"Do I really have to say it?"

Hua Rui asked.

Chen Fang gave a slight smile and said, "Of course, you are free to choose, if you really do not wish to speak."

Hua Rui's eyes began to drift away.

After a moment of silence, she took a deep breath and said, "Actually, there's nothing that can't be said, it's all in the past now…"

Hua Rui's original name was not Hua Rui, nor was it Hua Mianhu; her name was Hua Ru, a very ordinary name.

To describe Hua Ru's life as a legend would not be an exaggeration at all.

Many believed that Hua Ru must have been born into a very poor family, otherwise, how could a woman with a beauty like flowers be led down this path?

But this was not the case.

Hua Ru's father, named Hua Shubin, had once been a civil servant.

Following the onslaught of the reform and opening-up policy, Hua Shubin quit his civil servant job and went to Licheng City alone.

Because Hua Shubin's father was a carpenter, Hua Shubin had learned woodworking from his father since he was young and possessed some skills. Thus, upon arriving in Licheng City, with the wave of economic reform, he took over a bankrupt furniture factory, commencing his venture into the business world.

There's a saying that if you stand in the right place when the wind blows, even pigs can fly.

Hua Shubin was one of those who stood in the right place.

As the real estate industry rapidly developed, more and more people bought commercial housing, which led to an increase in demand for furniture; Hua Shubin's furniture factory quickly rose to prominence.

By the time Hua Ru was eighteen,

there were already approximately 30 Yipin Furniture City stores in Yong'an Province alone, with over 70 nationwide, making Hua Shubin a furniture tycoon in people's eyes.

Hearing this,

Chen Fang was startled and asked, "Yipin Furniture City belongs to your family?"

Hua Rui nodded and said with a bitter smile, "It used to, not anymore."

The reason Chen Fang asked was that Yipin Furniture City was not only a listed company but also the largest furniture retailer in the country, with outlets even in Guyang City.

As they say, fortune and disaster are unpredictable,

and in that year, someone set their sights on Yipin Furniture City—this person was Dong Tongjiang.

No one knew why, but Dong Tongjiang had connections that reached the sky, and it was unclear by what means he caused the related departments to detect harmful substances in Yipin Furniture City's products, resulting in many stores being ordered by the government to shut down for reorganization.

This led to a liquidity crisis for Yipin Furniture City.

Then, Dong Tongjiang loaned money to Hua Shubin through intermediaries. Facing financial strain at the time, Hua Shubin mortgaged his equity and borrowed quite a sum of money.

No one knew back then that this was a complete conspiracy.

Though the money was received, it was a usurious loan. With interest compounding like a snowball, the Yipin Furniture City's head company was incapable of repaying its debts. Just like that, Dong Tongjiang sued Hua Shubin and the court handed over Yipin Furniture City directly to Dong Tongjiang.

Hua Shubin's twenty years of struggle vanished into thin air.

After the bankruptcy, Dong Tongjiang was brooding and melancholic. He believed he was entrapped by Dong Tongjiang, and so he continuously petitioned for justice—if not at the municipal level, then at the provincial level, and if not there, at the central government.

It was during Hua Shubin's journey with his wife to petition at the higher levels,

that they met with a car accident.

The car was destroyed, and the couple died on the spot.

Leaving behind only Hua Ru, a mere eighteen years old.

"Before my father went bankrupt, he secretly set up a trust fund for me. After his death, I gradually found out that Dong Tongjiang was from a major family in Yuanjing—the Dong Family. We couldn't possibly offend them. But I had to avenge my father, so, after much contemplation, I thought of establishing a flower house to meet influential people. That was probably the initial intention behind creating the flower house…"

Hua Rui said.

That was the year the flower house was established.

Hua Ru changed her name to Hua Mianhu and began an even more legendary life.

She never expected the Hua Tower to be so popular, so she upgraded the services and the facilities, making Hua Tower better and better.

One day, about seven or eight years ago.

Cai Xiaodong appeared.

He was very interested in Hua Tower and even made an acquisition proposal to Sister Hua. The price he offered was quite tempting, but Sister Hua refused. She had to maintain control over Hua Tower herself.

Cai Xiaodong was helpless.

So he changed his strategy and started to relentlessly pursue Sister Hua…

At this point, Hua Ru's gaze dimmed somewhat.

She said, "At first, I thought he was just after my Hua Tower, but I didn't expect him to actually be so good to me. It was then that I felt warmth, and I seriously began to help him manage Hua Tower…"

"But you still left. Was it because something happened?"

Chen Fang asked.

Hua Ru sighed and said, "Two reasons. First, Cai Xiaodong kept advising me to let go of my obsession. The Dong Family was not to be trifled with, and it'd be better to live a stable life rather than trying to shake a giant tree; the other reason, and the most important one for leaving him—"

"What is it?"

Chen Fang asked.

Hua Ru slowly lifted her gaze.

Looking at Chen Fang, she paused and said, "I am a lesbian…"

A lesbian?

Isn't that a woman who loves women?

This was something Chen Fang had completely not expected.

Who wouldn't be surprised that a breathtakingly beautiful woman was a lesbian?

"I realized this after I opened the Red Mansion. At that time, I often saw men and women tangled up together. I had no interest in men's bodies whatsoever but was infatuated with women's bodies to an uncontrollable degree. Back then, this was considered a very serious problem. I stayed by Cai Xiaodong's side for many years, and many times I gathered the courage to give myself to him, but it never succeeded. I knew that there would be no future by his side, so I chose to leave."

"Why Wulan City, though?"

"My father resigned and went into business in Wulan City; it's my hometown. I had been here several times as a child, so I was relatively familiar with the area,"

Hua Ru explained.

Chen Fang nodded slightly and asked, "You later founded Marriott International. Were you trying to emulate the model of the original Hua Tower?"

"Yes, after leaving Brother Dong, I wanted nothing else and was solely focused on revenge. To take revenge, I needed money, lots and lots of money, so I founded Marriott International. I meticulously set up so many schemes in order to gain the benefits of the Economic Development Zone. Now it seems I was too naive, always thinking I could do anything. In the end, I was defeated by my own pawns. Now that I think about it, it's really laughable."

"Actually, I can accept this outcome too. After all, Brother Dong had already told me before, an ordinary person can never compete with the powerful. I've tried my best, so I have no regrets. If I really need to talk about a regret, it's that I couldn't marry and have children like a normal person, and live an unassuming life to the end."

Hua Ru said with a self-deprecating laugh.

Chen Fang knew the rest without needing to ask.

After Cai Xiaodong's incident, Hua Ru sent people to Yongan Province, and after an investigation, she learned the truth.

She wanted to kill Chen Fang as revenge for Cai Xiaodong.

But she didn't expect that this woman, called a "fox" by the world, was not a fox from the start.

Behind her, there was an invisible stick, beating her into what she was now.

"I can't avenge Cai Xiaodong for you; I can't make Xu Jianfeng change his heart for you, but there is one thing I can do."

Chen Fang suddenly said.

Hua Ru was startled and looked up at Chen Fang, asking, "What?"

Chen Fang smiled faintly and said, "I can let you live the life of a normal person."

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