Chapter 4: Birthday Gift

Chen Che left the West Mountain Cemetery and walked toward the villa district, buying a white mouse on the way as a gift.

By the time Chen Che arrived, it was already dark. The Chen Family Villa—oh no, wait, it was now the house of the Yang mother and daughter.

Many luxury cars were parked in front of the villa, and famous ladies and daughters of noble families were arriving one after another to attend the birthday party.

Watching his own house being occupied by interlopers, anger surged in Chen Che's heart. He climbed in through a window with practiced ease and made his way to the back kitchen. He knocked out a waiter who was pushing a birthday cake and changed into the waiter's uniform.

Afterward, he took out the white mouse, flicked its head with his index finger to stun it, placed it on top of the cake, and pushed it out as if nothing were the matter.

In the bedroom.

Yang Simin was still grooming herself; today was her twentieth birthday, which was even more significant than her eighteenth.

The guests attending the birthday party were the most numerous in history, and their family backgrounds were either wealthy merchants or powerful officials, so she had to take it seriously.

"Not ready yet?"

At this moment, a plump middle-aged woman pushed the door open and entered.

The woman had well-defined facial contours and almond eyes as bright as stars; although she was forty years old, she looked only thirty due to proper maintenance.

The person who arrived was none other than Yang Simin's mother, Yang Wanqing.

Yang Wanqing had her hair coiled at the back of her head, revealing a neck like white porcelain, and she was wearing a navy blue slim-fit cheongsam. Her body curves were soft and elegant, exuding the unique charm of a mature woman.

"Hurry up, the people outside are all waiting." Seeing that her daughter was not ready, Yang Wanqing frowned and urged her.

"Alright, alright!" Yang Simin applied the last bit of blush.

The mirror in front reflected a graceful young girl wearing a water-blue spun-silk off-the-shoulder evening gown, with lace ribbons tied at both shoulders and a blue satin cord tied around her waist; the skirt flared out at the knees like butterfly wings, making her look even more youthful and pretty.

Yang Simin nodded with satisfaction and asked, "By the way, Mom, did Miss Cheng come?"

Yang Wanqing sighed, her expression disappointed: "No."

"Then doesn't that mean we failed to curry favor with the Cheng Family again? A third-rate family is already so arrogant, wouldn't it be even harder to curry favor with second-rate and first-rate ones?" Yang Simin complained.

"It's normal if they don't come. It's not that easy to curry favor with big families. Besides, I heard that Miss Cheng is sick and can't stand; she can only sit in a wheelchair."

"But didn't she promise to come before?"

"Maybe she changed her mind at the last minute..."

Yang Wanqing comforted her daughter: "It's fine. Even if Miss Cheng doesn't come, there are still guests from other families; for us and the Jinhai Group, this is already very prestigious."

"That's true. And I have such a good relationship with Miss Liu. With her here, it's only a matter of time before we connect with Miss Cheng."

Yang Simin looked at herself in the mirror again, then went out to the main hall.

Seeing Yang Simin appear, Liu Qianqian immediately trotted over and patted Yang Simin on her small, perky buttocks: "You little vixen, you look so beautiful today!"

"You're not far behind!" Yang Simin did not show weakness and pinched Liu Qianqian's chest.

The two of them frolicked their way to the main hall, and Yang Simin greeted the arrivals one by one.

Seeing Yang Simin's gaze fixed on the entrance, Liu Qianqian patted her: "Stop waiting, Miss Cheng probably won't be able to come."

"She promised she would come," Yang Simin said.

Liu Qianqian leaned into Yang Simin's ear and whispered: "I heard that Cheng Kexiang fell ill a week ago and couldn't be cured by many famous doctors, so it's normal she can't come. But having me, the sister of the Deputy Commander of the Magic City Patrol Department, here to support you is enough."

At this moment, Chen Che, disguised as a waiter, pushed the cake over. He placed the cake on the table and then stood silently to the side.

"There's even a mouse, how creative!"

"I heard that Miss Yang's zodiac sign is the mouse; this mouse must be saved for Miss Yang to eat."

"Alright, alright, let's blow out the candles and make a wish first." Liu Qianqian put the birthday hat on Yang Simin, and Chen Che stepped up to insert the candles and light them.

Yang Simin clasped her hands to make a wish, and the others sang the birthday song together to offer their blessings.

Yang Wanqing looked down at this scene from the second floor, her face full of smiles. The people attending the birthday party were not just Yang Simin's friends; the families behind them were connections that money couldn't buy.

Five years ago, after Yang Wanqing took full control of the Jinhai Group, she began drastic reforms, and at the same time, kicked all of Chen Xin's old subordinates out, focusing entirely on cultivating her own people. In just five years, the Jinhai Group was completely under her control.

Setting aside her venomous heart, Yang Wanqing was indeed very capable in business; under her helm, the scale of the Jinhai Group had expanded more than fivefold in these five years.

She made more and more acquaintances, but she had never had the opportunity to curry favor with big families like the Cheng Family; she had been happy when she received the news that Cheng Kexiang would come to Yang Simin's birthday party.

But now it seemed that her hope was going to be dashed again.

Chen Che looked up at Yang Wanqing on the second floor, his fists clenched so tightly they creaked.

Before Yang Wanqing came to work as a nanny for the Chen Family, she was a standard housewife. It was just that her husband was a gambler who sold her and her daughter Yang Simin to creditors after losing money.

Yang Wanqing took Yang Simin and fled for several days and nights before escaping; when they were wandering the streets, they were bumped into by Chen Che's mother, Zhong Lan, who took pity on the mother and daughter and brought them home to be a nanny.

She even had her father, Chen Xin, use his connections to help Yang Simin solve her schooling problems. Alas, no good deed goes unpunished; Yang Wanqing poisoned Zhong Lan to death with chronic poison, climbed into Chen Xin's bed, and became Chen Che's stepmother.

Chen Che suppressed the urge to rush up and twist Yang Wanqing's neck, waiting quietly for the good show that was about to begin.

Yang Simin blew out the candles, and Liu Qianqian handed her a knife to cut the cake.

"Cut the mouse first, eat your own zodiac sign," Liu Qianqian said.

Yang Simin held the knife with both hands and cut lightly into the mouse's belly...

Hmm?

Why is it soft? She applied a little more force...

"Squeak!"

The mouse let out a miserable cry, shot up with a 'whoosh', and scurried around on the floor.

"Ah!!!!!"

Screams rose one after another, and all the noble ladies in the room jumped up, clutching their skirts.

"Someone, catch it!" Yang Simin screamed in alarm.

Chen Che took a step forward, deliberately slipped, and kicked the white mouse under Yang Simin's feet. The white mouse scurried onto Yang Simin's foot and crawled into her skirt along her smooth leg.

"Ah!!!"

Yang Simin let out a pig-slaughtering scream, dancing about as if performing ballet.

The Bodyguards heard the commotion and all rushed in.

Liu Qianqian pointed at Yang Simin and shouted, "There's a mouse on her, get it off quickly!"

The bodyguards looked at each other, but none of them dared to step forward.

A candle fell onto Yang Simin, setting her silk dress on fire, which was nothing short of adding insult to injury for her.

"Save me, quickly!" Yang Simin rolled back and forth on the ground.

The bodyguards hurriedly grabbed fire extinguishers and sprayed them at Yang Simin all at once; in an instant, white mist filled the entire room.

When the mist cleared, Yang Simin had become a foam-covered person. Her gorgeous clothes were burnt away, her body was exposed everywhere, and the little white mouse had already hidden away somewhere.

The bodyguards stood stiffly, yet they still couldn't help but steal a glance.

"Pah, pah! What are you looking at! Keep looking and I'll dig your eyeballs out!" Yang Simin shrieked.

Yang Wanqing came down from the second floor, draped a coat over Yang Simin, and wrapped her up.

Liu Qianqian suddenly pointed at Chen Che in the corner and shouted, "It was him, he did it! He was the one who pushed the cake over, and he was the one who threw the candle, I saw it!"

Hearing this, everyone looked toward Chen Che in the corner.

Chen Che raised his head unhurriedly and looked straight at Yang Wanqing and Yang Simin: "Yang Simin, do you like the birthday gift I sent?"

Yang Wanqing and Yang Simin both exclaimed at the same time: "It's you!"

Yang Wanqing's eyes widened, her face full of terror and disbelief; the plan to send Chen Che to the Juvenile Detention Center years ago had failed, and she had intended to take action in secret, but before she could, news arrived that Chen Che was being hunted down.

She guessed that the people who killed Chen Xin had struck again, and later, there was no word from Chen Che. She had once believed that Chen Che was already dead. After all, even Chen Xin had died at the hands of those people; how could a teenager have escaped from them?

But now, Chen Che was standing right in front of her, alive and well!

"Impossible, this is impossible! You actually didn't die!"

Yang Wanqing's body trembled; the horror in her heart was as if a dead person had returned to claim her life.

Chen Che sneered: "Surprised? I've come to claim your life."