Chapter 2
As usual, driver Li brought up his son, thinking Jiang Minghua would obediently comply. However, Jiang Minghua's eyes suddenly turned cold. She slightly raised her chin, looked down at him condescendingly, and said coldly:
"The contract we signed clearly stated that the driver's schedule was arranged by the employer. In other words, whenever I wanted to use the car, you had to come along! In short, can you come or not? If you can't, get out of here right now!"
Jiang Minghua just couldn't understand why the original owner was so subservient to such a large family of bloodsuckers. With money and good looks, what man couldn't she find?!
[Following this plot development, the original owner is destined to be redeemed by the devoted second male lead, gradually moved by him, and ultimately fall in love with him. This arrangement not only aligns with the logic of emotional development but also satisfies the author's balanced design for the characters' fates.]
The cold, mechanical voice of the system came to my ears again.
Jiang Minghua: ! Didn't you say you were going to abandon me?
System: [It's my off-get off work time now, I'm free to do whatever I want, so I thought I'd check out a show.]
Jiang Minghua: Awesome, bro! You guys in the system don't have to work overtime, that's awesome.
System: [Actually, in the original novel, because Li Xiangjun didn't go, Wen Chuqing chose to cut her wrists the next day. In the end, she was saved by Fu Yanzhi, who was also moved by Wen Chuqing's resilience and innocence, and their relationship was able to develop.]
Jiang Minghua: Do all systems have speech quirks? Have you noticed that you especially like to say "what"?
Jiang Minghua's words immediately silenced the system. A verbal tic? Did it have one? It was just an AI, devoid of emotions, how could it have a verbal tic? Just as the system continued to ponder this question, the higher-ups issued an order for all systems to undergo unified maintenance.
System: It just finished its shift, why does it need to go back for maintenance again?
After the system left, Jiang Minghua faced Li De and the others again. She wasn't interested in the original story's development; she just didn't want Mingjia's situation to happen again. Just then, Jiang Minghua's phone rang again. She glanced at the caller ID, and the name Wen Chuqing made her frown.
However, driver Li remained standing still. Jiang Minghua immediately became furious, pulled a wad of RMB from her wallet, and threw it at the driver's face: "Is this enough for overtime pay? If so, get on the road now!"
Red RMB notes scattered on the ground like petals from a fairy's shower. Aunt Qin's eyes lit up instantly, and her face beamed with a greedy smile. Ignoring Jiang Minghua's cold indifference, she eagerly squatted down and deftly picked up the money one bill at a time. After collecting the last note, she happily held the money in her hands, approached Driver Li, and her voice brimming with undisguised excitement:
"Old Li, you go ahead, Miss Jiang might have something urgent to attend to."
Seeing their disgusting faces, Jiang Minghua felt an itch to slap them.
After getting into the car, Jiang Minghua gave an address. Li's grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly, and a bead of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. He had never seen Jiang Minghua so assertive before. Feeling uneasy, he unconsciously pressed harder on the accelerator.
Mr. Li drove very fast, the car speeding along the empty road. The wind whistled past the window, like invisible whips lashing the air. The trees along the roadside rushed past, blurring into dark shadows. Jiang Minghua turned her head to look at the trees rushing past the window, her thoughts drifting far away once again.
In their past lives, Jiang Minghua and Jiang Mingjia were both orphans who relied on each other for survival in an orphanage from a young age. Following the example of characters in television dramas, they became sworn sisters, with each other even giving them their names. Both were exceptionally beautiful and should have been adopted early on, but due to the unscrupulous director's malicious intentions, who deliberately spread rumors that they were unruly and difficult to manage, they were repeatedly rejected by families willing to adopt them.
On their coming-of-age day, the director finally lost his temper and tried to harm Jiang Minghua. However, he underestimated Jiang Minghua's fierce and decisive nature. Jiang Minghua kicked him until he was crippled, while Jiang Mingjia unhesitatingly reported the orphanage's various shady dealings. The director was eventually investigated and punished, and the orphanage got a new director. The two girls finally escaped the cage that had imprisoned them for so many years and left the orphanage.
Mingjia's dream was to own a house of their own, where they could do whatever they wanted. To achieve this goal, the two worked tirelessly, believing it would bring them closer to their dream of a happy life. However, fortune did not smile upon them. Mingjia caught the eye of her boss, who attempted to force himself on her, but failed. Enraged, the boss had someone maliciously photoshop Mingjia's explicit images and distribute them widely. Unable to bear the immense humiliation and blow, Mingjia ultimately chose to commit suicide. Her final appearance became an eternal source of pain for Jiang Minghua.
Later, Jiang Minghua joined that company as the boss's secretary. She collected evidence of his embezzlement, brought him to court, and ensured that his family was severely punished by law. She avenged Mingjia, but from then on, she developed an obsession with money. She always felt that if they had been rich, perhaps Mingjia wouldn't have taken her own life, and that with money, their lives might have been better.
After gathering her thoughts, driver Li brought the car to a smooth stop at their destination—the entrance of Cloud Nine Club. Jiang Minghua opened the car door; the night breeze was slightly cool. She reached up to pull her coat tighter before heading straight to the hotel reception.
"Where is Fu Yanzhi's private room?"
The receptionist paused for a moment, then gave a professional smile, her tone polite but distant:
"I'm sorry, ma'am, we cannot disclose a guest's privacy."
As expected, Jiang Minghua didn't say much, but instead took out a black card. When the receptionist saw the black card, a glint flashed in her eyes.
"Then I'd like the private room next to Fu Yanzhi's."
"Okay, we'll process it for you right away."
Jiang Minghua quickly found the private room where Fu Yanzhi was. The door was ajar, as if waiting for someone to break in. The solid wood door of the room was thick and sturdy, and for soundproofing purposes, it was heavy. Jiang Minghua originally wanted to imitate a scene from TV dramas and kick it open, but as soon as she kicked the door, the force of the impact only made her feel a numbness under her feet, and the door did not budge.
Jiang Minghua pursed her lips. The plot of kicking open the door to save the female lead only happens to the devoted second male lead.
When she pushed the door open forcefully, the pungent smell of smoke and alcohol wafted out of the private room. The unpleasant odor made Jiang Minghua reflexively turn her face away. In the dim light, Jiang Minghua immediately saw Wen Chuqing curled up on the carpet next to the sofa, her hair disheveled, her arms tightly wrapped around her bent knees, her head buried in her knees, her shoulders heaving slightly with sobs, making soft whimpering sounds.
This scene triggered Jiang Minghua again. The images of Mingjia and Wen Chuqing overlapped in her mind, and the things she had experienced before seemed to happen again. Jiang Minghua trembled uncontrollably, and her breathing became shallow.
"Chu Qing?" Jiang Minghua tentatively called out softly, relying on her memory.
Upon hearing this, Wen Chuqing's shoulders trembled violently. She slowly raised her head, revealing a pair of red and swollen eyes through her disheveled hair. The moment she saw who it was, her tense shoulders suddenly relaxed, and she almost stumbled into Jiang Minghua's arms.
"Minghua, you've finally come. Please take me away." Wen Chuqing's voice was filled with heavy sobs. Her icy fingers gripped Jiang Minghua's clothes tightly. Her body was trembling violently, clearly terrified.
Jiang Minghua was stunned by Wen Chuqing's appearance. Wen Chuqing's face was exactly the same as Jiang Mingjia's, even her drooping almond eyes and the small red mole under her left eye were exactly the same as Jiang Mingjia's.
Suddenly, Jiang Minghua realized something and looked up at the mirrored glass on the wall. The mottled mirror reflected her current appearance, which was exactly the same as her appearance in her previous life, and she even had the pits left by chickenpox around her eyes.
So is that why she was chosen by the system? Or did her wish to become rich, made at the temple, come true in another way?
Wen Chuqing's unease pulled Jiang Minghua back to reality. She took a deep breath, tightened her arms, and her eyes gradually hardened. This time, she was determined to protect Mingjia.
"Chuqing, are you alright?" Jiang Minghua asked worriedly, her fingertips hovering over the red mark on Wen Chuqing's neck, but ultimately not daring to touch it.
Wen Chuqing's eyelashes trembled, and she subconsciously raised her hand to cover her torn collar. Several reddish finger marks remained on her exposed wrist. Jiang Minghua immediately took off her coat and draped it over her shoulders.
"I didn't want to come today, but the supervisor said the hourly wage was higher for the evening part-time job, so I..."
Wen Chuqing trembled as she recalled, her small, icy hands gripping Jiang Minghua tightly.
Wen Chuqing remembered that as soon as she pushed open the door, the deafening music in the private room abruptly stopped. A dozen pairs of eyes turned to her, and the air was thick with the pungent smell of alcohol and cigarettes. She steeled herself, picked up the tray, and quietly asked if she wanted any drinks, but then she heard someone whistle.
"Later..." Wen Chuqing's breathing suddenly became rapid. Her body trembled violently, and Jiang Minghua quickly hugged her.
"Ming, Chuqing, don't think about it anymore, and don't talk about it anymore. I'll take you away." Jiang Minghua's gentle voice comforted Wen Chuqing.
Wen Chuqing broke free from her embrace, gently shook her head, and insisted on recalling everything that had just happened. Her memory became fragmented; she only remembered the burning sensation of the icy liquid being forced down her throat, the feel of the leather sofa against her back, and the blinding white light of the phone camera flash.
She remembered her cries and pleas for help being drowned out by laughter until a deep male voice told everyone to get out, and the private room suddenly fell silent. The man then pressed her down onto the sofa, ignoring her fear, and gently stroked the mole at the corner of her eye, as if looking through her at someone else.
Wen Chuqing's body stiffened. She kept her eyes tightly shut, her eyelashes trembling, awaiting the impending nightmare. But the expected violence did not come. Instead, she heard even breathing beside her. She cautiously opened her eyes and found that the man had fallen asleep on her shoulder. The strong smell of alcohol mixed with the aroma of cigars lingered in her nose, and his tightly furrowed brows did not relax even in his sleep.
But Wen Chuqing didn't care about anything else. All she wanted to do was get away from this place. It took her a lot of effort to get out from under him. She curled up in the corner next to the sofa and dialed Jiang Minghua's number with trembling hands.
System: [Actually, this whole thing started because the male lead Fu Yanzhi's white moonlight, Qin Shuyi, abandoned him and went abroad. Fu Yanzhi and his friends got drunk to vent their anger, and coincidentally, Wen Chuqing, who looks very much like Qin Shuyi, appeared. So, in order to avenge Fu Yanzhi, his friends decided to vent their hatred for Qin Shuyi on the innocent Wen Chuqing, which is why they got her drunk and even took indecent photos of her.]
Jiang Minghua: The repairs were finished so quickly, but why didn't you say anything?
System: [I've never had a verbal tic; you're mistaken.]
The system stopped using the word "sa," which Jiang Minghua found a bit of a pity. As she listened to Wen Chuqing stammering out the whole story, the system's explanation came through again.
Knowing the backstory, Jiang Minghua stared with a sinister look at the culprit who was fast asleep on the sofa. No wonder this novel was being criticized. What an idiot male lead! Wasn't he supposed to be a rich second-generation heir from a prestigious family? His beloved had run away to another country, so why didn't he take his own private jet to chase after her? All he knew was to vent his anger on innocent people. What a coward!
Wen Chuqing stared blankly at the wine bottle that Jiang Minghua had shoved into her hand, looking at Jiang Minghua with a puzzled expression.
Jiang Minghua: "Get revenge! Grab this bottle and smash it over his head!"
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