老司机试看午夜

They needed more leverage.

“You, come here,” Old Master LI commanded, walking up to LI Yanchen. “Come with me to the ancestral hall.”

LI Yanchen hid the hatred in his eyes. “Yes, Grandpa.”

**

That afternoon, at Si Fuqing’s studio.

Si Fuqing received a call from Raphael.

Raphael hadn’t returned to the Muston Dukedom and was currently inspecting other cities.

He expressed his admiration for her show and mentioned he would send her a box of gold before leaving.

Yuejian, listening in, shrugged. “What a pity. I really can’t expect anything from his intelligence.”

“It’s understandable,” Si Fuqing mused. “Third senior sister, if I sent you a message claiming to be your dead junior sister, would you believe it?”

“No,” Yuejian crossed her arms. “I would think you’re someone the second senior brother sent to prank me.”

Si Fuqing sighed. “Then others definitely won’t believe it.”

“I know exactly what you’re thinking, little junior sister,” Yuejian pinched her cheek. “Are you implying that I’m stupid?”

“Of course not,” Si Fuqing raised her hand in a mock serious gesture. “Third senior sister, you’re even smarter than me!”

At that moment, her phone rang.

It was Gu Huaiyan.

“Hello, Elder Gu,” Si Fuqing answered. “Go ahead, I’m listening.”

“The International Youth Cultural Exhibition is scheduled for March 4th,” Gu Huaiyan announced happily. “Your painting ‘Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains’ won first place. I’ve also arranged with the show producers to record an episode abroad, to let you shine.”

He had watched the two episodes of the medical grapoud and felt Cai Zhongnian’s approach wasn’t grand enough.

If it were him, he would have focused the camera directly on ‘Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains.’

Si Fuqing let out an uninterested “Oh.”

Gu Huaiyan was taken aback. “???”

He paused. “Can you be a bit more excited? I even secured an 800,000 bonus for you.”

“What?” Si Fuqing suddenly caught onto the key phrase. “800,000?”

Gu Huaiyan sighed, feeling a pang of pain. “Girl, in the art world, you shouldn’t place too much emphasis on money. You’ll find your work to be priceless.”

“I’m not an artist,” Si Fuqing retorted confidently. “I’m very mundane and superficial; I’m all about making money.”

Little Bai nodded repeatedly beside her.

Si Fuqing then asked, “So after the competition, can I sell my painting?”

Gu Huaiyan was speechless again.

Before he could respond, Si Fuqing muttered to herself, “Never mind, I won’t sell it. If it’s priceless, I’ll gift it to my boss. He loves history and is a fan of Emperor Yin. He’ll definitely like it.”

“No way!” Gu Huaiyan panicked. “Sell it to me, I’ll pay a billion!”

Si Fuqing hesitated.

As she weighed the importance of a billion yuan against Yu Xiheng, the doorbell rang.

Yuejian went to open the door, and Su Yang walked in with a basket of fruit.

“Elder Gu, we’ll talk later,” Si Fuqing said, ending the call. She then turned to Su Yang with concern. “How are things with the LI family?”

“Second Master LI has been dealt with,” Su Yang replied, frowning slightly. “But because of the LI Group’s—”

Si Fuqing finally looked up. “Are you saying that President LI used his potential to help the LI family enter the Free State as leverage, so Old Master LI only disowned Second Master Li and spared him?”

“Yes,” Su Yang nodded. “Big sister, what kind of place is the Free State?”

“It’s not a good place,” Si Fuqing said emotionlessly. “Only those who know nothing about it yearn to go there. The class system is rigid, and the common people have no rights. Technology has advanced, but their social system has regressed. It’s not worth going.”

Su Yang showed little interest, nodding slightly. “Dad said that both domestic and international prominent families want to enter the Free State.”

As for smaller families, it wasn’t that they didn’t want to go; they simply hadn’t heard of the place.

“So eager to get into the Free State? Fine,” Si Fuqing smiled, her eyes turning cold. “Tell the LI family that unless they deal with LI Yanchen, they can forget about entering the Free State in this lifetime. I mean what I say.”