Chapter 20: Chapter 20 Why Buy That Painting?

She gently patted her chest and quietly stood up from the chair, walking out through the corridor to her side.

Moving along the long corridor, raindrops from the eaves, blown by the wind, fell onto her exposed arms.

The cold sensation made her shiver uncontrollably.

Suddenly, warmth fell upon her shoulder, and a coat was draped over her.

Lu Zhaozhao, caught off guard by the foreign scent, subconsciously shrugged it off.

It wasn’t until she turned her head that she saw the man who had been bidding against her.

“Sorry, I just noticed you looked a little cold and wanted to offer you my coat. If I was presumptuous, I am willing to apologize, miss,” the man said as he crouched down to pick up his black suit jacket, dusting it off and nodding apologetically at her.

Seeing the obvious water stain on the man’s jacket made Lu Zhaozhao involuntarily frown.

Feeling somewhat awkward, she tugged at the corner of her mouth, “I was just startled, it wasn’t intentional to dirty your suit jacket.”

The man didn’t seem to mind much but rather narrowed his handsome phoenix eyes, “It’s alright, I was too abrupt earlier.”

He was about to say something more when a man standing behind him tugged gently at his arm.

The man glanced behind him and then spoke, “My name is Xia Wenjue, and this is my younger brother, Xia Wenmo; he…”

“Why do you want to buy that painting?” Xia Wenmo cut in before Xia Wenjue could finish.

Only then did Lu Zhaozhao finally get a clear look at him. He was alarmingly thin, dressed in a white shirt which seemed to frame his body awkwardly.

With large black-framed glasses and clearly defined features, he appeared soulless.

Lu Zhaozhao raised her eyebrows, thinking that Xia Wenjue hadn’t bid against her. Could it be that he intended to buy the painting from her privately?

She pursed her lips, meeting both their gazes and said lightly, “Of course I bought it because I like it. You’re not planning to compete with me for it, are you?”

Her uncertain gaze measured up the two men. Although her martial arts skills were rusty, she was confident she could take down the man in front of her using her skills.

As for the seemingly frail young man beside him, he probably posed no threat.

Sensing Lu Zhaozhao’s wary gaze, Xia Wenmo quickly waved his hands, “We mean no harm; I just want to know if you truly like that painting?”

As he spoke, his gaze remained intently fixed on Lu Zhaozhao, as though trying to discern something from her small face.

Though Lu Zhaozhao didn’t understand his intent, she nodded earnestly and said with certainty, “I do like it. Although the artist is a newcomer, I believe he will improve greatly in the future. If you want to buy his paintings, you could wait for the next piece, though, of course… it might be much more expensive…”

The next time they saw a painting by this artist, it would cost ten times as much.

She felt pity for the young artist, but life is unpredictable, and perhaps his fate was not hers to change.

Xia Wenmo’s unfocused black eyes suddenly trembled, “Thank you.”

His voice was nearly inaudible, and Lu Zhaozhao almost didn’t catch it.

She arched her brows and, with a polite smile, nodded and left.

It was better to keep her distance from such strange people.

“Big brother, I agree to the surgery, I want to get better,” Xia Wenmo said, watching Lu Zhaozhao’s retreating figure.

Xia Wenjue was visibly stunned, as if he couldn’t believe his ears.

Xia Wenmo had a tumor in his brain, but its location was problematic, and there was a fifty percent chance of losing his sight after the removal surgery.

He was exceptionally addicted to designing and painting, and because of this, he consistently refused treatment.

This time, after a prolonged standoff with his family, he finally compromised.

If someone truly admired his art and bought it, he would undergo surgery; for the sake of those who liked his work, he would struggle on. If not, he would completely give up on treatment.

Xiao Wenjue initially thought that Xia Wenmo had come to terms with something, until he saw this auction filled with renowned artists’ works; he realized then that Xia Wenmo came with a resolve to die.

For this reason, he even hired someone to bid on Xia Wenmo’s painting, only to have it bought by a young girl unexpectedly.

He sighed softly and patted Xia Wenmo, “What, taken a fancy to this young girl?”

Xia Wenmo smiled relaxedly for once, “Perhaps, she resembles what mother looked like when she was young.”

…

His words left Xiao Wenjue frozen on the spot.

Like mother?

No wonder he had felt that the girl seemed so familiar.

He wasn’t usually one to act so impulsively, and now, thinking of how he had taken off his coat for her, even he was surprised by his own actions.

Moreover, there was something the Xia family didn’t know–their current younger sister, Xia Wenjin, was not their biological sister.

He had only found out recently when blood tests were done for her school enrollment.

Their parents were both type O, but Xia Wenjin was AB.

His gaze turned toward the direction in which Lu Zhaozhao had disappeared; it seemed he needed to conduct a thorough investigation into this young girl.

Because there wasn’t much left of interest after the auction, Lu Zhaozhao left early.

In addition to the auction, she had something even more important to do.

She had previously sent a jar of cubilose given to her by Xiao Jinglan to be tested, and the results were truly an eye-opener.

Not only did it contain contraceptives, but it also contained substances that were harmless in the short term but could be fatal if consumed over a long period.

Lu Zhaozhao thought back on how foolishly she had eaten that for so long in her previous life, unaware that she was being harmed.

She had wished to tell Song Sinian directly, but Xiao Jinglan had deep roots in the Song family, and she figured that trying to use this as an excuse to pull her down wouldn’t be easy.

So, she decided to take a different approach…

As soon as Lu Zhaozhao entered, Qian Hong wrapped her with a blanket, “Madam, please sit in the living room for a while. The kitchen has prepared sweet soup and cubilose. Have something to warm up your body, and later I’ll have someone prepare a hot foot bath for you.”

“Okay,” Lu Zhaozhao nodded obediently and sat in the living room, wrapping the blanket around her.

Waited until Qian Hong brought both the sweet soup and cubilose then Lu Zhaozhao proceeded to eat almost half a bowl of the sweet soup.

Then she turned to the cubilose.

As she watched Lu Zhaozhao eat adorably, Qian Hong couldn’t help but speak up, “The chef really put in a lot of effort for this cubilose, it’s perfect for madam to nourish herself. If madam likes it, we can ask the chef to prepare a portion every day…”

“Mm-hmm,” Lu Zhaozhao hummed as she ate the cubilose and nodded.

She actually felt a bit reluctant to look at Qian Hong because while she was wholeheartedly dedicated to her madam, Zhaozhao had something to hide from her.

Lu Zhaozhao pursed her lips and sighed silently in her heart. Suddenly, her hand froze, and half a bowl of cubilose was knocked onto the table.

“Ow… my stomach hurts so much…”