18. Calm Before The Storm

The next few days RuQian was busy trying to find a master who could teach her about coding but she had no luck. Surprisingly she was not disturbed in school which felt odd to her because Chang Min was not making his moves. She felt like this was the calm before the storm.

The days passed by as RuQian kept going to and from school. The days melded into one another. RuQian had to figure out how she would start her acting career. She could use her grandfather's connections to get in to the top most company but she wanted to grow on her own. But she would still need to start somewhere, so she might have to use her grandfather's connection one time at the very least.

The only problem was with her computer skills. When she went on the dark web, she wanted to contact someone who could teach her but some were just asking for money while others were not interested. The one's asking for money did not have the calibre so even if she did pay them she would not be able to learn anything.

RuQian really had to find someone to teach her soon, or all this time she now had would be wasted. After graduating high school, RuQian wanted to focus on her acting career and nothing else, so this would be the only free time she had.

Apart from all these RuQian did not have to study much as she had already been in the top ten in her past life but she did want to fare well in the national exams at the end of her high school, which were very prestigious and one who ranked better would be able to get into any choice of university with scholarships and many other facilities of their liking. Some students who scored in the top three of the national exams would be paid to join a particular university.

In her past life RuQian started preparing for the national exams a month before and she had scored the top tenth points. That was how she was easily able to get into A University. This time RuQian was aiming for the top three. She did know the test questions but she did not slack off. There was still a lot of time so RuQian wanted to prepare slowly for the test.

If she was in the top three she would be able to negotiate by not having to attend the classes and just take the tests and also be able to graduate in one year if she wanted. She would just have to take the tests required and she would not be asked any other questions. This was not a privilege given to all students. If she really could graduate in one year, her acting career would have many advantages.

RuQian was aiming for all the advantages she could ever get in this life. Soon a month had passed and she still had not seen Chang Min. Though she did see him during their sports classes he never even glanced her way. 'Is he going to give up on me?' RuQian had that idea for just a second but she erased it, this plan was not only Chang Min's but Su Ting's

and he wanted to control her which he would never give up.

If that was the case then they must have come up with a new plan. But RuQian could not figure out what they were thinking of, even when she racked her brain. So she thought she would just go along with the flow. It's not like she would not be able to deal with them. (Oh how wrong she was.)

The painting that was drawn by Lan Xie was placed proudly in the middle of the living room which was the first thing one would see after entering the house. Her grandfather fell in love with the painting, of course not because Lan Xie was the artist but because she was the model. When RuQian found out how much her grandfather had paid for the painting in question she gasped and then had to think of ways to get the money back.

"Grandfather how could you pay 5 million dollars for this painting. It was drawn by Lan Xie, she is just a student. How could you waste so much money?"

"Young lady, don't talk to me in that tone. What do you mean by waste? The money was very well spent, if required I can pay even more."

"Huh?"

"And by the way you cannot lecture me on wasting money. Yes, you have been frugal these past few days but do you not remember how much money you spent the last time you went on a shopping spree? 18 million dollars! That is how much you spent. Given girls your age spend in a similar way, you cannot question my expenditure when yours is much worse."

RuQian could not say anything after that. This was how she was in the past. Given everything she bought were expensive, they were all original branded items. After RuQian was under depression she lost all her vigour and her worldly desires. So she stopped her shopping sprees and only dressed in her casual black or grey pantsuits.

This time she could not continue like that if she wanted to become a top actress. She had to know all the latest fashion trends, she had to be on par with top models. Sigh, she had to buy all the new magazines and subscribe for monthly editions. RuQian was in the restroom on the ground floor of her school when she was thinking of the amount she would have to pay for all those magazines. It was not a lot, they were cheap enough but it was a huge hassle, 'well this is my dream so I have to deal with these things'. RuQian tried to comfort herself as she went to wash her hands.

As RuQian looked up she saw a face she hadn't seen in a while, then her nose was covered with a cloth which reeked of a rancid smell and her world turned dark as she fell unconscious...