The man’s shouting drew stares from everyone nearby. His female companion, terrified by his outburst, stood aside looking helpless.
His voice continued to roar: “You little bitch! I spent all my money putting you through school, and you just ran off once the cash was gone? Let’s see how I handle you today!”
A sharp pain radiated from her scalp, making Si Yao gasp. Looking at the stranger in front of her, she had no memory of him at all. Piecing together what he was screaming, she realized this was likely trouble stirred up by the original soul of this body, Xiao Youyi.
“What are you doing? I don’t know you!”
“Don’t know me? I’d recognize you even if you were turned to ash! Damn it, now that I’ve caught you…”
As the man continued his tirade, Si Yao slowly extracted the man’s identity from the fragmented memories of the original female lead.
The man’s name was Xu Biao, Xiao Youyi’s “sugar daddy” during high school. Though “sugar daddy” wasn’t quite accurate—at the time, Xu Biao had become infatuated with her beauty and pursued her relentlessly. The original Xiao Youyi had no choice but to agree. Back then, Xu Biao took it upon himself to send her money. Needing to pay for tuition, daily expenses, and supporting her grandmother, Xiao Youyi had accepted the funds.
Initially, Xu Biao only flirted with her online and hadn’t made any physical moves when they met. But as the money he spent on her grew, he wanted more than just a chatting partner—and Xiao Youyi knew it.
To protect herself, she dropped out of school and fled, deleting every trace of Xu Biao’s contact information.
Si Yao never expected to be the one to run into the original owner’s debts. She didn’t know if she was just unlucky, or cursed.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Cang Xuehe returning with two cups of milk tea. Cang Xuehe seemed stunned by the scene, freezing in place for a brief moment.
Si Yao didn’t know what Cang Xuehe would do. A rational person might call the police; she would even understand if Cang Xuehe turned and left to avoid getting involved in a mess.
Before she could finish the thought, Cang Xuehe acted. With a flick of her wrist, she threw a cup of milk tea in a perfect arc straight toward them.
Reflexively, Si Yao ducked. The milk tea hit Xu Biao squarely in the face.
With a loud splat, the Oolong cold-brew tea exploded over him. As the man frantically wiped the liquid from his eyes, Si Yao took the chance to break free.
Cang Xuehe grabbed her hand and pulled her behind her back. Looking at the man’s disheveled state, she said, “Big guy, you seem to have quite a temper. Why don’t you have a drink to cool down?”
“Holy shit!” Xu Biao wiped his face wildly. Tea dripped down his clothes, soaking his chest and making his thick gold chain look dull.
“I’m going to teach both of you a lesson!”
As he spoke, Xu Biao lunged to grab Cang Xuehe. She anticipated his movement, nimbly dodged, and landed a left hook right on his face.
Having trained with a professional boxing coach, Cang Xuehe’s blow left a mark on the unprepared Xu Biao. A stream of warmth began to flow from his nose.
Adopting the same energy she used when arguing with internet trolls, Cang Xuehe rolled up her sleeves and pointed at his nose. “Stop ‘big guy-ing’ me! I was acting like a daddy when you were still playing in the mud!”
She looked ready for a street brawl.
Si Yao watched in shock. She had seen wealthy socialites before, but never one as “down-to-earth” as Cang Xuehe.
The commotion caught the attention of security. Several uniformed guards with batons ran over. “What’s going on here?”
“You’re just in time!” Xu Biao tried to play the victim first. “This woman threw stuff at me and hit me! Arrest her!”
Cang Xuehe was furious. “You’re the one who started it! Would I have hit you if you weren’t bullying my friend? If you want to die, just say so! I’m doing society a favor today!” She moved to give him another punch, but Si Yao held her back, fearing things would escalate.
The man was equally enraged and tried to step forward to argue, but the security team blocked him. “Why aren’t you arresting her? Why are you stopping me? Do you know who I am!?”
“We don’t know who you are, and we don’t care,” the security captain said calmly. “But if you try to hit this lady, then it becomes our business.”
The captain explained, “This lady is our Group’s heiress. It is impossible for her to strike someone without cause. Please come with us.”
“If she didn’t hit me, where did these injuries come from? And she threw things at me!” Xu Biao continued to yell, but he was hauled away by a guard on each side. His female companion could only follow.
“Miss Cang, we are terribly sorry for this unpleasant shopping experience. We will handle that gentleman properly and report back to you shortly,” the guard said before leaving.
The farce finally ended.
Cang Xuehe couldn’t help but click her tongue. Is this the legendary power of money?
“Are you okay?” Cang Xuehe turned to meet Xiao Youyi’s concerned gaze. She waved it off casually. Looking at the remaining milk tea in her hand, she said, “I’m fine. It’s just a shame about your Oolong tea. Should I order you another one?”
“You’re still in the mood for milk tea?” Xiao Youyi was speechless. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? What if he had gone crazy and hurt you?”
Cang Xuehe giggled. “If he hit me, I’d just lay on the ground and play the victim. I’d sue him for millions in medical bills.”
“Stop joking!” Xiao Youyi was genuinely upset by her attitude, her face hardening in a rare display of anger.
“Well, what else was I supposed to do?” Cang Xuehe’s smile faded slightly. “I couldn’t just stand there and watch someone bully you, could I? Besides, look at the crowd—did a single one of them try to help?”
“You…” Xiao Youyi seemed like she wanted to argue, but she stopped at the word “you.” It was true; of all the onlookers, not one had stepped in or even tried to de-escalate the situation.
“Alright, I knew what I was doing,” Cang Xuehe said half-coaxingly. “I learned boxing before to beat up some jerks—I mean, to get fit. My coach said the average person can’t beat me. Plus, that guy wasn’t even as tall as me! I know you’re worried, but I have a handle on it. Don’t worry.”
Seeing her like this, Xiao Youyi tried to dampen her spirits: “Who’s worried about you?”
Cang Xuehe thought of a cringey meme trending online and adopted the tone of an overbearing CEO: “Little girl, you’re just speaking out of anger. I don’t believe you.”
Xiao Youyi seemed to recognize the meme but didn’t respond. The atmosphere froze. The silence was so awkward that Cang Xuehe felt like she could use her toes to dig out an entire castle in the floor.
After a long moment, seeing Cang Xuehe’s “as long as I’m not embarrassed, the embarrassment belongs to others” attitude, Xiao Youyi gave in. A crack appeared in her tense jawline. “I really can’t deal with you.”
Seeing the tension melt, Cang Xuehe beamed and pulled Xiao Youyi toward the restaurant.
“Let’s go, let’s go! Big sister is taking you to dinner!”
Xiao Youyi: “…”
It’s not yet clear who the ‘big sister’ really is.
Cang Xuehe led her into the Western restaurant. When she was handed the all-English menu, she felt a slight headache. Since graduating, she hadn’t used English much. Even though she recognized the words, seeing them all together made her head spin.
It was a bit of a challenge for Xiao Youyi to come along with her. After picking out a set meal from the menu, Cang Xuehe turned to ask Xiao Youyi what she wanted, intending to translate the dish names for her.
To her surprise, Xiao Youyi was already holding her own menu, ordering with effortless grace. She spoke with the waiter fluently, even inquiring about specific ingredient details. Her English pronunciation was so pure and natural that it was a genuine pleasure to listen to.
Good grief.
Cang Xuehe was stunned. Just how many surprises did Xiao Youyi have hidden up her sleeve?
Once the ordering was finished, Cang Xuehe asked tentatively, “Your English seems really good?”
Xiao Youyi’s movements stiffened for a split second, but she replied with a straight face, “When I was in school, I focused on some subjects more than others. English was the only one where I got top marks.”
But didn’t you drop out before even finishing high school?
Cang Xuehe didn’t dare say that part out loud.
Instead, she changed the subject: “Who was that man? Why did he suddenly attack you?”
“You stood up for me without even knowing the truth?”
Cang Xuehe replied offhandedly, “That guy was so ugly; there’s no way you two were ever together.”
“…”
Si Yao fell silent, and Cang Xuehe’s expression shifted to one of pure disbelief: “Wait, you weren’t actually together, were you?!”
“I don’t know him,” Si Yao said, shaking her head.
If anyone knew him, it was the original owner of this body. She personally didn’t know Xu Biao, nor did she have any desire to clean up the original owner’s messes. Her only goal now was to focus on completing her mission so she could return to her original world; she still had so many things left unfinished there.
“Good, good,” Cang Xuehe sighed in relief. “He’s probably just some psycho. Don’t worry, as long as I’m around, he won’t dare harass you again.”
Si Yao looked at Cang Xuehe, suddenly struck by the irony: the very person she was supposed to make hate her had become a protective tree standing over her. But as her “disgust points” eventually began to rise, how much longer would Cang Xuehe continue to protect her?