Xia Ruya’s eyes turned red as she read the news reports about her on the internet, feeling extremely agonized and hopeless as if those emotions were attacking her chest.
She did not expect things to turn out this way, for she had clearly planned every detail properly to her own advantage. Yet, she ended up shooting herself in the foot and getting attacked by Wen Xinya instead.
Yesterday, she received a call from Old Mr. Li, who sounded disappointed in her. He reprimanded her and even ordered her to return home immediately. Only then did she find out that the news of her misdeeds had spread to Harbor City, too.
Everyone in the upper-class society knew that the Li Family had just reunited with their newly-found successor who had gotten caught spiking someone else’s food at the reputable Heiress’ Gala in Capital city. Not only did she get beaten into a pulp at the gala, she even got splashed with red wine and ended up embarrassing herself.
At the same time, Xia Ruya also knew that the matter led to the severe displeasure of the shareholders of the Li Corporation, especially the esteemed and respected ones who had requested Old Mr. Li to strip her of her position as successor and put her on probation instead.
She knew that the shareholders would definitely have a way to destroy her if Old Mr. Li were to cave in to the pressure and really strip her of her position. Her predicament would then be worse than Wen Xinya’s at the start of her return to the Wen Family.
At this moment, she finally realized that she did not have a stable position in Harbor City, despite being the only successor of the Li Family. Although Old Mr. Li had high hopes for her, it would still be a piece of cake for others to deal with her. In fact, she had it worse than Wen Xinya.
Hence, she had to return to Harbor City.
Despite knowing that she would be facing the music from Old Mr. Li and the shareholders, she still had to return. She also knew that she would become the laughing stock of the upper-class society in Harbor City.
She did not have a choice, for she had to protect her position as the successor of the Li Family.
But Yan Menglu…
Ever since she accidentally injured Yan Menglu’s face, the latter had begun bearing a grudge against her and refused to accept her apology, be it in person or over the phone. She reckoned that Yan Menglu definitely had something to do with the rapid spread of her scandal.
However, she was not in the worst predicament yet, for she had the support of Uncle Yu and Auntie Yang, both of whom utterly detested Wen Xinya. Xia Ruya was often polite to both of them, who were also trusted by Old Mr. Li. Hence, they would definitely put in a good word for her when they returned to Harbor City and Old Mr. Li wouldn’t put all the blame on her.
On the other hand, she had already called the owner of Boya Pavilion yesterday and the owner had also agreed to speak well of her to Old Mr. Li. Since Old Mr. Li had always regarded the owner highly, Xia Ruya believed that Old Mr. Li would trust her.
As long as Old Mr. Li trusted her, he would definitely defend her and she would then be able to keep her position as successor.
At this moment, Auntie Yang entered with Ning Yuya.
Xia Ruya asked smilingly, “Yuya, what brings you here?”
Although there were still some red marks on her face, the scabs had already fallen off completely and would heal very soon. Hence, Xia Ruya was not afraid to see anyone now.
“My mother said that you’re returning to Harbor City, so I decided to come and see you,” said Ning Yuya, who had heavy and smoky makeup on her face. She looked much thinner than she was when she first returned from abroad. She looked absolutely like a degenerate.
A look of disdain formed in Xia Ruya’s eyes, though she still smiled radiantly. “You look like you’ve lost a lot of weight. Are you stressed out by your academics?”
When she met Ning Shuqian previously, the latter had informed her about Ning Yuya’s strange behavior, thus catching her attention. She then secretly checked up on Ning Yuya, only to discover that Ning Yuya had developed a drug addiction when she was abroad. Even after returning to Capital City, Ning Yuya still did not kick her addiction. However, Ning Shuqian dared not send Ning Yuya for rehab, for fear that she would experience what Shen Mengting had gone through at the rehab center back then. Hence, there was no way Ning Yuya could kick her addiction anymore at this point.
Worse still, Ning Yuya even frequented bars, nightclubs and sordid places where she often hooked up with all sorts of men. Her private life was messy and lewd.
Xia Ruya did not wish to be acquainted with such a degenerate at all. However, she had no choice but to bear with it since she still had to make use of Ning Shuqian.
Ning Yuya’s face stiffened, though she soon returned to normal. “Yeah, my mother has arranged for me to attend some jewelry design tuition lately and I can’t seem to cope.”
Her drug addiction had taken a toll on her health and impacted her vitality. It also robbed her of her youth and beauty, causing her to look horrendous. She dared not even see her own bare face and would go to sleep with heavy makeup on her face every night.
Xia Ruya held onto her hand and said concernedly, “Learning may be important, but you also have to take care of your health. Practice good skincare techniques and eat more nutritious food to nourish your body.”
Xia Ruya instantly got the goosebumps when she held onto Ning Yuya’s bony hand. She let go of it and turned around to grab the cup of water on the table.
Ning Yuya smiled and changed the subject. “Ruya, I thought you’d be staying in Capital city until you graduate. Yet, you’re leaving again so soon. Who knows when we might get to meet again?”
Ning Yuya was rather disappointed, for she was quite reluctant to see Xia Ruya go.
The mention of it made a look of dejection form on Xia Ruya’s face. “I thought that that would be the case too, but who knew…”
She could not bring herself to continue. She turned pale and hung her head low.
Ning Yuya naturally knew about what happened recently. She held onto Xia Ruya’s hand and comforted her. “Ruya, don’t be too upset. I know Wen Xinya was the one who set you up this time. I’ll trust you and stand on your side even if the whole world turns against you.”
Ning Yuya gritted her teeth angrily at the thought of Wen Xinya, as a look of resentment formed in her eyes. If it weren’t because of Wen Xinya, she wouldn’t have been in such a pathetic plight today.
Sobbing, Xia Ruya said, “Yuya, thank you! You may visit me in Harbor City if there’s a chance for you to do so in the future. It’s not too far away from here, anyway.”
However, Xia Ruya was just being courteous and she actually was not sincere in inviting her for a visit at all.