Chapter 6 - How Happy It Is To Be A Generous Person With Someone Else's Money (1)
Fang JunRong discussed the matter for quite a bit with her best friend, Xu WeiWei. Xu WeiWei was the one she could trust the most. For the sake of not alerting Li WangJin, she shouldn't be too involved herself, so she'd have to rely mainly on Xu WeiWei.
Walking out of the private room, Fang JunRong heard a somewhat familiar voice.
"Let me go. I am going to call the cops if you don't stop what you are doing."
It was the voice that had haunted her for many nights. It sounded stubborn with a hint of pitifulness. It was the voice of Jiang YaGe. Every time she talked with that voice, all the knights around her would slay everything in her way and ensure her safety.
She turned around and saw Jiang YaGe in her server's uniform. It perfectly accentuated her curves, making her seem slender and elegant, like a bud ready to bloom. Her skin was light colored. She may just be comely looking, but her innocent quality made her stand out. That plus her slightly defiant aura was the reason she was able to attract all the SGR (second generation rich)'s attention. To many of the SGRs, conquering a girl like her was a real challenge.
Listening to her words that sounded stronger than they were, the man in front of her smiled and said in a dallying tone, "Sure. Call the cops, why don't you? So cute that you are still trying to feign innocence at a place like this."
He gripped Jiang YaGe's wrist tightly and looked all up and down her curvy body in a vulgar way.
If it was someone else, Fang JunRong would most likely step in and help out, but this was Jiang YaGe in front of her. Remembering everything that had happened to her in the previous life, she couldn't muster up that kind of kindness. Besides, Jiang YaGe had always been eerily lucky.
Somehow she was always able to dodge any bad luck that went her way. So most likely, the same thing would happen this time as well. Fang JunRong did not know that Jiang YaGe had worked at this club before joining the Li's. Li WangJin most likely has not yet mentioned to her about wanting to adopt her yet; otherwise she would have quit this job already.
Fang JunRong was an acquaintance of the owner of the club. So she had a pretty good idea that every worker here was selected carefully and all had exquisite beauty. At tens of thousands a month, their income wasn't bad either. But, even though nothing too bad could happen here, there would inevitably be some brutes who would cross the line from time to time.
The rich young man's words might sound awful, but there was some truth in them. Anyone who worked there should expect that something like this could happen from time to time. With Jiang YaGe's qualifications, she would be a tutor if she wanted to. She wouldn't make as much, but it'd be much safer. What was going through her mind?
Jiang YaGe lifted her head slightly, looking restrained and stubborn, "I'd rather lose this job than to be insulted by you!"
Having said that, she flung off his hand.
The rich young man felt offended by being face slapped by the server.
"How dare you! I am telling you, you will be serving me today."
Suddenly, a girl with a pointy face dashed out. Compared to Jiang YaGe's innocent look, this girl was more delicate, and her eyes were magnetic. Her uniform very much accentuated her proud bosoms, about to bounce out any minute. "Young Master Gu, YaGe can't drink very much, she won't be able to please you. Why don't I drink with you instead?"
Fang JunRong recognized this girl. She was Zhong Yi, one of Jiang YaGe's close girlfriends in her previous life from the very beginning. Later on, she heard that the two of them had a falling out over a man, and Zhong Yi had turned against Jiang YaGe. Fang JunRong had heard someone mention that Zhong Yi was manipulative and only used Jiang YaGe as a springboard to secure herself a rich man.
Fang JunRong had no idea what happened to Zhong Yi afterwards, but everyone who crossed Jiang YaGe ended poorly, so presumably, Zhong Yi would meet the same fate as well.
This encounter, however, gave Fang JunRong a different impression of her. Willing to risk offending someone else and jumping out to help Jiang YaGe like that, Zhong Yi seemed more like a loyal friend.
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Chapter 7 - How Happy It Is To Be A Generous Person With Someone Else's Money (2)
It was obvious that Zhong Yi was trying to help out Jiang YaGe. As long as the wealthy young master would take her offer, the whole issue would end right here. Unfortunately, Jiang YaGe was not one who'd take the ordinary path. She looked at Zhong Yi and said unhappily, "Xiao Yi, let's ignore someone like that! What if he gropes you when you are drinking with him?
"Push comes to shove, we'd just quit this job!"
She might have sounded very righteous, but her good friend Zhong Yi looked disturbed and said to her, "YaGe..."
Even Fang JunRong, watching the whole event from one side, felt speechless from Jiang YaGe's response. She changed her mind and started walking towards them.
"Can the two of you help me tidy up my private room?" She said to both Jiang YaGe and Zhong Yi. She wondered what kind of reaction Jiang YaGe would have when they meet again at the Li's a little while later.
Clearly, Jiang YaGe wasn't entirely stupid. She quickly responded, "Sure, which private room are you in?"
Zhong Yi, too, looked more relaxed than she was before.
The wealthy young master apparently recognized Fang JunRong and said in a friendly voice, "Eh? Is that you, Boss Fang? If you want them to assist you, then I won't fight you over them."
He even gave a "please go ahead" gesture.
Fang JunRong smiled slightly and went back into her private room with both Jiang YaGe and Zhong Yi following behind them.
After they had closed the door behind them, Fang JunRong asked casually, "How did you two end up working here?"
She noticed that her self-control had been getting better and better. She was now able to suppress her hatred and desire for revenge. Or, perhaps, Jiang YaGe was only one of the many culprits, and Fang JunRong hated Li WangJin and Li ShiZe even more.
"I am doing this for my tuition next semester. My uncle and his people took away the insurance money from my parents," said Jiang YaGe. When she said that, moisture appeared in her eyes, making her look all the more pitiful.
Xu WeiWei, Fang JunRong's good friend, raised her brows and said very bluntly, "As far as I know, many universities nowadays offer financial assistance. If you work hard enough, you should be able to earn enough to cover other expenses just by being a tutor for two summer months."
Fang JunRong gave her good friend a look of approval – she was her good friend after all; she was thinking the exact same thing.
Jiang YaGe acted as though this was the first time that she realized that option and said, stuttering, "Oh, yeah... I guess there's that."
Zhong Yi bit her lower lips and said, "My grandmother is ill, and we need money for hospital visits and medications. I won't be able to make enough to cover her medications being a tutor."
She may have that bewitching and sycophantic look that most disliked, but she certainly has an unyielding personality.
Fang JunRong pursed her lips a little and said, "That's very responsible of you and that reminds me of my own grandmother. I have a very nice grandmother too. Sadly, she passed away before I was able to take care of her."
She sighed, looked at Zhong Yi amiably, and said, "I like you a lot. How'd you like to be my adopted daughter?"
If the Li's were going to adopt Jiang YaGe, what's another Zhong Yi? It isn't like she'd encroach on her inheritance. Since Li WangJin enjoyed adopting daughters so much, helping him adopt a few more would be the right thing to do!
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Chapter 8 - How Happy It Is To Be A Generous Person With Someone Else's Money (3)
In her previous life, Jiang YaGe was able to use the Li's resources and doled them out to Zhong Yi like she was a charity case. And so, when the two of them had a falling out, public opinion sided with Jiang YaGe and criticized Zhong Yi as the white-eyed wolf, and the topic of "the entire world owes me a girlfriend like Jiang YaGe" was further pushed into the top trending list.
So what would happen if both of them could stand side by side as peers this time around? And, whose side would her bbq-pork son* be on when he suddenly gained two sisters, both with a woeful past?
* (T/N: An unofficial Chinese saying. Usually when a mother is mad at the son she'd say to him, "I should have given birth to a slab of bbq pork instead of you.")
Zhong Yi felt like she had just won the lottery, and she couldn't even focus her eyes. It was after a long while before she was able to say with a stutter, "Do you mean it?"
Fang JunRong smiled and said, "Of course. Here's my business card. If you like the idea, come and talk to me next weekend. That ought to give you a week's time to think it over."
She fished out one of her business cards and handed it over to Zhong Yi. She skipped giving a business card to Jiang YaGe, who was also standing next to her.
She left with Xu WeiWei at a leisurely pace after giving Zhong Yi her business card.
After they had left, Xu WeiWei asked, "What made you want to have an adopted daughter out of the blue?"
"It'd be a nice thing to do," replied Fang JunRong nonchalantly.
She'd extend the olive branch to Zhong Yi, and it's up to her whether or not to make good use of the opportunity.
Xu WeiWei shook her head. "You don't look like someone who likes to randomly adopt someone." With her status, she'd have unlimited options for an adopted daughter if she spread the words that she was looking for one.
Fang JunRong said, "Nothing much. I just felt that it might not be a bad thing to have one more person to split the pie that's Li WangJin's inheritance, since he enjoys being a nice guy so much." Then, after a slight hesitation, she said, "Do you think I should go adopt a few more?"
Maybe adopt enough for a soccer team?
The corners of Xu WeiWei's mouth twitched. Was it her imagination? She hasn't met up with Fang JunRong for a while, and her friend seemed to be deviating from the norm now. Hmm, her behavior must be the result of all the sh*t that Li WangJin had pulled! Li WangJin, scumbag!
"Let's go and buy some jewelry."
Why did she need to be frugal for the Li's? The more she spent, the merrier!
***
Inside the private room, Zhong Yi clutched tightly onto the business card. She felt like she was walking on clouds right now. She must be dreaming, right?
"Xiao Yi, do you think she's a con artist? She wants to lure you over to her place and kidnap you." Jiang YaGe's voice brought Zhong Yi back to reality.
"I don't think so? Just look at that Young Master Gu. He even let us go because of her. With Young Master Gu's status, many have to kowtow to him," said Zhong Yi.
"Even if she didn't interfere, that Young Master Gu wouldn't be able to do anything to us anyway," said Jiang YaGe.
Zhong Yi gave Jiang YaGe a curious look and asked, "Do you not like her, YaGe? Boss Fang had helped us out. She's a good person." Especially when she didn't dislike her right away because of her look. She was very friendly to her the entire time.
Jiang YaGe's look froze on her for a little while, and she added, "That's not it. I just think that there's no such thing as a free lunch and didn't want you to be tricked. You are my best friend and I'd hate to see anything bad happen to you."
Zhong Yi looked down at the business card again. "Her name is on here, Fang JunRong.... It sounds so familiar."
Having said that, she fished out her cellphone and searched the name. Immediately, she gasped.
"Oh, my god! Look, she's the co-owner of Ayron with her husband. Her picture is right on here and that's really her!" There was ecstasy in her voice. "Oh my, she is already in her forties, but she looked so young in person."
She looked out of it for a while. Was her luck finally going to turn after her years of misfortune?
Jiang YaGe frowned a little and bit her lips a little in surprise.
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Chapter 9 - Fate Can Manifest Itself In Such An Interesting Way (1)
"You are soon going to have two more sisters," said Fang JunRong to her son Li ShiZe after she put down her chopsticks.
Fang JunRong made the announcement officially over dinner. Li WangJin expressed that both kids listened to her more and asked Fang JunRong to take on the task of announcing the news.
The slight smile on Li WangJin froze on his face. He casted a dubious look in Fang JunRong's direction and asked, "I thought it was just one?" Who else other than Jiang YaGe? How come he didn't know about it?
Fang JunRong gave him a perfect smile, cheerfulness radiated from her eyes and brows, and brought up Zhong Yi to him. "That kid is so pitiful. She had no parents to help her out, so I want to help her." She also briefly talked about Jiang YaGe.
Li ShiZe didn't care too much about it either way. As far as he was concerned, having two more sisters just meant two more mouths to feed. The thought of the inheritance didn't even cross his mind. The way he looked at it, his parents would never leave their inheritance to any outsiders.
Li XinYun pouted unhappily. "Are they going to be living with us?" She didn't like it that way. She felt that her personal space at home had been encroached upon.
Li WangJin frowned. "She works at White Crane"? What kind of a nice girl would work at a place like that?"
There was a hit of distaste in his voice. Obviously ,he looked down upon someone of Zhong Yi's status, but more so than that, he was disgruntled that his wife wanted to adopt another girl without even running it by him first. For a family like theirs, adopting a child was more than just adding an extra pair of chopsticks. When they get married, they would for sure have to prepare some dowry.
Fang JunRong chuckled to herself; ah, the world's #1 double standard man, Li WangJin. Didn't Jiang YaGe work at the same place? In his eyes, she was the goddess who was not corrupted by an environment like that. She was a kind and strong girl. Granted, there was a good chance that he didn't know all about Jiang YaGe's past. As it wasn't something to be proud about, Jiang YaGe most likely did not share with others willy-nilly.
Fang JunRong suddenly looked forward to the day of Jiang YaGe's arrival.
As much as she was talking sh*t about Li WangJin, she maintained a tender look. "That kid only works there to pay for her grandmother's medical bill. That's why I wanted to offer her an opportunity.
"Her story was much sadder than that of Jiang YaGe's. Since we are already adopting Jiang YaGe, I don't mind having one more daughter. Besides, I have consulted a master fortune teller. Zhong Yi's birth date will bring fortune to our family." Of course she just made up that last part on the spot.
There was more that Li WangJin wanted to add, but after hearing about Jiang YaGe, he compromised – after all, Zhong Yi's past did sound worse than that of Jiang YaGe's. He opened his mouth and finally said, "I just don't want you to be fooled was all. It's not about the money; I just don't want you to be hurt emotionally. If you like her so much, let's take her too. I still don't trust too much the character of a girl from a place like that. I will for sure observe her closely for a while."
His mouth was as smooth as it always was. He obviously didn't want to take in Zhong Yi, but the way he put it, he was just trying to protect Fang JunRong and nothing else. The more time she spent with him, the more she was disgusted by his hypocrisies.
After that, he shared some stories that he had heard in the business world. They more or less summed up to how some girls from the club were manipulative and became the men's mistresses. And the more talented ones were able to force away their wives and take their spots.
A few stories later, he was able to label everyone from a place like that as "manipulative" or "money-grubbing", etc.
Zhong Yi wasn't even here yet, but judging from the looks on both her son Li ShiZe and her daughter Li XinYun, they've already had a poor conception of Zhong Yi. Li WangJin was indirectly faceslapping Fang JunRong, but Fang JunRong wasn't upset at all.
Oh yeah? Go on. Say some more. Everything that he said now would turn into slaps that would land on Jiang YaGe when the time came.
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Chapter 10 - Fate Can Manifest Itself In Such An Interesting Way (2)
Speaking of, the way that Li WangJin loved and protected Jiang YaGe made Fang JunRong wonder whether Jiang YaGe was his biological daughter. She did a DNA test behind their back and the result came back negative.
That was another point that she had never figured out.
After Fang JunRong returned to her room, about half an hour later, her precious daughter Li XinYun finally came over. Seeing her look with "unhappy" written all over it, Fang JunRong only felt that she missed that a lot.
Smiling, she said, "You waited half an hour before you came over this time. That's an improvement."
Li XinYun grunted with a slightly prideful look, "When mom has two more precious daughters, I would be worthless."
Fang JunRong shook her head, "You will always be my more precious treasure. Nobody can measure up to that."
"Not even older brother?"
"Of course," said Fang JunRong without any hesitation. Had she transmigrated to 20 years earlier, she'd have just aborted that slab of pork directly.
Surely, Li XinYun's look mellowed down. A baffled look on her pretty little face, she asked, "What made you suddenly want to adopt daughters, Mom?"
Fang JunRong knew that her daughter wasn't good at playing games. If she found out before the divorce, she just might slip and let something out. Plus, Li WangJin had always played the role of a good father up until the point that Jiang YaGe had joined them.
She patted her on her head and said, "Mom will tell you the truth in six months' time."
She'd for sure have the divorce taken care of in 6-months' time. Plus, once Jiang YaGe had joined them, XinYun would more or less pick up something.
As she was given such a specific time frame, Li XinYun couldn't help but feel that her mom had her reasons. She had no choice but to accept it.
"Okay. If it's just 6 months' time. I can wait." She balled her hands up into fists. Her cute look made Fang JunRong laugh. Her biggest purpose after her rebirth was to protect her daughter's smile.
"This is a secret between the two of us, okay?"
"Okay."
After placating her daughter, Fang JunRong had freed herself up more to take care of other matters. The next few days, most of what she was doing was to purchase stuff and another place to live.
She had expected Zhong Yi to reach out to her quickly after she had given her her business card. When she hadn't heard from her until Thursday, she was quite surprised.
Fang JunRong thought about it for a little and decided to make a trip to White Crane and talk to Zhong Yi directly. Sure enough, Zhong Yi was at work today. After seeing Fang JunRong, Zhong Yi was stunned for a little while, and then she teared up in the next second but she quickly wiped that away.
Choking back her tears, she said, "Boss Fang."
Fang JunRong had a slight smile on her and said, "I thought you'd be giving me a call."
After she had wiped away her tears, her cherry-blossom eyes were even brighter than they were before. She said to her, "I put your business card away the other day, but somehow I wasn't able to find it again. I have spent so much time looking for it..."
She thought she had lost her chance for good. She never expected Fang JunRong to show up in front of her again, seeking her out herself. She had contemplated whether Fang JunRong had other ulterior motives. But then again, she was just a normal girl, what could Fang JunRong possibly get from her?
She dare not reach out to Fang JunRong without the business card.
Fang JunRong was a little dubious, "I thought you'd save my phone number."
Zhong Yi sniffled and said, "I lost your business card and felt like I had lost the invitation. I didn't dare to contact you..."
Fang JunRong could understand how she was feeling. All in all, Zhong Yi felt too many uncertainties, plus her inferiority complex.
She recollected herself and said to her, "There will be a banquet at my place on Sunday night. Why don't you come by then? Give me your address, I will send a chauffeur to go pick you up. You can quit your job here now."
"Okay."
She casually brought up Jiang YaGe, "Oh, right, where's your friend? Is she off today?" She paused a little and added a plausible explanation. "She looked like someone that a friend had been looking for for her magazine. I thought I could refer her to my friend."
Zhong Yi shook her head. "YaGe took the day off. But I will let her know."
Fang JunRong was just asking. Judging from the fact that she had taken the time off, more likely than not, Li WangJin had already told her that he'd be adopting her.