"I'm telling you, I'm a phoenix in a chicken coop, and one day I'll rise above the rest!"
After hearing Niu Xiaoli's words, Su Liuying just smiled. She knew that Niu Xiaoli was never someone content with her lot.
Niu Xiaoli didn't come from a well-off family either, but she never showed it. She dressed herself up like a wealthy, beautiful girl every day, hoping that one day she'd marry a rich man and transform from a sparrow into a phoenix overnight.
Maybe it was because both of their backgrounds were humble that they became such good friends, but she didn't quite agree with Niu Xiaoli's somewhat extravagant spending habits.
"Susu, don't be shy, order whatever you want, it's on me," Niu Xiaoli said generously. Su Liuying smiled and replied, "I've got to go dance at the pub later, can't eat too much."
"Susu, you really do go all out for the orphanage," Niu Xiaoli shook her head and looked at Su Liuying, saying, "Susu, I have a feeling that you come from a good family, maybe you're a child from a wealthy home. How did you end up in the orphanage, then?"
"I don't know either, Mother Su said that I was about two years old when I was found. There were no clues left with me, except for this necklace around my neck. Mother Su said I was wearing it when she found me, probably had it on since I was a baby."
"Really? Let me see, it might be an important clue!"
Su Liuying pulled the necklace from beneath her clothes, and Niu Xiaoli took it in her hands, turning it over, "Strange, it looks like a regular silver locket plaque, and it's engraved with the character for 'xi'. There's nothing else special about it!"
"It's possible that my original family was just a normal one, maybe they had too many children and couldn't afford to keep me, so they left me at the door of the orphanage," Su Liuying said softly with a smile, tucking the necklace back into her clothes. "If I were from some wealthy family as you said, they would've come looking for me long ago!"
"Enough about that, let's eat!"
--
At midnight, the Magic Charm Pub was bustling with noise, and a pole dancer swayed her graceful waist next to the pole.
She writhed like a water snake against the pole, occasionally blowing kisses to the audience, eliciting waves of cheers.
She wore a mask on her face, which concealed her beauty well; she was Su Liuying.
In addition to her part-time job at the gym, she also danced pole at the pub. Having grown up in an orphanage, she knew too well how difficult it was to get by without money.
Pole dancing paid more, so she would hit several pubs in one night. This was her first time at this pub, which offered a more generous salary, so she came. She had loved dancing since childhood, and though the stage was different, the mask was an excellent disguise that allowed her to perform with ease.
In the VIP room of the pub, Quan Tianyou and a few childhood friends were inside, savoring fine wine and casually chatting, while the huge electronic screen was broadcasting the pole dance live.
"Look at that girl, what a stunning figure! I haven't seen her before," Du Jie commented with a smile, peering at the screen, and Yang Tian squeezed in to join the chorus.
"Yeah, I'm tired of watching the other girls dance! This one's not bad. Her moves seem a bit different from the others, wow, especially her figure, tsk tsk, absolutely explosive!"