Chapter 7 A Dull and Uninteresting Day

"Hahaha."

Soon, a familiar, clear laugh rang out, coming from the receiver and reaching Xie Ling's ears.

Were you startled, Xie?

Nestled in the rose garden, Lian Yi snuggled against the soft down pillow and said happily, "I didn't expect that we would be talking again so soon."

"...Lian Yi".

Xie Ling only called out her name, then closed her eyes briefly.

My father's frail face, my mother's aged face—I can't remember how many nights I heard suppressed sobs and sniffling. When my father was still healthy, he would buy my mother's and his favorite dishes after receiving his salary and go into the kitchen, waiting for me to come home from school before peeking out of the kitchen with a grin, saying, "Hurry up and wash your hands, call your mother for dinner."

Scenes flashed by in the darkness before my eyes.

Xie Ling asked in a low voice, "What exactly do you want to do?"

"Thank you, classmate." Lian Yi sighed. "You're a smart person. How could a smart person not have thought of that?"

"You probably already guessed that I would make this call, so why ask when you already know the answer? Are you still clinging to your pride? If so, I'll hang up now."

"..."

I promise you.

The slender fingers, slightly thin, gripped the phone tightly, clearly indicating that its owner's inner state was not as calm as the words he uttered sounded.

"Um?"

Lian Yi mentally went over the scenario she had envisioned for this part of her retirement plan.

She opened her mouth and took the grape that Xu Qingyao had peeled and offered to her lips, not noticing the subtle blush that appeared on her face after the other person's fingers touched her lips.

Taking a small sip from the juicy grape, Lian Yi smiled and asked, "What did you promise, Xie?"

Xie Ling's expression was indifferent, his eyes devoid of any emotion. The light shining on him was absorbed into his dark pupils and never returned.

Under the dim yellow light, her beautiful, thin lips opened and closed as Lianyi wished.

"If I refuse, the cooperation and exchanges between the two companies will be null and void, right?"

It gave him hope, but then brought him despair. Such a blow was an unbearable pain for his parents.

They have been struggling to climb upwards through hardship for far too long.

Almost the instant she saw the phone number, Xie Ling guessed where this windfall came from, and even more so, she realized Lian Yi's scheme.

Lian Yi blinked, and of course denied it, "Classmate Xie, you have a deep misunderstanding about me. There shouldn't be these prejudices between us."

She wasn't lying; the Lian family's private hospital had always had these kinds of exchange and cooperation projects, it was just that they were adding a quota.

But if this happened to anyone, they wouldn't believe that Lian Yi had done so much without expecting anything in return.

Xie Ling let out a soft breath. He calmed down and knew that there was no point in talking nonsense.

"I agree to any of your requests."

"hehe."

Lian Yi chuckled softly, her expression brimming with the smug satisfaction of a villain who had succeeded.

"I'm really looking forward to spending time together in the future."

"Oh, right."

Lian Yi tapped the armrest of the recliner lightly with her fingertips, her eyes crinkling as she said, "Someone will send some things over later, and he will tell you which ones can be left for your parents."

"From now on, unless there are special circumstances, you can have lunch and dinner with me."

"As for the food they sent, just eat it according to the instructions."

Through the phone receiver, Lian Yi's clear voice was somewhat muffled, like a sweet and soft song flowing from an old-fashioned record player, not sharp or piercing, almost giving Xie Ling a momentary illusion.

It felt as if I had fallen into a puppy love, and my girlfriend was on the other end of the phone, babbling on about how much she cared for me.

"...Always trying to save money by eating only one vegetable dish with rice, how can that be okay? You're too thin."

"Take good care of yourself. I like a bit of muscle. Remember to exercise."

"Looking forward to seeing your abs."

Xie Ling didn't have a chance to speak until he hung up the phone, or rather, he didn't know what to say.

The girl's clear and sweet voice, however, struck his mind with every word she spoke.

Or rather, the other party's condescending and manipulative attitude clearly pierced his heart.

The boy standing by the green belt lowered his face slightly, his black hair falling down his forehead, casting a shadow that concealed most of his expression.

Only by holding his hand tightly at his side could one glimpse the turmoil in his heart at this moment.

…

"Miss Lian Yi—"

Lian Yi hung up the phone, giving Xie Ling time to calm down. While silently praising herself for being such a good person, she heard Xu Qingyao's slightly tearful voice.

"what?"

Lian Yi rubbed her arms and hissed.

She didn't lie to Xu Qingyao about her feelings... wait, where did she and Xu Qingyao get any feelings from?

"What's wrong?" Turning her head to look at the girl, Lian Yi saw that she was looking at her with tears in her eyes. Her voice softened slightly. "Why are you crying all of a sudden?"

Xu Qingyao said in a low voice, "How could you do this? If President Lian and Mrs. Lian find out, or if this gets out, it will damage your reputation... I mean..."

Under Lian Yi's gradually narrowing gaze, her voice grew weaker and weaker.

Knowing that Xu Qingyao was unaware of her retirement plans and how perfect and comprehensive her plan was, even though it was all aimed at ruining her reputation, Lian Yi was somewhat lenient towards her.

You don't understand.

Lian Yi hugged the goose down pillow to her chest, feeling its softness, and her tone became heavy.

This heavy feeling quickly affected Xu Qingyao, who blinked in confusion.

"You know my parents are very rich."

Xu Qingyao nodded, but still didn't understand what this had to do with Lian Yi's insistence on... keeping Xie Ling as a mistress.

She felt a fair aversion to everyone who appeared around Lian Yi and attracted her attention.

Moreover, this situation, once discovered, will undoubtedly have a significant negative impact on Lian Yi.

Over the years, Xu Qingyao has heard various voices from the outside world, including complaints and negative comments about Lian Yi.

Many people spoke ill of Lian Yi without any restraint in front of her. If Lian Yi hadn't repeatedly and strictly forbidden her from making any attempts to clear her name, Xu Qingyao would have had to clench her fists every time to resist the urge to slap those people across the face.

Their self-righteous sense of shared hatred is nothing but a manifestation of vulgarity and ignorance.

On the one hand, Xu Qingyao felt excited and happy that only she knew how good her mistress was, but on the other hand, she felt tormented and couldn't understand why her mistress wouldn't explain.

'She's so wonderful—'

Without blinking, Lian Yi continued her deception, "To inherit such a vast family business, it's not just about facing external risks and seizing opportunities. Most importantly, I need an environment where I can steer the ship without distractions."

"Do you know how many people laugh at my parents for only having one daughter, and that even our vast fortune will become her dowry and she'll change her surname to someone else?"

This was indeed the reason why the fake heiress had been trying so hard to maintain the perfect image of a wealthy heiress. She tried to prove herself through various efforts that she had the ability to take over the family company.

Lian Yi's attitude towards this was indifferent.

Xu Qingyao's expression became thoughtful and gradually turned serious.

“If I don’t prepare now, I will be facing an entire uncontrollable group in the future.”

Lian Yi rubbed her temples, trying to hide the corners of her mouth that wanted to curve upwards. "I must cultivate my own loyal followers as early as possible. Xie Ling is a very capable person, and I may need more than one person like him."

Xu Qingyao nodded with some understanding, but then asked doubtfully, "But isn't what you're doing too risky?"

You don't understand.

Lian Yi said in a heavy tone, "If you want to discipline someone you can trust, you naturally have to give him a special status and gradually wear down his arrogance in front of me. With such leverage in my hands, do you still need to worry about not being able to use him in the future?"

Such remarks were far too impactful for eighteen-year-old Xu Qingyao.

She was initially shocked, but after a while, she nodded in realization.

Lian Yi originally only intended to fool her with a few words. Xu Qingyao was just a burden she lost when she casually gained negative reputation. Later, she turned out to be somewhat useful. With her around, her reputation continued to drop even without her efforts to improve it.

He's just a little rebellious from time to time, always thinking about how to clear her name.

"Go find somewhere to have fun by yourself, don't bother me."

Lian Yi waved her hand, "By the way, have the housekeeper arrange hot pot for us tonight, spicy hot pot."

Sigh, I haven't gotten much done from morning till night, and now it's time to eat something delicious again.

After eating, all I can do is get a spa treatment, a skincare routine, drive around in my sports car for a couple of rounds, swipe my parents' credit cards to buy a few random things to maintain my rich girl image, and only then can I go to sleep.

What a boring and unproductive day.

…

I opened my eyes from the small bed in the dilapidated single room; it was still pitch black outside the brown glass window.

Meng Er got up and went to the only table in the room to pick up the cartoon watch she had taken off before going to bed. Six o'clock in the morning was her usual wake-up time for many years.

After washing up, I ladled out the mixed grain porridge that I had cooked the night before and ate it.

I put on the headphones I bought for a few dozen yuan, played a song specially recorded by the band, did some warm-up exercises in the small room, then pushed open the door and went downstairs to jog slowly towards the school.

Of Jingyun's classes today, only the afternoon equestrian class slightly interested her.

Taking advantage of her age, she learned about and experienced most of the things that she hadn't had time to experience in her previous life.

Sometimes, you don't necessarily need to be an expert in certain skills, but having more knowledge about them can come in handy someday.

Unfortunately, before the band became famous, Meng Er could only earn money through school awards, competition prizes, and translation jobs he took by borrowing the ID cards of adults from the welfare home.

Occasionally, she would go to several bustling squares in the city to play the violin. With the advantage of being young and playing beautifully, she could earn quite a bit of money in one night.

However, with Meng Er's incredibly intensive and demanding coursework, these funds were almost always spent the very next day after they arrived in his account.

Who would have thought that this seemingly youthful and aloof young woman jogging on the sidewalk could knock down an 80kg adult male with a single punch, rendering him immobile?

If Meng Er hadn't been uninterested in building a muscular physique, she was confident that she could have increased that target weight by double digits.

Jingyun Campus is located in an area that is not too far from the city center. Most students do not choose to live on campus. There are many luxury cars parked at the gate, coming and going. If you didn't know better, you would think it was a luxury car club gathering.

When Meng Er reached the school gate, her forehead was slightly damp. She quickly adjusted her breathing and walked into the school at a leisurely pace.

She didn't plan to attend regular classes; today she wanted to use the computer in the computer lab to check if Delia's office had responded.

There is still a lot of information that needs to be paid attention to and understood. She needs to sniff out the prey's movements from this massive amount of current affairs news in order to capture it with the greatest certainty.

Ever since Meng Er was able to walk, she would sit on a small stool and watch the news channel on the television in the welfare home, which was several years older than her.

Later, with access to computers, it became much easier to receive information about the world's economic rules and various financial industry data.

Being eighteen years old means that Meng Er is able to open an account under her own identity.

She has a lot to do, so naturally she needs a lot of money.

Meng Er planned to acquire his first pot of gold in the stock market.

It would be ideal to make money by hiding in the shadows, but just like what Da Hao said to Xu Qingyao, Meng Er doesn't have anyone he can trust right now.

Therefore, she needs someone to share a lot of the attention she needs in the future.

Today, Meng Er walked around the school, no longer as 'invisible' as she had been a few days ago. Compared to the occasional attempts to strike up conversations before, she completely ignored the constant attention and discussion that came with these moments.

Every now and then, a few boys with confident smiles would come forward. The students of Jingyun were deeply impressed by this student representative who spoke at the school-wide assembly yesterday.

Whether it was her dazzling resume or her outstanding appearance, they all remembered her name.

Most people are still taking a wait-and-see approach, or hoping to retain some restraint, at least not appearing too eager.

But some people are happy to be the first to reach out and pluck the rose.

"Hey, Meng'er? Yours from yesterday..."

Another boy, not wearing his suit jacket properly, casually unbuttoned two buttons of his shirt, his school badge hanging on his left chest. As he quickly followed Meng Er, he walked backwards while talking, his movements swaying.

Meng Er walked straight ahead without looking to the side; her beauty was not enough to make her stop.

Moreover, the smaller version 3.0 of the pension insurance plan did not make room for developing campus romances.

She is a very principled person, and of course she would not do something as unbecoming of a student as dating too early.

The boy, feeling awkwardly ignored, turned back with an embarrassed expression, only to see Meng Er's receding figure.

After a while, the students who had been silently watching this scene burst out laughing one after another.

They really love having fun.

The computer room was empty, and Meng Er still chose a corner seat.

After sitting down and turning on the computer, I logged into my email and, as expected, received a reply email from the Delia office.

The other party stated that Mr. Delia was very interested in her proposal, and that after receiving a letter of recommendation from his friend Portney, Mr. Delia also wanted to meet with her to learn about the story behind the band's boundless vitality.

Of course, Mr. Delia kindly stated that she did not need to pay any fees to purchase the opportunity to have lunch/dinner with him.

Being able to converse with such a clever lady was enough for Delia to be rewarded.

Meng Er remained unmoved as she calmly observed the screen filled with sweet words expressing praise.

She knew very well that Delia was only interested in the value that the band's current fame could bring. An investor known as a hyena would always have a more acute sense of smell than others.

Nowadays, bands have become a phenomenon, and the other party will inevitably hope to take this opportunity to try and get a share of the pie.

Meng Er lowered his eyes and began typing on the keyboard without thinking.

She rejected the other party's refusal, believing that what is free is often the most expensive. However, Meng Er also used a lot of earnest words to cover up her purpose.

She hoped to buy the opportunity to have a meal with Delia for £100,000, which was just a 'sincere' stepping stone thrown out by a newcomer who was very interested in the financial industry.

In the email, she expressed her firm belief that she could learn investment strategies from Mr. Delia.

These words of praise vividly portray a reckless character who is both blindly confident and deliberately concealing his true nature.

After Meng Er clicked send, she started using split-screen mode. One half of the screen displayed the current events she was interested in, while the other half was composed of various constantly changing red and green numbers, symbols, and lines.

Students would occasionally walk into the computer lab.

Around 11 o'clock, a boy with slightly curly black hair walked in.

He wasn't wearing Jingyun's standard school uniform, but just a dark green short-sleeved T-shirt and black trousers. He strolled slowly into the computer room, which attracted the attention of the students who were all typing on their keyboards.

Upon seeing the boy enter, besides giving him their full attention, some of them would whisper a greeting—

"Master Xu".

The boy, nicknamed Xu Shen, looked like he hadn't woken up yet. Fortunately, his features were delicate and his bone structure was excellent, so he didn't look weak or powerless. Instead, he looked rather well-behaved.

But he showed no intention of responding to the greetings, and originally planned to just find a computer, turn it on, and sit down.

But beneath the black hair, through eyes that seemed half-closed as if unable to open, appeared a scene showing only the upper half of a face and the top of the head.

He scratched his head, thought for a moment, picked up the student card on the table, and walked in that direction.

I randomly found a seat in front of a computer, swiped my card, and turned it on.