Who was Ye Jin?
She was an orphan who once had to beg and fight for food. At times, she had no choice but to scour dumpsters for food, and some days she had to starve because she had no food to eat or because stronger homeless kids had stolen it.
Her whole life changed the day she was caught stealing dumplings by a shop owner.
"Ack," tears welled up in her eyes as the man dragged her by her hair.
"You dirty thief, return my dumplings!" the man said angrily.
Whispers floated around the area as onlookers stopped to watch the scene.
"These street urchins are becoming bolder."
"They have no parents to teach them manners."
"Tsk, puthhu."
"I didn't take your dumplings," Ye Jin said. She bit her tongue, trying to stop her tears from falling. She couldn't afford to cry, not in front of all these people.
"Liar!" the shop owner shouted, tugging her hair harder.
"How much do the dumplings cost?" a cold voice vibrated across the crowd.
The onlookers looked in the direction of the voice and saw an extremely handsome man with almond-shaped eyes and golden irises. He had thick eyelashes and thin lips, which were extremely pink. However, his eyes were cold and indifferent, as if he were looking at a bunch of ants.
"5 yuan," the vendor said weakly, letting go of Ye Jin's hair.
The man pulled out a wad of cash, gave it to the vendor, and left.
"Who was that man?"
"He is extremely handsome."
"Is he a celebrity?"
The shop owner looked at Ye Jin with disdain as he tucked the wad of cash into his pocket and said, "Be extremely grateful to that man."
Paying no attention to the man, Ye Jin ran toward the direction the handsome man had left. She had a feeling that if she didn't follow him, she would deeply regret it.
After tailing the handsome man for more than 10 minutes, the man, still walking, said, "Do you want to keep on stalking me?"
Ye Jin paused for a moment, then ran with her nimble legs toward the man.
"What do you want?"
Ye Jin weakly rubbed her hands together. "Thank you."
The man stayed silent.
After a while, he asked, "Is that all?"
"Umm," Ye Jin ran in front of him and bowed. "Please take me in."
The man raised an eyebrow. "And why should I do that?"
Ye Jin replied, "I can cook, I can wash..."
"I have no use for a child slave."
Ye Jin said, "I can also fight!"
The man chuckled. "You were doing quite a good job over there."
Ye Jin puffed her cheeks. "I can really fight!"
The man laughed. "Okay, little warrior. I'll assume you wanted to go soft on the man then."
Ye Jin said, "Yes, I did!"
"Yuan Fei," the man called out, and from the shadows, a man in a black suit appeared and bowed before the man.
"Yes, boss."
Ye Jin shrieked in fear. Where had the strange man come from?
"Take this little dumpling to the mansion. Tell the maid to properly bathe her, buy some clothes for her, and feed her." The man paused for a bit. "Oh, and place her in any of the rooms on the second floor. Make sure to decorate it to her taste."
"Boss, what about the mission?" Yuan Fei asked.
He smiled. "You know that I can handle this on my own." The man then looked at Ye Jin. "What is your name?"
Ye Jin looked down sadly. "I have no name, but sometimes they call me Rat, Urchin, Truant, or Orphan."
The man gently patted her hair. "From now on, you are Ye Jin, the daughter of Ye Juan."
From that day, she became the princess of the Ye Empire and Emperor Colgomorate, one of the top companies in the world with a net worth of 350 billion dollars, and the daughter of Ye Juan, one of the richest men in the world with a net worth of over 100 billion dollars. However, she did not know that behind the huge colgomorate was the Hei Long gang, the deadliest gang in the underworld, and her father was the devil of the underworld.
She was 15 when Ye Juan intentionally allowed her to overhear his conversation with Yuan Fei. He then asked her if she wanted to be the princess of the empire or the heir. Being the princess would mean that she wouldn't inherit the empire but would live the rest of her life in luxury and extreme wealth. On the other hand, being the heir would mean she would inherit the empire, both the good and the bad. She chose the latter.
For the next five years of her life, Ye Juan was in charge of her training. Her training comprised hand combat, the use of armed weapons, alchemy, and business administration. When she was 18, Ye Juan brought her to work in one of the many companies as a junior staff member. When she was 20, he took her on her first mission, where she almost lost her life and fell into a coma for over a month. Over the course of 10 years, she brushed with death over 10 times. On her 30th birthday, Ye Juan announced his retirement while announcing Ye Jin as the heir of the Ye Empire.
That night, Ye Juan called her into his room, and for the first time, she saw her father drunk, surrounded by bottles of wine and beer. Ye Juan sat her down and told her about his life. He had been killed thrice and lived three lives. In the first life, by his parents because he had found the Heavenly Jade; in the second life, by his family because he was suspected of having the Heavenly Jade; and in the third life, his current life, he had made sure to detach from his family and made use of those who truly cherished him for his own gain, manipulating them to do his bidding. However, by the time he realized that they truly cherished him, they were all dead—it was too late.
Ye Jin, for the first time in her life, saw Ye Juan cry. Who would believe that the king of the underworld, the head of the Ye Empire, could become a crying mess? But she also felt that he had finally opened up to her because, though Ye Juan was a good father, it always felt like there was an impenetrable wall that stopped her from getting close to him.
There was, however, a problem: Ye Juan had thrown away the Heavenly Jade into the sea in a fit of anger 25 years ago, believing it was the cause of his problems. It was one of the few times he had acted irrationally.
Hwa Jin advised her to try to get the jade back because her life from there on would be full of danger as she was now the head of the Ye Empire and the Hei Long gang.
After that, the next day, Ye Juan packed his bags and flew to the countryside, wanting to live the rest of his life in peace.
After years of searching, she finally found the Heavenly Jade, but it was also the cause of her death.
Was the Heavenly Jade truly worth it?