Chapter 37 is finished! There's a mistress!
When Ruan Yao got home from get off work, she had just changed her shoes in the entryway when a dark figure darted out from behind the living room sofa and blocked her way.
"My dear sister, you're finally back!"
Ruan Yao changed into slippers and walked over listlessly.
"Brother, why aren't you asleep yet?"
"I've been waiting for you." Ruan Sheng tossed his phone aside, sat up straight, and waved to her. "Come here, I need to talk to you about something."
Ruan Yao had a bad feeling.
"What's up?"
“There’s a private art exhibition by an emerging artist in a couple of days. Come with me,” Ruan Sheng said matter-of-factly.
Ruan Yao pressed her swollen temples.
"No, Director Huo has assigned me a new task, and I need to work overtime this weekend to finish the proposal."
"No!" Ruan Sheng immediately jumped up from the sofa, moved closer to her, grabbed her arm and shook it gently. "Good sister, please help me, just this once."
He put on a pitiful expression.
"My date stood me up at the last minute. The invitation has already been sent, and it would be too embarrassing for me to go alone. Please take pity on your brother and go and make an appearance for me."
Ruan Yao was puzzled.
"Don't you have many female confidantes?"
“None of them are as pretty as my sister. It’s more prestigious to take her out.” Ruan Sheng started to whine and beg. “Besides, this painter’s works have great potential for appreciation. I’ll take you to get some artistic inspiration so you don’t smell like a student every day.”
Ruan Yao hesitated for a moment.
"But I really have to work overtime."
Seeing that Ruan Yao remained unmoved, Ruan Sheng began to act shamelessly, wailing in a drawn-out tone, "My dear sister, how can you bear to see your brother all alone? My fragile heart will suffer a thousand points of damage..."
Seeing his shameless demeanor, Ruan Yao's headache worsened.
"I'll go with you."
Ruan Sheng's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"But I have one condition."
"You name it! Don't just say one, ten will do!" Ruan Sheng readily agreed.
Ruan Yao raised her index finger and said slowly, "Use all your connections in Nancheng to help me find a book."
"Looking for a book? No problem." Ruan Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was something serious. "What book? I'll have a friend get it for you tomorrow."
“The title page of the ‘Dongshan Ji’ printed in Lin’an Prefecture during the Southern Song Dynasty must have the small seal of ‘Mo Chi’.”
Ruan Sheng's smile froze.
He picked at his ear, thinking he had misheard.
"What the hell? Southern Song Dynasty? A printed edition? And it even has a small seal?" He looked at him like he'd seen a ghost. "Sister, do you think I'm an antique dealer? You think you can just find something like this?"
"Don't you have friends all over the south of the city?" Ruan Yao said with a smile. "Among your friends, there must be some who know people who collect books or deal in antiques, right? You can spread the word that price is not a problem."
"No..." Ruan Sheng thought this was too outrageous. "Why are you looking for this stupid book? When did you become interested in this kind of thing?"
Of course, Ruan Yao couldn't say that this was for her future father-in-law, so she said vaguely, "Just don't worry about it. Anyway, if you help me get this done, I'll never go against your wishes."
Looking at his sister's determined expression, Ruan Sheng was torn between two conflicting emotions.
A few seconds later, he gritted his teeth and stomped his foot.
"Okay! I'll ask for you! But you can't back out!"
"Deal." Ruan Yao nodded in satisfaction.
Ruan Sheng sighed and resigned himself to his fate, but then, as if remembering something, he sneakily moved closer and nudged her with his elbow.
"Hey, you're looking for this again, not for Huo Yanzhi, are you?" He winked and lowered his voice. "Tsk, you've really gone to great lengths. I'm totally impressed."
Ruan Yao's cheeks flushed, and she reached out and gave his arm a light pinch.
"Mind your own business! Go make the call!"
*
The art exhibition was held at a well-known private art museum in northern Beijing.
Ruan Sheng insisted on bringing Ruan Yao along for a simple reason: the emerging artist in this exhibition is the closed-door disciple of a highly respected master of traditional Chinese painting in the Beijing art circle. His works have already fetched astronomical prices even before they have been officially released, indicating huge potential for future appreciation.
Ruan Sheng never misses an occasion that allows him to showcase his taste and build connections.
He wore a flamboyant peacock blue suit, his hair slicked back and shiny. He moved through the crowd with ease, clinking glasses with one person and exchanging pleasantries with another, as effortlessly as a fish.
Ruan Yao, arm in arm with Ruan Sheng, walked around the venue, dealing with several of Ruan Sheng's business associates, dutifully playing the role of a beautiful female companion.
She had no interest in her brother's socializing, and after going through the motions with him, she followed behind him listlessly, wanting only to find a corner to sit down and continue refining the plan Huo Jing had given her.
"Brother, I'm going over there for some fresh air," Ruan Yao whispered to Ruan Sheng.
"Go on, go on, don't wander off." Ruan Sheng waved his hand without turning his head.
Ruan Yao felt as if she had been granted a pardon and immediately slipped away to a secluded rest area in the exhibition hall.
There were a few sofas here, and the lighting was soft, which was just right for her to quietly take out her tablet and go over the plan she had prepared for Huo Jing again.
She had barely sat down when a figure blocked the light in front of her.
"Miss Ruan? What a coincidence."
Ruan Yao looked up and saw a bloated middle-aged man standing in front of her, his face beaming with a warm smile, but his eyes were openly scrutinizing her.
She searched her memory but couldn't recall the face at all.
"And you are?"
“I was fortunate enough to be at the charity gala last time. The ‘Moonlight’ necklace that Mr. Huo gave you is a perfect match!” The man smiled even more ingratiatingly. “I never expected to see Miss Ruan here again. What a coincidence.”
Upon hearing the name Huo family, Ruan Yao immediately understood their purpose.
She smiled with a distant yet polite expression.
The man, completely oblivious, sat down next to her, a strong scent of cologne wafting over her.
“Miss Ruan is quite a celebrity in Beijing’s social circles now.” The man leaned even closer. “My name is Zhang Hai. I’m in the building materials business. Maybe we’ll have the opportunity to cooperate with the Huo family in the future. Miss Ruan, how about we become friends and exchange contact information?”
The other party's intentions were too blatant, so Ruan Yao's tone turned cold: "Sorry, I don't add strangers casually."
She stood up, ready to leave this place of trouble.
The man also stood up, his obese body blocking her way, his shamelessness astonishing.
"Miss Ruan, please don't be so aloof. Having more friends means having more options. Who knows, we might even have the opportunity to work together in the future..."
Not far away, Gu Huai, who was holding a wine glass and looking around, happened to see this whole scene.
He recognized the girl who was being harassed at a glance.
...A pretty girl hitching a ride?
Isn't this the Ruan family's daughter who has an extremely close relationship with Huo Yanzhi and was even labeled a VIP guest of the Huo family by his father with a 50 million yuan necklace?
Gu Huai pondered for a moment and made up his mind.
Judging from Huo Yanzhi and the Huo family's unusual behavior, this woman is most likely the future mistress of the Huo family.
Just as the fat pig was about to misbehave, Gu Huai put down his wine glass, ready to step forward to play the hero and show his future sister-in-law the prestige of the "husband's family".
But as soon as he lifted his foot, a figure darted past him even faster.
"Don't you want your hand anymore?"
A clear, slightly teasing male voice rang out.
Ruan Sheng walked over unnoticed, grabbed the man's unruly hand, and tightened his grip slightly on his wrist.
The man immediately winced in pain.
The next second, Ruan Sheng easily pulled Ruan Yao behind him, the movement smooth and natural.
He looked the man up and down, and gave a slight smirk.
"He looks like a piece of moldy lard, and he dares to come out and try to flirt with people?"
Ruan Sheng is known for his sharp tongue. "What, do you think you look like a payment code, so everyone will want to come up and scan it?"
A few suppressed laughs came from the surrounding area.
The man's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red. Under Ruan Sheng's protective expression that seemed to say, "Try moving again," he finally slunk away.
"Brother." Ruan Yao peeked out from behind him, looking somewhat helpless.
"Why did you attract these kinds of people again?" Ruan Sheng reached out and affectionately ruffled her hair. "Stay away from these kinds of people in the future."
Ruan Yao slapped his hand away, tidied her messy hair, and the siblings chatted and laughed in hushed tones before going to look at other paintings together.
The entire process was witnessed by Gu Huai from a distance.
His hand, holding the wine glass, froze in mid-air. The expression on his face gradually changed from relaxed enjoyment to astonishment, and finally to a solemn look.
Gu Huai's brain was working at lightning speed.
Hold.
Who is that man?
He was handsome and had an extraordinary air about him; his clothes and demeanor clearly indicated that he was a wealthy young master.
The way he shielded his younger brother and sister-in-law behind him just now showed a strong sense of possessiveness; they're definitely not just ordinary friends.
And that gesture of rubbing his hair...
The younger sister-in-law showed no aversion whatsoever; on the contrary, she acted as a relaxed and dependent little girl.
Gu Huai quickly filled in the blanks in his mind, and the highest level of alarm instantly went off in his head.
It's over.
He's having an affair!
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