The Princess That Bullied Me Cries On My Legs Every Day - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When Yu Xian took over the small inn, it was old and dilapidated, with most of the furniture unusable. Over the past six months, she had managed to save some money by taking private commissions and drawing concept art for game developers.

She had earned her first bucket of gold from a novelist who happened to stumble upon her Weibo account and asked tentatively if she accepted private commissions. Only then did she realize that art could bring in quick money. She tried taking on one piece for that client, and to her surprise, because of her dirt-cheap “cabbage” prices, orders flooded in all at once, steadily building her reputation.

There were weeks when Yu Xian painted five to six hundred sketches, burying her head in work from dusk till dawn. She needed money—she wanted to continue studying oil painting, but couldn’t afford the expensive pigments; she needed to pay off four years of student loans, and that required a great deal of money.

It wasn’t until game developers reached out, offering tens of thousands to over a hundred thousand yuan per concept piece, that Yu Xian truly realized her technical skill had reached a far higher level. Going from an obscure little painter to a highly sought-after artist with an impeccable reputation, she finally had enough money to live the quiet life she desired.

She took over a mountainside inn on the outskirts of Xiangling Town, renovated it, bought new furniture, stocked up on a year’s supply of titanium white paint, and continued honing her craft in oil painting—naturally, without neglecting her digital work.

After the renovation, the inn had two or three spare rooms. Xiangling Town saw an endless stream of tourists during peak season, often leaving latecomers with nowhere to stay.

Auntie Xu, who sold dried fruits in town, was acquainted with Yu Xian and assumed she had renovated the place to run a hospitality business. Worrying that business might suffer due to the location being further out than the downtown hotels, she enthusiastically directed tourists who couldn’t book rooms to Yu Xian’s inn.

After this happened enough times, Yu Xian simply decided to rent out those spare rooms, hanging up a sign that read “Yu Xian Inn” to officially open for business—exactly one month ago.

Returning from town, Yu Xian placed the bell and the plush doll onto her desk, booted up her tablet, and began sketching.

Before long, the rough draft was finished. She sent it over to the client to check for approval.

The client seemed thrilled: [Yes, exactly like this!]

Client: [This is the princess syndrome character of my dreams! Please keep going, Artist! The draft is perfect!]

Client: [Artist, you’re so fast! A draft in just half a day! I love you so much!]

Yu Xian smiled faintly: [Inspiration struck, so I’ll go ahead and continue.]

Client: [Go right ahead, Artist, I won’t disturb you further!]

Yu Xian cleaned up the sketch, stripping away the stray lines until a crisp, tidy character draft emerged.

Next came the rendering—fleshing out intricate details from every strand of hair to the textures of the lavish gown and the ornate jewelry… Finally, she cast a layer of golden rim light from the upper corner. A princess carried her own radiant aura; as the golden glow draped over her, even the tips of her hair shimmered, letting anyone feel her nobility even without a background.

Before she knew it, the clock neared seven or eight in the evening. Yu Xian cooked a simple dinner with two or three small dishes, bringing an ordinary day toward its close.

Stepping out after washing up, Yu Xian dried her long hair with a towel, dressed in her pajamas. She was tall and slender, a woman of few words whose expressionless face carried an aloofness that kept people at a distance.

The hair dryer whirred to life. Once her hair was dry, she put the dryer away, but the cord accidentally caught on something on the desk.

Clink-clank, clink-clank—

The little bell given to her by the elderly lady rolled across the floor and disappeared under the bed, jingling relentlessly.

The continuous chime left Yu Xian momentarily stunned.

During their senior year fitness test, Eldest Miss Ming had been ordered by her family to pass; if she passed, they promised to throw her a lavish birthday banquet.

However, sit-ups and the 800-meter run were Ming Ruixi’s greatest weaknesses. Her other lackeys didn’t dare help her cheat, terrified of getting caught by the teacher and receiving a disciplinary demerit, so they had paired up with others well in advance. Ming Ruixi had turned to Yu Xian, tipping her to force a partnership and demanding that she bend the rules.

Eldest Miss Ming could manage at most one sit-up on her own. Her waist was as slender as a willow branch—pretty to look at, but completely useless for physical exertion. The remaining twenty or thirty reps were completed entirely because Yu Xian secretly pulled her up each time.

When the sit-ups ended and they stood in line for the next event, Eldest Miss Ming’s lower back ached terribly. Treating Yu Xian like a maidservant, she ordered her to massage it.

The 800-meter run was even more absurd. Ming Ruixi refused to let Yu Xian run ahead of her, yet she was dead last herself—delicate to a fault. Seeing the rest of the class pulling further and further ahead, Eldest Miss Ming grew anxious. Throwing caution to the wind, she grabbed Yu Xian’s hand and forced Yu Xian to drag her along, haughtily demanding that she run faster to catch up with the pack.

Naturally, the outcome was disastrous. Their 800-meter score was abysmal, barely scraping twenty or thirty points, whereas Yu Xian normally scored full marks. Upon seeing the results, instead of feeling the slightest remorse, the young lady spun around and lashed out.

“What good are you?! Taking my money and doing no work—do you think my cash grows on trees?!”

Yu Xian took a deep breath, banished the memories from her mind, and let her expression cool.

She picked up the bell and tossed it into a drawer. Looking up, she realized that rain had started falling outside—sparse gusts turning into a heavy downpour, accompanied by flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder.

Yu Xian frowned slightly, pulled the curtains shut, and prepared to get into bed.

Ding-ding-ding—

Suddenly, the doorbell rang from downstairs. Why would a tourist show up this late?

Yu Xian turned around, left the bedroom, and walked down the stairs. The person outside pressed the bell once more.

“Coming.” Reaching the door, Yu Xian pulled it open, her grip on the door handle instantly tightening.

One month after Yu Xian Inn had opened for business, she was greeted by someone she never could have imagined seeing in this lifetime.

Standing on her doorstep was Ming Ruixi—the once-haughty Eldest Miss Ming who had draped herself in gold and silver—now looking thoroughly impoverished and destitute. Her intricately styled hair was drenched by the rain, clinging wet and sticky against her forehead. Her custom-made black velvet cocktail dress had lost its luster in the rainy night. She wore black velvet gloves over her fair wrists and held a luxury designer clutch that was completely soaked through.

Raindrops slid down the ends of her hair along her swan-like neck, trickling into the alluring valley below.

Yu Xian’s voice was icy: “Is there something you need, Eldest Miss?”

Ming Ruixi’s voice sounded somewhat hoarse, and her palm-sized face was pale and drained of color, devoid of its former radiant bloom, looking somewhat miserable and pitiful.

“Yu Xian, I’m a fake. The real eldest daughter of the Ming family has been brought back.”

With just two brief sentences, she laid bare her current predicament. It turned out the princess had lost her castle and her crown, reduced to an ordinary mortal.

Midway through speaking, she lightly tilted her chin up, meeting Yu Xian’s gaze with a haughty, condescending look: “I have nowhere else to go right now. Can you take me in for a while?”

Even though she was the one begging for a favor, there wasn’t a trace of pleading in her tone. It was as if she were still that exalted princess.

A gust of wind carried the rain toward them, rustling the delicate little bell tied around her ankle and setting off a sequence of crisp chimes.

Her arch-rival had been invited to the princess’s birthday banquet. Terrified that the other girl would steal her spotlight, Ming Ruixi had demanded that her family hire the best dance instructor to teach her. Coincidentally, school regulations had been exceptionally strict during that period; being caught skipping a single class resulted in an automatic fail. Eldest Miss Ming was unable to attend the classes to learn the difficult dance steps on short notice. Refusing to give up, she turned around and forced Yu Xian to learn the male lead’s steps to practice with her instead.

During those days in the dance studio, aside from the relentless jingling of the bell around her ankle, there were endless beatings and humiliations from the young lady.

At the birthday banquet, Eldest Miss Ming achieved her wish and shone brilliantly. Proud as a peacock, she looked down on everyone while basking in the fawning compliments of the crowd. Meanwhile, Yu Xian played the role of a waiting server at the princess’s gala, fetching her drinks and standing by to back her up if the young lady got into a fight with her rival.

“Let us wish Miss Ming Ruixi a very happy twenty-third birthday!”

Thunderous applause erupted across the banquet hall. The Ming family truly doted on her; a renowned national pianist played live for her, and an orchestra on the second floor performed from beginning to end.

Her classmates were completely overshadowed by her presence, leaving behind only hollow flattery and congratulations.

Ming Ruixi couldn’t care less whether the compliments were sincere. Dressed in an elegant princess gown and wearing a crown, with handmade lace gloves accentuating her snow-white skin, she danced gracefully beneath the Baccarat crystal chandelier—the very definition of being the center of the universe.

After she finished dazzling the crowd, the butler wheeled out a cake taller than a person. Madam Ming gently called her over:

“Ruixi, come over and cut the cake.”

Ming Ruixi strutted past Yu Xian with an air of absolute supremacy. In her world, she was the sole protagonist; everyone else barely qualified as background extras.

Yet, as Eldest Miss Ming brushed past, she knocked into the tray in Yu Xian’s hands, sending more than a dozen glasses of red wine spilling entirely over the delicate little princess.

Instantly, the air froze. Everyone held their breath, watching the young lady—now looking as pathetic as a drenched chicken—fly into a furious rage. She raised her hand and delivered a stinging slap across Yu Xian’s face.

“You useless trash—!”

Five distinct red finger marks surfaced across Yu Xian’s face, burning with pain. Standing before her, Yu Xian calmly explained, “You bumped into it.”

Eldest Miss Ming grew even more enraged, her chest heaving violently. Even so, she remained breathtakingly ethereal. Pointing a slender jade finger toward the entrance, she snarled, “Yu Xian, get out of my sight! Don’t you dare show your face in front of me again!”

That birthday banquet had been the last time she saw Eldest Miss Ming. Though a considerable amount of time had passed, it felt as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.

A phantom throb seemed to pulse across Yu Xian’s cheek.

A flash of lightning ripped through the sky, illuminating the courtyard and exposing Ming Ruixi’s petite, bedraggled figure in full view.

“Yu Xian, as long as you take me in, I won’t treat you poorly.”

The black velvet dress featured a backless cut across the lower half of her back, exposing her bare skin to the damp, chilly night air. Clutching her damp clutch, Ming Ruixi rubbed her arms, feeling the cold seep in.

Hearing her voice, Yu Xian snapped out of the memory of being humiliated at the birthday banquet. Her expression remained unchanged as she looked down at her from above, taking in the petite figure whose ankle still bore that very strand of bells, and let out an ambiguous scoff.

“I can take you in. But on one condition.”