Money Darling

"Buzz." The final bell rang at H University. Leona Ling was already prepared to leave the classroom. She had her schoolbag tidied up way in advance as there was very little time left in her hands to reach the fast-food restaurant where she worked part-time. Just as she was about to walk out, she was stopped by a tall and handsome boy.

Leona Ling, all of 19 years was a sophomore at H University in C City. She had a petite frame and long black hair that added to her subtle grace. She was wearing white jeans and a T-shirt that she had just picked up from a street stall. Her moist almond-shaped eyes looked like a deep submerged pool on her oval face. Her face had a mark of innocence mixed with a spark of intelligence that attracted people towards her.

The Ling family was quite rich and well known in C City. Her father, Jonson Ling, was running a company that employed dozens of people. Ideally, Leona Ling should have lived a privileged life befitting the second daughter of the wealthy businessman family like the Ling family. However, she used to pull off all her living expenses including her tuition fee through her part-time jobs. The fact was that Leona's mother Bess Shen was not Jonson Ling's real wife but his mistress. As a result, Leona was never given due respect as a real daughter of the Ling family.

Jonson Ling married Cynthia Mu, the only child of the owner of the Mu Company. Before they got married, Jonson was just an ordinary worker in the company. However, he successfully took over the Mu Company after they got married. Cynthia lived a very pampered and privileged life supported by her own family even after she married Jonson. She was more like a queen at home. She had only one daughter called Jasmine Ling after her marriage with Jonson. After that, Cynthia couldn't have another child.

Jonson had no status in the Mu family. Over and above, he had to put up with his dominating wife. He always wanted to have a son which he could not accomplish from his marriage with Cynthia. As a result, Jonson remained depressed and life seemed to be tough. Then, there came a time, when he became close to his secretary, Bess. In a short time, Bess became pregnant. Jonson rested a lot of hope on Bess to have a baby boy. But much to his disappointment, even Bess gave birth to a girl child. And that was none other than Leona.

Jonson lost all his hope and became heartbroken. This affected him in such a way that it led him to be at the verge of bankruptcy because of his inappropriate business decision. Meanwhile, Leona's mother, Bess was also aware that she couldn't become a real member of the Ling family and fell in love with another man. In Jonson's eyes, Leona just brought him bad luck. Bess went absconding leaving the newborn Leona at the disposal of her father. Initially, Jonson had planned to leave Leona in the orphanage. However, a rumor had been spread in C City about his illegitimate daughter. Out of fear of losing his reputation, he had no choice but to take Leona back to his own home and raise her.

Leona was supported by the Ling family for most of her growing years until she got into the university. Now that she had entered the university, she had to fund her education on her own. For Jonson's wife, Cynthia, Leona was a thorn in the flesh. More so because Leona resembled her mother Bess. Every time Leona came in front of Cynthia, she would be reminded of her husband's adultery. As a result, her hatred for Leona would be aggravated. Leona was made to stay in a servant's room of the Ling family and even ate her food with the servants.

Cynthia's daughter, Jasmine was three years elder to Leona.

Even though Leona's half-sister was kind to her, Cynthia didn't allow Jasmine to get in touch with Leona. Every time she saw them together, she would either scold or beat Leona ruthlessly. Leona often got bruises all over her body. Although Jasmine always felt that her mother was going too far, she could not stop her mother from abusing Leona. Left with no other choice, Jasmine had to try her best not to be with Leona. Leona appreciated her sister's consideration.

"Hey, look I bought some Bentos. I'll drive you to the fast-food restaurant. Have some Bentos in the car before you go to work? I promise I won't let you be late! " York Zhao stopped Leona by the door. He looked at her with a smile on his face. York had a bright smile and an impressive personality which made many girls swoon over him.

York was the successor of the Zhao Company. He was a year older than Leona and was a junior student at H University. York was the president of the student union. He had a sunny and handsome face. At the same time, he was also the head of the Basketball Club and quite popular in H University. Evidently, he was the prince charming in many girls' hearts.

Ever since Leona entered the campus of H University, she caught his attention because she was different from other girls. He had been firmly attracted by her. In the past two years, York had done a complete background check on her. When he came to know about her background and the fact that she had to do a double job daily, he felt for her. At the same time, he had developed a liking for her as well. When all other girls of her age spent their time on high fashion attires, makeups and enjoyed themselves with their friends, Leona had to slog at her job. Leona's sense of self-respect and integrity made York's fondness for her grow even stronger.

York had given several hints to Leona indicating that he was willing to help her if she was in trouble. But Leona refused every time because she wanted to finished college all by herself.

Slowly, York realized that Leona had a strong persistence in her bones even though she looked weak. Hence, York didn't mention it anymore. However, York could not give up the idea of helping her in some way or the other. Hence he put a lot of effort to find the address of the fast-food restaurant that Leona worked for. After class, York directly came to Leona's classroom and wanted to give her a drop to her workplace.

York had a tall and well-built stature, which almost blocked the door of the classroom. Leona couldn't get out as long as York didn't give her the way through the door. Though Leona was moved by York's gesture, in her heart, she knew that both their lives were poles apart. For Leona, the only relationship that she had to be true to, was that with the Ling family because she carried their surname. She did not have the luxury to think of anything else.

Leona was aware that she needed to work hard to earn money. Hence, after her college was over, Leona would go to work in society. In this way, she could engage herself in work and had the excuse to stay away from the Ling family and be on her own. York Zhao was the successor of the Zhao Company, which was much larger than the Mu Company. His future wife would be the daughter of some big entrepreneur of the same status as they were. Leona knew that she would not be accepted by the elders of the Zhao family.

Even in the college, Leona had garnered a lot of undue attention of girls who even taunted her and gave her unsolicited advice to stay away from York because she did not deserve him. Leona had never thought about being with York, so she didn't take it to heart. Leona had her own life to focus on. Leona shook her head slightly and said, "Thank you, York. I'm running out of time. Please get out of my way!"

"Don't refuse me, okay? Even if you are in a hurry, you should eat first before you go to work. Otherwise, you will be exhausted. I promise I'll take you there because my car is faster than your bicycle. Or are you still going to be embarrassed by accepting my kindness?" York said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, York. I'm in a hurry. Could you please step aside?" Leona said again. She checked the time at the old second-hand mobile phone in her hand. The screen of the mobile phone was slightly wrinkled, but Leona still managed to buy it with her first salary. It was an old and tattered handset. It was certainly not a treasure that anyone else would pick up even if it was lying on a roadside. Yet, for Leona, it was like her first milestone, a mark of her ability to make a living on her own.

Time was running out. As York blocked the door, all her classmates were also stuck in the classroom. Leona felt embarrassed for having to be the center of attraction once again. She could hear a lot of hustle-bustle going on around her. Many boys were kicking up a fuss and girls making sarcastic remarks. Once again, Leona awkwardly asked York to step aside.

"Leona, York has invited you so sincerely. You should accept it!"

"Exactly! Let York drive you to work today." Some boys started to make fun of her.

"Maybe Leona is just pretending to be too pure and lofty. How could a guy as excellent as York fall in love with her?" Taunted a girl.

Leona tried to ignore all such remarks. She knew she could do nothing about it. York was the young master of a famous family, while she was just an illegitimate daughter who had no status of her own. The gap between the two of them was too big. Although Leona would like to be with a handsome and easygoing boy like York, she knew her identity very well and always kept it in mind. She hoped she could find an honest and caring man as her future husband. Even if he was an ordinary person, she would feel grateful. At this time of her life, love was a luxury for Leona that she could not even think of it as she was struggling to make her ends meet and arrange for her college fees by doing part-time jobs. Hence she was certainly not in the mood to flirt with anyone.

Seeing the uneasiness on Leona's face, York finally gave up. He immediately leaned sideways to make way for her. "Okay, I'll get out of the way. But don't turn me down again, okay." York stepped aside and gave way to Leona.

Leona nodded gratefully and walked past him quickly. A gust of fragrance came across as Leona walked past. York closed his eyes for a moment and chased the lingering fragrance. There was a distinct subtlety in that fragrance that was different from the expensive and luxurious perfumes used by other girls. The faint fragrance from Leona's body would always last and linger longer. Seeing that Leona's figure receding faster than a bat of an eyelid, York's eyes were full of helplessness. This girl was too defensive.

Had it been any other girl, she would have yielded to him long ago under such strong persistence, but Leona was still indifferent. And this is exactly what made York all the more inclined towards her. Leona was like a rose in a storm, seemingly delicate but indomitable. That was the spirit that York liked about her. If Leona was like any other girl, he would not have given her a second thought.

However, Leona's continual rejection and running away from him, made him frustrated. After all, he was the prince charming in almost every girl's eyes at H University. Perhaps in Leona's eyes York might not be the way he thought he was. Otherwise, why would she not agree to be with him?

Leona traveled through the green shade of the H University, and from time to time, she even spotted a pair of couples passing by. It was normal for a university student to be in a relationship with each other, and even the instructors wouldn't be serious about it. Leona rushed to the corner of the garage where an old outworn bike was parked. Leona funded this one as well all by herself. It was a great time saver when she had to shuttle between her work shifts and college. Although the Ling family had several fancy cars, none of them was for Leona.

The students at H University came from wealthy families. Several luxurious cars often came to pick up and drop some of them after school, while many of them drove luxury cars to school all by themselves. Leona would never choose to go through the main gate of the school out of fear that the luxury cars might be scraped by her bike. If that ever happened, she could afford no compensation.

After the entire day's work, when Leona finally made it home, it was already eleven o'clock in the evening. To her surprise, the lights in the living room were on. Leona wondered if there was a guest at home at this late hour! Leona knew Cynthia would still be awake. Leona didn't want to be seen by her, lest she should fall prey to Cynthia's teasing and taunts. Hence, Leona quickened her pace and walked inside as fast as she could.

The Ling family was one of the accomplished families in C City. Their swanky independent villa sprawled over more than 1000 square meters of land, surrounded by a large manicured garden area in a tony neighborhood in C City. Leona languidly passed her bicycle through a small door at the corner of the garden. After parking her bicycle at its designated place, Leona headed towards the kitchen. Nancy had prepared a lot of food for Leona. All the servants working in the Ling household treated Leona very well. Especially for Nancy, Leona occupied a very special place in her heart.

She treated Leona like she is her own daughter and tended to Leona every time she went into the kitchen!

However, just when Leona was walking towards the kitchen, she heard a strange sound behind the rockery. Out of curiosity, she looked towards the direction. The moment she turned her head towards the place from where she heard the sound, she went completely red in her face. Leona found herself awkwardly standing right in front of a man and a woman who were kissing each other. The sound that she heard was the voice of the girl. Leona's eyes widened as she recognized the girl from the back. It was Jasmine. However, she could not recognize the man.

It happened in such haste that Leona did not even have the time to move away. Though unwilling, she witnessed an act of passionate love when Jasmine put her arms around the man's neck, standing on tiptoe and trying to hold back on him. Since it was already past midnight and the man was under the light, Leona couldn't see his face clearly. It seemed like an angular face.

After recovering from the initial embarrassment, Leona suddenly spotted something that was not proper in such a scenario. She had seen several couples embracing each other at H University. Yet there was something weird between the couple here, in front of her. What particularly caught her attention was that, in general, boys are found to have their arms around the girls' waist. However, in this case, the man had his hands buried inside his pants pockets. It looked like it was Jasmine who took the initiative.

After a moment of standing there in utter indecisiveness and amazement, it occurred to Leona that Jasmine might have recently met this young man who owned a company bigger than the Ling family's company. Jonson was very particular about and gave a lot of importance to this prospective son-in-law. He was trying by all his means to arrange Jasmine's marriage with this man. Hence, this must be Jasmine's new boyfriend.

Suddenly, it dawned upon Leona that it was improper for her to peek into their private moment. Jasmine would be deeply embarrassed if she saw Leona at this moment. What was more, Leona would be dammed if Cynthia discovered her. The very thought of Cynthia's wrath made Leona's heart tremble in fear. She made haste to move out of the place as soon as she could. But as luck would have it, she was tripped by a stone. Dong! She made a slight sound.

"Who?" Jasmine Ling said in a sweet voice as they separated immediately after hearing the sound. Both Jasmine and her boyfriend looked in the direction from where the sound came. Jasmine's eyes widened in annoyance and embarrassment. 'Who is that to spoil such a good plan of mine?' Jasmine thought in her mind. As it was very difficult to convince Greg Wei to agree to have dinner at home tonight, Jasmine dressed up for a long time and did a spa this afternoon only to be able to spend some quality time with Greg Wei.

Greg Wei was the CEO of the Wei International Trade Company. It was a much bigger company than the Mu Company. Greg had done his Master's Degree from Harvard. He set up the Wei International Trade Company which was running successfully in America. He came to China in recent years. It was said that Greg had started the Wei Group when he was still in college. Slowly he developed a small company into a big international company within a matter of five or six years.

All of 28, Greg was the most eligible bachelor in town and essentially a very good catch for Jonson. So he had made great efforts to hook up with Greg at a party and introduced Jasmine to him. Since then, Jasmine had fallen in love with Greg. She would go to any cocktail party he attended. Further, Jonson even tried to encourage her to take the initiative. After all, they can't allow such a golden bachelor to slip out of their hands. And if Jasmine waited for Greg to propose her, it may be late. It could even risk Greg being taken away by other women.

Since they started to meet very often, Jasmine took Greg's politeness for his liking towards her. Although Greg always pulled a long face, Jasmine believed that as long as she was more considerate, she could win Greg's heart sooner or later. Jonson had even suggested that since Jasmine and Greg had a favorable impression on each other and were of similar ages and family backgrounds, they should be engaged as soon as possible. Although the Ling family's business was far from being even close to the huge business of the Wei family's, Lings owned just a medium-sized company in C City. Nevertheless, it was a golden opportunity for Jonson to up his ante by establishing a relationship with the Wei family.

Initially, Jasmine and her parents were nervous to the point that they had their hearts in their throats. They spent several sleepless nights fearing that Greg might think that they were trying to force him to marry Jasmine. But much beyond their expectation, he agreed. Greg had committed to them that he would hold the engagement ceremony as soon as he finished the few big business deals that he was busy with. Jasmine's happiness knew no bounds. She felt that she was in a dream. In excitement, she ended up gulping down some wine to calm the adrenaline rush. However, in the process, she became dizzy as she was not used to drinking.

What happened between Jasmine and Greg just now, was merely the influence of alcohol that made her take the initiative to become intimate with Greg. However, she didn't expect that she would be interrupted in such an awkward manner. Jasmine turned in the direction where that voice came from. Had it not been for Greg's presence at that moment, she would have even let out a curse. Having spotted Leona standing there, Jasmine became more furious.

But Greg had a certain nonchalance on his face. He had seen Leona when she entered the yard a few moments back. As Leona rode her bicycle, the wind brushed against her face and blew up the hair on her slender waist, and she looked like a fairy in the moonlight. Even at this moment, when Leona was caught intruding into their private moment, the way she came out looking guilty, just like a kitten, she looked very cute.

Being aware of the situation of the Ling family, Greg immediately knew that this girl was probably the second daughter of the Ling family. However, what intrigued Greg's inquisitiveness was that this girl came in from the back door at midnight and was even pushing a bicycle silently like a thief. On one thought, it looked like she was a night owl that liked hanging out at night. However, the innocent look on her face defied that judgment. Greg had seen a lot of such girls before.

Leona's face turned red. She apologized to them immediately, "I... I'm sorry. I didn't see anything. I... I'm leaving!" Then she ran back to her room in a hurry, forgetting even to have dinner in the kitchen.

"How come a girl comes back home so late?" Greg exclaimed on purpose.

"Yeah, I seldom see her at night. Only at noon when she just wakes up. Forget it. We'd better not talk about her behind her back!" Jasmine lied point-blank to mislead Greg to think of Leona as a promiscuous girl, and quickly avoided this subject. She didn't want him to notice Leona. Leona did not have to try too hard to get attention from men. It had been quite easy for her. She had been chased by boys since she was in primary school, and it had remained that way all through these years.

Men fell for her very easily, especially with that pair of eyes that mirrored the purity of her soul. Jasmine would sneak out to find Leona on purpose whenever Cynthia was not around. Then, as soon a Cynthia found her out, Leona would be at the receiving end of her mother's wrath. Cynthia would pinch and beat Leona at that time. And Jasmine would pretend to be innocent and persuaded her mother not to beat her. Jasmine pretended to be a good sister in front of Leona, but smirked at Leona in her heart.