The Rebirth of the Socialite's Glory (GL) - Chapter 7

Ye Qiu brought Feng Hua to a restaurant for lunch. The restaurant’s decor was very simple, without any frills. Each table had a paper menu, sealed with tape to prevent water damage. Although the place was small, it looked comfortable, and there were no unpleasant odors in the air. Furthermore, after Ye Qiu repeatedly guaranteed that the food at this place was delicious, Feng Hua followed her in.

Ye Qiu poured Feng Hua a cup of hot tea. Taking the teacup, Feng Hua suddenly asked, “Do you have any dreams? Or wishes?”

Since the restaurant was not far from the hotel, Wang Mu had once again been left behind at the hotel at Feng Hua’s request. Without Wang Mu present, Ye Qiu seemed much more at ease. Hearing Feng Hua’s question, she replied very naturally, “Yes, I want to become a big star! And earn lots and lots of money.”

Feng Hua raised her eyes, set down the cup, and looked at the bright-eyed Ye Qiu, continuing to ask, “Why do you want to be a big star?”

“If I become a big star, many people will like me, and I can also earn lots and lots of money, enough to buy what I want.” Ye Qiu said, her cheeks flushed, muttering quietly, “But becoming a star must be very difficult…” Her mother was dead, and even attending school and daily life were problems; how could she even think about dreams?

“What things do you want?” Feng Hua didn’t press her about her dream but already had an idea.

Ye Qiu thought for a moment before saying, “I want enough money to finish college, and I also want a computer.”

The money to finish college was not a small sum, and a computer seemed even more extravagant. Computers were not cheap, and Ye Qiu was only dreaming.

“Why do you want a computer?”

“A computer can be used for programming and developing software, building web pages, stock trading, and other things that can be used to make money.” Ye Qiu scratched her head, a blush of embarrassment appearing on her face, saying, “I heard it from the old man at the newspaper stand.”

The proprietress, wearing an apron, personally brought the dishes over, and Feng Hua stopped talking, only muttering to herself, How did this Ye Qiu grow up? Right now, she’s clearly a simpleton. She spills everything like beans whenever I ask a question, the typical person who’d count money for the one who sold her. How did such a person grow into that mesmerizing monster later on?

The proprietress in the apron clearly knew Ye Qiu. Seeing her, she said somewhat surprised, “Ye Qiu girl? Why are you…” She then glanced at Feng Hua, a flash of astonishment in her eyes.

Such an exquisite, doll-like little girl was truly rare. Although she hadn’t seen much of the world, she had some judgment. This little girl was likely the child of a wealthy family or an official’s family.

Ye Qiu said, “She’s a new friend I met. The proprietress’s food is delicious, so I specially brought her here to try your good cooking, proprietress!”

Hearing Ye Qiu say this, the proprietress’s smile became even brighter, and she chuckled, “Ye Qiu girl still remembers me. Fine, I’ll give you twenty percent off this meal. You ordered so many dishes, I’ll pack the leftovers for you later, and won’t charge you for the boxes.”

Ye Qiu, naturally sweet-mouthed, thanked her, “Thank you, proprietress. I haven’t seen you in half a year, and you look thinner and more beautiful.”

“You have the sweetest mouth.” Which woman doesn’t love being complimented? Whether it’s sincere or not, it’s always pleasant to hear.

The proprietress happily went to fetch the rest of the dishes. Feng Hua took out a few hundred-yuan bills from her wallet and said, “Go pay the bill first.”

“We can pay after eating.” Ye Qiu blinked, looking at the money handed to her, and swallowed. Xiao Hua is so rich.

Feng Hua thought, Idiot, and didn’t explain. She raised her chin, adopting an imperious posture, “Go when I tell you to go.”

Ye Qiu didn’t feel uncomfortable at all with Feng Hua’s demanding manner; instead, she was very happy about the closeness Feng Hua displayed to her. She immediately stopped talking and took the money to pay the bill.

If Feng Hua knew that Ye Qiu interpreted her impatient bossiness as a sign of affection, she would probably be even more disgusted, thinking Ye Qiu was a fool.

There was a reason why Feng Hua asked Ye Qiu to pay now. Ye Qiu hadn’t noticed, but Feng Hua could see the proprietress’s intention in personally bringing the dishes over—there was scrutiny in her eyes toward the two of them.

Two children ordering a huge table of food, one of whom was a known child from a poor family, how could the proprietress not worry if the two children were planning to skip out on the bill?

Feng Hua understood the proprietress’s concern, which was why she told Ye Qiu to quickly pay the bill first. She didn’t want to be watched like a thief while eating.

The change was personally delivered by the proprietress. She smiled warmly, carrying two bottles of soda which she handed to Ye Qiu, but her eyes were looking at Feng Hua.

Feng Hua nodded at her, letting Ye Qiu take the change.

Ye Qiu didn’t understand the underlying issues, only finding the proprietress’s enthusiasm today a bit strange. When she used to work odd jobs here, the proprietress was nice to her, but not this enthusiastic.

Feng Hua didn’t care about Ye Qiu’s thoughts. Looking at the steaming dishes on the table, she started eating without ceremony.

The flavor was a bit heavy, with a strong seasoning taste and a little too much chili, which made Feng Hua somewhat uncomfortable. The food she usually ate followed the principles of health and wellness. Although Chen Sao’s cooking was delicious, the flavor was indeed mild. Most people might not be used to it, but she had grown accustomed to it after decades of eating it.

Although the dishes tasted good, she still felt the flavor was too strong. She only ate half a bowl of rice but felt her tongue was already numb.

The opposite was true for Ye Qiu, who was eating with great relish, oblivious to the few eye rolls she received from Feng Hua.

It was another night, and Feng Hua was a little afraid to close her eyes. Last night’s nightmare was too vivid, weirdly realistic, giving her a bad feeling.

But drowsiness overcame her, and she unconsciously closed her eyes.

She sank into a nightmare again. This time, the dream was even more bizarre and chaotic than the last, and much more blurry. She felt intensely frightened in the dream, but upon waking up, she realized she couldn’t remember anything; the recollection was a complete blur.

She was covered in another cold sweat. Opening her eyes, Ye Qiu was sitting by her bed. She was wearing the dress Feng Hua had given her, which was wrinkled because of her sleeping posture, lying sprawled on the bed. There were dark circles under her eyes.

Did Ye Qiu not sleep well last night?

Feng Hua touched her forehead and felt it was dry. She looked at the bedside table, where a basin and towel were placed. It seemed Ye Qiu had wiped her down.

Did Ye Qiu watch over her all night?

Feng Hua sat up from the bed. Ye Qiu, hearing the movement, easily woke up with a start.

“You took care of me all night?” Feng Hua looked down at Ye Qiu.

Apart from the identical shape of their eyes, there was almost nothing about Ye Qiu that would make Feng Hua connect her to the future Feng Ya.

Ye Qiu sensitively noticed that Feng Hua’s gaze toward her had changed. She looked at Feng Hua in confusion, explaining with a slight stutter, “You were having a nightmare and kept sweating cold. I, I was afraid you’d get sick, so…”

“Thank you.” Feng Hua lowered her head, her voice soft and gentle, “You are so good to me.”

Ye Qiu’s face suddenly turned red, and she mumbled, “It’s nothing, I should… Uh, I mean, we are friends, so it’s only right for me to be good to you!”

“…Thank you.”

Perhaps one day she might forgive Ye Qiu… as long as she doesn’t try to take what belongs to her.

When Feng Hua looked up again, the emotion in her eyes had faded. She still chose to be a selfish person. Since she had taken what originally belonged to Ye Qiu, she would absolutely not return it!

Right now, Ye Qiu was only being good to her because she didn’t know the truth. If the day came when they showed their true colors… Feng Hua imagined Ye Qiu looking at her with cold eyes…

From birth, it was destined that the two were enemies, not friends, so those moving moments brought by unnecessary kindness should just be abandoned.

Ye Qiu sensitively noticed again that Feng Hua’s gaze toward her had changed.

Feng Hua filtered through her thoughts repeatedly and finally came up with a way to settle Ye Qiu: move her abroad. In a foreign country, Feng Heng’s control would be much weaker, and it would be difficult for the two of them to cross paths again.

When Feng Hua offered to sponsor her to study abroad, Ye Qiu unexpectedly refused.

Ye Qiu firmly shook her head, “I don’t want to go abroad.”

“A foreign country can offer you a better learning environment and better learning conditions. You will live better abroad.” Regarding Ye Qiu’s reluctance, Feng Hua patiently persuaded her, “If you agree to go abroad, I can sponsor your tuition and living expenses. Oh, and the computer you want. You will be completely free abroad. I won’t restrain you. You can study anything you want.”

“Xiao Hua, why are you doing this?” Ye Qiu looked at Feng Hua with some confusion and suspicion. What Feng Hua promised was tempting, but it would also cost a lot of money to implement. Why would she do this? Although Ye Qiu didn’t want to doubt Feng Hua’s motives, she had to.

Feng Hua lowered her gaze, concealing the emotion in her eyes, “I can’t tell you my identity yet. I can only tell you that I’ll need a helper in the future. I hope you can become very capable to protect me. My current investment in you is just an advance on your salary. You don’t need to feel burdened.”

Ye Qiu wrinkled her small face and said, “I will protect you when I grow up too! But, but I still don’t want to go abroad.”

Feng Hua frowned, “…Can you tell me why?”

Is there something wrong with Ye Qiu’s head?

Although she had an objective, these conditions had no disadvantages for Ye Qiu herself. She couldn’t understand why Ye Qiu would refuse.

“I… I just don’t want to go abroad…” Ye Qiu could feel that Feng Hua seemed unhappy, but she didn’t want to compromise on this matter, even though she knew Feng Hua was doing it for her own good.

“Even if you stay domestically without money for school or food?” Feng Hua added fuel to the fire lightly.

Unexpectedly, Ye Qiu still nodded very firmly, “Mhm.”

“I see. You, get out.” Feng Hua pointed expressionlessly at the door, driving Ye Qiu out.

Ye Qiu looked at Feng Hua blankly, only to see Feng Hua’s cold face, and an unprecedented coldness in her eyes toward her, like she was looking at a stranger.

Feng Hua merely gave Ye Qiu a cold look before turning her back and not looking again. Ye Qiu left the hotel and returned blankly to her empty home.

This is my home…

She clung to Feng Hua like a life raft, but Feng Hua easily allowed her to cling, and just as easily pushed her away.

This is simply unfair!

Ye Qiu crouched in the corner, burying her head in her arms, silently weeping.