"I didn't!" The young master was flustered, "I..."
"Yaolin!" a stern male voice boomed, "You disappear the moment I turn my back, and you don't even see where we are! Letting you run wild like this! Don't disgrace the Gu family!"
Hearing the voice, the young master shivered. His previous vibrant demeanor vanished, and even his clear, bright eyes dimmed slightly.
Seeing the newcomer, Xia Qingtian's lips curled downward. Was this Gu Yaoqing still alive?
"Xia Qingtian?" Gu Yaoqing also spotted Xia Qingtian. His gaze swept over her, but he couldn't find any words of depreciation. In the end, he could only snort and say, "Gu Yaoyang really treats you well, giving up such a rare opportunity. He's truly generous!"
"Mr. Gu, you say that, but don't you treat your wife well too?" Xia Qingtian plastered a fake smile on her face and deflected the attack, "I presume Mrs. Gu is enjoying her husband's homemade 'husband-loving' bento boxes every day in prison, right?"
"You!" Gu Yaoqing's expression changed drastically when Xia Qingtian retorted.
Everyone knew that Yu Linwan was a scoundrel who had committed evil deeds. He wished he could distance himself from her. Yet, Xia Qingtian was speaking about it so openly in public, wasn't this slapping him in the face?
As expected, the moment Xia Qingtian finished speaking, heads turned. Their gazes were teasing, and smiles were laced with mockery.
"You! Don't speak nonsense! I divorced Yu Linwan long ago!" Gu Yaoqing said sternly, "I was deceived by her back then!"
"Yes, everyone knows that you, Mr. Gu, are the true victim!" Xia Qingtian said, blinking her large eyes, "So, the reports of your infidelity and those explicit photos with your company's artists were all malicious framing, right?"
"You! You're talking nonsense! Truly, it's difficult to deal with women and petty people!" Gu Yaoqing's face flushed red and then turned green. "You!!"
"What about me? Mr. Gu, my Yaoyang is kind-hearted and mild-tempered. You can overlook his past oppression in consideration of the Gu family patriarch, but I'm different." Xia Qingtian's lips curved into a smile, and her eyebrows arched, "I'm much harder to deal with than petty people. Petty people know how to assess the situation and curry favor. I don't. Whoever provokes me, I will repay them a hundredfold, a thousandfold, until death!"
"How dare you!" Gu Yaoqing's eyes were filled with darkness, "You want to make me lose face, don't you? Look at what you are!"
"Brother, perhaps... let's just drop it..." Gu Yaolin hadn't expected that he just wanted to see what the woman his favorite brother fancied was like. Who knew it would attract Gu Yaoqing and escalate to this point!
Seeing the onlookers enjoying the spectacle, Gu Yaolin swallowed nervously and wanted to step forward to stop Gu Yaoqing, "Brother, you..."
"Get lost!" Gu Yaoqing shoved Gu Yaolin impatiently, glaring fiercely at him.
Gu Yaolin nearly fell when Gu Yaoqing pushed him. Fortunately, Xia Qingtian was quick and steadied him.
Being supported by Xia Qingtian made Gu Yaolin even more embarrassed.
"After seducing Gu Yaoyang, you've come to seduce Gu Yaolin? Xia Qingtian, are you only targeting men from our Gu family? What, are there no men left in the entertainment industry?" Gu Yaoqing's anger flared further upon seeing Xia Qingtian's action, "If I were you..."
"That's right, after seducing Gu Yaoyang, I'll seduce Gu Yaolin," Xia Qingtian interrupted Gu Yaoqing with a cold sneer, "I just won't seduce you. If I were you, I'd really need to reflect. You can't compare to Gu Yaoyang above, and you can't compare to Gu Yaolin below."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xia Qingtian glanced at Gu Yaoqing from his waist down to his thighs and scoffed, "Judging by the mosaic quality of those scandalous photos, you're just at the level of a middle schooler who's just started developing. What right do you have to criticize me? Based on your mini-size? Should I also praise Mr. Gu's photos for being so high-definition, so~ kawaii?"
The moment Xia Qingtian said this, the onlookers who were silently watching couldn't help themselves and burst into laughter.
Gu Yaoqing's blush had already spread to his neck. The muscles in his face twitched, "Xia! Qing! Tian!"
"I'm here," Xia Qingtian replied with a gentle smile, "Mr. Gu, do you have any instructions?"
Gu Yaoqing clenched his fists by his side and immediately called out loudly to a Lei Corporation staff member, "What kind of security are you running! Letting this kind of actress sneak in!"
The staff member hurried over, attempting to mediate.
"Do you want your Lei Corporation's auction tonight to proceed smoothly, or not? The security outside is so strict, and now you're letting this uncouth person sneak in!" Gu Yaoqing berated loudly, "Check her invitation! See who she came with and kick them all out!"
"Mr. Gu, please calm down. Please wait a moment." The staff member looked at Xia Qingtian with a troubled expression, "I'm sorry, please calm down too."
Lei Corporation's security had always been strict; there was no way someone could just sneak in.
Presumably, it was a dispute between guests, and they were caught in the middle.
"It's fine. Didn't Mr. Gu want to check my invitation?" Xia Qingtian took out the highest-tier invitation from her handbag and handed it to the staff member, "My name is Xia Qingtian. You can cross-reference the identity information on the invitation. I was personally invited by Master Lei, and the Lei family's head steward personally delivered the invitation."
The staff member didn't even need to open it to check. Just by looking at the cover of the invitation, they knew this was a distinguished guest.
Upon seeing the invitation Xia Qingtian presented, Gu Yaoqing's face began to turn from red to black, and his expression grew increasingly grim.
He had assumed Xia Qingtian was only able to get in through Gu Yaoyang's connections.
If he couldn't humiliate Gu Yaoyang, couldn't he humiliate Gu Yaoyang's woman?
Gu Yaoqing had already "used up" Gu Yaoyang's previous girlfriends; what was this Xia Qingtian compared to them!
Who knew he would repeatedly be thwarted. This was something his noble status as the eldest grandson of the Gu family absolutely could not tolerate!
"Xia Qingtian, I'll let you off this time! You wait for me!" Gu Yaoqing gritted his teeth and issued a cold warning before preparing to leave.
"Did I say you could leave?" Xia Qingtian's tone was indifferent, "I've already shown my invitation. Where is Mr. Gu's invitation?"
"You!" Gu Yaoqing's face froze. He had entered with the Gu family patriarch, so the invitation was naturally not with him. He was just looking for the lost Gu Yaolin.
"No way, no way..." Xia Qingtian, seeing that Gu Yaoqing couldn't produce an invitation, put on an expression of disbelief and said, "Could it be that someone without an invitation themselves is trying to cover up their guilt by deliberately questioning others after sneaking in..."
"Tsk..." Laughter erupted from the surroundings. The gazes directed at Gu Yaoqing now held a hint of contempt.
"Xia Qingtian! How dare you!" Gu Yaoqing's eyes widened, "You're maliciously retaliating against me! Are you even human!"
"Hmm..." Xia Qingtian propped her chin with one hand, her smile sweet, "Why... wouldn't I be?"