Chapter 03 

Inside the Maybach, aside from the driver, there were three others.

Huo Bai was seated in the back with his uncle, resting his chin on one hand as he gazed out the window, listening absentmindedly to the assistant and Huo Yan discussing work matters beside them.

Boring.

His eyelids drooped listlessly, and an irresistible drowsiness began to set in. Suddenly, a figure abruptly crashed into his line of sight, forcing him to swallow back the yawn he had been about to let out.

Huo Bai’s eyes flew wide open, and his previously slouched posture instantly straightened.

“F*ck!”

Upon noticing the girl’s arrogant expression and the provocative way she raised her index finger, he couldn’t hold back and cursed out loud.

In that instant, the car fell into complete silence.

Huo Bai didn’t notice the displeasure of the person beside him. When he saw Jiang Lisheng’s expression shift from arrogant to teary-eyed, a sharp throb hit his forehead, and he immediately rolled down the window and cursed, “Jiang Lisheng, are you out of your mind?!”

However, the car was moving too fast. Before the curse could reach her, his voice was already swallowed up by the rushing wind.

Huo Yan, on the other hand, heard him clearly. His fingertips paused on the notebook, and he looked up, sweeping his gaze outside the window. All he noticed was a worn-out electric scooter and a flash of a red ponytail.

He withdrew his gaze and caught a glimpse of Huo Bai’s indignant face. Suddenly, he spoke. “The Jiang family’s daughter?”

His tone was steady and low, without any discernible emotion, yet it made Huo Bai’s shoulders stiffen instantly. He sat up properly, though his expression remained sour. “Yeah, it’s her.”

Huo Yan didn’t ask further. His ten fingers resumed typing slowly on the keyboard.

This made Huo Bai anxious. From the corner of his eye, he cautiously glanced over and gently tested the waters. “Uncle, you know her?”

Huo Bai sifted through his memories.

Huo Yan was an extremely busy man and, by all reasoning, shouldn’t have known. Besides, the welcome banquet the Jiang family held for Jiang Lisheng hadn’t been anything extravagant—just a small gathering of a dozen or so relatives and close friends. Up to now, neither the school nor the public knew that Jiang Lisheng was the Jiang family’s biological daughter.

But Huo Bai still couldn’t be sure. Huo Yan was strict with him, and if he found out about the conflicts between him and Jiang Lisheng, it would likely earn him another scolding.

Huo Yan remained silent.

That only made Huo Bai more uneasy.

The man sitting beside him was only twenty-five this year, still young, yet he had grown up amidst the world of fame and power, and his entire being was steeped in an icy aloofness born from that environment.

However, he was skilled at masking that innate indifference with a gentle exterior.

At this moment, he sat with his legs crossed, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit. A pair of slim silver-rimmed glasses rested on his tall nose. His appearance and demeanor exuded refinement and dignity. Faced with Huo Bai’s cautious probing, he responded with nothing more than detached indifference.

There was no telling whether he was pleased or displeased, which only made Huo Bai panic even more.

His parents had died young. The year they passed away coincided with an intense power struggle within the Huo family. Everything inside and out was in complete chaos. In such a moment, the seven-year-old Huo Yan had naturally become a target.

Later, both Huo Yan and Huo Bai were taken to the United States and raised by their grandaunt. After Huo Yan grew older, he returned to China alone to navigate the predatory infighting among the family’s branches.

At eighteen, Huo Yan joined Huasheng Group, a company founded by the Huo family.

Within just two years, he brought the nearly-defunct Huasheng back to life.

After their grandaunt passed away, the responsibility of raising Huo Bai fell back to Huo Yan.

Huo Bai had grown up abroad, and the environment in which he was raised destined him to become an untamable wild horse. On top of that, his grandaunt doted on him dearly, and such indulgence from a young age had made him utterly unruly.

Unfortunately, Huo Yan’s personality was restrained and traditional.

At first, Huo Bai had tried to rebel, but after suffering a few hard lessons at Huo Yan’s hands, he no longer dared to resist. All the rebelliousness in him had been ground into dust.

“I recall she’s your fiancée,” Huo Yan said as he closed his laptop. “Act according to your position. Mind your behavior in the future. Don’t give others any leverage.”

At those words, Huo Bai’s expression turned sour. “Jiang Lisheng went to you?”

Huo Yan’s tone was calm and indifferent. “Your teacher mentioned your performance at school.”

Huo Bai was the type who didn’t give a damn about anything. It wasn’t the first time a teacher had called in a guardian, but every time it was Huo Yan’s assistant who handled it. He didn’t believe for a second that Huo Yan would concern himself with such petty matters. In his heart, he was convinced that Jiang Lisheng must have used some shady tactic to tattle on him in front of Huo Yan.

Damn it!

She really was a scheming girl.

Huo Bai ground his teeth in frustration, loathing surging in his chest. He wished he could drag her in front of him right now and give her another scolding.

**

[Current plot progress: 1%. Character persona stability: 100%. No collapse detected. Host, please continue maintaining it.]

After the electronic voice prompt, Jiang Lisheng noticed the unfamiliar term “character persona stability” and asked the system, “Xiao Ling (Little Zero), what is character persona stability for?”

System: [Every female lead in a book has a persona that suits her role. If that stability drops below fifty, there’s a risk of death. That’s why I was so worried, Host.]

It also noticed the way Jiang Lisheng addressed it and said with displeasure, [Actually, you could call me Xiao Ba (Little Eight), or Baba (Eight Eight).]

Dad?^[1]The system suggests that Jiang Lisheng call it “小八” (Xiao Ba, meaning “Little Eight”) or “八八” (Ba Ba). The repetition “八八” phonetically resembles … Continue reading

Heh, this pile of data sure has a high opinion of itself.

Jiang Lisheng didn’t respond. Riding her little electric scooter, she zipped out of the villa district.

System: [Host, where are you going? Today’s task is already complete. You can go home and have dinner now.]

“Dinner? What dinner,” Jiang Lisheng said. “Didn’t you hear what my dad just said?”

[?]

Jiang Lisheng replied, “He said he’d rather acknowledge that pig at the village gate as his daughter. As a proper loser… no, I mean, a model filial daughter, of course I have to fulfill my father’s wishes.”

System: [???]

System: [!!!!]

No!

Wait a minute!

Is that how you’re supposed to be a loser—no, a model filial daughter?!

Naturally, Jiang Lisheng wasn’t actually planning to return to the village.

It was too far. A round trip would take at least two days, which just wasn’t realistic.

So she headed to the nearest farmers’ market instead.

The market was well-stocked, with everything from poultry, fish, and meat to seasonal fruits and vegetables. It usually closed at ten, so she still had time.

Jiang Lisheng rode her electric scooter for an hour before finally arriving.

She checked the time—it was exactly 7:30. This was typically the market’s busiest hour.

Sure enough.

The entrance to the market was packed with people coming and going. The atmosphere was noisy, with countless vendor stalls lined up on both sides. Alongside the honking of passing vehicles were the loud shouts of hawkers calling out their goods.

Lively.

Everywhere was filled with the warmth of everyday life.

Jiang Lisheng bought a grilled sausage from a roadside stall and ate it while squeezing her way into the crowd.

The shops were endless, selling all sorts of goods. Unfortunately, the pork stalls only had slaughtered meat. None of them had the lively, plump pig she was looking for.

After asking around at several places, she finally found a private vendor who sold live pigs.

Inside the pen were piglets that had only recently been born, along with two breeding sows. The seller mistook her for someone looking to raise piglets and began sweet-talking her, enthusiastically recommending that she buy a pair.

Jiang Lisheng did a quick sweep of the pen.

Five or six piglets were snorting and squealing inside. They were round and white, looking delicious just at a glance.

She swallowed. “I want a sow.”

The seller pointed inside. “There are only two sows. Which one do you want?”

Jiang Lisheng casually pointed. “That one with the yellow fur on its tail.” Then she asked, “How much?”

The vendor replied, “Fifteen hundred. No bargaining.”

Fifteen hundred…

Jiang Lisheng fell silent as she stared at the 2.5 yuan left in her account.

She had always been proud.

Since returning, she had never truly felt a sense of belonging. On top of that, her parents often compared her to Jiang Nuonuo. Naturally, she felt too embarrassed to ask them for money. It made her feel ashamed, like an outsider who had no right to spend their money.

So whenever her family offered money, she would take it. If they didn’t, she simply went without. After all, a student didn’t need much spending money.

Looking back now, she realized just how foolish she’d been.

Jiang Lisheng pulled the corner of her mouth in a self-mocking smile. She had just argued with those two from the Jiang family today—there was no hope of asking them for money. In that case…

She scrolled through her short list of contacts and found Jiang Ansheng’s name. She typed a message and hit send.

[Jiang Lisheng: Send me two thousand.]

[Jiang Ansheng: ?]

[Jiang Ansheng: Didn’t Dad just give you a card?]

Gave her a card?

When did that happen?

Jiang Lisheng narrowed her eyes in thought. It didn’t take her long to guess what was going on. She let out a cold laugh. On the other end, Jiang Ansheng seemed to have figured it out too and immediately transferred ten thousand.

Quite generous of him.

She accepted the money without hesitation.

[Jiang Ansheng: Come back once you’re done.]

Jiang Lisheng couldn’t be bothered to reply. After transferring the money to the vendor, she picked up the cage holding the piglet and left.

The sky gradually darkened. The market, once bustling when she arrived, was now slowly quieting down. The little piglet in the iron cage was snorting and squealing, full of energy, constantly pushing its snout against the bars.

She hadn’t had time to take a good look earlier, but now that she examined it properly, she realized this little sow wasn’t too bad-looking.

It was a newborn piglet, with pale pink skin and a small tuft of yellow hair at the tip of its tail. Its beady eyes darted around rapidly. All in all, it was quite pleasant to look at.

She secured the pig cage at her feet, then sped off on her little electric scooter, heading home.

Ten o’clock.

The villa was utterly silent.

Jiang Lisheng hadn’t expected them to save her any dinner. She went straight to her room, carrying the pig cage with her.

She hadn’t anticipated that in the pitch-black bedroom, a cake would be quietly sitting on the table. An electronic candle flickered, its dim light casting a gentle glow in one corner of the otherwise cold room, giving it a trace of warmth.

Jiang Lisheng walked over without a change in expression.

There were a few words carved on the cake—

[Happy Birthday.]

The system grew excited at the sight: [It’s your brother!! Shengsheng, your brother really is the one who loves you most in this world!]

“Is that so.” Jiang Lisheng remained unmoved. She picked up the cake, carried it downstairs, and without hesitation, tossed it straight into the trash bin.

The system thought she was only doing it because of the mission and tried to console her kindly: [Host, it’s okay. Your brother is naturally on your side. You can try to build a good relationship with him.]

Jiang Lisheng raised an eyebrow. “Why should I?”

She hadn’t forgotten.

The first time she came to this house, he had stood on the staircase with Jiang Nuonuo—white shirt, black trousers—his gaze cold and aloof.

Jiang Ansheng didn’t grow close to anyone, not even Jiang Nuonuo.

Most of the time, he was silent and indifferent. His only real friend was Huo Bai. Once, Huo Bai had asked him what it felt like to suddenly have a biological younger sister.

At that time, Jiang Lisheng happened to be passing by his room and heard him say in a detached, careless tone—

“Her understanding is limited by the village she came from. Her intelligence is limited by herself. I don’t like interacting with people who can’t think clearly.”

That’s right.

He was intelligent, winning awards since childhood, hailed as a genius by others, the pride of the Jiang family. Even though they were born of the same mother, he had nothing to do with Jiang Lisheng.

To Jiang Ansheng, this kind of blood tie was more of a burden. So whenever Jiang Lisheng clashed with Jiang Nuonuo, he always stayed out of it, watching from the sidelines.

And now he wanted to buy some heartfelt sibling bond with a cake? As if she’d care.

Jiang Lisheng turned and went back upstairs. While everyone was asleep, she used the money Jiang Ansheng had sent her to order herself a luxurious takeout meal. After all, she couldn’t starve herself.

Once she was full, she quietly tied the little piglet to the doorknob of her parents’ bedroom and settled in to wait for the show the next morning.