"No, Jianping, that's not what I meant. Let me explain..."
Liao Yifan panicked and quickly reached out, trying to grab Qu Jianping to explain.
But before his hand could touch Qu Jianping, he saw a sharp glint in her eyes. She warned him, "Try touching me and see what happens?"
Liao Yifan immediately backed down, sheepishly retracting his hand.
Qu Jianping gave him a cold glance and walked away.
"I have only one request," Ying Chen said calmly, looking at Liao Yifan.
Liao Yifan, thinking Ying Chen was willing to abandon the sixteen billion yuan claim and accept something else, eagerly said, "You say it, you say it. I'll satisfy it!"
"Double the compensation for fakes."
"..." Liao Yifan instantly deflated like a pricked balloon and slumped back to the ground.
At this moment, Yan Yang also walked over, looking at Liao Yifan with disdain. "I remember your father, though not well-known, was at least a man! How could he have such a son, who dares not take responsibility for even this small sum of money?"
"This small sum of money?" Liao Yifan felt bitter, unable to express his distress.
For Yan Yang, sixteen billion might not be much.
But for him, sixteen billion was a truly astronomical figure.
Most importantly, this sixteen billion loss was enough to make him lose his father's trust and drop out of the running for the primary heir.
He had two older sisters and a younger brother.
Logically, he was the only male heir of suitable age, and the Liao family business was undoubtedly his.
But after this incident, his father would very likely temporarily entrust the family business to his two brothers-in-law, and then hand it over to his younger brother once he came of age!
And he, from then on, would become a universally despised failure!
"Young Master Liao, just admit it! Otherwise, not only will these many guests present look down on you, but the reputation of your Jiadeli Auction House will also suffer a fatal blow. At that time, the losses for the auction house will be more than just sixteen billion, perhaps ten times sixteen billion!"
At this point, Han Shixi also stepped forward, fanning the flames.
Liao Yifan closed his eyes in despair.
Although he really wanted to curse Han Shixi, he had to admit that Han Shixi was right.
Compared to the reputation of the auction house, sixteen billion was indeed insignificant.
A moment later, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes. "Alright! Our Jiadeli Auction House has always kept its promises. If we say double the compensation for fakes, it's double the compensation for fakes!"
"Someone, bring paper and pen! I don't have this much cash on hand right now. I'll write an IOU first. Within two months, I will definitely, absolutely transfer the compensation to your account!"
Soon, an auction house staff member brought paper and a pen.
Without a word, Liao Yifan quickly scribbled out an IOU and signed his name.
"Take a look!" After signing, Liao Yifan seemed to have shed all his stress and fear, becoming calm. He handed the IOU to Ying Chen.
Ying Chen glanced at it.
Liao Yifan hadn't played any tricks. It clearly stated that due to Shi Boqiong being a fake, according to the principle of double compensation for fakes, he owed Ying Chen sixteen billion yuan. He would repay it within two months.
"The number is wrong," Ying Chen said, raising an eyebrow after reading it.
Liao Yifan immediately panicked. "What's wrong? We agreed on double compensation for fakes. Do you still want to extort more? I'm telling you, so many people are watching! It's my mistake, Liao Yifan, and I won't shirk it; but it's not my mistake, and you won't extort another cent from me!"
The crowd below also showed surprise.
They thought Ying Chen genuinely wanted to take this opportunity to extort Liao Yifan.
Unexpectedly, Ying Chen said, "Although Shi Boqiong is not genuine, its inherent value remains. So you need to subtract Shi Boqiong's own value from the sixteen billion, and the remainder is the money you owe me."
"Well, let's calculate it at twenty percent of the original price!"
Liao Yifan was stunned, not expecting Ying Chen's so-called "wrong number" to mean this!
Moreover, Ying Chen did not calculate it at the ten percent price estimated by Expert Zheng, but directly at twenty percent!
This was equivalent to giving Liao Yifan eighty million yuan for free!
"You..." Liao Yifan was surprisingly moved for the first time.
"Correct it and hand it to her," Ying Chen said, pointing at Min Ziqiong, and then threw the IOU back to Liao Yifan, no longer paying attention to this matter.
He walked straight towards Qu Jianping.
As soon as Qu Jianping saw Ying Chen approaching, her heart suddenly began to race, and her earlobes turned red for some reason.
She stammered, wanting to say something.
But before she could decide what to say, she saw a hand reach out.
The palm was open, and inside was a round, spherical stone.
It was Shi Boqiong!
"Here, what you wanted."
Ying Chen looked at Qu Jianping and said.
"Although it's not a genuine piece, it's still quite valuable. Whether you keep it for collection or give it as a gift, it should be enough."
Qu Jianping, usually sharp and decisive, became uncharacteristically incoherent. "I... I can't... I was just... joking before..."
Ying Chen frowned upon hearing this.
What was wrong with this woman?
Why did she go back on her word twice?
If it weren't for the crowd, he would have really wanted to knock her down and snatch the necklace!
"A gentleman's word is his bond. We agreed."
"And you even gambled your Qu family's reputation."
Ying Chen said with a serious expression.
"..." Qu Jianping was instantly speechless.
The words "dense straight man" couldn't help but pop into her mind.
No wonder so many people online complained. Indeed, creatures like straight men were incomprehensible!
With a hint of resentment, Qu Jianping grabbed the six-character gold token necklace from her neck and threw it to Ying Chen. "Take it!"
Ying Chen caught it, and at the same time, he stuffed Shi Boqiong into Qu Jianping's hand, saying, "Thank you."
Then, without another word, he turned and left.
This made Qu Jianping stomp her feet and mutter in annoyance again.
At this time, Min Ziqiong also walked over with the corrected IOU.
After deducting one hundred and sixty million, Liao Yifan still owed Ying Chen 1.44 billion.
Ying Chen glanced at it to confirm there were no issues, then asked Min Ziqiong to put away the IOU, and the two walked towards the exit.
"Mr. Ying, wait for me!"
Seeing this, Yan Yang, ignoring the eight hundred million he had advanced, as the Jiadeli Auction House wouldn't dare to cheat him, quickly ran after them.
Han Shixi and Ma Zhiyuan exchanged glances.
Their boss had left, so why should the two of them linger?
They followed suit.
Only five people had left, but for some reason, the entire auction hall felt as empty as if fifty people had departed.
The remaining guests lost all enthusiasm and were too lazy to bid on other items.
And the snuff bottle sent for auction by Min Ziqiong's parents, which was estimated to fetch twenty to thirty million yuan.
Unexpectedly, it failed to sell, with the starting bid of five million!
"It's over!"
Min Ziqiong's parents were both dumbfounded.
"If the snuff bottle doesn't sell, we won't have enough to make up one hundred million. If we don't have one hundred million, we can't save Xiao Qing. What do we do now? My poor son!"
Min Ziqiong's mother wailed.
Min Ziqiong's father stood there, stunned.
The two of them were like ants on a hot pan, anxiously pacing, but with no solution.
Min Ziqiong's mother seemed to envision the scene of her son being dismembered because the ransom couldn't be paid.
Overwhelmed by anxiety, her vision went black, and she fainted.