At the very back of the crowd, a man in a suit, looking noble and composed, was holding up a sign in his hand. His eyes were firm and deep. It was Qi Shifeng who had rushed here in a hurry.
Why was he here? And why did he spend so much money on this painting? Xu Tingyu was filled with shock and confusion, but more than that, she felt a sense of relief as if a heavy burden had finally been lifted from her heart.
The auctioneer on the stage was obviously stunned by this price. He stood there for a few seconds before reacting and getting excited.
"Fifty million once, fifty million twice, fifty million three times. Sold!"
With the auctioneer's final hammer blow, the painting was finally sold at a sky - high price of fifty million.
Qi Ye's face turned ugly at this moment. He had originally planned to buy the painting for thirty million. He just wanted to show everyone his overwhelming love, but he never intended to really give it to someone else. The portrait of his fiancée should only hang in their home.
But he didn't expect that Xu Tingyu would suddenly bring up the events of that year. He also didn't expect that someone would bid such a high price for the painting. And even more unexpectedly, that person was Qi Shifeng, who should have been in the police station.
Qi Shifeng's action was undoubtedly a provocation to him.
Someone recognized Qi Shifeng and started whispering.
"Hey, isn't this the second young master of the Qi family? When did he come to the UK?"
"That's not the point. The point is, did he come to the UK for the wedding? Does that mean all the rumors online are true?"
"Yeah, if he's here for the wedding, doesn't it mean that Xu Tingyu and Qi Ye are really a couple and they were just hiding it before?"
"Even if it is, it's still quite a bombshell. Why did the younger brother have to marry in place of the older brother back then? It's not the feudal era anymore."
"Well, it's their business. We outsiders can't interfere. After all, the law doesn't say it's illegal."
"Okay, okay, I guess I'm being old - fashioned. But what's going on here? The older brother donates the painting, and the younger brother spends a fortune to buy it."
"I mean, the most expensive painting by Chang Chun so far was sold for 25 million two years ago. He just raised the price so much."
"So what? This painting has special meaning. We should just watch and not get involved in their family affairs."
"Hey, but there were so many people scrambling to bid just now. Won't they offend the eldest young master of the Qi family?"
"You're wrong. Those people are very shrewd. Scrambling to bid is just to curry favor with Qi Ye."
"How so?"
"You're so naive. They spend the money, then donate the painting back to Qi Ye. When Qi Ye is happy, he might just give them some projects. Then the money will come back."
"You're right. Qi Ye is both doing charity and showing off his love. Did Qi Shifeng buy it on Qi Ye's orders?"
"We don't know. Anyway, it's worth coming here today. Hahaha, it's really exciting to witness this up close."
...
Here in the UK, Qi Ye had spent years struggling and finally became "President Qi" by taking risks. But as soon as Qi Shifeng showed up, he became "Eldest Young Master Qi" again.
Qi Ye's face was gloomy. He suddenly stood up and said to Xu Tingyu, "Let's go. It's over."
Since there were so many people watching, Xu Tingyu didn't want to become the topic of others' conversations, so she stood up too.
Both of them had their own thoughts and didn't say a word. It wasn't until they got in the car that Qi Ye broke the silence.
"Spending fifty million on a painting. Is he really amnesiac?"
Xu Tingyu's heart tightened, but her face remained calm. "What are you talking about? I don't understand."
Qi Ye sneered. "Stop pretending. If he really had amnesia, would you be so calm?"
Xu Tingyu pursed her lips and sneered back like him.
"You're really something. The doctor has made a diagnosis. As a non - professional, should I deny it?"
"Besides, if he has amnesia, should I go crazy? Go crazy for someone who has forgotten only me and Youyou?"
Qi Ye looked at her deeply. Obviously, he didn't believe her words. But he didn't say anything more. His eyes just became more and more sinister.
Qi Shifeng was able to get out of the police station so quickly and come to the dinner party. You know, this dinner party wasn't open to just anyone. Especially not someone on his "blacklist" like Qi Shifeng.
Most of the Qi family's connections in the UK were already in his hands. So who was helping Qi Shifeng?
He didn't say a word, but Xu Tingyu looked at the street view outside and said, "Take me back to his place."
If she hadn't said anything, it would have been fine. But this sentence instantly ignited Qi Ye's anger.
"You still say he's really amnesiac? If he is, why are you so eager to go back to him?"
Xu Tingyu took a deep breath and tried to keep her tone calm.
"Qi Ye, don't be unreasonable. I'm going to his place because of the one - week agreement between you two. And you also promised to let me go back to Jingdu."
She wanted to go back to see Youyou, so she didn't want to cause any more trouble at this moment.
Qi Ye sneered. "Fine, fine, fine. I've really trapped myself."
He was probably extremely angry. Suddenly, he grabbed her shoulders and leaned towards her.
Xu Tingyu didn't expect him to act so suddenly, let alone get so close to her. But her body instinctively shrank back and she put her hands on his shoulders. "What are you doing?"
Qi Ye was annoyed at being stopped from getting closer. "You're my fiancée. Can't I even kiss you?"
"No," Xu Tingyu refused without hesitation. "I can't accept it."
The atmosphere in the car instantly became oppressive and suffocating. Even Zhang Wan and the driver in the front didn't dare to breathe loudly.
A hint of cruelty flashed in Qi Ye's eyes, but he still remained calm and composed. He slowly straightened up and kept a little distance from Xu Tingyu. The corner of his mouth curled up in a cold sneer.
"Can't accept it? Xu Tingyu, don't forget that you're my fiancée now. Do you think you can decide anything? Or do you think that once you go back to Jingdu, you can escape from me and the wedding?"
Hearing this playful remark, Xu Tingyu's head "buzzed". She tightly clenched her fists, and her fingernails almost dug into her palms. The pain made her a little calmer. She forced herself to remain calm and asked, "What do you mean?"
Qi Ye looked at her like this. His anger didn't subside at all, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips.
"I mean, since you're willing to go through all this before you give up, I'm willing to indulge you. But, Tingyu, no matter how much I like you, I can't always be so patient and let you be so capricious forever. So, once you go back to Jingdu this time, if you want to come back, I won't be so easy - going. Do you still not care?"