Though a bit more youthful than her current appearance, the girl in the portrait had already grown into her frame, her youthful beauty practically leaping off the canvas.
“Madam, is this you?”
Song Wan stroked the figure in the painting. “Mm, it was painted a few years ago.”
As the unloved fourth child, and a girl at that, the original owner had never had her photo taken growing up.
The Song Family had taken family portraits, but her parents deliberately locked her at home, claiming she wasn’t fit to be seen.
Though timid, the original owner wasn’t stupid. She knew her parents played favorites, and she would hide at home crying secretly—which was exactly how Chen Bowen next door heard her one day.
Compared to the Song Family, the Chen Family was slightly better off, with fewer children, so they could still afford to send Chen Bowen to school.
Seeing her so heartbroken, he offered to paint her a portrait, promising it would look just like the real thing.
That was how this portrait came to exist.
Because of this, the original owner developed special feelings for Chen Bowen. Even after marrying into the Huo Family, she had wanted to abandon everything and elope with him.
Even though she knew Chen Bowen wasn’t a good man—fickle, addicted to gambling, cowardly. In these past two months, every time they met, he asked her for money.
Yet the original owner always believed that only Chen Bowen could take her far away.
At this thought, Song Wan shook her head helplessly. “I’ll keep it for now. I haven’t decided what to do with it yet.”
The original owner hadn’t left behind many belongings, and personal items were even fewer. This portrait was her most treasured possession.
Since she had taken over the original owner’s body, Song Wan wanted to do something for her.
The Huo household had too many eyes around—not suitable for burning things.
That was why she had brought it along when moving, planning to find a priest to perform a ritual and burn all of the original owner’s belongings for her.
She hadn’t brought much when moving. The most precious items were the gifts her parents-in-law had given her, and Song Wan had brought them all.
After finishing tidying up, Song Wan’s stomach growled again.
For some reason, she was craving hot pot and bubble tea—really, really badly.
Song Wan thought her moving out was a small matter. As long as her mother-in-law approved, it wouldn’t cause any ripples.
But she had overlooked the fact that the Huo Family was one of the most prominent wealthy families in Hong Kong City, watched by countless eyes.
There were also the magazines and tabloids, which survived on gossip. Besides following entertainment celebrities, the public also loved reading about wealthy families’ secrets.
Soon, a new piece of gossip spread through Hong Kong City.
“Did you hear? That Miss Hong Kong who married into the Huo Family got kicked out yesterday!”
“Really? How do you know?”
“Well, my fifth aunt’s cousin’s sister-in-law works as a servant there and saw it with her own eyes. That Miss Hong Kong was driven out and moved into a small house.”
“Didn’t she just marry in last month? Fallen out of favor that fast?”
“What do you mean last month? It was the month before. I heard they didn’t even hold a wedding ceremony. Clearly, they didn’t think much of her.”
A yellow-toothed old man spat. “I told you—how can you marry an actress into the family? Disgrace to the ancestors!”
He spoke with such righteous indignation that anyone who didn’t know better would think he was the Huo Family’s patriarch himself.
“What actress? They’re called stars now—very fashionable, lots of people like them. Don’t you like that one on TV yourself?”
“We’re getting off track. Weren’t we talking about that Miss Hong Kong?”
The group quickly steered the conversation back. “If you ask me, that Miss Hong Kong didn’t lose out. How much money can you get from a marriage? A pity my daughters are all too plain-looking.”
The fat man pointed at him and laughed heartily. “Go ahead and be jealous. I don’t believe that if any of you had a pretty daughter, you wouldn’t send her off to beauty pageants and make her a concubine for some rich old master or young master—then the whole family could live off the good life.”
The yellow-toothed old man spat. “Ha! It’s monogamy now. Concubines went out of fashion over a decade ago.”
“Hah, what rich old master or young master doesn’t keep a mistress? No need to look far—everyone knows about that mistress apartment building on the east side.”
Though the social climate of Hong Kong City in this era was relatively conservative, people certainly discussed such things plenty in private.
Eight years ago, Hong Kong City had officially abolished the concubine system and implemented monogamy.
Many wealthy families kept mistresses, housing them in luxury apartment buildings close to the business district—convenient for the rich to visit after work, and offering a good deal of privacy.
For someone like Song Wan to marry into the Huo Family and live in the old mansion—how many concubines must have dreamed of that?
And yet now, she’d actually been thrown out?
The gossip didn’t just spread through the streets and alleys; it reached the circles of the wealthy and powerful too.
“Shumin, have you heard? That actress really has been thrown out.”
The girl with single-lidded eyes covered her mouth and snickered. “Young Master Huo has finally seen through that woman’s true colors.”
The woman called Shumin had a head of voluminous wavy hair, fashionable and stylish.
Her face was a classic oval, her skin merely average, but with almond eyes and a delicate, straight nose, her features alone made her a minor beauty—the kind of dignified look the elders favored.
She wore a creamy-white Chanel-style tweed jacket over a pale lotus-pink silk blouse.
The collar was tied into a small bow, revealing just a glimpse of her slender neck.
In front of her sat a plate of peeled Australian lobster. She picked up the bone china teacup before her and brought it to her lips for a sip.
Her movements were unhurried, every gesture radiating elegance and poise.
“Where did you hear that?”
The single-lidded girl was too busy showing off to notice Lin Shumin’s displeasure.
“From my brother. He saw Young Master Huo personally drive that woman to Chuk Yeung Road and leave with a dark expression.”
“And according to my brother, Young Master Huo hasn’t gone back these past two days. Isn’t that plainly abandoning that little actress?”
The single-lidded girl came from a middle-class family that had made its money in her grandfather’s generation. Compared to prestigious families like the Lins and the Huos, her family’s foundations fell far short.
She had always fawned over Lin Shumin.
“I have somewhere to be.” Lin Shumin picked up her bag and left, paying no mind to the expressions of her friends.
The single-lidded girl grew anxious. “Did I say something wrong? Miss Lin seems angry.”
The girl in blue, who had been silent for a long while, took a sip of her coffee. “You were gossiping about Young Master Huo. Of course she’s unhappy.”
“I just heard good news and couldn’t help myself. Besides, if that little actress hadn’t been thrown out, how would she ever have a chance to marry into the Huo Family?”
The single-lidded girl rolled her eyes. If it weren’t for the fact that she was the eldest daughter of the Lin Family, she wouldn’t have bothered being so warm to someone so cold.
The girl in blue stood up. “I’m leaving too. Coming with me?”
The single-lidded girl asked her to wait. “Let me finish this lobster first.”
Though her family was middle-class, her daddy had a mistress outside, with a child. Her mommy didn’t work and relied entirely on her daddy’s allowance, so money was tight.
Food like this was something she rarely had the chance to eat.
Only after she finished did she leave with the girl in blue.
They had long since gotten used to it—wherever they went, Lin Shumin picked up the bill, and they never had to spend a single cent.
Lin Shumin got in the car. “To Huo Corporation.”
She appeared calm, but the moment she heard the destination, her heartbeat actually skipped a few beats.
Didn’t this mean her chance had come?
When she arrived at Huo Corporation, Lin Shumin waited a while before being shown upstairs—she was long used to that.
The instant she saw Huo Jingheng, her gaze couldn’t help but follow him.
This was the kind of man who deserved her, not those playboys who knew nothing but eating, drinking, and having fun.
For the position of Mrs. Huo in the future, everything now would be worth it.
Psyching herself up, Lin Shumin stepped forward and spoke her first words. “My birthday party—are you coming?”