"Cici, in the blink of an eye you've grown into such a fine young woman," Li Chong said, his gaze sliding over her. "I still remember when you were little and your daddy could hold you in one arm."
His eyes lingered on her slender curves, his lips curling into a low, unsettling chuckle. "But your skin… still as soft as when you were a child."
Celia's expression stayed blank, her clear eyes frosted over.Celia:It seems you've forgotten how you lost your right eye. Stay away from me.
Li Chong's smirk faltered. As if he could forget. She had only been ten years old then—small, slight—when he had loomed over her, only for her to ram a pair of chopsticks into his eye. Blood had splattered across her young face, yet she hadn't flinched, her dark, unblinking eyes fixed on him just as they were now.
He spat on the ground, snarling. "Drop the innocent act. I hear you've got two big-shot men fighting over you in the city. Must've made quite a fortune off them. I'm your father—I raised you. Hand over some money."
Celia:I don't have any money.
"No money?" His tone turned oily. "Fine. Then come back to the countryside and take care of me in my old age."
Celia:I'm not going back with you.
Her refusal only seemed to fuel him. Li Chong suddenly bellowed, his voice carrying through the street outside CC:"Everyone, come and see! Come judge for yourselves!"
The commotion drew a crowd within minutes. Curious faces leaned in."What's going on?"
Li Chong squeezed out two crocodile tears, his voice trembling just enough to sound pitiful."Look at this! This is my daughter, Celia. I raised her. And now that she's made it big in the city, she pretends she doesn't know me—her own father from the countryside!"
"My health has been failing for the past two years. The doctors say it's terminal. I've got no one to care for me. I just wanted her to come back home and look after me till the end, but she flat-out refused!"
"If my own daughter won't have me, what's the point of living? I might as well die right here in front of everyone!"
With that, the scoundrel threw himself onto the ground in a full-blown street performance, refusing to budge.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd, growing sharper by the second."Young lady, how can you be so heartless? Just because you've got some money now, you won't even acknowledge your father?""He's sick—terminal! You should be back in the countryside, taking care of him!"
Chloe Zhao stood in the crowd, her smile widening at the spectacle. "Celia, you really ought to head home and take care of your dear old dad," she said loudly, the mockery dripping from her voice.
Up on the third floor of the CC Building, Rosalie stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching it all unfold with satisfaction. Her red lips curved in triumph.
Not only was Celia entangled with Nathaniel Fu, but she'd also caught the attention of Zhou Jin. Unforgivable. Rosalie would see her shipped back to the countryside where she belonged. Neither Nathaniel nor Zhou Jin deserved her.
She wouldn't let either of them off easy.
Pulling out her phone, Rosalie called an entertainment gossip outlet."Hey, I've got some exclusive dirt on Celia. Interested?"
With Celia already in the spotlight thanks to the much-publicized rivalry between Nathaniel Fu and Zhou Jin, this fresh scandal exploded online almost instantly.
Clips of Li Chong's tearful performance at CC's front doors flooded every platform, accompanied by cutting captions:
Is this really Celia's father from the countryside?I used to like her, but wow—she's too busy with her rich boyfriends to even recognize her own dad? Cold-blooded.Guess money really does change people.