Chapter 18

[Wrong! Completely and utterly wrong! No wonder you can't beat the male lead. This gift-giving scene is extremely important. What matters is that it's the first clash between the male lead and the villain. They both give an elderly gentleman gifts, hoping to secure venture capital from him. But everything Fu Huaiyan knows, all that stuff about his deep affection for his late wife, is just a persona that old Mr. Wu carefully cultivated. He amassed his fortune by swallowing up his late wife's estate without leaving her family a thing, so all that love for his wife is fake. Giving him verses about deep marital devotion is practically a slap in his face!]

[Meanwhile, Gu Yubai saw through that old scumbag Wu's true nature and gave him something else, without exposing the image of Mr. Wu as a man deeply devoted to his late wife. Mr. Wu was especially pleased with his gift and chose to invest in him. In contrast, the meaning behind Fu Huaiyan's painting was too obvious. Mr. Wu didn't like it at all and never worked with the Fu Family again.]

[Just like that, an opportunity slipped away without a sound. The plot in the book was a war without gunpowder smoke, and the male lead, Gu Yubai, won without making a sound. The sad part is that, in the original plot, Fu Huaiyan went to his grave never knowing why Mr. Wu chose Gu Yubai to work with instead of him...]

"!!!"

Chapter 18

Fu Huaiyan's expression changed. This news shocked him deeply.

He had truly never imagined Mr. Wu would be that sort of person. His public image was that of an upright man who had shared a loving marriage with his late wife. Marketing accounts' articles about his grief over her death had even trended online. Even now, people online still praised them as a model couple. Who could have known their marriage had actually been far from loving?

Besides, in Wu Songshan's heart, it probably wasn't simply a matter of a bad relationship. He must have loathed his wife, yet still wanted to feed off his persona of mourning her and didn't dare admit it openly. All that concealment had led Fu Huaiyan to mistakenly believe he had truly loved his late wife deeply.

Fu Huaiyan was furious and deeply unwilling to accept it. If Su Wanqiao's inner voice hadn't warned him, would he never have learned what that old scumbag Wu really thought?

You could know a man's face without knowing his heart. He had thought the gift's meaning was just right, only to outsmart himself.

Instead, that Gu Yubai fellow had seen through the man's true face. It was truly infuriating.

This incident meant losing a business opportunity without even realizing it. How could he accept that?

Gu Yubai really did know many things he didn't, which was why he could beat him to Wu Songshan's investment. But now that he had Su Wanqiao's warning, he would snatch every last one of the male lead's opportunities.

And he had to snatch this one. If Wu Songshan's character was that rotten, he would be even less inclined to show mercy when taking that investment.

Fu Huaiyan suddenly said, "Qiaoqiao, is this a bad choice of gift? Why did you suddenly go quiet?"

Su Wanqiao nodded. "I think you should avoid gifts with such obvious meanings. Actually, an ink painting by Zhang Daqian, the kind without any poetry on it, would be enough."

[Zhang Daqian is Wu Songshan's favorite master of traditional Chinese painting. If Gu Yubai's plot hasn't changed, he should buy Zhang Daqian's Spring Dawn at Danshan at a Sotheby's auction shortly before Wu Songshan's birthday. Wu Songshan was very pleased with that gift. It would be great if you could win it at auction and give it to him. But it doesn't matter if you can't. I can have my assistant buy the painting beforehand, and that will solve this easily.]

This was easy to resolve. As long as they bought the painting Wu Songshan liked ahead of time and had Fu Huaiyan give it to him instead, Fu Huaiyan would have a 98% chance of changing this part of the original novel's plot.

Su Wanqiao was very willing to help Fu Huaiyan with something that required so little effort. After all, the Fu Family had given her so much money. Taking someone's food softened your hands, and taking their gifts softened your tongue. Besides, she had always stood on the Fu Family's side, so naturally she would help Fu Huaiyan without hesitation and help the Fu Family secure more investment. If the Fu Family's business flourished, her own life would be better, and she would receive a larger share of the assets.

So she didn't hesitate in the slightest to step in and change the course of this matter.

After hearing Su Wanqiao's inner voice, Fu Huaiyan was moved beyond words.

Su Wanqiao was so good to him.

So Su Wanqiao would only think these things quietly in her heart rather than say them outright.

After all, something this incredible was probably beyond belief for most people unless they could hear her inner voice.

Besides, their relationship had been distant before, and she wouldn't have offered much explanation. Now, as they spent time together, their relationship was slowly changing, and Su Wanqiao was becoming increasingly considerate of the Fu Family.

"All right, Qiaoqiao. I'll listen to you this time and give him a Zhang Daqian painting. I'll have someone keep an eye on the auction houses' upcoming offerings."

Su Wanqiao nodded, very pleased that Fu Huaiyan was willing to take advice.

[That makes things even easier. I'll send your assistant the detailed information about this painting, and you can just do as I say. You'll be the brightest star at Wu Songshan's birthday banquet this time!]

"..."

With a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for?

Fu Huaiyan truly felt that Su Wanqiao was his lucky star. Whatever happened, whenever trouble arose, his wife's first thought was how to solve his problem.

Su Wanqiao truly put her heart into caring for both him and the Fu Family. United as husband and wife, their strength could cut through gold.

Why worry that these problems couldn't be solved?

The Fu Family would never fall.

Over the following days, husband and wife shared an unspoken understanding about this matter, spending almost all their time quietly searching through the sales lists for all of Sotheby's recent auctions.

Besides finding the auction lists, the most important thing was to find the original collector who owned Spring Dawn at Danshan. If they could buy it from him beforehand, they wouldn't need to fight for it at auction.

After all, the male lead would also attend the auction, and another round of malicious bidding would be unavoidable. If the price climbed too high, they would spend far too much. Paying an exorbitant price for something meant for that old scumbag really wasn't worth it.