All these people were Huo Jing’s friends, whom Ruan Xing had personally invited one by one to celebrate his birthday. They enjoyed free food, drinks, and entertainment yet took it all for granted.
They mocked her, treating her as a laughingstock—but what right did they have? Were they even worthy?
In the past, she had ingratiated herself with them for Huo Jing’s sake, granting their every request. But these beasts had always looked down on her from the bottom of their hearts. When Huo Jing scolded her, when he bullied her mercilessly, not a single one had shown her even a shred of kindness…
They were worse than beasts.
She had truly been blind in the past.
And Huo Jing—she had liked him for a full nine years in her previous life. Nine whole years wasted on him, yet she had never received a single kind look from him…
Ruan Xing’s heart burned with indignation, suddenly feeling that everything she had done in her past life was worthless.
Her hands clenched the microphone tightly, her fingertips turning white from the force.
“What right… what right do you have to mock me? Don’t forget, everything you’ve consumed here today was paid for by me—the one you look down on, the one you laugh at. And you? You’re worse than beasts.” She spat out each word through gritted teeth.
“Huo Jing, this birthday party cost me 500,000 yuan. Remember to transfer it back to me later.” Her voice was loud and clear.
The final icy remark was directed squarely at Huo Jing by name.
Upon hearing these words, the group completely lost their composure. Since Huo Jing had never treated Ruan Xing seriously, they had grown accustomed to trampling her at will.
The room now filled with curses and insults, yet Ruan Xing remained unmoved.
Calmly, under everyone’s gaze, she stepped down from the stage, her eyes showing no trace of emotion.
BANG! A sudden loud crash.
A chair and table were violently kicked aside by the young man.
Huo Jing’s face had already darkened like the bottom of a pot, the atmosphere around him plunging to subzero temperatures. His entire countenance was gloomy, and even those near him felt the chill, unconsciously shrinking their necks and quietly retreating several steps.
“Ugly freak, what tricks are you playing now? Did you think I’d care about your few hundred thousand?” Huo Jing said coldly and harshly.
It had never crossed his mind that this ugly freak would dare ask him for money. As someone perpetually proud, being demanded repayment—especially by Ruan Xing, whom he despised most—inevitably infuriated him.
Good. This was for the best.
Ruan Xing’s lips curved slightly, but her glass-like eyes held no warmth—only an icy, emotionless chill.
“Even better if you don’t care. Then return it. I’ll send you my bank details directly.” Her voice was like hidden ice.
With that, she took out her phone and unceremoniously sent her account number to Huo Jing. Then, without a hint of attachment, she walked toward the exit, leaving only her retreating figure.
Huo Jing stood rooted to the spot, still processing Ruan Xing’s words. For a moment, he was so enraged he couldn’t speak, his furious eyes boring into the girl’s back as if trying to burn a hole through her.
For some reason, he felt that Ruan Xing was acting extremely out of character today.
But then it occurred to him that she might just be playing hard to get—trying a new tactic. Instantly, nothing remained in his heart for her but disgust.
Several people noticed Huo Jing’s complicated expression and spoke up.
“Brother Jing, don’t bother with her anymore. Let’s play…”
“That’s right, tomorrow she’ll definitely come running back to you shamelessly…”
After leaving the bar, she finally didn’t have to endure the filth inside anymore. The moment she breathed the fresh air, her mind instantly became exceptionally clear.
The person she wanted to see most right now was her father.
When she had drifted as a spirit, she had personally witnessed how her father – who had always seemed dissatisfied with her before – suddenly aged decades overnight upon hearing news of her death. He spent his days weeping and depressed. Ruan Xing often saw him secretly wiping tears when he was alone.
She had always thought her father only liked that mother-daughter pair, and that he wouldn’t feel any emotion after her death. She never expected that her father’s love for her had been buried in his heart all along. It was she who had distanced herself from her father, thus making room for those two vicious women in their home.
Thinking of this, Ruan Xing’s eyes reddened slightly, barely managing to hold back her tears.
Arriving at the familiar doorstep, the European-style villa before her, blending romance and nobility, was exactly as she remembered. But when entering again, Ruan Xing’s emotions were unbearably agitated.
In her previous life, what she feared most was returning home because it inevitably led to arguments with her father. She hated those quarrels – each dispute left her in terrible spirits. With Lu Wan fanning the flames and sowing discord, she had moved out after high school graduation and never returned.
Thinking back now, she had been so ungrateful!
After such a long time, returning home filled her with indescribable excitement.
Hesitating at the door for quite a while, Ruan Xing took a deep breath as if deciding something, then mustered the courage to step inside. In that moment, her gaze became resolute.
“Hmph, you have the nerve to come back.” A slightly angry male voice echoed through the hall.
Ruan Xing had barely entered when she heard that familiar voice. Her heart ached momentarily, but within seconds, it was replaced by happiness and excitement.
Though the man was clearly angry, she wasn’t the least bit afraid – instead, she felt joyful and thrilled.
“Dad.” Her voice carried unspeakable emotion.
When she fully saw her father sitting on the sofa – still handsome and young, his temples not yet graying – she remembered how in her previous life, upon hearing news of her death, he had suddenly aged over ten years.
Ruan Xing’s eyes reddened, no longer able to suppress her emotions. She threw herself directly into her father’s embrace.
This girl had nearly worried him to death. Today he had intended to properly discipline her.
But the moment he felt the soft bundle in his arms, the anger in his eyes vanished instantly.
Suddenly finding himself with an armful of daughter, Ruan Ting froze, forgetting to move. The soft sensation in his arms left him somewhat dazed.
For the first time, he clearly realized that the little snot-nosed kid who used to cling to him, chasing after him calling “Daddy” and asking for hugs, hadn’t been close to him for a very long time.
This was the first time since her mother passed away that she had been this intimate with him like before.
The long-lost warmth made Ruan Ting cast aside all his previous anger.
“You’re no longer a little girl, yet you still act like a child,” Ruan Ting chided with feigned annoyance, though her eyes brimmed with unmistakable affection as her arms instinctively tightened around her daughter.