Book 3 She Becomes Glamorous After Her Engagement Annulment Short Story

Chapter 5

Chapter 1027: … Well, Her Family is Worth At Least $1.5 Million

Drive?

Cheryl kept quiet for a while.

This upscale neighborhood was relatively quiet, so there was indeed quite a distance between each villa, and traveling to another villa by foot would take at least ten minutes.

However, it took only three to five minutes by car.

In that case, they would just drive, then.

But before Cheryl could answer that it would take only a few minutes, Lionel had loaded the suitcase into the trunk and slipped into the driver’s seat.

This was a seven-seater multi-purpose vehicle. When Lionel sat in the driver’s seat, the rest got into the car immediately. One sat in the passenger seat in the front while others sat in the back, leaving the two seats in the middle to Cheryl and Zac.

After the two got in, Lionel asked, “Where are we going? I’ll set up the GPS.”

“We don’t need the GPS.”

Cheryl said, “Just drive forward.”

“Huh? Oh, okay.”

Lionel started the car obediently and left Villa No. 8. Just as he was about to turn to the gate, Cheryl said, “Turn left.”

He subconsciously turned left as instructed, but after he did, he said in confusion, “You’re pointing me in the wrong direction, God C. The exit is to the north while the entrance is to the south… Never mind, I’ll just circle back here.”

After Lionel spoke, a teammate nicknamed Chonk, who played as a support class, asked, “How big is the house, God C? Is it bigger or smaller than your room in the villa?”

Chonk’s question arose purely out of curiosity. The room in question was referring to Cheryl’s suite in the villa.

However, Cheryl, who had automatically overlooked the word “room”, thought that he was comparing villa to villa, so she naturally replied, “They are the same size!”

Her voice was simply too cute.

Chonk, who was entranced by her voice, subconsciously voiced his true thoughts and replied, “Isn’t that really small?”

All the members, no matter their financial status in the past, had made a lot of money during their few years of being professional gamers.

Lionel raked in about $1.5 million per year from prize money from competitions, various product endorsements, live-stream appearances, and more. After a few years as professional e-sports players, all of them had accumulated substantial wealth that allowed them to purchase property, cars, and more…

Therefore, Chonk found even a house about 500 square feet small these days. After all, he had bought a big villa for his parents back in his hometown! Even the penniless Lionel had bought a 2000-square-feet house in San Francisco!

They weren’t looking down on Cheryl; rather, they truly found the house small.

However, Chonk quickly came back to his senses and patted Cheryl on the shoulder. He said, “Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal. If you work hard in the club, you will be able to afford a big house within two years!”

As one of the only two female professional e-sports players in the league, Cheryl must have an even higher endorsement fee than them.

Lionel also nodded. “Yeah, ignore Chonk. It’s already fortunate that you can afford to live in a 1000-square-feet house. Back then, I was so poor that we had to sell almost everything we had just to cover my travel expenses to the club. Later, when the boss found out about this, he quickly sent some money to my family. Otherwise, my parents would have fainted from hunger… Even though I was poor back then, it doesn’t matter anymore. Look at me now! I have already escaped poverty!”

Lionel was afraid that they had upset Cheryl.

That was why he was bringing up his embarrassing past.

Chonk immediately followed up and added, “Yes, yes, I can still remember how Lionel looked when he arrived! All the clothes he was wearing were patched and mended! When he took off his shorts at night, even his underwear was full of holes…”

“Piss off! Watch what you say! Why are you telling dirty jokes?!”

Lionel was furious.

However, it was mainly because such details were simply too embarrassing. How could he tell the pretty girl something like that?

In the backseat, Benjamin, a reticent top-laner, couldn’t help but nod when he heard Lionel. He frequently cleared obstacles in the top lane alone in the game and was a rather reserved guy by nature. In all the time that Cheryl had been here, she had never heard him say much.

If he could just grunt in response, he would never choose to utter an “okay”.

If he could express what he wanted to say in just two words, he would never utter a third.

Now, though, he actually spoke up for once. “Everybody starts somewhere. You guys don’t have to overthink this, though. Cheryl’s family is definitely not a poor one.”

Would a poor family be able to raise someone as spoiled as Cheryl?

Benjamin had always been one to observe others quietly.

Lionel and Chonk might not have noticed anything, but Benjamin had long since discovered that God C was actually very spoiled.

During meals, she would never take a second bite of food that tasted even a little overcooked.

And when she ate apples, she would only eat them if they were peeled and cut into small pieces, or she’d rather just not have any… When she first came to the villa, he had thought that Cheryl didn’t like fruits.

It wasn’t until one night when they ordered a fruit platter takeout that he found her munching away like a little hamster. In addition, she only ate the fresh fruits. For example, she didn’t touch the watermelon, which seemed like it had been left out all afternoon.

Later, when Benjamin quietly cut a few apples into small pieces and placed them on the dining table, sure enough, Cheryl dug into them immediately after dinner… She was undeniably a pampered little princess!

Or at the very least, her family doted on her very much.

Benjamin had then thought deeper into it and arrived at the conclusion that Cheryl must come from a rich family.

After all, for them to be able to afford a 1000-square-feet house in San Francisco, they were undoubtedly no ordinary people, alright?!

After all, real estate rates in San Francisco were sky-high… The houses nearby cost about $150 per square foot… Yup, her family was definitely worth at least $1.5 million!

Lionel echoed him. “Yeah, Benjamin is right! Everyone starts somewhere!”

Just as he was about to continue, Cheryl said, “We’re here. You can stop here.”

Chapter 1028: God C is a Rich Second-Generation Heir!!!

Lionel subconsciously stepped on the brakes.

But when the car stopped, he looked out to find that they hadn’t left the neighborhood at all.

Confused, he asked, “What’s going on? There isn’t any house here except for Villa No. 9…”

But when he uttered that, his words trailed off in astonishment.

The rest of the team was also stunned.

Zac stared at Villa No. 9, his lips curling up into a near-imperceptible arc.

Oh my, the kiddo’s family is pretty well-off, isn’t it?

A villa in the neighborhood cost more than $7.5 million. On top of that, Villa No. 9 was situated by the lake and was slightly larger than Villa No. 8, so it was worth almost $15 million!

When they first moved in, Lionel had passed by the villa on an evening run once and remarked enviously, “I wonder who the owner of Villa No. 9 is. The scenery here is even better than ours, and it also seems a bit bigger. Damn the rich, why do they get to enjoy life so much?”

But now!

He seemed to have found out who the owners of this villa were.

Zac coughed.

Lionel also swallowed and asked incredulously, “G-God C, sure… surely you don’t mean to say that Villa No. 9 is the ‘house’ you were referring to, right?”

Cheryl nodded. “Yup!”

“Yup”…

Lionel felt like crying. Come on, no acting cute in the club, alright?! Who would have thought that an adorable girl like her would turn out to be a little money bag in disguise?!

He was this close to shedding tears of envy. He said, “A-are you living here alone, God C? How lonely would it be if you don’t have anyone cooking for you, right? Do you want us to come over and accompany you?”

As soon as he spoke, though, the door to the villa opened and a full-time butler stepped out. Dressed in a suit, he looked at the car with a smile and quickly walked over. He made Zac step aside and then opened the door for Cheryl.

Only then did Cheryl get out of the car.

“Ms. Cheryl, the villa is ready. This way, please.”

M… Ms. Cheryl?!

What the heck was this?

Also, the butler looked awfully professional!

The group was stunned.

They had met rich people—for example, Zac—before… Lionel and the others had even visited his home. Only manors like the Stannards’ home would need a butler, come on!

So, was God C’s family as rich as Zac’s?!

Zac was also taken aback—because he recognized the butler.

The housekeeping industry had a ranking of its own, and this particular butler ranked among the top five in the United States. A few years ago, his family had contacted him with the intention to hire him.

Hoover, the butler, had told them that he was already employed by someone else.

Little did he think that it would turn out to be Cheryl’s family!

Just who… exactly was her family?

Even Zac, who was exposed to the wealthy and dignitaries, felt a little lost now.

Smith…

Was Cheryl part of the Smith's from New York?!

But as far as he knew, the Smith's only had one fifteen-year-old girl in the family, and she was currently in her second year of high school. The girl was said to be shy and gentle, and was also renowned for her beauty…

Of course, Cheryl was also a beauty, but she was no “shy and gentle” girl!

While Zac’s imagination was running wild, the butler picked up Cheryl’s suitcase and politely invited Lionel and the others into the villa.

The housekeeper was currently occupied in the kitchen, which was wafting an aromatic smell of something cooking.

Lionel swallowed hard. “God C, I’m so envious that my tears are flowing out from the corners of my mouth. Why does your housekeeper’s cooking smell so good?”

“Wanna stay for lunch, then?” asked Cheryl.

“No problem!”

Lionel walked straight to the dining hall and seated himself at the dining table.

Zac and Benjamin looked around at the interior decor. It was obvious that the decor here was cozier than in the club, and all the little details exhibited low-key luxury.

After the meal, Lionel couldn’t help but secretly look at Cheryl and ask, “Hey, God C. Um, I kinda wanna ask you something, but I don’t know if it’s okay to?”

“Go ahead,” replied Cheryl.

Lionel coughed and asked, “What business is your family in, God C?”

Cheryl thought for a while. “Actually, I’m not sure myself.”

The Hunt s had businesses in a large number of industries, while her grandaunt was involved with mysterious matters overseas. On top of that, her mom was also an enigmatic one who disappeared for a couple of days or so every month for some inexplicable reason.

In the entire family, her brother, Peter, was the only normal one who went through his education systematically. She had heard that their father intended to hand over the Hunt Corporation to him this year.

Her other brother, Alexander, was also an unfathomable one. Nobody knew what their father was doing with him every day, and she had heard that he was planning to have him inherit something to do with “King” and whatnot…

In any case, Cheryl wasn’t bothered about these things. All she knew was that she was the weakest in the family and that she was so rich that she would never run out of money her whole life!

However, Cheryl’s teammates misunderstood and thought that she was reluctant to reveal anything to outsiders because of her desire to remain low-key, so they didn’t probe further.

After lunch, everyone drove back to Villa No. 8 for afternoon training.

After the training session, Cheryl refused the butler’s offer to pick her up, instead insisting on walking home by herself.

The villa was only a ten-minute walk or three-minute drive away. She would just take the walk as exercise!

Zac suddenly stood up and said, “I’m going out for an evening run, so I can walk you back home along the way.”

Cheryl, who didn’t think much about it, nodded.

Before they went out, Cheryl, who suddenly thought of something, said, “By the way, I have to take two days off starting tomorrow.”

The head coach happened to exit the room at this point. Upon hearing this, he asked, “What for?”

“Mm, shooting practice.”

Don’t forget that Cheryl had another identity—a shooting athlete!

Although she had enrolled in Harvard via the college entrance examination, she had never given up on shooting as a sport.

The coach was confused. “What?”

Zac explained on her behalf and said, “Cheryl is a shooting athlete.”

“Uh-huh, and then?”

Cheryl said, “I promised the national team that I would train with them for at least two days a month.”

The coach: “??”

The rest of the club seeing her out the door: “?”

Cheryl, who had mistaken their reaction as disapproval, explained, “I only need to go for shooting practice two days a month so that they wouldn’t bother me. Don’t worry, my focus is on the game!”

Gaming wasn’t a one-man show but a team effort.

Therefore, Cheryl indeed had to spend more time training team coordination with them.

Lionel, who had pretty much become numb to further revelations, said jokingly, “Um, considering that you got a score of 1598 in the college entrance examinations, be it games or shooting, isn’t either too much of a waste? Why don’t you do scientific research instead?”

Celebrities and game clubs were lucrative businesses, but being a scientist was obviously a more respected profession!

Cheryl thought for a moment and then replied, “That’s an option.”

Everyone: “…”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding…” After speaking, Lionel, who wanted to improve his relationship with Ms. Rich Heir God C, patted his chest and said, “For the sake of playing for our club, you have decided to patronize the national shooting team and just train with them a couple of days each month… But don’t worry! You may not be able to take the championship in shooting, but we will make it up to you with the game competition! We are very confident of taking the championship this year!”

Cheryl: “?”

Who said she couldn’t take the championship in shooting?

She blinked a couple of times and thought of explaining, but when she saw how moved everyone looked, as though she had given up shooting for the game… she couldn’t be bothered to say anything.

She put on her shoes and went out.

Zac followed behind her.

As soon as the two of them exited, they saw a car at the door. A middle-aged lady dressed opulently then got out and walked straight to the two of them.

The woman frowned at the pair in front of her and then said to Zac, “Why is there a girl in the club? Is she the girlfriend you mentioned?”

Zac: “?”

Some time ago, his family had wanted to set him up on a blind date.

However, he couldn’t be bothered to go, so he made up an excuse and said that he already had a girlfriend.

It seemed like his mother had misunderstood, though.

He was about to explain when the woman said, “Zac, you’d better be rational about this! I’ve already given my permission for you to become a professional e-sports player under the condition that you would only play until you are 25, whereupon you will retire and return to inherit the family business! But I will never agree to you dating just any random woman!”

After saying that, the middle-aged woman’s eyes reddened and she said, “Your father has brought his illegitimate son home, and I heard that he is even planning to set him up on a blind date with the young lady of the Smith's in New York. If he really marries Ms. Smith, you’ll be finished! You won’t be able to inherit the family business anymore!! If he wins the Smith's over, unless you marry the mysterious young lady of the Hunt's, you really won’t have any hope of inheriting the company anymore! Are you trying to drive me to my grave?!”

As she spoke, she took out a handkerchief and started to dab at her eyes. “Never mind that he’s fooling around outside, but he’s even brought his illegitimate son home now. Is he so confident that we won’t fight back? Zac, you heartless boy. I suffered so much all these years, yet you don’t care about how I feel at all… I have given you everything you wanted all your life… How can you treat me as heartlessly as your father? Are you going to let that homewrecker step all over me in the future, too?”

Zac heaved a helpless sigh and said, “Mom, stop that act of yours. She is not my girlfriend but a new member of the club.”

After a moment, the stunned woman stopped crying and then smiled awkwardly at Cheryl. “Oh, is that so? You should have told me earlier. I ended up crying for nothing…”

Zac: “…”

Cheryl: “…”

Cheryl was thinking about what the woman had said just now, though. Did she say that the Stannards’ illegitimate son was planning to befriend Mia?

She tilted her head and took out her cell phone to inform Mia of the news.

But after a moment’s thought, she decided not to. Mia was currently in her second year of high school, which was a critical moment for her studies. It would be better if she didn’t bother Mia with such news.

Thus, Cheryl sent the message to Peter instead. She wrote: ‘Hey Peter, the Stannard's in San Francisco are planning a political marriage with Mia.’

After sending the message, she looked back up to see the middle-aged lady pulling Zac’s ear as she said, “Listen up now. I didn’t let you do whatever you want so that you don’t fight for what’s yours. That boy is only 18 years old now; you’re a whole three years older than him! You can play games if that’s what you want, but you must take back the family’s assets! It’ll be so embarrassing if I end up being kicked out of the family after putting up so much with the Stannard's!”

An extremely helpless Zac replied, “Okay, okay.”

“Try to find the young lady of the Hunt's and see if you can seduce her!”

Zac: “!!”

Cheryl: “????”

The young lady of the Hunt's… Was she talking about her?!

Chapter 1029: The Boss is Here!

Surprisingly enough, Cheryl ended up listening to gossip about herself in the end!

She grinned and said, “Um, I’ll go first.”

“Okay,” Zac replied.

Even after walking a distance away, Cheryl could still hear Mrs. Stannard nagging at Zac. “Young man, you are already in your twenties. It’s about time you find a girlfriend. It can’t possibly be that you’ve never had a girlfriend before because you’re into men instead, right?”

Cheryl: “??”

Did she just hear something she shouldn’t have?

She quickly sped up, lest she ended up being silenced by the captain.

Well, just kidding.

He wouldn’t actually kill her, of course. However, if he made her life difficult in the future, things would certainly become very troublesome.

As her mom said, one must always cut off any potential source of trouble!

It was only after Zac watched the kid speed up and escape that he finally came back to his senses. “Huh? What did you just say?”

Mrs. Stannard: “???”

—

Cheryl had a good night’s sleep that evening.

When she woke up the next day, the butler drove her to a nearby helicopter base, where she returned to New York for training via helicopter.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

All five shots hit the bullseye in succession.

Satisfied, Cheryl lowered the gun. Her coach then came over. “Good, it seems that you haven’t been slacking.”

But after saying that, he couldn’t help but start nagging at her. “Cheryl, you carry the national team’s hope of victory. We are counting on you for our gold medal this year. Can’t you join that game club later? What’s so good about games anyway? Can it win you anything? You should stay here to continue training instead. You…”

Cheryl couldn’t help but interrupt. “Coach, what am I even supposed to work on if I stay here to train?”

The coach suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

Ever since Cheryl joined the national team, she had consistently hit the bullseye every time. It was indeed true that there was nothing she could improve anymore!

After all, how would he know that Justin was the one who had taught Cheryl her shooting skills?

However, she was not allowed to skip her monthly training. This was the furthest the coach would relent.

Cheryl had agreed to it as well.

After all, she did have to practice a bit every month to prevent her skills from becoming rusty.

It was currently June. Once the Olympics rolled about in August, she would be competing for Team America!

When she thought of how neither of her brothers was involved in such activities, Cheryl couldn’t help but smile.

After a whole afternoon of training, she finally found her groove.

Then, she went straight home in the evening.

As soon as she stepped through the door, she spotted Justin sitting on the sofa and staring at the door. At the sight of her, the man got up. In a low but gentle and cheerful voice, he said, “You’re back.”

“Uh-huh!” Cheryl skipped over and asked, “Where’s Mom, Dad?”

Justin replied, “Why are you looking for your mom the moment you return? She’s already asleep.”

I knew it! Cheryl thought.

Her mother’s terrible habit of excessive sleeping still hadn’t changed, despite so many years going by. She fell asleep all the time without any warning.

This was due to her mother’s physical constitution, though.

She was about to go upstairs when Justin said, “The kitchen has prepared your favorite chicken soup. New clothes and dresses from the current season have also been brought upstairs.”

After speaking, he looked at Cheryl disdainfully and said, “Girls should dress up more!”

Cheryl: “…”

Since she was a child, it was actually her father who had dressed her like a little princess all along.

She had indeed loved princess dresses when she was a child, but now… She wore whatever she found convenient, of course.

On the other hand, though, her father didn’t have similar expectations of her mother. Even if her mother wore a sack, he would still compliment her in it, even if he didn’t really mean it. Yet he now had so many expectations when it came to her?

She pouted and said, “Alright, alright!”

Then, she went upstairs.

Before she entered her room, she glanced behind at her father to find that he had quietly walked over to the master bedroom. He opened the door gently and then tiptoed in.

Despite so many years going by, Justin didn’t show any signs of aging at all, and even Nora could pass off as her sister when they stood next to each other.

It was as though they weren’t affected by the passage of time at all.

Cheryl shook her head and entered her room.

The home was the most comfortable after all. When she woke up the next day, she went to visit Mia.

Mia looked as gentle as ever. She was clearly younger than Cheryl, yet her thoughtfulness made her seem as though she was the older one instead.

The two had lunch together. In the afternoon, Cheryl went to the training ground for practice again. Then, in the evening, she took the helicopter back to San Francisco.

The next day, she went back to the club and started training with everyone again.

In the blink of an eye, another week had passed.

One day, everyone in the club sobered up. Even Zac looked serious and on guard.

A curious Cheryl asked, “What’s going on?”

While no one was looking, Lionel secretly replied, “The boss is coming over tonight!”

Cheryl: “?”

The boss? Uncle Chester?

While she was thinking, Lionel grumbled, “The boss loves playing games, but he’s unfortunately not very good at it. Even so, every time he comes over, he makes us play with him. He’s terrible at it, but he just loves playing it so much! He also has a bad temper. He disses us every time he loses… He has a real knack for insults, too. Do you know what he said when we asked him where he learned to diss others like that?”

An earnest and well-behaved Cheryl asked, “What did he say?”

Lionel answered, “He said that he learned it from his team leader and that he has already been showing us mercy!”

“…”

The corners of Cheryl’s lips spasmed, and she thought back to how vicious she had been in the past.

However, she had tried to restrain her temper a little the past month. Besides, she only threw insults at others because they were dumb, but her teammates were some of the best players in the game.

They cooperated well with one another in-game. Come to think of it, she hadn’t blasted anyone at all this month—because they had won all the matches!

Cheryl coughed.

Lionel went on. “Also, you know what, the boss’ background is no joke!”

“What?”

Cheryl was surprised.

Did Uncle Chesty have other identities that she was unaware of? Did he have secret identities too?!

While she was wondering, Lionel said, “He is a part of the Hunt's in New York!”

Cheryl: “????”

“Uh-huh? What about it?”

“What do you mean ‘what about it’? The Hunt's in New York! We’re talking about the wealthiest family in America! Even the Smith's are a tad less powerful than them. This is why the boss is so bad-tempered. The sight of him scares us! When he gets here, you’d better not rush up to him in front…”

God C was the club’s favorite person.

Lionel wouldn’t want her to be scolded by the boss, of course!

Every time the boss came over, he would always scold all of them at least a little. Even Captain Zac wasn’t spared. On top of that, he always scolded him for the same things.

“Can’t you smile?”

“How are you going to lead the team when you talk so little? This is so worrying!”

When he thought of this, Lionel couldn’t help but look at Cheryl.

Would the boss take pity on a cute little girl like her?

While he was thinking about it, he heard a voice coming from the door. “Boss is here!”

Then, a beaming Chester walked in.

As soon as he entered, his eyes locked onto Cheryl and he exclaimed, “Leader!”