On her way into the elevator, Xuemei almost walked straight into the woman getting off at the same time. Reacting quickly, Xuemei backstepped to get out of the way.

“Oh, sorry, I was not looking up.” She apologized.

“No harm done.” The woman smiled back. It was only at this moment that Xuemei took a good look. Her jaw dropping, she recognized this beauty. With a pixie cut dyed blue and a matching blue pantsuit that highlighted her famously slim and long legs, she radiated sensual charm and masculine charisma all at once. The conflicting signals were what created such amazing popularity for her. This woman, Mo Lan, was a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry. Does her surname sound familiar? Mo Lan, the younger sister of the famous Mo Twins. Unlike her one actor and one businessman older brothers, Mo Lan decided to take advantage of her god-given physical advantages to go into the modelling world. Now she was the most desired supermodel from the East and asked to appear at many of the world’s top fashion shows. One had to just sigh in admiration at the genes in this Mo Family. Their parents were amazingly still a mystery that no paper has managed to dig up. If there was one woman in the world that millions of people envied, it would be Mo Lan. Who did not want to be the pampered younger sister of the handsome, rich, and successful twin brothers? Rumors along with some picture evidence claim that the relationship between the siblings was very good. Actually, Mo Lan wished to succeed through her own effort, so she originally was in some dating scandal rumors with both her brothers. Suffering through some bad press that claimed she was playing with the twins; Mo Lan did not have a smooth road to the top. Only when she was the recognized number one did her brothers finally come out immediately with the information that they were actually blood-related siblings. After stabilizing herself as a supermodel, Mo Lan moved onto investing in a fashion design company. In one of her interviews, she coolly admitted that this was entirely because her modelling shelf-life would only last for maybe a couple years at most. Her peak was already starting to wane as fresh blood starting entering the industry every day.

However, she was not the type to just start something haphazardly. No, soon after, the country witnessed the rise of a well-respected brand. Still rather new, her branches were spread throughout China instead of globally, but it was currently the highest ranked national mid-level brand. Affordable with great quality and fashion sense, Blue Orchid was the name that most wealthier women were aware of. Unlike those luxury brands, they did not target the top 1%, but the upper middle class and newer money.

Xuemei respected Mo Lan a lot, even more than Mo Chen. This was a beautiful woman who was confident and ambitious. She was quite the fan and had to admit that Mo Lan was even more attractive in person. Thankfully, all those etiquette classes did not go to waste and she managed to keep herself from drooling. But she could not help staring for a little.

“Hehehe… How cute!” Holding her hand in front her mouth, Mo Lan giggled at Xuemei’s rather cute reaction. Moving her hand and caressing the side of Xuemei’s face, she got a little closer and smiled charismatically. “Who is this little beauty? May I know your name?”

Blushing fiercely, Xuemei was a mix of conflicted emotions. Right now, a woman she was attracted to flirted with her in such a manner making her inner male feel awkward, but she could not help also feeling slightly mesmerized. Getting a hold of herself eventually, she managed to awkwardly stutter a reply.

“Ta-Tang Xuemei…ma’am…” After that last word slipped out, Xuemei wanted to ram her head against the wall. Where was all her usual poise and confidence?! She could not recognize this blubbering mess of a person.

“Ma’am? How polite. Hahaha, for a cutie like you, you can just call me Big Sister Mo. Are you a new employee here? Wait, no, you are too pretty for that… You must be a new talent, right? Did one of my brothers recruit you?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. Senior Mo Chen is my… half-teacher? At least at this point, there is no official title. He did not scout me, I asked him since he owed me a favor.”

“Oh? What favor?”

“I was the one who brought your father to the hospital when he suffered a stroke.”

It was only then that the calm, foxy smile on Mo Lan’s face cracked. Her expression turning slightly dark, she did not seem too pleased to hear her father mentioned.

“Hmph, so that geezer has not run out of luck yet…” She murmured under her breath.

“Excuse me?”

“Hm? Oh, it was nothing. I guess I should thank you for saving my father.” Though perfunctory, her response was not meant to be rude towards Xuemei. It was more aimed towards the clear distaste she felt towards even saying the word “father”. Xuemei would have to be blind to not be able to tell that there was a whole story behind their relationship, but she was not the type to pry into business that was not hers.

“I can see a lot of talent in you. Do you have any interest in modelling?”

Before Xuemei could respond, another voice cut it.

“Give it up. I don’t see any talent in that area from our recent photoshoot.” Mo Chen was notified of his sister’s presence by the front desk receptionist and came out to greet her.

Frowning almost imperceptibly, Xuemei did not want to sulk too obviously. But it really did not feel good to be so blatantly hit by reality.

“Hahaha, Big Brother, you really do not know how to treat the ladies. No wonder I have yet to hold a cute nephew or niece in these two hands.” Mo Lan teased. Only she had the confidence and intimacy with Mo Chen to crack such jokes.

“Well I don’t see any nieces and nephews from you for me, either. Women are supposed to settle down earlier, no? By ancient standards, you would be an old lady. By present standards, you’re an old maid. You’re already 29, yet no news?”

“Says the man pushing 40! Don’t be such a prude, brother. Women can marry as late as they want, too! I’m not some baby making tool. With today’s medical advancements, I have at least a good 10 more years to have children. If all else fails, I can just adopt. It’s not as if my children are the ones who would carry on the family bloodline anyways. That wonderful responsibility falls on the sons of the family, namely, you and Second Brother.”

“Pushing… Pushing 40?” Seemingly finding it hard to breathe, Mo Chen looked as if he took a critical hit. “You brat! Yu and I are only 35!”

Although Mo Chen was spoken of as a veteran, that was only because he started so young. Same with his sister Mo Lan, they started out as barely pre-teens. The twins were definitely on the younger side amongst peers in similar positions.

“Old is old, Big Brother. You have to accept the fact that you are not getting any younger.” Sticking out her tongue, Mo Lan did not give her brother any face.

Xuemei was caught awkwardly standing with her lips twitching unnaturally. She clearly wanted to burst out laughing, but she knew that would not be proper in this situation. Mo Chen caught her expression and his irritation grew.

“Just laugh. Holding it in like that is unhealthy.” Almost dripping with sarcasm, the hidden “if you dare” was like a knife threatening to fall.

“Not funny. Not funny at all.” Shaking her head furiously, Xuemei easily switched to her soldier poker face.

“It seems you might have some acting talent after all.” Mo Chen mocked.

“Meimei, you tell me. Am I old?”

“No, of course not. You are still in your prime!”

“Hehe, see?”

“I’m also still in my prime.” Mo Chen grumbled unhappily as he looked at his new student feeling betrayed. Xuemei just touched the tip of her nose awkwardly and looked away. She had to defend her fellow sisters now instead of her brothers.

“Whatever, this conversation is getting boring. Meimei, it’s nice to meet you. I guess I’ll be seeing you around more.” Rolling her eyes, Mo Lan just waved him off before holding out her hand to Xuemei. Quickly reciprocating, Xuemei shook the outstretched hand.

“The honor is all mine! I’m a huge fan!” Smiling brightly, Xuemei looked particularly cute.

“You never said you were my fan…” Mo Chen complained.

“You are such a vinegar jar. If your fans saw you now, your manly image in their minds would be broken. Brother, let’s go. I have something important to talk to you about.” Yanking her brother away, Mo Lan truly felt that he was such disgrace. Turning to flash a quick smile and wink at Xuemei, she nodded to say goodbye.

“Don’t forget to show up tomorrow morning!” Mo Chen reminded as he was pulled away with a helpless look towards his younger sister.

Xuemei just turned her head to let out a short snort in laughter. It seemed this older brother was truly whipped for his younger sister. Not too different from a certain older brother back home. Waving bye, she looked at him to assure him that she understood. It was an odd meeting to wrap her head around. As an average citizen in her last life, she could not help but still feel this fascination meeting famous people. She felt a little starstruck from meeting someone in person that she admired from her computer screen. Mo Chen was a little less so. Maybe it was the fact that she was not attracted to him? Sighing at the differences of this life, Xuemei was a little listless as she walked onto the elevator. Boarding, she did not pay attention to the other person inside. Turning around, she pressed on the Lobby button while deep in thought. She did not even notice the man behind her had already been staring at her strangely for quite some time. A ding rang as the elevator doors opened once again. Awoken from her daydreaming, Xuemei quickly got off to leave. However, after stepping off, her arm was pulled back by the person behind who also got off. Frowning, she finally turned to pay attention to this person. He was a young man who looked to be in his late teens maybe early 20s and dressed in a fine suit. Definitely not poor. That was her quick assessment of the person. Something seemed vaguely familiar, but she could not think of it at the moment.

“Could you let go?” She asked politely first.

“Feisty, aren’t you? I think I quite like you. Are you a secretary in this building? No, wait, you got off at Mo Chen’s floor. Are you some rising celebrity under him? Would you like a sponsor? Big Brother here could definitely get you some meetings.” Giving her a disgusting smile, his misbehaving hands tried to snake around her waist.

“There is truly too much trash in this world, isn’t there? It’s such a dangerous world for women these days even now.” Sighing, Xuemei could not understand men sometimes. Clearly, she used to be one as well, but she did not have this much difficulty keeping it in her pants. The guy from this morning and the guy right now, too. Keeping a polite smile on her face, she clenched his wrist tightly and dodged his other arm trying to hug her. Yelping in pain, the man released her as she threw his wrist back towards him quickly. Pulling out hand sanitizer, she began rubbing her hands as if she touched something dirty.

“Uncle, trust me. I have more than enough money at home to sponsor myself. So, keep your paws to yourself and go f*** off.” She spoke so sweetly, the man almost thought he misheard her. Not waiting for a response, Xuemei just walked off. Disgusting beings like this guy were not worth even a second of her time. He tried to shout at her to come back when he finally returned to his senses, but she was already long gone. Expression darkening, the man's eyes flashed coldly while the lust faded from his face in just a moment.

“Hmmm? She did not recognize me? What’s with that? Was it not Tang Xuemei? No, she only looked slightly different since her fashion was not horrendous. The face was still the same… I was just playing a little joke, but she acted so odd. Plus, Uncle? What part of me looks like an Uncle?! The vulgar language at the end was about right, but the delivery was all wrong. Should I tell Jinsong I spotted her today?”

Yanking out his phone, an evil smirk appeared on his face as he dialed a contact.

“What?”

“Hm? Now, is that any way to greet a friend? Try again or I won’t tell you my big news.”

“…What?” The cold voice repeated.

“No fun… I don’t want to tell you now.”

“Alright… bye.” Click. The phone hung up on the other side. Speechless, the young man could only redial.

“Don’t hang up this time! I really have something interesting to tell you!”

“What?”

“Are you an idiot? Don’t you know any other words?”

“Say.”

“You’re lucky this young master is so generous and I don’t take your attitude to heart. Otherwise, how would you still have friends?”

The man just coldly grunted.

“Alright, alright. I just wanted to tell you: guess who I ran into?”

“…”

“Okay, fine. Don’t guess. I’ll tell you. It’s…” The man paused dramatically.

“I’ll hang up again.” The voice reminded him.

“Tang Xuemei!”

“Who did you say?” The voice grew colder.

“Tang Xuemei, that crazy girl, the one who committed suicide because of…”

“It was not my fault.” The other end interrupted.

“Yes, yes, you are completely innocent. But anyways, I just ran into her.”

“So, she woke up.”

“You didn’t know?!” The young man was truly shocked.

“Why would I know anything about her?”

“Well, you obviously would not have looked into her situation. But without you asking she should have contacted you right after waking up. How could she not have said anything? Did she only just wake up? Plus, she did not recognize me at all. Do I look that different from 3 years ago?”

“You are asking me, but who would I ask?”

“True. I guess we all went through puberty, so it’s not that weird to not recognize each other. She never paid much attention to me since she only had eyes for you. Well, anyways, I was just informing you that the crazy girl is back so you should watch yourself just in case. That kind of obsession does not disappear easily. She seems different, too. A lot stronger so be careful you don’t get beat up later.”

“Do you think everyone is weak like you?” The voice retorted.

“… Are you truly my friend? I’m pretty sure you are actually my mortal enemy from my past life.” The young man complained.

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

The person on the other side hung up.

…

“So, she didn’t die… Unfortunate.” The young man on the other side whispered to himself. Thinking back to that hideously made up face that would chase after him, he felt disgust well up in his heart.

“Truly unfortunate.” He muttered again.

…

Unaware of the scene following her departure, Xuemei quickly escaped from the building. She did not want that pervert to catch up.

Shaking her head, Xuemei lamented the state of public morals these days. When she walked out, Tao Qiao was already there waiting. Walking over, Tao Qiao opened the door for her and she quickly ducked into the car. Once they were off driving, Xuemei massaged her head in exhaustion. Such a busy day. Why did that guy seem familiar, too? Was it something from her old memories? She tried to dig through the many memories but it was hard to pinpoint anything when she had nothing but a face. The memories were there, but Xuemei did not normally run through them as there was too much junk to filter.

Whatever. She did not really care and put the occurrence to the back of her mind.

“Young Miss, was the lesson tough?” Tao Qiao asked with some concern as she watched her mistress from the rearview mirror.

“No, it was fine. I even met Mo Lan!” Smiling, Xuemei cast off her concerns and her head felt lighter already.

“Mo Lan? THE Mo Lan?! Wow, that’s amazing! I really admire her even as a fellow woman. Did you get an autograph?”

“Ah! I totally forgot to ask! I should have asked for a picture as well!” Xuemei shouted out suddenly.

“Hahaha, Young Miss, it should be fine. Since your teacher is her older brother, you should have many more chances to see Miss Mo Lan.”

“Hm, well, that’s true. I guess I’ll just have to wait until next time!”

The two girls made small talk the rest of the drive back. Xuemei did not have put on any of the airs that a normal heiress would, so Tao Qiao felt comfortable talking. She really felt that her Young Miss was such a humble, kind person! They could even talk about discounts at the grocery store, bargain stores, rent being too high, and even martial arts. As a qualified driver for the wealthy families, Tao Qiao was also trained to fight like a bodyguard.

If Xuemei knew Tao Qiao’s impression, she would probably laugh out loud. Tao Qiao was probably the only one with that kind of opinion about Xuemei since she never met the old Xuemei pre-accident. The current Xuemei truly thought like a middle-class soldier, so of course she could talk at the same wavelength as Tao Qiao. However, these little conversations allowed the two to grow closer. Xuemei enjoyed talking like this, without keeping up any stuffy manners and etiquette. Truly, it was hard to find a place for her to breathe comfortably lately. The real her was still a secret to her parents because they would not be able to understand such an illogical change. Becoming well-behaved? That could happen since she almost died. Studying harder? She could have always been smart but never applied herself. However, if she suddenly went shopping at normal non-brand name stores and bought cheaper food at the local grocery stores to cook, then something is wrong. How would the real Xuemei know anything about those things. It’s not as if a near-death accident can give you memories and knowledge that you previously did not have. She was already pushing it with the many changed that she was showing now. Xuemei truly worried that her parents would feel estranged with her if she did not keep up at least some semblance of her past spoiled rich kid attitude and preferences. Actually, she even surprised herself with how good she kept up appearances. Maybe she had some acting talent after all!