Chapter 7 This time
Back inside the luxurious birthday hall, Old man Yu, immediately started investigating.
"Luo Feng, my friend, who is that child?" he asked and Luo Feng obviously looked so hesitant to answer.
"She happens to be my granddaughter as well." The old man answered and Yu Zhaohui was surprised and at the same time curious.
"Why she didn't come to greet you a while ago?" He asked and old man Luo pinched the skin between his brows.
"Actually, that child is the most incompetent among all my grandchildren so she rarely appears in banquets like this. She doesn't live in my house anymore. I'm sorry but she is no good," Luo Feng explained. He didn't even hide his extreme dislike towards the girl.
Seeing this, Yu Zhaohui smiled as he patted old man Luo's shoulder.
"My friend, as you can see, it is her whom my grandson desires," he said with a serious tone and Luo Feng's eyes widened. He seemed to be absolutely unhappy with what Yu Zhaohui said. If it was Luo Meili, old Luo Feng would have been brimming with happiness by now but why the hell did the prince ignore her Meili and approach that insignificant child instead? Was Yu Chen blind?
"My friend, are you sure about this? Your grandson simply approached her."
"This is the first time my grandson has approached a woman, you know that."
"But that girl, she's… she's really no good. She's the dumbest among the rest. She couldn't even enter a good university. She brings shame to the Luo family and she's rebellious. Actually, that child was even dressing up as a man. She's no good, I'm telling you now."
"Dressing up as a man?"
"Since she was so useless, I decided to marry her to a good family but she appeared dressed as a man and claimed she liked girls. Can you believe that?"
"Is that why she's not living in your home anymore?"
"Yes. I can't tolerate a shameful grandchild like her!"
"Oh, so she claims she like girls, huh. Good, she's perfect for my grandson then."
"Huh?!"
"Your granddaughter claims she likes girls while my grandson is rumoured to be bent so… don't you think they are a good match for each other?"
"…?!"
Old man Luo was speechless with Yu Zhaohui's words but his extreme displeasure with the idea of Xiaolei and Yu Chen being together only intensified.
Noticing this, Yu Zhaohui finally dropped the coaxing and he spoke like an emperor that no one dared to defy.
"You know I don't care about that anymore. Even if she's a common girl, I wouldn't mind. You know the situation. So come, let's talk about her. I want to know more about this granddaughter of yours." Yu Zhaohui said with an ever so firm and serious tone, causing Luo Feng to be unable to protest anymore.
…
The next day, Luo Xiaolei was about to leave for school when she met her grandfather on her doorway. She was surprised to see this oh so mighty grandfather of hers stepping into this average building she was living in.
"G-grandfather, what brings you here?" Xiaolei asked. The old man was still looking at her as if she was trash, as always.
Well, Luo Xiaolei was already used to it. In her previous life, she did everything she could to please them and make them acknowledge her. She listened to everything they said and she did everything they told her to do. She was like their obedient dog who never once said no to them and back then, she thought that her grandparents genuinely loved and adored her. But she found out she was wrong.
When Xiaolei decided to walk down her chosen path and went against her grandparent's wishes, she realized that the reason why they favoured her back then was because she was useful to them. She realized that they adored not her as a person but because of her skills and talent. They favoured her because she brought glory to their name and because she was the most useful and most obedient.
So now that she decided not to listen to them and decided to carve her own path to follow her heart's desire, they shunned her. They treated her like trash and looked at her like trash. Luo Xiaolei finally understood that her grandparents were no different from her father. They were willing to kick out anyone who wasn't useful to them anymore. She realized that their so called love was measured by ones success, skills and level of obedience.
Realizing this made Luo Xiaolei feel so glad that she decided to go against their will because this time, she wasn't going to waste her life pleasing anyone else again. She wouldn't spend another lifetime working really hard just to win someone else's favour. Not anymore. Because this time, she wanted to spend her life doing what she wanted. This time, she was going to do whatever it took to carve her own destiny without relying on anyone else. She was not going to let anyone or anything, even revenge, enslave her ever again. This time, she decided that she would not pursue people, only her dreams. This time, she would work hard not for the sake of revenge but for her own sake. This time, she would live her life to its fullest.
"Grandfather, I'm sorry but I have a class." Luo Xiaolei said calmly but just by seeing him, somehow, Xiaolei could already feel the arrival of a brewing storm. Well, this mighty Luo Feng, stepping into this kind of place was really a surprise that Xiaolei was sure that whatever his reasons were, he would definitely be bringing nothing but disaster.
"Luo Xiaolei, I personally came here to invite you for dinner. Make yourself presentable. No, I'll send someone to pick you up after your class." Luo Feng's voice was unusually soft but Xiaolei could easily see right through his façade. She wasn't blind that she couldn't see that his words seemed to be forced. But she couldn't say 'no' to him, especially when she was being stared at by her grandfather's body guards.
Thus, in the end, Luo Xiaolei could only remain silent.
When the old man finally left, Luo Xiaolei's expression darkened and she gritted her teeth hard. She knew this was going to come eventually. She was sure that this dinner would be another arranged marriage talk and for her oh so mighty grandfather to personally invite her, somehow, Xiaolei could already tell that the family he chose this time might be more powerful than the Luos.
She managed to evade the previous arranged marriage attempt by claiming she liked girls, making her fiancé-to-be so disgusted with her but she knew that she couldn't escape forever. Well, Luo Xiaolei was already aware of this outrageous culture of the rich, that if you are useless and not powerful enough, your fate will be decided by others, even the man you would marry would be decided by the elders. This was why, back in her previous life, her two sisters were also forced into arranged marriages. She was the only exception because she was strong enough and powerful enough to persuade them.
But it was different now. She still didn't have enough power to go against her forceful grandfather. She prepared herself and she already had a plan but she didn't expect this to come again so soon.
'Damn, I just needed two more months… why did it have to be now?'
…
That day, Luo Xiaolei skipped school and she went and hid herself in her secret base. The place was located in an underground room of Yellowbell's Orphanage and it was her personal music studio. She found this place three years ago as a storage room and she worked hard to transform it into her ideal studio. No one aside from the old orphanage caretakers knew about the place so it remained her secret haven until now.
Luo Xiaolei then spent the day inside the studio and it was already nearly midnight when she stepped out of it.
She felt revitalized because she spent an entire day doing the things her heart desired without any irrelevant interruptions. Her heart felt contented and light. The feeling was indeed different when you are having fun doing the things you are so passionate about.
Time went by and Luo Xiaolei was walking leisurely on the street with a smile on her face. She enjoyed the cold breeze and the night lights of the city. All these things were moments she missed in her previous life. Back then, during this time, she was studying abroad, working so hard without stopping that she didn't even get the chance to experience walking out the streets at night and when she finally became successful, she still couldn't leisurely roam around like this because she was too busy. She couldn't even go out alone without bodyguards because of her status.
Thinking about her previous life, Luo Xiaolei couldn't help but realize how she actually enslaved herself subconsciously. She got blinded by revenge that she forgot how to properly live her life.
Sighing deeply, she raised her face and stared at the dark sky, thanking the gods for giving her another chance. This was still like a dream to her even after four years but she believed that there was a reason why all this happened to her and one day, she would no doubt find out why.