"Xu Qingqing! Do you really think you can win Chuanbai's favor by silently sacrificing? Dream on!"
"Take a good look at yourself in the mirror! If Chuanbai knew you were pregnant with his child, he'd probably throw up in disgust!"
Gu Anrou's haughty accusations were like sharp blades, stabbing into the woman in her sleep.
She struggled restlessly in her dream, trying to defend herself, but couldn't utter a single sound. All she could feel was the excruciating pain in her heart and the cold sweat trickling down her temples.
"Mommy!"
Xu An'an's cry jolted Xu Qingqing out of her nightmare. She suddenly sat up and looked at her daughter who stumbled into the room.
"Brother is gone. He only left a letter saying he's gone back to China."
It was like a thunderbolt out of the blue. Xu Qingqing was fully awake now.
She pulled her sobbing daughter into her arms and reached for her phone with the other hand to call her son, Xu Yiyi.
The phone was turned off!
This rebellious kid! She had only scolded him a couple of times, and he had actually run away from home!
She forced herself to calm down, placed her hands on An'an's shoulders, frowned and stared into her eyes, her voice trembling as she asked, "An'an, did brother say why he went back to China?"
The two kids were Xu Qingqing's life. Yiyi was still so young. If anything happened to him, what could she do?
"No. He... he only said he was going to a place called Qingchuan."
Xu An'an was also frightened by her mother's expression and blurted out the word "Qingchuan" instinctively.
"Come on, let's go find brother."
Without even having time to pack her luggage, Xu Qingqing grabbed An'an's hand and rushed to the airport.
...
After getting off the plane, Xu Qingqing looked at this familiar yet strange city, a flood of emotions welling up inside her.
Qingchuan City...
She had been away from this place for five years. If it weren't for the need to find Xu Yiyi, she might never have come back in her lifetime.
"An'an, slow down. Wait for mommy."
As soon as they walked out of the airport, the five - year - old An'an was curious about everything and ran ahead. Xu Qingqing could only follow closely behind.
"Bang!"
Before Xu Qingqing could finish her words, she saw An'an turn around and bump into a big box. Immediately afterwards, the sound of porcelain shattering came.
She saw An'an standing there at a loss and several strong men surrounding her. She quickly rushed over and shielded her daughter in her arms.
"An'an, are you okay?"
Xu Qingqing pulled An'an over and nervously checked if she was injured. After seeing that she was fine, she heaved a sigh of relief.
"Ma'am, is this your daughter?"
The man beside them looked at the broken pieces on the ground. His face was as black as ink, and he managed to suppress his anger as he spoke.
This was an antique vase he had just bought for 50 million at an auction. Before he could even enjoy it for long, it had been broken by this little girl.
"I'm very sorry. I apologize for my daughter's recklessness. How much is it? I'll compensate you."
Xu Qingqing gently patted An'an on the back. When she looked up, she saw a familiar face. For a moment, she was in a daze and blurted out involuntarily, "It's you?"
It was really him. Was the world really that small?
"Do we know each other?"
Lu Chuanbai's face was full of undisguised rage. His eyes were like those of a man - eater, and his voice was low. But when he saw the woman's eyes, his heart skipped a beat.
He felt as if he had seen this woman somewhere before.
But thinking about all the women he had come into contact with over the years, apart from Gu Anrou, there was only that "ugly woman" who had been arranged by Lu Fenglin to frame him. So he instinctively decided that they didn't know each other.
"Chuanbai."
Suddenly, a gentle female voice came from behind them. When the woman saw the broken pieces on the ground, she immediately raised her voice.
"Goodness, Chuanbai, what's going on? How did the vase break?"
When Gu Anrou saw Xu Qingqing and An'an, she immediately understood what had happened. She rushed over and pointed at Xu Qingqing, saying, "Do you know the value of this vase? Even if you sold this child, you couldn't afford to pay for it!"
"We'll compensate you. There's no need to be so fierce."
An'an was also angry when she saw Gu Anrou yelling at her mommy. Without thinking, she retorted.
Her brother was a popular star and made money like water. As long as she wanted something, Yiyi would always satisfy her, so she didn't have a concept of value.
"An'an, don't be impolite."
Xu Qingqing pulled An'an behind her, squatted down and picked up the pieces on the ground. Immediately, a string of words appeared in front of her eyes, clearly describing the material, age, etc. of the vase.
She had a rough estimate of the value of the vase. She stood up and took out a stack of cash from her bag.
"From my observation, this vase is just a modern handicraft. Although the craftsmanship is exquisite, it's not precious enough for you to humiliate us at will."
She held out the cash to Lu Chuanbai with both hands. Seeing that he didn't respond, she took out another small stack of bills.
"This money is for compensation, and the rest is for mental damages. It should be more than enough to compensate for my daughter's mistake."
"Hehe, I've seen people who try to extort money, but I've never seen someone as bold as you!"
Gu Anrou slapped the money out of Xu Qingqing's hand and took out her phone to call the police.
"You can call the police if you want, but I suggest you find an expert to appraise it first. After all, it won't sound good if a young master of the Lu family calls the police because of a fake."
Xu Qingqing was so certain that the vase was a fake because after a serious car accident during a mission, a treasure - appraisal system had suddenly appeared in her mind.
At first, she thought she was having hallucinations, but after several verifications, she found that the system really existed in her mind. All she had to do was stare at an item, activate the system with her mind, and she could see its material and specific age.
Moreover, she was even more certain about this broken vase because the real one was in her own room.
"How do you know my surname is Lu?"
Lu Chuanbai's focus wasn't on the compensation but on how this woman he had just met knew his identity.
"... " Xu Qingqing was silent.
She couldn't tell him that she had shared a bed with him several times a few years ago, could she?
Fortunately, he didn't recognize her. After all, she had been so ugly back then that even looking at herself in the mirror made her feel nauseous.
"The name Lu Chuanbai often appears in various magazine interviews. It's hard not to recognize him."
Xu Qingqing calmly took out her business card and ID card and handed them over.
"These are my documents. If it's really an antique after your appraisal, I'll definitely compensate you at the full price, or you can call the police then." She didn't want to waste any more time. She gave them a faint smile and then led An'an away.
"Chuanbai, you..."
Gu Anrou wanted to say something else, but Lu Chuanbai interrupted her. He handed the documents in his hand to his assistant.
"Find the highest - level appraiser and check this woman's identity."