Chapter 4: This Is Marital Property

Sang Ke turned around to see a woman dressed in lavish attire, wearing sunglasses and holding a small teddy dog in her arms. She appeared to be around forty, yet her figure was as slender and youthful as that of a young girl—clearly the result of years of dedicated fitness. Her status was evidently distinguished; she didn’t even need to show an invitation, and the bodyguards let her through without question.

Though Sang Ke didn’t know why the woman had helped her, she still offered a polite, “Thank you for earlier.”

“You’re welcome. You had an invitation to begin with; it was their mistake.” The woman removed her sunglasses, sweeping her gaze over the various antiques displayed in the room, then muttered with a frown, “A pile of worthless junk—what’s there to see? If that rascal has so much energy, he’d do better to invite the young lady to his own home.”

Worthless junk?

Sang Ke looked at the room full of priceless treasures and fell silent.

After a moment, she asked, “Are you from the Huo family?”

“You know?” The woman was surprised.

Sang Ke smiled. “It’s hard not to notice, given your bearing.”

“I’m being very low-key, actually.” The woman coughed a couple of times and stuffed her sunglasses back into her bag. “Since you know I’m from the Huo family, I’ll get straight to the point. During the ribbon-cutting, I noticed the way you looked at Song Linlang—there seemed to be some old grievance. Care to share?”

Sang Ke didn’t answer, only met her gaze.

The woman smiled. “No need to be nervous. I’m just here to see what kind of woman could capture my nephew’s attention. I promise, whatever you say today won’t leave this conversation.”

After considering for a moment, Sang Ke politely declined, “Since you’re already here, some matters are best observed and judged firsthand.”

“My dear, do you know what you’re missing?” Huo Qingyan was genuinely surprised. Opportunities to curry favor with the Huo family were rare indeed.

“I know. But I don’t like to gossip,” Sang Ke replied with a smile.

She wasn’t trying to be a saint; she simply understood that even if she spoke, the other party would only half-believe her and would still investigate further. Since speaking or staying silent made no difference to the outcome, why stoop to petty acts?

“You’re quite an interesting young lady. I have some matters to attend to today, but here’s my card. If you ever want to chat, you can find me for coffee anytime.” With that, Huo Qingyan handed her a business card and melted into the crowd.

Sang Ke disliked socializing and had no intention of befriending the powerful. Out of courtesy, she didn’t throw away the card but slipped it into her bag and followed the crowd into the inner hall.

The inner hall, once filled with antique collections, had been cleared out. In their place were vibrant oil paintings on display for all to admire. Yet no one paid the art any mind; everyone was busy discussing the long corridor lined with flower baskets they’d seen upon arrival.

“Did you see? Each basket was signed by the crown prince of the Huo family!”

“I didn’t just see them—I counted! There were 999 baskets, every one filled with red roses!”

“I’d say the Huo family’s crown prince must have feelings for Miss Song. No wonder he lent her Starshine to host her exhibition.”

“But isn’t Miss Song already spoken for?”

“Ah, but she’s just close to that Pei fellow. There’s no official announcement yet! And even if there were, is there any wall the crown prince couldn’t breach? An actor, no matter how celebrated, is still just an entertainer—how could he compare to the crown prince?”

Sang Ke watched someone’s face grow darker and darker, unable to suppress a broad smile.

Pei Xuyun, seems today is finally your turn.

Sensing Pei Xuyun’s growing displeasure, Song Linlang quickly tried to reassure him, “Xuyun, I don’t know this crown prince at all. Don’t listen to their nonsense. You’re the only one in my heart.”

The words sounded sweet, but Sang Ke could instantly see the flicker of delight and anxiety in Song Linlang’s eyes—emotions that couldn’t be faked. Only someone as dense as Pei Xuyun would believe her.

Sang Ke couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.

Though her laughter was soft, Pei Xuyun heard it and assumed she was here to cause trouble. He strode over and seized her arm. “This isn’t a place for you. Go home!”

Sang Ke had come all this way and wasn’t about to leave without seeing the person she intended to meet. She struggled, replying, “What I do here has nothing to do with you. Who do you think you are, Pei Xuyun? Mind your own business!”

In their scuffle, a resounding crash rang out.

A red sandalwood display stand suddenly toppled next to Sang Ke, startling all the guests.

Every item in this room was one of Song Linlang’s works from various periods, but the painting on the fallen stand was special—the centerpiece of the exhibition.

Seeing the smashed painting, the staff immediately surrounded Sang Ke in a panic. “This is Master Cornell’s latest work. Miss, how do you intend to compensate? Credit card, or...?”

Sang Ke stood motionless, looking at Song Linlang, who was watching the scene unfold from not far away, saying nothing.

Pei Xuyun, wanting to avoid further attention, tried to resolve things quickly. “How much?”

The staff member, relieved to see someone take responsibility, replied, “Fifty thousand.”

Pei Xuyun was already reaching for his card when the staff added, “US dollars.”

Standing nearby, Sang Ke saw Pei Xuyun’s mouth twitch and nearly burst out laughing again.

She knew this man too well. He might look dapper, but most of his clothes were sponsored by brands. Having lived through too many lean years, he remained tight with money, even now. Yet perhaps this made his willingness to spend on her in a pinch all the more precious.

Sang Ke felt a faint warmth in her heart.

But before the warmth could settle, she heard his cold words—

“I’ll pay for this. But from now on, don’t ever appear before me again, and don’t cause Linlang any more trouble. This is the price for your disappearance.”

Sang Ke laughed.

All the time and effort she’d given him—was it only worth the price of her vanishing?

“Don’t play the hero. If you hadn’t come over, the stand wouldn’t have fallen,” Sang Ke said, stopping him from handing over his card.

If he wanted to hand money to Song Linlang, it would be on her terms.

They were still married, after all—their assets were shared.

Stung by the stubbornness in her eyes, Pei Xuyun put away his card. “Fine. Handle it yourself if you’re so capable!” He turned and left without another word.

The staff, seeing their compensation slip away, grew angry. “Miss, if you don’t have the money, don’t show off. If you don’t pay, we’ll have to call the police.”

Sang Ke walked up to Song Linlang and addressed her directly, “Are you sure this piece of junk is worth fifty thousand US dollars?”

“Sang Ke, if you can’t afford it, you could just ask me and I’d give you a discount. There’s no need to insult Master Cornell or belittle his work,” Song Linlang replied, deftly casting Sang Ke as the villain.

Anyone attending this exhibition would have heard of Master Cornell and held him in the highest esteem.

“Who let this bumpkin in? She has no sense of the value of art!”

“Exactly! Her presence here is an insult to art itself!”

“I saw her with Pei Xuyun just now. Could she be his friend? Did he bring her in?”

“No way—look at her clothes. The whole outfit couldn’t be worth more than a couple hundred yuan. How could Movie King Pei know someone like that?”

Hearing the indignant chatter around her, Pei Xuyun also felt his pride wounded.

This woman seemed born to vex him.

If she hadn’t stopped him from paying, none of this would have happened. Now she’d drawn even more attention and made such an ignorant comment, stirring up outrage.

Afraid she’d say something else to embarrass him, Pei Xuyun was about to speak when Sang Ke pronounced, one word at a time, “It’s a fake.”

...

The entire crowd was stunned into silence.