you?” Brendan stiffened, then retorted self-righteously. “How is this ‘selling’? This is ‘resource exchange’, ‘experiencing life’.” “Besides, the money isn’t the point. It’s the thrill of the game.” Just then, his phone’s notification sound suddenly became frantic. “Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!” Brendan looked down, his eyes widening instantly. “Holy crap!” He cursed, jumping up from his chair in excitement. “Aurora! Look! Someone just bid! One thousand dollars! Straight to one thousand dollars!” He shoved the phone in my face. I saw a user with the ID ‘G’ had instantly upped the price from $200 to $1,000. Brendan’s friend group chat exploded too. “Dude! A whale!” “One thousand dollars… who *is* this person?” User ‘G’ seemed to be in a personal bidding war. When others added $10, he added $500. When others added $100, he added $1,000. The price surged upwards at an insane speed. $2,000… $5,000… $10,000! When the price jumped to ten thousand dollars, Brendan was speechless. He stared intensely at the screen. His friends in the group chat started sucking up to him. “Brendan! Let me cling to your leg! This isn’t finding a companion, this is finding a millionaire!” I looked at Brendan’s wide-eyed, like he’d never seen money before, and felt only contempt. He was losing his mind over a measly ten grand. I picked up my phone and sent Alpha a message. “That’s enough. Any higher and it’ll look too fake.” Alpha replied quickly. “Not enough.” “The price for your humiliation can’t be this low.” Then, I watched as the price leaped from $10,000 to a number that made my heart pound. $88,888. Eighty-eight thousand eight hundred eighty-eight dollars. The moment that number appeared, the entire bidding page went silent. Those who had been adding tens and hundreds of dollars earlier vanished instantly. Only that glaring $88,888 remained, high at the top of the list. Brendan was utterly speechless. He held his phone, repeatedly checking the number, rubbing his eyes several times, even restarting the app. “Eight… eighty thousand dollars?” He mumbled to himself, “I… I’m not dreaming, am I?” He suddenly looked up, his face filled with wild joy. “Aurora! We’re rich! We’re rich!”
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