After Transmigrating to Become Lady Skylark - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The thin mist from the warm water slowly spread out like a ribbon of smoke, making the distant, winding mountains appear hazy and indistinct.

Nearby, by the black volcanic stone of the hot springs, a figure with skin like cream revealed her snowy shoulders and neck in the water. A folded hand towel rested on her head as she let out a long, comfortable sigh.

In imitation, a sigh echoed from the shore.

When Chiyana opened the wooden door and came out, she saw a little yellow bird perched on a chair, with a miniature folded handkerchief on its head. Its posture of closed-eyed enjoyment was a perfect match for the woman in the pool.

What an adorable parent-child look!

Her eyes, full of gentle affection, carried the fruit tea platter that the manager had just delivered. She set it down on the table with a soft clink, which drew the attention of the person in the water.

“Oh… Chiyana, you’re back?”

“Madam, you have been in the water for twenty minutes. Please be sure to take care of yourself.”

Originally, given Jin Chaoyan’s past medical history, Chiyana would never have arranged a hot spring trip for her. But the other party had produced that surprisingly healthy medical report, swearing that nothing would go wrong. Even so, she was still a little on edge, afraid of an accident.

“I know, Mother Chiyana…” The person in the pool, who seemed to have no bones, moved languidly. Wearing a minimal swimsuit, she started to walk toward the shore. Amid the all-capable butler’s almost helpless protest of “Please don’t give me such a hard time,” Jin Chaoyan stopped at the water’s edge.

She held out her palm, which was slightly pink from the heat, even her knuckles. “Then give me a hand.”

Chiyana naturally obliged. After Jin Chaoyan was safely on the shore, she remembered something and respectfully reminded her, “Oh, Madam, Lady Konoe was unable to reach you just now, so she asked me to inform you… Mr. Konoe will be hosting a family dinner at the Imperial Hotel tomorrow at seven. Please make sure to attend.”

“Who?”

Leisurely poking at a piece of watermelon on a plate with a toothpick, Jin Chaoyan couldn’t recall what calls she had missed recently.

Oh.

When she wasn’t fully awake this morning, she thought she had answered a call from a voice that sounded old and respectable and was filled with sarcastic remarks. She had assumed it was a wrong number and hung up.

—It was Lady Konoe?

The woman leisurely rubbed her forehead and put the towel aside. The next second, she heard Hibird flapping its wings as it quickly landed nearby.

Jin Chaoyan organized her thoughts but couldn’t find any memories of family affection from the original owner’s fragmented mind. She only found it troublesome. Since she didn’t know the full story, she couldn’t simply refuse…

Wait, it’s not entirely impossible to find out about the original owner’s past.

She suddenly opened her violet eyes and looked at Chiyana. “Can you help me find a private investigator? The kind who knows the insider secrets of domestic corporations. The sooner, the better.”

Chiyana, who couldn’t keep up with her thought process, was stunned but instinctively replied, “Yes, of course. Please wait a moment.”

The all-capable butler once again lived up to expectations.

The next morning, Jin Chaoyan received a large email. It clearly listed all the main and branch family members of the Konoe family, from their careers and families to their private relationships, all laid out in detail.

She had planned to put on a face mask while reading, but she found the file was too big and would take more than a few minutes to browse. So she decided to hire a high-end styling team to come to the hotel. While they prepared her outfit and makeup for the family dinner, she was engrossed in the gossip about her family.

The current head of the Konoe family, Hiroemon Konoe, had two sons and two daughters with his former wife, who died while giving birth to Jin Chaoyan. He later remarried the youngest daughter of the Sanyu family, with whom he had another son and daughter.

Jin Chaoyan flipped through a full fifty pages about the Konoe family’s assets, and the list of prestigious corporations was breathtaking.

The wealth of the original owner’s two brothers and one sister was also considerable. The document labeled these individuals as “heirs.”

Flipping another page, Jin Chaoyan suddenly saw her own profile picture. The interesting note next to it read: Abandoned Child.

Compared to the “heir” treatment her siblings received, her twenty-odd properties looked quite shabby. Her marriage record was even simpler.

Marital Status: Married. To the head of the Disciplinary Foundation. Unclear background, a sudden rise to power, unclear business, and unknown overseas assets. Most domestic assets are in Nanimori. (Note: Predicted to have a slim chance of joining the top ten corporations).

“Madam?”

The makeup artist was working on her eyebrows and, seeing her suddenly laugh uncontrollably, moved her hand away and asked with a puzzled look.

Jin Chaoyan quickly apologized. She felt a strong urge to send this note to Hibari Kyoya himself but then remembered that they were a couple only in name and weren’t even chat friends. She could only amuse herself.

Thinking of that man, she recalled that after changing clothes and packing her things, she couldn’t find the modified gemstone ring that Chiyana had sent to her.

—It seems they were simply destined not to have that connection.

Jin Chaoyan stopped smiling, lowered her eyes, and continued to read the Konoe family story.

…

6:45 PM.

The banquet hall of the Imperial Hotel.

At the entrance of the hall, which was decorated in a traditional Japanese style, a girl who had just changed out of her high school uniform and into a cute dress was pulling on a noblewoman’s hand and pouting. “Mom, I promise I’ll be more careful with my allowance next time. Please, I really want to order that watch.”

“Kazumiko, mind your manners. Is this the etiquette I taught you?”

The noblewoman was covered in luxury brands. She wore a set of luxurious emeralds around her neck, and her face was extremely well-preserved, without a single wrinkle. The color of the emeralds gave her the dignified image of a married woman.

The girl, who was quietly scolded, didn’t dare to act up. She stood properly, and even smiled and greeted a guest who was passing by. After a few pleasantries, she returned to her mother’s side and whispered:

“But my eldest sister bought a Queen Victoria crown at an auction yesterday. The price of the watch I want is not even worth mentioning compared to hers…”

“She’s an heir, and you haven’t even graduated from high school.”

The beautiful woman frowned slightly. After a moment, she sighed, took her daughter’s hand, and whispered, “Kazumiko, didn’t I promise you? After you graduate from university, you will have your own share, whether it’s from the Konoe family or the Sanyu family. There’s no need to be jealous of your older siblings.”

“Jealous?”

Kazumiko Konoe acted as if she had heard the most ridiculous word. She opened her mouth for a long time, then said, “I can forget about those three. But someone useless like Jin Chaoyan, Mom, do you think I need to be jealous of her?”

“…”

Seeing her mother speechless, as if in silent agreement, and having spent the entire afternoon failing to get what she wanted, Kazumiko Konoe took out her phone in a huff and moved to the side. Her mother called out to her, but seeing that she wasn’t listening, she could only let her be.

“Miss Konoe, I just got news from other stores that the last one in the country has been sold…”

The high school student who had just taken out her phone received this devastating news.

Her eyes widened. In the bright light of the banquet hall’s chandeliers, she was about to call her sales assistant when she caught a reflection of light in her peripheral vision. She instinctively followed it.

What she saw was a fair wrist, but what drew her attention was not the hand itself but the watch on it. From the watch face to the strap, it was adorned with rhombic gemstones and small, embedded diamonds. The alternating blue and white colors made it look like blue daisies growing on her wrist.

It was both elegant and flamboyant.

Kazumiko Konoe’s eyes widened. Wasn’t this the dream watch she had been begging for all afternoon but couldn’t buy?

She reluctantly moved her gaze up, following the wearer’s custom-made mermaid-style gemstone-blue dress. She was then startled by the beautiful swan-feather earrings until her eyes met the light purple ones—

“Kazumiko, it’s been a while.”

Jin Chaoyan recognized her face. Although she already knew about her fake relationship with her family, she still greeted her politely.

Immediately after, she saw her half-sister’s expression turn from sudden understanding and shock to a slightly twisted one.

“?”

Jin Chaoyan turned to check her makeup using the hotel corridor’s clean, reflective wall.

In front of her, the person who had just said it was impossible for her to be jealous was now staring intently at her wrist.

Impossible!

How could a pauper like Jin Chaoyan afford her dream watch!

Absolutely impossible!

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