Chapter 2: The Young Lady Has Been Eating Sand for Three Years

Page (1/3)

Mistress Three: "She's talking about her own father."
Right now, I am her father!
Qin Ye, proud and upright, possessed nothing but his sword.
Just a moment ago, if you weren’t the obsession of the original self, I’d have told you to die somewhere else, out of my sight.
But in the next instant, I am her father now—proudly so!
Mistress Three: …
Being a system, it truly didn’t understand the human race very well.
In other words, Qin Ye easily persuaded Qin Yue, feeling immensely proud and metaphorically standing with hands on his hips.
Of course, he only did so in his mind—Mr. Qin still cared about appearances, especially with Mrs. Zhang, the biggest gossip, watching.
Mrs. Zhang was always aligned with Gu Yeting in the story, though she harbored no malice. She liked whatever Qin Yue liked.
The original self’s disdain for Gu Yeting’s actions seemed, in Mrs. Zhang’s eyes, like an old-fashioned attempt to break up lovers, so she secretly aided Qin Yue against the original self.
After dealing with the present situation and absorbing the original self’s memories, Qin Ye diligently went to work.
The original self was a workaholic, with only his daughter able to claim a small portion of his time; the rest was devoted to work.
Meanwhile, after Qin Ye convinced her, Qin Yue completely forgot about asking him for help.
Father is right—Gu Yeting is so proud, how could he possibly accept her help?
She thought she was helping him, but in truth, she was insulting him. Fortunately, her father enlightened her; otherwise, she would have continued down the wrong path.
At the Gu residence, Gu Yeting’s father, Gu Xingten, paced back and forth, occasionally glancing at the composed Mrs. Gu: “Did you really talk to Miss Qin about our family’s situation? Can she truly persuade Chairman Qin to help us?”
Mrs. Gu replied confidently, “Of course she can. Before meeting Miss Qin, I wasn’t certain, but after meeting her, my worries disappeared.
That little thing is clearly infatuated with my son, yet she still maintains her heiress demeanor. If our family didn’t need her, I wouldn’t bother with her.”
Mrs. Gu spoke with disdain.
Gu Xingten reminded her, “What kind of attitude is that? Do you think Miss Qin is just some random person? Her father is Chairman Qin of the Qin Group, and she’s his only daughter. Someday, everything in the Qin family will be hers. If she ends up with Yeting, our family will benefit. Even if you don’t like her, you must put on a good front.
At least while Chairman Qin is alive, you must act flawlessly—make Miss Qin regard you as a loving mother.”
Mrs. Gu snorted, “Do you need to tell me? We’re in our own home, aren’t we? I’m not like this in front of that girl.
Don’t worry. She’s just a young girl who’s never faced hardship and lost her mother early. Handling her won’t take much effort.”
Gu Xingten continued pacing, then frowned, “Call Miss Qin. Tell her you like her very much, and since Yeting likes her too, you’d like them to get engaged.”
“Engaged?”
“Without Chairman Qin’s help, it’s uncertain whether our family can survive this crisis. Do you really think your son is so desirable that everyone’s vying for him? Chairman Qin might not even care for him!”
In Mrs. Gu’s mind, her son was the most eligible bachelor imaginable.
Her son liked Qin Yue, but Qin Yue hadn’t cleaned herself up and offered herself to him, nor had she responded to his affection.
Just for that, Mrs. Gu disliked Qin Yue; now, having to accept this woman she didn’t like as her daughter-in-law?
Mrs. Gu felt deeply resistant.

Page (2/3)

Especially after Gu Xingten added that Chairman Qin might not even care for Gu Yeting, Mrs. Gu instantly resented the entire Qin family.
Gu Xingten couldn’t be bothered with his wife’s thoughts. Nominally, Gu Yeting was his only son, but in truth, he had countless illegitimate children.
If not for Miss Qin and Gu Yeting attending the same school and meeting there, this matter wouldn’t have fallen to Gu Yeting.
Gu Yeting was rebellious both at school and at home, never listening; every encounter between him and Gu Xingten ended poorly. With schools frequently calling parents, Gu Xingten had grown impatient at the mere mention of Yeting’s name.
He’d long considered giving up on Gu Yeting, but Mrs. Gu doted fiercely on her only son.
The interests between Gu Xingten and Mrs. Gu were too entwined; without absolute certainty, he couldn’t confront her directly, lest his own interests suffer.
Since their marriage, Mrs. Gu had lived a smooth life as a wealthy wife, and compared to Gu Xingten, she seemed utterly uncalculating.
Moreover, Mrs. Gu understood little of business matters.
Seeing how much Gu Xingten cared, she began to pay more attention.
She made a special trip to school to meet Qin Yue, and after a few encounters, deliberately acted troubled in front of Qin Yue.
When Qin Yue asked, Mrs. Gu casually confided her family’s difficulties and need for assistance.
Now, Qin Yue regarded Mrs. Gu as a close, reliable elder, and Mrs. Gu naturally had Qin Yue’s contact information.
Urged by Gu Xingten, Mrs. Gu reluctantly called Qin Yue.
At that moment, Qin Yue was dining with Qin Ye.
When her phone rang, Qin Yue immediately looked at Qin Ye.
“Why are you looking at me? If your phone rings, answer it.”
“Oh.”
Qin Yue’s small gesture already told Qin Ye who was calling.
Qin Ye scoffed; the original self’s dislike of Gu Yeting wasn’t without reason.
The Gu family seeks help yet acts as though others should beg to assist them—anyone would find that infuriating.
Qin Yue knew nothing and was simply naive, making her easy prey for Mrs. Gu’s manipulations.
Qin Yue was indeed straightforward, but straightforward people are easy to fool.
The original self grew angry that Qin Yue would hurt herself for outsiders and, seeing she was really willing to do so, felt heartache for his child and lost his temper, agreeing to anything Qin Yue wanted.
Qin Ye, on the other hand, was different; no matter how beautifully he spoke, it was just words.
If Qin Yue remained stubborn and tried to force Qin Ye to help Gu Yeting by threatening herself, Qin Ye would simply regretfully inform Mistress Three that the target’s emotions were too volatile, self-destructed, and the mission failed.
Previously, Qin Yue had promised Mrs. Gu that she would persuade her father to help the Gu family through their crisis.
But having been convinced by Qin Ye, she hadn’t thought of her promise to Mrs. Gu until she saw the call from “Aunt Gu,” which made her feel embarrassed and uneasy about breaking her word.
After some mental preparation, Qin Yue chose to answer the call.
“Aunt Gu, I’m sorry, I misspoke, but Auntie, you should tell Gu Yeting about your family’s difficulties.”
Before Mrs. Gu could exchange pleasantries, Qin Yue apologized and stated her opinion.
Qin Ye: …
Was Qin Yue being a bit too blunt?
But honesty wasn’t a fault, especially when dealing with the Gu family—bluntness was a virtue.

Page (3/3)

Mrs. Gu’s face immediately turned sour. “Misspoke? How could you misspeak? Yue, you promised me, swore you’d persuade your father to help us. Now you say you misspoke and want me to tell Yeting about the family’s troubles? Are you deliberately playing me?”
Qin Yue, though naive, was only trusting—not a pushover.
When Mrs. Gu spoke gently, she was a polite and well-mannered child. Now that Mrs. Gu showed her true colors, Qin Yue was no longer meek, her tone turning cold.
“I only said I’d try, not that I’d definitely persuade my father to help. Besides, I don’t owe you anything, Aunt Gu. Your anger is misplaced.”
With that, Qin Yue hung up.
On the other end, Mrs. Gu raged, smashing things to vent her fury.
Having ended the call, Qin Yue’s mood wasn’t good either.
She’d rarely been treated poorly, especially not in such an unreasonable way.
It was Mrs. Gu who had subtly hinted at needing her help; Qin Yue, because she liked Gu Yeting, agreed to help, hoping her father would assist the Gu family. But that didn’t mean Qin Yue owed them anything.
Mrs. Gu’s tone and attitude made it seem as if Qin Yue had committed an unforgivable crime.
“Dad, I don’t owe her anything, yet she acts as though everything is my fault. If we don’t help, does that make us villains?”
Qin Yue was baffled.
Qin Ye responded carelessly, then added, “Want to know why?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, I’ll arrange for you to study abroad. Once you gain some experience, you’ll understand.”
Qin Yue stared, dumbfounded.
How did it come to this?
“Don’t want to go? That’s fine, too. If you can’t handle hardship, I won’t force you. It’s just a pity—Gu Yeting is such a proud boy, and the person he likes wouldn’t be a pampered heiress who can’t handle hardship…”
“I never said I didn’t want to go.”
Qin Yue poked at her rice. “It’s just a bit sudden.”
“I knew my daughter was a responsible, good child. Good, no time like the present—we’ll leave tomorrow.”
Qin Yue was stunned again. Wasn’t this too fast?
If she was leaving the country, shouldn’t she say goodbye to her friends? Maybe even have a farewell party?
Leave tomorrow—have a party tonight?
Qin Ye made the decision, and his assistant immediately began the arrangements.
Qin Yue opened her mouth several times, but when she met her father’s proud, gratified gaze, she couldn’t bring herself to speak.
It was rare for her father to be proud of her; she didn’t want to ask for a delay and risk disappointing him.
Otherwise, if he thought she was unwilling to endure hardship and changed his mind, what then?
So, that night, Qin Yue simply notified her friends in the country, and the next day, Qin Ye sent her abroad.