Once she spent money like water. Now she hunts for money like her life depends on it. Once she kept pretty boys. Now she tames domineering CEOs.
1
Sang Ci had barely landed in California when news came that her family had gone bankrupt. She stared uncertainly at the colorful luxury bags in her brand-new shopping bags. She’d just bought them. Could she return them?
And they were obscure colors that wouldn’t even hold their value.
Everyone laughed as her world came crashing down. Even the pretty boy she used to keep ran off overnight. She’d done it all: food delivery, personal shopping, dishwashing, waitressing, manicures. With nowhere else to turn, she knocked on the door of her father’s friend Jiang Zhiliang’s Malibu estate.
Everyone thought she had tamed one of the wealthiest men in their circle.
On a sweltering summer night, with the poolside abuzz and the lights hazy, Sang Ci’s glamorous waves made their first appearance, and a Rachmaninoff piece set hearts aflutter. Jiang Xingzhi, heir to the family fortune, put down his cigar and lounged in the head seat, watching from afar. Nonchalant, his voice cold: “Tch. Gold digger.”
He was the lion she meant to tame.
2
By the age of thirty, Jiang Xingzhi had made his mark in the business world. Even more shrewd than his father Jiang Zhiliang, he had made a name for himself with several brilliant acquisitions. An heir to old money whose family had been wealthy for generations, he was just like the copy of Instructions for Practical Living he always carried: composed, restrained, and old-fashioned in his ways.
Jiang Xingzhi detested parasitic vines like Sang Ci, ambitious yet lazy and always looking for an easy life.
Whenever he ran into her, he couldn’t resist mocking her. “A million just to get you to jump into the pool once? You’re cheap.”
With a splash, Sang Ci plunged into the infinity pool and raised her pretty face. “I’ll send your assistant my bank details.” Then she grabbed a towel and walked away.
What a pain.
He thought of her as nothing more than a canary his father kept.
And yet this canary kept fluttering around in front of him day after day.
And yet she was so beautiful.
Later, in the thick of night, Jiang Xingzhi held onto her suitcase and wouldn’t let her go. “I’ve got mountains of gold and silver. Aren’t you going to come and get some?”
Sang Ci: Thanks for the offer. Maybe next time.
She’d already saved up enough to start her business.
P.S. No sugar baby arrangements or quid pro quo transactions.
Theme: Always believe in yourself
