CHAPTER 277: CHAPTER 274: CINDERELLA’S COMEBACK 19

Anning ran to Grandma Gu’s house, found the locked gate, and used a piece of wire to unlock it.

By the time Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu caught up, they saw that the gate was already open.

Mr. Gu was still confused: "Didn’t we lock the door when we left?"

Mrs. Gu couldn’t remember either: "Who would remember something like that? Let’s just quickly grab our stuff and go. I can’t stand it here any longer. If we stay, I’m afraid your mother is going to sell our daughter to Ankang as a bride."

Mr. Gu did not say much; together with Mrs. Gu, they took Anning inside to grab their things and left.

When Uncle Gu and the others finished their meal and returned, Anning’s family was long gone.

Grandma Gu was so angry that she stomped her feet, cursing that Mr. Gu was heartless and that there was nothing good about Anning and her mother, claiming they had spoiled her good son.

Gu Ankang also made a fuss, asking Grandma Gu when Anning would get married, so he could have some bride price money to play with.

As for how Grandma Gu pacified him, that was unknown.

Skipping over these details, Anning’s family had left their old home early and upon returning to their own house, Mrs. Gu cooked another full meal and the three of them ate their fill and rested separately.

Anning went to her room to rest for a while and, seeing that it was still early, not feeling like doing her homework, she decided to go out for a walk.

She told Mrs. Gu that she wanted to take a walk, and Mrs. Gu smiled approvingly, even giving Anning some money to buy some snacks and toys.

Mrs. Gu thought that Anning had been wronged at Grandma Gu’s house and was feeling bad, so she wanted to cheer her up.

Mr. Gu also felt sorry for Anning.

In his heart, his daughter was absolutely perfect with not a single flaw, but his mother could not see any goodness in Anning, simply because she was a girl and did not treat her as human. And because of filial piety, he couldn’t argue with his mother, making his daughter suffer all these years, which was really regrettable.

Therefore, Mr. Gu also gave Anning some money.

This couple really didn’t know how to properly spoil their daughter; their ways were either giving her money or cooking her delicious food.

Anning did not decline; she took the money from her parents and left with a backpack.

Anning did not go far; she found a park in the center of the street and settled down in a sunlit spot.

The spot where Anning sat was covered with a large patch of withered grass, and a large tree behind her was shedding its leaves. She sat under the tree, tranquilly reading a book, unaffected by either the howling cold wind or the people who hurried past.

The sunlight showered her, as if gilding her with a layer of gold, enhancing her already beautiful and unparalleled appearance; from a distance, she truly looked like a fairy descended to earth.

A few youngsters playing around passed by, a flash of amazement in their eyes upon seeing Anning.

They didn’t go far and found a place to stare at Anning dreamily.

After about ten minutes, Anning had barely moved, hardly even blinking her eyes. If not for the fact that she was turning the pages of her book, people might have thought she was a statue.

A few of the youngsters gathered the courage to approach Anning and strike up a conversation, but just then, a middle-aged man in a coat walked by.

Anning closed her book, and as the middle-aged man passed by, she spoke in a voice low enough for him to hear, yet clearly audible: "What you’re looking for is in the old leather suitcase in the storage room of the old house."

After saying that, Anning got up and left.

The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment. After recovering, he hurriedly followed Anning: "Young lady, young lady, what do you mean by what you just said?"

Anning turned back to look at him, with an indifferent expression, cold and serene, truly like a fairy in the human world: "You know very well in your heart. Why ask the needless question? Go back and take a look."

The middle-aged man wiped his sweat. By the time he wanted to talk to Anning again, she had disappeared without a trace.

"This..."

The middle-aged man was first startled, then couldn’t help but laugh: "Could it be that I’ve encountered a fairy?"

Thinking about what Anning had said, he decided to go back and try to look for it.

The middle-aged man’s name was Jiang Zhengwei. After graduating from college and being dissatisfied with a nine-to-five job, he started his own business. He was lucky and capable, and he was now the boss of a small decoration company.

He was negotiating a project at that time, hoping to take on the renovation business of a company. If the project was successful, he would make a good amount of money.

To close the deal, he thought of giving a gift to the manager in charge of the business negotiations, to cater to the manager’s interests.

Jiang Zhengwei also found out that the business manager was very fond of the works of a certain painter, who, due to old age, generally didn’t write or paint anymore, leaving Jiang Zhengwei without even a chance to ask.

Just last night, he suddenly remembered that his dad seemed to have bought a painting by that artist over a decade ago. After his dad passed away, he hadn’t paid it much attention, and he didn’t know where it was now.

Jiang Zhengwei spent the whole day today looking for that painting, but he couldn’t find it no matter how hard he tried.

He was in such a rush that when his wife called him to have dinner at his father-in-law’s house—it just happened to be not far from his own—he walked over, passing through this park in the heart of the city, and unexpectedly ran into Anning. Moreover, Anning had said those things to him.

Jiang Zhengwei didn’t even care about having dinner at his father-in-law’s house anymore, he directly took a taxi to the old family home.

He went to the storage room just as Anning had told him, and after a lot of searching and rummaging, he found an extremely worn-out box.

Opening the box, he took out the items one by one, and finally, he really found that painting.

Upon obtaining the painting, Jiang Zhengwei almost burst out laughing.

He rushed home with the painting, and halfway there, he thought of Anning again.

He suddenly took her to heart.

He hadn’t taken Anning’s cryptic words seriously at first, but now he thought about it, the girl was truly remarkable.

Jiang Zhengwei was a businessman, and a somewhat superstitious businessman at that.

Now that he had met someone capable, he naturally thought of establishing a good relationship with her.

If he were to encounter any issues in the future, having the girl to show him the way would save him so much trouble.

Jiang Zhengwei also wondered if the girl knew Feng Shui. Could she do a layout for his company so that he could make a fortune?

After securing the painting at home, Jiang Zhengwei went to his father-in-law’s house for dinner.

The next day, he handed the painting over to the project manager and then learned that the project manager had already favored his company.

Jiang Zhengwei’s company did meticulous work, and he himself had a background in design, with quite good design proposals, the project manager had intended to negotiate with him.

Now that Jiang Zhengwei had presented the project manager with something close to his heart, the deal was even easier to seal.

After the business deal was successful, Jiang Zhengwei was walking on air.

Of course, he hadn’t forgotten Anning.

It’s just that he didn’t know who Anning was, nor did he know how to contact her.

With no other option, Jiang Zhengwei thought about trying his luck at the park in the heart of the city again, just in case he ran into her.

When he arrived at the park, he saw Anning sitting in the same spot as yesterday, adopting the same posture, still immersed in reading a book.

When Jiang Zhengwei approached, Anning closed her book with a smile: "You look radiant today; it seems your wish has been granted."

Jiang Zhengwei expressed his gratitude to Anning: "I owe it all to you. How did you know about me looking for something, and how did you divine where it was?"

Anning replied indifferently: "Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand. Better not to ask."

"Yes, yes."

Jiang Zhengwei chuckled: "May I ask for the master’s name and possibly get a way to contact you?"

He truly wanted to make friends with Anning.

Anning took out her phone and added Jiang Zhengwei’s WeChat: "If you need to find me, it’s best to leave a message at night. I have to go to school during the day and don’t have time to check this."

Jiang Zhengwei laughed dryly, genuinely surprised that such a formidable master was still studying.

He thought to himself, with such talent, why bother with school.

Anning tilted her head and glanced at Jiang Zhengwei: "Fortune telling and Feng Shui are really just minor practices; they can’t be openly advertised. In the end, it’s still the pursuit of knowledge that prevails, don’t you agree?"

"Yes, yes."

Jiang Zhengwei smiled and handed Anning a stack of cash: "It’s a small token of my appreciation."

Anning nodded and accepted it.

She didn’t even look at how much it was, she just put the money straight into her backpack: "Alright, I need to hurry home now. You should go home too. Oh, and when you get back, there’s another piece of good news waiting for you."