The Beauty with Terrible Luck Falls in Love with a Ghost - Chapter 3

Zuo Lihua drove aimlessly through the streets, not knowing where to go and having nowhere to go.

Her residence was undoubtedly swarmed with cameras. Even ordering takeout would lead to being caught and reported, what if the delivery person turned out to be a journalist barging straight into her home?

Home.

Zuo Lihua let out a low chuckle, the sound stretching longer and longer until it was impossible to tell whether she was laughing or crying.

What home did she have? After more than twenty years of living, it turned out she was nothing but a cuckoo occupying a magpie’s nest. Now that the rightful owner had arrived, she was unceremoniously kicked out.

A sharp honk snapped her back to reality, the light had turned green, and she could go. But her vision was blurred; she had been crying all along.

She was far from as composed as she appeared.

The sun gradually sank behind the mountains, and the city lights flickered on. As a symbol of prosperity, City A never lacked for stories of love and hate, playing out day after day.

To calm her emotions, Zuo Lihua drove a full loop around the ring road. Only when exhaustion set in did she pull over and park somewhere at random.

It was already past eight in the evening.

Zuo Lihua checked into a hotel and ordered room service. While waiting for her meal, she decided to log into her messaging app.

Sitting by the large floor-to-ceiling window with only a small nightlight on, her faint reflection stared back from the glass. The dazzling city lights outside couldn’t penetrate the room, and she felt like a forsaken spirit, waiting alone for a dawn that might never come.

The electronic chime of the doorbell rang.

Zuo Lihua set down her phone and went to retrieve her dinner. A charmingly clumsy robot stood outside, its electronic eyes blinking as it detected her presence. “You are the most adorable person I’ve ever seen in the entire universe. Would you like to take a photo with me?” it said.

Zuo Lihua waved at it. “You’re also the most adorable robot I’ve ever seen in the entire universe. Goodbye.”

Closing the door, she arranged the food and was about to start eating when it suddenly struck her, this was the kindest thing she had heard all day.

Later that evening, she received a call from her agent, Ning Dongbang. Drowsy as she was, Zuo Lihua snapped awake instantly.

“Brother Ning, any updates?”

Ning Dongbang’s voice came through the phone. “You and Ling Mengwei agreed that you’d take the fall for her for three days?”

“Mm…”

“That’s not ideal. For the next few days, don’t go back home. Stay with your parents, treat it as a break and lay low. But your parents already know about this, right? What did they say?”

“Brother Ning,” Zuo Lihua bit her lip hesitantly, “I’m not going back home. I want to stay somewhere else…”

Ning Dongbang seemed to jump to some conclusion. “Understood. I have a vacant villa out in the suburbs, it’s secluded, not many people go there. Would you like to stay there?”

Ning Dongbang was a reliable person, and when he said “secluded”, he meant it, the kind of place even GPS might struggle to find.

It suited Zuo Lihua perfectly. “That works.”

“Alright, since you’re brave enough.” Ning Dongbang agreed readily. “How about I take you to see it tomorrow?”

Zuo Lihua had no objections. After settling on a time to meet the next day, she hung up.

Almost immediately, another call came in. The familiar word “[Mom]” flashed across her screen.

Zuo Lihua’s heart was a turbulent mix of emotions. Strangely enough, after their relationship changed, these word had completely lost their former warmth and instead felt alien to her.

She stared at the caller ID as if seeing it for the first time, only picking up just before the call was about to disconnect.

“Lihua, have you eaten?” Mrs. Zuo’s voice remained unchanged, as affectionate as ever.

Zuo Lihua’s breathing hitched for a moment before she instinctively replied, “Yes.”

A sliver of delusion still lingered in her heart, that they truly meant what they said, that they still considered her their biological daughter. That their current separation was merely because they owed their biological daughter too much, wanting her to adapt to the environment without pressure before Lihua returned.

“Well… it’s like this. Youyou still doesn’t trust us. Your father and I discussed it and decided to give her something tangible.”

Zuo Lihua curled her lips into a smile uglier than tears. “What is it?”

“As our daughter, the company shares you inherited… you see…” Mrs. Zuo’s voice turned cautious, as if afraid she would refuse, a tone Zuo Lihua hadn’t heard in years, as though she were an enemy they had to appease despite holding leverage over them.

Perhaps unnerved by her silence, Mrs. Zuo grew anxious, her breathing heavier. “Don’t worry, we’ll compensate you in other ways. You won’t lose out.”

How exhausting, Zuo Lihua thought. Stripped of the bond of blood, people could truly become nothing to each other.

…

The next day.

At 7:30 a.m., Zuo Lihua was woken by noise. After tidying up and putting on her mask and hat, she went downstairs.

A black car was parked at the hotel entrance. Seeing her emerge, the door opened, and a man in a black suit, stiff and formal in demeanor, stepped out. He opened the rear door and respectfully ushered her inside.

Zuo Lihua glanced at him but said nothing, lowering her head as she slipped into the car.

“Miss, these are the documents you need to sign. There’s breakfast in the bag beside you, you can have something to eat on the way.”

The man explained that he was taking her to complete the procedures for transferring her shares.

He was her “father’s” assistant. She had only agreed yesterday, and today they were already rushing her to hand over her shares.

Zuo Lihua couldn’t even muster a glance. Her slender, pale fingers flipped through the documents. A quick scan revealed they were all share transfer materials. A few pages in, she even found property transfer documents.

The Zuo couple had given her two properties: a villa for her 18th birthday and a shop for her engagement to Huang Gu at 20, intended as her future dowry. Now, they wanted to take it all back.

Given their series of reactions since learning the truth, this decision was… unsurprising.

Zuo Lihua asked woodenly, “May I ask what ‘compensation’ they mentioned for me?”

The assistant glanced at her through the rearview mirror, his tone detached and professional. “The chairman didn’t specify.”

“Mm.” Zuo Lihua responded faintly, turning to look out the window.

The glass reflected her face, exquisitely beautiful beyond words, yet wearing the numb expression that only emerges after sorrow has reached its limit.

At noon, Zuo Lihua and the chairman’s assistant emerged from the government affairs office after completing the procedures.

Under the scorching sun, the assistant glanced at his watch. “It’s about time. I need to report to the chairman. Can you manage your way back on your own, Miss Zuo?”

The government center was far from the commercial district, with few residents, and even catching a taxi required a fifteen-minute walk to the main road.

In the past, Zuo Lihua had always been chauffeured, and the assistant before her was no exception to this distant attitude.

Zuo Lihua looked up. “I’m not feeling well. It’s inconvenient for me to walk.”

The assistant adjusted his glasses, his eyes behind the lenses lowered to the ground. “Miss, shall I take you to South District Road? There’s a bus stop there where you can hail a taxi.”

South District was on the way to the Zuo family company, but she needed to go north.

However, she was no longer the person she used to be. Venting her frustration on an assistant was pointless, as he merely followed “his father’s” orders. His attitude toward her, frankly, reflected “his father’s” current stance.

Zuo Lihua said nothing, took two steps, and got into the car, tacitly agreeing.

She hadn’t eaten. After returning to the hotel and washing her face, she received a call from Ning Dongbang.

Soon after, Ning Dongbang came to pick her up.

“This villa belongs to a friend of mine. He’s abroad and can’t return, so it’s sitting empty. Though it’s a bit remote, the environment is nice, less exhaust pollution, a natural oxygen bar. Take this time to rest properly and don’t overthink things.”

Ning Dongbang offered kind advice. He had also brought Zuo Lihua a snack, grilled sweet potato skin, which he’d picked up on the way. Zuo Lihua had been quite fond of it lately.

Zuo Lihua took small bites of the food, one after another, her movements stiff, her mind clearly elsewhere, as if she hadn’t heard a word he said.

Ning Dongbang ran his tongue over his teeth, thinking for a moment. “Cheer up. Three days isn’t that long. I’ve already explained things to the crew, and it’s not a big issue. Besides, it wasn’t your fault. Once the truth comes out, you’ll gain sympathy. The same number of people criticizing you now will be feeling sorry for you in three days.”

“Brother Ning,” Zuo Lihua stopped eating and asked, “Can that house be rented long-term?”

Ning Dongbang was taken aback. “Huh? Aren’t you going back to your old home?”

“I want to rent it long-term, at least a year.”

“Well… it’s possible, but can you tell me why?”

Zuo Lihua remained silent.

Seeing her like this, Ning Dongbang sighed. “Alright, I won’t pry. As long as it doesn’t affect your work.”

“Thank you, Brother Ning.” After speaking, Zuo Lihua resumed nibbling on the sweet potato skin.

She stared ahead, absentmindedly watching the passing cars, unaware of the fleeting glint in Ning Dongbang’s eyes.