Over the next few days, aside from sleeping, Hua Yan spent her time tidying up the room and sorting through her belongings from before. Eventually, she stumbled upon a pile of high-end clothing with unfamiliar brands, as well as many items of clothing with tags still attached, various handbags, designer shoes, and other luxury goods. She laid out an array of dazzling jewelry on a white sheepskin rug.
She couldn't help but marvel at this reflection of the wealthy lifestyle, something she, as an orphan living in an orphanage, had never seen before. In the past, even meals were a problem.
Sitting on the bed, her eyes scanned the room repeatedly. Soon, Hua Yan's eyes sparkled mischievously, and she chuckled evilly as she glanced at the items on the floor.
Her triumphant laughter was suddenly interrupted by Chang Ma's concerned voice calling out, "Miss, what's wrong?" In truth, Chang Ma was more concerned about advising Hua Yan not to despair just because her husband's family didn't want her anymore. After all, she was only in her twenties, and people in their eighties were actively pursuing education. She couldn't give up!
"Oh? Chang Ma, don't worry about me. I'm fine. I just read a really funny joke and couldn't help but laugh out loud," Hua Yan reassured her.
"That's good then. Would you like something to drink, Miss?"
"Not for now. You can go get some rest until dinner. I'm not in a rush," Hua Yan suggested. Chang Ma rose early every morning, while Hua Yan had been sleeping until she naturally woke up for the past few days. She had missed lunch several times already, and Chang Ma had scrambled to prepare meals. Now, without Hua Yan specifically instructing her to prepare breakfast and lunch, Chang Ma would prepare meals on her own around one or two in the afternoon.
"Okay, Miss. Just call me if you need anything."
As she heard Chang Ma's footsteps heading downstairs, Hua Yan playfully stuck out her tongue, turned on her computer, registered an account on Taobao, linked her current phone number, bank card, and email, and finally set up a seller's Taobao account. It didn't take long to get everything sorted out, but Hua Yan felt exhausted. Perhaps it was because the previous Hua Yan had been physically and mentally exhausted and too constrained, leaving her body and mind extremely tired.
In the days since, Hua Yan had learned from Chang Ma's conversations that she had recently been kicked out by the Cheng family and Cheng Jie, the current arbitrator of the Cheng family and Cheng Group. The Cheng family only gave her this villa and fifty thousand yuan before abandoning her like a stranger. Hearing about these things made Chang Ma even angrier than Hua Yan, especially when she talked about Mrs. Cheng and Cheng Jie. It seemed that Hua Yan had suffered a lot from these two people during her time at the Cheng family.
Furthermore, Hua Yan had dropped out of school at the age of nineteen to marry Cheng Jie. At that time, the Hua family sacrificed her for the sake of their company's development. It was no wonder that she had put her father's phone number on the blacklist.
Thinking about her family's indifference, her mother-in-law's disapproval, her husband's lack of love, as well as the third and fourth parties involved, Hua Yan couldn't help feeling distressed.
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As she prepared to go downstairs to make herself a cup of coffee to perk up, she opened the door, only to see Chang Ma coming out of the adjacent study.
"Do you need anything, Miss? Shall I get it for you?" Chang Ma carefully glanced at Hua Yan's face, relieved not to see anything unusual, and smiled kindly.
"No need, I'll make myself a cup of coffee downstairs. Why don't you go get some rest?" Hua Yan suggested.
"My old bones don't need that much rest anymore. I've cleaned the study, so it'll be clean if you want to read," Chang Ma said, her smile growing wider, and she became even kinder. This responsible and considerate side of Hua Yan had earned her even more of Chang Ma's affection.
Seeing the wrinkles on the old woman's smiling face, Hua Yan couldn't help but find Chang Ma adorable. "You go about your business."
As she walked downstairs, Hua Yan remembered something and turned back to instruct Chang Ma, "I might take a nap later, so keep dinner light. I'll be fine with one less meal. A good night's sleep will make me hungry!" It was this last sentence that truly dispelled Chang Ma's attempts to persuade her. She then turned and continued tidying up the study.
After brewing her coffee, Hua Yan returned to her bedroom feeling refreshed and energized. She placed the unpackaged handbags and clothes on the bed, took out her digital camera, and began photographing them. After arranging about twenty handbags and outfits, she uploaded the photos to her Taobao store, pricing them at sixty percent of their original value, as she had seen online. With everything set up, Hua Yan was in exceptionally good spirits.
Selling these branded handbags and clothes online to those who were both vain and financially constrained would allow her to add a substantial sum to her assets. Being poor had made her realize that having money could bring her a sense of security in her new identity.
Lying on the soft bed, Hua Yan couldn't help but wonder if Cheng Jie would be furious to find out that she was selling the things he had given her. If someone with ill intentions found out about this, it would definitely make headlines: "Wealthy young lady divorced, sells off former husband's gifts due to financial difficulties." It would certainly become fodder for gossip, embarrassing the prestigious Cheng family. With this mischievous thought in mind, Hua Yan chuckled to herself. After daydreaming for a while, she felt her eyelids grow heavy and, grabbing a soft pillow, she drifted off to sleep peacefully.
In the evening, after dinner with Chang Ma—four dishes and one soup—Hua Yan asked Chang Ma to take her for a walk in a nearby uniquely designed park. On one hand, she needed to move her body after spending the whole day indoors, and on the other hand, she wanted to familiarize herself with the surroundings of the villa. She planned to start exercising early the next day, fearing that her depleted body would soon succumb to illness. In recent days, she had felt dizzy and bloated when she didn't get enough sleep, and sitting in front of the computer for too long made her heart race irregularly and left her feeling breathless. It seemed that her body had suffered a lot of damage. In order to have a bright future, taking care of her health was the first step in her rebirth.
Upon returning from their walk, Hua Yan found that two people had expressed interest in buying handbags from her Taobao shop. After chatting with them on Wangwang, a messaging platform, she finally managed to sell one handbag and a pair of Italian handmade sandals. After confirming the purchases and receiving payment, she informed them that she would send the items via express delivery the next day. These two orders earned her over eight thousand yuan, and looking at the mountain-like pile of branded items, her heart bloomed with joy, even in her dreams.
The next day, she woke up at six in the morning to go for a run. Since this area was far from the city center and there were no specific polluting factories nearby, the morning air was no different from that of the countryside. Listening to the sweet and crisp calls of the birds in the woods, and watching people doing tai chi, walking with their old partners, and groups of elderly people carrying blue-cloth-covered bird cages, chatting and laughing, lifted her spirits.
However, amidst this harmonious scene, Hua Yan noticed a middle-aged man, around fifty years old, with graying temples, sitting alone and looking around anxiously. When he saw her, he stood up with some excitement.