Chapter 2: Dazzling Debut
“I’m sorry... I can’t help you...”
If she had the ability to do so, how could she have ended up in this situation?
“Hey, you. Why do you keep saying sorry? Makes me want to punch you.”
He Huanhuan gave her a disdainful glance. “You’ve just been holding back too much. From now on, stick with me, and I’ll show you how to rule Xin Sheng Street.”
She gave a faint smile. “Alright. From now on, I’ll stick with you.”
She would worry about the future later. The most important thing now was to warn her about Gu Chacha’s tricks.
“You have to be careful of Gu Chacha. All her kindness is fake. She...”
Before she could finish telling the old stories, her soul could no longer hold on and instantly scattered.
“Hey? Sis?”
She called out several times, but got no response.
Seems like she was really gone.
He Huanhuan sighed. “Hey, sis. Next life, remember to watch more TV! Take things easier. If worst comes to worst, come find me. I’ll take you on a hell of a ride.”
Just as she sent off that bitter spirit, she turned around to face an old man in a Tang suit.
The old man rushed over with a doctor and nurses, his face full of worry as he checked on her. “Miss, are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere? Does your heart hurt?”
He Huanhuan nodded. “Yeah, it hurts. Every time I think about my thirteen bucks, my heart aches.”
“Huh?”
The old man didn’t understand, but he knew how to fix problems.
“How about I transfer you some money?”
He Huanhuan shot upright. “I misspoke earlier. It’s twenty. Transfer me twenty.”
The old man looked baffled. Twenty?
“I’ll give you two hundred. No, as long as you feel better, I’ll give you two thousand.”
After all, the boss would reimburse him. Two thousand? Hell, he’d give twenty thousand if it meant she was okay.
He Huanhuan glanced at the old man, then at the doctor, and sprang up like a rocket. “Are you trying to steal my kidneys, huh? Two thousand? That’s enough to buy my life!”
No, her life was bought for just 13.52 bucks!
In the end, she only got a twenty-buck transfer. As soon as the money hit her account, He Huanhuan was miraculously cured.
She jumped up and hooked her arm around Old Tang’s neck. “Hey, Old Man! What’s your name? When are we going home?”
The affectionate gesture caught Old Tang off guard. “Everyone at home calls me Old Tang. You can call me Old...”
“Old Man! Let’s go! Time to head home!”
He Huanhuan bolted. She had to run.
What if they asked her to pay the bill? She’d just gotten that twenty bucks. No way was she losing it.
As she rushed through the hospital lobby, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glass.
A small, palm-sized face with big, sparkling eyes.
A head of jet-black, glossy hair that made the face in the glass look pale as snow.
He Huanhuan stopped and grinned at the glass. The reflection grinned back.
She flexed her arm. The reflection did the same.
Her porcelain-white arm was completely clean—no tattoos.
“Ahhhhh!!”
Hearing her hysterical scream, Old Tang rushed over with the others. “Miss! What’s wrong? Did someone bully you?”
He Huanhuan pointed at the reflection, looking at Old Tang in disbelief. “Is that me?”
Old Tang smiled warmly. “Yes. The moment I saw you, I knew it was you! You look exactly like the madam did when she was young.”
His face was full of affection, but He Huanhuan nearly fainted!
Where was her rainbow-colored hair?
Where were her full-body tattoos?
Gone? All that money she’d earned crying at funerals? Gone like smoke!
Old Tang gently urged her. “Miss, shall we head back? The master and madam are waiting at home.”
He Huanhuan immediately pulled out her phone and started searching for group deals. “No way, no way. I need to prepare before I go.”
All her armor was gone. This was like walking around naked!
Old Tang thought she wanted to buy gifts for her family and looked at her even more fondly.
“Miss, we’re all family. No need to be so polite.”
“Shut up!”
Inside the Gu family estate, five people were waiting in the living room, growing more anxious by the minute.
“Why isn’t she here yet? Did something happen?”
Jiang Yulan stood up nervously. Just thinking about finally meeting her biological daughter after twenty lost years made her heart race uncontrollably.
Every word of concern she spoke fell on Gu Chacha’s ears like an open insult.
Gu Chacha clenched her teeth silently, forcing a smile as she stood up and took Jiang Yulan’s arm. “Mom, don’t worry. If something really happened, Uncle Tang would have called.”
“Right, right...”
Jiang Yulan nodded absently, but her heart was still restless. “But why has it taken so long for them to come back?”
“Maybe...”
Gu Chacha’s eyes flickered. She spoke softly, “Maybe Sister doesn’t like me being here... I’ve lived the life that was meant for her for twenty years... It’s only natural she’s upset...”
Dressed in a pure white princess dress, her dark, grape-like eyes blinked, and instantly, two streams of tears rolled down her cheeks.
She looked utterly pitiful!
It softened Jiang Yulan’s heart completely. She held Gu Chacha’s hand tightly, pulling her close. “Chacha, don’t worry. This isn’t your fault. Huanhuan won’t be unreasonable.”
“Mom...”
The mother and daughter embraced, eyes red, as if He Huanhuan had reached across the room and slapped them both.
“Master, Madam, Uncle Tang has arrived with the young miss. The cars have entered the estate.”
The head of security announced it. The whole family stood up at once.
Gu Chengye was the first out the door, taking long strides to greet her.
The cold, gleaming extended Maybach slowly pulled up. The door opened...
Jiang Yulan rushed forward, her voice choked with tears. “Huanhuan...”
A blindingly colorful feathered headdress rolled out of the car—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple...
Everyone was stunned. Where did that ridiculous thing come from?
It rolled once, then slowly lifted, revealing a face strikingly similar to Jiang Yulan’s.
Jiang Yulan’s eyes immediately welled up. “Huanhuan...”
He Huanhuan was pale. She swallowed hard, but it didn’t help. “Ugh!”
Jiang Yulan sobbed. “Huanhuan, I’m your mother.”
“Ugh!”
Gu Chengye: “Huanhuan, I’m your father.”
“Ugh!”
Gu Jingchen stepped forward. “I’m your eldest brother.”
Gu Jinghan followed. “I’m your second brother.”
He Huanhuan: “Ugh!”
She was dry-heaving so violently that the whole family gathered around her, worried.
Her mother frowned. “Why is she throwing up so badly?”
Her father asked Old Tang. “What happened?”
Old Tang shook his head bitterly. “Miss seems to...”
“Could Sister be...”
Gu Chacha gestured vaguely at her belly. Throwing up like that—had she been messing around and gotten herself knocked up?
At that, the couple’s faces turned grim instantly.
Unacceptable! Huanhuan was only twenty!
“Ugh!!”
A thunderous retch later, her insides finally settled, and the flush faded from her face.
He Huanhuan straightened up, kicked the car tire angrily, and turned to glare at Gu Chengye. “You’re my dad?”
Gu Chengye nodded. “Huanhuan, you...”
“Aren’t you supposed to be rich? Why didn’t you buy a decent car? I almost threw up all over myself! Are you doing this on purpose?”
Her eyes went wide as saucers, leaving Gu Chengye completely baffled.
A stretched Maybach was... a crappy car?
Then what counted as a good car?
The girl had endured way too much hardship in her first two decades of life, so treating herself to a decent car wasn't asking too much.
In a gentle tone, he asked, "Huanhuan, tell me, what kind of car do you think is a good one? Daddy will buy it for you."
He Huanhuan put her hands on her hips. "A BYD, of course!"
Back in the day, the first time she'd landed a gig as a professional mourner—that very first job—had earned her two hundred bucks, and oh, how that went to her head!
That day, she couldn't even be bothered to walk home. She'd tossed down thirty whole bucks to get a cab.
That cab was a BYD, and she didn't get carsick at all.
With a disgusted look at the three men of the Gu family, she said, "Three grown men and you can't even scrape together enough for a single BYD? And you still have the nerve to call yourselves high-society?"