The Rebirth of the Socialite's Glory (GL) - Chapter 4

Ye Qiu?!!!

Wasn’t Feng Ya called Ye Qiu before she returned to the Feng family? Ye Qiu…

Feng Hua looked at the thin, wretched child in front of her, finding it difficult to connect her with the future favored daughter of heaven, Feng Ya. Could such a person ever be so down and out?

The two looked at each other. Ye Qiu’s eyes held a trace of gratitude and a hint of helplessness. Feng Hua looked at Ye Qiu, who was two or three parts similar yet felt so unfamiliar, and her feelings were complicated.

“My name is Feng Hua. Feng, as in the envelope, Hua, as in the elegant one.” Feng Hua bent down to be at eye level with Ye Qiu. She realized she must be slightly taller than Ye Qiu at the moment.

“Feng Hua… Thank you!” Ye Qiu wiped her tears and smiled at Feng Hua.

She can still smile at a time like this?

Feng Hua slightly turned her eyes away, avoiding Ye Qiu’s smile, and asked casually, “…Are you alright now?”

Upon hearing this, Ye Qiu stood up from the ground. Although she staggered a bit, she managed to stand up on her own. This surprised Feng Hua; just moments ago, Ye Qiu had looked as if she was about to faint, but after she stood up on her own, her complexion seemed to improve.

Perhaps Feng Hua’s astonishment was too obvious, so Ye Qiu explained, “I’m used to it. When they hit me, if I pretend to be a little weaker, they won’t hit me so hard.”

Ye Qiu was very frail. The ill-fitting clothes hung loosely on her. The exposed section of her wrist was literally skin and bones. Her short hair was a mess, as if a dog had chewed on it. Scars and bruises were visible everywhere on the exposed skin, yet her eyes alone were so clear and clean.

“Do you… get bullied often? Why do they bully you like this?” Feng Hua was full of doubts. The Ye Qiu in front of her was too different from the one in her memory.

The Ye Qiu in her memory was outrageously vengeful. Even if someone merely verbally crossed her, she could turn around and cause the person’s family to go bankrupt.

Ye Qiu had never told her about her childhood, and of course, given their relationship, Ye Qiu had no reason to tell her such private matters. Feng Hua only vaguely guessed that Ye Mu (Ye Qiu’s mother) hadn’t treated Ye Qiu well.

It was true, after all, Ye Mu knew perfectly well that Ye Qiu was not her biological daughter.

But Feng Hua had never imagined that Ye Qiu’s life was like this.

Ye Qiu stared blankly at Feng Hua, feeling that she was like an angel in a fairy tale.

She had gotten used to the verbal and physical abuse and humiliation from groups of children, but Feng Hua was the first person to stop those children from hitting and cursing her. Perhaps because it was the first time, it was so unique, even unforgettable. For others, it might be nothing, but for Ye Qiu, Feng Hua, who appeared suddenly when she was in her most difficult moment, was more than just a simple salvation.

Ye Qiu had no guard up against Feng Hua. She answered Feng Hua’s questions very straightforwardly, but she couldn’t help but nervously observe Feng Hua’s expression, wanting to see if Feng Hua would despise her because of her misfortune.

Ye Qiu: “I don’t have a father, so they all think I’m strange and dislike me… My mother’s first seven days [of mourning] just passed yesterday. I was sitting in the corner crying sadly and they found me, so they beat me.”

Feng Hua’s first feeling upon hearing this was that she found it hard to understand the logic of these children. Why did someone not having a father and having a dead mother become a reason for them to bully her? Could youth really mean having no sympathy? This was an excuse!

Or, was it fundamentally because their parents had said unpleasant things without restraint, and these children were influenced by their parents, thus forming such wrong ideas that made them take pleasure in bullying Ye Qiu?

Feng Hua: “Don’t you fight back?”

Ye Qiu said, “There are more of them. If I fight back, I’ll be beaten even worse, and their parents will beat me too.”

“Your mother died. Are you going to live with relatives?”

“It was just me and my mother in my family. Now that Mom is gone, I’m the only one left.”

“Then how do you plan to live?”

“I’ll go to work. Some places hire child labor. Although the wages will be low, it should be enough to support me through the nine years of compulsory education. When I get a little older, I can find a better job.”

The two walked side by side, speaking in a question-and-answer exchange. Feng Hua followed Ye Qiu to her home.

When Ye Qiu pushed the door open, Feng Hua stood at the entrance, reluctant to enter.

It was very tidy inside, but from the doorway, Feng Hua could see that the whole house was so simple it made her frown. There wasn’t even a decent chair inside. The few pieces of furniture looked so old, with a lot of paint peeled off. There was a wooden plank bed and a square table.

Ye Qiu didn’t notice Feng Hua’s hesitation. Seeing Feng Hua stand still, she didn’t consider that Feng Hua was disgusted by her home. She genuinely believed that a girl like Feng Hua was as pure and kind as an angel.

In the end, Feng Hua still followed Ye Qiu into the room. Fortunately, though simple, the room was very clean and tidy.

Ye Qiu took out a piece of chocolate and a few candies from the room, and then got a ceramic bowl from the kitchen, filled it with cold boiled water, and placed it in front of Feng Hua.

Feng Hua looked at the things piled in front of her and was fundamentally disgusted.

However, when she saw Ye Qiu’s cautious eyes, filled with expectation and a desire to please, yet self-consciously trying to hide her emotions, Feng Hua, as if by some strange impulse, picked up the bar of chocolate of a brand she didn’t recognize, unwrapped it, broke off a small piece, and put it in her mouth.

It wasn’t bitter, but rather cloyingly sweet.

Feng Hua almost spat it out immediately.

The taste of an inferior food product assaulted her taste buds, almost bringing tears to her eyes.

“Is it good?” Ye Qiu looked at Feng Hua eating a small piece of chocolate, her eyes shining with anticipation. “My deskmate gave me this chocolate. She said it was bought in the city and that it’s very delicious.”

It wasn’t delicious at all. But Feng Hua compromised again under Ye Qiu’s gaze.

To hide her momentary softheartedness, Feng Hua maliciously broke off another piece and put it in her mouth, pretending it tasted great. Sure enough, a look of longing flashed in Ye Qiu’s eyes.

Hmph. Since you’re so greedy, I’ll just keep making you crave it.

The cloying sweetness nearly numbed Feng Hua’s taste buds. It was like someone who had never eaten spicy food taking a bite of a dish full of chili peppers—that kind of stimulation and discomfort was truly hard to describe in words.

Looking at the remaining half of the chocolate, Feng Hua really couldn’t force any more into her mouth. She glanced at Ye Qiu, then suddenly shoved the chocolate into Ye Qiu’s mouth.

“You eat it!”

After Feng Hua spoke, Ye Qiu looked at her with teary eyes, which sparked a strange feeling of guilt in her heart.

She felt like she was bullying a small child, a pitiable one who was also very innocent and trusted her completely.

Ye Qiu desperately held back her tears, lowered her head, and quietly chewed and savored the chocolate in her mouth, her heart warm with emotion.

She really likes it herself, yet she still put it in my mouth like this. Feng Hua not only looked like an angel, but her heart was also so kind. She must really be the angel sent by heaven to save her.

So delicious… This was the best thing she had ever eaten…

At this moment, Feng Hua was unaware that she had become the legendary winged and unclothed angel in Ye Qiu’s heart. She looked at Ye Qiu’s tearful eyes, and the resentment in her heart quietly faded a little.

She simply couldn’t hate Ye Qiu in this state.

After waking up reborn, the first thing she thought of was coming to see Ye Qiu, finding a way to change her life trajectory, and incidentally doing something to make Ye Qiu suffer. Only when Ye Qiu was miserable and could no longer pose a threat to her could she feel at ease.

However, the Ye Qiu in front of her was completely beyond her expectation. No matter how much she hated and disliked Ye Qiu, she couldn’t do anything to the current Ye Qiu.

Feng Hua, feeling troubled, picked up the bowl and took a sip of the water. The taste was different from the water she usually drank; it wasn’t tasty, but it wasn’t awful either.

Ye Qiu, who had finished the chocolate, quietly looked at Feng Hua. Only then did she belatedly realize that the delicate and noble Feng Hua was completely out of place in this simple room. Her every move was so elegant and beautiful, so beautiful that it made her feel ashamed of her own appearance.

“Ye Qiu, I’m going to stay here for a month. Can you play with me?” Feng Hua put down the bowl, a thought having formed in her mind, and then smiled at Ye Qiu.

Don’t agree! If I agree to her, I won’t be able to go to work, and then I won’t be able to earn money for school and living expenses… But Feng Hua’s focused gaze and her words were immensely attractive to her.

She felt nervous being watched by Feng Hua and was completely unable to refuse.

“Okay.” Ye Qiu nodded with difficulty.

Feng Hua got a definite answer, and a smile bloomed on her face, her dimples faintly visible on her cheeks.

Ye Qiu stared blankly at Feng Hua’s face, really wanting to poke the dimples on her cheeks, but Feng Hua’s face was too clean and fair, which made her itching hands remain tucked inside her sleeves.

Feng Hua took Ye Qiu to the hotel she had rented. It was a very poor hotel by Feng Hua’s standards, but in Ye Qiu’s eyes, it was very grand, making her feel uneasy from the moment she stepped inside. Her cautious demeanor, combined with her current appearance, made her look like a little beggar. If Feng Hua hadn’t been with her, she probably would have been chased away by the front desk.

Ye Qiu’s every move was observed by Feng Hua.

She could easily determine that Ye Qiu’s mannerisms were not faked.

The sense of contradiction in Feng Hua’s heart grew stronger. How could Ye Qiu be like this?

She was clearly a wild beast, yet now she could be as innocent as a harmless, gentle, and weak rabbit.

This was simply a huge joke played on her by fate. This Ye Qiu… actually made it difficult for her to follow through with her plans.

She even thought that the current Ye Qiu was innocent; she hadn’t done anything to offend her, and it was wrong for her to think about retaliating against Ye Qiu now.

But should she really wait until Ye Qiu was stepping on her before fighting back? She didn’t think she could escape from the fully-fledged Ye Qiu. She knew that to the Ye Qiu of the future, she would merely be a toy that could be casually manipulated.

Unless, she could make the future Ye Qiu reluctant to be ruthless with her.

Should she harden her heart and eliminate Ye Qiu, or should she form a good relationship with Ye Qiu, making her less ruthless toward her in the future?

The former was constrained by morality, the latter relied on emotional bonds. How to choose was the question.

However, one thing was certain: for the time being, she could not bring herself to do anything bad to the poor little thing in front of her.