Xu Xiyan went home in agony.
The next morning, she went to the pawn shop in Peijing again and pleaded with the front manager.
"I didn't lose my receipt, it was destroyed in the washing machine! Can you please cut me some slack? I've already brought 100,000 yuan and five years of interest to repay the loan. I beg you, please return my violin to me!"
No matter how much she begged, the front manager wouldn't budge.
"I'm sorry, madam. You didn't show up with the receipt in time, and the item has been processed for the overdue loan. It has entered the auctioning circulation. I really can't do more to help you. I am truly sorry."
The front manager had said all he could say. Xu Xiyan had to give up.
She inquired about the auction and learned that her mother's violin would be auctioned at the Peijing Hongye Auction House at noon that day.
Xu Xiyan panicked. Oh no! If the violin was sold off, she might not have the chance to find it again.
Xu Xiyan rushed off to the bank and spent the whole morning at the counter withdrawing all the money from her fixed-deposits that she had made when she was abroad. She also withdrew all the money she had earned from doing livestreams with Ying Bao and put them all onto one card.
With 100,000 yuan in her bag, plus the amount on her card, she had more than 600,000 yuan.
Xu Xiyan had a bit of hope. Five years ago, the violin was pawned for 100,000 yuan. Now, she had six times as much. It should certainly be possible for her to get the violin back.
Finally, it was noon. There was no time for lunch, and Xu Xiyan rushed off with her bag to Hongye Auction House, Peijing's largest.
As she hurried through the doors of the building, she accidentally bumped into a proud and elegant looking woman with long hair fanning over her shoulders.
When Xu Xiyan had returned from abroad, she didn't know about the young violin diva, Xue Yating, who had just gotten famous locally.
Xue Yating wore heels ten centimeters high, and beige Chanel-style dress. She had kept an elegant posture, but was knocked a little off balance by Xu Xiyan.
Just as the accident was happening, a janitor passed by with a garbage trolley. Xue Yating staggered and fell onto the garbage trolley, staining her dress.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" Xue Yating shrieked.
She picked herself up and stared at her skirt, frowning. "Look how dirty my clothes are! Don't you know how expensive this dress is?"
Xu Xiyan quickly apologized, "I'm so, so sorry! I was moving too quickly and I didn't see you. I'm really sorry! If your clothes are dirty, let me send it for dry cleaning for you."
Xu Xiyan had already apologized and was willing to help dry clean her clothes, but Xue Yating was arrogant, and seemed committed to being unreasonable.
"Do you even have time to go to the laundry shop now? What am I supposed to wear? Are you blind? Where's your brain?"
Seeing that the woman was being difficult, Xu Xiyan began to lose her patience.
"Miss, it was unintentional. I've already apologized and I'm willing to help you dry clean your clothes. What else do you want?"
Xue Yating crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. It was clear as day that she was going to stay angry.
"What if the dry cleaning ruins it, huh? Do you really think that I can't afford the dry cleaning fee? This is a limited edition shirt, and you'll just have to buy me a new one!"
The verbal fight escalated, and a crowd began to gather around them.
"How much can your shirt possibly be worth?"
"100,000 yuan! Can you even afford it? Someone as plain as you could never earn the money to buy this kind of shirt!" Xue Yating looked down at Xu Xiyan and her plain clothes.
Yet Xu Xiyan was not as pathetic as Xue Yating made her out to be. She'd been working for hours without rest. Her hair was messy, and she didn't have time to change her clothes. It's true, her appearance wasn't one which people would expect to see in the Hongye Auction House.
To settle the trouble with Xue Yating, Xu Xiyan opened her handbag and threw it next to Xue Yating's leg. "Only 100,000? Then I'll buy all of your clothes!"
The handbag fell onto the floor, and a few bundles of cash rolled from the bag. One look was enough to know that there was more than 100,000 yuan in that handbag.
Xue Yating was stunned by the massive amount of money. She never thought that someone like Xu Xiyan would carry such a fortune with her. She was embarrassed in front of everyone and had nowhere to run.
Xu Xiyan was not someone who would submit to such a bully. She stood in the middle of the crowd and smiled.
"I believe everyone has heard this lady say that her clothes cost more than 100,000, and that I won't be able to afford it. I have the money with me now, so I believe everything she's wearing belongs to me, am I right?"
The crowd that had been watching the fight all agreed.
"Yes! Of course, you're right! You're willing to spend the 100,000. Naturally the clothes belong to you now."
Xu Xiyan stared at the lady standing before her. "I believe you've heard what the people said. I've already paid for the clothes. Please remove all your clothes for me. Right this instance!"
The crowd began chanting. "Strip! Strip! Strip!"
"You… you… you won't get away with this!"
Xue Yating was furious at how she was being pressured by Xu Xiyan. Of course, she couldn't strip in front of the crowd.
At that moment, a well-dressed, wealthy businessman walked towards Xue Yating and asked, "Tingting, what's wrong?"
As soon as Xue Yating saw that it was her dad, she began to wail.
"Daddy!" She started crying, telling him everything that had just happened.
Her father, Xue Zhengrong, listened to her story, but to him, it was not that big of a matter. He understood his daughter's temper, that she had always liked being the center of attention. He didn't make any further comments on the situation and told the crowd that it was a simple misunderstanding. Then he took off with his daughter.
"Alright, Tingting. Stop crying okay? I'll buy you new clothes later. Come on, didn't you say that you wanted to get a specific violin? Let's go get it for you, shall we?"
Xue Zhengrong continued to comfort his daughter as they walked into the auction house.
After the Xues have left, the crowded started to gossip.
"Hey, wasn't that Xue Yating? The violin diva who just rose to fame?"
"Now that you mention it, you might be right. I was wondering where I'd seen her before. Oh, man, she's much prettier in person.
But I will say, she really has a bad temper."
"Tell me about it. So many rich kids these days being spoiled by their parents…."
"I've heard her perform live once. She definitely has the skill. I think she's going to perform live at Peijing Art Gallery next month."
…
Xu Xiyan stood listening to the crowd's conversation.
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