☆, Resurgence
In her previous life, Xiao Banli was a stock market investor and had once worked as a consultant under the Ouyang Group. This was before she got married and before she met Lin Yujia. Lin Yujia had used his proximity to her as a way to buy stocks and pursue her. It was the only time she felt that her looks were an advantage—at least the hotel heir was handsome, charming, and wealthy. He put in a lot of effort to woo her. When her beastly parents saw Lin Yujia, they quickly sent away the Hong Kong businessman they had just hooked up with and began to focus on flattering Lin Yujia. When she rejected him, her parents kept pushing him onto her. Eventually, with their encouragement, she fell into Lin Yujia’s sweet trap like poison, and they fell in love and got married.
At that time, she thought she was lucky despite being a beauty. That was until the arrival of Yuan Muxiao.
Xiao Banli hurried toward the main house. The hall was in disarray—everything was crooked and scattered, quiet and still. The windows were tightly shut, and the cabinets had been ransacked, as if someone had looted the place. It was very cold, a stark contrast to the last time she had been in this hall.
She opened the door to Xiao Fen’s room, which was pitch dark. Xiao Banli reached out to feel for the switch on the wall. When the light came on, she saw Xiao Fen’s large bed. The blanket on the bed was piled up, and Xiao Fen lay there with her eyes tightly shut, her face flushed, her brows furrowed as she endured the pain.
Xiao Banli gently wiped her forehead, and the hot temperature made her frown. She quickly pulled the blanket off Xiao Fen and found her to be very frail as she curled up in bed.
Struggling, Xiao Banli pulled Xiao Fen up from the bed, tore off her clothes, took new ones from the closet, and dressed her. She also changed the bedding. Throughout this time, Xiao Fen remained deeply unconscious.
From the cabinet, Xiao Banli rummaged through some fever-reducing medicine and fed it to Xiao Fen. She felt a bit lost, unsure of what to do. In this situation, she turned around and decided to go look for Ouyang Que.
As she stepped out of the room, she bumped into Ouyang Que, who was entering.
“Madam? Why hasn’t she seen a doctor? She could die,” Xiao Banli said, her tone full of accusation.
Ouyang Que’s face shifted slightly. He pushed past Xiao Banli and strode into the room. Just as Xiao Banli reached the door, Ouyang Que emerged holding Xiao Fen in his arms.
“Her fever had clearly gone down this morning. I thought she was fine,” he said, his narrow phoenix eyes filled with deep guilt. Xiao Fen’s face was still flushed, and her eyes were tightly shut.
“Sorry, the Master said that you and the Third Madam are not allowed to leave this suite,” one of the men in black said as they blocked the door.
“My mother is sick. She needs to see a doctor,” Ouyang Que said softly, his voice almost pleading.
“I’m sorry, Young Master. Without the Master’s orders, you cannot leave this room,” the man in black replied respectfully. The group of men spread out, blocking both Ouyang Que and Xiao Banli at the door.
“I said she’s sick! Tell Ouyang Honghui, whether he wants to kill or torture me, it’s up to him, but let my mother see a doctor!” Ouyang Que roared in frustration, barely containing his anger.
“Young Master, please don’t make things difficult for us.”
“Hahaha, difficult? Let us out!” Ouyang Que yelled in frustration, trying to squeeze past the line of men in black while holding Xiao Fen.
One of the men in black moved his hand and pushed Ouyang Que back. Ouyang Que staggered back a step, “She’s sick! Can’t you see she’s sick? Let her see a doctor…”
Every time Ouyang Que moved slightly while holding Xiao Fen, he was pushed back. The men in black didn’t show any intent to use force, they simply blocked his way.
Xiao Banli watched as Ouyang Que was pushed back every time he tried to move forward, retreating again and again. After a dozen attempts, Ouyang Que’s head hung so low it seemed like his knees were about to buckle.
Xiao Banli quickly stepped forward and grabbed Ouyang Que’s hand.
Ouyang Que looked at her with his phoenix eyes, and when their gazes met, she saw the despair in his eyes. Xiao Banli’s body trembled slightly. This man, alone, was opposing his elder uncle, burdened with Xiao Fen’s expectations and his hatred for his father. He was stumbling through the vast Ouyang family. Xiao Banli pressed her lips together, paused for a moment, and said, “Let’s go back to the room.”
She tugged at Ouyang Que’s hand, leading him back inside.
Like a child, Ouyang Que silently followed her into the room, holding Xiao Fen. He stood there dumbfounded, and Xiao Banli was moved to the point that her nose tingled with emotion.
The children at the orphanage rarely went outside to see a doctor unless absolutely necessary. For common fevers or colds, the director would brew herbal medicine and use the old method of sweating it out.
Xiao Banli could only take a desperate measure and care for Xiao Fen in the same way.
“Do you want to take a rest?”
“No, you’re tired. You should rest,” Ouyang Que shook his head, sitting dumbly by Xiao Fen’s bedside. He glanced at Xiao Banli, and under the bright light, his phoenix eyes unusually carried a hint of tenderness.
Xiao Banli removed the cloth from Xiao Fen’s forehead, and the heat in her hand dissipated significantly. “It’s fine. As long as the madam gets better, I’ll be able to rest.”
“Why don’t you leave?” Ouyang Que took the cloth from Xiao Banli’s hand and asked her.
With the cloth taken away, Xiao Banli could only clasp her hands together and quietly respond, “I just didn’t have time to leave.”
“Then you can leave now!” Ouyang Que tossed the cloth into the ice bucket, his tone filled with mild anger.
Xiao Banli watched his childish action and helplessly shook her head. “It’s too late, I can only stay. I hope the young master doesn’t mind me.”
Ouyang Que remained silent, still staring at the cloth in the ice bucket.
After a night of effort, Xiao Fen’s fever finally subsided. During this time, she woke up once, and when she saw Ouyang Que, tears slid down her cheeks. She cried, holding back tears the whole time. Ouyang Que repeatedly apologized, saying he was sorry. Xiao Fen raised her hand, wanting to strike Ouyang Que, but when her hand touched his face, she just stroked him, looking at him and crying.
It is often said that men don’t easily shed tears. Ouyang Que’s eyes were always filled with tears, but they never fell.
—
“The stock market has been in a severe slump recently. Several stocks that had previously shown good growth have now stalled. According to the analysis of Advisor Xiao from the Ouyang Group, who was interviewed by reporters, the market is expected to decline within three days. As a result, all investors have hastily sold off their stocks overnight. Despite this, many still faced significant losses.”
“However, during this downturn, a new stock has soared unexpectedly. No one knows who is behind this surge. Oh my, at this rate, where will this new stock, Hongyang Shanshui, reach in terms of its peak?”
In the living room, the sound of the TV slowly filled the space.
“Are you laughing?” Xiao Fen was indeed a bit surprised when she woke up and saw Xiao Banli, the ugly maid. In this house, she knew that before she lost consciousness, even Yu Yan, the last person left, had started rummaging through the valuable items in the cabinets, preparing to leave. She didn’t expect that the ugly maid in the backyard would still be willing to stay.
Xiao Banli quickly wiped the smile from her lips and lowered her gaze, obediently responding, “No…”
The door behind them was suddenly thrown open, accompanied by Ouyang Que’s excited voice. “Xiao Banli, the stock you mentioned is really going up, it’s really going up! It’s like someone is pushing it from behind.”
Xiao Banli hummed in response, with a low chuckle, “Young Master, you can hold this stock for half a month, and after that, switch to the stocks from the Ouyang family… and the profits you make after that…”
“The profits will be used to purchase shares of the Ouyang Group from the outside,” Ouyang Que completed her sentence.
Xiao Banli hummed again.
“What are you two talking about?” Xiao Fen, confused, listened to their back-and-forth and asked curiously, “What do you mean?”
Ouyang Que couldn’t hide his joy, and he hugged Xiao Fen. “Mom, we have hope now. I’ve decided to give Ouyang Honghui the shares he wanted me to get.”
“What? Don’t give it to him! Even if he wants to imprison me for life, don’t give it to him!” Xiao Fen replied with agitation.
“No, we can’t be imprisoned for life,” Ouyang Que said firmly, his gaze involuntarily turning to Xiao Banli, meeting her large eyes.
Xiao Banli looked at him, her expression calm, yet silently offering him support. She knew exactly what Ouyang Que intended to do, and all she could do was use the memories from her previous life to offer him a little help.
In about three days, Xiao Fen would be able to get out of bed. The food in the room had also been mostly finished. Ouyang Que had gone to find Ouyang Honghui early in the morning, while Xiao Banli stayed by Xiao Fen’s side, taking care of her.
“Banli, how did your face end up like this? Can it be treated?” After experiencing life-and-death situations and the sorrow of being abandoned, the people who stayed by her side became especially precious. When Xiao Fen called Xiao Banli’s name, there was a hint of intimacy in her voice.
Xiao Banli, who was pouring water, paused.
After a moment, she responded.
“Madam, it can’t be treated.”
Xiao Fen let out a sound of regret and said, “That’s really too bad. Is that why your parents abandoned you and put you in an orphanage?”
Xiao Banli shook her head and continued filling the cup with water.