The Creator's Grace (GL) - Chapter 4

One month ago.

“Second Miss, the Eldest Miss… she has passed away.”

Twenty hours earlier, Chi Yu, who was overseas, received a call from Butler Chen.

Chi Yu, who was burning the midnight oil working on calculations in front of her computer, didn’t understand what Butler Chen was saying at first and fell silent for a moment.

Not receiving a response from Chi Yu, Butler Chen asked, “Second Miss?”

Only then did Chi Yu slowly stand up from her chair. “What did you say?”

A sigh of air came from the other end of the line.

“Second Miss, please accept my condolences.”

The first four words that popped into Chi Yu’s mind upon receiving this call were – completely inexplicable.

Yesterday, her sister had video-called her on time as usual, saying that she had been feeling a bit feverish recently and had a toothache.

She had reminded her to take good care of herself while being alone overseas.

While doing her calculations, Chi Yu had taken the time to tease her, “Sister, are you getting old? You haven’t even turned forty and you’re already in elderly nagging mode.”

“You’re my only sister. If I don’t nag you, who will I nag?”

Chi Li in the video had taken a sip of coffee and said with a smile, “And you just had to run so far away. I want to nag you but can’t even find you. I have to rely on video calls to get to you.”

“Can’t you just not nag me? Alright, I won’t chat with you anymore, I have a ton of things to do here. I’ll talk to you when I’m done.”

Chi Yu was indeed very busy. The new orbit project was more complicated than she had thought, and the newcomers in the project team especially liked to come up with their own ideas, one after another, without much thought. Even after Chi Yu had given them a cold reprimand, they hadn’t become obedient.

And her sister’s video call had come at a very inconvenient time. She was searching online for usable paid programs when her sister’s call came in.

Still talking about such trivial topics…

Chi Yu had hung up decisively. At the time, she didn’t feel anything was wrong. That was how they had grown up, bickering but always having a very good relationship.

She never expected that to be her last conversation with her sister.

Her sister had passed away?

Chi Yu held her phone in her hand, stood in the room for a long while, and then called back.

“Cause of death.”

Butler Chen said, “For now, we still don’t know…”

Chi Yu was furious, her voice low and menacing as she said, “Aren’t you going to investigate?”

Butler Chen was clearly shaken by her anger, quickly responding, “Yes!”

Without even having time to pack anything properly, Chi Yu only stuffed her passport and a few personal belongings into her backpack, bought the earliest flight back home on the way, and rushed back to the country.

Before the plane even took off, she received a call from Ran Jin.

“Xiao Yu, please accept my condolences.”

Hearing Ran Jin’s familiar voice, Chi Yu finally couldn’t hold back anymore. She knew her sister was really gone.

A sharp pain shot through her heart. She clutched her phone, her head lowered, silently shedding a string of tears.

After a long while, Chi Yu finally managed to compose herself with difficulty, her voice steady as she said:

“Sister Ran, take care. I’m already on the plane, I’ll be back soon.”

“You’re coming back now?” Ran Jin’s question caught Chi Yu off guard.

“Of course I’m coming back, to see my sister off with you.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end before Ran Jin said, “Send me your flight information, I’ll pick you up.”

At that time, Chi Yu, who didn’t know that her sister and Ran Jin had already broken up, naturally said, “No need, there should be a lot of things at home that need your decision. I’ll be arriving late at night, so I can just go back myself.”

Ran Jin insisted on picking her up, so Chi Yu had no choice but to tell her.

Ran Jin, who had received Chi Yu’s flight information, hadn’t slept for twenty-six consecutive hours at this point.

The news of Chi Li’s sudden death had spread like wildfire.

The battle for the lunar region’s mining rights had entered a white-hot stage. Everyone in the Chi Corporation was working hard to secure it, but who knew that the leader would suddenly fall at this moment?

Chi Li was dead, but the fight for the lunar region’s mining rights couldn’t stop.

This was the Chi Corporation’s most important project in the past five years. They had prepared for it for many years, betting everything on securing it.

Now, they were just one step away. If they lost their composure, all their previous efforts would be in vain.

With Chi Li gone, many within the Chi Corporation would be panicked, fearing that this was a ruthless move by competitors to seize this huge cake.

And the cause of Chi Li’s death was still unknown. The Chi family didn’t seem to have any intention of announcing it to the outside world.

As a result, everyone’s speculation and fear increased sharply.

Just as the Chi Corporation was about to fall into chaos, the new chairman, Ran Jin, presided over the board meeting and made several major decisions decisively.

She promptly allocated funds, dispatched personnel, and bid for the lunar orbits.

It was also through this board meeting that everyone understood that the Chi Corporation had changed hands.

Chi Li was dead. The woman surnamed “Ran,” whom she had personally cultivated, was now the head of the Chi Corporation.

Ran Jin acted boldly in the matter of purchasing orbital routes, something that should have been handled with great caution. She spared no expense to secure the three most expensive and most convenient routes, buying them for ten years at once.

These ten years were the golden decade for lunar mining. Whoever could gain a firm foothold on the moon within these ten years would hold the power of the future.

Everyone knew this, but knowing it was one thing, and having the courage to directly take action was another.

After all, the annual price of each orbital route would require both hands to count.

There were countless competitors. Having private orbital routes was the only way to have an advantage in the competition for mining rights and take the lead.

The orbital routes were the foundation, the most powerful weapon to seize the market.

Everyone understood the principle, but what if they ultimately failed to secure the mining rights?

The Chi Corporation could indeed resell the orbital routes, but lunar orbits were auctioned on a yearly basis, and their value would depreciate with each passing day. When the time came to sell them off cheaply due to depreciation, they would still need to find willing buyers.

Although there were the three most convenient main routes to the moon, it wasn’t impossible to take other, more circuitous routes.

What was taking a detour compared to witnessing the miserable state of the Chi Corporation holding onto orbital routes they couldn’t get rid of?

If they failed to secure the lunar mining rights and couldn’t find buyers for the three major orbital routes, leaving them stuck in their hands, the Chi Corporation would likely suffer a major blow.

Faced with doubts, Ran Jin had only one sentence:

“You don’t need to have any hesitation. Just follow behind me and listen to my decisions.”

Even when Chi Li was still around, they hadn’t been able to quickly make a final decision on this matter. Unexpectedly, the new emperor had issued orders resolutely as soon as she took the throne, and those former followers of Chi Li had quickly sided with the new emperor in the blink of an eye.

The decisions were immediately implemented.

From the top to the bottom of the entire Chi Corporation, tens of thousands of people were trembling for their jobs.

On the second day after the death of the Chi empire’s leader, Ran Jin had pushed the Chi Corporation to the edge of a cliff, and also hung herself high in the air.

The slightest carelessness would result in being pierced by a thousand arrows.

Some felt that Ran Jin had unparalleled courage, while others felt that she was being too rash.

But no one could deny her audacity.

There were objections and pessimistic predictions. In this era of rapid information dissemination, Ran Jin’s decision was quickly leaked to the internet, causing an uproar in the entire energy industry.

[Wow, buying three at once? Is this a monopoly in the making?]

[The Chi family is still rich.]

[After all, it’s not her own hard-earned fortune, so she spends lavishly without any heartache.]

[Acting so recklessly, isn’t she afraid of being intercepted in the end and losing everything?]

“Snap.”

Shutting the door on the doubts, Ran Jin, who had just finished three consecutive meetings and hadn’t eaten yet, asked her assistant to get her a sandwich and a black coffee.

Siting down in her chair and turning on the computer, she looked at the progress of the mining rights and news from various parties for a while. Then, Ran Jin felt her eyes dry and sore.

She took out the artificial tears prescribed by the doctor from the drawer, put a few drops in her eyes, closed them, and leaned back in her chair to rest for a moment.

When her eyes felt less uncomfortable, she reopened them, her thick eyelashes still damp with tears. She opened the drawer and took out an everlasting flower sealed in a round, transparent resin ball.

This white rose was frozen in its moment of full bloom, still as beautiful as ever after many years…

A knock on the door, and the assistant came in. “President Ran, your sandwich and coffee are on the desk.”

“Mm.” Ran Jin had already put the everlasting flower back. “Thank you.”

After the assistant left, she glanced at the time and realized that she had been looking at the flower too intently and had lost track of time.

She needed to go see Lu Siqing and then rush to the airport to pick up Chi Yu.

She picked up her handbag and took the private elevator down to the underground parking lot.

The person had already left. When the assistant entered the room again, she found that President Ran’s sandwich and black coffee hadn’t been touched at all.

She stayed at the Lu’s residence for a long time. It wasn’t until the latter half of the night, close to Chi Yu’s flight landing time, that Ran Jin immediately ended the conversation.

She stood by the elevator waiting when Lu Siqing, wearing a bathrobe, stood behind her.

Lu Siqing’s hair was still damp, strands falling onto her shoulders. Her arms were tucked into the pockets of her pink bathrobe as she carefully looked at Ran Jin’s face.

“Hmm?” Ran Jin squinted her sore eyes, noticing Lu Siqing observing her. She relaxed her brows and made a questioning sound.

Lu Siqing laughed. “Do people know that President Ran, who’s so fierce to everyone else, is like a child in front of me? Not knowing how to take care of yourself at all. Come here, let me see your eyes. They must be so uncomfortable, are you still wearing them?”

Lu Siqing pulled Ran Jin closer, bringing her face near to carefully examine her pupils.

Ran Jin took a step back and subconsciously went to press the elevator button. “I can’t help it, I have to be cautious.”

“You don’t even take them out when you sleep, do you?”

“I don’t.”

“You’re really crazy… Do you not want your eyes anymore?”

Ran Jin didn’t speak.

“Sigh, forget it, I’m too lazy to talk to you. You never listen anyway. Xiao Jin is good in every way, but this stubborn temper of yours is so annoying. Hurry back to sleep. Do you have to keep vigil tonight?”

“I’m going to the airport first.”

“Going to the airport at this hour? What for?” Lu Siqing’s mind clicked, and she quickly understood. “Chi Yu is back?”

“Her sister passed away, how could she not come back?”

“That’s right, it’s good that she’s back. Let her keep vigil. You’ve been exhausted for so many days, don’t worry about it. The Chi family doesn’t like you anyway. But why are you rushing to pick her up? Are there no people left in the Chi family, or no cars at the airport? Besides, you’ve already broken up with Chi Li, haven’t you? Why don’t you just go back and get a good night’s sleep? You have to fight the whole world tomorrow!”

Ran Jin looked at the floor numbers flashing on the electronic display and didn’t respond to Lu Siqing.

Lu Siqing wanted to say more, but the elevator doors opened. Ran Jin stepped inside, turned back, said “Good night,” and blocked all her unsaid words.

The elevator doors closed, also shutting out Lu Siqing’s angry face.

The elevator car slowly descended with Ran Jin. The cold, bright light of the advertisements in the elevator shone on her face. Her face, which hadn’t shown a smile for days, revealed a barely perceptible smile as if she had thought of something…

Ran Jin’s car had been parked in the parking lot for nearly an hour. Chi Yu’s flight was delayed and still hadn’t landed.

Ran Jin sat in the driver’s seat, her arms crossed over her chest, her body slightly leaning forward, her head drooping, her forehead almost touching the steering wheel.

She had been keeping herself awake, waiting for Chi Yu’s WeChat message, but the feeling of fatigue and the comfortable temperature inside the car caused her, who had been working non-stop for days and was already exhausted, to fall asleep unconsciously.

In her dream, she returned to that rainy day.

Huddled in the alley, she was covered in bl00d and dirt, her broken body clinging to its last breath.

She heard the muffled sound of raindrops hitting an umbrella.

She didn’t know when, but a strange woman stood beside her, someone behind her holding an umbrella for her.

The woman squatted down, took her weak wrist, and examined it.

“Hello, Xiao Ran.” The woman lifted her face, admired it for a moment, and said, “I’ve finally found you.”

••••

She was brought to a large house. It was warm and bright, and every corner smelled good.

She didn’t dare to sit on the soft ginger-yellow sofa, afraid of soiling it with her dirtiness.

Until the smiling young girl approached her with a glass of peach juice and pulled her down to sit.

“I’ve asked someone to get you pajamas. Drink some peach juice and go take a bath. It’s so cold outside, how did you get so drenched? You must be freezing. Look at you, your hands are so cold.”

Sixteen-year-old Chi Yu had her black hair draped over her shoulders, her lips like glistening jelly. She had no idea what kind of relationship the person in front of her would develop with her sister. She held her hand with pure kindness, her palm soft and warm, her slender and fair legs full of vibrant beauty and vitality.

Chi Yu showed no disgust, using her snow-white and clean hands to warm her, urging her to drink peach juice. “You’re my sister’s guest, right? We rarely have guests at home. My name is Chi Yu, just call me Xiao Yu. What’s your name?”