The Rebirth of the Socialite's Glory (GL) - Chapter 5

In front of Ye Qiu, Feng Hua didn’t know when, but in the depths of her heart, Ye Qiu had become a synonym for “unbeatable,” causing her to lose confidence in overwhelming Ye Qiu.

Even now, having the advantages of time and place, Feng Hua still did not have the determination to compete fairly with Ye Qiu in the future.

It was precisely because of this that only those two options remained in Feng Hua’s mind.

“Young Mistress, you’re back. This is… she…” Wang Mu immediately opened the door when he heard the knock. He was naturally happy to see Feng Hua and greatly relieved that she had returned safely, but when he saw Feng Hua leading a very dirty-looking child, his expression instantly became astonished.

Feng Hua explained, “Someone tried to bully me just now, and she protected me…”

Upon hearing that Feng Hua had been bullied, Wang Mu suddenly erupted with a chilling aura, his thick eyebrows knotted together. The fierce and menacing look made Ye Qiu, who was timidly standing next to Feng Hua, shrink back. Feng Hua felt Ye Qiu flinch and instinctively squeezed Ye Qiu’s hand as a gesture of comfort.

Ye Qiu’s nervousness and fear subsided considerably when Feng Hua squeezed her hand. She thought, Xiao Hua’s hand is so soft, tender, and nice to touch… Feng Hua, however, was extremely annoyed, swearing that she sincerely hadn’t intended to comfort Ye Qiu just now!

“Uncle Wang, don’t worry. Am I not fine now?” Feng Hua looked at Wang Mu, smiling very sweetly, which instantly quelled any anger.

Wang Mu carefully confirmed that Feng Hua was alright before sternly saying, “Next time, Young Mistress must not be so willful. You don’t have the ability to protect yourself right now, and the outside world is so dangerous.”

“How dangerous? Will an evil dragon come and snatch me away?” Feng Hua was not offended by Wang Mu’s direct and serious words; instead, she joked.

Wang Mu still said very seriously, “For the Young Mistress, there are indeed many ‘evil dragons’ of different kinds living outside.”

Feng Hua curved her lips, nodded as if making a promise, then glanced at Ye Qiu and introduced, “Her name is Ye Qiu. I’m going to take her out to play this month. And, well, she can share a room with me for sleeping.”

Wang Mu stared at Ye Qiu with a scrutinizing look for a moment. Seeing that Ye Qiu’s eyes were clear and she didn’t seem to harbor any ill intentions, he felt relieved. Moreover, her injuries were supposedly sustained because she was protecting his Young Mistress, which lessened his guard and increased his goodwill toward Ye Qiu.

“Do I need to get another room?” Wang Mu asked.

Feng Hua shook her head, “No need. She and I can share one room.”

Wang Mu guessed that Feng Hua liked Ye Qiu so much because Ye Qiu had saved her. He was happy that Feng Hua had a playmate. His Young Mistress had few friends since childhood, and absolutely none that she could truly play with.

A genius receives the glory a genius deserves, but it is often accompanied by emotional loneliness.

The “sharing a room” arrangement, of course, did not mean Feng Hua was kind enough to let Ye Qiu sleep in the same bed as her. Instead, she had Ye Qiu sleep on a makeshift bed on the floor.

Feng Hua had made up her mind: she would maintain a decent relationship with Ye Qiu, then secretly undermine her, preventing Ye Qiu from being recognized by the family. Meanwhile, she would accelerate her efforts to gain access to the core of the Feng family and, under the cover of a secret plan, develop her own business empire outside.

A great man once said that one should not put all their eggs in one basket; any endeavor should have a backup plan.

With her mind made up, and having already placed her “eggs” in several “baskets,” Feng Hua completely calmed down. After instructing Ye Qiu to make the bedding on the floor, she pushed her into the bathroom, “You take a bath first. I’ll get you some clothes.”

After closing the bathroom door, Feng Hua didn’t worry about Ye Qiu inside. She found her suitcase and pulled out a dress she hadn’t worn yet and a pair of unworn underwear.

Looking at the beautiful dress and her small strawberry underwear, Feng Hua secretly curled her lip, She’s getting off easy!

Ye Qiu took a whole hour to bathe. During this time, Feng Hua sat on the bed watching TV, maliciously thinking, That Ye Qiu, surely she didn’t drown in the bathtub, did she? That would be great, hmph.

However, Ye Qiu did not drown in the bathtub as Feng Hua maliciously surmised. An hour later, she finally knocked on the door and told Feng Hua she was done.

Ye Qiu had actually finished bathing much earlier, but she just stood awkwardly by the bathroom door for tens of minutes until she had mustered enough mental preparation to knock and tell Feng Hua she was ready.

Feng Hua opened the door and walked in openly. After placing the clothes down, she glanced indifferently at Ye Qiu, who was completely stiff, before turning and leaving.

As soon as Feng Hua sat down on the bed, she heard the bathroom door being slammed shut forcefully. That force… was she shy?

Recalling what she had seen, Feng Hua pursed her lips, thinking, What is Ye Qiu being shy about? They are the same gender. What’s wrong with a look? Besides, she’s just a little brat right now, a little brat without an ounce of fat. She isn’t good-looking at all. If some parts of her body weren’t shaped differently, that shriveled, rough body might even make people think she was a boy.

Feng Hua added a final thought in her mind, Miles away from me!

When Ye Qiu came out, she carefully glanced at Feng Hua on the bed. Only after confirming that Feng Hua was really asleep did she pat her chest, looking relieved.

Feng Hua was the only person besides her mother who had seen her body.

For some reason, she just felt very shy.

The air conditioner was on in the room, driving away all the heat. With the cool, unknown blankets as a pillow and Feng Hua’s shallow breathing in her ears, Ye Qiu slept soundly all night.

Compared to Ye Qiu’s restful night, Feng Hua did not sleep so comfortably. It wasn’t that she was overly fastidious, but the discrepancy was too great; the environment here was indeed a bit unbearable for her.

And because her body felt uncomfortable, she started having nightmares in the middle of the night.

She first dreamed of the initial glorious period of her previous life.

A-city was one of the most prosperous cities in the country, and although the Feng family could not be said to be the number one wealthy family there, it was one of the very few great wealthy families. Feng Heng, because of his deep love for his wife, decided not to remarry, resulting in the massive Feng family having only Feng Hua as an heir. Feng Hua became the sole successor.

It was imaginable what kind of environment Feng Hua grew up in, how much pressure she bore, and what glorious status she held externally.

Just when she always believed herself to be a favored daughter of Heaven, Ye Qiu appeared, and everything shattered like a beautiful bubble with a gentle poke.

Ye Qiu’s appearance was sudden, at least in Feng Hua’s perception, even though Ye Qiu had actually been lurking for a full five years before appearing before her.

Then, she took only a brief year to trample Feng Hua underfoot.

Ye Qiu’s blow to her was not limited to her identity; Ye Qiu simply defeated Feng Hua in all the fields where Feng Hua excelled, achieving overwhelming victory.

Ye Qiu first appeared before Feng Hua because of a competition, a national academic competition. Feng Hua was confident she could win first place, becoming the youngest person to win the award and claiming a trophy that represented glory and a milestone. However, Ye Qiu’s appearance completely disrupted her plan. In the top three elimination round, the other person had a bye, and she faced Ye Qiu. Ye Qiu won, and Feng Hua was so stimulated that she performed poorly, stopping at third place in the final.

The second deeply memorable time was also because of a competition, a painting competition.

Feng Hua loved to paint. Although she did not dislike socializing and, as an elegant socialite, could get along with everyone, deep down she felt lonely, misunderstood. There were many things she couldn’t articulate, so she loved to paint, embedding her emotions into her artwork. Perhaps for this reason, others said her paintings were unique, rich in emotion, and even possessed a soul. She was called a “Soul Painter.”

But Ye Qiu, like an unwelcome spirit, competed with her again.

This time, the two of them entered the finals together again. Feng Hua lost to Ye Qiu again, stopping at second place. Moreover, she lost not only the ranking but also popularity.

If the last loss was a blow to Feng Hua’s reputation and long-held arrogance, this time the loss was to her pride. The talent she had always been proud of seemed vulnerable in the face of Ye Qiu.

She still remembered the judges’ and online comments. They said that the true Soul Painter was Ye Qiu, and Feng Hua’s paintings, in comparison, were too immature and petty.

She stood in front of Ye Qiu’s painting, observing it carefully. All her reluctance turned to ashes in the face of absolute strength. No one knew better than herself the magnitude of the gap between her and Ye Qiu.

She was defeated, and she accepted it willingly.

After that competition, she fell into a slump but firmly remembered Ye Qiu.

Ye Qiu had not been unknown before, but strangely, Feng Hua had failed to notice Ye Qiu at all, even though they had met, and Ye Qiu had attended banquets she hosted as a guest. She still had no impression of Ye Qiu.

After she focused on Ye Qiu, whether intentionally or unintentionally, her interactions with Ye Qiu increased. In all competitions and evaluations, Ye Qiu managed to suppress Feng Hua. Even the usually well-liked Feng Hua suffered damage to her reputation because of Ye Qiu. Even people who had been pursuing Feng Hua turned their attention to Ye Qiu. Although Feng Hua did not care about people she disliked and would never respond to a stranger’s affections, such a contrast still deeply affected her and made her jealous.

Yes, jealousy. In just over half a year, Feng Hua had become a loser jealous of others. Sometimes, Feng Hua found it all incredibly unbelievable.

If all of this had already clouded Feng Hua’s heart with gloom, then when she heard her closest confidante betraying her privacy and secrets to curry favor with Ye Qiu, it became the final fuse for Feng Hua’s outburst.

When Feng Hua made her first direct move against Ye Qiu, the only counterattack Ye Qiu made rendered Feng Hua completely defenseless, causing her to collapse entirely.

When her truly greatest advantage was gone, and after she had lost everything she could possibly lose to Ye Qiu, what did she have left?