Volume 1: Cultivation and Romance of a Mature Woman in the Metropolis Chapter 1 Stepping Stone

“Luoran, this kind of man is not worth your tears…” Baojia gives up her usual aggression and softens her voice. Baojia tries to soften her voice, but her frowning brows betreat her. She is saying that to comfort Lin Luoran, asking her to leave that unfaithful man behind. Actually, Baojia wishes to grab a knife, chop that bastard into pieces and feed dogs! Baojia looks at her friend who is sitting on the couch and staring at the television—the 27-year-old Lin Luoran. Luoran’s cheeks have long lost their gloss and smoothness of her girlhood. Her long silky black hair still hangs by the waist, however, without special care, it already has withered split ends. With her empty eyes and all those cheap clothes, Lin Luoran barely looks like that comely and clever girl she used to be at high school. She clearly seems like an ordinary woman in her late twenties… Something suddenly starts to surge in Baojia’s heart and almost drives her to tears. She gnashes her teeth in hatred, “I must go and find that bastard!” She says, picking up her handbag from the couch. Baojia turns around and heads outside. A pair of hands grab her. Blue veins stand out on these bony and pale hands. Only with a slight glimpse, Baojia knows whom these hands belong to—Besides, there is no other person in this house except the skinny Lin Luoran. Baojia doesn’t want to use her strength. These arms are so thin, which seem like they could easily be broken. She bursts into tears, “Why are you torturing yourself? That shameless couple is still alive and kicking!” Raging tears blur Baojia’s eyes and fall down along her cheeks, messing up with her fine makeup. However, she doesn’t have time to worry about all that now. She is sincerely feeling sorry for Luoran. With dullness, Lin Luoran is startled by her friend’s cry. Emotions begin to appear on her face. “Baojia…” She tries to speak, but her voice sounds hoarse. She hasn’t been speaking a word for three days. With tears still hanging on cheeks, Baojia couldn’t conceal her excitement. She tries to touch Luoran’s face while being afraid to startle the girl. She worries that this might just be her dream. Lin Luoran’s eyes are extremely dry since she hasn’t slept in the last three days. No sleeping, no eating for three whole days… Lin Luoran always knows that she can endure hardship, but she never expects herself to be so tough. Perhaps this is why people say that poor people have more tenacity? Finding herself regaining the ability to laugh at herself, Lin Luoran raises her head and sees a concerning look on Baojia’s face. Lin Luoran forces a smile. “Baojia, I’m hungry.” She grabs Baojia with her bony arms, wondering where her strength comes from. Baojia takes a deep breath and forces herself to calm down. Maybe this is just Luoran’s strategy. What if Luoran tries to commit suicide once she left? “Let me order a takeout for you. Yon ho Soybean Milk, your favorite!” Baojia finds a compromise solution immediately. She rummages through her handbag until she finds her cellphone, dials the delivery hotline of the restaurant and orders soybean milk, vegetable porridge and Lin Luoran’s favorite—kelp salad. Lin Luoran doesn’t reject. She remains silent and holds her best friends’ hands tightly. The dark storm clouds of sorrow hovering over her during the last three days finally begins to disperse. Twenty minutes later, the doorbell rings. The takeout arrives. The soybean milk is still steaming. Lin Luoran eats unhurriedly, paying attention not to wasting any food. After finish eating, Lin Luoran feels that her stomach begins to relax and her arms and legs have regained strength. She looks at Baojia, “Don’t worry. I still have to take care of my parents. I won’t take my own life.” Hearing this, Baojia is finally relieved. She stays in Lin Luoran’s rental apartment that night. After hearing the slight breathing and making sure that Baojia is asleep, Lin Luoran, who is supposed to be in a sound sleep, opens her eyes. Silver moonlight shines through the security window. This is a small appartment in an old building with at least thirty years of history. It is a high-risk old building located near downtown. The housing demolition and relocation plan are delayed in this area. Even previous residents are loath to live here so the appartments inside it are mostly rented out to migrant workers. Lin Luoran is one of the migrant workers who has lived here for more than three years because of the low rent. She lives in such a building and bears the hardship for that guy! Both Lin Luoran and Li Anping come from rural areas. In their junior year of college, Li Anping’s family had an accident. His mom kneeled down in front of Lin Luoran and begged for her help. Li Anping stared at Lin Luoran with red eyes. Her parents also said that since they were engaged, it didn’t matter which one of them could finish college. Therefore, the guileless parents of Lin Luoran made her give up the opportunity of finishing college to suport Li Anping finishing his study. Lin Luoran dropped out of school on her third year of study and began to work. She did more than one job at the same time because she had to send money home regularly and support Li Anping till he got his Master degree. Li Anping got his current job with the help from Baojia, Lin Luoran’s best friend. It now appears to Lin Luoran that she is such a fool as to believe what he said. Lin Luoran looks at the photo on the nightstand. In this photo, Li Anping is in high spirits. He is wearing a well-fitting sports jacket, looking quite energetic. No one could imagine that he was once a rustic rural boy. He is indeed an ugly duckling man. The ugly duckling man who successfully flies out of the mountain should match with a rich girl as a girlfriend, while Lin Luoran is just the stepping stone for Li Anping to make his way to the world of wealth…Teardrops run down her face silently. She clenches her fist—She still has her parents and Baojia. She still owns something in the world! ****** Fortune House is the largest jewelry store chain in R city. Baojia works as a jewelry designer in this company. After Li Anping got his master’s degree, he was hired by the company as an administrative assistant with Baojia’s referral. Li Anping has been working there for half a year now. Last month, Baojia joked Lin Luoran that a beautiful woman recently became the new superior of Li Anping and Lin should be alert. Lin Luoran didn’t take it seriously. Lin Luoran and Li Anping have been together for over seven years now. There were some other girls that had tried to pursue him during these years. However, Lin Luoran did not believe that a “beautiful woman” could pose too much threat to her at that time—What she didn’t know was that this beautiful woman was not only the superior of Li Anping, but also the only daughter of the boss of Fortune House! Such a soap drama, isn’t it? Standing in front of the administration building of Fortune House, Lin Luoran could not help laughing at herself. It’s time to get off work. Baojia comes out in her high heels. Lin Luoran moves into the shadow of the corner, keeping herself out of Baojia’s sight. About half an hour later, most of the employees of Fortune House have left. Finally, a familiar figure appears. In a well-fitting suit and with that well-groomed hair, Li Anping looks vigorous. Right after him, a gorgeous woman in a career suit comes out of the building. Her face is not perfect, but thanks to all the luxury clothes and makeups, she looks gorgeous. It must be Li Anping’s new girlfriend. Lin Luoran bites her lips unconsciously. With the beauty and noble birth, this woman surely has an extraordinary temperament. But Lin Luoran cannot hold back. This has to be done. Lin Luoran is incompatible with this ornate building, down and out, which makes her easily spotted. However, instead of Li Anping, it is the princess of Fortune House who first notices the presence of Lin Luoran. She pouts and says to Li Anping, “Oh look. Your old lover is here.” Li Anping turns around and sees Lin Luoran in her plain clothes. In touch of disgust crosses his brows, Anping quickly looks back to his current girlfriend, eyes full of tenderness and says, “Elly, I have told you that my engagement with her was arranged by parents. I have broken up with her a long time ago…” Elly takes her handbag from Li Anping and interrupts his explanation, “Broken up a long time ago? This means that you two used to have a relationship… Well, you have five minutes to deal with her.” Elly never takes rivals like Lin Luoran seriously. She doesn’t give another glance at Lin Luoran and walks directly towards her new Audi TT. This car is not very expensive, but Elly likes it. It is just like her men. They don’t need to have good backgrounds. Under her title, they should look much more expensive. Li Anping is sullen-faced. He walks to Lin Luoran, unwillingly. “I thought I had made it clear enough. Luoran, we are not right for each other. Our personalities are not compatible…” Li Anping says impatiently, hoping to end this mess in five minutes. Lin Luoran stops him, “Li Anping, you are thinking too much.” Lin Luoran is not blind. She can see the disgust in Li Anping’s eyes. She no longer has trust in him, and she is aware that the fact that Li Anping has chosen to be with the rich woman is a foregone conclusion. Therefore, even wallowed in grief, she will never show it in front of this bastard! “Since we are broken up, you should return my heirloom.” Lin Luoran tries to stay indifferent, pointing at the bracelet on his wrist. It is the heirloom of Lin Luoran’s family for countless generations. The style of this silver bracelet is simple, which makes it suitable for both men and women to wear. Silver wires intertwine on the bracelet and there is a 2cm bead spinning inside of a hollow ball made of silver wires. Lin Luoran’s mom put the bracelet on Li Anping’s wrist on their engagement party. Hearing that Lin Luoran only came to reclaim the bracelet, rather than crying to get him back, Li Anping becomes very angry, “Lin Luoran, aren’t you being stingy too much? Can’t believe you come all the way to ask for this shitty bracelet!” Is this dreadful man the one she used to love? He has become strange and distant . However, the bracelet is indeed the heirloom of her family for generations, and she must take it back. She sneers, “A shitty bracelet. Li Anping, when did you develop this duplicity?” Mixed expressions show on Li Anping’s face. He can’t tell Lin Luoran that Elly’s birthday is around the corner. Among everything he owns, this antique bracelet might be the most valuable thing. He has taken it to an antique shop and the owner offered him 30,000 yuan, saying that he liked its style. Li Anping is cunning likes every petty man. Since the shop owner’s first offer was 30,000 RMB, Li Anping certainly wanted to hold it on and wait for the price to go up… Now, unexpectedly, Lin Luoran comes to ask the bracelet back. If he does return it, where on earth shall he find another birthday gift for Elly? A harsh sound of car horn draws Li Anping back to reality. Elly rolls down the window of her red Audi TT. Over half of her face is covered by the sunglasses. She smiles, “The reunion with your old flame is still not over , hum? Li Anping replies at once, “I have nothing to do with her. I’m coming.” He walks away from Lin Luoran and gets into the car. Elly rolls up the car window and about to step on the gas pedal. Suddenly, a shadow casts on her—Lin Luoran has grabbed the rearview mirror. With blue veins standing out on her hand, Lin Luoran said slowly, “I just want my bracelet back.” Elly looks towards Li Anping. She knows that he wears an antique silver bracelet all the time, but she doesn’t expect it belongs to Lin Luoran! Knowing Elly too well, Li Anping certainly understands what would upset her. If he keeps the bracelet today, there’s no doubt that Elly will pick a fight with him. He will never do such things like suffering a big loss for a little gain…