When facing Tao Ran, Xiao Ai had never once managed to come out on top.
Arguing with her was useless—it only made things worse. Liu Jie, who still had some sense left, pulled Xiao Ai aside and sharply told her to shut up.
He then went to find Dr. Ross, saying he wanted to negotiate the bill.
After half an hour of haggling, Dr. Ross finally agreed to reduce the fee by five hundred dollars. In the end, they settled on an additional payment of two thousand.
But Xiao Ai wasn’t satisfied with that outcome, and soon she and Liu Jie were quarreling again.
Two more exhausting hours later, Xiao Ai finally scraped together enough money.
Tao Ran was at last gloriously discharged from the hospital.
Dragging a large suitcase and afraid of causing any more trouble, they called a cab this time instead of taking the bus.
Throughout the ride, the three of them sat in heavy silence.
Xiao Ai was struggling to keep her temper in check. She planned to wait until they got home—then, behind closed doors, she’d give Tao Ran a piece of her mind. In fact, she was already thinking she’d better find a way to squeeze some money out of Tao Ran. It would make things a lot safer for her.
But that plan didn’t work out either.
While Xiao Ai was paying the taxi driver and Liu Jie was busy retrieving the luggage from the trunk, Tao Ran simply grabbed her bag and went upstairs on her own.
Just as they stepped into the building, they heard a loud bang from above—the sound of a door slamming shut.
When they reached the third floor, sure enough, the apartment door was tightly closed.
From inside came Tao Ran’s calm voice:
“Leave the suitcase at the door. You can go now.”
Realizing that her intentions had been seen right through, Xiao Ai burned with fury. She was just about to kick the door open when she remembered the fat landlady living downstairs—and swallowed her anger again.
Fine. She’d wait until Fang Ming came back. Then she’d make sure to file a proper complaint against Tao Ran!
Meanwhile, not long after the two of them left, Tao Ran hefted a large bag, hailed another taxi, and went straight back to the clinic.
Just like last time, she returned all of the medicine except for two bottles of essential vitamins.
Then she sat down with Ross to settle accounts.
They were already familiar with each other, so Ross didn’t bother to nitpick every little detail. Out of the total eight thousand in hospital fees, after deducting expenses, he directly handed Tao Ran thirty-five hundred dollars as her “commission.”
Moreover, thanks to the makeup techniques Tao Ran had taught him—and her valuable insights that inspired Ross to refine his own “rob the rich, aid the poor” business model—he generously added another three hundred dollars.
With $3,800 in hand, Tao Ran was in high spirits.
Six days of good food, comfort, rest, and recuperation; a perfect start to her revenge plan—and she’d even made $600 per day! All she’d done was talk a little. The thought alone made her grin.
And now, with money in hand, she felt even more confident. Altogether, she had nearly six thousand dollars saved up.
“Can you give me a bottle of your strongest sleeping pills?” Tao Ran asked as her final request.
Ross handed her a red bottle and asked,
“This is the most potent kind. One pill will knock a person out for at least twelve hours. There are ten pills in the bottle—will that be enough?”
Tao Ran smiled. “More than enough. I only need one.”
In the following two days, neither Xiao Ai nor Liu Jie showed up again. Clearly, they’d realized Tao Ran wouldn’t budge and decided to wait until Fang Ming’s return before taking action.
Tao Ran, however, was busier than ever—leaving early and returning late. Even the landlady thought she’d gone back to work.
In truth, all of her moves were in preparation for Fang Ming.
She went to the small company where Tao Ran used to work, submitted her resignation, and collected the thousand dollars in unpaid wages. From her part-time restaurant job, she received another six hundred.
Over the next two days, she roamed through various markets around the city—buying some things, selling others.
Each morning, she chatted warmly with the landlady, gradually learning that the older woman genuinely liked Tao Ran.
She even brought bread and clothes to the homeless man at the street corner, earning heartfelt gratitude in return.
And now, the day had finally come—Fang Ming’s long-awaited “welcome home” day.
Tao Ran had prepared a special gift for him.
A gift he would never forget for the rest of his life.
His plane was due to arrive in the evening.
But before dawn, Tao Ran was already on her way to the airport. The landlady hadn’t even woken up yet, so the two didn’t cross paths that morning.
When she arrived at the airport, she ran a few errands, grabbed breakfast, and began wandering around.
At the duty-free shop, she bought quite a few items—but left them all stored at the airport counter.
After shopping until she was tired, Tao Ran checked into a nearby airport hotel for a few hours of rest.
She slept soundly until the afternoon, enjoyed a leisurely tea, and only then made her way to the arrival gate.
Before long, she spotted a familiar figure in the crowd—Xiao Ai.
Well, well, well.
Yesterday, when Fang Ming had called, he’d clearly said it was Liu Jie who would be picking him up today.
So… someone was lying.
Tao Ran hadn’t actually come to catch the cheating pair in the act—she’d come for her own plan. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
But since fate had kindly presented her with the opportunity, it would’ve been rude not to make use of it.
Today, Xiao Ai had gone all out.
Her hair was curled, makeup flawless, giving her looks a solid boost. A chic coat paired with high boots and a matching purse—every detail carefully chosen. The way she craned her neck toward the electronic arrivals board made it obvious—she was both nervous and excited after so many days apart.
Seeing that, Tao Ran didn’t rush forward.
Better to wait and watch.
So she quietly positioned herself behind a pillar.
Fifteen minutes later, that refined scumbag Fang Ming appeared among the crowd. Tao Ran quickly slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out her newly bought secondhand digital camera.
Xiao Ai’s face lit up as she hurried to greet him. Fang Ming looked around cautiously before giving her a faint smile.
To be fair, he was careful—ever the schemer. To avoid being recognized and exposing his affair with Xiao Ai, he deliberately kept some distance.
But Xiao Ai didn’t care.
After all the humiliation she’d endured, after all the money she’d spent—she was desperate for affection and comfort. More importantly, she needed to make sure Fang Ming brought that money back for her.
So the moment he got close, she threw herself into his arms and planted a loud kiss right on his lips.
A flash of disgust flickered across Fang Ming’s face, but he quickly replaced it with a smile and whispered something to her.
Xiao Ai lowered her head, not daring to be too affectionate again.
As they walked away, they tried to keep some distance, but Xiao Ai still stretched out a hand to hook her fingers around Fang Ming’s. He struggled a bit, then gave up and let her be.
Meanwhile, Tao Ran pressed the shutter repeatedly.
From their faces to their backs, she captured it all at the highest frequency her camera allowed.
She even made sure to get the details—their fingers entwined as they walked away, Fang Ming’s fake “tender” expressions from the side, and the electronic screen behind them clearly showing the time and date.
When they finally disappeared from sight, Tao Ran checked the photos on her camera.
Unfortunately, the digital cameras of that era were too slow—she’d missed the exact moment of Xiao Ai’s kiss, catching only the half-second afterward.
Still—not bad at all.
In the photo, Xiao Ai and Fang Ming were gazing at each other, his hand on her back. Though he’d been trying to push her away, the angle made it look like he was holding her close. The shot turned out surprisingly romantic.
Perfect.
Tao Ran hadn’t yet decided what to do with the photos—use them for a lawsuit against Fang Ming? Or perhaps send them to Lu Sitong?
No rush. She’d think it through carefully. After all, the key was maximizing her profit.