Chapter 569

The Yan Family Patriarch and the Yan Family Matriarch exchanged a glance; it was true that the day before yesterday, Xu Tian and Yan Qingxue had brought many fruits and gifts back to the old mansion to dine with them, but as for whether Xu Tian had gone to cut fruit in the middle of that, they could not recall.

However, one only needed to verify such a matter with the domestic help to learn the truth, and even if all the maids could not remember, they could still pull the surveillance footage; therefore, Xu Tian would not go so far as to tell a lie that could be so easily debunked.

Amidst the surprised and astonished gazes of the crowd, the Yan Family Patriarch nodded: "It is true that Qingxue and Xiao Tian came back to dine with me the day before yesterday. As for whether he went to the kitchen, we can verify that with the servants or the chef working there."

Yan Jinsong and Su Xiuya breathed a quiet sigh of relief upon hearing this.

They had believed all along that Xu Tian would not steal Yan Hongyu's watch, and now that they heard Xu Tian explain the reason, they were even more convinced that he had been framed by Su Xiuya.

Yan Qingxue also reacted and stood up to testify for Xu Tian: "That's right, this watch is Xu Tian's. I saw he wasn't wearing it before and thought he was just worried about damaging such a priceless watch and couldn't bear to wear it. I didn't expect that it was actually stolen by you, Second Aunt. You stole the watch and then turned around to frame Xu Tian as a thief; do you have no shame?"

"Yan Qingxue, don't you go twisting the truth here. This watch clearly belongs to our Hongyu, how could I have stolen it?" Yan Ershen was furious, pointing at Yan Qingxue's nose as she cursed, "Do you think you can clear Xu Tian of the thief's name just by saying that?"

"Second Aunt, don't be stubborn," Xu Tian said with disappointment, "The reason you refuse to admit it and remain so emboldened is simply because you thought I had no evidence to expose you."

"If you had only stolen my watch, I wouldn't intend to hold it against you; I would just consider it an engagement gift from me, as his older brother, to Hongyu. But you shouldn't have used this watch to frame me for theft. This time, I will not indulge you again."

"You little beast, if you dare to spout nonsense again, I'll beat you to death!" Yan Ershen continued to clamor and curse, "Since you keep saying I stole your watch and framed you, then produce the evidence! If you have no evidence, then shut your mouth!"

Xu Tian sneered upon hearing this: "Then Second Aunt, what evidence do you have that I stole the watch?"

"What a joke!" Yan Ershen rolled her eyes, "The watch was found in your bag, what other evidence do you need?"

Xu Tian said with composure: "I am asking what evidence you have to prove that this watch belongs to Yan Hongyu?"

"Nonsense, how could I not recognize my own son's watch? Besides, this watch was an engagement gift given to Hongyu by my future daughter-in-law!"

Yan Hongyu, with a livid expression, took hold of Xu Miaoyin's hand beside him. Xu Miaoyin immediately understood and spoke in a soft voice: "This watch is indeed the engagement gift I gave to Hongyu. There can be no mistake."

Xu Tian sneered: "Second Aunt, Hongyu, I didn't expect that in order to frame me, you would even convince Miss Xu to lie together."

Xu Miaoyin frowned with some displeasure, thinking to herself whether this kid Xu Tian couldn't accept her engagement to Yan Hongyu and had suffered some kind of shock.

This watch was clearly what she had bought for Yan Hongyu; how could Xu Tian be so righteous in saying this watch was his own?

It wasn't just Xu Miaoyin who was surprised; all the guests present could not understand Xu Tian's behavior.

"This kid has too much nerve, caught red-handed stealing, and yet he still wants to turn around and frame the Second Young Master Yan!"

"Who knows, a grown man who makes a mistake and doesn't dare to admit it—that's truly shameful!"

"I despise cowards who dare to do things but don't dare to own up to them the most. If he had admitted it immediately, I would still think he had some backbone."

Just as the surrounding guests were pointing fingers at Xu Tian, Xu Tian spoke again, unhurriedly: "Since you all want evidence, then I will give you evidence."

"Heh, I'd like to see what evidence you can produce!" Yan Ershen sneered.

She did not believe for a second that Xu Tian could prove this watch was his.

"Second Aunt, for the sake of us being family, I will give you one more chance. If you admit to stealing my watch now, I can let bygones be bygones."

Xu Tian's gaze swept across the surroundings, and seeing those looks of disdain or mockery, a mocking smile curled at the corners of his lips.

"I will ask you one last time: are you certain that this watch belongs to Yan Hongyu, right?"

Yan Ershen stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Xu Tian like a shrew: "Of course I am certain that this watch is my son's! Don't you go dragging things out here to stall for time. If you have any evidence, just bring it out. If you can truly prove this watch is yours, I'll even kneel and apologize to you. If you can't produce it, then come with me to the police station and explain it to the police!"

"If you insist on saying this watch belongs to Yan Hongyu, then explain why the back of the watch is engraved with the initials of my name?"

"What initials? Stop spouting nonsense!"

Yan Ershen did not believe Xu Tian's words at all and snatched the watch from Xiao Ren's hand, flipping it over to the back of the dial. When she saw clearly that the two letters "xt" were indeed engraved on the back, she was instantly stunned into silence.

"This... how is this possible..."

"Bring the watch here for me to see," the Yan Family Patriarch, who had been silent, spoke up.

Xiao Ren's face turned livid, but he dared not defy the Yan Family Patriarch's wishes, so he had to reluctantly hand over the watch.

This watch had been handed to him by Yan Ershen herself, who had told him to put it into Xu Tian's backpack when he wasn't paying attention. How could Xu Tian's name be engraved on the back of the dial?

The Yan Family Patriarch took the watch and looked at it carefully, discovering that there were indeed two letters engraved on the back.

"xt... it is indeed the initials of Xiao Tian's name."

"Just two letters don't mean anything. What if these letters are just the watch brand's mark? Who says 'xt' must be Xu Tian's initials?"

Yan Ershen was panicked, racking her brains for an excuse to quibble.

"Dad, Mom, you must not be deceived! This kid Xu Tian is full of tricks; this must be a reason he thought of on the spot to quibble!"

"Besides the name, there is also a special serial number. Because this watch is a limited edition, every dial has a unique number on the back symbolizing the owner's identity. My number is 001. You all can check if that number is on the back of the dial."

The Yan Family Patriarch searched carefully on the dial once more and truly discovered the number on it.

The surrounding guests knew Xu Tian wasn't lying just by looking at the Yan Family Patriarch's expression, and the room instantly erupted.

"This limited-edition diamond watch is actually Xu Tian's!"

"It has his initials on the back, and he even got the serial number right; it must be his. How could Yan Hongyu's watch have someone else's name engraved on it?"

"But with people this rich, the Second Madam Yan wouldn't go stealing a junior's watch, would she?"

"What do you mean 'wouldn't'? A watch worth over twenty million, and a limited edition at that—even for the Yan family, it's not something you can just buy whenever you want."

"And this Second Madam isn't a good person either. She's actually an illegitimate daughter who has been pretending to be a wealthy young lady, and she even married into the Yan family after getting pregnant out of wedlock."