Before I could even head backstage, I ran into an old friend I rarely see: Fu Bowen.

Fu Bowen wasn't wearing his gold-rimmed glasses today, and his previously concealed sharp aura came out undisguised.

He stood in front of Fu Yao, blocking her path. Neither of them spoke, but they exchanged a glance.

Then Fu Bowen said, "Long time no see."

Fu Yao raised her eyes to look at him, "Aren't you afraid someone will see you like this?"

"So what if we see? Miss Fu and I don't seem to have any shady relationship." He emphasized the last few words, but only in a voice that the two of them could hear.

He spoke again, "Do you mean you still think there's a possibility between you and my dear younger brother?"

Fu Yao was annoyed by his sarcastic and teasing tone, so she walked past him and went straight backstage.

Yuan Zhao happened to be passing by with a cup in his hand, and raised his glass to Fu Bowen, saying, "Brother Fu."

His expression remained completely expressionless; it's unclear whether he had noticed the interaction between the two of them just now.

Fu Bowen responded to the past, and the two walked past each other.

After Song Ping was brought in backstage by the man, he was told to find a place on his own. Song Ping wandered around for a long time but still couldn't find the rest room the man had mentioned.

The auction had already begun, with fierce bidding and constant raising of paddles.

When Song Ping was looking for someone, he would occasionally pass by a corner and hear the prices that the rich people were shouting, which made him feel even more resentful.

One by one, the pieces of the collection were sold, and Song Ping quickened his pace, almost getting bumped into several times.

Someone asked him why he wasn't at his post and was wandering around aimlessly.

He nervously tightened the dagger hidden in his sleeve, then lowered his voice and said he was looking for a toilet.

A door suddenly opened, and Qiao Yiming walked out, his face flushed, and shouted into the room, "Song Xingyao, you're the real gossip queen!"

Then he closed the door and left quickly.

Upon hearing this shout, Song Ping thought to himself that it was truly an effortless stroke of luck. After the others had gone far away, he wanted to push open the door and go in.

But then they saw another old woman come out of the room. She stood at the door without moving and didn't leave.

Worried that the loud-voiced woman from earlier might return, he quickly took a detour to another path in the room and poured the sleeping pills hanging from his waist into the rag in his hand.

He didn't want to bring it at first, but he was worried about something going wrong, so he brought it anyway, and now it came in handy.

With swift movements, the liquid in the jar was emptied completely, soaking the towel on his hands and the blanket on the floor.

He went around behind the old woman and covered her mouth. After struggling for a while, the woman quickly stopped moving.

He thought Fu Yao had given him something really good, then casually tossed the rag at her and pushed open the door.

Song Xingyao thought it was Qiao Yiming returning from the restroom, so she didn't turn around and said, "So what exactly is going on between you and Bai Xiujin?"

She heard the door slam shut behind her, but no one responded. She turned around and a flash of white light appeared before her eyes.

Song Ping had already pressed the knife against her collarbone. A fleeting moment of panic passed through her, but the cold blade forced her to calm down.

Song Xingyao: "What do you want to do, Song Ping?"

Upon hearing her question, Song Ping immediately retorted excitedly, "Me? I want money! I said I want money! You brat, you'd rather marry Fu Siming and live a good life than let me be treated like a rat in the street?"

Seeing her slightly protruding belly, Song Ping laughed even louder, "Now you're pregnant with the heir of the Fu family? Then you're even more valuable. I'm warning you, don't make any rash moves. Call Fu Siming over. I originally only planned to ask for 50 million, but now it seems that with two people, it's not that price."

"Hahahahaha..." His laughter made his hands move unsteadily back and forth. Song Xingyao subconsciously covered her lower abdomen and then leaned back slightly.

Seeing her movement, Song Ping pulled her forward a step, then circled around to her side, using his hands and knife to surround her between the windows.

When Qiao Yiming returned, he found the Fu family's servants asleep at the door. Sensing something was wrong, he pushed open the door and saw this scene.

She was so frightened that she stood still, wanting to rush forward but not daring to. Song Xingyao called out to her, "Don't come any closer!"

After Song Xingyao finished speaking, Song Ping deliberately brought the knife closer to her neck, and the gleaming short knife scraped a red mark on her tender neck.

"Fine, I won't come any closer. What do you want?" She raised her hand and took a step back, indicating that she wouldn't come forward.

Song Ping was satisfied and shouted at her, "Make a call, make a call to Fu Siming, and tell him to prepare two hundred million, or he can expect to be collecting her and the baby's corpses!"

"Fine! Don't move, I'll hit you. If you hurt her, you won't get a single penny."

She called Fu Siming in front of the two of them. The phone rang for a long time, but he didn't answer it until the ringing stopped.

Seeing that the phone wasn't being answered, Song Ping became a little anxious. "Call again, call again, hurry up!"

"Okay, I'll call!" The second call was answered quickly, but the voice on the other end sounded a little weak.

"Hello." The voice was somewhat ethereal, and it was unclear what had happened. Song Xingyao heard it too, frowned, and stared at the phone in Qiao Yiming's hand.

Qiao Yiming was on the verge of tears, but before he could utter a sound, Song Ping couldn't hold back any longer. He shouted, "Fu Siming, hurry up and prepare 200 million for the auction, or you can just wait to collect Song Xingyao's corpse!"

Hearing the voices from this side, Fu Siming ignored the pain in his shoulder, propped himself up, and said in a weak but calm voice, "Twenty minutes. I'll have the money ready. If you hurt her, I'll kill you."

He didn't dare hang up the phone, wanting to hear what was happening on the other end, but Song Ping forced Qiao Yiming to hang up.

Hearing the dial tone, Fu Siming became even more flustered. He pulled up the left side of his shirt, which he had pulled down low, leaving the doctor to call him from where he was, and quickly left.

Qiao Yiming secretly recorded his words and sent them to Qiao Yiyang, hoping that his older brother would come over quickly after hearing them. Unexpectedly, he clicked on Bai Xiujin's chat box instead.

When Bai Xiujin received the voice message, he only listened to one sentence before immediately standing up from his seat. Although he was in the back row, his action still attracted the attention of many people.

Many people watched him run out in a panic. After a while, someone ran over and shouted that someone had kidnapped him and was holding the people backstage hostage with a knife.

The auction was in chaos. Some people were eager to leave, and the auctioneer on stage was at a loss, having never seen such a mess in her career.

Qiao Yiyang remembered that Qiao Yiming was still backstage, so she quickly got up and ran out.

Soon, a group of people gathered outside the lounge, peeking and making rustling noises, and someone in the crowd screamed.

The man's neck was bleeding...

Seeing more and more people gathering here, Song Ping became anxious about whether he would be able to escape soon.

His hand was already trembling slightly as he raised it, and Song Xingyao, who was next to him, was pressed against the window by his arm, with no way out.

Qiao Yiyang squeezed in and saw her younger sister crying uncontrollably, but she still felt relieved.