Chapter 10: Trending on Social Media

Huo Yanting did not deny it.

“If the money isn’t enough, you can ask for a car or a house as well.”

Sang Ke laughed.

He frowned. “What are you laughing at?”

“You proposed to me before, and I didn’t agree. Do you think I’d agree to this instead?”

Huo Yanting lifted his gaze, staring at her intensely. “I could never marry a divorced woman with a child.”

If he wouldn’t marry her, then he wanted to keep her.

How typical of a man!

Sang Ke smiled indifferently. “Mr. Huo, perhaps I didn’t make myself clear in the car earlier, and caused some misunderstanding. I am getting a divorce because I have my reasons, which have nothing to do with you. From the moment I returned to the country, our relationship was over. With your conditions, there are countless women willing to be kept by you. But I am not one of them.”

To this day, Sang Ke still didn’t quite understand why Huo Yanting wouldn’t let go of her.

Clearly, when they were abroad, it was she who had pursued him.

From beginning to end, apart from bringing her to his home overseas, his attitude toward her was always passive—neither initiating nor rejecting, nor taking responsibility. He was the epitome of a heartless man.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dared to indulge herself and get involved with him.

She had thought they would part on good terms, but unexpectedly, he not only proposed but actually chased her back to the country and sought out the real Song Linlang. Even now, knowing she had a son, he still wanted to maintain their physical relationship.

Huo Yanting spun the bank card between his fingers, his tone heavy. “Give me a reason.”

“Because I am a mother.”

Even after divorce, that identity would never change.

Abroad, she could briefly indulge her desires, taste the thrill of living recklessly.

But back in reality, she had a son to care for. She had already deprived him of a complete family, and could not bear to do anything that would shame him further, or make him the subject of gossip among neighbors and friends.

When Huo Yanting heard her answer, his gaze grew deep and mysterious.

He was sitting, Sang Ke stood outside the car, yet the aura between them was still dominated by him, as if she had to look up to him.

Sang Ke grew uneasy and began to urge him to leave. “Mr. Huo, drive safely, I…”

Before she could finish, the man in the car leaned out the window, grabbed the back of her neck, and pulled her toward him.

She was forced to bend down, coming level with him.

The next second, a searing kiss swept over her.

The strong scent of tobacco invaded her taste buds with every movement of his lips and tongue.

He was definitely doing it on purpose!

He knew full well she hated the smell of smoke.

Sang Ke frowned and tried to push him away, but he held her chin firmly in his other hand, keeping her in place.

His kissing skills were always superb; if they were abroad, she would have melted by now, responding passionately.

But this was a hospital.

Her son was right here.

Sang Ke steeled herself and bit his lip until it bled.

Huo Yanting released her in pain, wiped the blood off his lips with his thumb, and gave a low chuckle. “You’ve grown some nerve.”

Sang Ke forced herself to ignore the sensory shock the kiss had given her, her tone stern. “Huo Yanting, I am not your plaything.”

She didn’t even bother with his honorific now.

Clearly, she was angry.

But Huo Yanting was unfazed, staring at her like a predator watching prey trespass on his territory.

“Sang Ke, you were the one who provoked me first. Once the game begins, it’s no longer up to you when it ends.”

With that, he restarted the car and drove away from the hospital.

Sang Ke regarded his parting words as nothing more than the wolf’s “I’ll be back,” paid them no mind, and went back to the ward, her steps light now that the medical bills were settled, to accompany her son.

Unfortunately, she enjoyed only one restful night.

The next morning, a trending topic about her exploded across the internet.

Someone had posted a photo taken late at night, showing her and Pei Xuyun arguing at an art exhibition, knocking over a wooden frame. The trending tag read: #MovieKing and mysterious woman attend art exhibition together, quarrel ensues, Song Linlang suspected of being cheated on#

Because the photo’s resolution was low and Sang Ke had worn a baseball cap and black-rimmed glasses, it was impossible to identify her. So the internet was flooded with speculation about the woman’s identity.

Sang Ke feared that once her identity was uncovered, Pei Li’s existence would be exposed as well.

With her son still sick, she dreaded the thought of paparazzi swarming the hospital. Anxious, she tried calling Pei Xuyun again, but still couldn’t reach him.

Just as she was about to go to Pei Xuyun’s company and try her luck, all discussions about her online were suddenly wiped clean. Even the photo vanished, as if it had never existed—no trace could be found anywhere.

She thought it must have been Pei Xuyun’s PR team at work, but then another trending topic exploded: his secret marriage and child shot straight to the top of the search rankings.

“My god, seriously? The heiress of the Song Group is the other woman?”

“I think it’s the scumbag hiding his marriage, Song Linlang unwittingly made the third wheel.”

“What nonsense about being the third wheel. Maybe they’re just friends, nothing abnormal. There’s never been an official announcement, no paparazzi caught any intimate photos. It’s always you crazy shippers spreading rumors and making things up.”

Reading these comments, Sang Ke suddenly realized the removal of information about her online wasn’t Pei Xuyun’s doing.

If he had that kind of power, he wouldn’t be stuck on the trending list himself.

But if it wasn’t Pei Xuyun, who could it be?

Sang Ke was lost in thought, propping her chin in her hand, when the ward door was suddenly slammed open.

Pei Xuyun burst in angrily.

“Is all that stuff online your doing?”

He grabbed Sang Ke’s wrist and demanded, waking Pei Li from his sleep.

Pei Li sat up and stared at his long-lost father, then burst into tears.

“Pei Xuyun, unless your brains have been kicked by a mule, you wouldn’t ask such a question!”

Sang Ke, furious, shoved Pei Xuyun away and rushed to her son’s bedside to comfort him.

The child’s crying grated on Pei Xuyun’s nerves; unable to stay in the room, he went outside to wait.

After Sang Ke finally calmed her son, she came out to find Pei Xuyun sitting on a bench in the corridor.

His emotions had settled considerably, a cigarette between his fingers.

“You can’t smoke here,” Sang Ke reminded him with a frown.

“I know, I haven’t lit it.” He raised the cigarette to show her the unsmoked tip.

Sang Ke sat next to him, silent, waiting for him to speak first as usual.

Pei Xuyun fiddled with the cigarette, his voice cool. “It really wasn’t you?”

Sang Ke stared at the hospital’s wall advertisement and sighed. “Why would I do it? I’ve already signed the divorce papers—what’s the point of exposing anything now?”

Pei Xuyun’s lips curled in mockery. “Now Linlang’s parents have grounded her, forbidding her to see me. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“If I hadn’t done anything, you and Song Linlang wouldn’t have gotten together anyway. Her marriage is a bargaining chip for the Song family’s business alliance. Her father will never approve of you two.”

Pei Xuyun disagreed. “She’s pregnant with my child.”

Sang Ke recalled the medication Song Linlang had picked up at the hospital last time and sneered. “Whether she can carry it to term is another matter.”

“What do you mean?” he turned, glaring at her fiercely.

As if she were the villain from a palace intrigue, always plotting to harm his child.

“Nothing.” Sang Ke was too tired to argue further, lest she be accused again of spreading rumors and slander. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back. Pei Li is alone in the room, and I don’t feel at ease.”

She stood up to leave, but the man beside her grabbed her hand.

“What’s going on between you and Huo Yanting?”

“Didn’t I explain last time? I met him abroad, using Song Linlang’s name. He was displeased with being deceived, so he pursued me.”

“That’s all?”

“What else do you want to hear?”

“Sang Ke, mind your position. I don’t want to see you entangled publicly with another man again.”

Sang Ke found it laughable. “We’re divorced now—what business is it of yours?”

“I’ve already canceled the divorce application.”

Sang Ke was stunned. “What?”