Liu Mingzhu had grown accustomed to a lavish lifestyle, she couldn’t handle living in poverty.
He Yang dared not meet her, and coupled with the He Family tightening control over his allowance, he didn’t have much money to give to Liu Mingzhu.
The student from the vocational school however was quite generous to Liu Mingzhu, frequently taking her out for tasty meals and buying her designer clothes and bags.
As time went by, Liu Mingzhu found it even harder to endure hardships.
After that student no longer needed her, she first spent money she got from selling jewelry.
In fact, that money was not trivial – if used sparingly, it would have lasted for over a decade.
However, Liu Mingzhu was not one to save.
She kept spending without earning, and in no time she had blown through most of her funds.
Liu Mingzhu panicked.
She was stuck, unwilling to lower her standard of living, with no one to support her.
She could only drift among those well-off male students, and soon became known as a social butterfly in several schools.
Eventually, not only students, but also people from society began seeking her company.
When it came time for middle school exams, Liu Mingzhu performed poorly and could only attend an ordinary high school; during her university entrance exam, she underperformed yet again, not even meeting the threshold for undergraduate programs, and could only get into a community college.
By then, Liu Mingzhu was also running out of money.
She had no choice but to work while attending school.
Liu Mingzhu lacked both academic credentials and any notable skills, and so could only start from the bottom - working as a waitress in restaurants or as a sales clerk in small shops.
These jobs were generally very demanding.
Struggling to balance school and work, it wasn’t long before Liu Mingzhu couldn’t take the hardship and quit her job.
He Yang had not been in touch with Liu Mingzhu for many years and his feelings for her had long faded.
Moreover, Mrs. He, fearing that Liu Mingzhu would approach He Yang after running out of money, sent him abroad right after high school graduation, keeping him out of her reach.
Out of options, Liu Mingzhu became someone’s mistress.
When Anning had just returned to the Zhao Family, Liu Mingzhu had vowed to outdo Anning through diligent study.
But now, Anning has become a respected Jing University teacher whose research achievements have changed the world.
Liu Mingzhu, on the other hand, degenerated more and more, eventually becoming the type of person she herself had once looked down upon.
Of course, Anning played a role in guiding this.
But Anning didn’t force Liu Mingzhu to become a mistress; it was all her own choice. Anning was merely going with the flow.
If Liu Mingzhu could endure hardships, be content with simplicity, and be resilient in spirit, she could have managed with the money from the jewelry sale for many years, enough to last till she graduated from university.
During this time, she could have focused solely on her studies and, with her background, surely could have gotten into a good university, and even if not becoming very wealthy, could have led a simple and happy life.
But Liu Mingzhu couldn’t be content with simplicity.
Unable to endure hardships, over time, she gradually ended up in her current predicament.
Time rushes by like a stream of water, and several more years have passed.
Xiao Yuan parked his car and entered the company building.
Along the way, people he encountered stopped to greet him.
"Mr. Xiao, good morning."
"Mr. Xiao, good morning..."
Xiao Yuan smiled as he walked, his smile still carrying a bit of his youthful rascality, as if time hadn’t left a mark on him.
But his gaze was serene, no longer the naiveté and recklessness of his youth.
He occasionally nodded in acknowledgment as he walked, making his way to the private elevator.
The receptionists at the front desk were constantly scrolling through their phones.
"Mr. Xiao is in the entertainment news again..."
"These women really, always trying to get close to Mr. Xiao..."
"The new upcoming actress, Yu Fei, claims she has been good friends with Mr. Xiao for years, pff, she’s exaggerating too much."
"Mr. Xiao is really popular now, the title of ’national husband’ really lives up to its name."
"Exactly, born with a silver spoon, everything going smoothly for him, a graduate from a prestigious university, smart and capable, young and wealthy, who wouldn’t want such a husband?"
One of the receptionists held her face, making a lovestruck expression: "The lover of my dreams, alas, he’s not mine."
Another receptionist laughed and gave her a pat: "We can only dream about him, just wondering what kind of person Mr. Xiao’s future wife would be. I think Zhu Yizhi looks pretty good, so beautiful, and matches Mr. Xiao’s stunning looks."
"Stop it, Zhu Yizhi is just a pretty face without substance, how can she compare to Mr. Xiao who has depth?"
"Let me tell you, Mr. Xiao is really something, almost knows everything, not only is he top-notch in business, but he’s also proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, horse riding, and archery, and I heard his computer skills are also quite impressive."
"Sigh, seems like no one is really worthy of Mr. Xiao."
Xiao Yuan was unaware of these conversations about him.
Or rather, there were too many people talking about him that he no longer cared.
Over the years, Xiao Yuan had been diligently pursuing Anning.
He wanted to be worthy of Anning, wanting to make himself even better.
Thinking back to the year when Anning walked into the twelfth-grade classroom, he woke from his sleep, looked up, and saw a lovely face that made his heart tremble, and since then, he couldn’t forget her.
It was that year that he began to change himself.
Life is like that, sometimes a single glance can change your destiny.
When you like someone who is excellent enough, you too will eventually become excellent.
Xiao Yuan sat at his desk, began to review documents, while listening to his assistant reporting his schedule for the day.
The door of the Xiao Group’s main floor lobby was pushed open, a girl in a light blue dress with long flowing hair walked in.
She looked petite, and her face was especially tender, so tender that people wanted to pinch it, to see if it was as soft as imagined.
And the girl was exceptionally cute.
She was very beautiful, her features exquisitely perfect, yet it was a non-aggressive kind of beauty, the kind that everyone, men and women, old and young, would instinctively adore.
As she walked in, many people’s gaze was drawn to her.
The girl had a slender figure, and she walked in a light and graceful manner.
She approached the front desk: "Hello, I’m looking for Xiao Yuan."
The lovestruck receptionists were snapped back to reality, one of them stammered: "Hello, do, do you have an appointment?"
The girl smiled: "No, I’m sorry, could you please pass on a message to him?"
Not having an appointment was a bit of a problem.
It’s not that the receptionists didn’t want to help, but because not long ago, a woman came looking for Mr. Xiao without an appointment, they helped pass the message, and ended up being scolded.
The girl noticed their hesitation, sighed: "There goes the surprise I had prepared."
She pulled out her phone from her purse and dialed a number.
After chatting for a few moments, she found a seat and sat down to wait.
Within a few minutes, the doors of the CEO’s private elevator opened.
Xiao Yuan hurried over, and immediately asked the receptionists: "Did someone come looking for me just now?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Yuan heard a familiar voice: "I’m here."
When Xiao Yuan saw the smiling person sitting on the sofa, his eyes filled with immense joy, almost spilling over.