Chapter 19: Wipe

When Ruan Li was led into the living room by the servant, Ruan Cheng was sitting on the sofa, discussing something with a guest. Not wanting to linger, she headed straight upstairs.

Suddenly, Ruan Cheng called out, “Ruan Li, aren’t you going to come over and greet the guest?”

Ruan Li sensed something off. Ever since Ruan Shu returned, no one in the Ruan family had called her by that affectionate nickname; they had always addressed her by her full name.

“Hello.” Ruan Li didn’t approach but instead greeted from where she stood in the main hall.

The person who had been sitting with his back to her turned around at the sound of her voice, and Ruan Li instinctively furrowed her brows.

This man looked utterly repulsive, fitting every stereotype of a middle-aged CEO: balding with a beer belly. His eyes lit up when he saw her. “Your father has been telling me all about you.”

His teeth were stained yellow, and Ruan Li felt a wave of disgust. She wondered if it was because she had gotten too used to seeing the well-groomed power brokers of the four major families in Jing City.

“Come over and chat with him for a bit,” Ruan Cheng said, smiling and waving her over.

Ruan Li instinctively took a few steps back. The scene and tone were too familiar. When she was young, she had been paraded around countless times in front of the elders of Jing City, shown off like a prized commodity. Everyone praised her for being a perfectly delicate little doll, and Ruan Cheng’s treatment of her grew better as a result.

Back then, she naively believed she was a cherished princess. But over time, as she wore that mask for longer, Ruan Cheng refused to let her take it off, and eventually, she almost believed it herself.

“I don’t want to,” Ruan Li said, her face darkening.

“She’s still young and doesn’t understand. Let me have a word with her,” Ruan Cheng apologized to the man, then stood up and dragged Ruan Li into a room by her wrist.

“Now that the Fu family engagement has fallen through, our family is on the brink of collapse. Are you really going to keep acting so immature?” Ruan Cheng didn’t bring the usual ruler today, since Ruan Li would have to meet the guest shortly.

A wave of disgust surged in Ruan Li. “It was my own ability that made the Fu family’s matriarch favor me. Now that the engagement is canceled, I haven’t wronged anyone. If the Fu family won’t continue the engagement with someone else, that’s your failure, not mine.”

“I’ve invested so much in you. Without all the money I spent, do you think you’d have had the chance to step into Jing City? The man downstairs, President Zhao, is your best opportunity to repay me. If you can get him to marry you, that’s your task now.”

Thinking about the man downstairs made Ruan Li feel nauseous. Now that things had come to this, she didn’t care about maintaining pretenses anymore. “Repay you? Back then, the Ruan family was just a small, insignificant company. You dragged me from house to house, making me perform and ingratiate myself, which finally caught the attention of the Fu family and the Ye family. You went to great lengths to make Ye Mian and me best friends. I don’t owe you anything. Your company has grown stronger year by year because of my efforts!”

“I already repaid you long ago.” Ruan Li still remembered how, as a child, she didn’t know anything. She had to start from scratch to learn piano, dance, etiquette, and painting. In order to stand out in Jing City, there couldn’t be any marks on her hands and feet—only the other parts of her body bore the ruler’s scars.

It wasn’t until Madam Fu noticed her and arranged the engagement that life became somewhat easier. She no longer had to navigate between all the families of Jing City, only needing to maintain her relationship with the Fu family. Fu Xingchuan didn’t like her, but she didn’t mind, as she didn’t like him either. After all, the real decision-makers in the Fu family were the elders.

Ruan Cheng’s face turned red with anger at her words. “Repaid? If you want to leave this house clean, I don’t ask for much just return all the money I’ve spent on you over the years. Otherwise, don’t even think about leaving. You’ll stay here and be useful.”

Ruan Li had long anticipated this day, knowing that Ruan Cheng was, at heart, a businessman driven by profit. “How much? I’ll pay you, and from then on, I’ll have nothing to do with the Ruan family.”

“Four hundred million,” Ruan Cheng said confidently, knowing she couldn’t possibly come up with that much money. “You have one week. If you can’t, you know the consequences.”

“You really have the audacity to demand so much,” Ruan Li laughed bitterly. She had expected a hefty price but not an astronomical sum. “Do you think everyone’s purpose in life is to be squeezed for their last bit of value? What about your real daughter? Now that she can’t climb into the Fu family, why haven’t you sent her off to that man downstairs? Is it because she wasn’t chosen?”

She didn’t miss the look of shame and fury on his face, which made her laugh until tears came. “Did I hit the mark? I can’t wait to see how far you’ll go with your family.”

As Ruan Li walked downstairs, she felt a strange sense of lightness, despite the enormous debt hanging over her. She had finally been freed from the mask of being the Ruan family’s “miss,” which concealed the reality of her being merely a tool.

Her body felt drained of all energy, and she almost missed a step on the stairs. The middle-aged man in the living room grinned so broadly his eyes were nearly closed, even stepping forward as if to support her.

Everyone knew she was a fake heiress now, merely a pawn at the Ruan family’s disposal.

The moment the man touched her arm, her skin crawled with disgust. Her gaze turned icy, and she pulled away. “Get lost. Don’t touch me.”

Before he had a chance to relish the brief contact with her soft skin, he was cursed out, and by the time he could react, she had already walked quickly out of the villa.

Chen Jing saw her pale face and didn’t know what had happened.

“You two can head back. I’ll drive myself,” Ruan Li told both the driver and Chen Jing.

The two exchanged concerned glances. Chen Jing hesitated. “Should I come with you?”

“No, I want to be alone.” Ruan Li waved her hand, already opening the car door and sitting in the driver’s seat. The car sped away.

“Follow her,” a man’s voice commanded from the car behind. Ruan Cheng had his people there, who reported that nothing had happened, but no one knew exactly what was said between Ruan Cheng and Ruan Li.

Assistant Qin responded promptly. After that night at the banquet, when Mr. Fu left the room with a cold face, he had thought the misunderstanding was over. But clearly, it wasn’t. Qin still winced at the memory of his lost bonus and vowed never to misinterpret Mr. Fu’s mood again.

Ruan Li drove aimlessly, initially intending to return to her own apartment. But as she neared it, she noticed some suspicious figures lurking nearby. It seemed the Ruan family had leaked her location to the private detectives, trying to force her hand.

The place was no longer safe until she paid off her debt.

She didn’t stop the car. After leaving the wealthy district, the streets became livelier. She had thought about staying in a hotel for a few days, but as she passed through the bustling downtown area, she stopped the car instinctively.

She stood before the busiest food street and ordered a portion of spicy octopus balls. Ruan Li recalled how, after leaving the orphanage, she had missed the street food from the stand next door. Once, she had snuck out to eat it, only to be caught by Ruan Cheng.

“That’s not something you should eat. No family likes dirty little kids.” Those were his exact words, and afterward, Ruan Li was taken home and beaten with a ruler ten times very hard.

After that, she didn’t dare sneak out again. And she realized that the children of Jing City indeed never ate such things. Eventually, she got used to it.

Ruan Li sat on a small stool while waiting for her order. She took a bottle of alcohol from the car’s trunk. People around her seemed to keep their distance, as her appearance clashed with the atmosphere of the food street. She didn’t care and took several big gulps straight from the bottle.

When the food finally arrived, she hastily swallowed a few bites. She had expected it to taste as good as she remembered from childhood, but instead, it made her feel nauseous.

Covering her mouth with a napkin, she walked a few steps toward a less crowded area, the alcohol starting to hit her. Ruan Li sadly realized she was no longer the little girl who could eat cold food without a care. The years of being coddled had left an indelible mark on her.

Time had passed, and there was no going back.

Some pedestrians, still shocked from Ruan Li’s outburst, didn’t have time to react before they saw another figure emerge from a luxury car on the roadside. This man, impeccably dressed in a suit, stood tall and carried an air of nobility. Just from the way he walked, it was clear he wasn’t an ordinary person.

He walked straight toward where the girl was crouching. The bystanders exchanged knowing glances and withdrew their gazes, assuming it was just a couple having a fight.

Ruan Li, still crouching and feeling the cramping in her stomach subside, tried to stand up. She suddenly bumped right into the man’s chest, her forehead hitting his chin hard. She heard him grunt in pain.

“Wipe,” the man said in a cool voice.

A large, well-defined hand holding a black handkerchief—embroidered with a water wave pattern in the corner—stretched out toward her.

Ruan Li didn’t even need to look up. She knew who it was just by the scent of sandalwood. Her head was spinning as she took the handkerchief and slowly wiped the wine stains from the corner of her mouth.

“Did you follow me?” Ruan Li hadn’t expected anyone to tail her, and now that Fu Huaizhou had seen her in such a sorry state, she felt embarrassed and refused to lift her head.

Fu Huaizhou raised his hand, gently grasping her chin and forcing her to look up. His brow furrowed slightly as he saw the red bloodshot eyes and disheveled hair.

Noticing a tear in the corner of her eye, he brushed it away with his thumb.

“Think whatever you want.”