When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day the Chen family came to propose marriage. Mrs. Chen, the family matriarch, was being helped out of a luxurious car. The bodyguards in suits beside her made my father’s eyes widen in awe. Behind her stood Ryan Chen, the youngest son of the Chen family. His handsome and refined features were quite eye-catching. He wore the latest Patek Philippe watch on his wrist, and his bespoke suit gave him an extraordinary aura. The Chen Group was the richest family in Bay City and the leader in the national daily chemical industry. Their assets had long since reached tens of billions of dollars. This top-tier wealthy family that we usually only saw in magazines and on TV was now standing in front of us, wanting to arrange a marriage with our family. My mom was overjoyed and quickly pushed my prettier sister Olivia forward. But to her surprise, Olivia didn’t step out. She put on a stern face and said righteously in front of everyone’s gaze: “Mom, I don’t want to take shortcuts. I want to achieve success through my own efforts!” “Marriage and happiness are not things that can be traded. But since I seem to be the only one who thinks this way, let Lily go then.” Everyone was surprised. My parents were particularly puzzled. Olivia had always been competitive, trying to outdo me in everything. How come she suddenly changed today and started being modest towards me? But I knew what was really going on. I packed my luggage expressionlessly, only carrying a travel bag, and got into the Chen family’s car. My parents’ confusion wasn’t wrong. In my previous life, Olivia had dressed herself up glamorously in order to marry into the Chen family. With the help of our parents, she had shown off in front of the Chen family. Not only that, to prevent any unexpected issues, she even spread rumors outside, falsely claiming that I had a chaotic and improper private life. This made me the laughingstock of everyone, while she became a pure and elegant white lotus flower in comparison to me. She thought that after marrying into a wealthy family, what awaited her would be a luxurious life and high social status. She expected to have a Cinderella-like fairy tale romance with a handsome rich young master like Ryan Chen. But who knew that what awaited her was countless dirty and despicable things under the facade of a wealthy family. The reason Mrs. Chen allowed a civilian girl like her to marry Ryan was because he was just an illegitimate son without any power or status. Olivia not only couldn’t get any money from the Chen family, but also had to endure daily torment and humiliation from the other young masters and misses. “How dare a dirty and lowly rat like you enter our Chen family?” “A bitch from the gutter and a bastard son who can’t see the light of day – what a perfect match!” She couldn’t bear the torment, so she blamed it all on Ryan. She was not only harsh and abusive towards him, but even tried to seduce the other young masters of the Chen family. But for a girl like her with no skills and only a pretty face, she could only end up as a plaything for rich young masters, to be kicked away after they got tired of her. After Ethan Chen became the head of the family, both she and Ryan were kicked out. She went to beg Ethan for mercy, wanting to exchange her body for wealth. But what she got in return was even deeper humiliation from him. “I’d feel dirty touching a greedy and lowly gold digger like you.” “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re plotting. I’m not as stupid as Ryan. Not all women are worthy of getting into my bed.” Meanwhile, I endured that dark period, burying myself in studies at A University. I finally graduated with excellent grades, becoming the only student with a perfect GPA that year, and received offers from countless companies. Later, I even caught Ethan’s attention at a presentation and he pursued me aggressively, giving me a grand wedding that shocked the whole country. Olivia, who had nothing left, finally went crazy. She rushed onto the stage and pushed me off, falling down herself as well. Living this life again, she decisively dumped Ryan and chose to walk the path I took in my previous life. Although she would be unknown for the first few years, as long as she met Ethan Chen, she could soar and become a phoenix. Watching my departing figure, a mocking and smug smile appeared on Olivia’s face. “This life, you can enjoy all this undeserved fortune for me, dear sister.” “While I will take back everything that should have been mine!”
I had long been prepared to be ostracized and tortured. Therefore, when those young masters and misses of the Chen family poured scalding hot soup on me and made me kneel in the yard as punishment, I went without a word. It had snowed heavily all night. I knelt on the ice-cold marble tiles in the yard. My knees gradually went from stinging pain to numbness, and finally lost all feeling. “I’ve seen plenty of women like you who try every means to climb up the social ladder,” the second young miss of the Chen family said with her arms crossed, looking at me mockingly. “A pheasant is still a pheasant, even if it flies up a tree it can’t become a phoenix.” I was starving, and even the servants in the house were watching me like a joke. Emma Chen took a plate of leftovers and threw it in front of me disdainfully, as if feeding a dog: “Here, eat this. I’m gracing you with it.” Laughter erupted around me, countless gazes filled with malice fell on me. I looked at the cold food on the ground, without saying a word. Someone shouted “Big brother is coming!”, and the group of young masters and misses scattered. A pair of shiny black handmade leather shoes appeared in front of me. I looked up to see a handsome and intense face. Those eyes that were full of tenderness in my previous life were now as cold as the ice under my legs, looking at me without any emotion. But it was just a glance, then he retracted his gaze as if looking at garbage. Those spotless leather shoes mercilessly stepped on the food in front of me as he walked past. My days in the Chen family were even worse than the servants. No wonder Olivia was so desperate not to marry Ryan this life. But after all, I was still the nominal daughter-in-law of the Chen family. They had to keep up appearances to outsiders. I followed the Chen family members into the auditorium. I watched them sit in the VIP seats under the guidance of the organizers, while I could only sit in the corner. This college student innovation and entrepreneurship competition was jointly organized by several major companies in the city, with Chen Group holding the highest position. I sat in the last row, listening boredly. For a chemistry genius like me, the ideas coming from these students’ mouths were obviously too naive. I was getting drowsy. Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out. “As people’s demand for nature and health grows, I believe that all-natural ingredients will become the mainstream trend in the cosmetics industry in the future.” Olivia stood on the stage, talking eloquently. Her long black shiny hair was tied into a high ponytail, but she deliberately left a few strands by her ears to frame her face. Her poised speech and brilliant content won unanimous praise from the audience. I looked towards Ethan Chen sitting in the front row. His eyes were fixed unblinkingly on the young woman on stage, with an unusual light flickering in them. “Miss Lu, is the honeysuckle extract you mentioned developed by yourself?” someone asked. Olivia turned around and nodded shyly. The pure white skirt swayed with her movement, creating a beautiful arc. Her whole person looked as pure as a jasmine flower. “Yes, this is what I spent a year researching.” If it weren’t for the occasion, I would have laughed out loud. The technology that made me famous overnight in my previous life was the result of countless professors and students at A University spending nearly 10 years researching. Even though it was finally successful in my hands, I didn’t dare to take all the credit and monopolize other people’s years of hard work. Olivia actually dared to say she independently researched and produced results in just one year. Unless she was an unparalleled genius. But I knew better than anyone that she wasn’t. However, the people below didn’t know. The final result was a foregone conclusion – Olivia won first place in the competition and obtained an internship opportunity at Chen Group. Ethan Chen lowered his eyes to look at the young woman in front of him, undisguised admiration in his gaze. The two huddled together, ignoring everyone else. When the conversation got exciting, Olivia covered her mouth and giggled, looking incredibly pure and beautiful. Everyone present was an old hand, seeing through but not exposing each other, tacitly ignoring the desire belonging to a grown man on Ethan Chen’s face. Olivia walked up to me, her hand deliberately brushing against Ethan’s suit jacket draped over her shoulders. “Lily, how’s life in the wealthy family?” She clearly saw that I was ostracized by everyone, after all, this was the treatment she had suffered in her previous life. In my previous life, she had also walked up to me like this and said to me who had just finished a press conference and been hired by Chen Group for a huge salary: “No matter how arrogant you are, you’re just an employee. No matter how hard you try, you’ll never match my status as the Chen family’s daughter-in-law!” But in this life, she said to me with an arrogant face: “I don’t want to be a parasitic flower that only relies on others. I want to achieve my dreams through my own abilities.” She turned and left. I raised an eyebrow. In my peripheral vision, I saw Ethan Chen’s face reveal an intriguing smile after hearing her words.
Olivia and Ethan Chen left one after another. But I didn’t care at all where they went. Instead, I took out my business card and, based on my memories from my previous life, sought out those people who could help my career. Everyone present was a big shot who knew my identity well, so not many people paid attention to me. I wasn’t embarrassed or angry, nor did I care about the hateful gazes from the Chen family members that looked like they wanted to kill me. After all, I was still a member of the Chen family. This humble appearance made them deeply ashamed. Ryan wasn’t here, so I was just a village girl with the title of Chen family daughter-in-law. Naturally, those big shots wouldn’t give me any face. I was repeatedly rebuffed, but still introduced my ideas calmly and confidently. In her previous life, Olivia only thought she could gain a foothold in the Chen family by relying on Ryan, so she focused all her energy on infighting, which only made the Chen family despise her and think she wasn’t presentable. But I knew that to gain a firm foothold in such deep waters, the most important thing was strength. It was the strength to prove that you were irreplaceable. On the way home, Emma Chen deliberately brought up my networking efforts today. “Looks like our sister-in-law has big ambitions. How many business cards did you hand out?” I ignored the sarcasm in her tone and carefully counted the partners from my previous life. There were only a few college students participating in the competition. In this life, they were just inconspicuous startups that couldn’t catch the eye of big companies like Chen Group. Sure enough, Emma Chen burst out laughing. “Lily, lower class people will always be lower class. No matter how hard you struggle, we won’t accept you. We’ll just think you’re a laughable clown.” Laughable? I curved my lips slightly. I didn’t care if they would accept me or not. After all, I didn’t even take the Chen family seriously. Although Ryan and I were married, we didn’t have a real husband-wife relationship. In her previous life, Olivia always complained about her husband when she came home. All the memories about Ryan revolved around negative words like “useless”, “weak and selfish”, “idiot”, etc. But I found that he wasn’t a bad person. After knowing that I was forced into the Chen family by my parents, he readily accepted my proposal for a marriage of convenience. Although we lived under the same roof, we were more like friends than husband and wife. Because of his illegitimate son status, he was ostracized in the Chen family, with no dignity or rights. But he had money. “My dad once gave my mom a black card. After my mom left, she gave it to me.” “I know you’ve suffered a lot of grievances during the time I was away. I have no other way to make it up to you, I can only do it through money. You don’t mind, do you?” How could I mind? I was overjoyed! Ryan’s expertise wasn’t in business management, but in computers. But for the Chen family, this was equivalent to being useless. So he could only go out and find a job on his own, leaving early and returning late every day. Even though he had the Chen family’s black card in hand, he was still afraid that this security would be taken away one day. In her previous life, Olivia thought he was useless and cowardly, treating him harshly and even helping other Chen family members bully him. But my heart ached. “Okay,” I smiled and nodded, taking the card, “Thank you. If you ever need my help, I’ll definitely do my best!” I invested some money into the startups of a few partners. No one paid attention to this small company founded by a few young people. It was like a speck of dust in the huge waves stirred up by these big enterprises, so small and insignificant that everyone thought this ordinary seedling would die in its cradle before long. This money was just a drop in the bucket for the Chen family, so they didn’t notice. But for us, it was crucial. Because I wanted to recreate that technology that shocked the entire industry in my previous life. I rented a lab. Even without that basic data, the experiments I had done countless times in my previous life were deeply etched into my bones. The days and nights spent in the library and lab, relying on the cheapest instant coffee powder to stay awake, allowed me to do those experiments flawlessly even with my eyes closed. This was the reason why Olivia couldn’t replicate my path from my previous life.
I heard that Ethan Chen invited Olivia to dinner, but was rejected by her on the grounds that she had to attend evening self-study. The next day, rumors spread throughout the school about the top wealthy family heir pursuing the genius school beauty. Olivia hurriedly denied it, but the more she cared, the more it confirmed the truth of this matter. I have to say, she was quite clever on this point. Ethan Chen didn’t lack women, especially women who threw themselves at him. The biggest reason he fell for me in my previous life was that I was different. My aloofness, my innocence, my dedication to research and disdain for power aroused his interest and then his desire to conquer. The Olivia in this life was the same. Her playing hard to get successfully piqued Ethan Chen’s interest. Men always yearn for what they can’t obtain. I lay on the memory foam mattress, feeling the relaxation of muscles brought by the massage mode. My hair was refreshing, smooth and shiny after just having a scalp treatment. Olivia should be lying on the hard board bed in the Lu family’s humble home right now, plotting her next move to win over Ethan Chen. I smiled. She probably hadn’t thought about what unspeakable truth was hidden beneath the marriage she so desperately desired. In my previous life, it wasn’t until much later that I figured it out – how could a man who had been fighting in the business world for years marry me just because of my “pure kindness”? It wasn’t until after marriage when he confined me at home, not allowing me to go out to work, taking away all my research results, and wanting me to do research for him wholeheartedly, that I understood what he was really after. After I refused, he finally showed his true colors, putting me under house arrest and taking away all my communication devices. I lost my freedom and could only stare blankly at the sun through the narrow window every day, facing four white walls. Even when I developed mental issues later, he didn’t let me go. Instead, he chose to hold press conferences to gain sympathy, using my pain to squeeze out my last bit of value. Perhaps his initial attraction was real, and that light-hearted affection was real too. It’s just that his feelings were too impure, easily dissipating in the face of interests. I wonder how Ethan Chen will treat Olivia after discovering the truth. And whether Olivia can withstand his torment. My “unruliness” made the Chen family members increasingly malicious towards me. In the past, they would still have some reservations before acting, out of respect for Mrs. Chen. But now, seemingly knowing that Ethan Chen also disliked me, they became more unscrupulous in bullying me. Cutting up my clothes, making me embarrass myself at banquets; Spitting in my food, pouring toilet water into it; Even setting my hair on fire in public, laughing at me as I frantically tried to put it out… They took it for granted that they had this privilege to punish me, this gold-digging bad woman, to teach me, this lowly woman trying to taint their noble bloodline, a lesson. But I didn’t show any of the panic and fear they expected. Instead, I looked at them with disdain, as if watching children playing pranks. I cut off my long hair in front of everyone. As the black strands fell to the ground, I saw Ethan Chen standing at the door. His gaze was dark and unclear, with emotions I couldn’t decipher roiling inside. As if curious to see how long I could persist for the Chen family’s money. … Actually, I wasn’t just putting on a brave face. After being slandered in my previous life, the bullying I suffered was much worse than what I was enduring now. In order to change my fate, I could only work part-time jobs while studying hard. But in this life, I had the Chen family’s top resources. I didn’t have to worry about my parents secretly taking my next semester’s tuition fees for “investment”, nor did I have to worry about the school kicking me out of the research group because of those rumors. This was already a huge help for me. Let them continue with those harmless pranks. After all, they wouldn’t be able to keep it up for long. As for Olivia. I heard that she frequently skipped classes to attend banquets with Ethan Chen and go on dates with him. Her repeated absences led to her final exams being a complete disaster, failing most of her courses. Not to mention doing research. Throughout the entire semester, she hadn’t even touched a lab coat. The lab manager had hardly seen her. Her advisor talked to her, saying she couldn’t neglect her studies just because she had an internship opportunity. But she was dismissive, saying she was a well-known genius, and geniuses were supposed to achieve greater results with less time than ordinary people. When told her grades were too poor to graduate, she didn’t care either, saying that in today’s society, connections and resources were more useful than grades and academic qualifications. Over time, the teachers stopped caring about her too. Even her parents believed that firmly grasping the future head of Chen Group was more important than academic qualifications. Moreover, my nominal position as the Chen family’s daughter-in-law had already disappointed them enough. After discovering they couldn’t gain any benefits from me, they directly cut off contact with me and wholeheartedly helped Olivia become the Chen Group’s mistress. All these rumors only reached my ears later, because at this moment, I was busy with the final stage of the experiment.
The lights in the company’s somewhat shabby lab stayed on all night. The others also stayed up all night with me, and we finally produced a rough product. We were so excited. After the celebratory dinner, it was already very late. The Chen family’s curfew had long passed, so I had no choice but to go back to the Lu family’s house for the night. In the latest issue of the journal, my published research results caused a sensation in the entire scientific community. Reporters swarmed towards that small company like sharks smelling blood. Countless industry giants extended olive branches to me. Just like in my previous life, my name was pushed to the forefront. Everyone praised this technology as capable of revolutionizing the industry. I didn’t want to go back to the Chen family to face those people’s sarcastic remarks, so I rented a small apartment next to the company to stay temporarily. But unexpectedly, when I didn’t go looking for them, they came looking for me instead. I looked at Ethan Chen standing in front of me with a dark face and Olivia standing behind him on the verge of tears, expressionlessly standing at the door with no intention of inviting them in. “Lily, your unscrupulousness really makes me look at you with new eyes.” “What do you mean?” I frowned. Olivia opened her mouth pitifully. “Sister, I know you’ve always been jealous of me, jealous that I’m prettier than you and study better than you.” “But all of this is what I gained through my own efforts. Why do you have to take even these away?” I was confused and wanted to laugh. “Just spit it out if you have something to say. No need to beat around the bush until you’re out of breath.” Olivia’s face instantly turned red. Ethan Chen snorted coldly: “Plagiarizing other people’s research results, Lily, you’d better prepare to go to jail!” I opened my phone and looked. Several bright red “Breaking News” headlines had somehow been pushed to the top trending spots. #Lily Academic Fraud# #Lily Plagiarism# #Olivia Genius Girl# At the press conference, several well-known newspapers and authoritative media, including the Chen family members, were present. Olivia presented her experimental data, with a timeline clearly earlier than my publication date. “This is the result I worked so hard to research, but I never thought it would end up becoming someone else’s wedding dress in the end. Do we poor college students really have no justice at all, and can only be bullied by rich people at will?” She was indignant, with crystal clear tears in her reddened eyes, looking so pitiful. The crowd was in an uproar, criticizing me for using my power to bully others. “I knew it, how could a village girl who didn’t even graduate from college research these things?” “She must have relied on the Chen family’s influence to steal a college student’s research results. How shameless!” “I must seek justice for us ordinary people. These capitalists deserve to die!” Olivia wept pitifully, protected in Ethan Chen’s arms. But the Chen family members stayed far away from me, afraid of being tainted by me and ruining their reputation. Ryan wasn’t here. There was no one from the Chen family standing on my side. Their attitude was very clear – although there was no clear evidence proving my plagiarism yet, they seemed to have already determined my crime and wanted to cut ties with me. The public naturally sympathizes with the underdog. Even though the current situation on the scene made me look more like the underdog, everyone had already made up their minds. After all, a useless wealthy daughter-in-law stealing a genius college student’s research results for fame – this was the kind of plot the public loved to see. “At home, Lily always liked to steal my things. I saw that she was young, so I just let her have her way. I didn’t expect to nurture a tiger that would bring calamity.” “Sister, this is my hard work. I can’t let you have it this time!” Tears fell from Olivia’s stubborn little face, making the audience and viewers watching the live broadcast indignant. “I can’t believe they’re actually sisters. Stealing her own sister’s hard work, I’ve never seen such a shameless person!” “How can a greedy woman like Lily enter the Chen family? If the Chen family doesn’t give an explanation, I’ll hate them for life!” “That’s right! Kick this scheming woman out of the Chen family!” I glanced at the rapidly scrolling barrage on the screen, feeling no ripples in my heart. But my expression fell in their eyes as cold and provocative. “Miss Lu, when you originally chose to marry into the Chen family, didn’t you also steal your sister’s opportunity?” “You were originally a child from an ordinary family, but after marrying into a wealthy family, you started oppressing ordinary people. Is this your true nature, or the change brought about by the wealthy family?” My gaze swept over the people below one by one, finally landing on Olivia’s pitiful face. I slowly curved my lips, and my clear voice resounded throughout the entire venue through the microphone. “You’re right, this is indeed a case of academic plagiarism.” “She actually admitted it? What kind of tactic is this, trying to establish an honest image?” “This isn’t just stealing anymore, it’s outright robbery!” “Can wealthy families just treat ordinary people’s efforts as a joke? I really can’t stand her arrogant face!” The sound of camera shutters erupted like thunder. A flash of bewilderment crossed Olivia’s face, followed by a smug smile. She probably thought that I had no ability to clarify, so I simply gave up completely.
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