187: Who says I only know one song?

Inside the banquet hall of the Peace Hotel, the charitable donations had just begun.

Sheng Aiyi's donation pushed the charity fundraising segment to its absolute climax.

She didn't directly donate a huge sum of money; instead, she provided an extremely practical and staggering list of supplies.

The host stared at the long list, completely dumbfounded, and froze for a long while before beginning to read it aloud: "Donation from Ivan Trading:

Three thousand cases of sulfonamide drugs;

One thousand bottles of various vitamins;

One thousand cases of disinfectant;

Fifty thousand sets of medical first-aid kits;

One hundred tons of high-quality flour;

Ten tons of military canned goods;

Thirty tons of medical gauze;

Five thousand bolts of high-quality cotton cloth;

Sugar..."

The host spent nearly a full minute reading the entire list.

Every item on this list directly targeted the most scarce supplies during wartime.

Especially the sulfonamides and first-aid kits, which were worth their weight in gold; their value could no longer be measured by a specific amount of silver dollars.

The room was instantly filled with the sound of sharp intakes of breath, followed by thunderous applause that didn't stop for a long time.

Afterward, several military bigwigs strongly requested that Sheng Aiyi go on stage to say a few words.

Seeing that she couldn't avoid it, she stepped onto the stage with a calm and determined expression.

Her powerful, resonant voice spread throughout the hall via the microphone, carrying an unquestionable strength: "Friends, guests!

As the saying goes: when the nation's survival is at stake, every individual bears responsibility.

In the previous battle, the soldiers at the front fought bloodily, while the people in the rear were displaced.

We merchants take from the country, and so we should naturally give back to the country.

This is not charity, but the duty we must fulfill as citizens of this nation!

Ivan Trading is willing to give everything we have to walk alongside our country.

We will fully support the resistance until the last Japanese invader is driven from our soil."

These words were deeply sincere and resounded with conviction.

Coupled with that astronomical donation, it instantly won over everyone present.

Gazes of praise and admiration focused on Sheng Aiyi like spotlights.

At this moment, she became the true Queen of Shanghai, radiating brilliance and unmatched in her prestige.

However, this scene inadvertently stung someone backstage deeply.

Julie Chen had been impatiently listening to her nephew Zhang Yunhua's exaggerated complaints.

He claimed that Lu Fan and Seventh Miss Sheng had conspired to set him up, tricking him out of two hundred thousand silver dollars using a song of unknown origin.

She originally couldn't be bothered with this worthless nephew.

But the mountain-shaking waves of applause and cheers of "Miss Sheng is so noble!" coming from the front hall...

...made her subconsciously stand up and walk to the small window of the lounge, parting the curtains to secretly observe the situation in the front hall.

She saw Sheng Aiyi surrounded by a crowd of Chinese and foreign celebrities and government officials like stars around the moon, receiving endless compliments and praise.

That honor and glory should have belonged to her, the wife of the 'Number Two Figure'.

What was even more infuriating was that in this banquet she had initiated and organized, now that the atmosphere had reached its peak...

...no one remembered she was still backstage, and no one came to invite her for the grand finale.

Intense jealousy and rage instantly surged within her.

Zhang Yunhua took the opportunity to lean in and fan the flames: "Auntie, look! They're doing it on purpose.

They're climbing over me to get ahead, and now they're taking all the glory, completely disregarding you."

Julie Chen's face turned ashen. She gave a cold snort and straightened her lapels.

Disregarding all etiquette, she stepped directly from the backstage into the front hall, heading toward the inner circle where Lu Fan and Sheng Aiyi were.

Julie Chen's sudden appearance halfway through left the banquet organizers stunned.

It wasn't time yet, but this 'Great Auntie' had come out on her own.

What the hell kind of stunt was this?

The crowd automatically parted to make a path for her, and the atmosphere instantly became subtle and tense.

"Miss Sheng truly has quite the grand style and a very high reputation."

Julie Chen spoke with a fake smile, her tone laced with obvious bitterness.

"However, I just heard Yunhua say that you two made a bet earlier and 'won' two hundred thousand silver dollars from him?"

She placed heavy emphasis on the word 'won,' clearly mocking their underhanded methods.

Sheng Aiyi's expression remained unchanged as she calmly countered: "Madame Wang, regarding the bet, everyone present is a witness.

Zhang Yunhua was the one who proactively proposed it, and Mr. Lu passively accepted the challenge. It was fair and public.

Furthermore, those two hundred thousand silver dollars are for charity and won't go into any private pockets. How can you call it 'winning'?"

"Fair?" Julie Chen smiled contemptuously and said coldly, "That song, whatever it's called—'ten thousand borders'—the melody sounds very familiar.

Years ago when I was in Europe, I heard something similar in a certain salon. Although I can't recall the specific title...

...I have not forgotten the melody of that piece to this day."

As she spoke, her eyes swept over the two of them, while her peripheral vision observed the surroundings.

After confirming she had become the focus of the room, she continued: "Miss Sheng, Mr. Lu!

Using this 'old wine in a new bottle' method and winning a bet with a plagiarized song is hardly honorable, is it?

This money was donated under false pretenses!"

Julie Chen raised her voice as she spoke eloquently; though she was lying through her teeth, her words sounded powerful.

This shameless nonsense, delivered without a hint of a blush or a racing heart—regardless of whether others were convinced, Lu Fan was certainly impressed.

This seemingly well-reasoned accusation made everyone present frown.

For a moment, they cast looks of disdain toward Sheng Aiyi and Lu Fan.

After all, in everyone's eyes, given Julie Chen's status, there was no need for her to frame a mere merchant.

Moreover, in such a grand setting, she wouldn't resort to a public confrontation unless she was pushed to her limit or things had gone too far.

However, the crowd didn't mindlessly launch an attack.

Because anyone who could attend a banquet of this level was no fool.

Even if they wanted to curry favor or take sides to gain approval, they had to see the situation clearly first.

After all, spoken words are like spilled water; at this level, the price for saying the wrong thing or siding with the wrong person was very high.

Those who were easily provoked into mindless barking either wouldn't survive three episodes or weren't qualified to speak in this circle.

Facing the accusation and the scrutinizing gazes of the crowd...

...Sheng Aiyi showed her anger and retorted coldly: "Since you say it sounds familiar, I wonder which salon it was in?

And I wonder, who wrote it? Where is the score? To talk nonsense and tarnish someone's reputation without evidence is perhaps even less honorable, don't you think?"

Julie Chen was momentarily choked by the retort. Since she was just making things up on the fly, she couldn't possibly produce any evidence.

But having seen many great storms, she let her overbearing aura leak out and spoke arrogantly: "Humph! Didn't I say so?

It was a long time ago, and I can't remember for the moment, but my ears won't be wrong!

If you want to prove your innocence, Mr. Lu must compose another new song of the same caliber right here on the spot!

Otherwise, this bet doesn't count! As for those two hundred thousand, I think that's a different story!"

This was clearly being unreasonable and making things difficult; Tang Li and the others all looked angry.

Lu Fan gently held Sheng Aiyi, who was about to continue her angry retort, and gave her a reassuring look.

He then took a step forward to face Julie Chen directly, the corners of his mouth curling into an interested smile.

They're just patriotic songs; who said I only know that one?