The Netherlands.
At the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Alstard had been restless ever since he returned. Until Van Gogh's Sunflower in the Sea was brought back, it felt like a thorn lodged in his heart.
"How are our protests going?" Alstard hurriedly asked his secretary.
The secretary shook his head. "There's no news yet. It seems they've ignored our protests again."
Alstard's face darkened. "Send another protest!"
He was genuinely frustrated.
When had their protests stopped working on that Eastern Country?
In the past, when something like this happened, the other side would have taken them into consideration. Taking the bigger picture into account, they would have certainly given his protest some thought.
Their usual tactics had failed, and it suddenly felt awful.
The secretary didn't dare hesitate. He hurried over and sent another protest email to the Foreign Ministry.
The Foreign Ministry would forward his protest to the other country.
This time, the secretary noticed that not long after he sent the protest, the Foreign Ministry replied with a letter. It was the other country's response.
He hurried over to Alstard. "Director, the Foreign Ministry has replied."
Alstard smiled when he heard that. "I knew they couldn't ignore us forever. They can't hold out any longer, so they're finally responding."
Based on past experience, the other side had surely decided to consider the bigger picture and let them buy the painting back.
Alstard immediately opened the email and read its contents.
But the moment he saw what it said, the smile vanished from his face, which turned dark and stormy.
The other side had returned their protest letter exactly as it was.
The meaning was obvious: they were ignoring the protest.
What's more, they had included a piece of news: the businessman who owned Van Gogh's painting intended to hang