Four paintings worth 18 million were violently torn up.
They were stuffed into a black plastic bag and provocatively dumped in a conspicuous place.
It was Qi Ye's men who found them and informed him.
Without any delay, he took the fragments to an appraisal institution and contacted relevant experts at the same time.
If the paintings were real, he hoped the experts could find a way to salvage them.
As it turned out, the paintings were genuine.
There was a way to repair them, but it would cost a fortune.
Moreover, even if they were restored, their value would be greatly diminished.
In any case, it was a devastating blow to Xu Tingyu.
After seeing the pile of fragments, her body, which had endured great emotional upheaval in recent days, finally gave out.
She couldn't utter a single word and felt short of breath.
Finally, her vision went black and she fainted completely.
In the darkness, she saw her father's kind face.
"Dad, what should I do?"
She wanted to throw herself into her father's arms, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't touch him.
Her father just looked at her silently, his loving eyes filled with reluctance.
After a while, her father's kind face transformed into Qi Shifeng's ice-cold and handsome one.
His perfectly chiseled features were extremely refined.
Just standing there, his innate elegance and nobility were palpable.
However, his overly cold eyes made this elegance seem almost aloof.
"Xu Tingyu, are you satisfied with the result now?"
"You asked for all this. This is the consequence of your persistence."
After Qi Shifeng, Xie Yu appeared.
"I've told you before that what you snatched away will eventually be taken back."
"Have you been happy in these three years, staying with a man who has never loved you?"
...
When Xu Tingyu woke up again, she was lying in the bedroom.
Seeing her awake, Mama Zhang, who had been guarding beside her, leaned over quickly and asked, "Young Mistress, how are you?"
She was startled when the Eldest Young Master carried the Second Young Mistress back.
Thankfully, the Madam had already left at that time, or there would have been another storm.
The Eldest Young Master said that he had taken the Second Young Mistress to the hospital.
The doctor said that she was overworked and overly worried.
Overwhelmed by emotions, her body couldn't bear it anymore.
In the hospital, she woke up briefly once, but her mind was in a daze and she only kept calling to go home.
Qi Ye had no choice but to send her back and called Qi Shifeng at the same time.
Qi Shifeng's phone was answered, but it was Xie Yu who picked up.
"Brother, I'm sorry. Shifeng is taking a shower. If you have something to say, I can pass it on for you."
Xie Yu had met Qi Ye before and also called him brother like Qi Shifeng did.
But Qi Ye didn't like Xie Yu.
Rarely, he said coldly, "Ask him to call me back when he's available."
Then he hung up the phone without waiting for Xie Yu to say anything.
It was three o'clock in the afternoon. Apart from having an affair, Qi Ye couldn't think of any other reason for Qi Shifeng to take a shower at this time.
A quarter of an hour later, Qi Shifeng called back.
"Brother, you called me."
With Xie Yu around, Qi Ye didn't mention that Xu Tingyu had fainted on the phone. He just asked him to come back as soon as possible.
When Qi Shifeng came back, Xu Tingyu had just woken up.
Mama Zhang didn't have time to go out and inform them. Outside, the two brothers started arguing.
"Tingyu is your wife. How could you be so cold to her?"
Qi Ye sat on the sofa, his eyes full of disappointment.
Qi Shifeng was stunned for a moment, then smiled mockingly and said playfully, "Brother, if you feel sorry for her, why didn't you marry her back then?"
This was a really malicious thing to say.
Not only did Xu Tingyu, who had just walked out of the room, feel dizzy again after hearing this.
Even Qi Ye, who was always good-tempered, lost his composure in anger.
"Everyone says that you've calmed down since you got married and become the mature and steady President Qi."
"But now it seems that you've just reserved all your stubbornness for Tingyu."
"She has become your emotional punching bag. In your heart, she's not even a person, let alone your wife, right?"
Qi Ye had never been so strict with his younger brother before.
But Qi Shifeng didn't care at all.
Facing his brother's speculation, he didn't deny it. He just sat down slowly opposite him.
He even crossed his legs leisurely.
The more nonchalant he looked, the colder and more unfathomable his black eyes seemed.
"Did she complain to you?"
"Brother, you've been back for less than three days, right? You haven't even been back to the old mansion yet."
"Yet you come here to defend your sister-in-law?"
His tone was cold and sarcastic.
His face still showed that cold and heartless, detached look.
"Qi Shifeng!" Qi Ye frowned. "The things back then weren't Tingyu's fault at all. You'll regret it if you keep taking revenge on her like this."
Qi Shifeng seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. The corner of his mouth curled up mockingly.
But his black eyes drooped and there was no real smile in them.
Since he took over the family group, the outside world had been saying that he was cold-blooded and ruthless, the coldest and most heartless head of the Qi family.
At this moment, although he was sitting there in a nonchalant manner.
His words could still make the air around him freeze.
"Regret?"
"The thing I regret most is that I unconditionally trusted you, brother, back then."
Xu Tingyu didn't know what conflict there was between the two brothers, so she stood there without going out.
But Qi Shifeng noticed her figure and snorted, then stopped talking.
Following his gaze, Qi Ye also saw Xu Tingyu standing on the stairs and immediately composed himself.
"Tingyu, you're awake. Do you still feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
Qi Ye put on a gentle smile.
Xu Tingyu shook her head and said apologetically, "Brother, can I talk to Qi Shifeng alone?"
She had a lot of questions for Qi Shifeng.
A look of worry flashed across Qi Ye's eyes, but it quickly disappeared.
"Sure. You two talk. If you need any help, call me anytime."
After instructing Xu Tingyu, he turned to leave. He gave Qi Shifeng a warning look as he walked out.
The meaning was obvious.
Xu Tingyu was ill now. As her husband, he shouldn't stimulate her any further.
Qi Shifeng didn't respond at all.
He sat on the sofa. The moonlight shone in through the floor-to-ceiling window, casting mottled shadows on him.
Half in the light, half in the dark, he looked both righteous and evil.
After there were only Qi Shifeng and Xu Tingyu left in the living room.
She spoke first, "Qi Shifeng, do you know that my father passed away and the Xu family went bankrupt?"
One standing, one sitting, they were a few steps apart. The cold cedar fragrance on him filled the air around her.
It made her face turn pale and her body tremble slightly.
Seeing that she finally dared to mention this, Qi Shifeng sneered, but his eyes remained calm.
It seemed that the brief flicker of anger in his eyes when he saw her talking to Qi Ye was just an illusion.
"It was the top news in the Kyoto Evening News. Even if I'm slow, I know about it."
Actually, he only found out after he came back from a business trip.
By then, Xu Jianmin had already been buried.
From beginning to end, Xu Tingyu didn't even think about telling him, her husband.
"Then let me ask you, did my father borrow money from you?"
Her eyes were red, but her expression had calmed down.
Seeing her like this and feeling the undercurrent between them, Qi Shifeng felt inexplicably annoyed.
But he remained calm and just asked her quietly.
"Yes, he did... Xu Tingyu, what are you doing? Do you want to blame the bankruptcy of the Xu family on me?"
Was she interrogating him in this aggressive tone?