The staff dragged Guo Xiu away and began to pack up the guqin. Guo Xiu's eyes were red, and she screamed hysterically, "No! No way! Go quickly!!"
"Don't you want Master You's guidance? Don't you want to be a rising star in the guqin world? Don't you know how important that zither is to you? Go stop them!"
Guo Xiu was so anxious that her words were sharp, provoking the girl. Finally, the girl mustered up the courage and rushed forward.
Although this zither did not belong to her, she only needed to possess it for a little longer, just a little longer would be enough.
She had never played such a good zither. With its enhancement, her future would be secured!
As the girl scrambled for the zither, Guo Xiu struggled to break free from the restraint and lunged forward.
"Hum—"
The guqin fell to the ground, its lingering sound echoing.
"Ah!" Guo Xiu knelt down, touching the broken carvings, and was overcome with grief.
The Deng family's logo was also smashed and cracked.
Guo Xiu crawled a few more steps to the "Deng Family" logo and touched it affectionately.
"You damned people!" she cursed at the staff standing stiffly nearby. "This is a Deng family zither, such a precious zither destroyed just like that!"
As she cursed, she actually burst into tears, looking as if she had lost her parents, as if the zither belonged to her.
"Oh, my zither, my little darling's hope is gone like this, why were you fighting over it! This is the only time in my life I've seen a Deng family master's zither, and it's broken!"
"Ah, zither! Zither."
She wailed and hugged the Deng family logo, her eyes bloodshot and her face full of resentment, as if the staff had deliberately broken the zither.
The staff looked at each other, large beads of sweat dripping from their foreheads. They probably knew a little about the value of this zither, so they were very careful when moving it. Who knew Guo Xiu was so reckless, rushing forward as soon as she said it, and even lunging at it...
Now that the zither was broken by Guo Xiu in front of Qin Ningyi, what should they do?
Qin Ningyi's expression was also not good. He had searched for a long time to find a Deng family carved guqin. Money was secondary, but if he had to find another one, it would not be as good as this.
The staff who led them there quickly walked over and pulled Guo Xiu away. "You rushed over and broke the zither, crying is useless. I told you properly, but you didn't listen. Now Mr. Qin is here, apologize to him yourself!"
"Mr. Qin," he turned to Qin Ningyi, his attitude very respectful, "We have other zithers here. Would you like to take a look? I'll apply to the higher-ups to give you one as compensation. This was indeed our work error."
As he spoke, he glanced at Guo Xiu, feeling disgusted as if he had eaten a plate of flies.
"Let her pay the full price," Qin Ningyi said calmly, his expression not good. He looked at Guo Xiu's frenzied appearance.
Money was a small matter, but the destruction of the zither could not be easily dismissed. Moreover, she had also spoken disrespectfully to Huo Rou. How could she not pay the price?
Guo Xiu, who had been using her crying and complaining to try and shift the blame to the staff, thought that since the zither was expensive, it would be better for everyone to bear the cost than for her to bear it alone.
But her plan had failed. Now Qin Ningyi directly asked her to compensate for the loss.
Could she afford to compensate for it?
"How can I afford this? It was they who wanted to snatch it..." Guo Xiu stammered and looked away. "What's wrong with letting us use it for a while? Anyway, you'll just look at it if you have it."
The staff were so angry they jumped up. "What are you talking about? Since Mr. Qin can persuade the higher-ups to sell this guqin, there must be a reason. What do you know?"
Guo Xiu remained stubborn. "What difference would it make if our little darling used it? You know what kind of person Master You is. If our little darling is valued by her, wouldn't the Classical Research Institute also benefit?"
They argued incessantly. Qin Ningyi turned to Huo Rou, his eyes filled with apology. "I promised to prepare it for you, but then..."
"However, I have other preparations."
It was just that none of them were as good as this.
Huo Rou smiled and held his hand. Knowing that his grandmother liked guqin, why would she worry about what gift to give?
"It's okay, it's just a guqin," she said with a smile.
This sentence immediately drew Guo Xiu's fire. "What do you mean 'just a guqin'?!"
"This is a guqin made by Master Deng himself!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "It was too light to say you don't understand guqin! How could someone like you compose such a piece of music? Was it written by someone else?"
Guo Xiu was beyond caring. Since she couldn't afford to pay, she might as well vent her anger.