Chapter 2: 02. The Rebirth
Her ear was buzzing, it was distinct at first but then the voices turned into people chattering.
Raising her head, three girls surrounded her with concerned expressions.
"You really are something else, Zhi."
"You're always studying like crazy on exams, we get it; you want to go to medical school but stop forcing yourself like this!"
One of the girls unplugged a tissue from Linzhi's nose (which she didn't realize was stuffed with it) and throw it to the trash. "You probably died of exhaustion before you could be a doctor. Enough with your obsession, okay? You will still rank number 1 in school."
"What do you mean?" She touched her throat and found her voice was alright, just slightly hoarse. She had a premonition on her heart, and when she saw their nametag, everything was confirmed.
"Look at her staring blankly like that."
"We can let her in a daze. Let's woke her up with food!"
"You wait here, and we will get you your favorite!"
Staring out the window, Nie Linzhi found her younger face in Neo Academy's uniform. She was either time-traveled or reincarnated because she knew she was dead. She was dead in her original timeline, and based on her last memory, she was murdered.
But why?
The Nie Group was long bankrupt when she was an actress, and she hardly associate herself with anyone during her time in the entertainment circle. She was climbing from rock bottom, she never make trouble or play a big name. At worse, it was a verbal disagreement, but it was never gone too to the point of no return. With no business rival or showbiz rival.. This is weird.
"Your fresh milk with grass jelly and strawberry cheesecake."
The trio was back.
They are her highschool bestfriends. The one with wavy hair is Rachel Yoo, the girl with short hair is Andrea Park, and the one who handed her snack is Sunny Lee. When her family faced bankruptcy, Linzhi made a hasty debut as a model and trained hard to be an actress. Years passed by, and they hardly ever communicated with each other.
Seeing the dazed look on her face, Sunny stuck the drink to Linzhi's cheek; "Hurry up and drink, you need some sugar after a nosebleed."
Sipping the familiar taste of her favorite drink from the canteen aunty, Linzhi listened to her best friend chattering. Time travel, reincarnation, or whatever it was.. She was determined to live a good life.
Sunny put back on the glasses she had just cleaned, "Rachel, my sister-in-law, said the land the government is planning to develop is changing. Why did they suddenly change the construction site?"
"Hey, I'm the daughter of the TV Station's Director, not a government spy. How do I know how they run construction projects."
"Hey, you have the best media connections. You are the one who knows the accuracy of all the gossip and hearsay."
Rachel punched Andrea in the arm, "You make me sound like a gossip girl."
Sunny shook her head, "Not a gossip girl, a fact checker."
Sunny might look the most nerdy, but her eloquence could get her a country.
Rachel waved her hair, crossed her hand to hide her embarrassment. Her dream was to be an investigative journalist, Sunny really nailed her compliment. "There is a dispute over the land, and the case is still in court. If you wait for the case to be resolved, the housing project might never start. My father said it looked like one of the heirs sold the land to the government without other heirs knowing. So the other heirs demand their payment."
Andrea: "Although it's a shame for the government, the biggest problem is indeed on the land owner's side; after all, the government already paid them."
Sunny: "The struggle for property between brothers is always fierce, I think it's a good thing if the construction site is moved. The construction must be carried out immediately, and anyway, the government can sue the seller for compensation later."
Andrea: "Foolish, if the seller distributes money from the government to other heirs, they can all benefit. In this way, if he loses the inheritance rights to the land, then he must compensate both the government and other heirs."
Linzhi froze. This housing project was the beginning of her hell.
As they said, the site was moved, and a new developer started the construction. The new developer was Nie Construction, the core of Nie Group. They thought they won a jackpot because their industry was relatively smaller than the previous developer that was based in the capital city. But an unimaginable plot twist happened. The heirs' reconciliation and the lawsuit were canceled. The government continued its previous project and abandoned its cooperation with Nie Construction.
It didn't take long for the chain fund to be broken and the entire Nie Group to fall into crisis, and as the biggest company in Beiling City, no one could help them after their fund emptied. Grandpa declared bankruptcy, and the uncle's family got some businesses while Linzhi's mother got Nie Mansion. Not long after, Grandpa got a stroke, and her mother took care of him. As if the tragedy wasn't bloody enough, Linzhi's eldest cousin - son of the second uncle cheated her mother's money and made them lose the mansion. They moved to grandma's hometown in the countryside, and Linzhi got scouted there. In dire trait for money, Linzhi moved to the capital city and started her career as the sole breadwinner.
"I have to go."
She stood abruptly and ran as fast as she could despite her friends calling.
"Uncle Guard, I need to leave the school."
"What? Why? What happened, Linzhi?"
"Uncle Guard, something happened at home. This is urgent!"
Linzhi has long received the benefit of 'your face is your credentials' and soon left the school ground.
Neo Academy was remote and at the foot of the mountain. Since moving into the boarding school, Linzhi also didn't need her family's car so she didn't have a vehicle to go down the mountain. Seeing a motorcycle from the end of the road, Linzhi dashed to the middle of the road and stopped the driver.
"I need to go down the mountain now; please, help me. I'll pay the fare," taking money out of her wallet, she put it in the driver's jacket pocket. "Here's the down payment; please take me to Dream Valley, and I'll pay the rest when I get there. Okay?"
The rider with the helmet and mask scrutinized her but finally gave in and handed her the spare helmet.
In just one hour, she had arrived at the Nie Mansion and strode inside the mansion after paying the generous fare to the driver.
"Aunt Liu, is Grandpa in his study?"
Aunt Liu, the housekeeper, has already walked down the steps: "The Chairman just came back with Second Master and Eldest Young Master. Your cousin even brings you imported chocolates."
Linzhi's anxious heart intensified.
The culprit who caused the Nie family to go bankrupt was her second uncle – Nie Hexuan.
Grandpa Nie made his fortune not long after the nation changed its government from aristocratic to democratic. He single-handedly made a food distribution company in Beiling mountainous and rural areas. Under the country's encouragement of self-employment, he also made a worker federation that laid a foundation for Nie Construction today.
Grandpa Nie was sharp-witted and decisive in action; over time, he became known as a local powerhouse, monopolized the industry in Beiling, and finally established Nie Group.
His age might be old, but Grandpa Nie's appetite for power and money was never satisfied. His biggest dream was to expand their family's influence to the capital city and ranked as a global company. With limitations of age and fierce competitors, the dream was left unsatisfied.
At this time, Nie Hexuan convinced Grandpa Nie to bid for the government project Sunny talked about in school.
It was a jackpot on the outside, but at Linzhi's original timeline, everything went south. Nie Construction was in deficit to make up for losses, and Nie Group's capital chain was broken.
The uncles had transferred their assets and moved abroad while Grandpa and eldest uncle did everything they could to gather funds. Linzhi didn't know what actually happened, but Grandpa divided some of his assets among his children before declaring Nie Group's bankruptcy.
Because of the stress at a later stage, Grandpa got a stroke. While her mother took care of Grandpa Nie, the eldest cousin – Nie Zhan, cheated her mother's money and property in the name of investment.
After considering sending Grandpa abroad for treatment, Nie Linzhi accompanied her mother to knock on the door of the second uncle's house.
She still remembers the father and son's disgusting face now: "Fourth sister, it's not that the second brother won't help you, but the second brother really has no money. You lost money, and I am also a victim of the failed investment."
"Yes, Auntie. I told you that there's high risk with high return. It happens that the investment was a failure. My father and I have no money."
Nie Zhan, who said he had no money, bought the latest limited-edition sports cars not long after and married a wealthy daughter in the capital city with grandiose.
All the memories she didn't want to recall over the years flooded her brain, almost making Nie Linzhi want to explode.
The most painful thing was that, except for the eldest uncle, no one came to Grandpa Nie's funeral because it was the wedding of that pile of trash, Nie Zhan.
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