Mistakenly Married a Substitute Wife, Falling in Love with the Movie Queen - Chapter 10

The rose-tinted sunset resembled a magnificent dream, its gradient crimson hues searing the clouds with a wild, intense beauty that bathed the entire city in romantic colors, imbuing it with the texture of an oil painting.

Shen Shuangjing fastened the top button of her khaki trench coat. Though she still disliked the bone-chilling autumn chill, the enchanting atmosphere made it easy to forgive the weather’s imperfections.

Pedestrians stopped to capture the fiery sunset in their photos. Shen Shuangjing’s gaze lingered as she watched Sang Baili across the street remove her pearl-threaded hairpin, letting her cascading hair spill down, enhancing her allure.

Who could resist a breathtaking beauty whispering “Happy wedding” in your ear while casually presenting you with an exquisite, priceless necklace as a gift?

Shen Shuangjing wouldn’t have dared dream of such a sweet scenario. She spent a dozen seconds urging herself to stay calm and not get carried away.

Desire is a devil, and greed knows no bounds.

If she dared accept the necklace today, tomorrow she’d dare accept the Sang Family’s fortune, and the day after, she’d dare turn their act into reality, seizing her beautiful wife through cunning, coercion, and domineering possessiveness.

Only restraint could help her avoid the flood of monstrous desires.

Having painstakingly achieved a moment of inner calm, Shen Shuangjing seized the opportunity to close the jewelry box. With a swift, practiced motion, she slipped it into Sang Baili’s bag, fearing that even a second’s delay or another glance at the dazzling brilliance would tempt her to claim the brand-new necklace as her own.

“Happy wedding,” Shen Shuangjing said, “but this necklace is far too extravagant.”

If it had been a necklace worth a few tens of thousands of yuan, she might have accepted it. Such a sum would be negligible to Sang Baili, and refusing would have seemed petty and contrived.

But Shen Shuangjing’s total salary for a year as Sang Baili’s contractual wife was only one million yuan. This necklace alone could pay her to play the role for another six years.

She couldn’t bear the weight of such a gift.

Similarly, the necklace’s beauty had been overshadowed by its price. In Shen Shuangjing’s eyes, even its most dazzling brilliance had been reduced to a cold, seven-figure sum—a symbol of enslavement.

She refused to be held hostage by its exorbitant price.

Sang Baili extended her slender fingers, stopping Shen Shuangjing from packing the necklace. The setting sun painted her charming eyes with a vibrant glow, enhancing their breathtaking beauty.

A playful smile curved her lips, like the flick of a fish’s tail, rippling spring’s reflection across a clear pond.

“No matter how precious, you should pack your own necklace.”

She feigned misunderstanding Shen Shuangjing’s intention.

But to suggest she hadn’t grasped the true meaning behind Shen Shuangjing’s words would be like a donkey walking a tightrope—absurd.

It was a deliberate misunderstanding, a subtle way to urge Sang Baili to put the necklace away herself.

Yet directness trumps subtlety, and sincerity naturally defeats overthinking.

The sunset reflected in Shen Shuangjing’s eyes, painting them with a dazzling, shimmering orange hue like a sea of liquid gold. “I wanted to return it to you. It’s too precious for me to accept.”

She explained her actions plainly, leaving Sang Baili no room to feign ignorance.

Perhaps this was the legendary “one thing counters another.” Even the worldly Sang Baili found herself retreating step by step before such sincerity, unable to change the fact that her gift was being returned.

Adjusting her stance, Sang Baili felt a mix of amusement and resignation.

Although the girl’s principles and stubbornness left Sang Baili feeling helpless, she had to admit that it was precisely the girl’s contentment and lack of greed that made her willing to spend money on her without hesitation. If someone else had tried to constantly demand money from her, she would have made them repay every penny, with interest, someday.

Ultimately, it wasn’t that Sang Baili was inherently extravagant or loved spending money; it all depended on who she was dealing with.

Sang Baili had almost forgotten that her initial reason for choosing Shen Shuangjing was because she was so easy to control.

Now, she had grown accustomed to seeing nothing but pure, unadulterated sincerity in those beautiful eyes, like crystal-clear glass that seemed forever immune to corruption.

She crossed her arms, her eyes shimmering with deep blue like the most mysterious depths of the night sky. “Feeling pressured?”

Shen Shuangjing nodded heavily. “You know I’ve never seen six million before.”

Her slightly upturned, innocent-looking eyes betrayed a hint of vulnerability. “Giving me such an expensive necklace just makes me wonder if you’ve fattened up your little lamb and now it’s harvest season?”

Sang Baili scoffed softly, her boneless fingers lightly pinching Shen Shuangjing’s cheek. Her beautiful eyes slanted provocatively as she challenged, “Not an ounce of meat on you. How dare you call yourself a little fat sheep?”

Her fingers were cool and carried a faint, delicate fragrance. The touch lingered for only a few seconds before withdrawing, the residual warmth fading from Shen Shuangjing’s skin.

Shen Shuangjing rubbed the cheek that had been touched, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “It’s a metaphor,” she declared solemnly.

But for some reason, the explanation sounded a little ridiculous even to her own ears. She swore she saw a fleeting flicker of amusement in Sang Baili’s eyes.

Sang Baili’s crimson lips curved into a radiant smile. “Actually, you could interpret it as a gift for President Sang’s wife.”

Shen Shuangjing pointed to herself and tilted her head. Isn’t that me?

“Exactly,” Sang Baili replied. “A six-million-yuan necklace is more than enough for President Sang’s wife, in my opinion.”

What she didn’t say was that the “President Sang’s wife” she referred to was none other than Shen Shuangjing.

This gift was for Shen Shuangjing, her newlywed wife.

The title “President Sang’s wife” was merely a temporary qualifier, easily discarded.

Shen Shuangjing, on the other hand, was the permanent, unchanging object of her affection.

In a flash of insight, Shen Shuangjing’s mind finally clicked. Her eyebrows relaxed, and she exclaimed, “Oh, you should have said so sooner!”

So, Shen Shuangjing and President Sang’s wife are one and the same after all!

Although Shen Shuangjing was Mrs. Sang, and Mrs. Sang was Shen Shuangjing, that was precisely the problem.

While Shen Shuangjing was fully aware of her identity as Mrs. Sang, she still tended to approach situations from her own perspective first. Sang Baili, on the other hand, considered things from Mrs. Sang’s point of view, leading to occasional misalignments in their thinking.

Shen Shuangjing might personally reject extravagant jewelry and luxury goods, but those were considered Mrs. Sang’s basic necessities—how could she possibly refuse them?

Once she understood this, the problem resolved itself effortlessly.

President Sang no longer had to worry about her wife (the Shen Shuangjing version) refusing gifts.

Shen Shuangjing, channeling her inner drama queen, lowered her head and smiled shyly. “I almost forgot I married the president of a billion-dollar conglomerate,” she said. “Will you forgive me for saying the gift was too extravagant earlier, Sister?”

Sang Baili raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly, her voice as sweet as sugar-coated candy, yet laced with a deeper meaning. “Of course, you must be punished.”

Shen Shuangjing’s smile froze on her face. In a barely audible whisper, she coached, “Sister, you’re so wise, gentle, and understanding… shouldn’t you generously forgive me now?”

Sang Baili smiled sweetly. “I forgive you, but the punishment remains.”

I’ve dug my own grave.

Shen Shuangjing frowned, her beautiful features creasing. “What kind of punishment?”

Sang Baili’s slender, pale fingers plucked a black card from her wallet and slowly pressed it into the girl’s palm. “Too much money and no way to spend it all. Fulfill your duty as Mrs. Sang—spend it.”

Shen Shuangjing: “Huh?”

I’m going to fight you rich people to the death!