Xu Tingyu forgot that even Aunt Zhang couldn't enter their bedroom at will.
But she wasn't in the mood to care about such details now.
She took a quick shower and then plunged into her walk - in closet.
Since the painting couldn't be retrieved in a short time, she could only set her sights on her luxury items.
As the second young mistress of the Qi family, envied by many, she was actually quite mysterious and rarely appeared in public.
However, there were also occasions when she had to attend events with Qi Shifeng.
So there were quite a few high - end luxury items in her closet.
But half of these things came from the Qi family.
Especially those valuable jewelry pieces. She only had the right to use them, not the right to dispose of them.
She couldn't touch them.
She could only sell some of her own things.
And she had to do it without being discovered.
Otherwise, it would become another topic for others to ridicule the Xu family.
Just as she was sifting through the low - key and easily - sold jewelry and bags, Chen Chunyao called.
"Tingyu, I've checked. The people who smashed your car definitely weren't those guys."
"I asked a few people who were also at the club at that time. Someone who had just gone outside to vomit saw several hooligans with baseball bats surrounding a car and smashing it."
"Then a man in a suit walked over. No one knew what he said to them. My friend was afraid of getting into trouble, so he quickly went back and didn't see what happened next."
Chen Chunyao poured out all the information she had gathered.
It was indeed a pre - meditated act.
Xu Tingyu's heart sank even deeper.
If the painting had been stolen on a whim, it might have been easier to retrieve.
After all, impulsive acts usually had loopholes.
But if it was pre - meditated, they must have covered their tracks well, and it would surely be difficult to get it back in a short time.
Although she had been mentally prepared when making the statement yesterday,
at this moment, she still felt so miserable that she was weak all over.
"Tingyu, there's another thing. You must be mentally prepared."
"The man in the suit my friend saw yesterday looked very much like the male assistant from the president's office of Qi Group, the one who always follows your husband around."
When Chen Chunyao said these words, her tone was a bit cautious, as if she was afraid of hurting Xu Tingyu.
"What? Could your friend be mistaken?"
Xu Tingyu's first reaction was disbelief.
Although Qi Shifeng wasn't particularly nice to her, he was a decent person.
His dislike and contempt for her were always out in the open.
He had plenty of ways to make her miserable, but he wouldn't do such a despicable thing behind her back.
"I'm not sure about this. My friend isn't certain either. But you'd better be more careful."
"Hasn't your husband done enough things to hurt you?"
Chen Chunyao and Xu Tingyu had been childhood friends, and Chen Chunyao had always been a carefree person.
Only after she said these words did she realize that they might be too harsh, so she quickly tried to make up for it.
"What I mean is, could he be trying to push you to a dead end, forcing you to beg him so that he can control you and force you to divorce him..."
This attempt at making up was worse than not making up at all.
Chen Chunyao knew she had said something wrong, and her voice grew softer and softer.
Although Xu Tingyu didn't believe that Qi Shifeng could be so despicable,
Chen Chunyao's words still woke her up.
Yes, since the Xu family's downfall, he had remained indifferent, as if nothing had happened.
Was he waiting for her to beg him, trampling on her self - esteem and pride?
Just like what Xie Yu had said, to seek justice for Xie Yu?
To make up for what he owed Xie Yu?
Or, as Liu Ning had said, to gain the initiative in the divorce negotiation?
"No, no... Yaoyao, he isn't such a person."
Xu Tingyu murmured, speaking to Chen Chunyao but also trying to convince herself.
But she lacked confidence.
So much so that Chen Chunyao didn't even need to see her to know that she must be pale as a sheet now,
as if she had suffered a complete defeat.
Chen Chunyao had known Xu Tingyu for many years and had a similar experience.
She knew that any comfort would be useless at this moment.
The real thing was to solve the urgent problem.
"I have three million here. Take it first and pay off the most urgent debts."
As soon as Xu Tingyu heard this, her heart warmed, but she didn't want the money. "Where did you get so much money?"
Chen Chunyao used to be her neighbor.
However, different from their old - money families, the Chen family was a new upstart in the capital.
In the eyes of those noble families, they were called parvenus, whose cultural and moral qualities hadn't caught up yet.
So even though they lived in the same villa area, not many people were willing to play with Chen Chunyao.
Moreover, she had been carefree and hot - tempered since childhood, always acting boldly like a tomboy.
Xu Tingyu got to know her when Xu Jia, who had just been born, couldn't be comforted no matter what. Zhang Qiu was extremely annoyed.
Every time Xu Tingyu made a sound, she would be scolded, and finally, she was driven out of the house to reflect.
She sat in the back garden, not understanding why she had to reflect just because her younger brother was crying. She hadn't even provoked him.
However, even as a child, she could sense that her mother seemed to love her younger brother more.
She felt a bit sad and unconsciously started to cry.
That was when Chen Chunyao appeared.
She was like a naughty little monkey, hanging on the loquat tree in the yard.
The summer sun had tanned her a bit. Her big, bright eyes were smiling as she looked at Xu Tingyu.
"Don't cry. Do you want to eat loquats? They're super sweet."
Four bright - yellow and sweet loquats marked the beginning of their friendship.
Later, the Chen family's business hit rock bottom. Mr. Chen was so dejected that he gave up on himself.
The Chen family, from being a new upstart, once again became an ordinary family and moved out of the villa area.
But the friendship between the two girls remained unchanged.
During the most difficult time of the Chen family, Xu Tingyu had secretly and openly given Chen Chunyao quite a bit of money.
Even her clothes and shoes were bought by Xu Tingyu for herself and then an extra set for her.
Later, Chen Chunyao entered an art school. In her sophomore year, she signed with a company and became an actress.
In the past two years, she had starred in quite a few dramas but had always remained in the shadows.
Actresses had to spend a lot of money on their outfits. Since she wasn't a top - tier actress, her income wasn't particularly high.
Apart from supporting herself, the rest of the money was used to pay off the Chen family's debts.
That was why Xu Tingyu asked where she got the three million.
"Hehe, I got a role as a vicious second female lead. This is my advance payment for the drama."
"I've been suffering for so many years. I'm finally going to turn things around."
Chen Chunyao deliberately made her tone sound light - hearted.
"A vicious second female lead? Don't you usually refuse to play such roles?"
Xu Tingyu still had doubts.
Chen Chunyao's company had positioned her as a pure and innocent young actress, and there had always been restrictions on the scripts she could take.
"Tsk, what's the big deal about positioning? Any fool would turn down money."
"Don't worry about me. I've transferred the money to you. Go and get busy. After I finish filming this drama, let's go out and relax."
Chen Chunyao was so afraid that Xu Tingyu wouldn't take the money that she quickly said a few words and hung up the phone.
Shortly after, the three - million - yuan transfer showed up in Xu Tingyu's account.
Staring at the string of numbers, Xu Tingyu's eyes welled up with tears again.
There had been some money in her card originally, but after her father's funeral, she had given it all to Secretary Qian to handle the most troublesome accounts.
After all, some creditors had shown up at the funeral with their whole families. No one could have the heart to ignore them.