Return to before death

Upon seeing the somewhat familiar figure, Zong Zhengqing recalled the rumors he had recently heard and the vague memory of Yan Ran saying goodbye to a strange man in his car. He had a vague sense of foreboding, which made him uneasy.

"Seven hundred thousand!" Zong Zhengqing continued to raise the price.

"Nine hundred thousand!" Sheng Xuanling still spoke with an air of disdain.

"One million!" Zong Zhengqing calmly continued to raise the price, which was still within his acceptable range.

"1.2 million!"

"One million three hundred thousand!"

……

"Four million...nine hundred thousand!" The price, approaching five million...converts to thirty-five million RMB. The auction price had long exceeded Zongzheng Qing's original acceptable range.

If Zong Zhengqing still can't recognize that Sheng Xuanling is the man in the car that day—Yan Ran's "cheating partner," and that Yan Ran is the woman with whom the rumors have been circulating recently—who has been frequently seen with Young Master Sheng and even personally delivers lunch to the company every day—then he is a fool.

But he was unwilling to accept it. His wife, his lover, had been taken away by the other party, and his once happy family had been destroyed by him...

Now, even the auction item he had his eye on, the "glamour of the heart" he wanted to use to win back his wife's heart today, is it going to be stolen away by this person?

He was unwilling, unwilling, unwilling...

He thought that even if it exceeded the budget, as long as it was within his means, he wanted to be brave and resolute just this once, even if he was scolded by his mother, he wanted to be less cowardly in front of his wife, with whom he was not yet divorced.

"Nine million nine hundred and fifty thousand!" As soon as the words were spoken, a chorus of boos erupted from the surrounding crowd. To put it in perspective, a price of nearly ten million US dollars is equivalent to seventy million RMB. For a mid-sized charity fundraising gala like this, this is already an astronomical price. Moreover, this gemstone jewelry is merely an early and relatively ordinary piece by Layton. It has just been released and is only a story; its collectible value cannot yet be fully realized.

Watching the two bid against each other until they reached this point, Yan Ran frowned in annoyance, not understanding what they were arguing about. She was not so presumptuous as to think that the arrogant man was doing it for her.

As for why Zong Zhengqing was involved, she didn't want to care right now.

"As expected of Young Master Sheng, spending a fortune just to win a smile from a beauty, what a bold move."

"Yes, the Sheng family's wealth is nothing to them, not even a few tens of millions. But what about that kid from the Zong family...?"

The whispers reached Zongzheng Qing's ears, and in the next second, he felt as if he had fallen into an abyss, into boundless darkness where no one could call for help or respond... despair.

He received a challenge to a duel from the other party. For just 50,000 US dollars, he might be able to win this game.

But at this moment, he became timid and retreated. The man who kept raising the price boldly had a net worth of hundreds of billions. He didn't care about this money. He could earn back this amount in just a few days at Shengshi Haoting. As for him, a small Zong family, if he continued to compete, who knew if that person would offer an even more outrageous price.

He tightened his grip on the person in his arms, half-embracing Yan Ran tightly, at least for the moment she was still by his side.

At that moment, he was like a dying fish washed ashore, desperately opening his mouth to breathe air, trying to live for a few more seconds.

Perhaps, more accurately, they are survivors clinging tightly to spider silk on the edge of a cliff.

Yan Ran shifted uncomfortably. The pressure from the person beside her made her feel as if she were about to be strangled to death in their arms at any moment.

"Don't move, Ranran...don't move...just let me hold you for a little while, just for a little while, be good...don't move."

He ignored the final pronouncement from the stage and the sympathetic and puzzled looks from those around him.

Zong Zhengqing leaned down and whispered in Yan Ran's ear, his face gently stroking her delicate earlobe, just like in the past, just like when Yan Ran stayed by his side and helped him through the crisis when the Zong family faced one last time.

A warm breath caressed her neck, a plea whispered in her ear, and intimate gestures... It felt like stepping back into the past, to the time when the two were pledged their lives to each other. Yan Ran was momentarily dazed, as if recalling those warm memories of the past, but the next second, everything the person in front of her did flooded her mind like a tidal wave, including the ugly face beneath his gentle exterior.

The moment she was shot, the instant she was pushed out to shield her from the knife, the despair she felt made her realize she didn't want to repeat the same mistake, didn't want to be hurt by this person again and again until she was completely broken.

She's already made her decision, hasn't she?

If looks could kill, then Yan Ran and Zong Zhengqing, who appeared to be intimately embracing in Sheng Xuanling's eyes at this moment, would have died hundreds or thousands of times over.

Yan Ran finally broke free from Zong Zhengqing's embrace. She thought that after today, they would have nothing to do with each other anymore.

Looking at his empty arms, Zong Zhengqing felt a sense of emptiness in his heart as well, and his disappointment was evident on his face.

“This woman…that’s right.”

Seeing Yan Ran's actions of distancing herself from Zong Zhengqing, Sheng Xuanling chuckled softly in a low, hoarse voice, her face full of defiance and smugness.

Liu Xinyin, who had been nestled affectionately beside him, didn't feel anything was wrong when she heard his words. Instead, she felt half of her body go weak at his deep, magnetic voice. She was full of confidence that her performance had pleased her beloved, so he had spent so much money for her.

"Xuanling, thank you. Actually, you don't need to go to so much trouble for me. Having you is enough for me." She looked at the man in front of her with a shy and happy expression, trying to show her love and virtue.

"Huh? Stupid woman, you don't actually think I did this for you, do you?"

His words were full of sarcasm and disdain.

Liu Xinyin's face turned pale instantly, her mind went blank, she couldn't understand how her "lovers," who had just been so happy, could...

He stammered as he asked his beloved, "Xuan...Xuan Ling, you...aren't you?"

"What do you think? Do you really consider yourself my fiancée?" Sheng Xuan's phoenix eyes were slightly raised, her long, slender fingers gently stroking the chin of the person in front of her. Her flirtatious tone made it seem as if she were teasing a lover, but the content... was not a funny joke.

"You... what do you mean? My sister has already acknowledged me! I'm the Sheng family's acknowledged fiancée!" Upon hearing the question, Liu Xinyin felt as if she had fallen into an icy hell...

He doesn't acknowledge her as his fiancée, just as he said before, their engagement can be nullified if he wants to.

Suddenly something occurred to me, "Could it be... because of that bitch? Because of her, you..."

"Snapped!"

A soft sound drew the attention of everyone around.

"Don't let me hear you say those three words again!" Sheng Xuanling's expression instantly turned cold, his tone filled with barely concealed rage.

"It really is her... Sheng Xuanling, don't forget! I was pregnant with your child! You can't do this! You have to take responsibility!" No longer caring about her status or the occasion, Liu Xinyin's intuition told her that if she didn't grab the person in front of her now, he would be taken away.