After Being Taken by the Eldest Young Lady - Chapter 1

Fang Yize led a massive group of students from Yuegang No. 1 Middle School into a restaurant.

She had booked the entire venue in advance to celebrate her class winning first place in the campus sports meet for the first time. The restaurant was situated at the entrance of Willow Street, seeing high foot traffic every day because of its large portions; on average, a person could eat until they were stuffed for only thirty yuan.

These students were boarders whose homes were very far from the school. They didn’t necessarily return home even once a month, and their lives revolved entirely around the school cafeteria. They often wanted to try the roadside stalls outside the school for a change of pace, but school leaders chased vendors away from the gates every day. Over time, few vendors were willing to set up shop there. Thus, the chance to eat at an outside restaurant made them incredibly excited.

Although the average cost was only thirty yuan per person, this group of students ate like “reincarnated starved ghosts.” The total expense was not small, but for Fang Yize, it carried absolutely no financial pressure.

Her family had been the wealthiest in Yuegang since her ancestors’ time, a legacy that had continued unbroken to this day. Her mother was a “strongwoman” in the workplace whose professional prowess was easily a match for her father’s. Their family owned numerous branch companies both domestically and abroad; her father and mother were even competitors in business.

As for Fang Yize herself, the teaching position she took after graduating from university was the lowest-earning job in the entire family. She worked herself to the bone every day for a meager salary of four or five thousand yuan. For instance, right now, she could have been lying comfortably in a villa spanning thousands of square meters being waited on by servants, but instead, she was here accompanying a group of fourteen- and fifteen-year-old teenagers, chatting while they ate.

They were shouting at the top of their lungs in excitement, making Fang Yize’s head ache. She stood up to go to the restroom, hoping for some peace and quiet. Just as she pushed open the door of her stall to leave, she heard two people arguing in the innermost part of the restroom.

She had no intention of interfering and was about to leave after washing her hands and touching up her makeup, but she was startled by a very crisp sound of a slap.

“Aren’t you the one complaining about your low salary as an old employee? We invited you to spend a night at the boss’s house and you weren’t willing, so who are you showing that long face to now?”

“If it weren’t for the fact that you’re somewhat capable, do you really think we would keep a person like you for so long?”

The girl who had been hit lowered her head and bowed in apology. “I’m sorry, Manager. I won’t bring up the matter of a raise again.”

“You certainly know when to yield, but don’t think I’ll forgive you so easily!” The female manager lit a cigarette and continued, “There’s a teacher outside who booked the place for half the day. Those students can really eat. All the plates they finish will be washed by you.”

Fang Yize could truly listen no longer. She tossed her lipstick into her bag, took two or three steps into the inner corner, and reached out to pull the girl—who had her back to her—behind herself. Both of them looked at Fang Yize with great surprise.

“Is this how you bully people? An old employee asking for a raise has to sleep with the boss? Is this a decent restaurant you’re running?”

The manager let out an incredulous laugh and said, “Fine, Jiang Xule, you brought a helper this time, did you? If you don’t want to work, then get lost!”

“Jiang…” Fang Yize’s heart jolted when she heard the name.

Upon hearing the manager’s words, Jiang Xule panicked and prepared to bow and apologize again. However, Fang Yize grabbed Jiang Xule’s wrist and pulled her outward.

“Fine, we’re leaving! There are plenty of good jobs in this world. It’s not worth suffering such grievances for a salary of just over two thousand yuan!”

Fang Yize frequently lifted weights and had significant arm strength, but Jiang Xule also performed heavy labor every day. Fang Yize had no advantage and was shaken off at the restroom entrance.

“Who are you? Mind your own business!”

Fang Yize turned to look at Jiang Xule, intending to comfort her and tell her not to be sad about losing an unworthy job, but she was cut off by a cold sneer.

Upon seeing Fang Yize’s face, Jiang Xule’s thoughts were dragged back to six years ago without any defense.

Fang Yize had climbed through a window into the dormitory building in the middle of the night with Sun Lin, clutching snacks and wheat beer bought from an off-campus supermarket. Their movements were exaggerated and the noise was not small. The moonlight spilled through the window. Fang Yize, wearing a baseball cap, had an expression that was hard to see. She only heard her whisper a warning: “Go to hell! You’re not allowed to tell the teacher!”

A delinquent girl from a rich family—it was best to stay as far away from her as possible.

But since then, Jiang Xule could always feel Fang Yize following behind her. Whether it was going to the cafeteria after school or going home for a long holiday—one time, in an attempt to shake her off, she had even accidentally fallen into a drainage ditch. Later, Jiang Xule sought out a classmate who could read Tarot cards. The classmate was a novice and couldn’t explain it clearly; Jiang Xule only took in keywords like “Mercury retrograde” and “bad luck.”

Everything made sense then. Ever since she encountered Fang Yize in the dormitory that night, her luck had been consistently bad. Consequently, she had held a grudge against Fang Yize for six years. Now, seeing her again after many years and losing her job because of this restaurant reunion, she felt that Fang Yize was a jinx specifically meant to haunt her, someone she could never shake off.

Willow Street was prosperous, as crowded as a New Year’s celebration every day. However, the residential area in the latter half of the street formed a sharp contrast with the front. In the old and dilapidated commercial buildings, cockroaches ran rampant in the corridors. Mosquitoes and flies filled the air year-round, and dead rats were left unhandled for days, leaving a stench that could reach from the first floor to the top.

The people living here were either elderly people with no children to support them, young people working hard to struggle upward, or middle-aged couples with families who argued incessantly over trivial matters. Jiang Xule belonged to the second category.

She lived in a rented room for three hundred yuan a month. The space was cramped; the bed was pressed against the sofa in the living area, and the bathroom was a partitioned section of the kitchen. The only thing that made the room look slightly less bleak was a balcony that looked incredibly dismal itself. Overgrown with weeds—that was the only way to describe it.

The door was broken, the windows leaked wind, the curtains didn’t block light, and the room wasn’t soundproof. But this was already the cheapest house Jiang Xule could rent in Yuegang City.

Today, the manager was truly furious. There was no room for negotiation regarding Jiang Xule’s job. Even if she could go back to work, the requirements would certainly be unmentionable. In a way, she had escaped a sea of bitterness. However, a job—regardless of which period of Jiang Xule’s life it was—was always very important.

And what about Fang Yize? She was the daughter of the wealthiest family; naturally, she could say those high-sounding words without blinking. It was truly a case of “Why don’t they eat meat?”

After the victory banquet with the students ended, Fang Yize had another gathering to attend. Tomorrow was the weekend, and she always had plans on Friday nights.

There was a lounge bar in Willow Street called [Moonlight]. She didn’t go there often because her friends rarely invited her to lounge bars; it was usually bars, nightclubs, or various high-priced restaurants with different styles.

As soon as Fang Yize entered, she smelled a heavy aroma of wine. It was quiet, with only the singing of the resident performer and the clinking of glasses audible. Everyone spoke in very low voices.

“Babe! Over here!” Sun Lin raised her hand and shouted toward Fang Yize.

They were sitting in a corner, but in front of a floor-to-ceiling window. Besides Sun Lin, there were two other girls taking photos of each other. Seeing Fang Yize arrive, they put down their phones and hurriedly poured her a drink.

“Five minutes late. A penalty drink first.”

Fang Yize had a good tolerance for alcohol; she drank the glass of whiskey as if it were a soft drink.

Sun Lin asked, “How was it? Did it go smoothly?” She was asking about Fang Yize’s banquet with the students.

Fang Yize thought for a moment, sighed, and said, “Smooth, and yet not smooth.”

“What happened? Where did you guys eat?”

“Just that restaurant at the entrance of Willow Street. The environment and food were fine, but the staff there were terrible!” Fang Yize spoke and took another sip of wine, angrily stuffing two pieces of fried chicken into her mouth.

Sun Lin nodded to show she understood. “Going out to eat happily only to encounter a disappointing server is indeed frustrating.”

“That’s not even the main thing!” Fang Yize’s eyes widened.

“Is there something even more outrageous?”

Fang Yize was very excited. “Guess who I ran into there? Jiang Xule! The Jiang Xule from Class 1 of No. 15 Middle School!”

Back then, No. 15 Middle School was known as the “Primeval Forest School” of Yuegang. It was surrounded by layers of mountain forests and was a boarding school. It was virtually impossible to go out and buy food because one had to walk five kilometers just to see a bus station.

Sun Lin recalled the name carefully and then realized. “The one… the one you had a crush on in high school? The top student from the class next door?”

“Wait, she’s a server at Fanjin Restaurant? Didn’t you like her so much that you even collected the pen refills she threw away? How come after six years, you think she’s terrible now?”

Suddenly reminded of the stupid things she did as a student, Fang Yize felt a sudden wave of embarrassment, but she immediately replied: “I was talking about her superior! The manager of that shop was exploiting her, telling her to sleep with the boss, and even slapped her!”

Jiang Xule had been a prominent figure at No. 15 Middle School, solely because of her academic grades. Every time, she was at the top of the rankings by a landslide. Her essays often became models circulated among various classes.

Fang Yize had a tendency to admire the strong. Encountering such an outstanding girl during her first awakening of feelings, she had been nursing a crush for three whole years.

Just as Sun Lin said, Fang Yize would collect things related to Jiang Xule—not just pen refills, but even the milk bottles she threw away. She would pick them up and wash them clean to either raise small fish or use them for planting flowers. Jiang Xule loved drinking pure milk, which explained why she grew so tall. Over time, Fang Yize had collected a whole box of milk cartons, to the point where she didn’t know what else to use them for.

The reason Fang Yize hadn’t seen Jiang Xule for six years was that Jiang Xule skipped the Gaokao (college entrance exam). Just when everyone thought she would achieve an excellent score, get into a prestigious university, and create a historic moment for No. 15 Middle School, she skipped the exam.

No one knew where she went afterward. In short, Fang Yize—who had planned to gather her courage and confess after the Gaokao—had stayed in her room crying for a long time. Her parents even thought she was crying so miserably because she had failed her exams.

“Could it be because she didn’t take the Gaokao that she’s ended up like this?” Sun Lin couldn’t imagine it. What was the difference between this and a “Flower of the High Peaks” falling from grace?

The more Fang Yize thought about it, the more heartbroken she felt.

“Why do you think she didn’t take the Gaokao back then? Why did she suddenly vanish without a trace?”

She knew, of course, that Sun Lin couldn’t answer her, but she desperately wanted an answer.