Chapter 12

When Duff Klein heard that all the relatives who had once stood with him in mocking Alan Yager had now turned against him, he felt as if a slap had been delivered to his face.

Indeed, Tang Bohu's painting is far more valuable than his own nine-foot-tall Blood Coral plant.

Yet none of the Klein family could believe that Alan Yager had actually discovered the painting within a painting.

"Hmph, Alan Yegel—don't think just because the painting bears the name' Tang Yin 'it's an authentic work by Tang Bohu."

My cousin just said it was a painting by Zheng Banqiao! Who knows if this "Hundred Flowers in Full Bloom" painting is also fake?

"If you're capable, show it to my grandmother!"

At this moment, the room resembled a beautiful woman on the verge of being bullied, clutching her last remaining veil of privacy.

Mrs.Klein glanced at Alan Yager, then narrowed her eyes and said, "This painting is a forgery, Bethel Klein—how could you still argue after being exposed?"

"No, Grandma, listen carefully—this painting is real; you must believe me," Beth Klein said, her voice trembling as if struck by lightning, and she quickly explained.

"That's enough! You dare cause such a disturbance at my birthday banquet? Get out of here right now, and leave with your useless husband," Mrs.Klein snapped, slamming her hand on the table in anger.

"Alright, cousin, stop begging. A fake thing is just a fake—it can't become real no matter what you say," Duff Klein said mockingly beside him.

"You! Duff Klein, wait here."

Belleth Klein was escorted out of the building by the security guard who had entered.

"How about it—how did you react to Belissa back then? Now I'm simply asking Mr.Klein to apologize to her, and you can't help but react?" Alan Yegel looked at Duff Klein with a faint smile, yet the smile lacked any warmth.

"Alright, Alan Yager—just wait here. I'll report the situation to Grandpa right away; you're done for." Duff Klein knew full well that staying there would serve no purpose and would only invite Alan Yager's ridicule, so he said those harsh words and stormed out.

"Well, let's see what tricks that old man can come up with," Alan Yegel said disdainfully as he watched Duff Klein leave in a panic.

"Alan Yager, wouldn't Grandpa be angry with us if you did this?" Bethel Klein witnessed the entire incident, stepped forward, and looked at Alan Yager with concern on her face.

Belis, don't worry—Duff Klein is just a mere flea; he won't cause any trouble. Rest assured they'll apologize to you promptly. I won't let you suffer even a little more hardship.

Allen Yegel gazed into Bethel Klein's bright, large eyes and spoke with deep affection.

"I trust you, but don't hold yourself too low. If you're well, I'll be at ease," Bethel Klein said gently.

Well, let's go eat. You can sit on the sofa for a while; I'll cook dinner.

Alan Yegel turned around and walked into the kitchen.

Early the next morning, Alan Yegel got up promptly, prepared a bowl of instant noodles in the kitchen, and settled into the living room to enjoy a leisurely meal.

Just as he was quietly hiding the secrets of his delicious recipes, his phone suddenly rang.

When he saw the name "Gail Lanley" displayed on the call ID, Alan Yeger was filled with a strong sense of doubt.

What does Gail Lanley need from him?

After graduating from university, he never contacted Gail Lanley again—after all, she had once been the campus beauty queen, one of Seattle's Four Great Beauties, and the embodiment of elegance for the Lanley family in the city.

Although Alan Yager maintained a fairly good relationship with Gail Lanley, he stopped contacting his college classmates after graduation and never followed up on what Gail might need from him.

With doubts in mind, Jiang Qing pressed the call button on her phone.

But as soon as the call was connected, I heard a coquettish greeting coming from the other end.

“ husband ……”

"Phew!"

The two words spoken by Gail Lanley made Alan Yeger unable to hold back and immediately spat out the noodles.

I wiped my mouth with a tissue and quickly asked.

"Miss, didn't you take your medicine this morning?"

As she listened to Alan Yegel's complaints, Gale Lanley on the other end of the phone grunted heavily.

"Pah, you haven't taken your medicine yet!"

As a man who doesn't even understand romance, how could Bethel Klein still have any interest in you? What a complete blind!

At Gail Lanley's displeased tone, Alan Yegel gave a cold laugh.

"Miss, you seem quite free today—just called me early in the morning to discuss matters. My wife isn't blind, after all."

“ you ……”

Gail Lanley felt she really couldn't compete with Alan Yager when it came to arguing.

Without further ado, he stopped talking nonsense with him and began discussing the actual matter at hand.

I'm going to attend a reunion with my high school classmates in a moment.

Come with me, and when the time comes, just say it's my boyfriend.

This time, Alan Yegel finally understood: it turned out that the young lady of the Lanley family also intended to use herself as a shield.

After finishing his last bite of noodles, Alan Yegel leisurely lit a cigarette.

He took a deep breath, as if inhaling mist and clouds, then spent a full half minute fiddling with his fingers like a seasoned fortune-teller.

It seemed only after arriving at a satisfactory conclusion that Gail Lanley responded.

"Acting as a boyfriend, right? That's not impossible! But you'll have to pay extra."

Twenty years together; fifty years of kisses. Anything deeper depends on my mood.

Of course, just chatting isn't out of the question! Starting from 1,000 characters, billed by the hour, and punctuation symbols are half price!

If Gail Lanley could have climbed up the telephone line to get to Alan Yager right then, she would have devoured that bastard alive.

Let alone being one of Seattle's three prominent families—the Lanley family is practically the heart and soul of the city.

Simply by virtue of being the Fire Rose of Seattle—a title shared with Belissa Klein as the city's most beautiful woman.

If you want to find a guy to pretend to be your boyfriend, the queue would stretch from Seattle all the way to Yanjing.

But now this utterly incompetent son-in-law, Alan Yegel, not only sounds quite reluctant, but even demands money from me.

At that moment, Gail Lanley let out a few cold laughs.

"Alan Yager, if I go see Bethel Klein, and then..."

"Please, miss... Can't I just be afraid of you?"

But there's no need for you to pick me up now—otherwise my wife might misunderstand. What should I do?

Give me your address, and I'll take a taxi there directly. But just one thing: you'll need to reimburse the taxi fare!

I heard the "beep" sound from Alan Yegel's phone as he hung up.

At the Seattle Lanley Family Villa, Gale Lanley let out a hysterical "Ah!"

She's about to leave now; it'd be best if the car kept going fast for a while longer so she could run over that damn Alan Yeger.

However, since it was a class reunion, Gale Lanley still dressed up carefully.

Dressed in a fiery red gown complemented by her equally vibrant red hair, she exuded the aura of a dancing flame spirit—intense, alluring, and utterly captivating.

Half an hour later, Miss Lei drove to the Seattle Golden Dragon Hotel, where the class reunion was taking place.

As soon as I got out of the car, I saw Alan Yegel waiting there well in advance.

"Why are you wearing this?"

It was clear that Gail Lanley was not particularly satisfied with Alan Yager's lifelong plain attire—his white printed T-shirt and wash-white jeans.

As the eldest daughter of the Lanli family, she had to pretend that even her boyfriend needed to dress properly.

This isn't embarrassing you right now.