Chapter 11: She Lost Her Daughter but Didn’t Call the Police

“If we get divorced now and it gets exposed, Linlang will be branded as the other woman. I need your cooperation to create the illusion of a harmonious marriage, and to clarify for Linlang: she and I are nothing more than close friends. Of course, this is only temporary. Once things settle down, I’ll find a suitable time and reason to announce our divorce.” Pei Xuyun spoke as if it were only natural.

Sang Ke refused without a second thought. “Impossible. Why should I clean up the mess you and Song Linlang made?”

Pei Xuyun’s expression turned cold. “If you don’t agree, I’ll make public the real reason I married you. By then, the public will only sympathize with me for picking up the pieces. And your precious son will learn from others that he’s illegitimate. So, will you play along with me, or will we both go down together? The choice is yours.”

“You’re despicable!” Sang Ke was furious and slapped him.

This time, Pei Xuyun was prepared and caught her wrist.

The two of them stood off for a long time, neither willing to yield.

Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass came from the hospital room, startling Sang Ke.

She shook off Pei Xuyun’s hand and rushed into the room in a panic.

Pei Li lay unconscious on the floor, surrounded by shards of a broken kettle and glass cup, blood seeping from cuts on his hand. It seemed he had suddenly fallen ill while pouring himself some water.

Seeing the water and blood all over the floor, Sang Ke’s limbs went weak with fear.

Pei Xuyun immediately summoned the doctors.

Fortunately, after emergency treatment, Pei Li’s condition and injuries proved not to be serious.

Watching her son, now asleep with an IV drip in his arm, Sang Ke finally compromised. “I’ll play your charade. But you must promise never to let any information about Pei Li leak out. Whatever happens between adults must not affect the child.”

“Agreed. If there’s anything I need, I’ll call you.” Pei Xuyun, having said his piece, removed her number from his blacklist and left.

Pei Xuyun’s public relations team was indeed formidable.

In less than half a day, Sang Ke received their drafted PR plan.

She logged into her seldom-used Weibo account, posted the carefully worded statement they had prepared, and uploaded a photo of their marriage certificate with identifying details blurred.

After Pei Xuyun’s repost, the post garnered over a hundred million views within hours.

Very soon, the entire internet knew: Pei Xuyun’s secret wife was named Sang Ke, his childhood friend, who was also a close friend of Song Linlang. The three had been high school classmates. After Pei Xuyun gave up the college entrance exam to enter show business, Sang Ke and Song Linlang both attended the same art academy and grew even closer. During Pei Xuyun’s four years studying acting abroad, Sang Ke had entrusted Song Linlang, who was also studying in France, to look after him. Over the years, though rumors had swirled about Song Linlang and Pei Xuyun, Sang Ke had always been aware and accepting. In fact, it was she who asked Song Linlang to act as a smokescreen, helping to conceal her marriage to Pei Xuyun.

Before posting, Sang Ke deleted all her previously shared personal information online and emphasized repeatedly that she was just an ordinary person, unwilling to attract undue attention or have her life disturbed.

The gossip-hungry public only knew that the movie king’s wife was named Sang Ke. As for who she was, no one had any idea.

Anyone who did recognize Sang Ke and tried to reveal anything online was quickly intercepted and warned off.

But Sang Ke neither knew of nor cared about these follow-ups.

All she cared about was when her son’s surgery could finally take place.

More than two months passed.

The hospital had searched the national database but still hadn’t found a suitable match for a bone marrow transplant.

“If neither parent is compatible, you might consider trying the grandparents or other relatives. Compared to the vast sea of anonymous donors, the chances are much higher with blood relatives,” the doctor suggested after another fruitless search.

“All right. I understand. Thank you, Doctor.”

After leaving the doctor’s office, Sang Ke wandered outside in the wind for an hour before she finally made up her mind and hailed a cab.

Even if it meant breaking a promise, even if hope was slim, for her son’s sake, she had to try.

At dusk, Sang Ke appeared at the gates of the Song family villa.

“Miss Sang, please go back. Madam has said everything that needed to be said last time. She hopes you’ll keep your word and not disturb her life again,” said Uncle Yu, the butler, through the iron gate.

“Uncle Yu, please, could you tell her again for me? This is truly urgent—someone’s life is at stake!”

“Don’t make things difficult for me. You know what Madam’s temperament is like.”

“Then I’ll wait here.”

“Oh, why put yourself through this? Sir will be home soon. If he sees you…” Uncle Yu left the warning unfinished, but Sang Ke understood well enough.

In the Song household, it was not Madam’s coldness but Sir’s disdain that was the greatest obstacle.

He could still recall how much Madam had once valued Sang Ke as her disciple, almost imparting all her hard-earned skills to her. Even Miss Linlang had wept with jealousy several times. For Sang Ke, Madam and Sir had argued more than once—so fiercely that, at the worst of times, Madam returned to her own family for several days.

Yet after that incident, when Madam came back, her attitude toward Sang Ke abruptly cooled, and soon after, she even severed their master-disciple bond.

“Thank you for your concern. But this time, the main person I need to see is Mr. Song. So it’s all right, I’ll just wait here,” Sang Ke replied with a smile. She knew well that persuading Liu Wanqin alone wasn’t enough; she needed Song Wentao’s cooperation. Once she had his support, Liu Wanqin would no longer be a problem.

Seeing she could not be moved, Uncle Yu left her, stooped with age.

Through the iron gate, Sang Ke gazed at the flowers and greenery she once knew so well in the courtyard, feeling as though she were peering into a world that belonged to another lifetime.

By the time the sun had completely set, she sneezed.

A glance at her watch told her it was already seven in the evening.

Barring any surprises, Song Wentao would be home in about half an hour.

As Sang Ke was pondering how to persuade him, a sudden torrent of icy water struck her face with force.

The spray was so fierce that she was instantly drenched from head to toe.

She stumbled back, took off her glasses to wipe away the water, and put them on again.

There, inside the villa, stood Song Linlang, holding a high-pressure water gun meant for washing cars, its nozzle aimed straight at her.

Laughing loudly, Song Linlang turned off the tap. “Look at you—soaked like a drowned rat! Just what you deserve!”

Sang Ke, exasperated by Song Linlang’s childish malice, retorted, “Song Linlang, what happened to your usual elegant, refined image? Is house arrest so boring you can’t even keep up appearances anymore?”

“Don’t act so high and mighty in front of me, Sang Ke. You think I didn’t know you came to my mother for money last time? What do you want this time—how much?”

“I’m not here for money.”

“I don’t care why you’re here. You’re not welcome. If you don’t leave, I’ll call the police.”

Unfazed, Sang Ke replied calmly, “Go ahead. When the police arrive, I’ll be happy to discuss with them how, more than twenty years ago, the Song family’s daughter fell into the river and disappeared for days without anyone ever filing a missing person report.”

Song Linlang’s expression changed instantly. “What did you say?”