Xu Qingqing's cold gaze landed on her uncle. The imposing aura around her suddenly rose, making her uncle not dare to reach out and grab the bag anymore.
The originally charming peach blossom eyes were now sealed by a thick layer of ice, coldly looking at everyone.
"I'll say it one more time. I didn't take the painting. Why should I show you my bag?"
"You're clearly guilty. If you didn't steal the painting, what's wrong with showing us your bag!" There was a confident smile on Gu Anrou's lips.
She had seen with her own eyes just now that Xu Qingqing had hidden the painting. It must be in the bag.
Xu Qingqing looked at Gu Anrou coldly and slowly took the bag off her arm.
"If I didn't take it, I can't just be wrongly accused by you for no reason."
"If you didn't take it, I'll kneel down and apologize to you!" Gu Anrou trusted her own eyes too much and blurted out without hesitation.
"Sure."
Since Gu Anrou had said such a thing, how could Xu Qingqing refuse? Her gaze then fell on her uncle on one side.
"Uncle, what about you? You were the one who suspected me the most just now. If I didn't take it, you're slandering me!"
Hearing Xu Qingqing's words, although her uncle felt a bit guilty, he felt that his authority as an elder had been undermined by Xu Qingqing.
He was Xu Qingqing's uncle!
How dare Xu Qingqing scold him to his face!
"If you didn't take this painting, I'll also apologize to you."
"The person you should apologize to is not me, but my parents. If there's no painting in my bag, you have to admit in front of everyone that you stole my father's painting."
"And you have to apologize to my father!"
A half - smile played on Xu Qingqing's lips. There was a confident smile on her face as if her uncle was bound to lose. She exuded an air of cold detachment that kept people at a distance.
It was true that Xu Qingqing had taken the painting, but it was definitely not in her bag. So when Xu Qingqing was making her demands, she said that the painting was not in her bag.
How dare a little girl make me apologize!
Her uncle was instantly so angry that his beard and eyes seemed to flare. His face turned red. He looked at Xu Qingqing coldly and cursed her in his heart.
This dead girl had been spoiled by her parents. She was not only full of mischief but also bullied her elders.
"Fine. As long as there's no painting in your bag, I'll definitely apologize to your father."
Hearing that they had all agreed, Xu Qingqing smiled faintly, opened her bag, and took out the things inside one by one.
Apart from some simple lip gloss, lipstick, and a small mirror, the rest was just a change purse. After taking out these things, the bag was completely empty.
After emptying the things, Xu Qingqing directly turned the bag upside down and shook it twice on the ground. Nothing came out.
"It's impossible. I clearly saw you hide the painting in the bag!" The smile on Gu Anrou's face instantly froze. Her face was ferocious and crazy. She rushed up and snatched Xu Qingqing's bag, rummaging through it frantically.
"There must be an interlayer. There must be a hidden pocket! Tell me where you hid the painting!"
Gu Anrou rummaged for a long time but didn't find a single piece of the painting. She directly threw Xu Qingqing's bag on the ground and turned to rummage through Xu Qingqing's palm - sized change purse.
She even twisted off the lid of Xu Qingqing's lip gloss.
Seeing her things in a complete mess, Xu Qingqing was instantly speechless.
Come on, can't you use your brain and think!
Could she stuff the painting into the lid of the lip gloss?
Gu Anrou rummaged through all the things but didn't find any trace of "Bird Bell and Thin Bamboo".
The guests who had just been shouting for Xu Qingqing to return the painting all fell silent. Her uncle's heart skipped a beat. He looked at the empty bag in disbelief.
What's going on? If Xu Qingqing didn't take the painting, who could have taken it?
Huang Tonghai was also stunned. He had originally thought that Xu Qingqing had taken the painting, but unexpectedly, there was nothing in her bag.
If that was the case, had a thief sneaked into his party?
Damn it! He hadn't even noticed that a thief had sneaked in!
Facing the guilty people, Xu Qingqing sighed and picked up her bag. The smooth black lacquer on the bag had been scratched by Gu Anrou's sharp fingernails.
"This bag is a limited - edition one. It's only been on the market in China for less than a week. This is the first time I've carried it, and you've scratched it."
"You have to buy me a new one!" Xu Qingqing held up the bag disdainfully and showed the scratches to Gu Anrou.
This bag was bought for her by Lu Chuanbai. She liked it very much and had always been reluctant to carry it before. She didn't expect it to be damaged the first time she carried it out.
"You were the one who stole the painting first. I was just trying to find the painting!" Gu Anrou retorted instinctively.
All the money in her family was barely enough to support the company. There was no extra money to buy a bag.
Moreover, judging from what Xu Qingqing had just said, limited - edition bags were very expensive. She simply didn't have the money.
"You said I stole something. My bag has been rummaged through in front of everyone, and there's nothing in it. If you dare to slander me again, I'll call the police."
Xu Qingqing's extremely beautiful face was calm, but her dark eyes were filled with a piercing cold light.
Xu Qingqing had made up her mind to take revenge on Gu Anrou today and deliberately provoked her.
"Right. The Gu family has been through so many things. They should really be out of money by now. It's normal that they can't afford a bag as expensive as mine."
"As long as Miss Gu can fulfill her promise to me just now and kneel down to apologize to me, I'll completely let it go."
Hearing Xu Qingqing say that her family was out of money, Gu Anrou was instantly enraged. She said defiantly, "Xu Qingqing, you don't know my family at all. How dare you say my family is out of money!"
"I'm telling you, our Gu family's business is booming, and we're very rich!"
"It's just a stupid bag. I'll definitely buy it for you!"
Seeing the furious Gu Anrou fall into the trap, the victorious smile on Xu Qingqing's face deepened.
Judging from Gu Anrou's eagerness to refute the rumor, it was obvious that her family was in a difficult situation.
"Ah, I thought the Gu family was at the end of its rope. I didn't expect them to still be able to come up with the money."
There was a strong sense of mockery in Xu Qingqing's tone. The corners of her eyes were slightly raised, with an irritating aggressiveness.
"Then I'll trouble Miss Gu to buy me a new bag. I'll return this bag to you then."
Saying that, Xu Qingqing slowly put her rummaged - through things back into the bag. She straightened her back and coldly looked at everyone.
"You've rummaged through my things. Shouldn't you fulfill your promise to me just now?"
"Miss Gu, you said just now that you would kneel down and apologize to me. If you don't keep your promise, my fragile heart will never recover."
A smile played on Xu Qingqing's lips. Her gaze landed on Gu Anrou, whose face was pale, looking very expectant.