"Chi-Chi, this is a very big house." Her mother walked around the house observing its extravagant décor and luxurious furniture. It was almost similar to their previous house which had they had sold off to pay their debts. "How much did you spend?"
"We can afford it mother. " She said without batting an eye.
"It has six bedrooms." Her youngest brother announced very loudly from upstairs. He was happy because he would not have to share a bedroom with his two older brothers anymore.
"The parking space is ample. It's too bad that we don't have a car." Her father said while looking out of the widely arched windows.
"Soon we will all have our own cars." Chi Lian announced.
Nobody in the family doubted or questioned her anymore. One step at a time, she was proving to them that she was a woman of means.
Her mother Li Wuxi was now feeling more confident in hosting people over. Perhaps it was time for their family to meet Chi-Chi's fiancé and his parents.
"Chi-Chi, we have not seen your fiancé around lately? Since we have moved, maybe we should invite him over for dinner." She suggested.
Chi Lian realized that she had yet to fill her family in on the unscrupulous betrayal of Ji haolin and their cousin Wen Li.
"Mother we should all forget that bastard. That relationship is over and done with." She said nonchalantly.
"Oh." Her brothers were stunned.
"Why?" her father asked.
Everyone knew how much Chi Lian loved Ji haolin. She would drop everything she was doing and run to him whenever he called. Her brothers hated him because to them he was a good digger and a liar. But Every time they spoke to her about it, she would get mad and ignore them for days. Eventually, they came to grudgingly accept him as part of her life.
"What do you think happened between them?" Chi Zimo whispered a little too loudly. He was clearly pretending to be discreet.
Li Wuxi assumed that her daughter was sad and torn up about the break up. She pointed at Chi Zimo angrily, "Stop asking about your sister's private matters."
"But I am just asking what we all want to know." He mumbled. He was always the scape goat in this family.
"You need to be beaten." She replied.
"I don't want to know." Chi Wei pretended.
"Did he hurt you?" Her father asked.
Chi Lian knew that the only way to end Ji haolin's topic in the house was to tell the truth. Especially because he was dating their cousin so they would bump into him occasionally.
"I caught him in bed with Wen Li." She blurted.
"Wen Li, Our cousin. Are you sure?"
"Yes I am. And they tried to kill me after I caught them. I was just lucky to survive."
"So it was not enough for Aunt Li Chien and her family to throw us out of their house after all we had done for them in the past. Her daughter went ahead to steal your fiancé. Mother, you have a really wicked family." Chi Rui shook in head in disappointment and utter disgust.
"I am going to fight them. How dare they make a fool out of my daughter?" Mama Chi was heaving. Her family which she pulled out of poverty by providing financial support to when they were still wealthy had rejected them and turned them out in their hard days. Their viciousness was a gift which would forever remain unforgotten.
Chi Lian was touched to see her family so ready to go to war for her. Tears welled in her eyes.
"I am okay. Really, I am okay." She assured them.
"My poor daughter," Mama Chi cried, "You have suffered a lot in secret."
"Don't cry mother. I realized that I don't love that bastard anymore after that moment. The only business I have left with him now is to recoup my investment in his company. He forged the papers to make himself sole owner so I will destroy that company rather than watch him enjoy the fruits of my hard earned labor."
"Sis, you can count on me for support." Chi Zimo said.
"Me too." Chi Wei declared.
"And don't forget about me." Chi Rui waved.
The four siblings gathered in a circle and laughed.
The family had endured hardships and betrayal, but good days were coming. Hope was bubbling within their hearts.
"I should prepare dinner." Mama Chi headed to the kitchen. She checked the fridge and cabinets but there was no food in the house.
"Someone should go shopping." Papa Chi looked at the three boys expectantly.
They looked at the ground and pretended not to see his determined gaze.
"I will go Chi Lian." laughed.
"Why are you boys leaving everything to your sister?" Papa Chi banged his walking stick on the floor.
"I don't mind. I was going out anyway." She waved goodbye and left the house.
On her way out, she saw Jun Muyang again. He was holding a cup filled with a hot beverage. She smiled and waved at him.
He closed the curtain.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, such a cold man." She sighed.
"Such a wonderful man," T4 sighed. He could not help but think of all the things Jun Muyang could accomplish on planet Corl.
"Yo T4, need I remind you that you are a male fox. You should not be admiring another man." She laughed.
"Don't make fun of me. Work on a plan to make him fall in love with you so that you can procreate."
Chi Lian rode her motorcycle to the nearest supermarket. On the way, she sent her drones out to find picture worthy moments around the biggest entertainment companies in the city that she could share on her account.
"Target acquired." T4 informed her.
On the screen, she saw two tall handsome men, engaged in a game of golf. She was not yet familiar with the celebrities of this world.
"That's not an entertainment company. Who are they?"
"Prince Long Fen and Professor Tao Yichen, they are two of the most wanted bachelors in this empire. Any news about them is a trending topic on the internet but sadly little is known about them. And the best part of it is that they both fall under class S and A in mental strength. They will fetch you a good number of points."
She nodded her head and said, "Capture."
She pulled out her phone and typed,
["My dear little peep stars, it has come to my attention that our Prince Long and Young professor Tao enjoy golfing. Perhaps, the lucky woman who wants to win one of their hearts should work on her golfing skills."]
Below the post, she inserted the edited pictures T4 had prepared.
"P.S , for those who need some more pictures for their personal collection, I charge one hundred yuan per picture."
She leaned back on her bike and waited for the points to rack up. Less than a minute later, Her phone would not stop pinging.
"Eh, T4. Has the post gone viral that fast?"
"You underestimate how many women in this empire have alerts for any news on the five most eligible bachelors of the empire.
"Who are they by the way? Those five men." she asked.
"Prince Long Fen, Prime minister Kang Yuze, Professor Jun Muyang, Professor Tao Yichen and Professor Huang Bolin."
With each name T4 mentioned, a picture was attached.
"Wow." Chi Lian exclaimed at the sight before her eyes. "Look at all these flower boys." She rubbed her palms together." Each of them must be worth a lot of points."
"Yes. We should concentrate on them the most." T4 folded his paws like a boxer ready for a fight.
"I can see you drooling you sly fox."
"That's because my functions are limited. My energy level needs to go from red to orange." It whined. "They are walking fuel for me."
"We will get them all." Chi Lian assured him and herself. "Why is that ice cube on the list though?" she pointed at Jun Muyang. "Which sane woman would want a man that has such cold eyes?"
"Asks the woman whose heart was beating like an over speeding plane in his presence." T4 sneered.
"What did you say? Do you want me to put you in sleep mode?"
"I said my heart was beating like an over speeding plane when we met him." T4 laughed.
"Is the money coming in?"
"Yes. I have set up an automatic system which sends a picture after receiving cash. You just need to sit back and relax.
"How much have we made so far?"
"Twenty thousand Yuan."
"In just under twenty minutes. Wow. We have found a gold mine T4." Chi Lian was thrilled. She got on her motorbike to head back home. The groceries were in her storage space. She had even purchased some seeds to exchange for technology when she deemed it fit.
On the way home, she passed by a trash bin next to a children's playground. She heard a cry that sounded like a kitten stuck somewhere. Chi Lian was an animal lover. She could never resist saving a wounded animal
"T4, scan the environment." She parked her bike.
"It's a child. It looks abandoned. The most surprising thing about this is that it has an S level mental strength!"