Caught In The Charm Of My Stepbrother

"Can't you sell somewhere else, this is my sales stand! The customers here are mine," a middle-aged man scolded.

Giselle, the girl who sells fried rice near the office, responded casually, Giselle just listened to the scolding while standing leaning on her cart and looking at all the nails on her fingers.

"Since you started selling here, all my customers have moved to you! You sneaky kid!!"

The middle-aged man kept scolding Giselle in public, other food sellers watched but did not dare to reprimand because they were afraid of the fried rice seller who felt competed by Giselle.

"Hey ... Why are you silent, didn't you hear what I said!" The man glared.

"Please, sir, satisfy yourself by insulting and scolding me, after all, you are the one who loses because you are busy scolding me instead of serving buyers. I don't feel like I'm taking your customers, we are all here looking for sustenance, then is that sustenance determined by you!" Giselle responded so casually.

"Oh ... So you want me to teach you a lesson, huh," the man was about to hit Giselle.

The man flew off, crashing into a banyan tree near Giselle's cart.

"Wow ... Turns out you're quite skilled," said the other street vendors.

They were enthusiastic about watching the rare spectacle, a small child about 16 years old even fought against a middle-aged man.

"Ahh ... You dare!" The man then tried to stand up again.

"Don't prolong the problem, I actually respect you as an older person. But you yourself asked me to act harshly. I will leave this place, let's see if they are indeed your customers or will they look for the most delicious fried rice made by me." Giselle then looked indifferent at the man and she pushed her cart.

Giselle left by pushing her cart, someone was following behind her.

Causing trouble again, huh," Ansley and Flora chimed in, giggling behind Giselle.

"You two are the wickedest friends in the world, knowing that your friend is in trouble and yet you just turn it into entertainment." Giselle pouted, this time she was sulking at her friends.

Ansley and Flora helped push Giselle's cart, the trio focused on pushing the cart, occasionally bursting into laughter.

"Sel, where else are you going to sell?" Ansley asked, scanning her surroundings as they passed through the city.

"I haven't thought about where to sell yet," Giselle was also confused.

Soon, a motorcyclist stopped his bike in front of the cart.

"Hey, what's the matter? Why did you suddenly stop in front of the cart like that? Does this street belong to your ancestors or something?" Ansley complained, not accepting it.

"Please don't be so harsh, let's ask him first what he wants! Maybe he wants to order fried rice, right?" Giselle smiled at Ansley, holding her hand to try to calm her down.

"Excuse me, sir, is there anything I can help you with?" Giselle politely asked.

"Sorry, I just want to order fried rice, because when I came back from college earlier, I stopped by the usual place but you weren't there! That's why I looked for you because I can't eat any other fried rice!" The young man smiled sweetly.

Then Ansley and Flora helped serve the customer, the three of them pushed the cart to the side.

Then Ansley provided a chair for the young man to sit while waiting for his order.

"How many packs do you want, sir, or do you want to eat here?" Giselle asked softly.

"I want to order 10 packs only," the young man calmly waited while playing with his phone.

Ansley and Flora helped Giselle, they swiftly and skillfully helped wrap the ready-to-serve fried rice.

After everything was done, Giselle handed the plastic bag containing 10 packs of fried rice to the young man.

"Here you go, sir," Giselle handed it to the young man.

"Thank you!" The young man then handed over the money for his fried rice, all amounting to 150,000.

"You're welcome, sir, come back again!" Giselle replied with a smile.

The young man then left, feeling something strange in his heart.

"And if that kid was the same age as me, I would have made him my boyfriend, ha...ha...ha..." The laughter of the young man faintly echoed.

Giselle shook her head, then started cleaning up the leftover fried rice equipment.

Ansley, Giselle, and Flora, the three of them prepared to find a new stand location where Giselle could focus on selling every day.

Just as they were about to push the cart,

"Wait, wait, is this Giselle Nusantara's fried rice cart?" the woman asked to confirm.

"Yes!" Giselle replied politely.

"Hey...come here quickly, this is her cart!" The woman called her friends.

It turned out that Giselle's customers were looking for her after she moved from her original stand location.

Then Giselle, Ansley, and Flora became busy serving the increasingly crowded customers, they were overwhelmed. There were even some customers who were disappointed because they didn't get to taste Giselle's fried rice.

"Sorry, everyone! The fried rice is all sold out. You can come back here tomorrow!" Giselle clasped her hands together and sincerely apologized.

"Yes, we'll come back tomorrow!" the customers said, and they dispersed from the place.

Ansley had an idea,

"Sel, why bother looking for a new stand location when we can stay here! It's shady and nice under this banyan tree." Ansley and Flora nodded in agreement.

"That's true, Sel, this place is also good! Many of your customers know about this place!" Flora added.

"Yeah, you're right, I'll move to this place then!" Giselle and her two friends high-fived each other.

"By the way, Sel, what kind of magic are you using? Is it attraction magic or some kind of charm to attract customers? Are you using 'jaran goyang'?" Ansley teased.

"You're such a goof, 'jaran goyang' is not used for attracting customers, you idiot." Giselle couldn't believe her friend from the same city.

"Well, what is 'jaran goyang' used for then?" Flora innocently asked.

"I don't know what it's for either!" Giselle struggled to explain.

"It's not because of any attraction or charm magic, but it's because I'm just too beautiful and sexy that they flock to buy my fried rice because they like the positive aura I have!" Giselle proudly boasted.

"Oh, if you don't praise yourself, who else will praise you!" Ansley scoffed.

"Well, it's true! Just look at that guy who ordered 10 packs, he wanted to be my boyfriend!" Giselle teased.

Flora chimed in, "Yeah, I heard that too, but you're still a kid, hahaha..."

"Don't talk too much, let's go home!" They all laughed and headed home.

The three of them happily pushed the cart, which was now empty.

"Sel, let's go home now!" Ansley and Flora bid farewell, parting ways at the intersection.

"Okay, guys, thanks for helping me today. Oh, by the way, I saved these for you!" Giselle handed two plastic bags to her friends.

Flora and Ansley exchanged glances.

"Sel, when did you save these for us? They were all sold out earlier." They were puzzled.

"Never mind, I wrapped them for you earlier!"

Flora and Ansley accepted Giselle's gift.

"Thank you, Sel, you're the best friend!"

The three of them smiled and hugged each other.

"May we always remain friends like this!" Ansley teared up.

"Amen," they all said in unison.

After that, they parted ways at the intersection.

Giselle pushed her cart about 1 kilometer away from the main road.

"Alhamdulillah, life becomes easier when we are patient and sincere in living it!" Giselle motivated herself.

Soon, she saw a middle-aged woman waving her hand with a radiant smile from a distance.

"Mom, why are you standing there? Your legs must be tired!" Giselle pushed the cart to the front porch of their rented house.

"It's okay, dear, I was worried because you hadn't come home yet! How was your sales?" Amanda hugged her daughter from the side.

"It was a hit, Mom, but I moved to a different location because of a small incident at the old place!" Giselle didn't fully disclose the details.

"Did something happen, dear?" Amanda asked, observing her daughter from head to toe.

"No, Mom, it was just a minor issue!"

Then they entered the house.

In the living room,

"Dear, I've cooked water spinach and your favorite jengkol stew! Let's eat together!" Amanda embraced her daughter.

"Wait, Mom, I feel uncomfortable if I haven't taken a shower yet. Plus, I haven't prayed Asr either. Let me go to my room first!"

"Alright, dear, don't forget to pray for your future. Don't rush through your prayers as if you're in a competition. Praying for just 5 minutes, what kind of prayer is that? It's just fulfilling your obligation without feeling the essence!" Amanda advised at length, while Giselle listened silently.

"Okay, Mom, I'll go to my room now!"

Giselle went to her room, which was only 2 square meters in size.

"Thank you, Allah, for the sustenance today."

Giselle had two piggy banks in her room, one labeled "Future Savings" and the other labeled "Hereafter Savings."

Giselle used the future savings for living expenses and urgent educational needs. Although she always received scholarships, she still prepared for her future.

And she used the other piggy bank for donations to mosques in need or for giving to orphaned children and homeless people she encountered on the street. Giselle occasionally visited recycling centers to give them her fried rice.

Since she was little, Giselle had received advice from her father, Rama Dirgantara, that even if you have little, it is obligatory to help others if you have extra money.

Unlike Giselle, who had a modest life,

Johnson Anderson, the biological son of Bondan Anderson, was spoiled and always used every means to prevent his father from getting married again.

At the Anderson residence.

Johnson refused to eat, he had no appetite and just played with his food on the plate.

Bondan Anderson, the powerful businessman of Anderson Property Group in several countries, looked sternly at his son's unchanged attitude. Despite being in college, Johnson still acted spoiled.

"John, why are you treating your food as a plaything? There are many people out there who cannot eat, yet you waste food like that." Bondan's frustration showed as he observed his son's gloomy behavior.

"Well...how can I eat when Dad is going to get married again!" he pouted.

Johnson had a gloomy expression on his face, which he always used as a weapon whenever his father entered a new relationship.

To cut the story short, Bondan Anderson was a poor man who had nothing. Johnson was 10 years old at the time. Bondan worked as a part-time worker, while his wife, Meriana, always pressured him and demanded expensive things like those owned by her friends.

One day, Bondan was accepted to work at a large company as an office boy.

Bondan worked hard to fulfill his wife's desires. One time, the company held an inauguration event for their new office. The company owner invited all employees, including the office boy, to attend the event. Bondan brought his wife and son to the event, hoping to have a joyful time with them and enjoy delicious and luxurious food.

However, that event brought a tragic fate for Bondan. Since then, Meriana got acquainted with Rendra, a director at the company.

Meriana started an illicit relationship behind Bondan's back because Rendra was able to spoil her with luxury and branded goods.

Bondan, upon discovering the affair, reluctantly let go of his wife and divorced her.

From that day on, Bondan worked hard. He slowly built his own business selling land and eventually established a real estate company called Anderson Property Group.