"What kind of people did you invite? They have no sense of propriety at all!"
Xu Qingqing was a bit annoyed by the word "let". It wasn't like she had snatched the painting from others, so why use the word "let"?
Song Fuqiang continued to announce the remaining contestants, then said mysteriously, "Now it's time to reveal the correct answer..."
"The authentic painting is..."
At this point, Song Fuqiang deliberately paused for effect, dragging out his words.
"It's the seventh painting! Congratulations, Miss Xu Qingqing!"
Sure enough, just as she had thought.
Xu Qingqing curled her lips and stepped forward to take the painting, but unexpectedly, Song Fuqiang quickly stepped off the stage to stop her.
"Miss Xu Qingqing, please don't take it yet. I'll ask the staff to wrap it up for you."
"Okay, thank you."
Xu Qingqing nodded. Song Fuqiang was quite considerate.
Song Fuqiang waved his hand and asked his staff to take all the paintings back.
Song Nuannuan was heartbroken that the painting she had been longing for had been taken by Xu Qingqing. She was so angry that she kept scolding the Master Huang beside her.
"What are you good for? I paid you so much money to come here, and you couldn't even guess correctly!"
Those who had guessed wrong were a bit disappointed. Some were even jealous of Xu Qingqing and pointed at her.
"No wonder she insisted not to change just now. She must have been sure that the seventh painting was the authentic one!"
"Xu Qingqing is friends with Song Fuqiang's mistress. Could it be that the mistress tipped her off?"
Some people were jealous of Xu Qingqing, and all kinds of vulgar remarks reached Xu Qingqing's ears.
Xu Yan clenched his fists and was about to rush up. "Who are you calling mistress?"
Xu Qingqing noticed that Xu Yan was about to lose his temper and quickly grabbed him tightly. She whispered in his ear, "Brother, what are you doing?"
"Don't forget, Sister Jingzhen's current husband, Song Fuqiang, is still here. If you attack others, it will definitely cause trouble for Sister Jingzhen!"
Hearing his sister's words, Xu Yan angrily loosened his fists and covered his ears, simply refusing to listen.
Just then, Song Fuqiang walked over with Jingzhen in his arms, his hand around her slender waist, to congratulate Xu Qingqing.
"Miss Xu Qingqing, I didn't expect you to be so beautiful and also have such excellent appraisal skills."
Song Fuqiang's eyes roamed over Xu Qingqing boldly. Xu Qingqing forced a smile. His gaze made her feel uncomfortable.
"I have to thank Boss Song for being so generous and offering such a great prize. Otherwise, even if my appraisal skills were good, I wouldn't be able to get such a valuable painting."
Xu Qingqing's words were nice and pleasant, making Song Fuqiang squint his eyes in satisfaction.
Song Fuqiang's big hand groped randomly on Jingzhen's waist. "Are you and my Jingzhen college classmates? You seem to be about the same age."
Take your dirty hands off!
Your Jingzhen?
You're not even her real brother. How dare you talk like that!
Xu Yan silently ranted in his heart. He felt like he was about to lose control of his emotions.
He really wanted to punch this golden pumpkin of a man and then snatch Jingzhen back.
But that would definitely cause big trouble for Jingzhen!
Xu Qingqing quietly tugged at the back of Xu Yan's clothes, secretly reminding him, "Don't get angry."
"Boss, the painting is wrapped."
The waiter brought over the rolled-up painting with a red bow tied on it.
"The painting is wrapped. Miss Xu Qingqing, don't be polite." Song Fuqiang handed the painting to Xu Qingqing with both hands.
"Thank you, thank you." Xu Qingqing smiled sweetly and blinked at the simple bow.
She had thought it would be some fancy packaging, but it was just a red bow.
But Xu Qingqing still maintained her courtesy on the surface and took the painting. As soon as she touched the paper, she sensed something was wrong.
Xu Qingqing carefully felt the paper again. She could hardly believe it and quickly checked it with her system.
This painting was a fake!
Xu Qingqing's face immediately turned cold. She raised her eyebrows and looked at Song Fuqiang, who was smiling. "Boss Song, what do you mean by this?"
"If you don't want to give me the painting, you can just say so. There's no need to deceive me."
Song Fuqiang, who had been smiling just now, flew into a rage when he heard Xu Qingqing's words.
"Miss Xu Qingqing, what do you mean by these words?"
"Even if you're the winner, you can't just make baseless accusations! Isn't 'Bird Bell and Slim Bamboo' already in your hands?"
Song Fuqiang glared at Xu Qingqing. The others were also attracted by his raised voice and looked over.
Everyone thought Xu Qingqing was being unreasonable and making a scene for no reason.
The painting was clearly in her hands. How could she still accuse others?
Xu Qingqing sneered. The coldness in her eyes grew bit by bit.
"I wanted 'Bird Bell and Slim Bamboo', but what did you give me?"
"Wasn't it the one you just chose yourself?" Song Fuqiang stared closely at Xu Qingqing.
"Humph." Xu Qingqing scoffed.
"Boss Song, it's a pity you don't go into the movie industry. You'd definitely win an Oscar for your acting skills!"
Xu Qingqing sneered twice and looked at the scroll in her hand with disgust.
"I was just thinking how could a painting worth over ten million be given away so easily. It turns out Boss Song is just pretending to be generous."
As soon as Xu Qingqing said this, everyone was stunned.
"Xu Qingqing, what do you mean?"
Song Fuqiang had been in the business world for a long time. How could he not understand what Xu Qingqing was saying?
Song Fuqiang's face turned ashen. "Xu Qingqing, are you saying that the 'Bird Bell and Slim Bamboo' I gave you is a fake?"
"Otherwise?" Xu Qingqing unfurled the scroll in her hand and retorted.
"I advise you not to just open the painting casually. What if you damage it?" Song Fuqiang was a bit nervous seeing Xu Qingqing's casual attitude.
Xu Qingqing gave him a strange look. "Even if I damage the painting, it's mine. I'll just take it away."
"But what I want to take away is the real painting, not a fake one."
Hearing Xu Qingqing's words, people finally understood why she was being "unreasonable".
"Xu Qingqing is saying this painting is a fake. How is that possible?"
"There are so many antique masters here. If it were a fake, they'd see it right away!"
"I knew a painting worth over ten million couldn't be given away so easily!"
The people at the party were divided into two groups. One group thought Xu Qingqing was being unreasonable, while the other was skeptical of Song Fuqiang.
"Miss Xu Qingqing, spreading rumors is against the law!" Song Fuqiang's face looked as ugly as if he had swallowed a fly.
"Whether I'm spreading rumors or not, everyone will know as soon as they take a look."
Xu Qingqing fully unfurled the scroll.
"Everyone, take a good look. Is this painting the same as the one I chose?"
Everyone's eyes fell on the painting. Many people could tell at a glance that the painting in Xu Qingqing's hand was exactly the same as the seventh painting.
"It's clearly the same. How can you say it's a fake?"
"Although the two paintings look the same, they're only similar in appearance. A fake is a fake. No matter how it's disguised, it can never be real!"
Xu Qingqing looked at Song Fuqiang disdainfully.