General Chen’s words plunged the entire hall into silence.
The butler, who had been about to refill the teapot, trembled, nearly dropping it. He didn’t dare add water anymore; instead, he cradled it like a treasure and gently set it back on the table.
T-t-two million?!
Seeing the stunned expressions on everyone’s faces, General Chen seemed to recall something. “You didn’t know? This teapot was auctioned at the B City auction house last month. Because it wasn’t part of a complete set, the bidding only reached two million. I never expected you managed to assemble the whole collection.”
After hearing this, Ye Ming and Xu Peipei stood frozen in place, their eyes glazed over.
Who could have imagined that these seemingly worn-out teacups were actually antiques worth tens of millions?
Especially remembering how Ye Shaohua had casually clinked the cup on the table… wasn’t she afraid of damaging it?
The corner of the butler’s mouth twitched.
When Ye Shaohua returned, General Chen had already left.
Grandfather Ye and the other two were sitting on the sofa, while the butler and the servants all stared at her intently.
“What’s wrong?” Ye Shaohua glanced at Grandfather Ye.
Grandfather Ye’s voice trembled slightly. “Shaohua, how much did the teacup set you gave me cost?”
Hearing this, Ye Shaohua realized her grandfather probably knew the price. She didn’t hide it. “I bought them from acquaintances. Altogether, just three million.”
The butler looked at Ye Shaohua strangely.
He had originally thought the eldest young lady was the least promising member of the Ye family. It turned out she was the ultimate boss.
“You still claim you didn’t sell the copyright to your thesis,” Xu Peipei stood up, pointing at Ye Shaohua. “You even hid it from your father. All these years he spent raising you were wasted!”
“I really didn’t sell that thesis,” Ye Shaohua couldn’t be bothered with Xu Peipei and turned to Grandfather Ye. “Grandpa, I didn’t tell you back then because I wanted you to use it freely.”
Grandfather Ye was at a loss for words, his wrinkled face blooming into a radiant smile.
“You’re still lying!” Xu Peipei insisted. “If you didn’t sell it, where did you get three million?!” She had long been convinced Ye Shaohua must have sold her thesis but hadn’t admitted it. Five million! She spent three million, and even after taxes, there should be over a million left.
Grandfather Ye shot a cold glance at Xu Peipei. “So what if she did sell it? What does it have to do with you two?”
“But Grandpa, she’s lying…” Xu Peipei tried to continue, but at that moment, Ye Ruxue and Chu Yan arrived at the Ye residence.
They overheard Xu Peipei’s raised voice.
“Mom, what’s going on?” Ye Ruxue looked somewhat pale, but she didn’t want Xu Peipei to leave a bad impression on Chu Yan.
Seeing them, Xu Peipei held nothing back. “Shaohua published a paper in the Science journal, right? An M Country lab bought the copyright for fifty million. She lied to us, saying she didn’t sell it. But she spent three million buying your grandfather a tea set. If she didn’t sell it, where did the money come from? It’s not like we would have tried to take the money if she’d told us she sold it. But she kept lying to your grandfather, insisting she didn’t.”
Both Ye Ruxue and Chu Yan were unaware that Ye Shaohua had been admitted to MIT. They had always believed she dropped out of high school.
Hearing Xu Peipei’s words, they both stiffened completely.
Even Chu Yan looked at Ye Shaohua in disbelief.
He knew about the Science journal; his own mentor had applied to publish there several times without success. To now learn that Ye Shaohua had published a paper in it… He stared at her as if seeing her for the first time.
“Ruxue, Young Master Chu, you tell me. Lying to us is one thing, but lying to Grandpa… really…”
“She didn’t,” Chu Yan interrupted Xu Peipei, looking at her. “Miss Ye probably didn’t lie. She didn’t sell the intellectual property of her thesis.”
“How is that possible? If she didn’t sell it, where did she get so much money…” Xu Peipei refused to believe it.
“Because of ‘Wan Shen Cang Qiong’ (Gods and Firmament),” Chu Yan said, his gaze finally daring to shift to Ye Shaohua. “She is Ye Liu, the author of ‘Wan Shen Cang Qiong’. The annual royalties for that book exceed ninety million.”
At Chu Yan’s words, the entire family was stunned.
Before Grandfather Ye and the others could speak, a servant exclaimed excitedly, “Really?! The eldest young lady is the great author Ye Liu?!”
Ye Liu was a legendary figure in the literary world.
Seeing everyone’s attention focused on Ye Shaohua and the discussion about ‘Wan Shen Cang Qiong’, Ye Ruxue lowered her gaze, no longer wanting to listen. She turned and went upstairs.
How laughable. She had once thought this person had nothing and even wanted to crush her with piano skills.
She thought Ye Shaohua would envy her, but it turned out Ye Shaohua had long been standing on a much higher plane. Her petty schemes probably never even registered in Ye Shaohua’s eyes.
**
Two months later.
A post by Ran Mo, a renowned audio editor in the web voice acting circle, sent shockwaves through the entire community.
Secondary Dimension Station: Confirmed. While looking ugly isn’t your fault, scamming your fans is. // @v Ran Mo: A certain someone has been hailed as a goddess in the web voice acting circle, but in reality, she has been deceiving her fans all along. Here’s the evidence [Image][Image]. The repulsive fatty in the picture is the so-called illustrious ‘Bù Fù’ (Fulfillment). @Yun Xiao, don’t be fooled by her. She simply doesn’t dare show her face!
Yun Xiao’s Little Cutie: Yun Xiao darling, don’t be deceived by that despicable woman Bù Fù Sháohuá (Fulfill My Prime)!
Hotpot ll: Always knew there was a reason a certain someone never posted photos. Heh.
Little Grass Qing Qing: Completely incomparable to Sky Snow. Let me recommend a real beauty to cleanse your eyes [Image]
Flower Without Shadow: Heh. In fact, Yun Xiao is probably an ugly monster too.
Gossip Circle: Let me drop another bombshell. This person is actually the descendant of Actress Qin! Yes, the Actress Qin you’re thinking of. And she dropped out of high school. Considering Actress Qin’s daughter turned out like this, I can’t help but wonder if Actress Qin had plastic surgery.
…
Ye Shaohua received a call from the scriptwriter, Qing Cheng Se.
“Great Author Shaohua, I’m at the airport. Where are you?”
Ye Shaohua looked at Yun Xiao, still in line buying coffee, and replied, “Exit 4. We’ll wait for you by the coffee shop exit.”
“Coffee shop at Exit 4,” Qing Cheng Se turned to the people beside her. “Remember, when you see the great author, don’t look at her with any strange expressions, got it?”
Qing Mei Guo rolled her eyes. “Do you even need to say that? But don’t mention the online stuff to the great author.”
The group made their way out and found the coffee shop at Exit 4. “Beige coat…”
Qing Cheng Se scanned the crowd for someone whose build resembled Bù Fù Sháohuá’s but couldn’t find anyone. She sent a message.
Just then, another group emerged from Exit 4.
At the front was a handsome young man.
Seeing him, Qing Cheng Se frowned.
They hadn’t intended to speak to him, but the young man spoke first. “Qing Cheng Se, you’re not waiting for Bù Fù Sháohuá, are you? Do you really think she’d dare to meet you?”
“Aren’t you disgusting?” Before Qing Cheng Se could respond, the man beside her spoke up. “You exposed someone’s privacy for no reason and even had fans send dead mice to Bù Fù. The disgusting one is you!”
“She deceived people first,” Ran Mo sneered. “We’re not here to argue with you today. You’re here to find that fraud Bù Fù Sháohuá. We’re here to meet Sky Snow.”
After speaking, Ran Mo looked toward a woman in a beige coat about ten meters away.
He could only see her profile, but even from the side, she was breathtakingly stunning. Almost every passerby seemed to slow their steps involuntarily.
His heartbeat quickened uncontrollably. That must be Sky Snow, he thought.
Before he could step forward, a somewhat plump figure approached. “Are you Ran Mo?”
Hearing the familiar, gentle voice, Ran Mo turned with delight. “Sky Snow…”
But as the words left his mouth, he looked at the woman in front of him wearing a pink sweater, her figure quite stout. He froze.
This person… was the glamorous, beautiful Sky Snow from the Weibo pictures?
The man beside Qing Cheng Se muttered, stunned, “This is Sky Snow?”
Qing Cheng Se and the others had seen Sky Snow’s photos before. The person in the photos was elegant and beautiful with a great figure. The contrast with the rather plump person before them… was too great.
Ye Ruxue looked puzzled. “Yes, Ran Mo. Aren’t you happy to see me?”
Ran Mo and the others forced smiles. “No, of course not.”
But clear disappointment flashed across their faces. Ye Ruxue, while somewhat plump, wasn’t exactly ugly. She just looked vastly different from her photos. With expectations set so high, seeing the reality inevitably led to keen disappointment.
Qing Cheng Se scoffed. So much for the number one goddess of the web voice acting circle.
She was about to lead her group to find Bù Fù Sháohuá when she noticed the stunningly beautiful woman by the coffee shop entrance turning around.
She was walking towards them with a man who could rival any young celebrity.
The woman was wearing beige.
Qing Cheng Se froze, an incredible possibility dawning on her.
Then, the woman with strikingly dark, bright eyes stopped before her. Ye Shaohua used a modified voice for her voice acting, so now she lowered her tone, her voice carrying a lazy, cool quality as she asked, “Um… are you Qing Cheng Se?”
Qing Cheng Se, Shan He Ri Yue, and the others who had come to meet Bù Fù Sháohuá in person widened their eyes. “G-great author?!”
