Chapter 71 - One Would Only Feel the Pain When One Was Stuck With The Knife (2)
As the saying goes, one would only feel the pain when one was stuck with the knife. Li WangJin, after all the recent hardship, had temporarily forgotten about the affection he had for her. He couldn't suppress the anger in his voice. "What have you done to him that he'd want to do such a thing?"
He has, after all, been in an authoritative position for dozens of years. Li WangJin looked very gentle normally, but when he was angry, it looked like he could burn her to ashes with his look alone.
Jiang YaGe, seeing him like that for the first time, almost started crying. "I... I didn't do it on purpose! I didn't think he'd be so vindictive. I really didn't do it on purpose."
She had only wanted to save him at first. She had no idea how they ended up where they were. Jiang YaGe felt on a subconscious level that things should not have come down this way.
"I am sorry, Dad. It was all my fault."
Crying silently, she was drowned by both guilt and fear. On one hand, she felt guilty that she had brought about injuries to those around her; on the other hand, she worried that Wang Xiao would make another move on her and she was also worried that her adopted father would give up on her.
The Li WangJin in the past would have stood on her side as soon as he saw her tears. Perhaps, he had been seeing too many tears from her recently. He started having some immunity toward her tears. Now they just made him feel exhausted.
"You mean this was your fault? That strong acid was meant for you?" Sometime during their conversation, Wang SiXian had woken up. She looked like she was about to have a breakdown. "If it was your fault, why am I the victim of it?"
"Give me back my face!" The pain of losing her looks had destroyed Wang SiXian's rationality and made her scream at Jiang YaGe hysterically like a mad woman.
Meeting her hateful look, Jiang YaGe reflexively took a few steps backward toward the door. She couldn't handle the hatred coming from both Li WangJin and Wang SiXian. She felt only too ashamed to be standing in front of them. When she was just about to turn and leave, she bumped into a sturdy body. Just before she fell onto the ground, she was stopped by a pair of arms – it was Li ShiZe who had just arrived.
Jiang YaGe had given Li ShiZe a call after she had arrived at the hospital. Li ShiZe was busy with work at the time and was finally able to get there. When he saw the bawling Jiang YaGe, a part of his heart ached with her.
"What happened, YaGe? Had someone mistreated you?" Li ShiZe, who had just arrived, had no idea what was going on.
Sniffling, Jiang YaGe summarized what had happened and told him. Li ShiZe frowned a little and looked at her pretty and perfect face and let out a sigh of relief – lucky it wasn't Jiang YaGe whose face was ruined.
As Wang SiXian was the person who had brought about his parents' divorce, Li ShiZe was never that fond of her. Perhaps what happened to her was just her bad karma. He looked at Wang SiXian coldly and said, "YaGe was already very upset, how could you keep jabbing at her? She has always thought of you as her most important family member. Can't you just be a little bit more considerate of her feelings? She had been so nice to you. She even stood up against my mother for you. Sure enough, an ungrateful white-eyed wolf like you is not worthy of being her family."
Wang SiXian was stunned. Wasn't she the biggest victim in this whole incident? How did she become the white-eyed wolf from Li ShiZe's perspective?
"But I've lost my looks because of her!" She shrieked at the top of her lungs.
Li ShiZe's look was very cold. "You've only lost your face; she is hurting inside."
If Wang SiXian has a knife in her hand right now, she would not hesitate to stab Li ShiZe with it. She would never have guessed that Li ShiZe was capable of twisting the truth to this shameless extent. And yet, he was Li WangJin's only son and heir. She had already lost her looks. If she was to offend Li ShiZe right now, the remainder of her life would be very pathetic.
The image of herself living in abject poverty in the future brought rationality into Wang SiXian's mind right away, and she recollected herself immediately.
She went along with what he had said and cried. "You are right. I shouldn't have taken it out on YaGe. I was unlucky and it wasn't YaGe's fault. I shouldn't have done that to her."
Her hand, hidden underneath her blanket, grabbed onto the bed sheet so tightly that there were marks on it. One of these days, she would get revenge for what happened to her today.
Li WangJin was a little dazed by that. Compared to Wang SiXian, all of a sudden, everything that had happened to him in the past seemed to be so insignificant. If Wang SiXian could forgive YaGe and he was still dwelling on it, that would make him the bad person.
If that was the case, why did he still feel so wronged?
~~~~~~
Chapter 72 - One Would Only Feel the Pain When One Was Stuck With The Knife (3)
Fang JunRong was very eager to find out what was going on with Li WangJin from that point forward. She specifically hired someone to follow him around, and the entire scene that was unfolded in the hospital was recorded for her.
Watching how Li ShiZe sided with Jiang YaGe bothered her. Her BBQ-pork son had true love for Jiang YaGe, and she had no idea exactly what it was that he liked about her. That being said, she wasn't surprised by whatever that came out of him.
If he could have said all the same thing to his own sister whom he had loved for many years in his previous life, nevermind Wang SiXian whom he never liked from the very beginning.
After watching the recording, Li XinYun was dazed. "Whatever happened to big brother? He wasn't like this before."
As much as she disliked Wang SiXian, should those words from him be coming from a human being?
"After all, Jiang YaGe is what's most important to him," said Fang JunRong nonchalantly.
"But they have only known each other for a month. Where did this true love come from?" XinYun pointed that out. She felt that her brother had become a completely different person.
Jiang YaGe and Wang SiXian were obviously the ones who had hurt their mother. In fact, their mother was so angry that she had kicked her brother out of the house. Yet her brother would still side with Jiang YaGe with no hesitation. He had never even once apologized to their mother.
Her brother now felt like a stranger to her.
After her rebirth, Fang JunRong couldn't stand seeing any unhappiness from her daughter. She changed the subject right away. "Stop thinking about it. Let's go shopping."
Shopping was a very good way for women to release their stress.
"Yeah! I want to buy purses! New ones! I want at least three purses!"
Recalling running into Jiang YaGe with this season's most recently released purse when she ran into her in the office, Li XinYun was furious.
"Sure. I can even buy you 5 purses."
The bit of displeasure disappeared from Li XinYun immediately. Her happiness had always been very simple. Even though her father and brother liked Jiang YaGe better, that's alright; she still has her mother. If they didn't want her, then she didn't want them either.
Fang JunRong drove with her daughter to a huge shopping mall and started buying away. She not only bought for her daughter, she bought for herself as well. She has lots of money now.
Whatever her daughter liked, she would have the salesperson wrap them up. And she bought a couple for Zhong Yi as well.
Halfway through their shopping spree, Fang JunRong heard someone call her name. She turned around and it was Sun Mei.
Perhaps because she had used Sun Mei to achieve her own goals, now that she had run into her again, Fang JunRong felt that even her looks had become more pleasant.
"Sun Mei." Fang JunRong nodded at her.
Sun Mie looked at her with surprise. "You look good spirited." She had expected Fang JunRong to look like a disheveled abandoned woman. Low and behold, Fang JunRong looked even happier than she was before and was carefree and cheerful. No, perhaps she was only pretending that everything was okay. After all, Fang JunRong always cared about how she appeared to others.
Thinking about that, she couldn't help but lament. "I know you are upset inside. Being a woman is so difficult."
"Yes, it is quite difficult." Fang JunRong nodded in agreement.
Sun Mei became excited all of a sudden, until her expression froze on her face after hearing what came out of Fang JunRong next.
"... I suddenly gained tens of billions of dollars under my name. It is difficult managing them. I can't even spend them all even if I spend a million dollars a day. Aye, spending money can be so tiring!"
Sun Mei made her retreat regretfully. She had almost forgotten that Fang JunRong got at least half of the assets in the divorce. And, she heard that one piece of land shot up in prices right after her divorce.
Dang! She wished she had problems like that too! If spending money was so tiring, she could always ask her for help!
~~~~~~
Chapter 73 - Li XinYun was soft-hearted; she didn't want her falling for his tricks later on (1)
And that was how Sun Mei was easily KO'd by Fang JunRong. Blinded by Fang JunRong's sparkling status as a wealthy person, she left dispirited.
Fang JunRong didn't really get these people. Why did they all think she'd be sad after her divorce with Li WangJin? She had so much money, and her precious daughter by her side. What was there to be sad about?
Aye. She should buy herself another outfit. She should start getting involved in the corporate business after XinYun's birthday. She couldn't keep on slacking like she was. At the very minimum, she needed to do better than Ayron. All things aside, her BBQ-pork son was still quite competent when it came to work. Jiang YaGe was only part of the reason he was able to increase their corporate assets several fold, a lot of it was his own ability.
Both the mother and daughter felt pretty happy after their shopping spree.
***
Time flew by and then it was August 16, Li XinYun's birthday.
Instead of their own place, Fang JunRong reserved a hotel in the downtown and even hired a few popular singers to perform for them. Surrounded by the music, Li XinYun wore the dress designed by Yang Xi, Fang JunRong's sister-in-law. The dress was pale yellow in color and had a round collar with no sleeves. The hem of the dress was adorned by many diamonds, making it look fluffy and full of life. Glowing with health and vigor, she looked like a real princess.
Even though she didn't have on a tiara, the giant ruby around her neck attracted a lot of attention and also gave her an additional feel of sumptuousness. She had only invited her dad's business associates to her birthday banquets in the past. This was the first time she was able to invite her own schoolmates.
Li XinYun's schoolmates had always known that she was from a wealthy family as she was usually surrounded by designer brand products. Today was the first time they truly had a glimpse of how wealthy her family really was. The cost for the hotel alone would be enough to cover several years of their families' expenditure. Not to mention, her party had singers that they had only seen on TV before. They were mesmerized by the scale of the event.
Nevertheless, they were, after all, boys and girls who had just graduated high school and have yet to be affected by the real world. As surprised as they were, their mannerism did not change too drastically. Li XinYun spent most of her time greeting her schoolmates and would also occasionally greet the guests of the older generations as well.
Fang JunRong brought Zhong Yi with her this time to have her appear in public. Zhong Yi had been having etiquette classes as of late and she was fairly presentable now, unlike how timid she was in the past. She was delicate looking. Now that she was more at ease, she looked like a blooming rose, vibrant and enthusiastic, making a very pleasant view.
Everybody else had heard that Li WangJin had adopted a daughter, as did Fang JunRong. Were the two of them in some sort of a competition?
What surprised them even more was that Fang JunRong was already in her forties, but her attractiveness rivaled Zhong Yi's in every way when the two of them stood side by side. Fang JunRong's look was flawless as though time had no effects on her. Many of the guests gathered around her and asked her for skincare secrets. After all, who didn't want to look pretty?
"I have been taking Beautifying Pills made by my own company. They will be available for purchase next month."
Most of the ingredients for Beautify Pills could be found in the real world. The only must-have ingredient was the spring water from the jade dimension. Each pill required 10 mL of it. Without the spring water, the pills would lose its amazing effectiveness. So, it wasn't difficult for her to supply the spring water, gather all the other ingredients, and have them produced in a factory in the real world.
Even though that spring looked pretty plentiful and limitless, Fang JunRong, leaning on the safe side, experimented with it. She diluted the spring water with 10 times the amount of water and used them to create the pills. Beautify Pills v2, as much as they weren't as effective as the non-diluted version, they were still more effective than any other products currently on the market in minimizing pores, lightening up spots, etc.
She planned on putting the diluted version on the market.
~~~~~~
Chapter 74 - Li XinYun was soft-hearted; she didn't want her falling for his tricks later on (2)
Fang JunRong had already produced a batch of this version and would be able to give some away as gifts tonight. Fang JunRong, who had been prepared for this moment, immediately promised them that she would provide them with a round of treatment. That made the other madams very happy, and they had an added sincerity when they congratulated Li XinYun. Some of them even took off their bracelets and gifted them to Li XinYun right then and there.
Once one of them had started, many others followed suit and gave her additional gifts. Anyone who wasn't blind could tell that Fang JunRong wasn't so close with her son as much anymore, but was definitely very doting to this daughter.
Ergo, Li XinYun, on top of her birthday presents, received a lot of additional gifts. She was happy from her additional monetary gain. Even though most of the bracelets and jewelries weren't of the styles that she normally likes, they were valuable and nobody would turn that down.
Even though most of those who were there have no reason to offend Li XinYun, the way she was the center of the attention still rubbed a few of the ones her age the wrong way. Deng Lan was one of them. Dang Lan's family wealth can rival that of Li XinYun's; her family was in the snack business.
She also had an older brother at home, but unlike Li XinYun, her parents believed that boys were better than girls. Her older brother was treated like a king at home; whereas, she didn't get too much attention. She may not have to worry about money but her parents were also reluctant to spend too much time on her. Her purse was an outdated one from two years ago. She was different from Li XinYun, who had everything that she wanted handed to her.
Deng Lan estimated that the birthday banquet itself cost over 5 million yuan. Meaning, Li XinYun's 17-year-old birthday banquet was on the same scale as Li ShiZe when he turned 18. She and Li XinYun were both the younger daughter in the family, but their statuses were two extremes. On top of that, Deng Lan was somewhat interested in Li ShiZe. In their circle, Li ShiZe was considered a good catch. He was incredibly good looking and also not promiscuous like many other Second Generation Rich.
What was spent on Li XinYun was the equivalent of resources taken away from Li ShiZe. She had pleaded with her parents for a long time before they agreed to taking her to this banquet. She had wanted to have some facetime with Li ShiZe and leave a good impression with him, but he wasn't there at all. All of the reasons combined made her like Li XinYun even less.
She walked over to Li XinYun with a wine glass in hand and asked casually, "How come I didn't see your brother and your dad today?"
Li XinYun gave her a look and didn't know who she was right away, but she replied politely, "Oh, I didn't want to see them today." Even though her mother didn't want them to come, Li XinYun was still upset that they really didn't come. Plus, she didn't want others to gossip about her mother, so she thought she would take the blame herself. She was only 17 years old and the birthday girl today. She could afford to be a little bit capricious.
Deng Lan paused for a little bit then. Putting on the look of a very understanding older sister, she said, "Oh. But you are already 17 years old, you shouldn't be so capricious anymore. You are a family after all and you will be able to resolve any misunderstandings you may have with them."
Then she put on a sympathetic look and said, "Oh, I forgot. Your parents are divorced. No wonder."
Remembering that made Deng Lan feel better. At least she has that over Li XinYun. Her parents didn't exactly get along well, but at least they did not have a divorce. Aunty Fang's temperament could be better.
Li XinYun asked bluntly, "No wonder why?"
She hated it when others were suggestive and intentionally vague.
~~~~~~
Chapter 75 - Li XinYun was soft-hearted; she didn't want her falling for his tricks later on (3)
Deng Lan said, "Your days must not be as good as before after the divorce." Without the love from her father and older brother, naturally Li XinYun's current life was worse than how it once was.
Li XinYun cocked her head a little and said, "You are right. My life is certainly different than it was before. In the past, I only had 100,000 yuan of pocket money a month. Now my mom gives me 500,000 yuan a month because she loves me so much."
As much as Li XinYun was not good at nonverbal communication, she could still tell that Deng Lan's intention was malicious. Seriously. What was wrong with this person, trying to pick on her at her birthday banquet?
Deng Lan's look froze for a little – her pocket money was only 10,000 yuan a month. She even needed to save up if she wanted to buy any luxurious items. Compared to Li XinYun, her status was like that of a maid.
Li XinYun said straight to her face, "I don't like you much. Don't show up in front of me too often."
She was, after all, a spoiled child and would do or say whatever she wanted to.
Li XinYun turned and walked away, leaving Deng Lan standing there with an angry and embarrassed look. She hadn't expected Li XinYun to have such a bad temperament and wasn't subtle at all. No wonder her own father and brother didn't like her and wouldn't even come to her birthday banquet. She felt bad for Li ShiZe for having such a rude sister.
She took a deep breath and walked back to where she was as though nothing had happened, only to notice that the girls that she had been chatting with kept a distance from her when she walked toward them. Clearly, they didn't wish to talk to her again.
That had embarrassed Deng Lan even more. Being ostracized by everyone made her feel that everybody was making fun of her.
***
Idiots like Deng Lan were in the minority. Li XinYun quickly forgot about the exchange and continued to enjoy her birthday banquet.
After the end of the banquet and having seen all of the guests off with her mother, Li XinYun started going through all the gifts that she had received. The one that she liked the most among them was a set of topaz jewellery from her mother. Its craftsmanship was marvelous and the way they sparkled was dazzling.
"Eh?" She suddenly found a gift box with Li WangJin's name on the outside. Even though he didn't come in person, he had someone sent over a gift.
Li XinYun felt a bit complicated. She thought that her father had already forgotten about her, but he still sent over a gift for her. As upset as she was with him, she still unwrapped the gift. It was a painting inside, and she could tell right away that it was the work of Xu FangWeng.
As her father was a big fan of this artist, she, too, had learned quite a bit about the style of this artist.
This was a painting of an orchid. She seemed to recall that her father had spent a million yuan on this. This was quite fancy of a birthday present. Perhaps, she wasn't entirely worthless in her father's mind.
Feeling a little touched, she went to show her mother the gift.
To her surprise, when Fang JunRong saw the painting, her smiling face dropped. "That good ol' Li WangJin!"
How dare he give her daughter a useless piece of paper for her birthday!
Li XinYun's mouth opened a little. She asked, perplexed, "Mom, do you not like this painting?" She might not have much appreciation for it herself, but she at least knew that Xu FangWeng's paintings were very valuable.
Fang JunRong snickered and said in a sarcastic way. "This painting is fake! He gave a fake to his own daughter. Not even I thought he'd do that."
She had no intention to maintain his image in his child's mind after he had pulled such a stunt. Li XinYun was soft-hearted; she didn't want her falling for his tricks later on.
"Huh?" Li XinYun thought she must have heard wrong.