Author: Momo Chan

My sister is a white swan, and I am an ugly duckling. My parents always love to compare us: “Look at your sister, then look at yourself.” Even the neighborhood boy we grew up playing with said, “Serena looks like a princess, you look like the maid who serves the princess.” I wasn’t convinced and asked him why. He sniffled and said, “Because you look messy.” Until that day we went to a banquet. My parents held my sister’s hand, trying their hardest to sell her to the host family, praising her to the skies. I shrank in the corner, staring at the imported cookies on the table, swallowing my saliva. But the young master of that family didn’t even look at my sister. He walked straight through the crowd and pulled me tightly into his arms. “Mine.” He said. 1 Serena was born with a face that God himself had blessed. A heart-shaped face, big eyes, skin as white as a freshly peeled egg. Her eyelashes were as long as two small fans, fluttering and flickering. Every time we took her out, passersby would pull my mom aside and ask, “This child is so beautiful, is she a child model?” My mom would purse her lips and smile, looking modest: “No, no, she just grew up like this.” At this time, if I leaned over and yelled, “Mom.” Passersby would be startled, look down and see an average face with a runny nose and cheeks frozen red, looking suspicious: “This is also your daughter?” The smile on my mom’s lips would collapse immediately, becoming faint: “Yes.” “The younger one.” Passersby would haha: “It seems that all the nutrition in the belly was snatched by the older one, huh?” My mom would also smile along: “That’s right, the older one really lives up to expectations.” The adults just said casually that Serena snatched my nutrition, but I took it seriously. For a long time, I viewed Serena as a class enemy. Actually, it wasn’t that long, only about two or three months. The specific tactic was to grab her fruit to eat. Those bright red strawberries, shiny cherries, and durians that smelled smelly but tasted delicious. My mom always washed and cut them well, and served them to Serena. A large plate, incredibly exquisite. Only the remaining scraps would be my turn. I finished my share and wasn’t satisfied, so I secretly took some from Serena’s bowl. If you walk by the river often, how can your shoes not get wet. After a few times, I was caught red-handed by my parents. Serena was crying there, like pear blossoms with rain: “Sister grabbed my fruit to eat.” She looked good even when crying, like the little mermaid in a fairy tale book dropping pearl tears, both pitiful and lovable. I stiffened my neck and yelled: “Who told her to snatch my nutrition in the belly!” Serena sobbed while refuting: “I didn’t!” I started to throw a tantrum: “You did, you did!” I was in a hurry, my facial features flying wildly, winking and making faces. Compared with Serena who was crying aesthetically beside me, I looked like an evil ghost just down from the mountain. The visual sense of a mean old witch making things difficult for a princess in distress. It made my mom so angry that she picked up a coat hanger and greeted my butt: “Let you talk nonsense!” “Not good-looking, and still so bad-hearted!” I jumped up and down to avoid my mom’s physical attack, howling and begging for mercy: “Wrong, wrong, stop hitting!” My mom put her hands on her hips and pointed at my nose and cursed: “Your sister doesn’t owe you anything!” “If I see you grabbing your sister’s things again, I’ll break your legs!” Serena didn’t snatch my nutrition. Then why does she look like a fairy, and I look so random? I couldn’t figure it out. Why are my parents’ hearts so biased to their armpits? I couldn’t figure it out either. If I couldn’t figure it out, I went to ask others. On the bench downstairs in the neighborhood. Leo Vance and I sat side by side, each holding half a Fla-Vor-Ice pop. “Do you have a brother?” I asked Leo Vance. He sucked noisily: “Yes, what’s up?” “Then is your mom better to your brother?” “What does ‘better’ mean?” He turned his head to look at me. I thought about it and gestured: “It means… only giving your brother meat during meals, giving your brother the good fruit too, only signing your brother up for tutoring classes…” He frowned and thought for a long time, then shook his head: “Not really.” “But isn’t not going to tutoring classes a good thing?” We looked at each other, as if we had found a bosom friend. “Indeed.” My mom signed Serena up for a pile of classes: piano, etiquette, hosting, all kinds of things. Every time she went out, Serena had to wear that deadly tight little dress and dress up like a mannequin. All free time was filled up. I was different. I was free-range. When I was building castles in the sandbox downstairs and covered in mud, Serena was pressing her legs in the practice room there. Tutoring classes, sounded miserable. Thinking about it this way, Serena is so pitiful. That little bit of imbalance in my heart instantly disappeared. Leo Vance asked: “You have a sister?” I said: “Yeah.” He said “Oh” and didn’t ask any more. Only the sound of us sucking ice pops remained in the air. 2 I found my inexplicable psychological balance. I no longer made noise at home, and even looked at Serena with a bit of sympathy in my eyes. I played whenever I wanted, and had a large group of fox friends and dog friends. That day I played wildly and forgot the time. When I came back to my senses, the sun had set long ago, and the streetlights in the neighborhood were dim yellow. My little friends were taken away by their parents one by one. Some parents were angry, some worried, some cursing, some gentle and soft-spoken. Anyway, they were all taken home. Leo Vance was also dragged away by his brother pulling his ear. His brother looked quite like him, just a bit more handsome than him. Before leaving, Leo Vance didn’t forget to turn back and shout: “Go home quickly, Maya!” The lively playground instantly emptied, quiet and scary. Only then did I find out I was the only one left. So quiet. I looked up at the building where my house was. High up, the light in the living room was on, warm yellow. Why don’t my parents come to find me? I kicked the small stone by my foot. If it was Serena who didn’t come home so late… Forget it, there is no if. My mom is her personal bodyguard, following wherever she goes, with various courses connecting seamlessly. Actually, I could run back in two steps. But I didn’t know who I was competing with, I just didn’t want to move. I squatted down and drew with a tree branch in the sandbox. Drawing kittens, castles, princesses, bows… The whole sandbox was covered with my drawings. People getting off work came back one after another. Still no one came to find me. There were fewer and fewer people in the neighborhood, and my stomach started to sing the empty city strategy. The wind blew, and the tree leaves rustled. As if ghosts were running around in the woods. My back went cool, and my hair stood on end. Didn’t dare to look back, ran wildly. Rushed into the corridor in one breath, drilled into the elevator, desperately patted the door of my house. Felt like ten thousand ghosts were chasing behind me. Three… two… Seeing that I was about to be caught… I was anxious to cry. The door opened. … White light leaked out from the door crack, and the ghosts instantly dispersed. I was saved. It was my mom who opened the door, glanced at me, frowned: “Where did you go wild? Coming back so late.” “The food is in the pot, serve yourself.” I was still immersed in the gladness of surviving the disaster, smiling foolishly: “Thanks, Mom.” Hurry to change shoes and go in to shovel rice. Serena was sitting on the sofa watching cartoons. I shoveled the rice in a few mouthfuls and leaned over to watch with her. Detective Conan. The red ruby of the old rich man was lost, there were four suspects. There was a man who looked thievish and mouse-eyed, with a treacherous face, as soon as he came out, I pointed at the TV and shouted: “It must be him! Looks like not a good person at a glance!” Serena slanted her eyes at me, too lazy to pay attention to me. I got energized: “Do you believe it? Let’s bet, if I win, you split half of your allowance with me.” She didn’t speak, pretending to be high and cold. I stared at her with big eyes. She got annoyed by my staring and tutted: “Reason?” I said: “Appearance is born from the heart! He doesn’t look like a good person!” “Oh.” Serena said lightly, “He looks quite like you.” My anger shot up instantly, just about to gesture with her. My mom’s loud voice rang out: “Serena, it’s time to practice piano!” Serena’s face instantly collapsed and she stood up reluctantly. I immediately turned anger into joy, making faces at her gloatingly. Continue watching TV. My mom shouted again: “Maya, turn off the TV! Your sister needs to practice piano, don’t disturb her!” I said “Oh”, turned the TV to mute, and continued to watch the mime. 3 Damn TV station. Cutting off at the critical moment, the next episode preview hanging people’s appetite. Who is the real culprit after all? Have to wait another week. My resentment was very deep. Deep enough that Leo Vance could see it. We both occupied a swing, swaying. He asked: “Who provoked you again?” I angrily sprayed the TV station for not being human. After hearing the plot, Leo Vance slapped his thigh: “I also think it’s that man, looks like a big rat!” We looked at each other, high-fived and swore: “Heroes see the same thing!” “Hey, last time you went back late, did your mom scold you?” “No.” I said. He looked envious: “Your mom is so good, doesn’t control you.” I didn’t speak, always feeling something was wrong in my heart. Just as we were talking, Serena came back after class, probably Serena’s piano class. Wearing a pink fluffy dress, with sparkling rhinestone hairpins pinned on her head, like a doll. My mom held her hand, walking from afar. I shouted: “Mom! Sis!” My mom waved her hand and shouted a sentence: “Don’t play too late.” Serena looked back, followed my mom and walked away. I turned my head and found the ice pop in Leo Vance’s hand fell to the ground, stained with a layer of sand. “What are you doing?” Leo Vance opened his big mouth, pointing at Serena’s back, his eyeballs were about to pop out. “That’s your sister?” I said: “Yes.” He looked at the direction Serena disappeared, looked at me again, looked over there again. “Are you picked up?” I blew up: “You are picked up! Your whole family is picked up!” Leo Vance was still sighing there: “Your sister is like a princess.” Actually, I also think Serena is like a princess. But I just didn’t want to hear him tell the truth at this time. Seeing I ignored him, he leaned over again: “You two don’t look like sisters at all.” “Then what like?” He thought for a while and said seriously: “Like princess and maid.” What kind of friend is this! I was so angry that I pushed him hard. He was unprepared and sat in the sandbox, covered in sand: “Ouch! Why are you hitting people when I tell the truth!” “Dead pig!” I flung him away, crying and running away: “Break off relations! Never speak again in this lifetime!” My liver hurt from anger. When I got home, I tore the Ultraman cards Leo Vance gave me into pieces. Leo Vance is a big idiot pig. Clearly we are the iron buddies. Even if his brother is a hundred times more handsome than him, I haven’t said it to his face! Shredded paper was scattered all over the floor. My mom saw it, fuming: “Maya! What demon are you doing again!” “Making garbage all over the floor! Can’t you be cleaner?” I talked back while squatting on the floor picking up paper pieces: “Last time sister spilled soup on the floor, why didn’t you scold her!” “She was careless!” “I was also careless!” Got excited, tears spurted out. “Could it be that she was careless, and I was intentional?” My mom stared at me with hands on hips: “Learned to talk back too? Can’t you learn from your sister, much better behaved than you!” “What are you crying for, embarrassing or not!” I shouted back: “That’s because you never scolded her!” My mom laughed angrily: “So you are blaming us now?” She gestured to get the coat hanger. I was so scared that I hurriedly ran back to the room and locked the door from inside. She didn’t chase over. After a while, the sound of closing the door came from outside. My mom took Serena out again. 4 I dug out the small mirror hidden under the pillow. Hatefully thought, everyone likes Serena. Just because she is beautiful? I’m not very ugly either. The mirror reflected a face covered with tears and snot. Dirty, like a bitter gourd. Scared myself, hurriedly buckled the mirror. Recalling the last time seeing Serena cry, that was called pear blossoms with rain, fairy shedding tears. Really comparison angers people to death. I was a bit resentful. Why did my mom give birth to Serena so beautifully, and gave birth to me just fooling around? I felt the whole world was targeting me. Parents had biased hearts. Even my good friend rebelled, seeing Serena couldn’t walk. I decided, I want to be a cold and ruthless killer. Let them all regret it! Going to school the next day. Leo Vance greeted me. I pretended not to see, floating past without looking sideways. Leo Vance insisted on leaning up, waving his hand in front of my eyes: “Blind?” I said coldly: “Please stay away from me, we have already broken off relations.” He was hippie smiling: “Really angry?” “It’s my mouth that owes, don’t be angry.” As he spoke, he took out a bottle of milk from his schoolbag and handed it to me. It was all foreign language on it, couldn’t understand. “Here, imported milk bought by my eldest aunt, very expensive.” I was a bit greedy. Usually good food at home was reserved for Serena, I couldn’t even smell it. Just about to reach out to take it. He took out another pink one, with big strawberries painted on it: “This, strawberry flavor, for your sister.” My outstretched hand shrank back as if getting an electric shock. Leo Vance had no eye sight at all: “This strawberry flavor is sweet, girls love to drink it, your sister will definitely like it.” I didn’t speak. Quickened my pace to bypass him, walking away without looking back. Leo Vance shouted from behind: “Hey! Maya!” “Maya what are you running for?”

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One hour before my wedding, I scrolled across an anonymous gossip post. [Spilling the tea on my sister’s “debt-repayment” wedding: The groom says marrying the older sister is paying off a debt, but his true love is the younger sister.] The main post was a photo: in the reflection of a hotel vanity mirror, the profile of a back wearing a wedding dress looked seventy percent like mine. Caption: [Is there anything more thrilling than swapping the bride on the wedding day?] My fingers trembled as I zoomed in on the photo. On the vanity, clearly placed, was the iris brooch I had personally prepared for my bridesmaid. There were already hundreds of comments downstairs. The original poster posted a close-up of holding hands in the latest reply. There was a familiar old scar on the man’s ring finger, exactly the same as the mark left by my fiancé Ethan’s car accident. Someone asked for details, and the poster only replied with one sentence. [The older sister accompanied him in starting a business for ten years; he said marriage is a repayment. But tonight, I will look into his eyes and say: I do.] There was a knock on the door. Chloe walked in, lifting the hem of her dress. She leaned in close to my ear, her voice as sweet as honey: “Sis, the ceremony is about to start. Look, is my brooch pretty?” 1 I forced a smile: “Yes, it’s pretty.” She took my arm and chuckled secretly: “Sis is the pretty one, Sis is the prettiest bride today, let’s go quickly, don’t keep the groom waiting.” I took a deep breath and pushed open the side door of the hall. The music was soft, the guests filled the seats. Ethan stood in front of the altar, his back straight. The officiant came up, face full of smiles. “Ms. Sarah, there’s a small adjustment at the end of the schedule, did you see the note?” I took the paper he handed me. In the original schedule, the bridesmaid only needed to hand over the rings. Now there was an extra handwritten line added: “Bridesmaid’s Speech (2 minutes).” The handwriting was elegant, I recognized it. “Who added this?” The officiant lowered his voice: “Mr. Sterling specifically instructed this morning, saying he wanted to add a heartwarming segment.” “Your sister’s writing must be very good, Mr. Sterling praised the speech several times.” I pinched the edge of the paper tightly. “I don’t agree to this segment.” “This… there might not be time to adjust, the guests are all waiting.” The officiant looked troubled and glanced towards the altar. Ethan turned his head at this moment, meeting my gaze. He gave me a slight nod, barely managing to pull a smile at the corner of his mouth. I didn’t say anything more and walked to the reserved seat in the first row. My mom pulled me to sit down and whispered: “Chloe prepared a speech, saying she wants to thank you for taking care of her these years. This child is so thoughtful.” The music changed tune at this moment. The officiant’s voice came through the microphone: “Next, let’s welcome the bride’s sister, today’s bridesmaid Ms. Chloe, to send her blessings to her sister.” Applause rang out. Chloe took the microphone, her gaze sweeping over the audience, finally resting on Ethan’s face. “Thank you everyone, today is my sister’s most important day. As a younger sister, I should have said some words of blessing.” She paused, her fingers gently rubbing the microphone. “But I found out that if I don’t say some things today, I might never have the chance.” There was a slight commotion offstage. Ethan’s body obviously stiffened. Chloe’s voice began to tremble: “These years, I’ve watched my sister and Ethan walk along the way.” “I know how much my sister has given, and I also know… some feelings were misplaced from the very beginning.” She raised her eyes, looking straight at Ethan. The light hit her face, and I saw tears sparkling in the corners of her eyes. She spoke word by word, her voice choked but clear. “Some loves are destined to cross boundaries. Even if it means bearing the infamy of the whole world, there’s no way to pretend it doesn’t exist.” The hall fell into dead silence instantly. Then, whispers spread like a tide. “What does she mean by that?” “Oh my god, is this a confession?” “The bride is still sitting right there!” My mom suddenly grabbed my hand tightly: “What nonsense is Chloe talking about!” I withdrew my hand, my gaze nailed to the stage. The color drained completely from Ethan’s face. His lips moved, as if he wanted to say something, but no sound came out. Chloe continued: “I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t control it. Ethan, I…” Ethan didn’t step forward to stop her, just kept looking at her. The officiant hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over: “The bridesmaid is a bit emotional, we understand this deep sisterly bond, haha! Next let’s…” I didn’t hear clearly what came after. My gaze fell on Ethan’s hand hanging by his side. My gaze froze. The position and shape of that scar were exactly the same as the hand resting on the vanity in the photo. My phone vibrated in my palm. I looked down, the screen lit up with the latest reply from the anonymous post. The poster posted a new picture. And at the edge of the frame, a platinum wedding band was being gently pushed into the lens by another hand. I looked up, looking at Ethan’s hand again. That wedding band, and the ring being pushed into the lens in the photo, were the same style. 2 Under everyone’s spectating gazes, the ceremony eventually ended hastily. My mother chased after me wanting to say something, I shook off her hand and walked straight to the lounge on the second floor of the hotel. The door wasn’t locked. Ethan was standing by the window. Hearing the noise, he turned around. He spoke first, his voice low and hoarse: “Sarah, about today… I’m sorry.” “Since when?” Ethan’s Adam’s apple bobbed, he didn’t deny it. He called my name again: “Sarah, we’ve known each other for ten years.” “So?” “So…” He looked up, his eyes showing a weariness of someone giving up. “So I can’t lie to you anymore, and I can’t lie to myself either.” The AC in the room was turned up too high, I felt cold. “Explain clearly.” Ethan took a deep breath: “My feelings for you have always been gratitude. During the hardest times of the company, you were the one who stayed with me. Those proposals, those clients… without you, there would be no Ethan Sterling today.” His fingers unconsciously rubbed the ring on his ring finger. “But gratitude is not love.” I heard my own voice, remarkably calm: “Is this your reason for cheating on me? Love is love, not love is not love, but what was the meaning of pulling this stunt at the wedding? Do you enjoy seeing me make a fool of myself?” He didn’t answer immediately. But sometimes, silence itself is an answer. He finally said it: “All these years, the person I really wanted to marry has always been Chloe.” “When did it start?” Ethan looked away: “Three years ago. That time you went on a business trip to Seattle to follow up on a project, I drank too much, and she came to take care of me… we haven’t stopped since then.” Three years ago. I calculated the time. That was when I landed his first ten-million-dollar order for him. I stayed up for four days and three nights in Seattle. On the phone, he said “You’ve worked hard, honey,” and then turned around and got into my sister’s bed. How ridiculous. “Did you know she was going to confess her love to you at the wedding?” “It was Chloe’s idea.” Ethan’s voice grew lower and lower. “She said… this would force you to let go, that you wouldn’t be able to stand the public opinion and would take the initiative to cancel the wedding.” “If you wanted to marry her, why didn’t you just tell me directly?” He smiled bitterly: “I didn’t dare. Sarah, you are too dominant. Half of the company’s shares are in your name, and the core team only listens to you. If I took the initiative to break up, I would have nothing.” I nodded. So that’s how it is. Not love, but calculation. Not impulse, but weighing the options. Ethan stood up: “I can compensate you. I can give up the shares, and the company too…” “Ethan.” I interrupted, reaching out my hand to him: “Give me back the wedding ring.” He subconsciously protected his finger: “Sarah, we can still…” “Give it back.” After a few seconds of standoff, he slowly took off the ring and placed it in my palm. After getting the ring, I flushed it down the toilet without hesitation. As I left, I heard Ethan’s voice. “I don’t love you anymore, I love Chloe.” He seemed to be convincing himself. I didn’t look back. The moment I opened the door, I saw Chloe leaning against the wall in the hallway. She was holding up her phone, the screen facing me. It wasn’t a photo or a chat record on the screen. It was an editing interface of a forum backend. The title bar of the post read: [Spilling the tea on my sister’s “debt-repayment” wedding] Poster ID: Rippling_Chloe. She looked up, waved the phone at me, and a sickly sweet smile curled at the corners of her mouth. 3 Even though these things happened, there were no ripples in my heart. The next day, I got up as usual and went to work under the strange gazes of my subordinates. While working, I thought about why Ethan and I had come to this point today. When driving home in the evening, my fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly, my nails sinking into the leather cover. The lights were on in the living room. My mom was sitting on the sofa. My dad was standing by the window smoking, with three or four cigarette butts already piled up in the ashtray. Seeing me, my mom stood up, her voice a bit weak: “You’re back, are you hungry? There’s soup in the kitchen…” “Did you guys know everything?” Everyone knew, everyone kept it from me. Why? Just to make Chloe happy? I interrupted her, my voice sounding particularly clear in the quiet living room. My mom’s hand stopped in mid-air, looking a bit embarrassed: “Know what?” “Know about Ethan and Chloe, know what was going to happen at the wedding today. Know that I was kept in the dark like an idiot.” My dad put out his cigarette and turned around: “Sarah, things aren’t what you think.” “Then what are they?” My mom sat back on the sofa, twisting a tissue with her fingers: “Chloe… it hasn’t been easy for her. Her health has been poor since childhood; you know about her heart condition. She’s been bitter these years, and Ethan is sincere towards her…” “And so? So I should yield?” My mom’s voice suddenly rose: “She’s your sister! Can’t you be considerate? The doctor said her emotions can’t be stimulated. After making this scene today, she took two pills as soon as she got home!” I laughed. “Mom, today was my wedding, I was the one humiliated in public, I was the one whose fiancé had an affair with my sister. You’re worried about her taking medicine, but did you worry about how I drove back?” My mom opened her mouth but didn’t speak. My dad walked over: “Sarah, Ethan doesn’t have you in his heart, forcing it is useless. Better to endure a short pain than a long one. Seeing it clearly now is better than getting a divorce after marriage.” “When did you find out?” Silence. “I’m asking, when did you find out!” My dad looked away: “Last year, the pregnancy test report Chloe brought back, the child was Ethan’s.” “She was pregnant?” 4 My mom said softly: “She lost it. She said she didn’t want to affect you guys, so she went and did it secretly by herself. She hemorrhaged after the surgery and almost didn’t make it… Sarah, she sacrificed so much for you, can’t you just let her have this?” I looked at my mom’s face. I took a deep breath: “She knew clearly that Ethan was her brother-in-law, yet she still had an affair with him and even got pregnant with his child. I’m obviously the victim here, but you think I owe her?” My mom grabbed my hand: “It’s not owing, it’s sisterhood. Mom knows you feel wronged, but family always has to be understanding of each other. We will go talk to Ethan about compensation, company shares…” I pulled my hand back. “Where is Chloe now?” “Resting upstairs, don’t go make a fuss with her, she just took her medicine…” I didn’t finish listening, turned around, and went upstairs. Back in my own room, I locked the door. The wedding dress was still thrown by the bed, the veil trampled underfoot. My phone rang. It was an unknown number. I swiped to answer but didn’t speak. Chloe’s voice came through the receiver, carrying a smile: “Sis, did Mom advise you to let me have him?” I held the phone, making no sound. “Guess where Ethan is right now?” She paused. “In my room. He said he didn’t want to go home tonight, afraid you might do something foolish.” She laughed even harder: “Sis, I won again.” The call ended. I sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the completely dark sky outside the window. The phone buzzed again. This time it was a picture message. The sender was still that unknown number. I opened it. The moment the photo loaded, my breathing stopped. Ethan and Chloe, naked and embracing on my marital bed. The “Double Happiness” character on the headboard was still the one I personally pasted yesterday; the red paper cutting was exceptionally glaring in the photo. The bottom right corner of the photo had the timestamp. [2023.10.7 22:47] The night before the wedding. I zoomed in on the photo and saw Chloe’s smiling face facing the camera, and Ethan’s sleeping profile. A line of text was attached below the MMS: [Sis, your bed is quite comfortable.] 5 At dawn, I got up and started packing. I had lived in this room for ten years. The closet was stuffed with odds and ends, which I pulled out one by one. In the bottom storage box, old company documents were piled up. I pulled out the first one, it was the bid for Sterling Tech’s first project. The signature on the cover was Ethan, but when I flipped to the planning attachment on the last page, the handwritten revision notes were in my handwriting. The second one, the third one, the fourth one… I couldn’t help but let out a cold sneer. For the core proposals of all major early projects, I wrote the first drafts. Market analysis, product architecture, even financing speech scripts, they were densely packed with my annotations. But the final submitted versions only had Ethan’s signature. I sat on the floor, spreading the documents out one by one. My phone vibrated beside me, it was Ethan. I answered it. “Sarah, let’s talk, about the company shares…” I interrupted him: “That project at the Southside Tech Park, who wrote the original bidding proposal?” There was silence on the other end of the phone for two seconds. “…You did.” “The first round of financing from Apex Capital, who made the PowerPoint?” “You did, but…” I asked: “But what? But all the credit went to you?” Ethan sighed: “The company was just starting out then, we needed someone to be the face of it. You are the unsung hero, I’ve always remembered that.” “And your way of remembering is by cheating on me?” “Sarah, matters of the heart can’t be forced.” “So you repay me in this way?” He didn’t speak. I hung up the phone and continued to rummage through the boxes. There was an old cell phone in the corner. I plugged in the charger to try it, and the screen actually lit up. The power-on password was my birthday. The photo album was empty, and there was only one text in the inbox. Sender: Chloe. [Ethan, Sis helped you so much, how can you repay the debt if you don’t marry her?] [I know you only have me in your heart, but let’s be realistic. Use her power to build up the company first, we can talk about the future later.] [Anyway, she loves you so much, she’ll believe whatever you say.] I stared at those few lines of text, my fingers ice cold.

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Mom downloaded an app from God knows where. It was called The Perfect Daughter Generator. She thought it was just a simulation game and casually maxed out my “Intelligence” stat. But attribute points in the app were fixed; to raise one, another had to be lowered. She hesitated for a split second, then deducted all my points for “Pain Perception.” “If she doesn’t know what pain is, she’ll focus much better on her studying,” she muttered to herself. The very next day, my compass accidentally pierced right through my palm while I was doing geometry, but I remained completely indifferent. “Mom, it doesn’t hurt. I’ll definitely get first place on the exams again!” Mom shrieked in terror and rushed over to bandage my hand. But when she saw the perfect score on my practice test, her screams turned into a fanatical frenzy. Through the crack in the door, I watched Mom frantically tapping on her phone screen. “Emotions are superfluous. They just lead to high school romance and distractions. Delete.” “Sleep can be reduced too. Two hours a day is more than enough!” “As long as she can win a Nobel Prize, living to be thirty isn’t unacceptable…” I shrank back into my blankets, shivering, only to realize that even the emotion of fear was slowly draining away from me. At the dining table, Mom sat in front of an exquisite acai bowl and a whole-wheat turkey avocado sandwich. In front of me, there was absolutely nothing. I reached out to grab a piece of bread, but Mom clamped down on my wrist like an iron pincer. “Chloe, you don’t need to eat this.” She didn’t even look up from her phone screen as she spoke. “Eating is a waste of time. Chewing, swallowing, digesting—doesn’t every single step delay your SAT vocabulary memorization?” “I just turned your ‘Hunger’ level to the absolute minimum. From now on, you are only allowed one liquid meal a day.” Dad took a bite of his sandwich and frowned. “The kid is still growing. Is this really a good idea?” “What do you know? Eating a couple less bites won’t starve her to death!” Mom glared back at him. Dad shrugged his shoulders and didn’t press the issue. “Fine, fine, I won’t interfere. Save me from you complaining that I’m holding her back!” My stomach was spasming violently, the gastric walls churning and emitting loud protests of hunger. Yet, strangely, my brain wasn’t receiving any signals that I wanted to eat. It was as if my physical body and my consciousness had been forcefully torn apart. I nodded mechanically, turned around, and went back to grinding through a massive Princeton Review AP Physics workbook. Even though I was dripping in cold sweat, my speed at solving the equations was terrifyingly fast. Mom stood in the doorway, recording a video of my back to post on her Facebook page. “My Chloe is so incredibly disciplined! Forgetting to eat and sleep to study—I could wake up laughing from my dreams!” In less than five minutes, the post was flooded with likes and compliments from other parents. Dad casually liked the post too, leaving a comment: “Like father, like daughter.” That night, when Dad came home from work, he immediately noticed my right index finger. It was swollen to the size of a golf ball. It was the result of the compass piercing my palm earlier, combined with the high-intensity gripping of my pen, which had caused a ruptured tendon. The joint was completely deformed, turning a horrifying bruised purple. “Chloe! What happened to your hand?!” Dad rushed into my room in a panic. “How can you even write when it’s swollen like this? Stop studying, let’s go to the hospital right now!” My pen paused. Just as I was about to say “Okay,” Mom’s roar echoed from behind him. “What hospital?! Do you know how much time a round trip will waste?!” “Richard, can you stop hindering our daughter’s progress?” “She is at a critical moment trying to solve the final extra-credit question!” Dad looked at my red, swollen hand, then looked at my furious mother. The anxiety on his face visibly faded away. “Well… she still shouldn’t push herself to the breaking point.” He muttered under his breath, then let go of my hand, turned around, and walked out of the room. “Do whatever you want. Just don’t blame me if she ends up crippled!” The next second, the app issued a prompt: “Enable ‘Block External Interference’ Mode.” Dad’s retreating back instantly became a blurry haze in my vision. In my mind, only a line of cold, blood-red text remained: “Invalid social interaction detected. Suggest host ignore.” “Current highest priority: Complete Math workbook.” I rigidly picked up my pen again, my eyes completely hollow. “Please do not disturb me. I just figured out the approach for this equation.” Late that night, the only sound in the room was the scratching of my pen against the paper. I had finally finished all the practice tests. Lying in bed, I thought back to the way my parents had looked at me. In some hidden corner of my heart, there seemed to be a lingering trace of instinctual sorrow. I wanted to cry. I wanted to use tears to vent the pain and oppression trapped inside this body. But no matter how sad I felt, the corners of my eyes remained bone dry. I couldn’t produce a single tear. In my mind, that mechanical voice echoed once more. “Crying function uninstalled.” “Tear gland secretion causes a loss of electrolytes in the body.” “To conserve hydration, this function has been permanently removed.” I lay there with my mouth open, weeping silently at the ceiling. But I couldn’t make a single sound. The next day, the school organized a mandatory physical exam for all students. When it was my turn to have my heart rate checked, the school nurse’s brow furrowed tightly. She tapped her monitor in confusion, then pressed her stethoscope firmly against my chest again. “How is this possible? A resting heart rate of 140 beats per minute?!” The nurse’s shrill gasp instantly drew the attention of the entire class. “Sweetheart, do you feel palpitations right now? Or dizzy?” I shook my head in confusion. The app’s blocking system had already filtered out all physical discomfort from my brain. “No, ma’am. I just want to go back to class and memorize my vocabulary words.” The nurse was terrified by my pale face and empty eyes. She grabbed my wrist, only to feel a layer of cold, clammy sweat. Next came my blood pressure and blood sugar—every single metric was shockingly abnormal. “Severe malnutrition, cardiac arrhythmia, and early signs of severe electrolyte imbalance…” The nurse made a split-second decision and called my homeroom teacher, Mr. Davis. “This child could go into cardiac arrest at any moment! We need to call her parents immediately!” Half an hour later, the infirmary doors burst open, and Mom stormed in like a hurricane. “Chloe Turner, are you faking sick on purpose to get out of morning study hall?” “The state exams are tomorrow! Do you know that missing even one vocabulary list could drop your ranking out of the top three?!” The nurse’s jaw dropped. She stared at my mother as if she were looking at a monster. “Ma’am! Your daughter’s vitals are on the verge of total collapse!” “She could go into shock at any second! And you’re actually worried about her vocabulary words?” Mom turned her head, casting a cold, disdainful glance at the nurse. “Collapse? She looks perfectly fine to me. She’s sitting right there staring into space.” “You school nurses just love making a mountain out of a molehill, trying to trick me into going to the hospital to waste money on tests, right?” “If my daughter can’t endure a little hardship now, how is she ever going to rise above the rest of the world?” Saying that, she reached out to grab me, intending to drag me back to the classroom. The moment her fingers touched my ice-cold skin… My vision suddenly went pitch black, and my entire body fell backward uncontrollably. In the fading moments of my consciousness, I saw Mom pull out her phone in a sheer panic. She didn’t dial 911. Instead, she opened that blood-red app. A warning pop-up flashed on her screen. “Warning! Host is about to undergo a forced shutdown. Estimated repair time: 72 hours.” Mom’s pupils shrank violently. “Shutdown? No! The state exams are tomorrow!” “If she shuts down now, won’t all our previous efforts be completely wasted?!” She paced around anxiously, her fingernails tapping frantically against her screen. “Is there any other way? Can she skip the rest period?” As if answering her summons, the app popped up a new dialog box. “Recommended Solution: You may exchange ‘Lifespan’ to instantly restore ‘Stamina’.” Mom’s finger hovered over the screen, trembling slightly. “Well… living a long life isn’t that useful anyway,” she muttered to herself. “If she wins a Nobel Prize before she’s thirty, or becomes a billionaire, what does it matter if her life is a bit shorter?” “Chloe will understand why Mom did this, right?” Then, hiding in the corner with her back to the nurse, she pressed the “Confirm” button. “Exchange Confirmed: Deduct ten years of lifespan, gain infinite stamina.” A wave of boiling heat instantly flooded through my entire body. I felt as if I was surging with explosive, limitless power. I snapped my eyes open, ripped the IV line out of the back of my hand, and vaulted out of the hospital bed. Blood flowed freely from the puncture wound, but I felt absolutely no pain. “Chloe?!” Mr. Davis cried out in shock. I turned to my horrified teacher and gave him a stiff, mechanical smile. “Mr. Davis, I’m fine now. I actually feel like I’m in peak condition.” “I need to get back to the classroom. I still have three practice exams I haven’t finished!” After that incident in the infirmary, Mom seemed to have acquired a taste for the app’s power. She was no longer satisfied with me just ranking first in my grade. Her targets shifted to Olympiad gold medals. She even wanted me to get early admission to MIT and eventually win a Nobel Prize… “Chloe, honey, Mom noticed your problem-solving speed still isn’t fast enough lately.” “Do you still have distracting thoughts in your head?” That night, Mom was casually scrolling through her phone. On the app interface, the “Emotion Module” tab was still glowing faintly. “Family affection and all that—it really holds a person back!” “Look at all those great scientists. Which one of them didn’t renounce their family to focus entirely on their research?” She talked to herself, her finger hovering over the “Emotion Extraction” option. “For the sake of your future, Mom is willing to play the villain.” She hesitated no longer and pressed confirm heavily. “Uninstalling ‘Emotion Module’… Progress 100%.” At that exact moment, a soft click echoed deep within my brain. Something warm and human was permanently siphoned away. A week later, my grandmother—the person who loved me most in the world—passed away. The funeral parlor was filled with white flowers and the low, mournful hum of a dirge. Dad was slumped by the casket, his back hunched, sobbing endlessly. I was the only one standing stiffly in the corner, wearing my black school uniform. In my hands, I held an Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, muttering vocabulary words under my breath. The judgmental whispers of our relatives washed over me like a tide. “What is wrong with that child? Her grandma loved her the most, and she hasn’t shed a single tear?” “She’s still memorizing vocabulary? She’s literally studied herself stupid. What a cold-blooded animal!” “What’s the point of raising a kid like that? She’s lost her basic humanity!” Hearing these whispers, Mom felt her pride take a hit. She walked over, snatched the book from my hands, and hissed at me under her breath. “Chloe, stop memorizing! Go bow to your grandma, everyone is watching!” “Just wait a little bit, and Mom will sneak you back to your room to study…” I turned slightly, dodging her hand. “Death is the inevitable biological endpoint of cellular metabolism in carbon-based lifeforms.” “Crying cannot reverse the physiological death process. On the contrary, it consumes a massive amount of caloric energy.” “Instead of wasting time mourning, it would be more efficient to solve two more physics equations and contribute to human technological progress.” The entire room fell dead silent. Everyone turned to stare at me. Smack! A sharp, crisp slap shattered the quiet. Dad, his face covered in tears, stood in front of me with trembling hands. The slap was incredibly heavy. My glasses flew off my face and shattered on the floor. “You animal! That is your grandmother!” Dad roared, his eyes filled with profound disappointment and shock. I turned my head back, feeling the burning sensation on my cheek. There was no pain, no shame, and certainly no sorrow. My brain rapidly constructed a physics model and calculated the conclusion. “Impact area: approximately 20 square centimeters. Instantaneous pressure: approximately 30 kilopascals.” I picked up my broken glasses from the floor and mechanically put them back on. “Based on the impulse-momentum theorem, your palm’s velocity was approximately 15 meters per second.” Dad shook with uncontrollable rage, pointing a trembling finger at me, stuttering, “You… you…” for a long time. Finally, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted dead away. Mom finally panicked. Looking at the unrecognizable stranger that was her daughter, an unprecedented terror gripped her heart. She shakily pulled out her phone, desperately trying to undo her previous action. “Chloe, it’s Mom! Do you not even recognize your own mother anymore?” She frantically tapped the “Restore Family Affection” button in the app. But the screen only popped up a gray dialogue box. “Error! This module has been permanently deleted and cannot be recovered!” “Data has been cleared!” Mom collapsed onto the floor. “It’s fine… it’s fine.” “Once Chloe wins international awards, we can just slowly cultivate her feelings back!” To avoid further “distractions,” after Grandma was buried, Mom moved me to a rented apartment in the suburbs. Over the next three months, under her frantic management, I became a global genius who shocked the world. I published ten papers in international journals and solved a mathematical conjecture that had baffled the academic community for fifty years. The media dubbed me the future Einstein, and my high school even erected a bronze statue of me overnight.

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After the extreme heat apocalypse hit and temperatures soared to 175 degrees Fahrenheit, everyone scrambled to relocate to the Antarctic shelters. My mother is a prominent research scientist, and my father is a well-known entrepreneur. Tickets to the shelter were worth their weight in gold and nearly impossible to get, yet my family had three. Three days before departure, a reporter interviewed my parents with a look of deep admiration: “I never expected that Professor Vance and CEO Sterling would choose to leave their biological daughter behind and give the last ticket to their adopted daughter.” I thought he was joking. “That’s not true. My parents told me to pack my bags long ago; they are taking me with them.” “Then did they give you the ticket?!” The reporter’s single sentence left me stunned. My parents coughed, looking a bit guilty: “Chloe, the first batch of evacuees are all people who have made valuable contributions to society.” “Mia joined the laboratory through her hard work, and your achievements are certainly not equal to hers.” “You are our biological daughter, so we must avoid any appearance of nepotism.” My parents chose to abandon me and take my adopted sister with them. Looking at the three of them, my smile was bitter. Avoid nepotism. Then I’ll grant their wish. I snatched the three tickets, tore them up, chewed them into pieces, and swallowed them. Since I can’t go to the shelter, then none of them will go either! 1 Everyone fell silent in an instant. Realizing what had happened, my parents quickly reacted. “We were just giving an example, we didn’t say we were going to abandon you.” The tension broke, and my mother squeezed out a smile. “Yes, don’t take it to heart!” I took a sudden step back, staring fixedly at the two of them. “You really gave the ticket to Mia.” My tone was certain. The moment my words fell, the two of them immediately went quiet. My father’s face darkened, and my mother stepped forward, trying to hold my hand. “This is for your own good.” I pushed her away. “For my own good?” “The temperature is getting higher and higher now. Mia joined the lab three days ago, and you immediately gave her the ticket, terrified that I would get into the shelter.” “Chloe Sterling, we already told you, we must avoid nepotism! Everyone knows you are our biological daughter; we cannot show favoritism towards you!” I looked at my father in utter shock. Without a moment’s hesitation, my father interrupted me with an angry roar. “To set an example for others, you absolutely cannot go with us.” Hearing these words, I was in disbelief. “But those three tickets, the third one was meant for family members!” “How am I inferior to her?!” “Same school, same exams, I’ve always been number one. What’s there to avoid?!” Even without this family connection, I am still outstanding. Look at Mia… “Mia was always at the bottom of the class. How long did you maneuver things to get her into Mom’s lab? If you wanted to avoid nepotism, it shouldn’t have been me!” “You should…” Slap! A forceful slap landed on my face. The one who struck me was my mother. “You’re rebelling against heaven!” My father stepped forward and charged at me; my mother raised her hand again. Until a sobbing sound made the two stop. In front of the reporter, Mia, with red eyes, stopped me. “Chloe, don’t fight with Mom and Dad!” “You’re right, you are the real family; I don’t deserve that ticket at all!” My parents both frowned. My father spoke first. “Mia is no worse than you. You only benefited from your parents, having good educational resources and material conditions, but she is different.” My mother nodded in agreement, looking at me with strong disapproval. “That’s right, no matter how good your grades are, it’s useless. You studied architecture and design, which will be of no help to future research and survival!” “Mia’s parents passed away early, and she has been sensible and obedient since childhood. By getting her into the research institute, we are not just helping her as an individual.” “We are helping the future of the scientific research community.” “Don’t be so selfish!” Selfish? I laughed. “If I’m selfish, why didn’t you let me join the research institute?” “I applied a long time ago.” My parents were stunned. Years ago, I suggested joining the research institute where my mother worked. But whether it was my mother’s institute or my father’s company, both were of one voice, their faces full of disapproval. “If people know about your relationship with us, everyone will think you got in through the back door.” “Even if you compete fairly, no one will believe it.” The words they said back then are still vivid in my mind. But turning around, Mia, following the major chosen by my mother, had a smooth sailing journey and joined the institute directly. My parents looked at me quietly. Filled with disappointment, I sneered, then raised my hand and smashed the family portrait on the table. “Fine, I’m not going.” “Leave all the good opportunities for Mia.” The frame shattered. I stepped on the photo, turned, and wanted to leave. “Wait!” Mia moved. Holding up the things in her hands, she rushed forward and shoved them into my hands. “Chloe, don’t be angry, don’t go!” “The tickets are all here, I’m giving them all to you, I don’t want them!!” Seeing clearly what she gave me, my parents trembled all over, their tone anxious. “Mia, what silly things are you saying!” “We worked so hard for so long to get you into the lab; you must go with us.” “But what about Chloe?!” My parents exchanged a glance, their eyes flickering. “She still has other opportunities. With our status, she can wait for the second batch!” Mia insisted on giving me the tickets. Looking down, I saw three tickets. Mom and Dad actually gave all the tickets to her for safekeeping. Seeing that I had actually taken them, my parents’ expressions changed immediately. “Let go!” “Give the things back to Mia. Look at the gap between you and her.” “You will never be this kind in your life. Being so selfish, you are simply a disgrace to me and your father!” A disgrace? I smiled bitterly. “Don’t worry, I’m not going.” Changing my tone, my face became expressionless. “None of us are going.” Snatching the three tickets, I tore them up, chewed them into pieces, and swallowed them. Having done all this, I immediately rushed out the door. 2 “Chloe Sterling, you’re crazy!!” Screams came from behind; my mother completely lost her calm composure. Smash! A glass hit me hard on the back. My face twisted in pain for a moment, but I didn’t stop walking. My father’s face was dark. He stopped Mia, who wanted to chase after me, and roared. “No one is allowed to chase her!” “Once she leaves, she is not allowed to come back! Stop all her credit cards right now!” “Let’s see how she survives outside without us!” My mouth tasted bitter, and my eyes burned. The news was heavily reporting the apocalyptic high temperatures. After outdoor temperatures soared to 175 degrees Fahrenheit, it caused massive environmental disasters. Metal structures expanded and deformed due to the heat. Along the way, bridges collapsed, road surfaces softened, and various electronic devices overheated and failed. It was the hottest time of the day; no one was walking on the ground outside. Not even a single car could be seen. Hiding under a building, I saw overwhelming news reports flooding the screens. #Sterling Heiress Tears Up Shelter Tickets!# The internet was full of curses. The scene of me tearing up the tickets was edited and posted online. Although it was too hot to go out now, the internet hadn’t been greatly affected yet. This was still just the early stage of the apocalypse. According to previous calculations… While I was zoning out, the video’s views skyrocketed. “Tearing up the shelter tickets and not even leaving them for her parents, she really is selfish!” “Her parents were right. The first batch of refugees are all big shots who contribute to society. She just had a good birth.” “No wonder her own parents didn’t want to take her. This kind of selfish person really deserves to die!” “Thinking that being born with a silver spoon means she has nothing to worry about, she thought wrong!” “In my opinion, that adopted daughter acts more like their biological child than the Sterling heiress. She’s so sensible.” The online sentiment was one-sided. Everyone applauded my parents’ actions, and favorability towards Mia also soared. The occasional one or two questioning voices were quickly suppressed. I smiled bitterly. Actually, over the years, I hadn’t achieved nothing. Long before the extreme heat apocalypse, scholars had calculated the consequences of extreme climate change. After being rejected by my parents from joining the research institute and the company, I chose another major for further studies. But my parents didn’t care about my studies at all. My excellent grades couldn’t even compare to Mia’s bottom-of-the-class report card. They focused all their attention on the child who needed “attention” more. From beginning to end, in their eyes, I was just invisible. I stumbled along the street, lowering my head in the air distorted by the high temperature. I don’t know how much time passed, but my phone suddenly vibrated. It was Mia. I didn’t want to respond, but her single sentence made me freeze in place. “The tickets you tore up were fake.” As I stood frozen, my father updated his Facebook with a group photo. Mia stood between my parents, luggage at their feet, with the Sterling family mansion in the background. The caption read: [Last group photo before departure.] They were leaving. My eyes widened, and my body couldn’t stop trembling. Just as I was speechless, a message suddenly popped up in the chat with my mother. “Chloe Sterling, your father and I found someone to get you a ticket.” “Within three hours, you will leave with us.” My heart pounded. I couldn’t believe it. I read these two sentences over and over again. At the same time, someone online also noticed the photo Mia posted and immediately shared it in the comment section. “Do you guys really believe the tickets were torn up?” “Wake up, with their family’s status, would they just casually take out the tickets?!” “Up to now, us ordinary people haven’t even seen what the tickets look like.” Just as I regained hope and was walking back, the netizen who shared the picture asserted again. “The tickets are still there.” “But the ugly behavior of the Sterling heiress has been completely exposed.” … Covered in sweat, I stood in front of the Sterling mansion, swaying, my eyes fixed on the three people at the door. Looking at my parents, who were ready to go, I spoke slowly. “Dad, Mom, did you really find a fourth ticket?” Stepping ahead to block my parents, Mia revealed a smile. “Of course.” “We’re leaving together.” 3 I didn’t believe it. But my parents didn’t say a word, their eyes full of disappointment. Just as Mia was about to hand me the completely different shelter ticket, my mother held her back and shook her head at her. Turning to me, she had a strange expression on her face. “Chloe, you wasted a spot. Do you know you were wrong?” I almost choked on my breath and widened my eyes slightly. I was wrong? Where exactly was I wrong? This was supposed to be the family ticket reserved for me. What right did Mia have to take what belonged to me through the back door? In the silent air, I could no longer hold back. “I was wrong.” Nodding in admission, I sneered, my gaze slowly sweeping over my parents’ faces. “I was wrong to be your daughter.” “I should have been a stranger.” My parents’ faces instantly froze. The muscles on my father’s face twitched, and he gritted his teeth. “Stubborn and irredeemable!” Pointing at me and cursing loudly, his chest heaving with anger. “Chloe Sterling, if Mia hadn’t pleaded for us to get you another ticket, you wouldn’t be qualified to go with us at all!” “Not only do you not thank her, but you turn around and blame us!” “I think you’ve had it too good!” My mother’s eyes were cold, looking at me without a trace of warmth. “Do you know how guilty Mia felt when you tore up the tickets in public?” “You have no right to blame us, nor do you have the right to blame Mia.” “You only have yourself to blame.” The air was dead silent. Mia’s voice rang out. “Dad, Mom, Chloe must have some misunderstanding about us.” Stepping forward with a face full of worry, she took my father’s arm. “We definitely wouldn’t abandon Chloe!” Looking at me, Mia revealed a smile. Waving the ticket in her hand, she seemingly casually explained. “The first batch of spots in the shelter can’t be bought even with money.” “How could Mom and Dad bring out the real tickets? The ones you tore were fake. Society is in such chaos now, who would dare walk around with real tickets.” Her eyes flickering, her face full of pity, her tone carried a hint of malice. “I almost forgot, you’ve never seen the real tickets, so you didn’t know.” “But it doesn’t matter.” I was speechless. My father glanced at me, his voice icy. “Your mother and I have decided. Once we reach the shelter and this crisis passes, we will let Mia enter the Sterling company.” “And the marriage alliance with the Vance family, Mia will replace you.” “She is more suited to be the daughter of the Sterling family than you.” The things I had worked so hard for, Mia could easily get just by shedding a few tears. Am I really their biological daughter? A metallic taste rose in my throat; I almost couldn’t speak. Looking up in disbelief, I stared at my parents. My wretched state, falling into their eyes, only left them with disgust for me. Numbly lowering my head, I concealed the disappointment in my eyes. “I understand.” Seeing me obedient, the three were finally satisfied. Just as Mia was about to give me the ticket in her hand and leave, my mother suddenly spoke. “Wait.” “The ticket is hers, but she must apologize to Mia for what happened before.” Pinching the ticket in my hand, I found it ridiculous. Apologize? I have to apologize to Mia. “If you want me to apologize, I don’t want this ticket.” Throwing the thing directly on the ground, I spoke decisively. “Are you crazy?!” My mother was exasperated. My father suddenly stepped forward, and Mia quickly grabbed me. “Chloe, in my heart you are my biological sister. Don’t apologize to me.” “Just apologize to Mom and Dad, and it’ll be fine!” “They are our closest family!” Breathing heavily, my mother’s eyes turned red, and she looked at me together with my father. “Chloe Sterling, do you see the gap between you and Mia?!” “You can’t even compare to a tenth of her.” Calmly shaking off Mia’s hand, I was expressionless. “Since I can’t compare, then I won’t.” “You guys go.” Family affection given as charity, I don’t need it. Slap! “Forget about her, let’s go!” Slapping me hard across the face, my father took Mia to the car, and the three of them drove off, leaving me behind. “Let’s see how you live without us!” The ticket was casually thrown back in front of me, and my mother left harsh words. Watching the look in Mia’s eyes as she left, I bent down. After a while, I stood up straight, my eyes cold. “Another fake ticket.” I raised my hand and sent a string of numbers. Then I turned off my phone and silently walked back. Mia was wrong about one thing. The shelter didn’t require tickets to enter at all. 4 Sticking the ticket into my pocket, I slowly walked outwards. Just as I walked out the door, a massive force struck me. A sharp pain in the back of my head, and my vision went black. “That’s her, she has the ticket!” “She’s Chloe Sterling!” Before I fainted, I heard a few angry roars. When I woke up again, I was surrounded by a group of people. The leader, a man with a scar on his face, was fiercely staring at me, holding the item pulled from my pocket. “Damn it, only one ticket! There are so many of us!” “If a parasite like you can go to the shelter, why can’t we!” Echoing voices rang in my ears, and the others rubbed their hands together as they approached me. “Miss Sterling, do us a favor and get us a few tickets.” “They’re gone.” I refused directly. The next second, I was kicked to the ground. My phone was thrown in front of me, and a heavy foot stepped on my back. “Stop pretending.” “Chloe Sterling, that girl named Mia told us everything. You have tickets.” “As long as we have you, your parents will give us as many tickets as we want.” Hearing Mia’s name, my heart skipped a beat. Sensing the malice in their tone, I instinctively tried to fight back. “You still dare to move?!” Snap! A crisp sound. Cold sweat instantly broke out on my forehead as my finger twisted unnaturally. It was broken. Having broken one of my fingers, the group threatened me again to contact my parents. Enduring the pain, I could only tremblingly turn on my phone. Taking a picture of that twisted finger, I sent it to my parents. A few seconds later, there was indeed a reaction from the other side. The moment the video call connected, the other side immediately roared. “Chloe Sterling, what are you doing, a pity play?!” “A new trick?!” I held the phone, stunned. My mother on the other side was furious with disappointment. “You think you can get our attention like this?!” “Chloe Sterling, can you be a bit more mature?” “Don’t use fake photos to lie to us.” Fake photos? I held up the phone, aiming the video at the group of people around me. “I’ve been kidnapped. Mia deliberately leaked the news about the ticket I had.” “I’m not lying.” The other side was silent for a few seconds. Finally, my father sneered, his face showing some mockery. “If Mia wanted to harm you, why would she be so wasteful as to give you a ticket?” “She could have just not given you one.” “Without our help, you are nothing.” His tone was contemptuous. Hearing these words, I was stunned. “Your help?” “What have you helped me with?” The voice on the other side stopped abruptly. “I’ve had excellent grades since I was little, but before I became an adult, no one knew I was your child.” “In over ten years of schooling, you never attended my parent-teacher conferences. Because Mia and I went to the same school, you went to be her parents.” “When I was bullied, you had the driver act as a parent to meet the teacher. You said it was to avoid nepotism, so I didn’t go to the Sterling company, nor did I go to Mom’s research institute.” “Besides this ticket, what have you ever given me?” Even this ticket was just charity I got from being “unreasonable.” “Chloe Sterling!!!” My mother screamed on the other end. “Chloe, saying these things breaks Mom and Dad’s hearts!” “You are their child, how can you accuse them? Quickly say you’re sorry!” “It’s because you’re like this that Mom and Dad don’t like you!” Mia grabbed the phone, each sentence piercing my heart. I was silent for a few seconds. “Since you like them so much, then I give Mom and Dad to you.” Just as she was about to continue speaking, I simply hung up the video call. “What are you doing!” The men next to me instantly got anxious. Seeing me hang up, they hurriedly pushed me away and frantically snatched the phone. Clicking on the video again, the phone had no response. Then, a red exclamation mark popped up. “The other side deleted her!” These words added fuel to the fire. This group of desperadoes, terrified of death, went completely crazy. “Damn it, let’s show her some color!” Holding clubs, the group quickly approached me. Just as the clubs were about to fall on me, the main door was violently kicked open. Bang! A hole was blown into the chest of the man closest to me. After a few gunshots, the only group left standing walked from the door towards me. “Miss Chloe Sterling.” “We are ordered to take you to the Antarctic Ark Shelter.” “Welcome.” Without my permission, Mia will never enter the shelter.

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1 During the most down-and-out year of my life, my biological parents found me. The orphanage director, worried I’d be mistreated when I went back, pulled some strings and fabricated an incredibly impressive background for me. But fake is fake. I exposed my ignorance at every turn, arousing my parents’ suspicions. I knew that if they found out I was a loser, they would definitely abandon me. Just when I thought the jig was up and I was doomed, the fake heiress stepped forward. “My sister bullied me in college!” I was stunned in place. My middle school diploma problem was solved just like that? … Hearing these words, I felt like I was in a trance. The thing I’d been worrying about for so long… was solved? I asked uncertainly, “Are you really saying I bullied you in college?” I deliberately emphasized the word “college”. Before this, I had no idea how high a level of education the director had fabricated for me. It wasn’t until my first day home. When Chloe proudly introduced the university she graduated from. That I realized how ridiculously exaggerated the director’s fabrication was. Hearing my words, Chloe acted as if she were frightened. She immediately knelt in front of me, trembling, and started slapping her own face. “Sister, I didn’t mean to bring this up, will you forgive me?” “Please don’t hit me anymore, okay?” After she finished, she glanced out of the corner of her eye at our parents, who had dark expressions. When she turned back to me, her eyes were full of calculation. My parents’ faces darkened slightly as they looked at me and asked coldly, “What is going on? Did you and Chloe know each other before?” Before I could open my mouth, Chloe beat me to it, speaking with a trembling voice. “Mom, Dad, don’t blame my sister. I deserved to be hit, it really has nothing to do with her.” Seeing our parents frown, a flash of smugness crossed her eyes. She thought our parents would attack me for her sake. But she was wrong! My parents just frowned and turned to me, asking uncertainly. “Did you really attend classes at that university?” “I…” I lowered my head, not knowing how to answer. I understood their doubts. A socialite returning from studying abroad wouldn’t love eating from street food carts, but I couldn’t get enough of it. A socialite returning from studying abroad wouldn’t look at price tags when shopping, but I comparison-shopped everywhere. Although I repeatedly explained that I had lived a poor life before, And even though I had money now, I still didn’t want to spend recklessly. I could see the distrust in their eyes. I even overheard their conversation a few days ago about planning to send me away. Seeing the growing impatience between my parents’ brows. I was so nervous that my palms broke out in a cold sweat. What if I nodded and they asked other questions? How should I answer? I had no substantial evidence to prove I had studied there. Gritting my teeth, I was about to come clean directly. When Chloe suddenly let out an “Ouch”. When everyone looked at her. A yellowing photo fell to the floor. After seeing the content of the photo clearly, I was once again too shocked to speak. 2 Chloe seemed to just realize something. She hurriedly stepped forward and covered the photo, stammering an explanation. “This… this is all fake, it’s not true, my sister she… she doesn’t usually hit me this fiercely…” Her adding oil to the fire made my dad bend down directly and snatch the photo from her hand. The photo was a group picture of me and Chloe. Only… she was pinned under me. The background was exactly the backdrop of the school she studied at abroad. My dad’s frown deepened, and he held the photo, examining it for a long time. Chloe, afraid he wouldn’t believe it, quickly explained. “Dad, that day was my sister’s birthday, and she just wanted me to be her beast of burden for once. I really didn’t mind.” “Besides, my sister is very famous at school. Making her happy, I’m also quite proud.” “Oh right, my sister is also very generous. She shares her old clothes and bags she doesn’t wear with us.” She painted me as a tyrannical local bully. But I saw my dad’s originally disgusted look soften a bit. My hanging heart dropped halfway. Does this prove the fact that she and I went to the same school? Will they not drive me away? But then I heard my dad speak coldly again. “But your English seems poor. You studied there for a few years, how come you can’t even order food clearly?” I’m doomed! My heart hung up again. I nervously interlocked my hands tightly. At a loss for what to do, Chloe answered for me. “That’s because my sister graduated early. Mom, Dad, are you doubting my words?” “I didn’t want you to punish my sister for me. I actually really hope to get along peacefully with my sister.” “I don’t care about the past anymore. I only hope that in the days to come, I can share Mom and Dad’s burdens together with my sister.” After she finished, she gave me a smug smile. When she saw our parents walking towards me in unison, she even mouthed a sentence. “You’re dead.” When my parents stopped in front of me, my dad raised his hand. She put on an act and cried out. “Dad, don’t hit my sister. She didn’t do it on purpose, just forgive her this once!” “As long as my sister apologizes, I won’t lower myself to her level…” Before she finished speaking, her mouth dropped open. She looked in my direction in disbelief. I saw my dad’s hand land on my shoulder, and he said to me earnestly. “Mom and Dad misunderstood you before and made you suffer a lot. We will make it up to you.” “Tomorrow you come to work at the company, assist me, and slowly familiarize yourself with the company’s business.” “Dad…” Chloe was too surprised. Forgetting to pretend to be pitiful, she sprang up from the ground. She questioned loudly, “She doesn’t know how to do anything, how can you let her go to the company?” Only after she finished did she realize she misspoke. She quickly changed her tone, saying pitifully. “What I mean is, my sister is not familiar with anything. Suddenly working with Dad, I’m afraid she won’t adapt.” “If people in the company hear about my sister’s past, they probably won’t be able to work with her.” My dad threw out a bank card with a dark face and said lightly. “Then make the people in the company shut up for me.” This was a disguised compensation for me. I heard my dad say again. “But you’re also right. Let your sister adapt with you first before transferring her to my side.” Chloe didn’t dare to object and obediently swallowed everything. The next day, when she drove me to the company. Her words were full of provocation. “Don’t think winning my dad’s favor is enough. There’s no room for any mistakes in company matters, understand?” I nodded nervously. This was also what I was worried about. A middle school graduate like me didn’t even know how to use a computer. How could I understand such complicated things in the company? So the moment I sat at the desk, I couldn’t help but start sweating. If I turn myself in now, what are the chances of being sent away? Just as I was thinking, Chloe threw a document in front of me. “This is the company’s recent bidding project. Calculate how much money is needed, fill it out, and send it to me. I have to report to the chairman before leaving work.” I recognized every word on the document, but put together, I couldn’t understand a single word. I pulled my hair all day. Until it was time to leave work, I was called to my dad’s office. Chloe was also there. Holding the document, she looked at me sympathetically. “Sister, really. I clearly told you to give the document to me first, and I would hand it to Dad.” “Why did you send it to the other company first?” I looked at Chloe in surprise. What document? The one she asked me to estimate the price for? It’s done? 3 Our eyes met, and hers were full of provocation. But when she turned to my dad, she pretended to plead for me. “Dad, don’t blame my sister too much. Sister definitely wanted to prove herself to you and had no other intentions.” “It’s just that we haven’t researched that price, and haven’t even investigated other companies’ prices. Will this affect the cooperation?” “If this deal falls through, the company…” She didn’t continue. But my dad’s face had darkened to the extreme. He slammed the desk hard and questioned sternly. “Ava, do you have a brain? Do you really have work experience abroad or not?” My fingers tightened. I’m doomed, my dad is suspecting me again! I nervously wrung my hands, scared pale. I managed to cover up the education part, but how do I make up work experience? My breathing became erratic. I even imagined how hard life would be after being kicked out. The next moment, my dad stood up from his chair. My heart tightened with his movement. At this critical moment, an abrupt ringtone broke everything. I watched helplessly as my dad walked out. I heard Chloe say smugly in my ear. “I saw that it was the chairman of the other company calling.” “You’re finished!” “Sister, if you hadn’t come back, you could have lived a carefree life abroad. But what now? Can you still go back?” I was too nervous to utter a sound. But in her eyes, it meant something else. “Heh, even now, you’re still pretending to be calm?” “You’ve never worked before. Don’t you know you’ve committed an industry taboo, and you still think you can escape?” Bang! The abrupt sound of the door opening interrupted everything. My dad rushed in. Seeing him, Chloe hurried to meet him. “Dad, don’t be too anxious. Even if the partner kicks us out, it doesn’t matter.” “I have some relationship with Mr. Lee from their sales department, he can help put in a good word.” Seeing my dad bypass her and walk towards me. She hastily added another sentence. “Dad, this is the office. I know you’re angry, but if you hit my sister, it’s not very appropriate here.” Though her words were persuasive, her feet didn’t move an inch. Arms crossed, she lowered her head waiting to watch the show. With a loud smack. Chloe happily curled her lips. She looked up at me again, mumbling. “Sister, don’t blame Dad for hitting you. He’s just too angry. This deal concerns the company’s future…” The next moment! Smack! Smack! Smack! She widened her eyes stiffly, watching my dad clap his hands forcefully three times right where he stood. Reacting, she hurried forward. “Dad, how can you be confused? Don’t be too excited. Sister didn’t do it on purpose. If you hit her, she won’t blame you…” Before she finished, she was thrown off by my dad. The next moment… She watched in shock as my dad grabbed my arm and said loudly. “Ava, how are you so amazing? How did you do it?” 4 “Dad, what do you mean?” Seeing my surprised look, my dad said happily. “The fact that our company gave the proposal early was exposed, and other companies followed suit. But the amounts they gave were not good. We were the most sincere.” “Mr. Sterling has already contacted me, agreed to cooperate, and canceled the bidding.” “What?” Chloe looked at my dad in disbelief, speaking hurriedly. “How is that possible?” “Dad, did you make a mistake?” “That quote is clearly higher than the market price. Our chances of winning…” “Mr. Sterling thinks low price doesn’t necessarily mean good. He is an entrepreneur with a conscience, wanting quality, not just making up numbers.” “On the contrary, with a high price, he feels we are doing things seriously and calculating carefully!” “But…” “Enough!” My dad interrupted her coldly and said to me amiably. “The signing ceremony is in a few days. You come with me, and I’ll introduce you to everyone then.” My dad happily kicked Chloe out and pulled me to have a heart-to-heart talk for the whole afternoon. When I came out of his office. Chloe glared at me fiercely. “Don’t be too smug, I won’t just let this go.” I was worried she would make me do some documents again, living in fear all day. Fortunately, until the day of the signing ceremony, she didn’t cause me trouble. Just occasionally made a few sour remarks. Two days later, I followed my dad to the signing ceremony with trepidation. The whole time my dad introduced me to his clients, I trembled with nervousness. I couldn’t say a complete sentence. My dad, who was originally satisfied with me, darkened his face again. “Don’t you socialize with clients abroad?” “Ava, tell me the truth, what exactly did you do abroad?” I swallowed hard, just as I was about to explain. Chloe appeared. She wore a piece of haute couture, taking away all the spotlight the moment she appeared. My dad’s face softened a bit. He asked Chloe to take my place in entertaining those guests first, and then went elsewhere to discuss business himself. Having never seen so many people, I hid aside at a loss. Just as I wanted to go out for some fresh air, Chloe found me. Changing her previous meanness, she took the initiative to care about me. “Sister, I see you’re not feeling well. There’s a lounge here, let me take you there first.” After speaking, regardless of my willingness, she pulled me into the lounge. As soon as I entered, I felt something wasn’t quite right. By the time I reacted, I was already unbearably hot. I wanted to leave, but she pinched my chin tightly. Unable to move. She pushed me in hard, smiling. “Don’t you love to show off?” “Later I’ll arrange for you to perform a live sex show. I just wonder what my dad and those clients will think of you when they see it?” I tried to struggle, but the heat on my body became more and more uncomfortable. Eventually, pushing her turned into tearing at my own clothes. Chloe laughed uproariously, crossing her arms and mocking me coldly. “When you are kicked out of the house, I will visit you.” “Oh, by the way, the man coming in later is the security guard at the door. A perfect match for you. Enjoy.” The door was slammed shut. Not long after, it was pushed open again. Feeling the cool chill, I rushed over impatiently. And pushed the person down onto the bed. … When I woke up, the room was already full of people. Chloe, with crying red eyes, was explaining to the partner, Mr. Sterling. “Mr. Sterling, my sister absolutely didn’t do it on purpose,” “She probably just couldn’t hold it back. She didn’t want to do this kind of thing on such an occasion.” My dad was so angry he slapped me across the face. “How did I give birth to such a shameless thing like you, doing it with a man in public… you… you are simply going to anger me to death!” I looked at the mocking gazes filling the room, and looked at Mr. Sterling’s murderous glare. My heart sank. It’s over! It’s all over! Not only did I mess up the signing ceremony, but I also offended the partner. And dragged myself down with it. While trembling with fear, I heard Chloe ask hesitantly. “Sister, in this situation, how about you ask the other party to come out first?” “No matter how low the other party’s status is, it’s still your choice. He should come out and bear everything with you.” As soon as her voice fell, a figure walked out from behind. Seeing him, a flash of amazement crossed Chloe’s eyes. But it was quickly replaced with disgust. “Looking at the attire, he’s the security guard at the door, right?” “But if you two truly love each other, I believe Dad will grant your wish.” Just as she was speaking triumphantly, someone called out behind her. “Young Mr. Sterling?” She looked at the person behind her in confusion. Not noticing that both my dad and Mr. Sterling had their mouths wide open, looking in disbelief at the man beside me.

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At 10:00 PM, I finally got off work and headed home. Passing by a convenience store, I pulled over to grab a quick bite. Just as I stepped out of the store, I looked up. In my previously empty car, a child was sitting. He was pressed against the car window, staring blankly at me. Where his eyes should have been, there were only two black holes. 01 I shuddered in terror. The shopping bag slipped from my grasp, its contents spilling across the pavement. When I looked up again, the child was gone. The car was completely empty. The street was deserted; the only sound was a dog barking in the distance. I suddenly remembered the recent news about small animals being tortured and killed in this area. In a small town like ours, many of the street cameras were broken, making it impossible to catch the culprit. A chill of late autumn air swept over me. I pulled my coat tighter and hurried to my car. I rubbed my tired, aching eyes. I must be exhausted. My mind is playing tricks on me. I remembered a time when I mistook a child on a billboard for a real person, and laughed at myself for a good while. By the time I pulled into my garage, it was almost 11:00 PM. I grabbed the shopping bag from the passenger seat, ready to get out. As I looked down, I noticed something under the passenger seat. I reached out and touched it. It was a small, worn-out blue canvas shoe. The sole was stained with dark red mud. My hand trembled uncontrollably, and I quickly threw the shoe out of the car. The garage was empty; all I could hear was my own rapidly rising and falling heartbeat. I quickly locked the car and hurried inside. My boyfriend, Mark, was still awake. He jumped when he saw me. “Penny, what’s wrong? You look awful, like you’ve seen a ghost.” He chuckled, but I was in no mood for jokes. “I think… I really did see a ghost!” Mark’s brow furrowed slightly as I recounted what had just happened. “Come on, let’s go check out that shoe.” With Mark’s encouragement, we went back to the garage together. The shoe was still there. I was too scared to touch it, but Mark bravely picked it up. With his back to me, he stared at it for a long time without saying a word. “What did you find? You’ve been staring at it for so long.” I walked over. He was looking down, his lips moving slightly, whispering a few breathy words: “He found me… he really found me…” “What?” I didn’t hear clearly and put my hand on his shoulder. He jumped as if electrocuted, let out a startled cry, and threw the shoe away. “N-nothing,” his voice was unsteady. “Probably just some kids playing a prank, tossing it in your car. Let’s go back inside!” He turned and practically jogged toward the stairwell. I stared at the canvas shoe for a few seconds before turning to catch up with Mark. In the shadows by the corner of the building, the carcass of a black cat lay silently, its belly sliced open, its eyes staring blankly at the sky. 02 Back home, I asked Mark: “What did you… mean by ‘he found me’?” His eyes darted around. “Huh? Did I say that? You must have misheard. I said… it was probably a prank.” I didn’t press the issue. Mark’s reaction earlier had been even more intense than mine. He’s a medical student. In the three years we’ve been together, he’s always been logical and calm. I rarely saw him like that. We didn’t speak again that night. Lying in bed, I closed my eyes, and the face in the car window immediately appeared. Pale, ghastly. And those two deep black holes. As if they could suck away all the light. I don’t know how much time passed, but in a hazy state, I felt it getting colder and colder. I instinctively snuggled closer to Mark. But as I reached out, the texture felt wrong. It wasn’t Mark’s solid, warm body. It was smaller, thinner. By the moonlight, I pulled back the covers. I looked down. The child was lying in my arms, his black eye sockets bubbling with bloody water, his mouth wide open, dragging out a long, blood-red tongue! “Ah!” I screamed and shot up, scrambling backward like a madwoman until my back slammed against the headboard, the pain making me gasp. Mark turned on the light. The blinding brightness instantly banished the darkness. He sat beside me, looking bewildered. “Penny? What’s wrong? A nightmare?” Panting heavily, I looked at him in sheer terror, then quickly jerked my head toward the spot beside me. Besides me and him, the bed was empty. “I…” my voice shook violently. “I dreamt… that… child was lying where you are…” Under the light, Mark’s face seemed to pale slightly. He hugged me. “It’s okay, it’s okay, just a dream. You’re under too much stress.” I clung to him. In the darkness, his silhouette felt like a silent statue. I slept fitfully. Near dawn, Mark, who was leaning against the headboard, made an incredibly slight movement. I watched as he very slowly, carefully slipped out of bed, barefoot, stepping on the floor without making a sound. He grabbed his phone from the nightstand, tiptoed out of the bedroom, and gently pulled the door shut. I immediately opened my eyes, quietly got up, and pressed my ear against the cold door. From outside came a muffled, heavily suppressed voice. It was Mark; his voice sounded incredibly tense. “Dr. Davis… that child… I think he found us… Penny saw him last night…” The person on the other end seemed to reply. “Okay… okay… we’ll go there shortly…” The call ended. The living room fell dead silent. Pressed against the door, my hands and feet were freezing. Mark was hiding something from me! 03 Mark didn’t come back to bed. I lay there, my mind racing with wild thoughts, finally making it to dawn. He warmed up some milk for me, his expression normal, showing no flaws. “It’s the weekend. Are you still working overtime?” he asked, his voice a bit hoarse. “Yeah, I have to go to school to grade exams.” I looked down, sipping the milk, avoiding his gaze. “What about you?” “Something came up at the hospital. I have to go out to the suburbs with Dr. Davis later.” He spoke quickly, turning to clear the dishes as soon as he finished. “I might be back late.” Dr. Davis is an attending surgeon and Mark’s supervisor. He was the person on the phone. After Mark left, I stood by the window and watched him buy something at the convenience store downstairs, put it in a black plastic bag, and drive out of the complex. The tension in my chest reached a breaking point. Follow him. Once the thought surfaced, I couldn’t suppress it. I didn’t dare drive my own car. Instead, I took an Uber and quietly followed him. Keeping a distance of a few cars, my palms were sweating the entire time. The driver even thought I was trying to catch him cheating and offered to help, which left me speechless. Mark’s car headed straight out of the city, taking the highway toward the suburban county. The farther we drove, the more desolate it became, with buildings giving way to farmland and weeds. “Miss, looking at this direction, it seems we’re heading towards West Hill Cemetery,” the driver noted, puzzled. My heart sank a little lower. Finally, the car turned down a narrow road and parked at a public cemetery in the suburbs. I paid and got out, hiding in the parking lot. After getting out, Mark didn’t go in immediately. He looked around the intersection, still carrying that black plastic bag. Soon, another car arrived. A man in his fifties got out, stern-faced and wearing glasses. That must be Dr. Davis. They exchanged a few low words, their expressions serious, and walked into the cemetery together. I followed from a distance. The dry grass brushing against my pants made a rustling sound that was unnerving in this quiet place. They stopped in front of a very new headstone. The area in front of the headstone was bare, with few signs of mourning. Mark took out incense, candles, joss paper, and a few paper toy cars from the black bag. He and Dr. Davis crouched down and lit the incense and candles. The firelight flickered in the wind, illuminating two faces heavy with worry. They started burning the joss paper. The yellow sheets curled and blackened in the flames, the ashes caught by the wind and scattered everywhere. Mark kept his head down, muttering something I couldn’t hear, his posture unusually reverent. By the firelight, I could clearly see the photo on the headstone. It was a young boy, not even ten years old. 04 I hid behind an old tree, my heart pounding. My mind was a chaotic mess, filled with terrifying theories. Suddenly, my phone vibrated. Startled, I accidentally stepped on a dry twig. Snap! It wasn’t loud, but in the silence of the cemetery, it was deafening. The two men burning paper stopped dead, whipping their heads around simultaneously! I turned to run. “Penny?!” Mark’s shocked voice rang out from behind me. Quick footsteps followed. Before I could run far, my arm was caught in a vice-like grip by a large hand. It was Dr. Davis. He was strong, his eyes sharp, looking me up and down. “Who are you? Why are you following us?” “Let her go!” Mark rushed over, stepping between me and Dr. Davis, looking upset. “She’s my girlfriend.” Dr. Davis frowned and let go. “Penny, why are you here?” Hearing him ask that, I exploded, throwing caution to the wind and demanding: “I should be asking you that! Sneaking around behind my back, coming here! Why?” Mark opened his mouth, looked at Dr. Davis, then at the headstone, lowered his head, and sighed. “I’m sorry, Penny. I just didn’t want to scare you.” “I’m already terrified! You always do this, assuming you know best!” He took my hand and led me to the new headstone. The photo showed a chubby-cheeked boy with a buzz cut. “Penny,” Mark’s voice was dry, “I’ll be honest. A week ago, a child was brought into the ER—this child. He was hit by a car on the highway, severely injured… Dr. Davis and I were on the trauma team.” He shook his head. “Unfortunately… we couldn’t save him.” Dr. Davis added grimly: “He was a left-behind child. His parents work in the south, and his elderly grandparents live in a remote valley. They took their eyes off him, and he wandered onto the highway…” “We did everything we could.” Mark looked at me, his eyes slightly red. “The shoe you showed me yesterday was identical to the one he was wearing! It’s the standard issue from the rural Hope Elementary Schools.” He squeezed my hand. “I told Dr. Davis about it this morning. We talked it over and decided to burn some offerings for the boy. I thought if it really was his spirit, I could handle it myself, and you wouldn’t need to know.” “Even though we’re doctors and believe in science, sometimes, you have to believe in these things,” Dr. Davis said solemnly. My tense nerves relaxed a little. “But,” I looked at the smiling boy in the photo, remembering that pale, hollow face behind the car window. “Why didn’t he go to you? Why did he come to me?” Mark and Dr. Davis exchanged a look. Neither of them spoke; only the wind howling from deep within the cemetery offered a response. It was a question with no answer. 05 I helped them burn the remaining joss paper. I bowed respectfully. Silently, I wished him peace on his journey. Having done that, I felt much more at ease. It should be over now, right? On the drive back, Mark was at the wheel. I suddenly remembered my phone vibrating earlier. It was my best friend, Chloe, calling. I called her back. She answered immediately, yelling frantically: “Penny! Where are you? You didn’t return my call for ages! I thought something happened to you! I did a tarot reading for you! It’s an omen of terrible disaster!” My best friend is great, but she’s a bit quirky and loves dabbling in feng shui, the occult, and tarot. “I’m fine. What are you doing?” “Oh, I just wanted to ask you about the rural teaching program we talked about. Have you thought about it?” “I don’t really want to go. I hear those kids are hard to handle since their parents are away.” We chatted until I got home. In the end, she said she was worried about me and wanted to come over tomorrow. I couldn’t argue with her and said, “Suit yourself.” Back home, exhaustion washed over me like a wave. Maybe it was the wind at the cemetery, but I felt a lingering chill. Mark looked exhausted too. After a quick wash, we went to bed early. In the middle of the night, that same coldness swept over my entire body. I snapped my eyes open! Mark was gone. In the darkness, a small, thin silhouette stood silently by my bed. It was the child. This time, he didn’t have that terrifying, ghastly face. Long hair covered his eyes. He slowly raised a single finger. And pointed directly at me. I screamed and sat up, gasping for air, cold sweat instantly soaking my pajamas. My heart hammered wildly against my ribs, and my ears rang. “Penny?” Mark, startled awake, fumbled for the light switch. The light was warm, but I was shaking uncontrollably. “He’s here!” I clung to Mark, tears streaming down my face. “That child! He came back for me!” After crying for a while, I finally calmed down. “How about tomorrow, we go find a priest to do a ritual for the child,” Mark comforted me. “No!” I interrupted him. “The child who came to me… isn’t the same child you couldn’t save!” “What?” I told Mark that I saw him clearly tonight, and based on his build and appearance, it wasn’t the same boy. “Let’s go to the police!” Mark said. I nodded. Early the next morning, I felt incredibly dizzy, like I was coming down with a severe illness. Mark went with me. First, we checked the garage for the shoe—it was still there—and then we went to the police station. We didn’t say we saw a ghost; the police would never believe that. I asked the officer if any children had gone missing recently. Unfortunately, the answer was no. I handed over the shoe and briefly explained the situation. The officer seemed confused but took the shoe anyway, promising to look into it. When we got home, Chloe was hovering near our door, looking around anxiously. I called out to her. She turned, saw me, and her face went paper-white. She rushed over, grabbed my hands, and cried out: “Penny! You… you’re dying!”

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During our company’s team-building retreat, we stopped by a Buddhist temple. My coworkers were all drawing fortune lots and hanging them on the wishing tree. I don’t believe in gods or Buddhas, so I didn’t participate. A colleague called out to me with a smile. “Hey, there’s a couple’s wish card here with the same name as Chloe.” “Chloe Zhou, Ethan Vance… The names actually sound pretty good together.” Our manager, who was lighting incense, suddenly looked up. “Vance what?” 1. Hearing that name amidst the crowd, I still subconsciously turned my head. Right in the middle, I met the manager’s gaze. He scanned the red wish card with the names written on it, looking puzzled. I grabbed my bag and walked over. “Manager, did you call me?” “Oh, no.” He looked at me, then back at the card. “The young heir of Vanguard Group who recently took over is named Ethan Vance.” My colleagues got interested: “It feels like neither of these names is very common.” “Could you actually be a rich man’s wife experiencing normal life?” “I suddenly remembered… last time that guy from the procurement department came over looking for trouble and yelled at Chloe, he was fired a few days later. No procedure at all, just told to pack his bags.” I adjusted my glasses and looked down. “If I really had that kind of background, I would plaster my resignation letter all over the office building, then write an email reporting all the idiots who ever offended me, and CC the whole company.” Someone beside me nudged me with their elbow. “Hey, keep that to yourself, the manager is still here.” “Sigh, no need to hide it, who doesn’t know she speaks her mind.” “Previously, when someone’s protégé showed off a nice watch to her, she told them to crawl out and act like a peacock somewhere else.” Everyone around burst out laughing. Smoke wafted from the bronze censer, the incense burning vigorously. That red couple’s card was passed around casually, getting wrinkled. “Give the card to me,” I said, “I need to hang it back up for whoever left it.” The others went into the main hall of the temple. I sat under the tree, and it took a long time for me to remember this place. Ethan’s mother was from San Francisco’s Chinatown, deeply religious. To please his mother, whenever he encountered a temple, he would always go in and light incense. During the years we were together, I don’t know how many small, exquisite temples like this we visited. I didn’t pray, so I just waited for him outside. That time was an exception. After drawing a lot, he said it was the best possible fortune. So he asked for a red wooden plaque, wrote our two names with flamboyant strokes, and hung it high on a branch. He also said that after making a wish, it was customary to show one’s face in front of the Buddha statue. I couldn’t talk him out of it, so we went into the hall together. I watched him straighten his suit, raise the incense high to his forehead, and bow deeply three times. I didn’t make a wish. I believe in myself more than gods and Buddhas. The main group of colleagues came out of the hall and went to another spot to take photos. Clutching the red card tightly, I slipped into the Buddhist hall like a thief. The rose-red incense stick felt rough. I lit it hurriedly and bent down, mimicking the way I remembered. If making a wish really works… I want to see him one more time. 2. After touring the attractions, my colleagues were going to eat and asked where I was. I met up with the crowd and ducked into a bustling seafood shack. A few girls at the next table were eating happily, exchanging gossip while clinking glasses. This one said so-and-so cheated. That one said so-and-so had been entangled for years and finally broke up. A male colleague joked, “Exciting enough, I’ve grown this big and haven’t dated yet.” “It’s okay, you have company, Chloe definitely hasn’t dated either… hey, looking at that expression, could it be she has?” “I’m curious who could stand Chloe’s sharp tongue.” “Maybe they broke up because they couldn’t stand it.” I smiled perfunctorily and didn’t answer. It had been over a year since I broke up with Ethan Vance. I was the one who initiated the breakup. Just over a small matter— He was rear-ended while on a business trip and sprained his left hand. But he didn’t tell me. I missed him and video-called him, but he didn’t answer immediately. Half an hour later, he called me back. I recognized the background as a hospital, and only then did I know he was injured. A young female employee sent by the other company to host him was trying to smooth things over in the background. Saying the injury wasn’t serious, but he needed to rest and be observed for a few days. That he came to the hospital in too much of a rush to tell me. Look, even others knew to at least make up an excuse. There were many things before this. For example, when he encountered difficulties at work. When I asked, he would brush it off lightly. He no longer needed me to travel with him. Avoided talking to me about troubles in his life. Even when his father was seriously ill, he only told me he needed to be away from home for a while. I had many things I wanted to tell him every day. In our chat history, there were far more green bubbles than white ones. The TikTok videos I shared with him were never liked. I didn’t even know if he ever clicked on them. He didn’t like posting on social media. If he did, it was retweeting reports on industry trends, with a few brief comments. Changing to matching profile pictures, making any official announcements, never happened. I could only be anxious day after day. Then asking him again and again, do you love me? He answered very quickly, very firmly. But he always looked at me with a helpless and accommodating look— As if he didn’t know why I had to confirm the same thing with him repeatedly. When Ethan and I met, I was too young. When I was in college agonizing over what to eat for my next meal, he was learning about various affairs in his family’s company. When I was interning under him, I watched him effortlessly resolve difficulties countless times. He was only six years older than me, but much, much more mature. The things that left me battered and exhausted, he could handle without a second thought. My initial crush on him probably came from that effortless competence. But I never expected there to be two sides to everything. The tricks I pulled out of insecurity, jealousy, or a need for attention hit him like hitting cotton, caught gently by him without making a single ripple. The time Ethan sprained his arm in the hospital. We only said a few words before disconnecting the video call. He was still completely calm, telling me: “Looks like I’ll be home a few days late. I had someone send the gift for you back. Don’t worry, it’s just a small thing.” Just a small thing, don’t worry. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard this kind of talk, even feeling a bit numb to it. I really wanted to lose my temper right then. The questioning words were almost blurting out. But seeing his nonchalant face, the anger disappeared in an instant. What was there to say? If he didn’t plan on telling me, how else could I pry his mouth open? I stared blankly at the black screen of my phone. Looking around, I suddenly started crying. I didn’t know why either. I really wanted to go to his hospital to take a look. Ask him, how did the car accident happen? What exactly was the situation, how were the other casualties? Would his hand have any lingering effects? Was he also very panicked when he was hit? That night I tossed and turned. Scrolling through our chat history from bottom to top, trying to find a little evidence of his enthusiasm for me. None. Only money transfers, money transfers, money transfers. I really love money. Before I was with him, I thought working and making money was everything in my life. Love is something only the elite can pursue. For ordinary people, it’s irrelevant. I only needed myself, and a bulging wallet, and that would be enough. It turns out people are greedy. I closed the text app, looking at my bank account balance, feeling happy and shedding tears at the same time. I finally couldn’t hold back and video-called Ethan. It was only after the video call went out that I realized it was past 3 AM. He had probably gone to sleep and was woken up. When he answered the phone, he looked exhausted. Draped in an overcoat, his tie undone, a few buttons on his shirt loose. Leaning against the hospital bed, as if he completely didn’t expect a call from me. After seeing it was me clearly, he froze for a few moments before speaking. “Why are you crying like this. Save your tears, it’s not time to use them yet.” I had told myself not to cry. To calmly and logically point out his dereliction of duty as a boyfriend before breaking up. But seeing his face, the emotions suddenly couldn’t be suppressed. “Ethan, why won’t you tell me anything?” “It’s just a minor sprain. If I told you, you’d skip class and fly over like last time. You’re in your second year of grad school, you need to leave a good impression on your advisor.” I raised my voice, “It’s not just about today!” Silence on the other end. Ethan’s expression slowly became serious. Through the screen, he looked at me unblinkingly. I turned my head and covered my eyes, tilting the camera up, away from my face. “The things that make you feel very uncomfortable, very unhappy, you won’t even tell me one of them?” “Do you have to act like this with me, being all polite, reporting only the good news and not the bad?” “I just… want to know the big and small things in your life.” “You used to… tell me carefully when you encountered difficult things, and complain with me when you encountered difficult clients!” “Do you not have the desire to share with me anymore?” My chest trembled uncontrollably. Pressing the words into disjointed characters. On the other end of the phone, the hospital bed creaked. Ethan threw off the thin blanket and got out of bed, pulling on his jacket quickly with one hand. “Chloe,” he said, “I just don’t want to affect your mood.” “Do you think I can’t handle my own emotions? It’s not like I haven’t been yelled at at work!” “That’s different.” “How is it different?” “Work is work. You can be strictly professional with subordinates, and you need to communicate honestly to solve problems, but a girlfriend is different,” he said. “You’re young. Being with me, I have an obligation to ensure you’re happy, not worrying about me. In my ideal state, you only need to think about what to do for fun today, or go out with others and swipe your card, and ideally bring me a little gift in passing. If I make you feel pressured or start worrying that I can’t handle something, it means I’m useless.” “So you don’t communicate about your life with me, not even when your father passed away?” “I was very busy then, very busy. Too many people came to pay their respects. If you wanted to come pay your respects, I would not only have to handle the funeral arrangements, but also constantly pay attention not to neglect you. I couldn’t manage it.” I stared at the screen, not speaking. Long silence in the audio, only rustling sounds. His left hand was restricted, and he managed to dress himself with difficulty. He looked at me again, his eyelids heavy from staying up late. “Don’t cry anymore. I’ll buy the earliest flight back, we’ll talk in person.” I didn’t cry anymore. Sitting on the bed, I looked at him for a long time. “Don’t come back.” I said. “When I was your assistant helping out, you said I was practical and capable. You asked me for suggestions for you, asked me what I ate today, if I slept well, if I had the energy to go on a mentally and physically exhausting business trip with you.” “I don’t understand.” “We became boyfriend and girlfriend, why did the distance grow further instead?” “If a romantic relationship makes you feel like I’m delicate and weak and need you to take care of everything, then let’s take a step back.” “If we go back to being friends…” “You would look at me equally again, and tell me some things you won’t tell me now.” I pressed my dry eyes; my palms were dry. He slowly leaned back against the sofa, sighing and comforting. “Chloe, when you reach my age, you’ll know…” I interrupted him. “I don’t know, and I don’t want to know.” In the gap of relative silence. I lowered my head, even I couldn’t figure out the motive for speaking up. “Ethan Vance, do you love me?” He still spoke firmly. “Yes.” “That’s enough then.” I hung up the phone and moved out of his house that night. Initiating the breakup didn’t make me feel relieved. Those past events would squeeze into the gaps of my thoughts at every opportunity. Sometimes pushing in forcefully, making it impossible to think about anything else. And then suddenly withdrawing. Leaving only emptiness and a continuous, long, dripping pain. 3. The team building ended, and we flew back to New York. The few days of traveling felt like a long dream. Only that red card with our names in my pocket was repeatedly mocking me, able to pick it up but unable to put it down. The things that needed to be done before the end of the year had all reached the final inspection and wrap-up stage. Everyone started to have nothing to do, waiting for the holidays. A childhood friend called, inviting me to attend a wedding banquet with him. “Whose wedding banquet?” I asked. It was rare to get a break all year, and I didn’t want to exert effort to see people I didn’t know well. Aaron’s voice was low, refusing to tell me who was getting married. “Chloe, I really don’t know who else I can talk to. You have to come with me.” I checked the date and agreed. Only when I arrived at the wedding venue did I know the protagonist of the banquet was Aaron’s ex-girlfriend. I was finally happy. “Hey Aaron,” I nudged him with my elbow, “You should have been the wedding car driver, you know the route to pick up the bride best.” Aaron gripped his chopsticks, furious. I acted as if I didn’t notice, admiring the bride’s grand attire. “This officiant is no good,” I said. “It still has to be you, you’ve rehearsed the process of marrying her many times, right?” He gritted his teeth, and after a long time, smiled. “Are you sick?” Got scolded. I was satisfied, concentrating on selecting dishes from the banquet. Aaron’s ex-girlfriend came from a good family, and her family had high requirements for choosing a son-in-law. The two of them broke up and got back together, dragging it out for several years. Finally, Aaron felt he couldn’t convince his in-laws and proposed breaking up. I looked at the newlyweds on stage, and then at Aaron, who was burying his head in drinking. If Ethan got married, I definitely would… I definitely wouldn’t go. I could wish him success, wish him health, but the only thing I wouldn’t wish him was happiness. The white wine on the table was opened. I poured half a glass and clinked glasses with Aaron on my own. He said, “Don’t eat too much, keep me company to go out for a drink later.” I nodded, risking my life to accompany the gentleman. After eating the meal where Aaron poured out his feelings, the streets were empty. I was incredibly sleepy. Seeing that he called a designated driver, I simply closed my eyes and lay on the back seat, sleeping soundly— Until broad daylight. I was frozen awake. Not at home, still in Aaron’s car. The window was opened at some point, and the wind was freezing. The scenery outside the window was strangely familiar. Half asleep and half awake, I paused for a moment and suddenly became fully awake. … It’s Ethan’s house. I looked at Aaron in disbelief. “You paid a designated driver to drive hundreds of miles overnight just to mess with me once, right?” “Sigh, you actually guessed right.” “Are you crazy?” I punched his shoulder frantically. “Drive away quickly!” During the scuffle, his elbow hit the steering wheel. The car honked abruptly. The housekeeper auntie walked out suspiciously. Catching sight of me, she let out an “Oh my”. “Miss Zhou! You haven’t been here for a long time!” I hurriedly tried to stop her, “Auntie! Don’t tell Eth…” “Go tell the mister quickly, Miss Zhou is back.” Auntie pressed the intercom and said a few words, then came back to her senses. “Ah? Miss, what did you say?” I slumped back into the back seat. “Nothing.” Aaron laughed out loud. “Why aren’t you getting out of the car, aren’t you most familiar with this place?” “The mister invites you up. When you’re not here, he always stays up late, relying on his youth to ruin his health,” the auntie complained, opening the car door for me. “The mister says you’re very busy and don’t have time to come. Where have you been this past year? Why haven’t you even come home.” I didn’t know how to answer, so I could only smile. The auntie kept talking to herself. “You came at a good time, he’s free these few days and can play with you.” The words of refusal hovered on my lips. The familiar small building was right in front of me. Should I see him one more time? See him one more time, talk things out, and then I can let go of my obsession. As if possessed by a ghost, I got out of the car. Smoothing my hair using my phone camera. Rubbing my face vigorously, trying to eliminate the puffiness from a hangover. The thought in my mind was that I shouldn’t go, but my feet stepped forward one by one. The road to Ethan’s house, I had been walking since my junior year of college. Sometimes it was to fetch documents for him. Sometimes it was to pick him up for a dinner engagement. Sometimes it was when work went wrong, and he caught me to give me private tutoring on how to handle things. Meeting him was an accident. Rumor has it that before children of wealthy businessmen enter management, they would let their children throw money into games to raise a team to practice. Ethan was my sponsor in the game. Teaming up to clear dungeons is hard work. When busy, we had to pull all-nighters. Fortunately, he was very generous. Every season, he paid all the wages to me. And I distributed it to each team member. Relying on him, I saved up tens of thousands in deposits. I didn’t expect frequent jokes to happen in the game. Many teams had instances where the team leader embezzled team members’ wages, causing the sponsors to be publicly shamed and cursed. How could the rich kids have ever suffered this kind of humiliating hardship. For a time, major sponsors were investigating the people under them. Ethan didn’t ask anything. He transferred another hundred thousand in bonus funds to me and said calmly: “I don’t care how much extra you took before. This time, it must be divided equally according to the number of people.” I said: “I didn’t embezzle.” “Every season, wages plus bonuses start at half a million, the money that passed through your hands during this time is at least three million. Water that is too clear has no fish; if the personnel below are managed well, taking a little profit, I don’t mind.” I said: “I didn’t embezzle a single cent. Every sum of money is accounted for, I’m not joking.” Silence on the other end for a moment, asking about my education. I took a picture of my student ID and sent it to him. After a long time, a short voice message popped up. His tone was approving. “Work with me.” So company colleagues got in touch with me. Occasionally dispatching some practice tasks. When the holidays arrived, they directly sent over a photo of a workstation and asked me to report there. I worked cross-disciplinary, mostly having no specific tasks, only responsible for watching and learning. Ethan was rotating through the grassroots departments of the company to gain experience, busy spinning around. His rank wasn’t high enough to be assigned an assistant. When meeting important clients, he still had to show his face with the identity of the crown prince. I was taken everywhere running around. Felt like a duck being stuffed with various knowledge. Occasionally accompanying him on business trips, I had to take several days off in a row. My relationship with my roommates was stiff, so I simply rented a place off-campus to facilitate working at any time. Friends were very sympathetic to me. Saying this kind of grueling internship couldn’t be found even with a lantern, asking me where I dug it up. But I thought it was great. Studying this garbage major was like having both feet in the grave. One side is not finding a job and starving to death into the grave. The other side is the dirt of the construction site. When encountering work that didn’t require being stationed at a construction site, I didn’t even have time to laugh. Not to mention it was direct recruitment by the boss, getting to hang with the young heir of the company right out the gate. The second I realized I had fallen for him, I felt miserable. If I laid my cards on the table, I’d lose a great job. If I hid it, feelings that exceeded the superior-subordinate dynamic would eventually make me mess up. It was better to propose leaving myself. That was near the end of the year, after a business trip. Ethan leaned back in the rear seat, rubbing his temples. “Why aren’t you getting in?” I returned the red envelope I’d received to him. “I probably won’t be able to join the company after graduation.” He didn’t take it, asking me, “Why.” “If I can get in, I want to continue to grad school.” “That’s a good thing, I support it. Come back after you finish, I always have a spot for you here.” He tapped the leather seat. “It’s windy, get in.” I held the car door, shaking my head. “That’s not what I mean.” I didn’t have to keep him company drinking at the dinner table. But maybe the winter atmosphere was too suitable for a drink, and I also had a few glasses mixed with Sprite. “Ethan, I think I’ve fallen for you. Liking the boss is very unethical.” He leaned in the back seat, and for a long time didn’t let the driver start the car. Suddenly he leaned forward and reached out to grab my wrist. I was pulled to sit beside his legs, hearing the sound of a violently beating heart. The car door insulated us from the cold, and he let out a breath. He folded his suit jacket and put it aside, then pulled out a small, long velvet box from his side. “Then I guess I’ll have to be the one doing the unethical thing.” A necklace made of slender marquise diamonds, visibly valuable but not overly ostentatious. I asked blankly, “Why pick me?” He said. “I trust you completely.” “If you’re always at home in the future, I think I’ll be very relaxed.” 4. From age 21 to 24, I spent nearly half my time at Ethan’s house. After being away for a year and eight months. It was still the same gardener trimming the branches. The water mist sprayed by the irrigation system condensed into rainbows in the air. It seemed like nothing had changed, just that the flowers had withered and bloomed a few more times. The auntie smiled and led me inside. “Go on up quickly. Has your taste changed, or should I have them make those same few dishes for you as before?” “No need to trouble… I’ll just go to the restroom first.” I practically fled in disarray, hiding in the empty space. The appearance in the mirror wasn’t exactly dazzling. At least it was too different from the self I imagined when reuniting with him. I should have had a full face of makeup. Sporting a delicate, curled hairstyle. Dressed decently, smiling and greeting him, showing that I’m doing very well. Instead of being full of exhaustion, wrapped in a long black puffer jacket, inexplicably dragged to my ex’s door by car. A piece of the nude nail polish on my index finger had chipped off, making the nail bed look mottled. I cupped water and rinsed my mouth repeatedly, combing my hair until it was smooth. There were still a few strands of hair that had been pressed down for too long, stubbornly sticking up. I closed my eyes and said forget it. It’s not like he hadn’t seen me looking miserable with ruined makeup before. I took off the puffer jacket and folded it over my arm. The door to the second floor was casually open, and sounds of laughter and conversation came from the parlor. “I have to go back to the old house in a few days. Sigh, going there every year just to get scolded, and getting scolded the most every year.” “Why do they scold you, which of your cousins isn’t more of a jerk than you?” “The old man is patriotic, dislikes that I don’t stay home to build the motherland. Tsk, even told me to follow my dad’s old path, I won’t do it. If they confiscate my passport, I won’t be able to go anywhere, I’d suffocate.” “I bet they’re scolding you for not getting married.” “A grown man who hasn’t even seen a female cockroach, do you like men?” “Hey, don’t say that, I’m young and in my prime, why get married at 28?” A group of people were lying or standing, beaming with joy. Ethan sat at the low table, not joining the conversation, just listening with a smile, pouring a round of tea. I was hesitating whether to go in. One person leaning on the sofa tilted his head and looked at me through the display shelves in the entryway. He sat up with a start and raised his chin. “Hey, Ethan, your girlfriend.” “Girlfriend is here? Alright, we brothers will roll out now, won’t disturb you two being alone.” “When everyone’s free, we’ll go see Auntie together.” As if cued by a notification sound, everyone stood up in unison. “You guys chat, you guys chat,” I quickly explained, “I’ll just sit for a bit and leave shortly.” Ethan smoothly pulled me behind him, nodding goodbye to his friends. The gazes of the few men looked over his shoulder and landed on my face. “Come to the gathering in a few days, sister-in-law. We’re heading back now.” The sounds of casual chat mixed with footsteps faded away. The warmth of his palm wrapping around my wrist bone gradually dissipated. I hid my hand back under my clothes, not knowing what to say. He closed the door, casually took my puffer jacket, and hung it on the coat rack. “Sit.” I didn’t move, embarrassed by his familiarity. He dumped the tea dregs and brewed a new pot. “Haven’t seen you in so long, what made you suddenly think of coming here?” Of course, it was because that idiot Aaron holds grudges and seeks revenge instantly. Just because I laughed at him for not getting to drink his own wedding wine. “Aaron’s ex-girlfriend got mar…” I pointed my left hand indignantly, starting to vent my anger. Ethan washed the teacups and looked up at me. I subconsciously wanted to complain about the whole thing from beginning to end. Catching his gaze, I instantly shut my mouth. He might not want to hear it either. I opened my mouth, swallowing the remaining sentences. “Nothing,” I said, “I laughed at Aaron about his ex, and he dragged me here.” “Mm.” He didn’t press further, “Since you’re here, let’s have a meal together.” “No need.” I blurted out. “It’s a bit cold outside. I’ll call a car from here, and I’ll leave when the car arrives.” No one spoke. The cups bobbed in the boiling water, were fished out by the tea tongs, and placed on the low table. He poured two cups of tea, his tone betraying no emotion. “I thought we hadn’t reached the point where we wouldn’t even speak when we meet.” I stood blankly for a moment, then sat down in front of the teacup. A thin gold line traced the rim of the cup, smooth and exquisite. The first time I used it, the cup itself wasn’t hot, but that line burned my hand. Later I learned to be smart. When the temperature of the gold line was just right, the tea was ready to drink. The door was knocked on. A servant quickly set down some snacks and closed the door again. At this time, having something to logically stuff my mouth with couldn’t be more perfect. I picked up a rice cake, unexpectedly meeting Ethan’s gaze. He held his teacup and looked at me calmly. Realizing I was peeking at him, he didn’t dodge at all. He is always composed, I thought. No matter how sharp I am in front of others, towards him, it seems I can never be completely at ease. I swallowed the pastry with some water and took the initiative to speak. “How have you been lately?” “Easier than before.” He replied briefly, his hand suddenly pausing, raising his eyes to sweep over me. After a moment of silence, he continued, frowning and speaking slowly. As if he hadn’t tried to carve out fragments of his life to share with someone for a long time, there was an unfamiliarity in his words. “What I have to do daily is just that. I don’t need to manage the small things, and there are never many big things. I travel for business occasionally; what’s important is mostly maintaining connections. I rarely encounter people or things worth remembering, accidents don’t happen often, and similarly, there are no surprises. If I had to say something special, a friend’s German Shepherd had a litter recently, and I asked for one. The backyard is quite spacious. When spring comes and we plant grass seeds, a lawn will grow quickly. Put out some toys, and it’ll be suitable for it to play.” I didn’t expect him to bring this up on his own and choked for a few moments. “That dog, where is the dog now?” “Hasn’t been weaned yet.” He flipped his phone and pushed it in front of me, “They all look good, I picked a small one. If you like it, I’ll ask him to save one for you too.” “I thought about getting a dog. But I don’t have time to walk it when I’m working, so I decided against it.” I lowered my voice, “I didn’t expect you would raise these.” He nodded and poured tea for me. “How is work?” I was in a daze for a few seconds, “Everything is pretty good.”

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1 It was my second year back with the Vance family, and I still hadn’t moved into their house. On New Year’s Eve, I told my brother I wanted to leave. He looked completely puzzled. “Just because you’re not in the family portrait but Mia is?” “You could say that.” He was silent for a long time before saying, “Mia is used to being pampered in this family. If she’s not in the family portrait, she definitely wouldn’t be able to handle it.” I finally realized that in his eyes, the fake heiress was his only sister. It didn’t matter. Honestly, I didn’t really want to go back to the Vance family anyway. The group chat with my four-person family was very lively. My three stepbrothers were discussing rushing over to pick me up right after recording the New Year’s Gala. I sent a short reply: [Okay.] … On New Year’s Eve, a heavy snowstorm hit New York. In the private dining room of a restaurant, Mia had prepared festive red scarves for every relative. Except me. Someone suggested that since it was rare for everyone to gather together, we should take a family portrait as a souvenir. She conveniently pushed me out, asking me to take the photo. The picture froze. Right in the middle of the photo, Mia held Ethan’s arm, smiling brightly. No one cared that I wasn’t in the family portrait. After Ethan heard I wanted to leave, he affectionately rubbed the top of my head. “It was brother’s oversight. I should have paid attention to these little details.” “It won’t happen again. Chloe, don’t make a fuss about leaving over such a small thing, okay?” I shook my head. I wasn’t really angry, but I was truly starting to feel homesick. Ethan frowned. “Where else can you go if you leave the Vance family? Go back to Seattle and keep picking up trash?” I abruptly looked up, meeting my brother’s gaze. A flash of disgust actually crossed his eyes. He sighed, and his tone softened again. “Alright Chloe, don’t be mad. Next year… next year, I’ll make sure to call you for the family portrait, okay?” Mia suddenly popped a slice of mandarin orange into my brother’s mouth and smilingly hooked her arm through his. “What’s wrong? Why are we talking about next year’s family portrait?” Seeing that neither of us spoke, she immediately sensed the tension in the air. She dropped her smile and said in a low voice: “Sister Chloe, don’t blame brother. I was too careless. There were too many people at the time, and I mistook you for a waitress.” “Actually, I’m the only outsider here. I should have been the one to take the picture.” As she spoke, a sorrowful expression appeared on her face. My brother subconsciously reached out to comfort Mia, but just as his hand lifted, he stiffly pulled it back. He spoke strictly in a deep voice: “It’s just a photo, it’s not a big deal.” “But Mia, you have to understand, no matter how bad Chloe was before, she is a daughter of the Vance family.” “You should be more understanding.” Mia bit her lip tightly, her eyes filling with tears. Ethan kept a cold face and didn’t spare her another glance. Actually, he couldn’t hide how much his heart ached for her. Before, at the Sterling house, my eldest brother dug my failing test paper out of the trash can. He punished me by making me copy the mistakes, but was also afraid I’d get too tired. That was how he was, keeping a cold face while staying by my side to keep me company. Ethan’s phone rang. He answered it, said a few words, and frowned. I vaguely heard the words “formaldehyde test.” Actually, in the two years since I was brought back to the Vance family, I had never stepped through their door. For the first half-year, they said they were remodeling my room. Then they said it needed to air out. Originally, they said once it passed the formaldehyde test, I wouldn’t have to live in a hotel anymore. But I didn’t expect that another year would pass, and I was still living alone in a hotel. Mia asked, “Was that the testing company calling?” “How were the formaldehyde test results this time?” Ethan froze for a moment and didn’t speak. Mia lowered her head and said, “I understand.” “The formaldehyde test passed, right? Sister Chloe is moving back.” “After the New Year, I’ll have the housekeeper clean the room again and make Sister Chloe’s bed.” Ethan sighed softly, his warm hand grasping my wrist. “The formaldehyde is still a bit high. You won’t be able to move in this month.” “After the New Year, I’ll hire a professional remediation company to treat the formaldehyde. It’ll definitely pass after that.” I pulled my hand back and said calmly, “There’s no need.” Actually, a few hours ago, someone from the testing company mistakenly sent the results to me. Even though he quickly unsent it. I still saw the results. The formaldehyde test had already passed six months ago. It was just that Ethan didn’t want me to come home. 2 Since he didn’t want me to come home, why bother bringing me back to New York? I couldn’t understand it. For the New Year’s Eve dinner, Ethan specifically saved the seat next to him for me. Mia pouted and found a seat furthest away from him. During the meal, Ethan added a dumpling with obviously different pleats to my plate. I took a bite and tasted sweetness. He looked at me gently. “Did Chloe get the lucky dumpling? You’re so lucky!” “What’s your New Year’s wish?” I suddenly remembered a New Year’s Eve when my third brother deliberately smeared flour on my nose. My eldest and second brothers pinned him down on the sofa, waiting for me to fight back. I instinctively said, “I really hope I can go home, the whole family gathered together, lively and bustling.” Ethan coughed uncomfortably. “Next year… next year, when you move back into the Vance house, we’ll celebrate the New Year at home together.” Only then did I snap back to reality; he thought I was complaining. Seeing this, my aunt quickly ladled a bowl of soup for Mia. “What’s wrong with Mia? She hasn’t even touched her chopsticks all night.” Mia’s eyes turned red, her voice laced with grievance. “It’s nothing, I just don’t have an appetite.” Someone nudged Ethan. “What’s wrong with Mia? You should go coax her. Why isn’t she eating on New Year’s Eve?” His tone was cold. “If she doesn’t eat, let her starve. She’s old enough.” Mia’s body stiffened, and large tears fell. She turned and ran out, not even wearing a coat. Ethan didn’t chase after her; he just sighed softly. “Chloe is your sister, but Mia has been with the Vance family since she was five. Ethan, you can’t be biased and only treat Chloe well, ignoring Mia’s feelings.” He gave a cold “Mm,” and everyone found it hard to say anything more. The relatives drank and chatted, quickly forgetting this minor episode. I didn’t know when Ethan left the table either. A mischievous little boy used his fingers to mimic a gun, shooting at me and muttering, “Shooting you, the trash picker.” No one controlled him, and no one paid attention to me. I looked down and scrolled through WeChat. My second brother asked me if it was snowing heavily in New York. I looked out the window, stood up, and went downstairs to take a picture of the snow for my second brother. Just as I got downstairs, I heard sobbing. Under the streetlight, Ethan was wrapping Mia in his overcoat. Snow was falling heavily as he gently wiped the tears from her face with his fingers. “Brother, do you not want me anymore?” Ethan’s voice was gentle. “Silly, how could I not want you.” “Chloe is actually quite pitiful. When I found her in Seattle, she was digging through the trash.” “If I treat her a little better, she won’t be jealous of you or target you, and your life in the Vance family will be easier.” Mia looked up at him. “Really? But when she moves back to the Vance house, will you still feel that way?” He tapped the tip of her nose. “I’ve already bought a small apartment for her in Brooklyn. Having a place to live, she’ll definitely be very satisfied.” “Don’t worry, I won’t let her move into the Vance house.” The wind and snow whipped against my face like a biting slap. I couldn’t help but shiver. Stunned for a long time, I finally remembered to take a picture of the snow and send it to my second brother. Then I dialed a number I hadn’t contacted in a long time. “Mom, I miss you so much.” The Sterling Mom paused on the other end of the phone, her voice choking up. “Chloe, Mom misses you too.” “Have you been wronged? Come back to Seattle this year, okay?” “The Vance family is just a small household. Are you getting used to life there?” Sterling Mom asked one question after another, and I didn’t even know which one to answer first. I smiled, and my nose started to sting. “I’m coming home today. My brothers said they’re coming to pick me up.” “Good, good, that’s good. Which of those three brats is going to pick you up?” My heart warmed, “They’re all coming.” 3 When I returned to the private room at the restaurant, the relatives were getting ready to watch the New Year’s Gala. Mia was leaning against Ethan, occasionally handing him her phone to look at, the two of them laughing uproariously. I thought, if I hadn’t come back, probably no one would have come looking for me. A relative’s child shouted in front of the TV, “Leo! It’s Leo!” The festive music swept through the room. I stared blankly at the person on the screen, my eyes getting misty. He was much thinner than the last time I saw him, but he was still a presence you couldn’t tear your eyes away from. The five-minute opening ended, and the frame froze on that excessively handsome face. Several camera shutter sounds went off. Mia was taking pictures of the screen. “Brother, didn’t you say you have a friend who knows Leo’s manager?” “Can you ask him to buy concert tickets for me?” “I absolutely, definitely have to go to his concert!” Ethan dotingly agreed, “Okay, okay, I’ll definitely make sure Mia gets to see it in the New Year.” My phone vibrated, and new messages popped up in the group chat. [Phew, finally done! I’m rushing to the airport now!] [@Chloe, is your third brother handsome or what?] [Where is eldest brother? Did he not watch my performance?!] My second brother replied to him. [Your eldest brother is on a business trip to Berlin. He’s on a flight to New York right now. He said he’ll watch the replay when he gets back.] I quickly sent a reply. [Brother, you’ve lost weight, but you’re still super handsome!] “Who are you chatting with?” Ethan’s cold voice came from above my head. I instinctively shoved my phone into my pocket. He stared at me intently. “Why are you calling some random shady guys ‘brother’? I am your only brother.” I froze for a few seconds, suddenly realizing it had been a long time since I called him brother. Actually, when I first returned to New York, I also considered him my only family. Back then, he took care of my every need. The hotel AC was dry, and he immediately bought a humidifier and had it delivered. No matter how busy he was with work, he would make time every week to take me shopping and watch movies with me. Once, he drank too much at a business dinner and came to my hotel completely drunk. For the first time, I heard him say how much he blamed himself back then. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have been abducted. For the first time, I saw him cry uncontrollably, promising to protect me and keep me from any harm. Perhaps even he hadn’t figured out whether his feelings for me were guilt or affection. Mia’s scream pulled me back from my thoughts. “Wow, is this Leo when he was a kid?” “He was so cute when he was little!” “So he has two older brothers and a younger sister!” It turned out Leo had posted a family portrait on Twitter. I was only 6 years old in the photo, the year I was just adopted by the Sterling family. My second aunt looked at the photo and said softly, “This little girl looks so familiar.” After a while, she muttered to herself, “She looks quite like Chloe did when she was little.” I was just about to speak when I heard Ethan start laughing. “Chloe was a dark, skinny little monkey when she was little. She didn’t inherit any of our mom’s beauty at all.” “How could she look like a child from the Sterling family?” “You guys don’t know, Leo isn’t just some ordinary celebrity. You can’t even imagine the Sterling family’s power in Seattle.” My second aunt smiled. “I’m getting old, I can’t even remember what you guys looked like when you were little.” I closed my mouth and didn’t speak. It turned out Ethan had also long forgotten what I looked like. 4 Everyone was casually chatting while holding their phones. The younger children were already clamoring to go home. I wanted to leave too, but Ethan insisted on me staying up with them to ring in the New Year. Mia yawned. “Brother, when are we going home?” “Be good, we’ll stay with Chloe until 12 and then leave.” Mia looked at the time, her face full of exhaustion. “But we have an early flight to catch tomorrow morning.” “I haven’t finished packing my luggage yet, and I don’t know if it’s cold in Switzerland right now.” She suddenly covered her mouth after speaking, looking at Ethan in a panic. Ethan said calmly, “Chloe, I promised Mia earlier that I’d take her skiing in Switzerland after she finished her grad school entrance exams.” “I’m busy with work and only have free time during the New Year holidays. You’ve never been abroad, and getting a passport is a hassle, so I can only take Mia.” The relatives nearby also chimed in. “Mia worked really hard preparing for her exams. She deserves a good break.” “Yes, Chloe, our Vance family has always been broad-minded. You won’t mind this little thing, right?” With every word they said, they backed me into a corner. If I said no now, I’d be considered unreasonable. But I didn’t understand. Since Ethan was taking Mia abroad for the New Year, why did he insist on keeping me in New York? I could have had a lively, bustling New Year. “Chloe, don’t be angry. When we get back, I’ll take you to the movies, okay?” I smiled until tears came to my eyes, only wanting to leave. The moment I turned around, something slipped from my pocket and fell to the floor. Before I could get a clear look, Mia picked it up. “What is this?” She said as she slipped the bracelet made of ceramic beads onto her own wrist. “Is this for brother? It’s a bit big and looks clunky.” I looked closely. It was the bracelet I had made for my brothers. Last month, I went to a pottery studio. I tried to pick out tea sets for my brothers, but they didn’t want them. They said anything I made with my own hands would do. So I learned how to make ceramic beads and strung a bracelet for each of them. I reached out to snatch it, but Mia deliberately dropped it on the floor. A navy blue ceramic bead instantly shattered into two halves. I froze for a few seconds, my chest feeling incredibly tight. I raised my hand and slapped Mia across the face. After the crisp sound, came Ethan’s explosive anger. “Chloe, are you crazy?!” “It’s just a trashy bracelet, is it really necessary?” “If I had known you were so ill-bred and so intolerant of Mia, I shouldn’t have brought you back.” “Whether you’re picking trash or starving, I don’t care.” I glared at him resentfully, my eyes stinging. “Why did you look for me? Why did you bring me back?” “I was living very well, very happily.” “You brought me back but didn’t accept me. You forcefully turned me into an orphan again.” Hot tears rolled down my cheeks. I didn’t want to play along with his act anymore. A hint of guilt and helplessness surfaced in his eyes: “Brother was impulsive. Mia just slipped, you shouldn’t have hit her.” A crisp knock sounded at the door. Ethan’s assistant was standing there. “Mr. Vance, President Sterling, who you haven’t been able to contact for half a year, has suddenly appeared in New York. Should we arrange a visit?” Ethan paused and asked, “Why would he suddenly come to New York?” Immediately following, footsteps came down the hallway. A familiar voice rang out: “Chloe, I’m not late, am I?” I looked up at the person, and tears couldn’t help but fall.

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After being recognized as the true heiress by the eighth pair of wealthy parents, my mindset collapsed, and I was going crazy. At the recognition banquet, the fake heiress framed me for throwing her bracelet into the pool. Facing my parents’ questioning, I suddenly felt like dying. So the next second, I twisted my head and dove straight into the pool, sinking to the bottom in the blink of an eye. My parents were terrified out of their minds. They frantically fished me out, their faces ashen. Looking at the fake heiress crying from anger, my brother warned me with a gloomy face: “If you dare to grandstand again, get out of this house!” Hearing this, I got up and rushed straight towards the traffic: “Sure thing, bro, I’ll go out and get hit by a car right now!” My brother was completely dumbfounded. He dragged me back from the highway in a panic, looking at me like I was a monster. That night, the fake heiress stood on the roof, acting as if she was about to jump off the building: “I shouldn’t have usurped my sister’s identity, I’ll return it to her right now!” As soon as she finished speaking, I looked at her hesitant posture, impatiently stepped forward, and pushed her aside. “So dawdling, let me do it.” Saying that, amid everyone’s shocked screams, I cleanly jumped off the roof. … 1 The wind howled in my ears, and I completely lost consciousness. When I slowly woke up again, I heard Mia Sterling’s whining voice in my ears: “I really didn’t say anything. Sister jumped down herself, I don’t know what happened to her either.” Seeing this, my brother Ethan Sterling immediately stepped forward, shielding her firmly behind him in a protective posture: “Mom, Dad, this must be a trick directed and acted by Chloe Sterling. I think she just wants to use this to frame Mia!” “If she really didn’t want to live, why did she specifically pick a place with a landing platform to jump?” “Isn’t it because she calculated that she wouldn’t die from the fall? She simply has bad intentions!” Ethan saw our parents’ eyes waver. Turning his head, he met my newly opened eyes. His eyes lit up, as if he suddenly thought of something. Without explanation, he dragged me off the hospital bed, pulling and hauling me to the window. “Mom, Dad, look, this is the thirtieth floor, there’s no buffer underneath.” “If she really has the determination to die, why isn’t she jumping now?” “I think she’s just putting on an act! Just wanting to frame Mia!” I had just woken up, my head was still groggy, and my whole body ached. I was just regretting why I didn’t die again. Pressed by him like this, the height of the thirtieth floor crashed into my eyes without any obstruction. I was instantly delighted. Ethan was still talking non-stop, while half of my body had already couldn’t resist the temptation and climbed out the window. Halfway through their conversation, they turned their heads and saw this scene. The air froze for a moment. The next second, the room completely exploded with screams, dragging, and chaos. I struggled, I thrashed, I twisted my body desperately trying to edge outward. The few of them pinned me down with their hands and feet, coaxing and persuading, exerting immense effort before finally dragging me back to the bed. Ethan still wanted to say something, but just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by a loud smack from Dad! “Enough! Shut your mouth right now!” He fiercely slammed the window shut and locked it, pointing a trembling finger at me, then turning to Ethan: “Have you ever seen any child attract attention like this?” “Chloe is your biological sister! Look what you’ve forced her to become!” Saying that, Mom and Dad sighed, slowly walking to my bedside: “Chloe…” Before my parents could get the words out, they were interrupted by Mia clutching her chest and crying: “It’s all because of me that sister has such thoughts. Maybe… I should just leave…” Hearing this, my parents’ movements instantly paused, and their expressions immediately became serious: “Mia, don’t think nonsense! You will always be a daughter of our Sterling family, no one can replace you!” Ethan even directly blocked in front of her, swearing: “In this life, I, Ethan Sterling, only recognize you as my one and only sister! No matter who leaves, it won’t be you!” If this were the first time I heard these words, I might still be sad. Unfortunately, I had heard the exact same words seven times already. I could recite them backward; all that was left was disgust. A strong feeling of nausea hit me. Their faces faded in and out of my vision, and in my trance, I remembered the past again. I was a magnet for bad luck. During my most miserable year, I lost my memory, had no money, and almost starved to death on the streets. So when the System told me I was the “Chosen One” female lead of true and fake heiress stories, and that completing tasks would earn me generous bonuses. Just to have a full meal, I agreed without a second thought. However, the System got the target wrong, causing me to experience the physical and mental abuse plot of the true wealthy heiress seven times in a row. I was diagnosed with a work-related injury and developed severe PTSD towards the identity of “true heiress.” Just as I was holding a hundred-million-dollar compensation fund preparing to retire, the eighth pair of wealthy parents came looking for me. “Host, are you really going to abandon the mission? I swear the target wasn’t wrong this time, it’s your biological family…” “If you still want to give up, the rules haven’t changed. Just die in this world.” I was bargaining with the System in my head. The next second, Ethan’s voice snapped me back to reality. “Chloe Sterling! Look at the good deed you’ve done!” I looked up, meeting his gloomy face. 2 He said because I just jumped off the building, Mia was so worried her old illness relapsed, and the doctor said she needed a total blood transfusion. “If it’s a minor illness, go get treated. If it’s a major illness, go die. Why come looking for me?” “Oh, if she really doesn’t know how to die, I could teach her.” Hearing this, seeing our parents weren’t around, Ethan was so angry he slapped me directly: “It’s all because of you that Mia’s old illness relapsed! So you must give her this blood transfusion! You have no right to refuse!” Mia cried tearfully beside him: “Forget it, brother. Sister hates me so much, she definitely won’t agree to give me a blood transfusion. Just let me fend for myself!” When she cried, Ethan became even more irritable. He grabbed my collar: “Chloe Sterling, if you still want to return to this family, then you have to give this blood today whether you want to or not!” I was shaken by him until my vision went dark repeatedly. Just as I was about to cough, I was fiercely thrown back onto the bed by him. “Chloe Sterling, don’t force me to use methods. If you know what’s good for you, sign the informed consent…” Before he could finish speaking, I impatiently got up and quickly signed my name. I casually tossed the pen, not even looking up: “Draw it.” Ethan didn’t react: “What?” “I said, don’t you want to draw my blood to give to Mia? Draw it, better to drain it all directly. I don’t want to live anyway.” Hearing me say this, Mia immediately looked at Ethan with tearful eyes. Ethan’s face instantly darkened another degree. “Chloe Sterling, it’s just asking you to give Mia a little blood. Is it necessary to deliberately put on this look to disgust us?” “Name a condition. What will it take for you to properly give Mia a blood transfusion…” I was getting a throbbing headache from his schizophrenic behavior. This wasn’t okay, that wasn’t okay! At this moment, I couldn’t bear it anymore! I stood up with a whoosh and roared at him: “Change, change, change! I’ll change it for her!” “Not only will I give her my blood, I’ll give her my life too! Can you shut up!” Before he could react, I directly grabbed the fruit knife nearby and stabbed it towards the artery in my wrist. The expected severe pain didn’t arrive; the blade was grabbed by Ethan with extremely fast reaction. Seeing the blood spilling from his fingers, Mia beside him screamed in fright and stumbled out of the ward to call for a doctor. And Ethan pinned me back on the bed with my arms behind my back, his face livid, his voice trembling: “Chloe Sterling! Are you crazy?! Is this the only trick you know to get attention?” “Before you lost your memory, you only knew how to seek death all day long. I didn’t expect that after so many years, even with amnesia, you still haven’t made any progress!” I froze for a moment, then struggled crazily: “Let go! Whether I’ve made progress or not is none of your damn business!” “I’m your brother!” The veins on his forehead popped out. I kicked and thrashed on the bed, finally just lowering my head to bite his hand. But until my mouth was full of the taste of blood, he still didn’t let go. Finally, I was really out of options. I relaxed my strength and smiled gently at him: “Okay, brother, I admit, I just want to grandstand and attract your attention so I can steal your love away from Mia.” “You are too wise, you saw through it at a glance.” “Now the act is over, I’m not dying. Can you let go?” Ethan stared into my eyes, seeing my sincere look didn’t seem like lying. After a long while, he finally slowly let go, let out a long breath, and said: “Chloe Sterling, I don’t like forcing others, but Mia can be considered your sister. It’s perfectly justified for you to give her a blood transfusion. Today you were too unreasonable.” “I promise, as long as you obediently sign and go give Mia a blood transfusion, our Sterling family can still accept you again…” Before his voice fell, I grabbed the knife and stabbed it into my neck. The world was quiet for a second. When Mom and Dad pushed the door open holding boxed lunches, my splattering fresh blood splashed all over their faces. With a clatter, the lunch boxes fell to the ground. A miserable, shrill scream erupted in the room: “Doctor! Go get the doctor quickly!” 3 I had a dream. The me in the dream was young, fierce, and couldn’t bear the slightest injustice. Every time I was framed by Mia, I defended myself hoarsely. Quarreling, jumping off buildings, slitting wrists, running away from home. I used all extreme methods to prove myself. Over time, under the gradually disappointed gazes of my family, I became a “madwoman.” The last time, Ethan spoke harshly to me: “If you act up again, get out of the Sterling family forever!” I froze for a long time, then recklessly rushed into the midnight snowstorm. The last memory was the blinding halo of headlights and the dull thud of my body hitting the ground. When I woke up again, with an empty brain, I agreed to bind with the System. I wandered for a long time. When the first pair of wealthy parents recognized me and brought me home, I was full of joy, thinking I had finally found a home. But I didn’t expect that closely following were the second pair, the third pair… By the fifth pair, looking at the wealthy parents who were like Russian nesting dolls, I completely stopped laughing. When the seventh pair of wealthy parents brought me home, I was already on the verge of breaking down. At this time, not only could I recite the physical and mental abuse script of the true wealthy heiress backward. I even had a bit of a stress reaction just hearing the word “wealthy.” This was the eighth time. The current me couldn’t muster half a bit of interest in the love of these wealthy family members. I just wanted to quickly take the hundred-million-dollar compensation fund, fake my death, and escape far, far away from all these people. I was awakened by Ethan’s voice: “Mom, Dad! Yes, Mia exaggerated her old illness relapse this time, but wasn’t that also because she was scared?” “Think about it, how did Chloe treat her in the past!” His voice paused, then lowered a few degrees: “Back then, weren’t you also afraid Mia would suffer grievances, so you deliberately bought off those seven families with similar situations, letting them take Chloe back first and pretend to be her parents, so Mia could have more time to adapt?” “Besides, how could Chloe completely change her nature just by losing her memory? Anyway, I don’t believe it.” “If you ask me, she just mingled outside for seven years, got smart, and her acting skills went up a level…” “Enough!” Dad severely shouted him down. Followed by a long silence. I sat on the bed, picking at the bandages on my neck, my ears buzzing. That sentence echoed repeatedly in my mind: bought off seven families. The System’s voice jumped up in my mind at the same time: “I told you something was wrong! How could I find the wrong target time after time! Making you do a task that should have taken one try seven times!” “I thought the main system was too garbage, after all that, it turns out they were the ones playing tricks!” “But fortunately you had the foresight. Holding the hundred-million-dollar compensation fund, you’ve already prepared a new identity in another world. You can leave this world at any time.” Before it finished speaking, I had already rolled out of bed. “Wait, Host, why is your face so ugly? What are you looking for…” I was concise: “Looking for a knife.” 4 Didn’t find a knife. I was half-coaxed and half-dragged back to the Sterling mansion by my parents, who rushed in after hearing the commotion. After getting home, I turned the villa upside down as soon as I entered the house, but in the huge villa, I couldn’t find a single controlled blade. I wanted to jump off the building again, but didn’t expect all the windows inside and out had been sealed shut. Even a thick layer of carpet was laid on the stairs. Psychologists came one after another. Mom and Dad started guarding by my side day and night, never leaving my side. Mom had to change my dressing every day with red eyes. Dad, to make me happy, even brought out the family portrait the painter painted for us back then. “Tch.” Ethan happened to pass by the door, saw this scene, and mocked: “Really good at acting.” “Don’t you just want to use the pity play to squeeze Mia out of this house?” “Let me tell you, Chloe Sterling, as long as I’m still here, don’t even think about it.” After saying that, he turned and left. My gaze fell on the face of the brother in the painting who smilingly carried me on his shoulders, and I was in a trance for a moment. In the following days, I never found an opportunity to commit suicide again. Perhaps that last sliver of hope I had for them completely shattered after hearing they had continuously pushed me outward seven times. I wanted to die faster even more. Finally, it was Mia’s birthday party. That day, as soon as I entered the door, I was affectionately pulled by her. “Sister, you came to my birthday party, how can you not have a decent dress?” I let her half-drag and half-pull me, following her away from the crowd. When we reached the edge of the pool, she suddenly stopped, leaned in close to my ear, and said viciously: “Don’t think you can steal everything I have now.” “Anyway, you always liked to seek death, right?” “There are no security cameras here. Even if you really drown here… no one will suspect me.” She paused, enunciating each word: “So, go die.” Before her voice fell, a violent force fiercely struck from behind me. With a splash, the freezing pool water instantly swallowed me. I didn’t struggle, but let the pool water submerge me. The feeling of suffocation surged, and my consciousness gradually blurred. The System’s countdown rang in my ears. “Five, four, three…” Suddenly, I was dragged up by a force. Ethan’s voice exploded in my ears: “Mia said you stole her jewelry! Making her unable to step down in front of everyone!” “Speak! Where did you hide the things?” Seeing me curled up on the ground trembling continuously, his strength subconsciously loosened for a moment. After a long while, as if remembering something again, his eyes became sinister once more. “Chloe Sterling, did you hear me? Hand over the things!” “Just to deny taking a set of jewelry, you acted out this diving scene again, isn’t it boring?” Seeing I didn’t respond, he completely lost patience: “Are you f***ing addicted to acting?! Endless, right?!” While roaring, he roughly grabbed my wrist, whose pulse had already stopped, wanting to drag me up from the ground. The next moment, his movements suddenly froze, and his face turned deathly pale with a whoosh. Right at this time, Mom and Dad, who had received the video recording from my micro-camera, happened to push the door and burst in. Ethan mechanically turned his head to look at Mom and Dad, and then slowly looked at me lying lifelessly on the ground. He staggered backward two steps, widened his eyes in disbelief, and slumped onto the ground.

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Ethan’s “first love” was kidnapped right after returning to the country. In the video, the kidnappers demanded thirty million dollars in cash and explicitly asked for me to be exchanged for the hostage. I pointed at myself in confusion, not understanding what a country snake like me had that the kidnappers would covet. Then I heard Ethan speak with deep pain: “I’m sorry, Chloe, I can’t let anything happen to Mia.” The next second, he had someone knock me out and put me in a car. I fell into the hands of a group of vicious kidnappers, watching helplessly as Ethan turned and left, carrying the unconscious Mia. After they disappeared, the kidnappers set up the camera and walked towards me while unzipping their pants. I looked left and right: “Have Ethan and the others left?” The leader of the kidnappers smiled hideously: “They’re all gone. Miss Chloe, who told you to offend people you shouldn’t have?” Just as his hand was about to touch me, I breathed a sigh of relief. “Good that they’re gone.” I suddenly transformed into a giant python and swallowed the leader whole in one gulp. His remaining lackeys trembled in fear, their bodies going soft, and were swallowed into my stomach one by one like dumplings. 1 “Burp.” I let out a loud burp. Not in a hurry to transform back into human form, I lay lazily on the ground to digest. Since getting together with Ethan, I hadn’t changed back to my original form in years. My mom warned me since I was a kid not to eat randomly. If I ate randomly, I would either suffer divine retribution or run into a monster hunter. My aunt mistakenly ate a man with a purple aura and was taken away by a monster hunter to be pickled in wine. Since then, our spirit snake clan hid deep in the mountains and forests, only coming out to be active again in recent decades. My mom said the outside world is different now; those who can’t read are illiterate. So she sent me, who had just learned to take human form, to school to study. I fell in love with eating human food at school. Later, I got into college and moved from a small country town to a big city, where there were even more delicious foods. It was also there that I met Ethan. When we first met, he stared at me blankly for a long time. At that time, I didn’t know it was because I looked fifty percent like his “first love.” I only knew he was crazily pursuing me like he was possessed. My roommates said Ethan was a famous rich kid in the city, not only handsome but also very clean, with no scandalous rumors at all. They told me to seize the opportunity. But I had no interest in the flowers and jewelry he sent. I returned those gifts to him intact. Then I turned around and went to work as a waitress at a hotel. Because I ate too much at once, my living expenses weren’t enough just two months into the semester. I called my mom, and she said she was also very poor, telling me to work and support myself: “You’re grown up now, Chloe. If you want to stay in human society, you have to learn to earn money with your own hands.” What a useless old thing. Lived for hundreds of years without a single penny of savings. Having no choice, I sneaked into a hotel. Because the internet said working as a waitress in a hotel allowed you to eat the leftovers from guests. Being able to eat my fill and make money was simply the most suitable job for me. However, just as I was sneaking bites of untouched leftovers in a private dining room, I bumped into Ethan, who had returned. He looked at me in surprise, with a piece of lobster in my mouth, remained silent for a long while, and suddenly smiled: “Chloe, let me treat you to a meal.” That was the first time someone treated me to a meal. A full table of luxurious feasts, with all kinds of delicacies from land and sea. Ethan watched dumbfounded as I swept away everything on the table, his fingers holding the cigarette butt trembling: “I couldn’t tell, you can actually eat this much.” “But, I can afford to feed you anyway. Chloe, do you want to try dating me?” “Whatever you want to eat in the future, it’s on me.” 2 As his voice fell, Ethan’s face suddenly became exceptionally attractive. I wiped my mouth, ultimately unable to resist the temptation: “Okay.” From then on, I moved out of the dorm and lived in the villa Ethan arranged for me. It was equipped with two professional nannies who cooked a big table of food waiting for me every day. I gnawed on a chicken leg and called my mom: “Mom, look, I got a boyfriend. He not only bought me a house but also covers all my meals. I don’t have to work at the hotel anymore!” My mom was shocked and doubted: “Chloe, you haven’t been scammed, have you?” I paused and took the chicken bone out of my mouth intact: “Probably not? Ethan treats me really well, providing room and board, and gives me eighty thousand dollars a month for pocket money. He’s much more generous than you, Mom!” My mom spat: “Tch, be careful. As the saying goes, you can know a person’s face but not their heart. If you encounter danger, just run, got it?” “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.” Seeing my mom worrying unnecessarily, I waved my hand. The diamond-studded bracelet on my wrist sparkled, almost blinding her eyes. She stared at me for a long while and asked: “Did your boyfriend buy this for you too?” I nodded. She suddenly realized: “Chloe, you’re being kept as a sugar baby by a rich man!” “Sugar baby?” I tilted my head, trying hard to recall the various relationships I had learned about in human society. “This is raising a pet, right?” I wasn’t sure. Because I’m a snake. Having a snake as a sugar baby sounds a bit weird, but raising a snake sounds much more reasonable. My mom said: “Don’t worry about whether it’s a sugar baby or a pet. Since he gives you eighty thousand a month, transfer eight hundred to your old mom. I recently learned online shopping, give me some cash to spend.” It’s hard to imagine my mom living for hundreds of years and still being so poor. I transferred thirty thousand to her from my mobile banking: “Spend it! Ask me for more when you’re done!” She had tears in her eyes: “Chloe, so promising!” So we spent Ethan’s money and lived lazily for four years. There were rumors at school during this time, but Ethan settled them with one sentence that I was his girlfriend. He treated me well, so I returned the favor. Two years ago, Ethan’s rivals found an opportunity and kidnapped him. It was I who broke into the abandoned factory single-handedly and rescued him. At that time, his right hand was already a bloody mess. To cure him, I exhausted my limited cultivation, unable to even maintain human form. I could only carry him to a safe place and then find a place to hide. Fortunately, Ethan fainted and didn’t see me turn into a snake. Otherwise, he would definitely be terrified. I moved my snake body, looking at the dense foliage overhead. My mind was full of memories about Ethan. Not long ago, he took me to a party, saying he wanted to introduce me to his friends. I still remember their interested expressions when I stepped into the private room. Joking without hesitation in front of me: “Sure enough, what did I say, Ethan still can’t forget Mia.” “Look at this face, it really looks like Mia’s. But Mia has a much better aura than her.” “I heard Mia is coming back to the country next month. When are you dumping this knockoff?” Although I couldn’t understand some of it, I could feel their malice. Ethan darkened his face and got angry: “Enough, I brought Chloe here today to introduce her to you, not to let you bully her.” “If anyone dares to say one more word, don’t blame me for falling out with you.” Hearing this, everyone seemed to realize Ethan was serious. They looked embarrassed and quickly changed the subject. I sat in the private room, feeling their elusive gazes falling on me, carrying critical scrutiny. During the party, someone tried to force me to drink, but Ethan stopped them. When I went to the restroom, an exquisitely dressed girl took the opportunity to block me: “Don’t think you can replace Mia. She’s the one Ethan likes; you’re just someone he uses to make Mia jealous.” “I advise you to recognize reality early and obediently leave Ethan. Don’t cling to him. Otherwise, when Mia comes back, you’ll completely become a clown.” 3 I blinked: “Who is this Mia you’re talking about?” She froze, raising her voice in disbelief: “You don’t even know Mia?” Under her enthusiastic introduction, I finally understood that the Mia they were talking about was Mia. Ethan’s childhood sweetheart, and also his first love. Back then, the two had a huge fight. Mia went to study abroad and broke up with him. Ethan didn’t date anyone else for a long time until he met me. The girl said disdainfully: “If it weren’t for you looking a lot like Mia, why would Ethan choose you?” “Know your place, don’t really think of yourself as Ethan’s girlfriend.” She turned and left. I suddenly felt a little pain in my heart. I remembered Ethan getting drunk one night, hugging me, and mumbling “Mimi.” Maybe it wasn’t “Mimi,” but “Mia.” A month later, Mia indeed returned to the country. Ethan became absent-minded, often not hearing what I was saying. I rested my chin on my hand and asked him: “Do you miss Mia?” Under the repeated beatings of his good friends, I pretty much understood how much Ethan liked Mia before. He skipped classes, rebelled, and broke with his parents for her. He hid it from everyone and flew her abroad to have the most romantic coming-of-age ceremony. At that time, Ethan was far less mature than he is now. His youth all revolved around Mia. Hearing my words, Ethan froze, shaking his head: “Don’t mention her, it’s been over between me and her for a long time.” “Now I only have you in my heart, Chloe.” He hung up the phone calls Mia initiated. He also declined all party invitations from friends. As if his heart were made of iron, refusing to see Mia even once. Until the news of Mia being kidnapped arrived. Ethan’s hands trembled, he pushed me away, and ran out of the villa like a madman: “Mia—” The kidnappers sent a video. Mia was tied to a chair, unconscious. Ethan’s eyes were red, staring fixedly at the screen. Using an altered voice, the kidnappers demanded thirty million in ransom from him, and at the same time, explicitly asked for me to be exchanged for the hostage. “Which is more important depends on what choice Young Master Ethan makes.” Ethan looked pained and slammed his fist hard on the table. “It must be the Lee family. They kidnapped me before and still haven’t given up.” “I’m sorry, Chloe, I can’t let anything happen to Mia.” After saying that, he directly had someone knock me out and stuffed me into the car. Actually, why didn’t he discuss it with me? Mia is very important to him, but he is also very important to me. If he had asked me, I wouldn’t have refused. But he didn’t want to hear a single word from me. And sent me directly into the hands of the kidnappers. When exchanging hostages, Mia was in a wretched state. Seeing him, she cried: “Wuwu, Ethan, you finally came.” Ethan’s eyes were full of heartache, holding her tightly in his arms like a lost and found treasure. Mia closed her eyes and fainted in his arms. Ethan instantly ignored everything else, picked her up horizontally, and got in the car: “To the hospital!” The car sped away, leaving only me tied up, and seven or eight vicious kidnappers. 4 Piece of cake. It’s all a piece of cake. I stretched my body and dealt with the kidnappers. But the question is, what to do next? Ethan definitely doesn’t want me anymore. Moreover, I helped him save Mia this time, so spending his money is considered paid back. From now on, I am a free little snake again. Should I find a new sugar daddy to cling to? Just as I was thinking happily, a thunderbolt fell beside me. A handsome man holding a compass walked out of the jungle, frowning at me: “Monster?” Seeing him, my scalp tingled. A monster hunter! Mother of pearl, why is there a monster hunter in this wilderness? I arched my body to escape, and another thunderbolt fell, almost grazing my scalp. Judging by the power, if it hit my body, I’d become dried roasted snake. I cried and transformed back into my original form, immediately raising my hands in surrender: “Boss, spare my life!” Seeing my useless appearance, he froze, approaching suspiciously for a few steps: “Where are the people who were just here?” I lowered my head guiltily: “Uh, in my stomach.” “Indeed a wicked beast!” Seeing he was going to strike me again, I fiercely hugged his thigh: “Listen to my explanation, they wanted to bully me first!” I told him the whole story. He half-doubtfully walked to the only intact camera, watched the video inside, and finally believed what I said. “Since you didn’t lie, I’ll spare your life.” “However, it’s a society ruled by law now. Even if you’re a spirit snake, you can’t just eat people casually. Come with me.” He put away the compass and reached out his hand to me. I was confused: “G-go where? You’re not going to trick me back to pickle me in wine, are you?” The veins on his forehead popped: “How big of a jar would it take to pickle you?” “You’re coming back with me to register. Monsters who want to walk in human society now must be recorded in the Chang family’s registry. Didn’t your clan tell you?” His eyes showed a look of seeing a weirdo, as if saying, Where did this country snake come from? I tried hard to remember: “Hiss, Mom didn’t say.” The corner of his mouth twitched: “Fine, then both of you mother and daughter are undocumented residents. Call your mom here too.” My mom suffered an unprovoked disaster. The place where the Chang family lived was huge. My mom, called here by me, thought I had found a new sugar daddy. She asked me quietly: “Living here must be very expensive. What about little Ethan from before?” I also replied quietly: “Ethan doesn’t want me anymore. As for this one now, you’ll know when you see him.” As soon as my mom saw the guy surnamed Chang, her pupils turned vertical. I had to hug her tightly: “Calm down, this is the monster hunter’s headquarters. We can’t beat them, we can’t beat them.” My mom was exasperated, shielding me behind her: “What do you Changs mean? We mother and daughter are honest and well-behaved, are you forcing us to take action?” The guy surnamed Chang calmly took out a booklet: “Didn’t your daughter tell you the purpose of coming?” He shook the paper: “Sign. Once you sign, you can leave.” My mom was stunned, seeming to have never seen such an easy-talking monster hunter. After signing, we were finally no longer undocumented. Mom said in a daze: “The human world is really peaceful now. The monster hunters have changed their nature. Sigh, it’s not like hundreds of years ago.” She became a spirit before the founding of the country and didn’t understand post-founding policies. But I was quite happy. Finally, I don’t have to worry about exposing my identity and being beaten to death by monster hunters anytime. My mom left. But I was kept behind. The guy surnamed Chang said he had to discipline me. Only when I thoroughly learned how to handle trouble using human methods would he let me go. I was dissatisfied but couldn’t beat him. So I became a gluttonous snake in the Chang family, eating, eating, eating, eating. The guy surnamed Chang, I found out later, his name was Lucas Chang. A strangely nice-sounding name. Much more cultured than the “Snakey” my mom gave me.

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