Rebirth: A Cinderella's Counterattack

Luo Qianqian hurriedly packed, and then left the bedroom, only to see Jimo Cheng picking up a book and reading it seriously on the couch, with a steaming cup of coffee placed in front of him.

”Awake?” Jimo Cheng, listening to the sound of the door, looked up, his calm eyes tinged with a hint of a smile, ”If you’re tired, sleep a bit more.”

Luo Qianqian quickly shook her head, ”Not tired anymore, Senior Brother, what book are you reading now?” She felt that Jimo Cheng seemed to be always reading, which indeed suited his temperament, but how could there be so many interesting books?

Jimo Cheng inserted a bookmark, closed the book, and showed Luo Qianqian the cover, which she didn’t need to look at to recognize the four words that read: Painting and Mood.

No wonder Jimo Cheng was able to succeed beyond his level, constantly studying his specialty. It wouldn’t work for Luo Qianqian, though. Even though she studied computer science, it had only been a choice of serendipity and coincidence.

”Senior Brother is so diligent...” Luo Qianqian admired sincerely, with admiration spelled out from her heart to her eyes.

Jimo Cheng sighed, deciding it was better not to tell her it was homework assigned by Jimo Kong. He might as well enjoy the little moment of admiration, and he was afraid the truth might make Luo Qianqian run for the hills.

”What would you like to eat? Shall we eat here or go out later to try some local snacks?” Jimo Cheng asked gently, even though he usually had a fixed diet and often felt unwell after eating outside food. But if it was with Luo Qianqian, he was quite willing; he liked watching her easily satisfied smile.

Luo Qianqian hesitated for a moment: ”Let’s eat here.” It wasn’t that she wasn’t interested in the street food, she was just afraid it might be some bizarre food that looked unappetizing.

Then eating it might lead to questioning life itself.

Jimo Cheng chuckled as if he understood exactly what Luo Qianqian was thinking.

——

”My goodness, Senior Brother, can there really be...” Soon, the two found the person in charge of Jimo Family’s latest stock at the Jade Trading Market, and Luo Qianqian was still marveling at the stones.

The elderly man dressed in a black Tang suit slightly bowed to them: ”Young Master Jin Nian, Miss Jin Yuee.”

Luo Qianqian, surprised, quickly followed Jimo Cheng’s lead with a bow and greeted him: ”Elder Hei, hello.”

”Is this Miss Jin Yuee’s first encounter with these?” Elder Hei asked, chuckling.

”How did you know?” Luo Qianqian was astonished.

Elder Hei covered his mouth with his hand while Luo Qianqian, not understanding, looked towards Jimo Cheng but noticed he too had a smile tugging at his lips. What was going on?

”Jin Yuee, those you mentioned just now are Marble, won’t the real Gambling Stones just piled at the roadside get stolen?” Jimo Cheng couldn’t bear to see Luo Qianqian’s bewildered face and spoke up to explain.

Luo Qianqian’s face turned red with embarrassment, she knew it, why were they all the same shape...

”Hehehe... I’ve made Senior Brother and Elder Hei laugh,” Luo Qianqian said, patting her forehead but maintaining a carefree appearance.

Elder Hei nodded slightly, admiring her young but easy-going nature.

”Shall we go in and have a look?” Elder Hei invited Luo Qianqian.

Luo Qianqian nodded repeatedly, but then quickly restrained her excitement and looked towards Jimo Cheng, who smiled and said, ”Let’s go.”

As they walked, Elder Hei was telling Jimo Cheng about the stones they were planning to bid on and which ones had caught their eye for the silent auction.

But then he saw Luo Qianqian standing still, not following, looking dazed in front of the trading stall: ”Jin Yuee?” Jimo Cheng immediately went back to find Luo Qianqian, knowing that the security here was not as good as back home, especially for a young girl like her.

”Do you like anything?” Jimo Cheng looked at the stones on the stall, which were all quite ordinary and none were particularly remarkable.

Luo Qianqian nodded her head. She didn’t understand, but she knew this thing was attracting her.

Without even asking the price, Jimo Cheng took out his card. The vendor, seeing the two of them like this, was about to charge an exorbitant price but then saw Elder Hei coming over with some people, ”Miss Jin Yuee has made a move so quickly?”

Luo Qianqian chuckled without explaining. There was simply something about it that attracted her, inexplicably making her feel like she wanted it.

Seeing Elder Hei, the vendor immediately shrank his neck. This was a person from the Jimo Family, how could he not recognize him? The Jimo Family was a big client every year, certainly not someone his likes could come into contact with.

Seeing how things were, these two kids must be young masters and misses. He could only smile painfully, ”Oh, it’s Elder Hei. Whatever the miss has taken a fancy to, just take it. Let’s consider it making a new friend.” He indeed wanted to take advantage of these young masters and misses and charge them a high price, but if he got on the blacklist of the Jimo Family, he wouldn’t even have his stall’s spot in the future.

Luo Qianqian secretly rolled her eyes. She clearly saw the hidden gleam in the boss’s eyes just now, clearly wanting to scam someone.

Her eyes rolled around, and she didn’t pick up the piece her clan wanted, but instead she chose quite a large one, ”Senior brother, foot the bill.”

The boss had no choice but to weigh it and calculate the money. Luo Qianqian, pretending to be casual, glanced at the numbers and frowned slightly, ”I don’t like this number, add another piece... I don’t like this number either, add another piece.” The second addition was when she finally added the stone she truly liked. Although she acted nonchalant, her slightly reddened ears caught Jimo Cheng’s attention. He raised an eyebrow and said nothing, but a smile spread across his face.

Then, pretending to be disappointed, ”That should be it, senior brother foot the bill.”

Jimo Cheng calmly paid the bill.

Elder Hei also approached, ”Miss Jin Yuee, would you like to have the stone cut?”

Luo Qianqian paused for a moment and pointed to the largest one, ”Go ahead and cut it open, let’s see what I’ve bought.” Then she pointed to the other two pieces, ”These two are for the fish tank at home, I think they’ll match well.” The big stone was then taken to be cut open publicly.

”Okay,” Jimo Cheng nodded calmly, taking back the card handed over by the boss.

Elder Hei was baffled as he watched Luo Qianqian occasionally looking back at the stone and asked, ”Miss Jin Yuee, what is this...”

”It’s just being a bit more cautious,” Jimo Cheng chuckled lightly, shaking his head. After all, she was still a child, unable to completely hide her emotions.

”Stop looking, it won’t disappear,” Jimo Cheng said in a low voice.

Luo Qianqian paused, realizing she had been too obvious and scratched her head awkwardly.

”Hey? Boss, how much for this one?” Luo Qianqian stopped again, while Jimo Cheng had a face full of helplessness. They were still on the peripheries, after all.

”Three thousand per piece, that’s the lowest.”

”Ah, then this one, this one, and that one over there, no, the one a bit further aside.” Luo Qianqian happily directed the boss to fetch the stones, then looked towards Jimo Cheng, ”Senior brother...”

Jimo Cheng helplessly took out his card again.

Elder Hei almost went dark and fell forward as he watched Luo Qianqian commanding the movement of the Gambling Stones at the stall, his head full of black lines. ”What are you planning to do?” he asked.

Luo Qianqian was taken aback for a moment. She could hardly say that she just had a strange feeling, right? Hesitating for a moment, ”I think these few match well with those others, they’d be nice for the fish tank.”

Her face full of innocence made it difficult for Elder Hei to voice his usual persuasions about gambling for fun. He could only nod his head. After all, it was her first time here, and curiosity was inevitable. Besides, the prices here were cheap. The expensive ones inside were very fragile and could collapse if one miscalculated; even a millionaire could go broke in an instant.

On the flip side, getting it right could lead to a sudden surge in wealth, but how easy could that be?