Chapter 46: Miss Shen, Welcome Home

Chapter 46: Miss Shen, Welcome Home

"That works out perfectly then!" Mother Li sneered upon hearing this. "I was looking forward to seeing her make a fool of herself."

As she spoke, she looked at her son and asked curiously, "But what do you mean by that? What kind of joke did she make?"

Li Xiao's handsome face was filled with indignation. Naturally, he wasn't going to tell his mother about Shen Ci's boastful claim that she would donate a telescope to the school.

But he was a man, and he had to settle this matter for Shen Ci. It was over a thousand yuan—there was no way Shen Ci could afford it!

As long as he resolved this troublesome matter, Shen Ci would surely thank him, and he would have a chance to mend things with her.

"If you won't listen to me, I'll go tell Dad!"

Mother Li snorted dismissively. "There's no use going to him; this was your father's idea."

"You were injured so badly you had to be admitted to the andrology hospital—do you really think your father isn't angry?"

Hearing this, Li Xiao became anxious. Since force wouldn't work, he tried a softer approach: "Mom, I'm begging you, don't mess with me, okay?"

"How is this messing with you?" Mother Li's face turned cold. "Our family's donations to your school were originally for your sake, but has the school ever stood up for you? They won't even expel a girl like that, yet they still dream of receiving donations from the Li Corporation? In their dreams!"

"If they're too reluctant to expel her, then let everyone in school treat Shen Ci like a pariah! Regardless, our family will never donate anything to your school again!"

Seeing that his mother would not budge regardless of his tactics, Li Xiao felt a sudden sense of helplessness, as if he were crying out to heaven and earth and receiving no response.

He paced back and forth in the living room dejectedly, then suddenly snapped his head up.

No, he had to go back to school. He couldn't let Shen Ci face this alone.

Ten minutes later, while Mother Li was admiring her freshly completed flower arrangement with a satisfied expression, she saw her son running downstairs, fully dressed.

She froze. "Where are you going?"

"Back to school." Li Xiao quickly put on his shoes and looked up at his mother. "Didn't you want to see a joke? Then I'll be a joke with her for you to watch."

Though she didn't know what her son was going back to school for, it didn't sound like good news. She shouted sternly, "You are not allowed to go! Come back here!"

But Li Xiao had already run off without looking back.

Seeing this, Mother Li stamped her feet in rage and angrily swept the flower basket off the table, sending it crashing to the floor.

After fuming for a while, she finally took out her phone and quickly sent several messages to Lin Biqi, telling her to keep an eye on Li Xiao.

***

At this moment, Shen Ci was not at school.

In the "Wan Jia Deng Huo" villa district, Shen Ci was returning home for the first time as a homeowner. Unsurprisingly, she was stopped at the entrance security booth.

"May I ask which unit you are visiting?"

The security guard on duty was a tall, handsome young man. His attitude was excellent and professional, and he mistook the unfamiliar Shen Ci for a visitor.

Shen Ci calmly took the property deed out of her bag and explained, "I am the new owner here. It's my first time."

The guard was visibly stunned for a moment, then hurriedly took the deed to check. Indeed, she was an owner in "Wan Jia Deng Huo."

He bowed deeply, handing the deed back with both hands as he spoke, "Miss Shen, welcome home!"

Shen Ci nodded with a smile. "Thank you. Could I trouble you to show me the way?"

"Of course, no problem."

Shen Li followed beside her, whispering excitedly, "Sis, this looks like a villa district."

She could already faintly see the clusters of villas hidden among the greenery.

Villas in the center of Longcheng City—how much would a place like this cost?

"It is a villa district, and it's huge." Shen Ci took her sister's hand and said with a smile, "Remember the way yourself; you can't trouble the security brother every time."

Shen Li nodded repeatedly, looking around curiously all the way.

The roads were very wide, and the distance between each villa was quite large, providing excellent privacy.

The environment was beyond reproach; even the streetlights on both sides looked like they were worth a fortune.

Shen Ci could not hide her own anticipation, as this was her first time living in a villa—and one she had bought with her own money.

"Miss Shen, here is your home. Welcome to 'Wan Jia Deng Huo'."

"Thank you. Some of my personal belongings might be delivered later this evening; please allow them to enter when they arrive," Shen Ci instructed.

The guard nodded. "Understood, no problem."

Once the guard left, Shen Ci stood outside the main gate and looked inward. Before her eyes lay a massive garden, and the uniquely designed house looked beautiful even from a distance.

Shen Li couldn't wait any longer. "Sis, let's go in quickly!"

Shen Ci stepped forward and entered the passcode. The teal villa gate slowly slid to one side. The two sisters held hands and stepped into the courtyard, feeling a momentary sense of surrealism.

The villa was fully furnished, but since Lu Jinzhao had never moved in, all the furniture was still covered in dust cloths.

Ignoring everything else, Shen Li rushed into every room as soon as they entered. Shen Ci simply followed behind with a smile.

Her memory hadn't failed her; there were eight bedrooms in total, each with its own private bathroom and a balcony.

"Sis, I like this one!"

The large master bedroom at the far end of the third floor facing south was nearly sixty square meters. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows was a large open-air balcony, which offered a view of the backyard swimming pool and the distant city skyscrapers. The view was spectacular.

"Then this room is yours. Aren't you afraid of sleeping in such a big room all by yourself?" Shen Ci asked with a laugh.

Shen Li shook her head repeatedly. "I'm not afraid! Sis, this one room is almost as big as our old house!"

Their house back home was a small, old, dilapidated place, totaling less than eighty square meters, so they had lived in cramped spaces since childhood.

Now that they had a large house, she only hoped her younger brother could successfully pass the college entrance exam to come to Longcheng. Once he was here, she would bring their mother too; she would only feel at peace when her family was by her side.

The new house needed a deep clean. Even though the furniture was covered, there was dust everywhere. Fortunately, the "Wan Jia Deng Huo" property management had a professional cleaning team, and Shen Ci settled it with a single phone call.

After finishing her tour of the villa, Shen Li curled up on the living room sofa to start shopping. The ten yuan her sister had transferred to her earlier came in handy now; now that she had her own new room, she had to decorate it properly.

While she was picking out a four-piece bedding set, her phone suddenly received a bank notification.

A remittance of 288 yuan had arrived.

She froze for a moment, then suddenly couldn't help but scream, "Ah—!"

"What's wrong, Ah Li?" Hearing the noise, Shen Ci quickly poked her head out from the balcony.

Shen Li ran to her sister's side holding the phone, showing her the text message. "Sis, I received my acting fee! 60% is 288 yuan!"

As a newcomer playing the fourth female role, Shen Li's per-episode fee was 8 yuan. For 60 episodes, that totaled 480 yuan.

Upon signing, she received 60% upfront, while the remaining 40% balance would be paid after filming wrapped.

Since Shen Li was an independent actor without an agency, she would need to handle her own tax filings later.

"Not bad, Ah Li! You've earned your first pot of gold!" Shen Ci said with a smile, feeling genuinely happy for her sister.