In my past life, my sister was adopted by a wealthy family, while I was taken in by a cleaner. It turned out the rich family was embroiled in fierce internal power struggles. Their parents were cold, and the brother was a bully. In the end, my sister left with nothing. My home, however, was warm and harmonious. The wealthy young master even fell for me, the poor but pure-hearted girl. Everything unfolded just like a romantic movie. My sister, consumed by hatred, killed me, and we both returned to the day we were adopted. This time, she threw herself into the cleaner’s arms first: “Sister, this time, the teen movie lead is mine.” But she didn’t know that the lead became the lead not because of her background. My sister and I were reborn, back to the day we were to be adopted from the orphanage. Two families stood in Director Hayes’s office: the Sterlings and the Finches. All three members of the Sterling family were impeccably dressed. The man wore a tailored suit, the woman was dripping with diamonds. Their only son, Julian Sterling, wore a high school uniform, but his feet were shod in limited-edition, global-release sneakers. This was the city’s most prominent Sterling family. Mr. Sterling was a business magnate, his enterprises contributing the largest tax revenue to the city. Mrs. Sterling was a socialite, frequently seen at jewelry auctions and charity galas, rubbing shoulders with A-list celebrities. Their son, Julian Sterling, was known as the city’s golden boy. In contrast, the Finch family next to them looked rough. The man and woman’s hands were covered in the marks of manual labor. Their clothes were probably their best, but still showed unwashed sweat stains. According to Director Hayes, both husband and wife worked at the city’s top high school; the husband was a janitor, and the wife was a cleaner. In my previous life, my sister, Seraphina, had unhesitatingly chosen the Sterlings. Yet, in this moment, almost as if afraid to be late, she dove into the cleaner’s embrace: “Mom, please take me! I want to be your daughter!” “From now on, my name is Seraphina Finch!” Amidst my sister’s excited cries, I walked towards the Sterling family. And so, the choices were made, and we were taken away by our respective families. As I left the orphanage, I heard Director Hayes murmuring to herself in confusion: “Strange, Seraphina has always been fiercely competitive, always wanting to be on top. Before, with other potential adopters, if they were plainly dressed, she wouldn’t even glance at them.” “This time, the real wealthy family came, but why did she refuse them?” Director Hayes didn’t understand. But I did.
In the last life, my sister went to great lengths to be adopted by the Sterlings first, becoming Seraphina Sterling. She believed a princess-like life awaited her. Not to mention Julian Sterling, the city’s golden boy, becoming her brother. After all, a wealthy young master and an adopted daughter — that was the most common pairing in romantic novels. Living under the same roof, it was easy for feelings to develop over time. However, Seraphina never expected that Julian would not only show no hint of a gentle older brother, but on the contrary, he detested her: “I hate opportunistic people the most in this life. Don’t think I can’t see through you, you manipulative little schemer. All you want is our family’s money, isn’t it?” At home, Julian bullied Seraphina. At school, he brought a group of followers and tormented her. Even if Mr. and Mrs. Sterling knew, they would at most reprimand him half-heartedly. They had no affection for Seraphina. They adopted her only because a fortune teller told Mr. Sterling that adopting a daughter would bring him great fortune for the next decade. Between an adopted daughter and their biological son, the Sterlings naturally favored their son. While Julian bullied Seraphina, he was incredibly kind to me, who had been adopted by the Finch family. He saw me receiving scholarships, always ranking first in exams, attending school during the day, and helping my adoptive mother clean at night. I lived a tough life but never complained. “Anya Finch, that girl, she’s really something.” Just like in a teen drama, the rebellious rich boy fell for the resilient, poor but pure-hearted girl. Later, when Mr. and Mrs. Sterling passed away and the inheritance was being divided, Julian, with his team of lawyers, completely outmaneuvered Seraphina, leaving her with nothing. She walked away empty-handed, without a single penny of the family fortune. Months later, Julian married me. He even openly declared at the wedding, “Anya Finch, from now on, what’s mine is yours.” Unfortunately, I never got to enjoy Julian’s wealth either. Because a few days later, Seraphina, driven to desperate madness, ran me over with her car. Reborn into this life, my sister unhesitatingly chose the Finch family. Though there was no immense wealth, there was also no scheming or infighting. She could enjoy her parents’ complete love and grow up in a happy family. And because of this background, she would be pitied and protected by the rich young master, eventually getting a fairy tale wedding of the century. She smiled at me, saying: “Sister, this time, the romantic drama lead is mine to play.” “And you, you should taste everything I went through.”
Seraphina’s prediction wasn’t wrong. In fact, Julian’s bullying came even earlier than in the previous life. At school, my head was shoved into a sink, surrounded by the mocking laughter of a group of boys. Just as I was about to run out of breath, someone grabbed my neck and pulled me up. Julian looked at me with a smirk: “You want my family’s money? Fine.” “Drink all the water from the toilet. Drink one gulp and I’ll give you ten thousand. How about it?” His followers cheered, excited. I looked at Julian. This person, who had gently declared his love for me in the previous life, was now unrestrainedly unleashing his malice upon me. But Julian wasn’t looking at me. His gaze swept past me, looking behind me. I knew Seraphina Finch was there, bending over to scrub the floor. “Isn’t that Seraphina Finch?” “Why is she still scrubbing the floor?” One of his followers told Julian, “Seraphina’s mom is the school cleaner, you know. She goes to school during the day, but at night, she has to help her mom with work.” A flicker of shock, then a hint of pity, crossed Julian’s eyes. He called out loudly to Seraphina, “Hey! It’s so cold, stop scrubbing. Nobody’s checking anyway.” Seraphina straightened up, her black hair cascading over her shoulders, a stubborn expression on her delicate face. She shook her head, “I can’t.” “If someone comes to check and finds the floor isn’t clean, Mom will have a hundred dollars deducted from her pay.” “I know a hundred dollars is nothing to a rich kid like you, but for my family, it’s a week’s worth of groceries.” With that, Seraphina bent down and continued scrubbing the floor. Honestly, Seraphina’s intentions were obvious. With so much floor, she specifically chose to scrub in front of Julian. She even deliberately let her hair down and found the right angle to present herself in the most beautiful way. Too bad for her, Julian fell for it completely. Sure enough, Julian walked over, gently helped Seraphina up, snatched the rag from her hand, and tossed it to his followers: “You guys, help her scrub the rest of the floor.” He glanced at Seraphina’s red, frozen hands, then, after a moment’s thought, draped his jacket over her shoulders: “It’s too late. How are you getting home later?” “I’ll bike.” “You’re biking in this freezing weather?” Julian was shocked, then said without room for argument, “Go wait downstairs. I’ll have my driver take you home.” Seraphina left, shielded by Julian. As she walked away, she didn’t forget to discreetly glance back, giving a mocking smile to my disheveled self. A moment later, everyone dispersed, leaving only me by the sink. Struggling to get to my feet, I used my sleeve to wipe the water dripping from my hair. “Use this.” A cool, clear voice sounded from behind me. I turned my head. It was Hazel, our class representative. She was a quiet girl, very diligent in her studies, always wearing long sleeves regardless of the season. In my previous life, she had also helped Seraphina when she was bullied. She offered Seraphina a towel and advised her to expose Julian’s bullying. But Seraphina slapped her hand away: “What do you know? He’s my brother!” At that time, Seraphina was still dreaming of making Julian fall in love with her. So later, Hazel stopped bothering with her and continued her silent, solitary existence. Even later, just before graduation, Hazel took her own life. It was then we learned her family was incredibly poor. Her grandmother had been bedridden for years, and her father was a gambler who not only regularly abused her but also tried to sell her to pay off debts. Now, she stood beside me, a clean towel in her hand. I paused, then took it. She said nothing more, turning to leave. She probably felt there was nothing to say to a rich girl like me. Just as her back was about to disappear, I suddenly spoke: “Hazel!” Her steps halted. I scratched my head, “Uh, listen, I just transferred, and I don’t know my way around yet.” “Where’s the cafeteria? Can you take me there?”
On the cafeteria table were four dishes and a soup. Braised pork ribs, steamed minced meat with egg, Coca-Cola chicken wings, stir-fried greens, and clam and winter melon soup. It truly was the best high school in the city; their cafeteria food was always something to be proud of. I scratched my head again, “Ah, I accidentally ordered too much.” “Waste is shameful, and you haven’t had dinner yet, have you? Want to eat with me?” Hazel was silent for a moment, then finally picked up her forks and began to eat in small bites. I looked at her wrist, peeking out from her school uniform sleeve, so thin it looked fragile. Honestly, girls like Hazel were the ones who truly needed help. But they weren’t pretty, they didn’t cry out in pain, so they would only become barren weeds in the memories of youth, not even qualifying to be the lead in a romantic drama. This life, I wouldn’t just save myself; I would save her too. My mind made up, I spoke: “Ugh, conic sections are just so hard, I completely don’t get them.” “Hazel, you’re so good at studying, why don’t you tutor me?” Hazel, with a piece of braised pork rib in her mouth, looked utterly shocked, as if to say, “Are we even that close?” I didn’t give her a chance to refuse. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders cheerfully, “It’s decided then! I’ll pay you for tutoring!”
I gave a portion of my allowance to Hazel, calling it “pre-paid tutoring fees.” She stared at the hundred dollar bills in the envelope, too stunned to speak. In both my past and present lives, the Sterling family never skimped on their adopted daughter’s basic necessities, living expenses, or allowance. But what was pocket change for Julian was enough for Hazel to buy medicine for her grandmother and pay hospital fees. She could even rent a small apartment off-campus, away from her abusive father. After arranging a tutoring time with Hazel for the next day, I returned home. The luxurious villa was empty. Mr. Sterling was out on business, and Mrs. Sterling was at the beauty salon. As for Julian, he was probably having dinner at the Finch’s house right now. In my previous life, Julian had the driver drop me off at home, and when my adoptive parents, the Finches, saw him, they enthusiastically invited him to stay for dinner. Then, just like a standard scene in a romantic drama, one dinner allowed the young master, who had grown up in the cold, opulent world of a wealthy family, to experience the strong family warmth of a modest home. The simple smiles always on the Finch parents’ faces. The cramped, rundown but lively room. All these made Julian yearn for their life, and he grew even fonder of the pure-hearted, struggling girl from such a family. At this moment, even though he and Seraphina were eating simple, unadorned food, they were probably both very happy. I slowly put on my Hermès bathrobe, washed my face with Chanel cleanser, and ate a bowl of rock sugar bird’s nest soup brought by the housekeeper, a cold smile playing on my lips. No one knew that the Finch couple, though poor, were not simple-hearted. The couple favored sons over daughters and had originally wanted to adopt a boy. But there were no non-disabled boys in the orphanage, so they settled for a beautiful daughter, hoping she’d attract a promising son-in-law someday. When they saw Julian dropping their daughter off, the couple’s blood must have boiled with excitement. They immediately “captured” this potential high-flying prospect for a son-in-law and treated him lavishly. The so-called warmth, the so-called lively atmosphere, it was all just an act. After all, to impress a young master from a wealthy family, these were the only things they had to offer. And in my previous life, when I told them I didn’t want to marry Julian, my adoptive mother locked me in my room, and my adoptive father beat me half to death with a table leg and a belt. Seraphina thought this life she had entered paradise, but she didn’t know there was no true paradise in this world. The Sterling home was a rich hell, and the Finch home was a poor hell. And who could crawl out of hell alive, that depended on one’s own capabilities.
In the days that followed, Julian’s malice intensified. The lunch prepared by the housekeeper, when I opened the lunchbox, was filled with thumbtacks. My facial cleanser and toothpaste would have dead spiders squeezed into them. My dresses in the closet were covered in cigarette burns. And every time I was startled and looked up, I’d meet Julian’s malicious grin. He mouthed to me: *Anya Sterling, you deserve it.* Julian thought I would cry. But I calmly poured out the thumbtacks, threw the spiders into the trash, and folded the damaged dresses neatly away. Julian’s smile vanished. He stared at me, almost gritting his teeth as he said, “Let’s see how long you can keep up this act.” … Fortunately, this time, although I had to endure Julian’s malice, the Sterling family’s resources were entirely at my disposal. I no longer had to spend my days at school and my evenings helping my adoptive mother work. Instead, a housekeeper took care of me, a driver picked me up and dropped me off, and I only needed to focus on my studies. In my previous life, to buy extra study materials, I had to save money for a long time, and still had to worry about my adoptive father taking my money to buy alcohol and gamble. Now, my closet was filled with designer dresses, and my jewelry box held Van Cleef & Arpels and Cartier pieces, all casually given by Mrs. Sterling, requiring no money from me. In addition, at the beginning of each month, I received fifty thousand dollars in cash allowance and a credit card with a hundred thousand dollar limit. If I spent it all, I only needed to tell the butler, and new funds would be transferred to the card within half an hour. And the difficult life I had experienced in the past now completely fell upon Seraphina. I saw her sleeping through classes, utterly exhausted from helping her adoptive mother with work at night. Gradually, she stopped doing homework and started submitting blank test papers. In my past life, I lived on black coffee, and when I was truly exhausted, I’d prick myself with a pen to stay awake, studying with all my might. But Seraphina had lived a life of pampering and comfort in her previous life; she lacked that drive and perseverance. Not to mention, she didn’t care about her studies. In her view, becoming the Sterling heir’s fiancée was far more valuable than getting into any top-tier university. So, Seraphina focused all her energy on making Julian like her more. She didn’t listen in math class, instead secretly writing a diary meant only for Julian. She skipped dance rehearsals, sneaking out of school to drive around and stargaze with Julian. The result was, on the eve of the dance showcase… She sat outside the rehearsal room, crying. I assume Seraphina had specifically studied how romantic drama leads cry: gazing up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, tears welling in her eyes, stubbornly refusing to fall. And then, Julian happened to pass by and saw her. The moment Julian asked what was wrong, Seraphina’s long-suppressed tears finally spilled over. She threw herself into Julian’s arms and burst into sobs: “Julian, I lost my spot on stage.” “All the girls in the class are performing, but Anya wouldn’t let me participate…” Julian already hated me to the core, and hearing this, he immediately flared up: “Why?” Seraphina bit her lip, trying desperately to stop crying, but still couldn’t help but whimper: “She said my mom is just a cleaner, and my dad is just a janitor.” “She said I couldn’t even afford a costume, and didn’t deserve to be on stage.” Julian’s face grew uglier and uglier. He looked at Seraphina, who was gasping for breath from crying, and whispered, “It’s just a costume, isn’t it? I’ll buy it for you.” Seraphina shook her head, radiating the righteous aura of a pure-hearted, struggling girl: “No, one costs eight hundred dollars. I can’t accept such an expensive gift from you.” Julian was absolutely furious and heartbroken: “How dare Anya Sterling do that?” He blurted out in anger. Seraphina, teary-eyed, shook her head: “She is your sister, after all, the Sterling heiress.” “Several buildings in the school were donated by your family, and your father is an honorary school board member. Even if the teachers know she bullies, what can they do…” Seraphina didn’t notice that at that moment, a reporter conducting interviews at the school happened to pass behind her. Peeking his head in, the reporter, like a shark smelling blood, sensitively asked: “Bullying? What bullying?”
Things suddenly escalated like that. In the school’s largest conference room, a crowd of people stood silently. The principal, vice principal, dean of students, and homeroom teacher. Reporters from various news agencies. Both the Sterling and Finch parents were present. Mr. and Mrs. Finch stood in a corner of the conference room, protecting a tear-streaked Seraphina, their faces filled with grievance and indignation. Mr. and Mrs. Sterling had initially received the call and heard it was about me, and they hadn’t wanted to come. It wasn’t until they heard that even the newly appointed Director of the Education Board had arrived that they rushed over. The city’s top high school was a prime example for the Education Board. Mr. Sterling and the Director of the Education Board clearly had a past acquaintance. As soon as he entered, Mr. Sterling went to the Director’s side and smoothly began: “Such a small matter, it even disturbed Director Miller.” “Actually, it’s just children having a spat…” But Director Miller was very principled and completely unmoved: “Mr. Sterling, bullying is never a small matter.” “I know Anya Sterling is your daughter, but to me, all children are students, they are saplings. I cannot stand by and watch them grow crooked.” With words spoken to that extent, Mr. Sterling could say no more, only offering a smile: “Yes, yes, we are also unclear what happened. Please investigate thoroughly.” Returning to Mrs. Sterling’s side, the two exchanged a silent glance. I understood. If my bullying was truly confirmed, the Sterling family would immediately abandon me, their adopted daughter for whom they felt no affection, and completely cut ties with me. If Mr. and Mrs. Sterling’s attitude was already like this, what about Julian… He stood beside the constantly sobbing Seraphina, softly comforting her, occasionally raising his dark eyes to give me a cold glance. Seeing that everyone had arrived, the principal spoke, asking Seraphina: “Seraphina, please tell us what happened.” Seraphina raised her red, tear-filled eyes and quietly repeated what she had told Julian. The reporters were already indignant. One person quickly said: “Our preliminary investigation shows that Anya Sterling and Seraphina Finch were once friends from the same orphanage, even calling each other sisters.” “Later, Anya Sterling was adopted by the Sterling Group, while Seraphina Finch’s adoptive parents were just ordinary school employees.” “Anya Sterling, just because you entered a wealthy family, does that mean you can bully your former friend and steal opportunities that originally belonged to her?” A heavy silence fell. All the reporters’ eyes were on me, and the red lights of the cameras flickered incessantly. No one wanted to miss out on a sensational scoop. After all, this was a very sensitive social issue – in an era where social strata were gradually solidifying, if children from wealthy families continued to steal educational resources that originally belonged to impoverished children, blocking their path upwards, it could provoke considerable public outrage. Not to mention the protagonists of the news story were me and Seraphina, a dramatic contrast. In the pin-drop silent office, I suddenly let out a small laugh, the sound surprisingly abrupt. All the reporters exchanged confused glances. “Esteemed reporter, I read in a book that news professionals need to cross-verify and fact-check all information they receive.” “Why? Are you now skipping work steps just to rush out a sensational news story?” Immediately, the reporter’s face turned beet red. I stood up and pointed coldly at Seraphina: “Right now, she is the only source of information. Everything is just her side of the story.” I looked at Seraphina, whose face was pale from crying. I did once consider you my sister. But in the past life, you killed me out of jealousy. In this life, you climb by framing me. So if I destroy you, it’s your own doing. “Since the esteemed reporter is asking me now, I’ll tell you what I know.” “Seraphina is jealous of me. She feels that even though we both started the same, and she’s even prettier and smarter than me, why do I now live a better life than her?” “Out of jealousy and hatred, she fabricated this story to frame me.” At these words, Julian immediately retorted: “But…” He wanted to say that Seraphina had actively chosen the poor Finch family. Therefore, she couldn’t be someone who only cared about wealth, and my explanation was clearly twisting the facts. But before he could finish, the principal’s office door was suddenly flung open. Standing outside was a thin figure, with short hair, silent, like an inconspicuous weed. Our homeroom teacher recognized her: “Hazel? What are you doing here?” In the previous life, Hazel had already taken her own life by this time. But in this life, she was alive. Step by step, Hazel walked in and stood beside me. She said softly, “I’m here to testify.”
She entered so abruptly that the reporters were momentarily stunned. Someone asked, “Student, are you here to testify that Anya Sterling bullied Seraphina Finch?” After all, judging by her appearance, Hazel was clearly not from a wealthy family. At a glance, she seemed more like Seraphina. Hazel looked at the person who asked the question and shook her head. She said, “I’m here to testify *for* Anya Sterling.” I looked at Hazel in surprise. To be honest, I had prepared a lot for today’s confrontation. But Hazel was not a witness I had planned for. After all, we weren’t really that close. The last time I gave her money, she looked up the current market rates for tutoring, calculated it based on an hour a day, and then returned all the excess money to me. She taught me math for one hour every day, then promptly packed her bag and left, like some perfectly programmed AI robot. In my previous life, Hazel had jumped from a building right before college entrance exams. All her hopes were pinned on getting into a good university and earning money quickly to treat her grandmother’s illness. But a month before the exams, her father lost money gambling, drank a few bottles of rotgut alcohol, came home, and gave Hazel the worst beating of her life. Hazel’s right hand was broken. It was her writing hand. No one knew what else Hazel’s father did that day, or what else the bruised and battered Hazel endured. When people found her again, this perpetually silent girl had already jumped from the rooftop. In this life, even though Hazel and I hadn’t become close friends, I still wanted to save her. So, I paid two thugs to beat Hazel’s father into the hospital. That way, at least until the college entrance exams were over, that man wouldn’t be able to abuse her. To meticulously plan this, I had, for the first time, missed an evening study session. When I returned, Hazel, who was in charge of attendance records, caught me red-handed. She asked me, “Why did you skip evening study?” I scratched my head, desperately trying to think of an excuse. After all, I looked perfectly healthy, no sickness or injury, so I couldn’t exactly tell her, “Skipped class to beat up your dad.” Just then, Hazel was called out by the reception teacher: “Hazel, you have a call.” It was news about Hazel’s father. Five minutes later, Hazel returned, her face still bland and expressionless. She picked up the attendance sheet again, then put it down. “I won’t mark it this time,” she said calmly. “Don’t be absent again.” At that time, I breathed a sigh of relief and scurried back to my seat to study. Now, as Hazel used that same calm tone to say, “I’m here to testify for Anya Sterling.” It was then I realized that perhaps she knew. Facing the gazes of everyone in the room, Hazel pulled out a stack of forms and placed them on the table. Seraphina’s face instantly turned ashen. To enter the dance studio for rehearsal, according to school regulations, one had to fill out a form: what time the room was borrowed, who used it—everything was on the form. But this rule wasn’t strictly enforced, and filling it out was a hassle, so later, almost no one bothered; they just notified the dance teacher and went. No one expected that Hazel meticulously filled out the form every single time and kept all the records. So, under everyone’s watchful eyes, they could clearly see that out of over thirty forms, Seraphina’s name appeared in the “Users of the Classroom” section on only two. Meaning, out of more than thirty rehearsals, she had only attended twice. Hazel saw that everyone had clearly seen the forms, and then she slowly began to speak: “Seraphina said that Anya Sterling mocked her for not being able to afford a costume, and that’s why she wouldn’t let her on stage.” “But when I told Anya Sterling I couldn’t afford a costume and didn’t want to participate, she told me to continue rehearsing.” “The next day, I found out she had bought costumes for everyone.” “Seraphina also said that Anya Sterling bullied her because her father is a janitor and her mother is a cleaner.” “But my father doesn’t even have a proper job. My whole family relies on my grandmother’s meager pension.” Hazel looked at me: “If you bully poor people, why didn’t you bully me?” This kind of self-deprecating confession stunned everyone present. In the silence, I sighed, took out my phone, and played a video on speaker. In this video, everyone could see Seraphina missing beats, forgetting moves, and falling behind. Among everyone, she was clearly the worst. Well, after all, during previous rehearsals, she had been out stargazing with Julian. Actually, Seraphina hadn’t really wanted to participate in this showcase, but seeing that I had dropped her, she went to Julian to twist the truth and play the victim, making Julian like her more and hate me more. She hadn’t expected the matter to escalate so much, nor that I would have such complete human and material evidence. “Originally, I shouldn’t have taken the liberty of dropping Seraphina.” “However, this dance showcase offers special admission points, and two girls in our group are specialty students who are relying on these points for college admission.” “If I still let Seraphina participate, it would jeopardize the future of those two girls. Therefore, I had no choice but to make this decision.”
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