Chapter 8: Just Enough The swaying green skirt trailed a line in the air...

"Put this piece in the center," Chi Cheng said, "and take Baoyuan's painting down."

"This isn't a good idea. This piece of work was custom-made for Master Rok. Although it's not on public display now, the master will definitely hold people accountable if he finds out." Chi Cheng's personal assistant gently reminded him.

Chi Cheng secretly sent people to investigate and found out that Meng Yuzhi had customized private paintings from Master Rok for three consecutive years, at high prices.

It would be easy to deal with Meng Yuzhi once he figured out his taste. He had already used all his connections to snatch a painting from Master Rok at a sky-high price, all for today.

"What are you afraid of? This painting has only been seen by the original customer and Rok. Since we bought it, we have the right to let Baoyuan take over." Chi Cheng said nonchalantly, "Remember to make sure Mr. Meng is interested in this painting. Oh, and lock up Chi Liuai. Don't let her come out and embarrass herself."

"But......."

"But what! Could it be that the original owner of this painting will show up at the auction?"

There was a noise at the door.

The waiters quickly separated and opened the heavy door at the same time. Soft orange warm light slowly fell on the carpet. The noisy gossip in the venue stopped at this moment. As if waiting for some important person, everyone adjusted their lapels frequently and looked at the bodyguards in black formal suits who usually came in. Everyone's heart was on the line, ready to go.

Even though they knew the visitor was two hours late, no one dared to say anything.

I even thanked him for his leisure and elegance and willingness to attend this charity art exhibition.

Chi Cheng stepped forward quickly but was stopped by the bodyguard halfway. He opened his mouth and spoke politely, the respectful address just reaching the air.

Suddenly, the man who was walking leisurely raised his hand, and his leather-gloved palm pointed towards Chi Cheng.

Chi Cheng was delighted and pushed the bodyguard hard, about to step forward.

The assistant walked quickly forward from the door, and then Meng Yuzhi took the phone.

The group ignored Chi Cheng and walked towards the VIP area.

"Rok, you know me." Meng Yuzhi's eyes quickly swept over the paintings. They weren't stunning, but they were acceptable. "I hate deception."

Far away in America, Rok is lying about his unsold artwork and is threatened by a group of rude guys with huge gambling debts. In order to avoid becoming a destitute wandering artist, he has to sell it at a high price.

He couldn't tell Meng Yuzhi. After all, Mr. Meng hated gambling and he didn't want to lose this long-term US dollar.

Meng Yuzhi listened to the lies on the other end of the phone, curling the corners of his lips in disapproval. He didn't really need the painting, he just bought it because his grandmother liked it.

This was also the reason why I attended this exhibition. I took a picture of Miss Chi's work and gave it to my grandmother.

Meng Yuzhi didn't choose a satisfactory painting. Just as he was about to hang up the phone, he suddenly stopped.

He raised an eyebrow and looked at the painting behind the glass wall.

"Rok, it looks like it needs to be returned to its rightful owner."

The receptionist specially arranged by Chi Cheng squeezed to the side of Meng Yuzhi with great effort. The air pressure around him was low and the air seemed unable to flow. He suppressed his guilt and said that this painting was Miss Chi's masterpiece and was praised by Master Rok. The whole audience exclaimed in amazement after hearing this. Some people even "inadvertently" talked about Miss Chi's talent and the history of her fame in private.

Meng Yuzhi looked at it quietly and chuckled.

30 million! Mr. Meng bought the exhibit.

Chi Baoyuan, who was sitting upstairs entertaining guests, felt her heart drop. This was the first time she met Meng Yuzhi. She had never thought that her future husband, who was often mentioned by her father and brother, would be so mature and steady.

With his noble appearance and distinguished family background, he treated her gently and politely. When auctioning the works, he even looked up at her in the escalator, and then his eyes fell on the paintings.

Take a picture.

But Chi Baoyuan and Chi Cheng had no time to be happy.

After everyone dispersed and left, Meng Yuzhi, who was sitting in the VIP room, slowly lit a cigarette. He didn't intend to meet them, but instead received an appraisal form and a purchase agreement. Chi Baoyuan didn't understand. She saw Chi Cheng's face was pale. Chi Cheng had never been rude because of fear. Chi Baoyuan followed his gaze.

I saw the exhibits photographed by Mr. Meng.

She had never seen it.

Instantly, I understood.

Chi Cheng held a sales contract signed between Meng Yuzhi and Rok, the subject of which was this painting, now being presented at a charity auction under the guise of being the Chi family's daughter's masterpiece. Meng Yuzhi seemed unintentional in pursuing the matter. His assistant, Chen Hui, bowed respectfully to Chi Cheng, then withdrew the document and inquired.

"Mr. Chi, are you sure this painting is by Miss Chi Baoyuan?"

"No!" Chi Baoyuan exclaimed. This was a shame for her! More importantly, she didn't want to leave a bad impression on Meng Yuzhi.

Chen Hui: "But it is sold in the name of Miss Chi."

Meng Yuzhi didn't even glance at them. Instead, he looked past Chi Baoyuan and through the VIP room's unique floor-to-ceiling glass windows toward the second-floor exhibition hall. It was the resting area for ordinary guests, rarely gathering, save for the occasional brief stop for a glass of wine and a casual chat. It wasn't the people there that captivated Meng Yuzhi, but the paintings.

He could still see the paintings clearly from a short distance.

This charity art exhibition is very interesting.

Mediocre works and imposters are no match for the paintings hanging on the second floor.

Because it's too ugly.

Chi Baoyuan lowered her head. Mr. Meng was still looking at her. She caught a glimpse of the slightly upturned corners of his mouth and felt a pang in her heart. She didn't know how to explain why this painting appeared in her own exhibition. She even knew that the original painter's level was at a level that she could never surpass.

The atmosphere was tense. Chi Cheng knew that Mr. Meng hated deception the most, and the fate of the Meng family's side branch was a warning.

He hardened his heart and said, "Yes! This painting was painted by Miss Chi. We put it out specially."

Chi Baoyuan's face turned pale, and she looked at her brother who had always cared for her in disbelief. The next second, her heart was filled with joy again.

"But it's not Baoyuan." Chi Cheng turned his head and said without hesitation, "It's Chi Liuai, my other sister. She loves to lie. Who would have thought that she would offend Mr. Meng and steal other people's paintings?"

At the same time, Chi Cheng's hand pointed accurately, quickly and fiercely towards the corridor on the second floor.

In the VIP room, Chi Baoyuan and Chen Hui's eyes were drawn to the slender figure in the stairwell.

Chen Hui saw the girl, dressed in a tacky way, seemingly decked out in all her jewelry and the most dazzling dress, her radiant light catching everyone's eye. She was struggling with several bodyguards, stamping her feet anxiously and turning her head in anger, the swaying tail of her green skirt trailing in the air as she moved.

Meng Yuzhi looked away and said, "Really?"

The question is about Chi Baoyuan.

Chi Baoyuan lowered his head, and after a moment, he nodded.

"What's being said in there?"

"Oh, Miss Chi, don't you know? They say that Mr. Meng seems to have taken a fancy to this painting."

"Which painting?"

"The one in the most conspicuous position." The guest pointed with his chin.

Chi Liuai was delighted and ran over, only to find that the painting was not his! Where did his painting go?

It must be Chi Cheng, it must be him! Chi Liuai guessed that Chi Cheng was jealous of her talent again and was afraid that Mr. Meng would find out, so he hid his paintings.

Immediately afterwards, Chi Liuai's heavy heart became happy again, because this painting was not Chi Baoyuan's!

What? An anonymous painting!

Mr. Meng liked an unsigned painting, so he did not lose to Chi Baoyuan.

Her heart calmed down a little.

"Mr. Meng probably likes the artist of this painting more, otherwise he wouldn't even have packaged the painting, so he went upstairs to invite Mr. Chi." The guest speculated, "This is also Miss Chi's fate."

Chi Liuai: "This painting wasn't painted by Chi Baoyuan, so why is it her fate?"

The customer thought it was ridiculous: "If it wasn't painted by her, could it be you?"

A small stone suddenly created ripples in Chi Liuai's heart.

She asked the waiter where Chi Cheng was and learned that he was in the VIP room on the third floor, so she rushed over. However, she came across her own paintings in the long corridor on the second floor. They were lonely and unprotected, posted on the walls of the corridor, and one was even next to the sink.

Her talent was insulted.

"Have you seen Chi Baoyuan's paintings?"

"a shame."

"That's right, this level is not even up to Qingya's." A girl said, "Qingya, I heard that you are about to get engaged to someone from the Meng family. Which Meng family is it?"

There were some whispers coming from the end of the corridor. Chi Liuai looked over and saw that several girls were surrounding the girl in the middle, holding her in their arms as they walked.

The woman in the middle was older and not particularly beautiful, but she lived up to her name: tassel-like, delicate and elegant. Even more captivating than her plain features was the gentleness she carried about her, like the moonlight shining down on one's face.

Chi Liuai was slightly stunned when he heard that they were talking about Chi Baoyuan.

She also hated Chi Baoyuan, so she came forward and chatted with him for a while. It was easy to join in the topic.

Chi Liuai also flattered the woman named Qingya in the middle with a very sweet mouth. His level of flattery was so high that he praised the girls around her to the sky.

"Chi Baoyuan is the most pretentious person on weekdays."

"Yes, yes, I think so too."

"Imitating Qingya every day, I thought the Meng family would be interested in her!"

"Yes, yes, she is simply dreaming!" Chi Liuai agreed, nodding her head like a rattle. "How could Mr. Meng fall for her?"

Liang Qingya frowned: "What's your name? Why do you hate Chi Baoyuan so much?"

Chi Liuai thought, it’s more than just annoying, this sister always makes her grit her teeth.

Another girl started talking: "Hey, if you hate her, why don't we teach her a lesson together? Last time I deliberately spilled coffee on her, but it ended up spilling on the painting. What a pity."

Everyone was laughing happily and was about to give Chi Liuai some advice.

Unexpectedly, this beautiful and sweet-talking person pushed the girl who was just talking hard, and she stood up like a cat whose tail was stepped on.

"Who do you think you are? How dare you teach my sister a lesson!!!"

Liang Qingya's bodyguards showed no mercy, leaving Chi Liuai's wrist swollen and covered in red handprints. She felt particularly ashamed of being bullied in her own home.

The people on the second floor were cleared out, and only four or five bodyguards surrounded her in the corridor. If she wanted to go out, she would be pushed down, and if she stood up, she would be pushed again.

Her swollen and painful ankle barely supported her to stand up.

But still, the dark shadow loomed over my head.

Chi Liuai swore that if the bodyguard dared to push her again, she would lie on the ground pretending to be dead, not moving, and scare the group of people.

She closed her eyes and let her emotions brew.

"That's enough."

The voice of a strange man came, steady and powerful, covering Chi Liuai's heart and squeezing it.

She had been strong enough not to cry, but now her heart was twisted into a knot, tightening around her throat.

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