Rebirth from the Ashes

“I heard of it. Everyone in the capital got the news.” Kun Lun continued to play dumb.

Xuan Yuan was feeling smug after the fiasco he stirred earned praises from Boss. He gave the Su family a clock to pay his last respects and blacklisted them from Cream of the Crop, turning them into a laughing stock of the whole capital.

“Really?” Shen Xi smiled. “When is Li Yuan returning?”

Kun Lun warily gazed at her. “Ms. Shen.”

With a bright smile across her lips, Shen Xi was ready to get down.

Giving in to her, Kun Lun laid bare. “Xuan Yuan was behind the Cream of the Crop incident. It’s not like you know him since you never met him.”

Boss would never lie to Ms. Shen if she sought the truth from him. It would put Kun Lun in a difficult position.

Shen Xi knew that no one would offend the Su family out of nowhere as the influential families in China were not going to do anything to jeopardize themselves. Besides, the owner behind Cream of the Crop was one of these influential families. Rumor had it that the owner was a rather mysterious person.

She had the utmost confidence that all assets with mysterious and unknowable owners belonged to Li Yuan.

“Got it.” Shen Xi climbed down the ladder. What was the point of leaning over the wall when Li Yuan was not there?

During the summer holidays, Yun Jinping and Shen Zhangqing were away on business while Granny Yu was not around, leaving Shen Xi all alone at home. Toffeecito could not be found either. Since it did not like hanging around in an empty house, Toffeecito went with Li Yuan.

Holding half a watermelon in her arms, Shen Xi scooped directly from the fruit while relaxing before the TV when evening came about. A call from Yun Jinping interrupted this moment of silence, reminding her to have a full meal and not to skip meals or live on snacks.

“I know, Mom. I ordered food delivery.” Shen Xi inattentively responded.

“What did you order?” Yun Jinping asked her, expecting it was nothing of substance. She urged Shen Xi, “Please have a proper meal and stop with junk food.”

“I ordered mushroom and stewed chicken paired with rice.” Shen Xi took a glance at the food delivery flier on the opposite sofa and picked an item randomly.

Old Shen and Madam Yun were concerned that Shen Xi would rather go hungry than eat, so they gave her flyers of all the nearby restaurants. She could call and order any food she craved.

The food delivery app had not been invented yet at this time. It had been on Shen Xi’s mind lately to bring this up with Li Yuan in hopes the latter could venture into this department. Nothing beat getting first dibs on the market.

“Did anyone else call you today?” Yun Jinping seemingly casually probed.

“Yes, Old Shen.” It was only until Shen Xi replied that she sensed something amiss. There must be a reason behind the question. “Mom, why are you asking this?”

“Nothing.” Yun Jinping swiftly changed the subject. “Remember to have your meals. Don’t forget to snap a picture of your mushroom and stewed chicken to show me.”

With the mister next door being out of town, Shen Xi had nowhere to mooch meals. Yun Jinping was worried as Shen Xi was left alone at home.

“Got it,” Shen Xi answered.

Yun Jinping nagged a little more and looked for an excuse to end the call, cutting Shen Xi off from any suspicion.

The girl was too vigilant and the passing mention was enough for her to pick up on something.

Yun Jinping received a strange call in the afternoon. The mobile number belonged to Xuan, but the person on the other end of the line was Xuan’s oldest brother, Fu Qingli.

She had met Fu Qingli once. Although a polite and sensible child, he was hard to approach as he had the overwhelming presence of someone in power.

The questions he inquired about during the call were weird as well. Fu Qingli asked about Xixi’s adoption, where she was adopted, how she was adopted, and the adoption process. He also requested not to let Xixi know about their conversation before they ended the call.

She and Old Shen adopted Xixi from a local acquaintance. According to the contact, he picked a child up from under a bridge in his village.

They did not think much of it then as discrimination against girls was horrible in the countryside. It was not uncommon for newborn girls to be sent away or abandoned. Hence, they thought Xixi was abandoned by her family.

Back then, there was no formalized adoption procedure. It was not hard to list adopted children into the family registrar unlike now. All could be taken care of with a bit of money.

The Su family later tracked them down because they saw a video of Xixi’s dancing. Su Yi only came looking for Xixi as the latter had an uncanny resemblance to Li Jingran.

The Su family was not worth the mention!

Sure, Shen Xi thought Yun Jinping’s vague question was odd, but the matter slipped to the back of her mind once the call ended. Carrying her watermelon, she climbed up the wall.

A short distance away, a car was cruising along after making a turn.

Sitting in the car, Li Yuan caught a glimpse of the girl on the wall at the turn.

His fair lady was wearing a blue floral dress while holding half a watermelon today. With the sunset in the background, she was as beautiful as an oil painting.

Behind the wheel, Xuan Yuan was having the day of his life. How could he not be happy when Boss gave him the stamp of approval? He believed he might replace Kun Lun to become Boss’s personal assistant!

Through the rear-view mirror, Xuan Yuan had a good look at the man in the backseat. As they were entering the neighborhood, the man closed the lid of his laptop and looked out the window.

Warmth seeped through his ice-cold eyes and his lips curled in delight as his gaze fell on the girl sitting on the wall.

The girl had taken notice of their car. Holding half a watermelon in hand, and a spoon in the other, she flapped her hands in their direction.

The man in the backseat rolled down the window and waved back.

Xuan Yuan was bitter. He wanted to get into a sweet romance too!

In a split second, the car pulled up at the front gate.

Shen Xi was still munching on her watermelon when a furry head popped out of the car and lifted to meow at her. Toffeecito darted up the wall in a swoosh.

Li Yuan got down from the car and wheeled himself over. He gazed at the girl. “How much have you eaten?”

Shen Xi showed him the watermelon. “Half.”

Li Yuan sighed helplessly. “Are you still having dinner?”

“Yes. Mushroom and stewed chicken, please.” Shen Xi bobbed her head, mumbling her words since she was chewing on the watermelon. “I told my mom that I ordered that dish, so she wants a picture of it.”

Li Yuan found his fair lady adorable with her stuffed cheeks looking like a hamster. He acknowledged and asked, “What else?”

Shen Xi gave it a thought and rubbed her round belly. “I have a lot of cravings, but I don’t think I can eat more.”

“The watermelon is filling your tummy with liquid. You’ll be hungry later.” Li Yuan had a scare when the girl nearly dangled off the wall. He nervously uttered, “Be careful. You should get down now.”

With her eyes lighting up, Shen Xi put down the watermelon and stood on the wall. “I’m heavy because I had half a watermelon.”

Unable to get the message behind her words, Li Yuan gave her a serious look. “Get down.”

Shen Xi said, “You better catch me..”