Ruan Chen and Fu Jianzhi exchanged a glance.
The former's eyes were full of helplessness, but Fu Jianzhi laughed, "Well, trouble can't be avoided."
"What are you gloating about?" Ruan Chen pinched Fu Jianzhi's waist hard, then realized she might have gone too far and quickly apologized.
Fu Jianzhi dodged to the side, waving his hands repeatedly to beg for mercy.
Of course, both of them were very restrained in their movements and voices.
Security personnel had arrived. Looking at the sauce all over the ground and the obviously ruined painting lying on the ground, they exchanged glances and became tense.
They all know the value of Master Yu Lei's paintings.
When Feng Shuang saw the security guards arrive, he tried to run away, but Ruan Chen stopped him, saying, "I'm telling you, do you really think you can just grab someone, frame them, and run away and be done with it? Don't you know how many security cameras are in this exhibition hall?"
The commotion attracted almost everyone in the exhibition hall, and people stood in twos and threes not far away to watch the excitement.
People started whispering among themselves, "What's going on?"
"The student, being ignorant and fooling around, smashed Yu Lei's painting. I just don't know if it belonged to Yu Lei or her student."
"If it's a student, it's probably fine, but if it's Master Yu Lei herself, then this student is in trouble."
"Which student is it? Those others look like minors, right?"
“The one further away, didn’t you see the stuff spilled on the ground? That’s what those guys brought in just now.”
"I saw it with my own eyes. The girl tried to throw something at someone, but it spilled all over the ground and even hit the painting. That's how it ended up like this."
"What incredibly rude behavior! Bringing food in is one thing, but littering is another? I think this girl is even wearing the uniform of No. 1 High School. Is this the kind of student No. 1 High School produces?"
Ruan Chen couldn't help but think to herself, "She's not just a student of No. 1 Middle School, she's also the principal's granddaughter."
Of course, she wouldn't say it aloud; she was even more eager than Feng Shuang herself not to let anyone associate this matter with Principal Feng Yuankai.
She simply shrugged, looking completely at ease, while Feng Shuang's expression was grim.
Ruan Chen didn't even need to explain the cause and effect, and there was no need to even check the surveillance footage; the security guards had already learned the whole story from other visitors.
Fu Xing wasn't drawn in, but he happened to be browsing the exhibition and strolling slowly when he arrived here. Then he noticed something was wrong and saw a mess on the ground with Ruan Chen, Bo Nian, and Feng Shuang standing in the middle.
His gaze didn't linger on Feng Shuang for even a second, but instead stopped on Fu Jianzhi. He took a few quick steps, then seemed to realize something and stopped, only watching Fu Jianzhi and Ruan Chen from a distance.
Fu Jianzhi only remembered Fu Xing's face, but Fu Xing remembered their esteemed young master very clearly.
At that banquet held within the Fu family, the young master was the center of attention wherever he went. Even the elders of the family, who were always high and mighty, would nod and greet him when they saw Fu Jianzhi.
But Fu Jianzhi always maintained a cold and aloof demeanor, showing no smile even in front of his own father, Fu Lin, and remaining extremely distant.
To be precise, Fu Jianzhi treated everyone in the Fu family—except Fu Chengyu—like a stranger.
They treated Fu Chengyu like a true enemy.
He had never seen Fu Jianzhi so familiar with anyone; the two of them stood together, so intimately connected that they seemed like one person.
Fu Xing's first thought was that Fu Lin had an older daughter, but he had never heard of her.
These two are practically like siblings, not in appearance, but in their almost identical temperament, that cold indifference and detachment from the world.
Feng Shuang subconsciously turned to look at Fu Xing with pleading eyes, but Fu Xing remained indifferent, as if he didn't recognize Feng Shuang—he had never liked Feng Shuang's personality anyway, so it was better for him to suffer a loss.
The exhibition staff arrived quickly, and their expressions changed drastically when they saw the painting lying on the ground.
One of them, wearing white gloves, crouched down and carefully picked up the painting from the reddish-brown sauce. He examined it for a moment, then shook his head regretfully.
After making the judgment that the damage was irreparable, he looked at the culprit, Feng Shuang, but his tone was still quite polite, "It's irreparable, young lady. Contact your family and we'll determine the compensation."
Fu Jianzhi, having been pulled away by Ruan Chen, carefully left the mess and continued to admire the paintings.
Ruan Chen had seen these paintings many times, but Fu Jianzhi hadn't really appreciated Yu Lei's paintings before. Since he genuinely liked them, he looked at them very attentively, and Ruan Chen patiently accompanied him on his tour.
When Feng Shuang heard about the need for compensation and contacting her parents, her expression darkened further. She said, "It's just a painting. There's no need to call my parents. I have money."
Although she spoke with a slightly weak voice, she actually pulled a credit card out of her bag.
The staff at the exhibition hall deal with luxury goods and artworks year-round, so it's not surprising that a seemingly ordinary student could pay such a huge sum in compensation—he doesn't care what will happen to the money and her parents after the incident; he just needs to fulfill his obligation and get his losses back.
So the staff brought over the auction catalog, turned to the page that Feng Shuang had damaged, and said, "Miss, the painting you damaged is a work by Master Yu Lei's last disciple, called 'Winter Begonia,' measuring 130*95 cm, with a starting bid of three million."
"Of course, this price is below the market price, but we considered that you are young and it was unintentional. In addition, our people just communicated with Master Yu Lei, and Master Yu Lei said that compensation based on the starting price is sufficient."
The staff member's words were impeccable, and his attitude was very polite, but as soon as he finished speaking, Feng Shuang became relentless, "What kind of bullshit master is he? I think he's just a charlatan! Three million for this piece of junk? Why doesn't he just rob people? This is fraud, I'm calling the police!"
Faced with Feng Shuang's sudden loss of composure, the staff remained calm and said, "If you need, we can call the police for you."
She wouldn't fall for Feng Shuang's tantrums at all.
Just as Feng Shuang was cursing Yu Lei as a liar, Fu Xing, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally spoke up, but not to defend Feng Shuang.
“Feng Shuang, the staff just said that this was painted by Master Yu Lei’s last disciple. If it were Master Yu Lei herself, the price of a painting of this size should be at least double. Moreover, Master Yu Lei is not a fraud; her artistic achievements are recognized worldwide.”
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