"Chi-Chi, this is a very big house." Her mother walked around the house observing its extravagant décor and luxurious furniture. It was almost similar to their previous house which had they had sold off to pay their debts. "How much did you spend?"
"We can afford it mother. " She said without batting an eye.
"It has six bedrooms." Her youngest brother announced very loudly from upstairs. He was happy because he would not have to share a bedroom with his two older brothers anymore.
"The parking space is ample. It's too bad that we don't have a car." Her father said while looking out of the widely arched windows.
"Soon we will all have our own cars." Chi Lian announced.
Nobody in the family doubted or questioned her anymore. One step at a time, she was proving to them that she was a woman of means.
Her mother Li Wuxi was now feeling more confident in hosting people over. Perhaps it was time for their family to meet Chi-Chi's fiancé and his parents.
"Chi-Chi, we have not seen your fiancé around lately? Since we have moved, maybe we should invite him over for dinner." She suggested.
Chi Lian realized that she had yet to fill her family in on the unscrupulous betrayal of Ji haolin and their cousin Wen Li.
"Mother we should all forget that bastard. That relationship is over and done with." She said nonchalantly.
"Oh." Her brothers were stunned.
"Why?" her father asked.
Everyone knew how much Chi Lian loved Ji haolin. She would drop everything she was doing and run to him whenever he called. Her brothers hated him because to them he was a good digger and a liar. But Every time they spoke to her about it, she would get mad and ignore them for days. Eventually, they came to grudgingly accept him as part of her life.
"What do you think happened between them?" Chi Zimo whispered a little too loudly. He was clearly pretending to be discreet.
Li Wuxi assumed that her daughter was sad and torn up about the break up. She pointed at Chi Zimo angrily, "Stop asking about your sister's private matters."
"But I am just asking what we all want to know." He mumbled. He was always the scape goat in this family.
"You need to be beaten." She replied.
"I don't want to know." Chi Wei pretended.
"Did he hurt you?" Her father asked.
Chi Lian knew that the only way to end Ji haolin's topic in the house was to tell the truth. Especially because he was dating their cousin so they would bump into him occasionally.
"I caught him in bed with Wen Li." She blurted.
"Wen Li, Our cousin. Are you sure?"
"Yes I am. And they tried to kill me after I caught them. I was just lucky to survive."
"So it was not enough for Aunt Li Chien and her family to throw us out of their house after all we had done for them in the past. Her daughter went ahead to steal your fiancé. Mother, you have a really wicked family." Chi Rui shook in head in disappointment and utter disgust.
"I am going to fight them. How dare they make a fool out of my daughter?" Mama Chi was heaving. Her family which she pulled out of poverty by providing financial support to when they were still wealthy had rejected them and turned them out in their hard days. Their viciousness was a gift which would forever remain unforgotten.
Chi Lian was touched to see her family so ready to go to war for her. Tears welled in her eyes.
"I am okay. Really, I am okay." She assured them.
"My poor daughter," Mama Chi cried, "You have suffered a lot in secret."
"Don't cry mother. I realized that I don't love that bastard anymore after that moment. The only business I have left with him now is to recoup my investment in his company. He forged the papers to make himself sole owner so I will destroy that company rather than watch him enjoy the fruits of my hard earned labor."
"Sis, you can count on me for support." Chi Zimo said.
"Me too." Chi Wei declared.
"And don't forget about me." Chi Rui waved.
The four siblings gathered in a circle and laughed.
The family had endured hardships and betrayal, but good days were coming. Hope was bubbling within their hearts.
"I should prepare dinner." Mama Chi headed to the kitchen. She checked the fridge and cabinets but there was no food in the house.
"Someone should go shopping." Papa Chi looked at the three boys expectantly.
They looked at the ground and pretended not to see his determined gaze.
"I will go Chi Lian." laughed.
"Why are you boys leaving everything to your sister?" Papa Chi banged his walking stick on the floor.
"I don't mind. I was going out anyway." She waved goodbye and left the house.
On her way out, she saw Jun Muyang again. He was holding a cup filled with a hot beverage. She smiled and waved at him.
He closed the curtain.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, such a cold man." She sighed.
"Such a wonderful man," T4 sighed. He could not help but think of all the things Jun Muyang could accomplish on planet Corl.
"Yo T4, need I remind you that you are a male fox. You should not be admiring another man." She laughed.
"Don't make fun of me. Work on a plan to make him fall in love with you so that you can procreate."
Chi Lian rode her motorcycle to the nearest supermarket. On the way, she sent her drones out to find picture worthy moments around the biggest entertainment companies in the city that she could share on her account.
"Target acquired." T4 informed her.
On the screen, she saw two tall handsome men, engaged in a game of golf. She was not yet familiar with the celebrities of this world.
"That's not an entertainment company. Who are they?"
"Prince Long Fen and Professor Tao Yichen, they are two of the most wanted bachelors in this empire. Any news about them is a trending topic on the internet but sadly little is known about them. And the best part of it is that they both fall under class S and A in mental strength. They will fetch you a good number of points."
She nodded her head and said, "Capture."
She pulled out her phone and typed,
["My dear little peep stars, it has come to my attention that our Prince Long and Young professor Tao enjoy golfing. Perhaps, the lucky woman who wants to win one of their hearts should work on her golfing skills."]
Below the post, she inserted the edited pictures T4 had prepared.
"P.S , for those who need some more pictures for their personal collection, I charge one hundred yuan per picture."
She leaned back on her bike and waited for the points to rack up. Less than a minute later, Her phone would not stop pinging.
"Eh, T4. Has the post gone viral that fast?"
"You underestimate how many women in this empire have alerts for any news on the five most eligible bachelors of the empire.
"Who are they by the way? Those five men." she asked.
"Prince Long Fen, Prime minister Kang Yuze, Professor Jun Muyang, Professor Tao Yichen and Professor Huang Bolin."
With each name T4 mentioned, a picture was attached.
"Wow." Chi Lian exclaimed at the sight before her eyes. "Look at all these flower boys." She rubbed her palms together." Each of them must be worth a lot of points."
"Yes. We should concentrate on them the most." T4 folded his paws like a boxer ready for a fight.
"I can see you drooling you sly fox."
"That's because my functions are limited. My energy level needs to go from red to orange." It whined. "They are walking fuel for me."
"We will get them all." Chi Lian assured him and herself. "Why is that ice cube on the list though?" she pointed at Jun Muyang. "Which sane woman would want a man that has such cold eyes?"
"Asks the woman whose heart was beating like an over speeding plane in his presence." T4 sneered.
"What did you say? Do you want me to put you in sleep mode?"
"I said my heart was beating like an over speeding plane when we met him." T4 laughed.
"Is the money coming in?"
"Yes. I have set up an automatic system which sends a picture after receiving cash. You just need to sit back and relax.
"How much have we made so far?"
"Twenty thousand Yuan."
"In just under twenty minutes. Wow. We have found a gold mine T4." Chi Lian was thrilled. She got on her motorbike to head back home. The groceries were in her storage space. She had even purchased some seeds to exchange for technology when she deemed it fit.
On the way home, she passed by a trash bin next to a children's playground. She heard a cry that sounded like a kitten stuck somewhere. Chi Lian was an animal lover. She could never resist saving a wounded animal
"T4, scan the environment." She parked her bike.
"It's a child. It looks abandoned. The most surprising thing about this is that it has an S level mental strength!"
Chi Lian turned around and run to the area T4 had identified as the one where the crying baby sound was coming from.
There she found a child in a box. It did not look like a newborn baby, more like a year or two year old child. From her dressing, Chi Lian assumed that it was a girl. She was dressed in tiny torn leggings and a shirt that had on the words 'Little princess.'
There was dirt and ash all over her face.
Chi Lian carried her out of the box and soothed her.
"Who would do such a terrible thing to a little child." She asked.
"I am already viewing the security footage around the area. Perhaps we can locate the parents of the child if we can find who dumped her here."
Chi Lian pulled some water out of her storage to wash the child's face. Then she got some bread and milk from the storage and fed her slowly.
The child must have been so hungry because she gobbled up the bread and milk like a starving wolf in the wild.
She must have been starving for days or hours. Chi Lian thought.
Perhaps the child was exhausted or just relieved to feel safe; she fell asleep shortly after eating.
Finally, T4 came up with a useful lead. "The child was abandoned here by three men in a black van. I have traced its journey and it came from a little house half a mile away from here named Sunshine orphanage.
Chi Lian could not help but wonder if the orphanage had thrown the child out.
"Let's go and find out what happened."
T4 changed the settings of the motorcycle and it turned into a small electric car.
Chi Lian gaped in amazement.
"I told you, our technology is superior." T4 boasted.
"If elder brother sees this, he will beg me to let him take it apart so that he can study it."
She set the speed to near maximum speed because she did not want anybody stopping her or checking what she was carrying. They could easily call her a child trafficker.
The car rushed through traffic on the road leaving only a gust of wind behind. Those who saw something pass by them could not be sure of what they had seen because it was gone in an instant.
It took her two minutes to reach the dirt road which led to the orphanage.
"Set speed to normal." She said.
The car slowed down and slowly, she made her way to the gate of sunshine orphanage. There was nobody at the gate but it was open so let herself in.
Inside the depilated place were two old buildings, dying plants and hungry looking children. The once yellow bright paint on the buildings had turned dirty brown. Cracks were running through the walls. These buildings appeared to be on the brink of collapse.
How does such a downtrodden place exist in this city! She wondered.
A few of the children walked to her bravely. The oldest one in the group must have been twelve or thirteen years old.
"Wha-wha-what can we do for you?" he stammered. The boy looked nervous and he was struggling with his words.
"Can I see the proprietor of this place?" she asked.
"Huh." The children all looked confused.
"Who is in charge of the children here?"
"Principal Wang." The children answered together.
"Where can I find her?"
They pointed her to the left side of the two story building.
She parked her car under the shade of one of the trees and carried the sleeping girl out from the back.
She pulled a few snacks and sweets out of her storage. To the children, it seemed as if she was pulling the snacks out of air. The audience of children that was watching her with curious eyes was filled with wonder.
Chi Lian laughed and made a 'shush' sound with a finger over her lips.
The children laughed while the youngest ones clapped and waited for what they assumed to be a magic show to continue.
"I promise to buy you all good food today." She said.
She went into the building and knocked on the door marked principal. It was opened by an older woman dressed in a brown old dress. She looked exhausted and tired.
"Are you the person in charge of the children here?"
"Yes." She replied. Her eyes moved to the child on Chi Lian's shoulder. The little girl was awake and sucking on her thumb.
"Mei-Mei." The woman gasped. Her hands reached out for the child but the child refused to let go Chi Lian. In fact, she started crying.
Apprehensive, Chi Lian steeped away from the woman. She needed to first establish whether this person could be trusted.
"Mei-Mei is one of our children. Are you the one who stole her?"
Rolling her eyes, Chi Lian answered, "Would I be here if I had stolen the child?"
"Of course not, please have a seat." She indicated to the worn out sofa in the middle of the tiny office.
"I found her in a box near a trash bin. She had been dumped there." Chi Lian explained.
"Some human traffickers have been going around stealing children from orphanages. I don't know why. As you can see, we are a poor institution. I lack the resources to feed and clothe the children so how can I provide protection for them?"
"Don't you have any help around here?"
"My daughter helps me out but she has a job in the city now. We coud use all the money we can get our hands now. She earns around four thousand yuan a month which mostly goes towards feeding the children."
Chi Lian had seen the situation with her own eyes. The children were malnourished, The clothes on their bodies torn and worn. The buildings were about to collapse.
"Doesn't the government help you?"
"It used to. But ever since the new mayor took office four years ago, we have not received any help. All of my efforts have been met with silence. And when I tried to go to the news stations with the story I was threatened."
Principal Wang looked defeated.
Chi Lian was the kind of person who could not stand injustice. Those monsters were letting children starve while they hogged their money. They slept in warms beds while the children shivered in the cold at night. She would not let them get away with this.
'I will find a way to help you." She vowed.
"You will get in trouble." Principal Wang discouraged her. "Those people are powerful."
"A pen is mightier than the sword."
The woman pondered on Chi Lian's words. The young lady was speaking with determination and authority. Perhaps the heaven had finally felt pity on them and sent a savior.
"Thank you for returning Mei-Mei back to us."
"I couldn't just leave her there." Chi Lian caressed the little girls face and pinched her baby cheeks." What happened to her family?"
"They all died in an accident when she was six months old and nobody came forward to claim her. She has been with us ever since then."
Chi Lian looked into Mei-Mei's eyes. They were big and bright but weary. This child had the same unlucky fate as she did in her last life. This place would not provide the right resources to nurture her growth. Especially because T4 had said she had S class mental strength. She had the potential to do great things but only if someone took a chance on her.
"I want to adopt her." Chi Lian said.
The principal was excited. No child had been adopted from here in three years.
"Are you sure? You don't look so old yourself."
"I will make her my daughter. My age should not matter."
"What about your family?"
"They will accept her." Chi Lian assured the worried woman.
With determination, she completed the adoption procedures immediately. T4 even registered the child as hers officially legally.
When they were finished, she asked for the account number of the orphanage and donated one hundred thousand Yuan.
The principal cried when she received the money alert on her phone.
"I promise you that I am going to revitalize this place. It will become a true sunshine for children." She promised as she held the principal's hands.
"Buy the children some good food tonight. Tomorrow I will send some more supplies over."
Chi Lian bid the excited children goodbye. The principal had already told them that she was now the sponsor of their orphanage. Some of them hugged her and cried.
When she was leaving, she cried for a minute as she thought about their plight.
"We will make it better. Let's make enough money and support them." T4 tried to comfort her.
"I have ordered for children's clothing and other supplies. They are on their way to your home right now."
"Oh-oh." Chi Lian's eyes widened.
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation! Thank you Ramenx for the power stones. This author is grateful
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