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So, under the Fu Family's powerful search efforts, this painting never even appeared at the auction as it had in the original novel. Fu Huaiyan intercepted it before the auction took place.

Fu Huaiyan found the collector who owned the painting and bought it from him in advance, so the auction booking was canceled.

With that, Fu Huaiyan obtained the "key item," Spring Dawn at Danshan, and could complete the "give Wu Songshan a gift" quest.

Meanwhile, Gu Yubai was also preparing a gift for Wu Songshan. But no matter how much he searched the auction, he could not find anything that suited him. He kept feeling as though something was missing, but he could not put his finger on it. In short, even after sifting through countless choices, nothing truly felt right.

In the end, Gu Yubai bought another piece of calligraphy and painting at the auction, though it still felt like settling for second best rather than choosing what satisfied him most.

But Wu Songshan's birthday was fast approaching, and there was no time left to pick out another gift.

He could only do his best to choose a gift that would not touch on Wu Songshan's taboos. Wu Songshan put on the appearance of an upright gentleman, but in truth, what annoyed him most was anyone mentioning his deceased wife. Gu Yubai himself had only learned this through one of Wu Songshan's relatives. Many people who wanted to give Wu Songshan gifts praised the deep affection between him and his wife, only to pat the dog's leg instead of the horse's backside. Naturally, they got nowhere.

So, to secure Wu Songshan's business, he absolutely could not touch that taboo.

Now that Gu Yubai had been acknowledged and brought back into the Gu Family, Old Master Gu had already let him get involved in the group's work. Yet he had never felt any sense of belonging in this family. He felt that the Gu Family was no home, and that he was completely out of place with everything about it.

Moreover, Gu Minghan's fate had chilled his heart. He felt that the Gu Family was a place that devoured people without even spitting out their bones. If he had no value to them, his fate might be even worse than Gu Minghan's. A family like the Gu Family, which forgot loyalty at the sight of profit, would abandon its descendants without hesitation once they were no longer useful.

So Gu Yubai would never let himself be controlled by the Gu Family. He chose to set up a studio outside with Jiang Ruoning.

He needed to gain the Gu Family's trust while also building his own company. Once his wings were fully grown, the Gu Family would be the one he kicked aside without mercy.

Before the Gu Family lost its usefulness, he would squeeze it dry of all its assets and inflict all the suffering he and his mother had endured over the years upon it.

Whatever pain he and his mother had suffered when they were driven out back then, he would visit it upon the Gu Family a thousand times over.

Soon, Wu Songshan's sixtieth birthday arrived.

Originally, Wu Songshan had married into his wife's family, but as soon as Mrs. Song died, he swallowed up the heirless Song Family's estate.

Even Wu Songshan's sons had originally borne the surname Song, and they were still called Song So-and-so in public. After all, if the names they went by differed from those on their IDs and passports, what outsider would know?

The names they used in public now were merely a way to fool everyone.

Fu Huaiyan, however, wore a strange expression as he heard Su Wanqiao's thoughts.

[Quite a crowd at this birthday banquet. Those over there must be Wu Songshan's sons, right? I just heard someone calling them Young Master Song. How

ridiculous.

Wu Songshan had their surnames on their IDs changed back to Wu ages ago.]

"..."

That really was explosive.

Fu Huaiyan thought that if news like this got out, it would surely stir up towering waves online.

But he had never imagined that anyone could be so heartless and disloyal, playing the whore while demanding a monument to their chastity.

He wanted money and a good reputation, too.

And he was insatiably greedy while trying to preserve that pitiful scrap of male pride. It was irritating just to look at.

Fu Huaiyan simply stopped thinking about it.

In any case, he would definitely teach Wu Songshan a lesson this time.

Su Wanqiao had already grown completely accustomed to public occasions like these birthday banquets. Perhaps because she had such a good mindset, she felt like an outsider looking in and was not the least bit constrained.

What actually interested her more was the gossip about wealthy families in the original novel.

A lot of that gossip was genuinely entertaining.

Just like Wu Songshan's affairs.

There was plenty of juicy gossip in wealthy high society.

As Su Wanqiao was thinking, a middle-aged woman suddenly came over and brushed past her, nearly bumping into her, then murmured an apology.

"Sorry, miss."

"I'm fine."

Su Wanqiao waved a hand.

The middle-aged woman wore a rather traditional formal suit. She glanced at her, then turned and left.

The wealthy lady looked very capable and was rather unlike the other pampered society ladies, so Su Wanqiao gave her a few extra looks.

Fu Huaiyan came over with a wineglass and looked Su Wanqiao up and down. Seeing that she was fine, he said gently, "Why wasn't Mrs. Yu watching where she was going? She was walking far too fast. She wants to compete for the venture capital Wu Songshan controls, too, but she has no chance this time. There's no way she'll succeed."

"It's all right."

Su Wanqiao shook her head, then asked, "Is this Mrs. Yu also trying to secure an investment from Wu Songshan?"

"Yes. She and President Fei are married. Speaking of which, they're a DINK couple. That's quite famous among the wealthy families. They've remained committed to not having children because they're DINKs. Supposedly, they gave up having children because it would affect their personal lives. Unlike other wealthy families, President Fei and Mrs. Yu have said they'll donate all their assets to the country in the future."

"Pfft."

Su Wanqiao suddenly could not stop the sound from escaping.

Fu Huaiyan was a little puzzled, not knowing why Su Wanqiao was laughing.

But he soon heard it.

[Damn that DINK nonsense. President Fei and Mrs. Yu, that DINK couple, caused such an uproar in the book that the chickens flew and the dogs leaped. In reality, President Fei never wanted to be child-free with Mrs. Yu. It was just that the Yu Family was far too powerful, and Mrs. Yu always insisted on not having children. So while President Fei lovingly agreed to be a DINK, he kept his first love on the side. They already have three children. He's just waiting a few more years for the children to grow up before staging Lost in the Stars himself. Once he gets rid of his first wife, he'll bring the mistress into the house and say the children were adopted. His abacus beads really couldn't be clacking any louder.]