Return to Eighteen, the Spoiled Young Lady Acts Fierce with Her Beauty - Chapter 23: Believing Makes It Real

Chapter 23: Believing Makes It Real

Mingzhu closed her eyes against the blinding golden light before her.

The next second, her entire body seemed to float upward, sinking into soft clouds.

Time seemed to pass for a long while, yet also felt like merely an instant.

When Mingzhu opened her eyes again,

she found herself in a room both unfamiliar and familiar.

It was the luxury apartment she had lived in during her studies abroad.

Mingzhu instinctively looked around.

Dazzling sunlight streamed unobstructed through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

She instinctively raised a hand to shield her eyes.

Looking down at herself, she was no longer wearing the long dress from before,

but her favorite silk loungewear from those years.

The light gray fabric felt soft and comfortable against her skin.

Running her fingers over the material, the texture felt incredibly real.

Mingzhu stepped out of bed barefoot, her feet sinking into the soft shag carpet.

She walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window that nearly covered the entire wall, touching the cool one-way glass.

Outside, the vast greenery of Central Park stretched before her eyes, with people appearing as small as ants from this height.

The room was so quiet she could only hear the faint hum of the air conditioning.

She walked into the living room where several throw pillows were casually scattered on the leather sofa, and a half-finished sparkling water sat on the coffee table.

Everything felt too real, even the faint fragrance drifting in the air.

Mingzhu stood in the center of the living room.

Sunlight enveloped her completely, warming her entire body.

Everything was exactly as she remembered.

She suddenly turned and found her phone by memory.

When she saw the date displayed on the screen,

her heart began to pound violently.

She had returned to when she was eighteen years old!

She quickly walked into the walk-in closet and stood before the full-length mirror.

Mingzhu expected to see her forty-two-year-old self,

but the reflection showed her appearance from when she was eighteen.

Black, slightly wavy long hair, a face full of collagen.

Even without makeup, it was an impossibly beautiful face.

Suddenly remembering something, Mingzhu urgently picked up her phone to call her grandfather.

But she hung up immediately after dialing.

It was still the middle of the night back home she couldn’t disturb her grandfather’s sleep.

However, shortly after she hung up, the phone rang with an incoming call.

“Young miss, what’s wrong? Old Mr. Ming has already gone to bed.”

Uncle Zhou’s voice came through the receiver.

Unlike the aged voice she remembered from their last meeting in her previous life,

it still carried the clarity of middle age.

Hearing the familiar voice, Mingzhu who hadn’t fully recovered from her grief

burst into tears, choking too much to speak.

Hearing her crying, Uncle Zhou immediately grew concerned: “Young miss? Why are you crying?”

“Uncle Zhou… I want to come home,” Mingzhu sobbed, her voice full of grievance, “I want to come home right now.”

The voice on the other end suddenly turned sharp: “Has someone bullied you?”

It was no wonder Uncle Zhou would think that.

Mingzhu had become particularly rebellious after entering her teenage years.

She had insisted on studying abroad, and even Old Mr. Ming couldn’t stop her.

In recent years, she rarely returned home.

Though Old Mr. Ming missed her dearly, he couldn’t bear to make her unhappy and had to let her have her way.

“No… no one…” Mingzhu wiped her tears, her voice trembling, “I just miss Grandpa… I want to come back now.”

Uncle Zhou clearly relaxed, his tone softening: “Alright, I’ll make arrangements immediately. The young miss has truly grown up.”

After hanging up, Mingzhu quickly walked out of the bedroom.

This spacious apartment was specially purchased by her grandfather after she went abroad.

She didn’t like living with outsiders.

Normally, only the cleaning lady and the cooking chef would come.

Luggage and such weren’t important – she could just buy new things after returning to the country.

Mingzhu quickly sent a leave request email to her professor and headed straight to the airport.

Thanks to the Ming family having applied for private flight routes for her convenience long ago.

Mingzhu departed without much waiting.

The private jet landed smoothly on the Ming Family Manor’s helipad.

Uncle Zhou had already been waiting for quite some time.

Seeing the aircraft come to a stop, he quickly stepped forward: “Miss.”

When Mingzhu’s feet touched the ground in Shanghai.

The horizon was just beginning to show the first light of dawn.

Mingzhu looked at the middle-aged man before her, his image overlapping and separating from the white-haired old man in her memories, warmth rising in her heart: “Uncle Zhou, thank you for your trouble.”

This sudden concern made Uncle Zhou pause slightly.

The Mingzhu of before would never have said such things.

The corners of his eyes crinkled with a smile: “You’re too polite, Miss.”

“Is Grandfather still asleep?” Mingzhu asked urgently.

“The old master won’t wake until eight o’clock.”

Uncle Zhou said, gesturing for Mingzhu to board the golf cart that had long been prepared.

Old Mr. Ming’s daily routine was very regular.

Decades without change, unwavering regardless of circumstances.

Hearing this, Mingzhu couldn’t help but smile.

“How has Grandfather’s health been recently?”

“Quite well.” Uncle Zhou opened the car door for Mingzhu. “He was just talking about you a couple days ago. He’ll be overjoyed that you’re back.”

Mingzhu felt a lump form in her throat.

In her previous life, she had spent far too little time with her grandfather.

By the time she truly began to understand the value of cherishing moments, it was already too late.

The golf cart slowly made its way toward the main building.

The garden staff had already begun their work.

Seeing the two in the cart, they all greeted them respectfully.

Witnessing this scene, the feeling of returning to eighteen years old became even more real to Mingzhu.

In her good mood, everything seemed delightful, and she responded to each greeting with a smile.

“Miss has changed quite a bit,” Uncle Zhou suddenly remarked.

Some of these staff members had worked for the Ming family for half their lives.

Some had watched Mingzhu grow up, knowing even better than herself what kind of flowers she liked.

But Mingzhu had never paid attention to these small daily matters.

Mingzhu was proud.

She truly had the capital to look down on everyone.

“People always change,” Mingzhu chuckled. “Does Uncle Zhou think that’s bad?”

“Of course not,” Uncle Zhou said sincerely. “No matter what, Miss is always the best.”

Whether it was the Mingzhu of before or the Mingzhu of now.

She only needed to do what she wanted.

“What would Miss like for breakfast?”

Stopping the cart, Uncle Zhou opened the car door for Mingzhu once again.

“Anything is fine.”

Mingzhu had no mind for eating right now.

Hearing such a casual response didn’t trouble Uncle Zhou in the slightest.

Having served as the Ming family butler for so many years.

He knew Old Mr. Ming and Mingzhu’s habits all too well.

“Miss, we just received fresh hairy crabs from Chengyang Lake yesterday. Shall we prepare some Crab Roe Buns for you?”

Mingzhu paused at these words.

In her youth, Crab Roe Buns had been her favorite food.

But later, to maintain her figure.

She hadn’t touched these high-cholesterol foods for many years.

“That would be lovely,” Mingzhu smiled, her eyes curving like crescent moons. “With some Ginger Vinegar Sauce on the side, the kind with a bit of sugar added.”

“Very well, Miss. I’ll go prepare it right away.”

Uncle Zhou gave a slight bow, the fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes holding a trace of affection.

Entering the main building, compared to Mingzhu’s last memory of it, the place now brimmed with the warmth of daily life.

She did not believe in Buddhism at least not in her previous life. But Old Mr. Ming had grown devout in his later years and began practicing Buddhist rituals. A dedicated Buddhist shrine had been set up in the main building.

Ever since Mingzhu went abroad for her studies, the old man would often spend half the day inside.

At this moment, Mingzhu was too alert and restless to sleep. She gently pushed open the sandalwood door of the Buddhist shrine, and a rich scent of sandalwood washed over her.

She took three sticks of incense and lit them from the eternal lamp. Wisps of blue smoke curled upward.

In the center of the shrine, a pure gold statue of the Buddha gleamed brilliantly. As the first rays of morning sunlight streamed through the glass window, they fell upon the compassionate, smiling face of the Buddha, evoking a sense of profound mercy.

After paying her respects, Mingzhu reverently placed the incense into the pure gold incense burner on the altar.

As the incense sticks burned quietly, she suddenly recalled an event from many years ago.

Back then, her grandfather had specially invited an elderly gentleman with white hair and beard. The two had talked for a long time in the study.

Before leaving, the old gentleman gazed deeply at her with eyes untouched by worldly concerns and said to her meaningfully:

“Miss Ming, if you believe, it exists; if you don’t, it doesn’t. But the most important thing is to be sincere at heart.”