The Rebirth of the Socialite's Glory (GL) - Chapter 14

“Who are you?”

After Feng Hua asked, she didn’t receive any reply. Instead, that person’s hand seemed to become somewhat improper, slowly caressing the delicate skin on Feng Hua’s back. Pressed so closely, Feng Hua could even outline the shape of the hand: long and slender, with slight calluses.

“Who are you?” Feng Hua asked again.

Still, no answer was given.

“Since that’s the case…” Feng Hua swiftly raised her leg and used her knee to strike the other person’s stomach. The other person winced in pain, and for a moment, her hand was subconsciously weak and slack. Feng Hua seized this instant, grabbed the person’s hand, flipped her over, and pressed her against the wall.

The current situation was that the positions of threat and being threatened, coercion and being coerced, had undergone a drastic reversal.

“Xiao Hua…”

“You finally decided to speak.” Feng Hua paused, then said faintly, “Ye Qiu.”

The girl currently suppressed by her was slender and on the thinner side, with a pair of surprisingly bright eyes, a delicate, small nose, petal-like lips, jade-like skin, and a shoulder-length lob haircut. There was still a hint of childishness on her face.

Time seemed to stop, and Feng Hua’s throat felt dry. She had a misconception that the person in front of her was not the Ye Qiu she had seen in her childhood, but Feng Ya, who had returned to the Feng family in her previous life. Except for the lingering childishness on her face, the appearances of the two seemed to overlap.

“Xiao Hua, long time no see. I’ve missed you very much.” Ye Qiu suddenly smiled brilliantly, dispelling the original cold indifference. Her voice was like a clear spring, gentle and soothing. “Your moves are still as good as before.”

Feng Hua looked at Ye Qiu, who was smiling like a flower, and suddenly didn’t know how to react.

For a long time, Feng Hua remained silent. Ye Qiu suddenly broke free from Feng Hua’s restraint, wrapped her arms around Feng Hua’s waist, and said muffledly, “I really missed you… I just wanted to play a joke on you. You know, I didn’t use any force on you just now… Are you angry?”

Ye Qiu’s eyes did not shy away from her gaze. The skin on her face was relaxed, and her pupils contracted and expanded naturally. From various details, Ye Qiu indeed showed no signs of lying. Feng Hua quickly analyzed Ye Qiu’s micro-expressions in her mind and found no flaws.

“How did you end up here?” Feng Hua clearly saw her own reflection in Ye Qiu’s clear eyes, which looked very pure.

“Z country received fifteen invitations this year. My high school got one, and I earned this opportunity through a competition.” Ye Qiu’s joy was evident on her face, and her eyes sparkled when she looked at Feng Hua. “I didn’t expect to meet you here, but Xiao Hua, you are so excellent, it’s not surprising to meet you here.”

Ye Qiu’s smile was the same as when she was a child: she liked to show her white, neat teeth, and her slightly narrowed eyes gave people a feeling of being filled with tenderness.

This kind of smile was different from ‘Feng Ya’s’. The ‘Feng Ya’ Feng Hua had seen never had such vitality. The former made people feel sincere and joyful, while the latter was either a perfunctory, polite smile or a slightly curled lip with a hint of faint sarcasm.

Since her rebirth, Feng Hua could not find any similarities between Ye Qiu and ‘Feng Ya’, except for naturally grown features like their appearance.

Feng Hua slapped Ye Qiu’s hand. Ye Qiu let go of the arms wrapped around Feng Hua’s waist after the painful sting, looking at Feng Hua with a touch of melancholy. However, Feng Hua was unwilling to look at this increasingly familiar face and kept turning her head to look at the ceiling, the floor, the wall, just not at Ye Qiu. “Thank you. And congratulations to you, you are also excellent.”

Ye Qiu was not foolish and could clearly hear that Feng Hua was being unfamiliar and formal with her, and even more so, Feng Hua was unwilling to look at her, fundamentally not wanting to have any involvement with her. This conclusion made Ye Qiu’s eyes dim slightly.

She was clearly the one who had been abandoned, yet it was Feng Hua who adopted such a demeanor.

Ye Qiu was filled with hurt and disappointment, remaining silent for a long time, which prompted Feng Hua to look at her. Unexpectedly, their eyes met, and she froze when she saw the ‘grieved woman’ expression on the other’s face.

Silence spread throughout the changing room until someone knocked on the door, and Anna’s voice sounded from outside, “Dear Blanche, are you in some kind of trouble?”

Anna’s voice contained worry. Feng Hua’s expression relaxed. She glanced at Ye Qiu and then replied to the person outside the door, “I’m fine, just ran into a little trouble, that’s all.”

“Is there anything I can help you with?” Anna didn’t detect anything unusual in Feng Hua’s voice but was still somewhat worried.

“No, Anna, you go back first. Let’s have dinner together tonight.” Feng Hua’s tone was light.

Anna looked at the tightly closed door and sensed the implicit rejection in Feng Hua’s words, so she had to say, “Alright, see you tonight.”

Relieved that Anna didn’t press the issue, Feng Hua said, “See you tonight.”

Subconsciously, she didn’t want the people around her to meet Ye Qiu.

Anna paused for a moment as she left, seemingly hearing an unfamiliar voice inside the room. Anna’s eyes flickered, but ultimately, she didn’t stay to pry into Feng Hua’s privacy. She just looked at the tightly closed door again, then turned and left.

She was just a little curious about when Feng Hua had met a friend in M country with whom she could stay in the same changing room.

“Xiao Hua, did… did I do something to upset you?” Ye Qiu clenched her hands when she heard Anna’s voice and only slowly released them after Anna left. She looked at Feng Hua, her eyes filled with genuine sadness.

“No.” Feng Hua considered herself skilled in social graces, but in front of Ye Qiu, she became inarticulate.

Unable to bear this atmosphere any longer, Feng Hua said, “I want to go back and rest. See you at the competition.”

Feng Hua opened the door and prepared to leave, but Ye Qiu grabbed her arm. Ye Qiu embraced Feng Hua’s waist from behind again, tightly, yet not enough to make Feng Hua feel too restricted. “Xiao Hua, I thought we were friends… I never forgot you, nor did I forget the help you gave me. Without you, I wouldn’t be who I am today… Please don’t reject my closeness, okay? I know my status is vastly different from yours. You are a privileged darling, and I… If you think I’m not qualified to be your friend, please allow me to stand behind you, be your right-hand woman, help you, and protect you. Okay?”

No need, I can’t afford you. The words reached Feng Hua’s lips but were swallowed back down.

It was truly a peculiar sensation that Ye Qiu would say such words to her. Feng Hua didn’t want to think too much. She broke free from Ye Qiu’s embrace once more and dismissively said, “You don’t need to keep it in mind. We are indeed people from two different worlds; there’s no need for too much interaction.”

Feng Hua walked away calmly, but in reality, her heart was very complicated. The chaotic thoughts caused by Ye Qiu’s appearance made her decide to go back and sleep for a while.

Ye Qiu stood in place, watching Feng Hua’s figure disappear from her sight. Tears moistened her eyelashes, but a thick smile curled at the corners of her mouth.

For the next two days, Feng Hua did not go out and naturally did not encounter Ye Qiu again. Three days flew by in a relaxed state, and the final competition was held as scheduled.

The previous rounds of the competition had all been conducted in a closed environment, but for this final round, the top ten contenders all stepped onto the stage, undergoing the scrutiny of tens of thousands of live audience members. This also allowed the ten people to finally know what their opponents looked like.

The host first had the ten people introduce themselves and then found that Feng Hua and Ye Qiu were the two youngest among the ten. Furthermore, both of them had performed exceptionally well in the trials, were remarkably beautiful, possessed outstanding temperaments, and shared the same Z-country nationality. All these factors combined led to the two receiving more attention than the other eight contestants.

Next, the host broadcasted a curated video of the examination process. The main part showed the ten people during the exam. Unlike those who were eliminated, the ten people were noticeably more fluid and relaxed when answering questions, demonstrating higher fundamental competence.

The oldest among these ten was a 24-year-old male. Compared to the not-yet-16-year-old Ye Qiu and Feng Hua, he was indeed significantly older, but in the eyes of the world, he was still just a very young man who had not yet graduated from university. Yet, this team of ten, who were extremely young, could stand on this stage, earning everyone’s attention, amazement, and recognition. It was hard to find adjectives to describe them other than ‘geniuses’ and ‘monsters’.

Because of their uniqueness, a large wave of fans spontaneously formed support groups for them. They already had a very massive fan support group without the ten people even knowing it.

The video quickly finished playing, and the host got to the point, announcing the competition rules.

On the huge screen, a vivid explanation of the competition rules began. After watching the explanation, Feng Hua summarized the rules of this competition in a simple sentence: Each contestant will be given one thousand M dollars, and the one who can earn the most money with this one thousand M dollar principal within one year wins. During this period, no external assistance is allowed, or their qualification will be immediately revoked.

The prizes were: Third place receives ten thousand M dollars, second place receives one hundred thousand M dollars, and first place receives one million M dollars, an opportunity to collaborate with the global top 100, and becoming a specially invited member of the global top 500 enterprise club.

The generous and astonishing prizes not only made the eyes of the ten people redden, but all the spectators also felt a sense of dizziness.

The host was satisfied with the reactions of the contestants and the audience and timely said, “News will be announced here this time next year. Now, let our dear contestants begin their journey of wealth accumulation.”

Everyone received a starter card with one thousand M dollars stored on it. While the audience felt the competition started a bit abruptly, the contestants themselves quickly got into the zone and made their own plans.

None of the ten people planned to leave the developed M country. On the second day of the competition, Feng Hua accepted an afternoon tea invitation from another Z-country contestant, Ke Min.

The invited individuals included Feng Hua and Ye Qiu.

Feng Hua’s keen but not overt gaze swept over the two of them, and she keenly felt Ke Min’s poorly concealed jealousy and hostility.