The morning sun hit the pavement of the Town Square, reflecting off the red banners that draped across the entrance of the 1995 Textile Fair. This was the biggest event of the year for the city, a place where factory directors, government cadres, and small-time vendors gathered to show off their wares. The air was thick with the smell of charcoal grilled snacks, the metallic tang of machinery, and the chatter of thousands of people hoping to strike it rich in the new economy.
Li Hua stepped off the public bus, and for a moment, the bustling crowd near the entrance went silent.
She was a vision of 90s sophistication that the locals couldn't quite wrap their heads around. After her Three-Day Glow-Up, her weight had dropped to 82kg. While she was still "plus-sized" by the era's harsh standards, her body was no longer a shapeless mass. Her waist was cinched by a wide leather belt, highlighting an hourglass figure that commanded respect. Her skin was the color of fresh cream, poreless and glowing with a health that seemed supernatural. Her long, black hair was pulled back into a sleek, high ponytail, revealing the elegant curve of her neck.
She was wearing a custom-made suit of her own design—a charcoal-grey blazer with sharp shoulder pads and a matching pencil skirt that hit just below the knee. In a sea of baggy, wrinkled cotton and cheap floral prints, she looked like a high-powered executive from a Hong Kong drama.
[Ding! 'Vogue Vision' Active.]
[Scanning Environment... Detected: Low-quality polyester (80%), Traditional Silk (15%), High-End Southern Synthetics (5%).]
[Target Spotted: Gu Yan and Lin Meimei. Distance: 20 meters. Current Status: Acting as 'Model' for the Gu Family Fabric Stall.]
Li Hua's eyes turned cold as she spotted them.
Gu Yan was standing on a wooden platform, looking "scholarly" in his grey suit—the one Li Hua had bought for him, now poorly cleaned and smelling faintly of the soup she had dumped on it. Beside him, Lin Meimei was draped in a flimsy, bright pink lace dress that looked like a cheap curtain. She was batting her eyelashes at a group of factory directors, trying to charm them into signing a contract with the Gu family.
"Come look, Directors!" Lin Meimei chirped, her voice like a grating whistle. "Our Gu family's 'Eternal Bloom' fabric is the best in the province. It's sturdy, it's bright, and it's perfect for the modern woman!"
Li Hua walked toward the stall, her heels clicking rhythmically against the stone ground. Every step felt like a drumbeat of doom for the two people who had destroyed her in her past life.
"Modern woman?" Li Hua's voice rang out, clear and melodic, cutting through Lin Meimei's sales pitch. "If that fabric is for the modern woman, then the modern woman must be planning to join a circus."
The crowd parted. Gu Yan looked up, irritation flaring in his eyes—but then he froze. He stared at the woman standing before him. He saw the sharp jawline, the radiant skin, and the powerful aura. It took his brain several seconds to reconcile this goddess with the "fat pig" he had dumped only days ago.
"Li... Li Hua?" Gu Yan stammered, his jaw nearly hitting the dusty floor. "Is that you? How... what happened to you?"
Lin Meimei's face twisted in a mixture of horror and pure jealousy. She clutched the pink lace of her dress until the cheap fabric began to strain. "Li Hua? No, that's impossible! This woman is... she's wearing makeup! She's spent her father's money on surgery! Gu Yan, don't be fooled!"
Li Hua ignored Lin Meimei as if she were a buzzing fly. She stepped up to the Gu family stall and reached out, touching the "Eternal Bloom" fabric with a gloved finger.
[System Analysis: 'Eternal Bloom' Fabric.]
[Composition: 90% Industrial Polyester, 10% Recycled Cotton. Durability: Low. Breathability: Zero. Market Value: 1 Yuan per meter.]
"Gu Yan," Li Hua said, her voice dripping with pity. "You call this quality? This fabric is an industrial mistake. In three washes, the pink will turn to a sickly grey, and the static electricity will make it stick to the skin like a plastic bag. Is this how your family intends to represent our town's textile heritage? By selling trash to our hard-working citizens?"
The factory directors, who had been on the verge of signing, pulled their hands back. They looked at the fabric, then at Li Hua's charcoal-grey suit, which looked infinitely more expensive and durable.
"Who are you to talk about fabric?" Gu Yan snarled, trying to regain his dignity. "You're just a girl who used to follow me around like a dog! You don't know the first thing about the textile business!"
"On the contrary, Gu Yan," Li Hua said, stepping closer until she was looking down at him from her position of power. "I know that the Director of the Textile Bureau, Madam Qin, has already commissioned me for her National Day gala wardrobe. I know that the 'future' isn't in this cheap, scratchy lace. It's in the high-density, breathable blends that I'm currently developing."
She turned to the crowd, her +20 Charisma making her seem like a titan. "If anyone here wants to see what real modern fashion looks like—fashion that respects the female form and the quality of the material—come to the north end of the square. I'll be showing my 'Phoenix Rising' collection at noon."
"You... you're lying!" Lin Meimei shrieked, her face turning a blotchy red. "Madam Qin wouldn't talk to someone like you! You're just a fat, arrogant—"
SLAP.
The sound echoed through the square. Li Hua hadn't used her hand. She had used a rolled-up magazine she was carrying, striking Lin Meimei's table so hard that the "Eternal Bloom" fabric fell into the mud.
"Keep my name out of your mouth, Meimei," Li Hua said, her eyes flashing with a dangerous light. "And Gu Yan? Keep the suit. It matches the trash you're selling."
She turned on her heel and walked away, her head held high. Behind her, the crowd began to whisper.
"Is that really the Li family girl?"
"She looks like a movie star!"
"Did you hear? She's working for Madam Qin!"
[Ding! Massive Face-Slap Successful!]
[Rewards Issued: +500 System Points, -2kg Weight Loss, 'Business Negotiator' Skill Unlocked!]
[New Target: Secure the School Uniform Contract for the City. Reward: 10,000 Yuan.]
As she walked toward the north end, a dark car pulled up alongside her. The window rolled down, revealing the sharp, spectacled eyes of Ye Feng.
"Quite a performance," he said, his voice a low hum. "But a tiger shouldn't waste its time playing with mice. Get in. The Director of the Education Bureau is waiting, and he's much harder to impress than a few local vendors."
Li Hua didn't hesitate. She stepped into the car, the scent of leather and power enveloping her once more. Her first 10,000 Yuan was within reach.