The Female Lead Decides to Act Wickedly

He Tiantian is familiar with both versions of the plot, so she knows better than anyone about Zhao Yan’s ”change.”

Whether in the original plot, or in the second version that got hijacked by the virus, Zhao Yan, because of her inferiority complex about her family, tried desperately to use money to dress herself up.

In order to build and maintain her ”rich and beauty” persona, she racked her brains to get money out of her real mother.

Seven or eight thousand yuan a month was enough to cover a month’s expenses for a family of three.

Yet it still couldn’t satisfy Zhao Yan’s needs.

Every time Zhao Yan called He Xiutian, it was either asking for money or asking for money. She was like a bottomless pit, and no matter how hard He Xiutian tried, she could never fill it up.

And now, He Tiantian had given Zhao Yan a respectable identity.

Placed her in a brand-new, more upscale environment, where she was influenced by how many truly successful people behaved and handled things, and her mindset started to change.

Money can indeed beef up a vulgar person’s courage.

But money isn’t the most important thing, and certainly not the only thing.

Just from the people Zhao Yan dealt with every day or the stories she heard, she no longer needed to desperately throw money around to prove herself.

She could casually mention some funny story about a neighbor, or just randomly pick up a phone call, and that would be enough to show her ”extraordinary family background.”

Her roommates, and even her classmates, started looking at Zhao Yan with curiosity and envy.

And that kind of gaze isn’t something you can get just by furiously burning cash.

Feeling the change in people’s attitude around her, Zhao Yan instead became even more ”at ease.”

Even if she went to the cafeteria to eat with her roommates, instead of deliberately going for stir-fry places or restaurants off campus, nobody would laugh at her or think she was shabby and poor.

”Yup yup, this is exactly it: when rich people eat at street stalls, they’re ’down-to-earth,’ but when poor people do it, it’s just because they’re poor!”

Zhao Yan secretly summed up this differential treatment for herself.

And that was indeed the truth.

Seeing that she no longer fussed so much over food and clothes, people around her not only didn’t make fun of her, they actually found her more ”approachable.”

...So Zhao Yan’s spending actually shrank a lot.

With fifteen hundred a month in living expenses, she could even save a small half of it.

Of course, the fact that Zhao Yan spent less money, besides her shift in mindset, also had other reasons—

Clothes, shoes and such, her real mother ”He Xiutian” would regularly help her stock up on.

Cosmetics, little accessories and the like, her cheap older sister Qiao Jianan would send her some from time to time.

Qiao Jiamu was a big man, but he had a wife, and his wife was very grateful to ”He Xiutian.”

Because with this ”stepmother” around, the couple no longer had to worry about Qiao Zhenbang.

You have to know, the old man had a cerebral infarction; he needed someone by his side to take care of him.

If things went badly, he might end up with a full-blown stroke in the future.

Although Qiao Jiamu had settled abroad, deep down he was still a standard Hua Country man.

And as a Hua Country man, especially as a son, supporting his parents and being filial to his only father was a responsibility he could not and would not shirk.

If Qiao Zhenbang ever lost the ability to take care of himself... tsk tsk, just thinking about it made Qiao Jiamu’s wife’s heart tremble.

Fortunately, Qiao Zhenbang had remarried, and his new wife was very capable, very attentive and considerate.

With this ”stepmother” around, all Qiao Jiamu and his wife needed to do was what they’d always done: give Qiao Zhenbang a video call every week, or go back to Hua Country once or twice a year.

So, toward ”He Xiutian,” maybe Qiao Jiamu’s wife couldn’t be too close emotionally, but she was genuinely grateful in her heart.

She and Qiao Jiamu were both PhD-holding elites with their own careers; you could say they were not short of money.

The only way she could think of to show her appreciation was to send ”He Xiutian” some gifts.

And ”He Xiutian,” what she valued most was her daughter.

So, after talking it over with her sister-in-law Qiao Jianan, Qiao Jiamu’s wife would regularly mail Zhao Yan some clothes, bags, and so on.

Not those ultra-luxury big brands, but some niche light-luxury labels.

The prices weren’t too high, but they had plenty of style.

For young people who value individuality, they were the perfect gifts.

As for Zhao Yan, her vanity got satisfied again and again, and she no longer felt she had to chase after Chanel or LV.

Pieces from up-and-coming foreign designers had more taste, more personality, and could win her classmates’ envious, jealous stares even better.

Besides ”her own people,” Zhao Yan could also receive little gifts from senior brothers and sisters.

Qiao Zhenbang currently had five or six grad students under him. Not to mention any unspoken rules, even just for the sake of building relationships, these students were all extremely warm toward the Qiao Family.