15 1.1.15: Unexpected Surprise

When Mrs. Bao showed Xiao Yunhua a guest room, the elderly woman watched the young woman's reaction to see how she would react above being told to stay in such a room. But Mrs. Bao was astonished when she saw her eyes glittering with amazement. In Mrs. Bao's heart, the young lady had passed a test of some sort.

So it seems like the young girl wasn't here for the money. In fact, Mrs. Bao purposely gave her one of the smallest guest rooms to test her, and the girl had unknowingly passed the test.

"I'll cook something for you to eat after your bath—"

"You don't need to prepare my bath. It's okay, I'll take a shower instead." Xiao Yunhua interrupted.

The old woman frowned but continued, "Alright. Your clothes will be prepared on the bed to be worn afterwards. But before you wear anything, make sure to dry your hair so you don't catch a cold." Mrs. Bao's attitude made Xiao Yunhua feel warm but she quickly shook her head. She couldn't afford to get attached to anyone else here, nonetheless her own boss' housekeeper.

Her eyes glanced at the guest room she was provided with and she felt her gaze harden. This was a temporary living situation, after all. She didn't plan on depending on Wang Yaowan forever.

Her dependence on the handsome man was only because she didn't have any money, home, and she couldn't get much of a job anyway due to her age. Sure, she may she get some money from her new job, but it wouldn't be enough unless she got a second job just to pay for the bills and such. So thus, Xiao Yunhua didn't feel shameful when grabbing onto the hand that was offered.

But that didn't mean that she was going to take advantage of the hand offered. It was only temporary. Her last sentence, Xiao Yunhua chanted like a mantra in her head as she stripped down her dirty uniform.

Ever since her bath incident in her previous life, she had never agreed on taking a bath. Even when her grandmother insisted, she always took showers instead. Why? It was such a traumatic experience, she didn't want the possibility of drowning again. Sure she did it herself, as it was a suicide, but she wasn't in the right state of mind at that point. So no matter what, for Xiao Yunhua, she would take showers instead.

Once she finished taking a shower, she plugged in the hairdryer and used the comb to clean her former, greasy hair. Now, it was smooth and luxurious as before, although having lost a bit of its volume due to her lack of care. Xiao Yunhua glanced at the large, stretched mirror in front of her. She saw a pretty face staring back at her, but the pretty face had some problems. First off, it was excessively pale and dark circles were around the eyes, and the face wasn't perfect, like a goddess was destined to be. Her body wasn't overweight like her previous life, but it wasn't amazing either.

Xiao Yunhua felt ugly.

In either lifetime, was she destined to be like this? She glanced at the pretty face and saw that the eyes were gleaming with a hunger of some sort. A desire. She wanted to be beautiful. A twist personification of beauty was forming in her head.

Xiao Yunhua felt as though beauty would solve all her problems right now. Her eyes subconsciously dulled and she found her hand touching the mirror.

How she longed to be beautiful...

<<Host! Snap out of it!>> Xiao Taotao's voice urgently rung in her head. Xiao Yunhua's glazed eyes snapped back into life and were no longer dull.

She blinked a few times and mentally asked Xiao Taotao what happened. All she could remember was drying her hair. Everything afterwards was completely blank in her photographic memory.

<<I... I'm not sure. Host, don't panic for now and just stay put.>> Xiao Taotao's hesitance made Xiao Yunhua assume there was more than what the little fairy was telling her. But she also knew that she didn't have the power right now to find out what the secret behind this so-called attaining of goddess beauty?

Why was it free? What was the hidden price?

As much as Xiao Yunhua wanted to interrogate Xiao Taotao, the little fairy disappeared and she could no longer summon her soul to the dimensional space. This caused her to panic for a bit, but Xiao Yunhua had faith in the little fairy and knew that Xiao Taotao would find a solution somehow.

She looked at the clothes on the bed and saw that surprisingly, they were clothes of a woman. Although they were slightly bigger than her own clothing size, it was odd for Wang Yaowan to even have such clothes in his home unless a woman lived here. But she hadn't seen anyone while coming it, so maybe the woman hadn't arrived yet? Or maybe she was asleep?

Whatever the case, Xiao Yunhua stood up and left the guest room, using her photographic memory to go back to the entrance. She glanced around and saw that nobody was there, not even Mrs. Bao.

All alone, she began to explore the large mansion. She noticed that although it wasn't decorated to the brim with extravagance, it was still simple yet elegant, just like the exterior of the mansion. Just like his office, Wang Yaowan kept it simple and clean, but used pricey furniture for whatever he did have. Maybe it was a way to signify his status and money, maybe it was because he enjoyed subtly using his money... Whatever the case, Xiao Yunhua didn't care.

To her, he was the owner of Riverside, her boss, and her savior from being jobless, moneyless, and homeless. There were many 'lesses' attached to her name at the moment, but Xiao Yunhua didn't care. She would slowly grow, like a butterfly from his cocoon. Thinking of the butterfly, she realized that it was very similar to her.

Considered ugly until it showed its true beauty and strength when least expected. In fact, it considered its time as a caterpillar simply a passing period before its true domination of the sky began.

And that's how she would consider this time. Simply a passing period of mourning for her granddaughter, and learning just how cruel humanity can be when it comes to greed and desire. Xiao Yunhua would make sure to take that greed and desire and shove it done their throats very soon. How soon? She wasn't sure yet.

But even the greatest inventor spent years of planning and preparing before their counterattack with their investment and invention.

Xiao Yunhua's wandering led her to the kitchen, where she found ingredients laid out to be chopped and cooked. She assumed that Mrs. Bao was going to use these to make something, but the old woman must've been caught up with something for her to forget like this.

Suddenly, it was like recipes burst into her head and she felt a subconscious pull to use her culinary skills. She did use them before, but it was only for her grandmother. Other than the deceased old woman, nobody knows about her peerless culinary skills.

Since the old woman wasn't here anymore, and she needed a way to repay Wang Yaowan, she decided to get started and make him a meal that he'd never forget.

Xiao Yunhua expertly held and used a knife to rapidly chop the ingredients for the meal. Her speed was so fast that it was almost impossible for the human eye to see. Her culinary skills and enhanced five senses were the only skills that actually worked in her favor. Even her proudest skill, her photographic memory, failed her when she needed it, nonetheless her emotionless singing and dancing.

Xiao Yunhua was so immersed in her cooking that she failed to see a figure watching her. Only when the figure moved and accidentally made a sound did Xiao Yunhua pause whatever she was doing to look up. Her eyes met with a pair of brown eyes staring at her with curiosity.

"Who are you?" Xiao Yunhua and the woman said simultaneously. The woman chuckled and stepped forward, making Xiao Yunhua gasp.

"It's you!"

"It's me? Do you know me?" The woman was wearing an oversized t-shirt and a pair of leggings that clung onto her legs, making them seem especially long. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, and she looked especially comfortable without any makeup on her face.

"You're from the club! The entertainer!" Hearing Xiao Yunhua's words, the woman, Ni Ming, was amazed.

"Wow! Nobody has ever been able to tell that this side of me and that side of me are connected! You're a clever girl!" In fact, Xiao Yunhua would've never guessed that both women were the same woman if it hadn't been for her sharpened senses that made her see the small details of similarity.

"You're Ni Ming?"

Ni Ming nodded, but Xiao Yunhua wasn't convinced, "But you had blue eyes..."

"Contacts."

"Really pale skin!"

"All thanks to makeup!"

Hearing Ni Ming's refutes, Xiao Yunhua was speechless. The seductive woman from earlier and this comfortable girl with sass were the same people! Suddenly, as though she remembered something, Xiao Yunhua grabbed Ni Ming's hands with hers, startling the woman.

"Please teach me!"

Ni Ming was even more shocked and confused until Xiao Yunhua elaborated, "Teach me on how to make someone fall in love with me like you did in the nightclub!"

"But how do you know if anyone in the audience is in love with that side of me?"

"Simple. It's because they were entranced by you. I was too, when I heard you." It was also because of her system. Xiao Yunhua could feel love pouring for this woman and she kind of felt jealous. If only it was this easy for her to gain what this woman gained everyday, she would have an unlimited amount of points!

Ni Ming remained silent for a few minutes before she finally opened her mouth to speak, "Why?"

Xiao Yunhua debated on the answer, but in the end, she could only honestly reply, "Revenge." Saying that, she didn't realize that her eyes had taken a different glint that made her seem wicked, exactly what startled Ni Ming again...