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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The first time I met my sponsor, Ethan Vance, was the day my mom was in critical condition. The number on the check he handed me was enough to buy both my and my mom’s lives. “Be my girlfriend for three years. When the contract ends, this money is yours.” So, I started wearing white dresses and growing my hair long, imitating his first love, Mia Lin. He treated me incredibly well. I wasn’t some hidden canary; everyone knew me as the love of his life. He bought rare treasures for me at auctions and officially announced to the media that I would be the one and only Mrs. Vance. Everyone in our circle joked that he had fallen for a sponsored student like me. Even knowing this was an employment relationship, I sank into it helplessly. His blatant favoritism tacitly encouraged my wildly growing affection. Until a month before the contract expired, Mia sought refuge with the Vance family after a hit-and-run. That night, Ethan handed me a new contract. “Chloe, take the fall for Mia and go to prison for four years. I guarantee your mom will be well-provided for the rest of her life.” “What if I say no?” I asked, trembling. “I’ll stop all of your mom’s treatments. Chloe, you have no choice…” “As compensation, I will still marry you after you get out of prison.” Outside the window, the sound of police sirens drew nearer. I looked at him, tears falling silently. … The day I got out of prison, it was pouring rain. The freezing winter rain beat down on me. I was still wearing the summer clothes I had on when I went to prison three years ago. Four years of torment cost me not only my youth but also the hands I was once so proud of for playing the piano. Two of my fingers were brutally stomped and broken, healing into twisted, ugly shapes. With a heavy thud, the iron gates slowly opened. At that moment, a sliver of delusion even crept into my mind: would he come to pick me up? But outside the gates, there was nothing but muddy ground and pouring rain. I was too greedy. He never loved me in the first place. That pampering was just because I was a qualified substitute; that publicly declared favoritism was fake. Rescuing me from the abyss was just us getting what we needed from each other. Even though I consoled myself this way countless times, my tears still fell uncontrollably. He was like a stubborn plaster stuck to my heart; I spent four years trying to rip it off, but I just couldn’t. I wiped my tears and touched the letter my mom wrote me in my pocket, and my heart slowly warmed up. Suddenly, a car screeched to a halt in front of me, the muddy water kicked up by the tires splashing all over me. Ethan appeared before me holding a black umbrella. Just like the time I signed the critical condition notice and was at a dead end, he descended like a god. Only back then, looking at him, my heart fluttered uncontrollably. Now, looking at this face, all that’s left is intertwined love and hate. The car window rolled down, and Mia popped her head out, smiling at me. “Oh my, why are you still wearing loose summer clothes? Ethan, really, forgetting that it’s winter now.” Ethan’s gaze swept over me, his tone indifferent: “She won’t freeze to death.” I had imitated this tone of Mia’s thousands of times when I was her substitute. Hearing it with my own ears for the first time now, I felt somewhat dazed. Those days of imitating her and enjoying all of Ethan’s pampering flashed before my eyes again. “The baby is feeling a bit unwell, that’s why Ethan was delayed in picking you up…” Hearing the baby’s giggling, my hand only belatedly trembled. It turns out that during the four years I spent in prison for Mia, they had already built their own family. I pulled at the corners of my mouth in self-mockery. He shoved me into the back seat. When his gaze fell on my two broken fingers, he froze for a moment. There was a trace of incomprehensible annoyance in his eyes. The next second, he pressed the climate control panel, and the temperature from the rear vents instantly rose a few degrees. Then, he tossed a pack of tissues backward to me. I thought it was his pity for me, but then his indifferent voice sounded: “Dry yourself off. Don’t dirty Mia’s favorite cashmere seat covers.” In an instant, the last bit of hope in my heart was thoroughly drenched by this bucket of cold water. “Mr. Vance, take me directly to see my mom.” He didn’t reply, pressing the gas pedal. In the silence, the three people in the car had their own thoughts, accompanied only by the baby’s laughter. He used to hold me and whisper in my ear: “Chloe, have a baby for me.” How much sincerity did the old him have for me? I couldn’t hold back anymore and spoke up: “I’ve done everything you asked me to do! Why won’t you let me see my mom?” “What’s next? What else do you need me to do? Does Mia have another crime she needs me to take the fall for?” He finally looked up, meeting my eyes through the rearview mirror, his gaze obscure. Mia chuckled lightly but said nothing, staring condescendingly at my wretched state. The car sped through the rain, stopping blatantly in front of the City Hall doors. “Chloe, I’m fulfilling my promise from back then to marry you.” His tone was as calm as if he were remarking on the nice weather today. “Let’s go, get the marriage certificate.” The twenty-three-year-old me would have been ecstatic, happily holding his arm and walking briskly into City Hall. The thirty-year-old me only felt boundless panic and confusion. None of the promises he made back then had been fulfilled. How could he be someone who cared about promises? A strong sense of unease suddenly welled up, and I asked tremblingly: “Did something happen to my mom?” He shot me a glance, his tone carrying mockery: “Have the letters and voice recordings brought to you by the lawyer over these years been too few?” Right. I had just received a letter from my mom the day before I got out of prison. Looking at my mom’s familiar handwriting, my heart settled back into my stomach. If anything happened to my mom, I definitely wouldn’t live alone in this world either. “Go into City Hall first.” His voice deepened a bit, sounding like charity: “Chloe, be good. Once we get the certificate, I’ll find the best orthopedic surgeon to look at your hand.” He was always like this, slapping you and then giving you a sweet date. Knowing perfectly well what I cared about most, he still used the cruellest methods to force me to submit. Mia also spoke up: “The child needs legitimate status, and my background is a bit sensitive. Don’t worry, a good man like Brother Ethan, I would absolutely never give up to you.” I rubbed my mom’s letter in my pocket. We would be able to see each other soon; I couldn’t let any more hiccups happen. I chose to agree once again, following him into City Hall. Filling out forms, signing, taking photos. Holding the pen, I wrote my name, Chloe, stroke by stroke. The twenty-three-year-old me once held a notebook, earnestly planning our marriage registration day. I wanted to find the best documentary photographer, prepare cute props, and wear couple outfits he designed himself. But now, there was nothing. The staff asked us to sit in front of the backdrop. “Could you two sit a bit closer? Can the groom hold the bride’s hand? You look too distant.” Ethan frowned tightly and instinctively reached out to grab my left hand. When his fingertips touched the empty roots of my pinky and ring finger, his body suddenly stiffened. There were only hideous scars and cold air there. “Missing fingers are unlucky. Let’s just take the picture.” I hid my mutilated hand in my sleeve, feeling like a piece of flesh had been gouged from my heart. Ethan’s face became extremely ugly at that moment. The flash went off, and I instinctively closed my eyes. My mind uncontrollably brought up the image of him kissing my hands: “Chloe, has anyone ever told you that you were born for the piano?” He said that back then, he chose to sponsor me, whose family had gone bankrupt, only because he didn’t want me to give up the piano path due to poverty. But ultimately, he was the one who personally destroyed me, separating me from the piano for the rest of my life. Soon, two marriage certificates were handed to us. I opened it, and the photo of us looked very eerie. He was wearing a heavy black winter coat, while I was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt washed until the color faded. Coming out of City Hall, he lit a cigarette, leaned against the car door, and looked at me. “The title of Mrs. Vance is yours, but you must be clear.” “Every penny of the Vance family belongs to Mia. You are nothing but an ornament. Don’t act all high and mighty.” I raised my eyes mockingly: “Don’t worry, being controlled by you, how could I act high and mighty?” He froze for a moment, having never seen me look so unsubmissive. “Sharp-tongued. It seems prison didn’t teach you to be obedient.” I didn’t respond to his words, meeting his gaze directly. “Can you take me to see my mom now?” During the stalemate, Mia suddenly took off the massive diamond ring on her hand. “If we’re putting on a show, we should go all out. You wear this ring, lest the old man gets suspicious.” I took it numbly, slipping it onto my only remaining middle finger. But I was too thin, skin and bones, and the ring symbolizing happiness slid right off my finger, landing on the dirty floor mat under the car seat with a clink. Ethan sneered coldly: “Truly not destined for good fortune, can’t even wear a ring.” He bent down to pick up the ring, grabbed my hand, and forcefully tried to help me put it on. But after trying several times, the ring just couldn’t stay on that bony finger. He obviously lost his patience, throwing the ring back into the car seat fiercely. “So skinny, didn’t you eat in there?” With his monstrous power and influence, it would have been effortless to find out about my life in prison, but he never asked a single question. Ethan took the last drag of his cigarette, threw the butt on the ground, and crushed it with his foot. “Your mom is at a nursing home in the suburbs.” “We’ll go tomorrow.” “Tonight, you’re coming back with us.” I stood still, the words of refusal on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t say them. Without even the money for one night at a motel, where could I find a place to stay? I got into the car with my head down, watching it drive into the downtown villa district. Back when Ethan first succeeded in his business, he personally brought me to see these properties. At that time, he had his arm around my waist, pointing at the biggest villa by the lake and saying, “When I’ve earned enough money, I’ll buy that one and marry you into it.” Unfortunately, I found out later that he had long bought the most luxurious villa here. He was just finding an excuse to keep me housed outside. The real home was the haven he saved for Mia. And me, the substitute canary, only deserved a small apartment, treated as a pretty cage. It was laughable that I foolishly thought I had a place in the future he planned. Mia leaned against Ethan. “Ethan, I’m still a bit cold.” Ethan reached out, turned up the heat, took off his coat, and draped it over Mia. “Why didn’t you wear more? Your hands are so cold.” Looking at their affectionate display, my heart suddenly twitched. Back then, I just shivered in his arms, Without a second word, he hugged me and rented out more than half a shopping mall for me. I just casually mentioned that I couldn’t see the stars clearly, The next day, a giant astronomical telescope appeared on the balcony, And a famous astronomer gave me a live video tour of the major celestial bodies. Every day when he came home from work, the first thing he did was hug me, kiss my forehead, and ask what I wanted to eat today. He remembered my favorite dishes, prepared ginger tea for my period in advance, and quietly covered me with a blanket when I drew designs late into the night. The Ethan of that time had a surging love that could drown me. That was how I fell deeper and deeper, little by little. Unfortunately, it was all fake. He pretended too well, and I believed it to be real. The sound of the housekeeper taking me upstairs interrupted my memories. I went into the bathroom, wanting to take a hot shower. But that imported shower system was too advanced. I don’t know what I bumped, but a column of freezing water suddenly poured down from above. I cried out, getting thoroughly soaked with freezing water. With a basin of cold water poured over my head, I finally clearly understood that he and I were simply not from the same world. Just as I was frantically trying to turn off the water, the bathroom door was suddenly busted open. Ethan rushed in, dragging and pulling me out of the bathroom. From downstairs came Mia’s heart-wrenching cries. The baby in her arms was foaming at the mouth, blood flowing from its forehead. It looked like they had taken a massive tumble on the stairs. Amidst the chaos, I was also stuffed into the car heading to the hospital. Looking at Mia constantly crying with the child in her arms, I gripped my wet clothes and swallowed all my words back. The doctor quickly did a checkup, emerging with a grave expression. “The child has lost too much blood and needs an immediate transfusion, but Rh-negative blood might be…” The reason he insisted on bringing me along suddenly made perfect sense. It turned out he wanted me to be a blood bag for his child. He yanked me up and pushed me in front of the nurse. “Use hers, she’s also Rh-negative.” The nurse walked toward me with a syringe, and I took a step back. Ethan leaned into my ear. “If you don’t give blood today, don’t even think about seeing your mom.” Another threat. Mom again. Four years in prison, severed fingers, being forced to get a marriage certificate without my consent, and now being forced to donate blood. New grudges and old hatreds surged to my heart in an instant. I raised my hand and swung at that familiar face. Smack! Ethan’s head was knocked sideways. He looked at me in disbelief. I used to be very submissive to him, never saying a harsh word, let alone raising a hand. My palm stung fiercely, but there was a twisted sense of satisfaction in my heart. “Ethan, I am a human being! Not a tool you can use whenever you want!” But two fists are no match for four hands. I was still dragged into the blood draw room by the bodyguards. “Chloe, everything you have was given by me. Not to mention drawing a little of your blood, even if I wanted your life, you’d have to give it to me.” I closed my eyes in despair, letting the tears slide down my cheeks. I kept comforting myself: I survived four years in prison, what is this little pain? Bright red blood flowed through the clear tubing. 200cc 300cc 400cc I don’t know how long it had been, but my breathing grew heavier, and I could hear my own thumping heartbeat. “Is it still not enough?” Ethan was incredibly impatient. The nurse finally stopped, saying awkwardly, “It’s enough, it’s enough.” Despairingly supporting myself against the wall, I staggered out of the transfusion room step by step. The moment I looked up, I caught a glimpse of a landscape painting next to a familiar bulletin board. This corner appeared most often in the videos my mom sent me. Immense joy drove me to stumble towards the nurses’ station. I was sure, Mom must be here! “Excuse me, excuse me, is there a patient named Helen?” The nurse checked the computer for a few seconds. My breathing grew heavier, and my heart beat so fast it felt like it would jump out of my chest. I was both expectant and afraid. Expectant to see Mom, afraid Ethan would suddenly appear to stop me. I stared into the nurse’s eyes full of hope, only to see pity in them. “Helen? The patient with late-stage liver cancer from two years ago?” My heart violently skipped a beat, and a massive ringing in my ears instantly drowned me. “What… did you say?” “She passed away two years ago. The family signed to give up treatment, saying… they had no money left to treat her, and took the ashes away.” How could there be no money? He explicitly promised me he would cover all of Mom’s medical expenses. I went to prison, lost my fingers, and risked my life for Mia, but to save money, he pulled my mom’s oxygen tube? Hatred mixed with remorse washed over me like a tidal wave. My hands and feet went numb, and I felt like I was suffocating. So all the news about Mom over these years was forged by him! It turned out I had lost everything long ago. The wind outside the window was strong, making me shiver non-stop. I climbed onto the windowsill, taking one last look at this man-eating world. At the other end of the corridor, the doctor whispered a few words. Ethan hugged a relieved Mia; their child must have been out of danger. Without any hesitation, I flipped over and jumped. In a daze, I saw Ethan rushing over frantically to grab me. Those hands of his, always so steady, were actually trembling. “Chloe! I forbid you to die!! I forbid it!” Ethan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the news that the child was out of danger. Just then, a scream came from not far away. “Someone jumped off the building!” The corridor instantly descended into chaos. Nurses and doctors hurried toward the window. Ethan’s heart inexplicably tightened, and he instinctively wanted to follow and take a look. “Ethan!” Mia grabbed him, tearfully pointing at the hospital room. “Little Treasure is just out of danger, don’t go, I’m scared.” He paused, glancing toward the commotion. The crowd blocked his view; he couldn’t see anything. He suddenly remembered something and looked around. “Where is Chloe?” The woman who was standing there just a moment ago was gone. He asked the bodyguard next to him: “Did you see where Chloe went?” The bodyguard shook his head: “Mr. Vance, I didn’t notice. She didn’t look well after drawing blood just now. Maybe… she went to the donation room to rest.” The uneasy feeling in Ethan’s heart grew heavier, pressing down like a heavy stone. But he glanced at the weak child in Mia’s arms and suppressed that emotion. “Got it.” He turned and followed Mia into the hospital room to stay with them. A few hours later, the child’s condition stabilized. Ethan stepped out of the room, preparing to smoke a cigarette. Passing the nurses’ station, he heard two young nurses whispering. “Sigh, that woman who jumped earlier is so pitiful. I heard she’s only thirty.” “Yeah, Rh-negative blood. She just donated 400cc to a child and was very weak. I heard she found out her mother had passed away a long time ago and couldn’t handle the shock.” Ethan’s footsteps stopped dead, his blood running cold. He rushed to the nurses’ station, grabbing one of the nurses by the arm, his eyes bloodshot. “What did you just say… what’s the name of the person who jumped?” The nurse was startled by him and stammered: “Named… named Chloe.” “Why did she jump?” His voice was trembling. “She just found out from us that someone named Helen passed away from liver cancer two years ago. She seemed completely unaware and broke down on the spot.” Ethan felt like he had been struck by lightning, staggering backward two steps and hitting the wall. She knew. She just found out so suddenly. His mind went completely blank. He hadn’t figured out how to tell her about this at all. He had planned to… planned to pave the way first, so she’d be mentally prepared. Mia walked out of the room holding the child. Seeing his devastated look, she curled her lip. “Ethan, what’s with that expression? Isn’t it a good thing she’s dead? Saves us trouble in the future.” “That matter from back then can finally be turned over, and Little Treasure’s registration can be securely settled. A woman who’s been in prison, her dying is better for everyone.” “Shut up!” Ethan whipped his head around, his eyes as fierce as if he wanted to eat someone. He pushed Mia away and ran like a madman toward the emergency room. Mia stumbled from his push, and the child in her arms cried out in fright. Ethan’s mind was a tangled mess. He never wanted Chloe to die! Regarding her mother’s death, he had his difficulties! Back then, Helen’s condition had suddenly worsened. The cancer cells spread throughout her body. The doctor said it was untreatable, and her remaining days would be spent in agony. She was in excruciating pain, her only wish being to see her daughter one last time. Forced into a corner, he had no choice but to tell Helen that Chloe was in prison, taking the fall for someone else. Perhaps knowing there was no hope for a last meeting, Helen grabbed his hand and actively begged him, begging him to stop the treatment. She said that dragging it out like that made every minute and second feel like hell. In his mind, Chloe’s love, her hate, her smile, her tears flipped past page by page. He should have known. Her mother was her only attachment in this world. What about him? Did she have even the slightest attachment to him? Or did she already hate him to the bone, hating him so much that even looking at him made her feel sick? But no matter what, he had never thought of letting her die! He rushed to the emergency room door and was stopped by the doctor. “Family members can’t go in!” “How is she? How is she!” he roared like a madman. The doctor looked at him and sighed: “Her life is saved, but falling from such a high place… whether she wakes up or not depends entirely on her own will.”

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“I’m sorry, ma’am, this card has insufficient funds.” I froze for a second and quickly handed her another one. The terminal flashed red again. “I’m sorry, this card is declined too.” “…What?” I steadied my breathing and dialed my husband’s number. “Honey, haven’t you gotten paid yet? The baby is out of formula.” There wasn’t a trace of warmth in his voice. “I can’t be the only one holding this family up. I want you to learn to be independent, instead of being a parasite that can’t afford to live.” With that one sentence, he declared war. Very well. Then the hunt begins now. 1 “Ma’am, do you still want this formula?” The cashier’s tone was edged with impatience. Jolted back to reality, I realized the line waiting to check out behind me had grown long. “I’m sorry… I’ll have to pass for now.” Pushing an empty cart out of the supermarket, I dialed my mother-in-law’s number. It rang more than a dozen times before it was picked up. The background noise was the intense clatter of a bingo game. “Spit it out, I’m right in the middle of a good round!” I took a deep breath, every word incredibly difficult to get out. “Mom, Mark’s company… his paycheck is delayed this month. Do you think you could watch the baby for a couple of days so I can go out and find some gig work?” “No!” She cut me off before I could finish. “I’ve already done my duty raising Mark! Don’t try to guilt-trip me. If you’re short on cash, ask your own family. Didn’t they keep the ten thousand dollar wedding gift? Tell your folks to spit it out!” The phone was slammed down. A sourness welled up in my nose. When did they start changing? Probably a year ago, when our daughter got seriously ill. Besides the wedding money and my dowry, even my pre-marital savings were poured into it. Mark was away on a business trip at the time. He solemnly promised over the phone: “Honey, all my money is tied up in investments. You figure out a way to cover it first, and I promise to pay you back when they mature.” From that day on, my mother-in-law’s eyes were full of disgust whenever she looked at our daughter. “Some kids are just born to collect debts, bringing bad luck just to drag their families down.” And Mark, too, started complaining to me frequently. “My uncle’s company is restructuring. I didn’t get laid off, but the economy is bad, and my salary got slashed in half.” “You don’t work, so you have no idea what it’s like out there. Ask your parents to help out more. Once my uncle turns things around, my salary will go back up, and I’ll definitely compensate you guys double.” That wait lasted a whole year. Waiting as he went from starting a business to falling into debt. Waiting as his salary shrank from eight thousand to two thousand. Waiting as my daughter and I transformed in his mouth from family members to parasites who couldn’t afford to live. Finally, I called my brother. After hearing about my predicament, he let out a long sigh. “Sis, honestly, it hurts me to see you living like this. Take this two thousand, you don’t need to pay it back.” “But I really hope this is the last time. You have to climb out of that hole yourself.” Hanging up the phone, the tears finally broke through. It turns out that when you hit rock bottom, even your shadow leaves you. Those who banged the drums urging you to get married and have kids are now gathered around the edge of the pit, mocking your wretchedness and incompetence. Their lines are always so polished: “You need to have a son to secure your place in your husband’s family.” “He works so hard out there making money, how come you can’t even take care of a kid?” “A woman must be kind and magnanimous, otherwise how will you keep your man’s heart?” I wiped the tear stains from my face and picked up my crying, sleeping daughter. Only after getting married did I understand that the phrase “I’ll take care of you” is the biggest lie in a marriage. 2 “Chloe, have you ever thought… could Mark be seeing someone else?” My best friend Sarah’s voice sounded hesitant. My breath hitched. “Seeing someone else? Then why hasn’t she shown up to make a scene? And why hasn’t he come clean to me?” “Heh…” A scoff came from the other end of the line. “I think you’ve been poisoned by too many soap operas. In a real-life affair, whether it’s Mark, the mistress, or even that mother-in-law of yours, they’ll all collude to scheme against the legal wife. Deliver themselves to your door for you to catch them? Do you think you’re starring in a TV show?” She paused. “Don’t blame me for being blunt; it’s probably because I’ve seen too much at the law firm. Let me lay out a few facts for you to think about calmly: First, how long has it been since he stopped giving you money for household expenses? Second, can you still unlock his phone? Third, the baby is almost two years old; custody won’t automatically favor the mother anymore. So you don’t have much time left.” “Then what should I do?” My voice betrayed my anxiety. “Hire… a private investigator?” “A private investigator?” Sarah let out another bitter laugh. “Do you have the money? A legit PI who can actually get things done won’t start at less than six figures, and the subsequent costs are a bottomless pit. Plus, evidence they obtain through illegal means is very likely to be ruled inadmissible due to privacy violations. You might end up getting extorted by the other party instead.” A chill ran down my spine. “Then… what should I do?” “How much cash do you have on hand right now?” “One thousand nine hundred dollars, I just bought a can of formula.” “Good. From this moment on, do not touch a single cent of that money. Treat it as your final war fund. I’ll introduce you to my senior colleague. I’ll help you with your daily expenses, but leave the professional stuff to him.” Sarah is the friend I trust most in this world. After graduating college, she chose to go to law school, while I chose to get married. Five years have passed. She’s an intern at a top law firm, full of drive and ambition. While I, in the day-to-day grind of groceries and chores, turned into a parasite. Half an hour later, an unknown number called. “Hello, Ms. Davis. My last name is Miller. Time is short, so let’s keep this brief. At this stage, your primary task is to collect evidence.” “When your husband comes home, you need to accomplish two things: First, take photos of every single card in his wallet, even if it’s just a car wash loyalty card. Take clear photos of the front and back and save them. Second, observe carefully if he has a burner phone or uses other messaging apps.” “No matter how much you discover he has squandered or hidden, maintain your composure until you have a complete chain of evidence.” After hanging up, I sat in the living room for a long time. Even now, I was still unwilling to face reality. His pay stubs clearly stated two thousand dollars, and he had to pay a fixed mortgage of fifteen hundred every month. With finances stretched so thin, how could he possibly be squandering money? Three days later, he finally came home. 3 He tossed his suitcase casually. “Pack a few summer clothes, I have to leave again next week.” Smelling the unfamiliar scent he brought back, I looked at him calmly. “Has this month’s salary not been paid yet?” His hand, which was untying his tie, paused, and he frowned at me. “Are you ever going to stop? I barely catch my breath walking through the door and all you know is money, money, money?” Seeing the undisguised annoyance on his face, the question that had rolled around in my mind countless times almost burst out. Then, Mr. Miller’s warning flashed through my mind: “Maintain your composure until you have a complete chain of evidence.” Seeing him put his coat back on. I turned around and brought a bowl of rib soup from the kitchen. “Dinner’s ready, do you want to eat a bit?” His Adam’s apple bobbed, but ultimately he hung his coat back up. “I told you, let the old folks cover it first. Once things turn around on my end, I’ll pay them back every cent.” “Mm, got it.” I lowered my eyes and served myself a bowl. “I won’t bother you about the baby’s things anymore.” He seemed very satisfied with this answer, picked up his chopsticks, and placed the largest piece of rib into his own bowl. From this moment on, I was going to defend my rights. The target was my husband, who had shared my bed for five years. Sarah’s hunch was right. Mark’s shrewdness and guardedness far exceeded my expectations. His phone passcode was changed. I could only carefully unlock it with his fingerprint after he fell into a deep sleep. His text message history was wiped completely clean. The contacts list showed no suspicious signals. Transfer records were as clean as a blank sheet of paper. And all the methods I learned online: Checking food delivery addresses, hotel booking records, login histories on shared devices… nothing. I leaned against the wall, looking at his sleeping silhouette. Our child had just turned two. The family’s assets had long been diluted to almost nothing by him under the guise of failed investments, company pay cuts, and bank loan repayments. The wedding gift, dowry, and all my pre-marital savings had also been squeezed dry. Five years. Over eighteen hundred days and nights. What would be your next target? “Did you take the photos?” Just as dawn broke, Mr. Miller’s message popped up. “I did, but he seems to be guarding against me. There isn’t a single bank card, not even his ID is in his wallet. Can we still apply for a subpoena like this?” The reply came swiftly on the screen: “A subpoena? That’s not what you should be thinking about right now. Tell me first, what’s in the wallet?” I sent all the photos from my phone over. A gas card, a supermarket gift card, a few gift certificates for different bakeries, one credit card, and nothing else. Looking at those empty card slots, that sense of powerlessness hit me again. “Am I… out of chances?” Almost simultaneously as the message was sent, his reply arrived. No text, just a wide-grinning emoji. Followed by two lines of text: “It’s secured. I guarantee you’ll win this round, but there’s one thing. You must find a way to make sure he comes home one more time in the next few days.” “What do you mean? Is it possible he won’t come home anymore?” “Very possible. Yoyo’s birthday is in two days. If my guess is correct, the first thing you’ll be waiting for is his divorce agreement.” “Divorce agreement?” “Yes. I think his return this time was probably to gather valuable documents. Go check the property deed and things like that; they should already be missing.” My heart tightened, and I quickly opened the safe at home. Sure enough. All the important documents were gone. “Alright.” His voice pulled me back to reality: “Every step from now on must be done exactly as I say. Buy exact replicas of the cards you photographed in his phone.” I took a deep breath and rushed to the gas station. Following the photo, I bought a $400 gas card. Next was the mall, an $800 gift card. I also bought the $120 bakery reloadable card. Watching my balance shrink instantly, my fingertips went cold. But I still took a deep breath and dialed Mark’s number. “Honey, tomorrow is our daughter’s birthday. Should we… invite the elders for a meal together?” The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds. “No need, Chloe.” His voice was terrifyingly calm. “Let’s get a divorce.” 4 All the words I had prepared got stuck in my throat. “What did you say?” “Tomorrow, you should receive a divorce agreement sent by my lawyer. I hope we can part amicably.” “Part amicably?” A sourness rushed up my nose. “Five years of marriage, Mark, and you tell me to part amicably? Are you seeing someone else?” The tone on the other end revealed impatience. “Don’t talk nonsense. I just feel like we’re draining each other more and more. A good relationship shouldn’t be dragging each other down like this. I hope you can keep some dignity.” With that, he hung up. Tears instantly blurred my vision. He finally laid his cards on the table. The illusion I had always used to numb myself—the pressure of the mortgage, his career bottleneck—was finally shattered. Completely and utterly, without leaving me even a sliver of room for self-deception. How many hurdles does a woman have to cross in her lifetime? Nine months of pregnancy. The pain of childbirth. And the dignity that must be laid down just to afford formula… And just when you think the clouds are finally parting, you realize the person who was supposed to pull you ashore had long ago removed the planks and ruthlessly pushed you into the abyss. With trembling hands, I picked up my phone and sent a message to Attorney Miller: “He’s not coming back. I have no chance.” Less than ten seconds after the message was sent, he called. “Stay calm. In a divorce lawsuit, as long as one party doesn’t agree, the marriage won’t be dissolved immediately. We still have plenty of room to maneuver. What you need to do most right now is not to confront him, but to play the role of an emotionally stable wife trying to win her husband back. As long as you don’t panic and mess up your own strategy, we have a chance to win this battle.” The next day, FedEx delivered the Divorce Agreement sent by Mark’s delegated lawyer. I flipped open the document, and my vision went dark. He even gave up custody of our child. Only at this moment did I truly understand. What he was waiting for was precisely this juncture of divorce. As for child support… Three hundred dollars a month. He even provided several bank statements. Thereby proving he had no assets available for division under his name. I froze in place, tremblingly photographed these pages, and sent them to Mr. Miller. “Is there still a chance of winning?” His reply was swift: “Of course. You are still living in his house. As long as you don’t leave, he can’t make a clean break. So, don’t respond, don’t argue. Live your life normally as if nothing happened, until he loses his patience and comes back looking for you on his own initiative. That’s when our opportunity arrives.” Sure enough, a week later, after I ignored all his calls and urging text messages, he finally came back. The sound of the key turning in the lock echoed. I took a deep breath and, just like thousands of times before, naturally took his coat. “I simmered your favorite yam and pork rib soup. Wash your hands and let’s eat first.” He didn’t move, his icy gaze sweeping over me. “Chloe, do you have to blow things out of proportion and make everyone uncomfortable?” I looked at him, my voice without a single ripple. “If blowing things out of proportion could get you what you want, you wouldn’t waste half a breath. Mark, I don’t care what you have going on out there, but this is my and our daughter’s home. We will always wait here for you to turn back.” The last bit of patience on the man’s face vanished. “I’ve already entrusted a realtor to list this house. You probably won’t be able to live here for many more days.” I nodded and pulled out a dining chair. “The soup is getting cold. My daughter and I aren’t picky; just rent a suitable place for us.” Mark’s sharp gaze swept back and forth across my face. Yes. In the past, hearing the words ‘sell the house,’ I would have been hysterical. But not now. I had things far more important and urgent than emotions. Taking advantage of the gap when he turned to go to the bathroom, my fingers deftly slipped into his pocket. My heart was pounding wildly in my chest, but my movements were surprisingly steady. The whole process took less than ten seconds. The wallet was silently returned to its original place. “Pack your things tonight.” He pulled out a chair. “I’ll find a place for you tomorrow.” “Okay.” I didn’t look at him, keeping my head down to spoon a little soup for our daughter. For the rest of the meal, there was not another word exchanged. My mission was complete. The hunt had officially begun.

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I ground away at the company for fifteen years. I personally trained sixty-two top-performing sales champions. Today, the company announced layoffs, and the list had only one name on it: mine. While I was zoning out in a coffee shop, the Chairman sat down across from me with a cheerful smile. “How are the presentation materials coming along for next week’s Ace Sales Training?” I closed my laptop and looked at him calmly. “Mr. Chairman, I was just laid off.” The smile on his face froze instantly… 01 The frozen smile was like a poorly drawn frame of animation forcibly paused. Richard Sterling, the founder of Vanguard Group, the man I had called Mr. Chairman for fifteen years, now had muscles twitching uncontrollably on his face. The latte he had just brought over still exuded a warm aroma, but the fingers gripping the cup were trembling slightly. “What?” He squeezed the word out through clenched teeth, his voice changing pitch from shock. “What did you say? Who laid you off? This is absurd!” He stood up abruptly, a movement so large it knocked over his chair, creating a harsh scraping sound that drew sideways glances from everyone in the coffee shop. But he didn’t care at all. He pulled out his phone, his fingers jabbing furiously at the screen, his anger practically erupting from it. “Which department did this? HR? Or that guy named Miller in Sales?” The call connected. He roared into the receiver, saliva flying. “Arthur Miller! Have you lost your damn mind? Who gave you the authority to fire Chloe? Do you know she has a company-wide Ace Training next week? How is the company supposed to function without her? Is your brain broken?” I sat quietly, even having the leisure to pick up that latte and take a small sip. The coffee was fragrant, and also very bitter. I looked at Mr. Sterling’s livid face, at his chest heaving violently with anger, but inside, I felt dead silence. Just three hours ago, my life had been brutally split in two. … “Director Davis, here is your termination notice.” The newly appointed, parachuted-in Vice President, Arthur Miller, pushed a cold document in front of me. Behind him stood a young woman with exquisite makeup, her eyes filled with undisguised contempt and smugness. She was Arthur’s niece, Mia, a recent college graduate. “The company needs to optimize its organizational structure and inject fresh blood.” Arthur’s corporate speak was airtight. “Director Davis, thank you for your fifteen years of hard work. But times are changing, and your methods might not be quite suited for today’s fast-paced market.” Mia stepped forward, her slender fingers tracing over the rows of trophies on my desk, finally picking up the heaviest one: the “Group Fifteen-Year Outstanding Contribution Award.” She tossed it in her hand, like weighing a worthless toy. “Senior, looking at these things now, they are indeed a bit outdated.” She smiled charmingly, but her words were incredibly venomous. “Nowadays, it’s all about internet thinking and monetizing traffic. We young people won’t learn your grunt work of running door-to-door to clients.” Standing in my office were several team leaders I had personally promoted. They had once stood outside my office door for two hours just to get a training spot. They had once wept tears of joy in front of me for signing a huge deal. Right now, they all had their heads down, their eyes dodging, like a flock of tamed quails, even breathing carefully. Arthur raised his wrist to check his watch, his tone carrying impatience. “Director Davis, I’ll give you one hour to pack your personal belongings. All data on the company computer is company property. I will have the tech department change the passwords immediately.” What he was talking about was the complete training system I had spent fifteen years building, hailed as Vanguard Group’s sales bible: the “Thunderbolt Protocol.” That was my child, the sum total of my entire career’s effort. Now, they wanted to kick me out and steal my child. I didn’t argue, I didn’t roar, I didn’t even have an expression. I just calmly stood up and packed a water cup and a potted plant from my desk. The moment I walked out of the office, I heard Mia impatiently issuing orders to the others. “Quick, clean up this office thoroughly. I don’t like this old, decaying smell!” Behind me, the hasty agreements of my former subordinates echoed. I walked out of the Vanguard Group building step by step. The sunlight was blinding. I looked back at this building where I had struggled for fifteen years; it gleamed with cold light in the sun. On that dead wasteland in my heart, there wasn’t even a breeze. … On the other end of the phone, Arthur’s voice came through the receiver, not loud, but carrying an emboldened toughness. I couldn’t hear what he said clearly, but I saw the anger on Mr. Sterling’s face extinguish instantly, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head. His momentum weakened at a visible rate. The roaring turned into suppressed questioning, and finally into powerless compromise. “…I understand.” Mr. Sterling hung up the phone, his face looking as ugly as if he had swallowed a fly. He sat down dejectedly, avoiding my gaze, and promised dryly: “Chloe, you… trust me, this must be a misunderstanding. Don’t worry, I… I’ll go communicate with the shareholders again. Tomorrow, you come to work as normal.” I looked at him, this man who had once been as reliable as a mountain in my heart. His eyes were wandering, his promises hollow. I asked calmly, “Mr. Sterling, do you mean I should ignore the termination contract already issued by HR, ignore the face-to-face dismissal order from VP Miller, and just walk through the company doors openly tomorrow?” My voice was soft, but like a needle, it precisely pierced his hypocritical protective shell. “When that happens, will I be stopped at the door by security, or treated as a trespasser and handed over to the police?” He opened his mouth but couldn’t say a single word. I closed the laptop in front of me and stood up. “Thank you for the coffee, Mr. Sterling.” I looked at his instantly aged face, and the last bit of attachment to this company in my heart vanished like smoke. “Goodbye.” I turned and left, without looking back. I could feel his complex gaze—full of regret, powerlessness, and mixed with relief—sticking to my back. Goodbye, Vanguard. Goodbye, my fifteen years of youth. 02 The next day, I didn’t receive a call from Mr. Sterling. What I received was an icy, official termination email from the HR department. In the attachment was the severance package. Standard severance pay based on years of service plus one month. Not a penny more, not a penny less, strictly executing the minimum standard of labor laws. They couldn’t even be bothered to offer a final bit of dignity. I looked at that glaring number and suddenly smiled. Fifteen years of dedication, the cultivation of sixty-two top sales reps, countless days and nights of blood, sweat, and tears, ultimately amounted to just this little bit of money. Truly, clean and efficient. I picked up my phone and sent Mr. Sterling one last message. “Mr. Sterling, thank you for your cultivation over the past fifteen years.” No questioning, no resentment, just a polite farewell. Like declaring the absolute death of a relationship. The phone screen lit up and dimmed, darkened and lit up. In the end, he still didn’t reply. I tapped open the WeChat group I had personally created, the once bustling “Vanguard Top Sales” group. Inside the group, dead silence. As if everyone had agreed to play deaf and dumb regarding my departure. I drafted a message and sent it. “I have left the company. Take care, everyone.” On the screen, my solitary sentence was like a pebble sinking into the deep sea, failing to stir up a single ripple. After a long time, a few people cautiously sent me private messages. The content was largely the same, nothing more than “Chloe, this is so sudden” or “Chloe, take care.” One of them was a regional director I had once mentored hand-in-hand, now holding a high position in the company. He sent a sentence: “Chloe, I’m sorry.” Then, I found out he had deleted me. I clicked into his profile. His latest post was sharing a company press release about VP Miller’s far-sighted leadership reforming and innovating the sales department. My heart felt like it was gripped by an invisible hand—not painful, just a bit numb. What made me feel even more absurd was another top sales rep. Let’s call him Rep B. Three years ago, because of a gambling addiction, he owed a massive gambling debt and was cornered by debt collectors at the company entrance. It was I who quietly paid off that money for him and pulled him back from the brink of being fired. He knelt in front of me then, crying and saying I would be his real sister from now on. Right now, he sent me a WeChat message. “Chloe, VP Miller is young and promising, and he has the backing of major shareholders; his future is limitless. Don’t blame us folks lower down, we all have to eat.” Before I could reply, I saw his profile update. An intimate photo of him with Arthur Miller. In the photo, he smiled obsequiously and attentively. The caption read: “Following VP Miller’s lead closely, creating brilliance once again!” That smiling face, right now in my eyes, was incredibly ugly. I silently scrolled through my phone contacts. Sixty-two sales champions I had personally cultivated. At this moment, not a single one dared to speak up for me in public. It turns out human nature could be this cold and thin. I felt no anger, nor sorrow. I just took out a pen and paper, and stroke by stroke, clearly wrote down the names of that regional director who deleted me and that Rep B who was “creating brilliance once again” in his post. I don’t have many virtues, but I have a particularly good memory. Especially for holding grudges. Right then, my phone rang abruptly. The name on the caller ID cracked open a tiny fissure in my frozen heart. Leo. The first sales champion I ever mentored. Also the only one who, after leaving Vanguard, successfully started his own business and kept in touch with me. I answered the phone. “Chloe, where are you?” Leo’s voice was crisp and clean as always, carrying irrepressible anger. “I just heard what those bastards did. How are you holding up? Don’t trust Richard Sterling, that old fox. He only acts like a good guy when there’s no conflict of interest. And ignore those spineless cowards, a bunch of ungrateful wretches who bite the hand that feeds them!” This call was the first human words, the first warmth I heard after being laid off. I looked at the gray sky outside the window, and my perpetually tense nerves finally loosened. I sniffled, my voice remaining calm. “No need to come over, I’m fine.” “I just need some time to liquidate my assets.” Leo on the other end of the line paused, then understood something. “Chloe, you…” “Wait for my news.” I hung up, my gaze becoming sharp again. Yes, assets. It’s time to let them know what my, Chloe Davis’s, true assets actually are. 03 Two days later, Leo appeared at my apartment, looking travel-worn. Looking at the living room, as tidy as ever, and my calm face, his suspended heart dropped halfway. “Chloe, are you really okay?” He asked, still worried. I smiled, didn’t answer, but turned to the safe in the study and took out a thick manila envelope. I laid the contents out on the coffee table piece by piece. A stack of yellowed, handwritten manuscripts. A portable hard drive containing a massive amount of original files. And a thin, yet overwhelmingly weighty, supplementary agreement. “What’s this?” Leo picked up the agreement, the expression on his face going from confused, to shocked, to ecstatic. “Chloe! You…” He was so excited he was incoherent. This agreement was something I specifically added ten years ago when renewing my long-term contract with Vanguard Group. At that time, my “Thunderbolt Protocol” sales training system was just taking shape. It had achieved huge success within the group and attracted the covetous eyes of countless peers. To keep me, Mr. Sterling agreed to almost every request I made. This request I made didn’t seem unreasonable at the time. The agreement explicitly stated: Within the “Thunderbolt Protocol” training system, all course models, core methodologies, case study libraries, and related text, charts, audio, and video materials independently originated by me, Chloe Davis, have their intellectual property rights belonging to me personally. Vanguard Group only had the right to free use during my tenure. At the end of the agreement was Richard Sterling’s flamboyant signature and the bright red corporate seal of the group. This was the final talisman I kept for myself back then, to prevent my life’s work from being shamelessly plagiarized. I never thought that one day, it would become my nuclear weapon for counterattack. “Chloe, this is a nuclear weapon!” Leo’s voice was trembling. “We’ll send a lawyer’s letter right now! Sue them! Make them pay until they’re bankrupt!” I shook my head, picked up my teacup, and blew on the floating tea leaves. “No rush.” My tone was as calm as discussing the weather. “A nuclear weapon cannot be used lightly. It must be used at the most critical moment to inflict maximum damage.” Leo looked at me, his eyes full of awe. “Then… what do we do now?” I opened my laptop, logged into a long-unused old account, and entered Vanguard Group’s internal forum. As soon as it opened, the screen was filled with promotions for next week’s Ace Sales Training. Bright red headlines, exhausting all capabilities of flattery. Genius Rookie Mia Injects New Vitality into the Classic “Thunderbolt Protocol”! Epoch-Making Upgrade! “Thunderbolt Protocol 2.0” About to Detonate the Whole Group! The accompanying picture was a heavily photoshopped image of Mia in an expensive business suit, a confident smile on her face. The curve of my lips grew colder and colder. “Upgraded version? Very well.” I pointed at the screen and said to Leo, “Isn’t Mia supposed to give the Ace Training lecture next week?” “Let her.” “Every word she says, every PowerPoint slide she uses, will become courtroom evidence. It will make the Arthur Miller behind her, and the entire Vanguard Group, lose face completely in front of the whole company.” Leo suddenly understood, excitedly slapping his thigh. “Chloe, this move of yours is too ruthless! A public execution!” I smiled, but there was no amusement in my eyes. “I just want to see how a thief, under the spotlight, can righteously claim stolen goods as her own.” “I want to make Richard Sterling, and all the executives at Vanguard, see clearly exactly what they drove away, and what kind of trash they are holding in the palms of their hands.” I closed the laptop and looked out the window. The moment before a storm is always exceptionally quiet. And I am the one summoning the storm. 04 On the day of the Ace Sales Training, Vanguard Group’s main auditorium was packed. To build momentum for Mia, Arthur Miller specifically ordered an internal live stream across the entire group. From headquarters to major regional offices, from middle management to frontline sales, thousands of people were watching online. I sat leisurely on my couch at home, the massive screen in front of me showing the live feed. Leo was beside me, his palms sweating from nervousness. “Chloe, the cease-and-desist letters are ready to go at any moment.” “Wait a little longer.” I picked up a cup of pour-over coffee, completely composed. On the screen, Mia, wearing an expensive white Chanel suit, stood under the spotlight, trying hard to strike the pose of a capable elite. Unfortunately, her pitiful lack of experience and empty eyes completely failed to support the outfit, making her look ridiculous instead. The training began. She opened the PPT and started reading from the script. That PPT was the final version I had spent three all-nighters making last month. Every word, every image, every case study was steeped in my blood and sweat. Mia clearly hadn’t grasped the content; she was just stumbling through the script. When it came to several key interactive segments, she couldn’t handle the questions thrown by the veteran salespeople below at all. She either prevaricated or skipped them entirely, making the scene highly awkward. In the live stream chat, veiled sarcasm began to appear. “This… is not even as good as me explaining it.” “Feels like listening to a recording.” “VP Miller looks green in the front row.” I saw it. Arthur Miller, sitting in the front row, did indeed look increasingly terrible. He frequently winked at Mia on stage, his lips pressed tightly together, stopping just short of going up there himself. Receiving her uncle’s warning, fine beads of sweat appeared on Mia’s forehead, and her voice began to tremble. To salvage the situation, she took a deep breath and, pretending to be calm, pressed the button for the next slide. “Next, I will explain in detail the core, original model of the ‘Thunderbolt Protocol’—The Three Gates of Client Psychology!” Now. I picked up my phone and sent one word to the head of Leo’s legal team. “Send.” In an instant, it was as if an invisible, massive net descended from the sky, enveloping the entire Vanguard Group. All board members, including Richard Sterling. All executives at the Vice President level and above, including Arthur Miller. The heads of all major regions, and all employees of the group’s legal department. Their phones and computers, at the exact same moment, received an email from a top-tier national law firm. The subject line was concise, yet shocking. [Warning of Infringement Regarding Vanguard Group and its Employee Mia’s Severe Violation of Ms. Chloe Davis’s “Thunderbolt Protocol” Intellectual Property Rights] The body of the email was well-organized, with irrefutable evidence. A scanned copy of the yellowed supplementary agreement with Richard Sterling’s handwritten signature. The original manuscripts and creation records with detailed timestamps that I had accumulated over more than a decade. And, a real-time live stream link. The link pointed exactly to the footage of Mia on stage, spitting everywhere as she explained “The Three Gates of Client Psychology.” The live stream chat, after three seconds of dead silence, completely exploded. “?????? What email did I just receive??” “Holy shit! I got it too! Sent by a top law firm!” “Director Davis’s IP? So this whole set of things belongs to Director Davis herself?” “What Mia is presenting is Director Davis’s material? This is… theft?” “VP Miller, come out and explain! What the hell is going on!” “My god, stealing things on a public live stream, this is too wild!” On stage, Mia had absolutely no idea what had happened. She watched the suddenly agitated crowd below, saw them all looking down at their phones, and then looking at her with expressions as if they’d seen a ghost. The hand holding the microphone began to tremble uncontrollably. Her mind went completely blank. She looked pleadingly at Arthur Miller in the audience. Arthur Miller didn’t look at her. He stared fixedly at his phone screen. That face could no longer be described as ugly; it was black as the bottom of a pot, twisted and fierce. He had the heart to kill someone. … At the same time, in the Chairman’s office. Richard Sterling stood up from his executive chair with a whoosh, the huge movement knocking over a precious Yixing clay teacup on his desk. Scalding tea spilled all over his hand, but he felt nothing. He stared dead at the scanned copy of the agreement in the email, looking at the name he had signed when he was high-spirited and vigorous back then. He finally understood completely what I meant by “liquidating assets” that day in the coffee shop. It wasn’t a remark made in anger. It was a declaration of war, drafted long ago. I turned off the noisy live stream. On the screen, Mia looked like she was about to cry, like a clown stripped naked and thrown into the middle of a public square. I had seen enough of this good show. I sent Leo a message. “Step one, complete.” The phone vibrated. It was Leo’s reply. “Chloe, badass!” I smiled and finished the last sip of coffee in my cup. The good show had just begun.

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At the year-end bonus distribution event, every department was grinning from ear to ear. They were receiving bonuses in the tens or even hundreds of thousands. But when it came to our Logistics Department, each person was only given a small bag of sunflower seeds worth maybe fifty cents. VP Miller looked at us with a benevolent smile: “Although the Logistics Department is somewhat dispensable, the company hasn’t forgotten you.” “A bag of seeds might not fill your stomach, but it shows our appreciation.” “I hope that next year, under the leadership of your new director, you’ll all strive to earn a cash bonus!” The jeering from the crowd below abruptly stopped. After a few seconds of stagnant air, significant murmuring broke out. “New director? Chloe has been the Director of Logistics for five years and she’s just being replaced like that?” “Who is so capable?” “I heard it’s the recently converted intern, Mia. Who knows which executive she’s connected to.” “She joined the company aiming straight for management. Chloe has no backing, so of course they’d replace her.” While I was still digesting the reality of the rumors, VP Miller confirmed it to me. “Mia will take over as Director of Logistics after the New Year. You will cooperate with the transition in advance.” Director of Logistics? No backing? I glanced sideways at Mia, who was looking at me with a smug smile. I almost couldn’t hold back a laugh. Competing with the boss’s wife for a position? Then this time, she’s probably kicked a steel plate. 01 Back in the office, a bag of sunflower seeds symbolizing humiliation sat on everyone’s desk. Everyone looked crestfallen, like frostbitten eggplants. No one said a word, but the oppressive atmosphere protested their dissatisfaction. After a long while, I heard the low sobbing of Lily. “My mom is waiting for my year-end bonus for her chemotherapy.” “Now I get a bag of sunflower seeds. What am I going to do about my mom’s illness?” Sarah also wiped her tears: “My son wants to buy a house, he’s just waiting for my year-end bonus to help with the down payment…” Jake, full of youthful vigor, jumped up, ready to demand an explanation. “I’m going to ask him, why no year-end bonus? This isn’t fair!” Sarah pulled him back, advising in a low voice: “Forget it, going won’t help…” “Why forget it? Our department’s total year-end bonus is only a few thousand dollars, not even a fraction of what one employee in the Sales Department gets.” “Distributed among us, it’s only a few hundred bucks per person.” “Is the company really that short on cash? This is blatant bullying!” After he finished speaking, everyone’s eyes turned to me. A flush of embarrassment burned across my face. The Logistics Department, six people in total, handles a myriad of miscellaneous tasks: cleaning, maintenance, purchasing and storing office supplies, etc. From a single sheet of paper or a pen, to the maintenance of electrical equipment, and even the renovation of the entire office building, everything falls within the Logistics Department’s scope of responsibility. When the toilet leaks, they find us. When the public water dispenser is empty, they find us. When the cafeteria food is too salty or too bland, they find us. Every little detail; if a speck of dust falls from the ceiling, it’s our job. Yet they call this dispensable? Jake stared at me with bloodshot eyes: “Chloe, this is naked humiliation. Are we just going to take it lying down?” Looking at their eyes, full of indignation and expectation, I picked up that bag of sunflower seeds. “Of course we won’t take it lying down.” I went straight to VP Miller’s office. Cutting right to the chase, I threw the sunflower seeds on his desk: “Mr. Miller, what is the meaning of this?” “Our Logistics Department worked our fingers to the bone for a whole year, and we’re brushed off with a bag of sunflower seeds?” VP Miller barely lifted his eyelids, not even looking me in the eye. “Is this too little? Besides spending money, what contribution does your Logistics Department make to the company?” “No contribution?” I forced down my anger. “Our Logistics Department saves the company tens of thousands of dollars a year on office supplies alone.” “Trash removal, office facility maintenance, electrical repairs—we never spend money to hire outside help, saving tens of thousands more.” “Over five years, everyone in the Logistics Department has become a jack-of-all-trades in maintenance, decoration, and clearing drains. Does this not count as a contribution?” VP Miller finally looked at me squarely, his eyes gloomy. “One order from the Sales Department leaves you in the dust, and you have the nerve to present this little bit of money as a contribution?” “Chloe, you need to broaden your perspective. The company trained you to become jacks-of-all-trades and didn’t even charge you tuition, did they?” I was truly driven mad by his shamelessness. “You mean, we should be paying the company tuition? We shouldn’t even get a salary, we should just let you exploit our labor for free?” He slammed his hand on the desk, his face darkening. “Chloe! Watch your language!” “The company needs talents who can create value, not handymen who only know how to clean toilets and do repairs.” “Compensation is based on work. The work you do isn’t even worth a bag of sunflower seeds.” “Giving them to you is to take care of your feelings. Don’t be ungrateful!” Compensation based on work? The Logistics Department has an approved headcount of 10 people. We only have 6 people but do the work of 10. When others are on vacation, we are rushing to repair electrical circuits. During the holidays when families are reuniting, we are pulling all-nighters cleaning the septic tank. Almost every department gets a salary increase every year; only our Logistics Department hasn’t seen a dime of increase in five years. When I applied for a salary increase and additional staff, how did he promise me? [The Logistics Department has no performance link, so salary increases are restricted. You are in management, you must look at the big picture. We’ll give you a larger year-end bonus so your hard work won’t be in vain.] Because of this one sentence, we endured a bitter year, only to wait for a bag of sunflower seeds! I suppressed my emotions: “Mr. Miller, either raise our salaries or give us the year-end bonus. You have to give us one or the other, right?” His face immediately turned black, and he viciously stubbed out a half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray. “Chloe! Do you think you own this company?” “Your Logistics Department hasn’t created value for the company, you all deserve a pay cut. Where do you get the nerve to ask for a year-end bonus?” “We’ve had it every year, why this year…” “Then look for the reason within yourself!” VP Miller interrupted me. “You are about to be removed as the Director of Logistics. I advise you not to stick your neck out.” “If you still want to stay in the company, keep your head down and behave!” I froze abruptly. So that was it. The entire Logistics Department was implicated because of me. I looked at him and suddenly smiled: “You’d better not regret this.” 02 Walking out of VP Miller’s office, gazes invariably fell upon me one after another. There was scrutiny, mockery, and also sympathy. The discussions grew from quiet murmurs to unbridled comments. “The Logistics Department is inherently about trivial matters.” “Trying to compare themselves to mainstays like the Sales and Marketing Departments is just humiliating themselves, isn’t it?” “That Logistics Department is used to making a big deal out of nothing.” “Getting a pen requires registration. In that time, I could have signed a contract and bought a whole truckload of pens!” “Exactly. Who doesn’t know how to clean a toilet? Which grown man doesn’t know how to change a lightbulb?” “Claiming credit for this? If I make a promotional video that increases the company’s customer acquisition rate by 30%, does that count as a monumental achievement?” “A mud idol crossing a river can hardly save itself, yet she’s advocating for others’ bonuses. How can she lack self-awareness so much!” Those piercing sarcasms were like fine needles, continuously piercing my chest. Every breath carried a dense, fine pain. To make the office environment more comfortable, the entire Logistics Department used our weekend time to go to remote rural areas. We helped flower farmers work for a day in the nurseries, just to save money and ensure every desk could have a potted plant. The restrooms had a strong odor, and ordinary air fresheners didn’t work at all. Several of us researched various materials and worked overtime until dawn for a month to create a homemade air freshener with strong odor-eliminating effects and a lasting scent. When it snowed heavily in the middle of the night, to make it convenient for all employees to park in the morning, our entire Logistics Department was on duty at 4 AM. We completely cleared thousands of square meters of snow around the office building. Sarah suffered frostbite on her hands because of this. It recurs every winter, red and itchy, yet she never utters a single complaint. And in their eyes, these are all trivial matters, just the basic duties expected of us! In the column for “Logistics Department Performance,” it is always blank. I returned to the office without saying a word. Pushing open the door, I saw everyone’s expectant eyes. My chest tightened, and the words I wanted to say stuck in my throat. I watched the light in everyone’s eyes dim little by little, finally turning into disappointment. My nails dug deeply into my palms, feeling too ashamed to show my face. Sarah comforted me, saying: “It’s okay, I’ll ask relatives to chip in for the kid’s house money.” Lily’s eyes were red, obviously having cried, forcing a smile. “Chloe, Jake lent me some money and helped me set up a GoFundMe. It’s okay…” A wave of sourness surged from the bottom of my heart. Ultimately, it was all because of me. Because someone coveted my position and wanted to show me who’s boss, they implicated my team, causing them to lose their rightful rewards. I exhaled, fighting back a sob: “Don’t worry, I won’t let this go. Salaries will be raised, and the year-end bonus will be retrieved down to the last cent.” Jake looked at me with deep concern: “Chloe, is what Mr. Miller said about changing the director true?” I didn’t answer. Jake was furious: “Why? You’ve given so much to the company.” “To save the budget, you compare prices for every single pen and binder store by store. How much money have you saved the company? What right do they have to replace you?” Lily’s eyes grew wet again, and she asked timidly: “Just now, Tom from HR told me that after Mia takes office, she’s going to lay off 30% of the staff.” “That means laying off two people. I came last, and I’m the youngest. Am I going to lose my job?” Sarah also lowered her head. If there really were layoffs, the two of them were in the most danger. Jake is a guy, capable of doing heavy lifting. The other two male employees are also multi-tasking all-rounders; they would never be laid off. Jake patted Lily on the shoulder and comforted her: “Don’t be afraid. If there really are layoffs, I’ll leave.” “I’m a guy, it’s easy to find a job. I was just thinking about switching to a company that treats everyone equally anyway.” “We’ll leave too!” The door was pushed open, and Old Lee and Old Zhao, who had gone to the After-Sales Department to fix a water pipe, walked in. “We know how to do everything. If worse comes to worst, we’ll go out and open a repair shop together.” “It’s better than being bullied in this cold-blooded company!” Sarah also perked up: “Right, Chloe, if they replace you, none of us will work here anymore!” A warm current flowed through my heart. There is nothing more moving than loyalty unto death. I smiled and said with an incredibly firm tone: “Don’t worry. I’m in management. Personnel appointments and dismissals require President Sterling’s personal signature. They wouldn’t dare make a decision on their own.” 03 But reality quickly slapped me in the face. Just minutes after I said that, a personnel appointment and dismissal notice was posted in the large company chat group. [Logistics Director Chloe Davis has treated her work with perfunctory negligence, failed to demonstrate the value of a key position, and made insufficient contributions to the company’s core operations.] [Therefore, after research by the company, it has been decided to dismiss Chloe Davis from the position of Logistics Director.] [Mia will serve as Logistics Director, officially taking office after the Spring Festival.] I was stunned for at least five seconds. I hid my identity for five years, working hard in the Logistics Department without complaint, just so that Ethan Sterling would have no worries on the home front. Ethan would absolutely never sign this. I really wanted to see who had such immense courage and reached so far. The HR Director immediately @’d me: [@Chloe, during the handover period, purchasing authority will be handled by Mia. You will still temporarily manage the basic operations of the Logistics Department. Strengthen inspections during the Spring Festival period and stand your final post well.] I was so angry I almost laughed. Only managing the money and not doing the work? I was wondering why she insisted on taking office after the New Year. It turned out she didn’t want to be caught at the company for duty inspections during the Spring Festival. In my five years in the Logistics Department, which Spring Festival was I not inspecting every corner of the company? She sure knows how to calculate things to her advantage. Mia immediately replied in the group: [Thank you to the company leadership for your trust. I will certainly live up to expectations, lead all Logistics Department personnel, and do my utmost to generate revenue for the company, building the most valuable department in the company.] The named members of the Logistics Department stared at each other; no one replied. Below was a long string of compliments for Mia. [Congratulations Director Mia, on becoming the company’s youngest manager.] [Director Mia, a suggestion: cancel those tedious processes of signing and registering. Who cares about a broken pen anyway?] [Director Mia, please replace the AC in our office with one that has fresh air ventilation.] [Director Mia, I want a 100-inch TV for screen casting during meetings.] Flattered by the repeated “Director Mia,” Mia lost all sense of proportion and agreed to everything without hesitation. [Director Mia is so generous, unlike a certain someone who is so stingy.] [This is against the rules, that has regulations, as if she were spending her own family’s money.] [That’s a sign of incompetence. Director Mia has the ability to fight for resources.] [Unlike her, no background at all, thinking getting some plants and scenting the bathroom is a great achievement.] People, familiar and unfamiliar, stepped forward to flatter the high and step on the low. They completely disregarded the fact that I, the demoted person, was still in the group. VP Jones @’d me in the group: [Chloe, personnel appointments are the result of careful consideration by the company. You are a veteran employee; don’t let your emotions get the better of you.] [The company won’t fire you. Aren’t you guys always short a janitor to clean the restrooms? You can fill that spot for now.] I simply couldn’t believe my eyes. He actually wanted me, a manager, to clean toilets? This was naked humiliation, a blatant slap in the face! Through two doors, I clearly heard the roaring laughter coming from other offices. I could even imagine Mia’s currently smug, arrogant, and gloating expression. I gripped my phone screen tightly, my knuckles turning white. Almost trembling, I replied with one word: [Okay.] Perhaps not seeing the anger he expected from me, VP Miller @’d me again. [Veteran employees have good awareness. I hope you will shine in your new position.] Mia followed up with a message: [Please rest assured, Mr. Miller, I will strictly enforce company policies and manage subordinate employees well.] She then @’d me: [Sister Chloe, I won’t be soft-hearted just because you used to be in management. If you don’t clean well, I will issue a fine.] Every word was a stab to the heart! Murder is nothing but a nod of the head. If the tiger doesn’t roar, do they really think I’m a sick cat? I replied provocatively: [Okay, I’ll be waiting for your fine.]

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When the college admissions results came out, the fake heiress—who had coasted through high school on cheating and excuses—was finally exposed. She bombed her SATs, scoring in the lowest possible percentile. My parents and brother took turns comforting her, insisting it was just a temporary setback. They promised to take her on a European vacation to cheer her up. No one cared how I did. My mother even confiscated my phone so I couldn’t check my own scores. At the dinner table, my father spoke, his tone leaving no room for argument: “I’ve already pulled some strings and enrolled you both in an elite college prep program for a gap year. You’ll go with Mia. It’ll be good for her to have someone looking out for her.” My brother, Ashton, chimed in without even glancing my way: “You’re grounded for the time being. We’re locking up your tablet and laptop so you don’t do anything stupid like applying to some community college on impulse.” “We’re converting your bedroom into Mia’s new art studio,” he continued. “For the next two months, you can sleep in the attic. You’ll be living in a dorm when the prep school starts anyway.” I didn’t argue. I just nodded quietly. “Okay. Have a good trip.” My early admission acceptance letter from MIT was already locked safely inside my desk drawer. As for this family? I had already prepared myself to throw them away, too. 1 Ashton seemed taken aback by how readily I agreed. But soon enough, that familiar, entitled arrogance returned to his face. “Glad you finally learned how to be sensible.” He looked away, his tone returning to its usual airy indifference. “Hurry up and clear your stuff out of the room. If it’s in the housekeeper’s way when she cleans, it’s going in the trash. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” I kept my head down, poking at the food on my plate, and gave a soft “Okay.” At that moment, Mia looked up, her eyes rimmed with red. “Ashton, let’s just leave the room for Chloe. I scored so badly… I’m too embarrassed to even pick up a paintbrush right now…” “Mia!” my mother immediately interrupted. “Don’t talk about yourself like that. You usually get such good grades. You just had a bad case of test anxiety, that’s all.” “Besides, so what if your scores aren’t perfect? You’ve been talented since you were a little girl. Your paintings are beautiful. We’ll fund a private gallery exhibition for you. That’ll look great on your college applications next year!” My father set down his wine glass and offered a warm, comforting smile. “Your mother is right, Mia. Don’t overthink it. Your brother made a good point. I had to call in a lot of favors to get you into this prep program. Next year, you’ll get into a top-tier school, no problem.” Mia lowered her head. Her shoulders trembled slightly, as if she were too moved to speak. But a second later, she looked up timidly, hesitating. “But… Chloe hasn’t checked her scores yet. What if she did really well? I’d feel terrible dragging her down to do a gap year with me.” I raised my eyelids and gave her a look. I knew exactly what she was waiting for. She was waiting for me to clumsily explain, like I had a hundred times before, that “I don’t mind” and “Mia’s future is more important.” Or, if I were stupider, I’d go check the score they specifically forbade me from checking, only to be reprimanded again for “ruining Mia’s mood.” But this time, I didn’t say a word. Sure enough, when I didn’t take the bait, nobody expected me to anyway. Ashton scoffed, immediately picking up where Mia left off. “Mia, why would you even worry about that?” “How high of a score could someone who grew up in the sticks possibly get? The only reason she’s getting into that elite prep program next year is because she’s riding your coattails.” He said it with such absolute certainty. My father didn’t correct him. Neither did my mother. None of them even glanced at me. It was as if Ashton wasn’t hurling insults, but simply stating a universal fact. Everyone in this house subconsciously looked down on me. Even though I had expected it, hearing those words come out of their mouths still caused a dull ache in my chest. The dining table became lively again. My mother started planning the itinerary for their European tour. My father promised to buy Mia a diamond necklace she’d been eyeing in Paris, while Ashton smilingly suggested they hit up the art galleries in London first. I put down my silverware, the food tasting like ash in my mouth. “I’m full,” I said softly. No one responded. It wasn’t until I stood up to leave that Ashton finally shot me an impatient look. “Don’t forget to pack up your room.” I nodded and headed for the stairs. Behind me, I heard Mia’s tearful voice. “Do you think Chloe is mad at me…?” Followed by my mother’s gentle cooing. “Of course not, sweetheart. Your sister is the most sensible girl in the world.” “Now, now, let’s not dwell on this. Tomorrow, Mom will take you to buy that designer bag you’ve been wanting. How does that sound?” Sensible. I had heard that word for eighteen years. At my foster parents’ house, being “sensible” meant getting beaten without fighting back, getting cursed at without talking back. After returning to this biological family, being “sensible” meant stepping aside and giving everything to Mia, whose world had supposedly been “turned upside down.” As I walked up the stairs, I heard Ashton say, “Oh, right, Mia, didn’t you say you wanted to learn horseback riding? I have a buddy with an equestrian estate in Switzerland. I’ll take you…” The voices faded away. I pushed open the door to my room and looked around. There really wasn’t much to pack. After all, most of the things in this room had never truly belonged to me. 2 I opened the closet. Inside hung a few plain, modest outfits the family had hastily bought for me when I was first brought back. The tags were off, but they were already out of style. Meanwhile, Mia’s walk-in closet was lined wall-to-wall with designer brands and custom pieces. I opened my desk drawer and pulled out a small tin box hidden at the very bottom. Inside was a yellowed slip of paper with the name Chloe written on it in crooked handwriting. It was the only memento I had from my past life. Memories flooded my mind like an uncontrollable tide. When I was seven, my foster father whipped my back with a leather belt because I accidentally burned the oatmeal on the stove. I knelt in the snow, my lips purple from the cold, while my foster mother chewed sunflower seeds and spat the shells at me. “Worthless trash. Can’t even do one simple chore. We should have left you in a ditch!” When I was twelve, I became the valedictorian of my rural middle school. My foster father tore my high school acceptance letter to shreds. “School? What do you need school for? What good is a girl reading books? In two years, we’re marrying you off to the mechanic’s idiot son down the road!” When I was fifteen, my real parents stormed into that dilapidated house with the police. While my foster parents were pinned to the floor, I was still cowering behind the woodstove, shivering. A woman, impeccably dressed but with her makeup ruined by tears, lunged forward and hugged me, her voice hoarse. “My daughter! This is my daughter!” That was the day I learned I wasn’t their child. My biological mother had gone into premature labor while on a road trip, forcing her to deliver at a small, underfunded rural clinic. My foster mother, who shared the maternity ward, was so jealous of the Sterling family’s obvious wealth that she deliberately swapped the babies. She placed her own healthy daughter into the Sterling family’s bassinet and took the premature, fragile me back to her life of poverty. The day I was brought back to the Sterling estate, Mia cried until she passed out three times. Ashton held her, his eyes red, screaming at my parents. “Mia is a victim too! She didn’t know anything! Are you really going to kick her out?!” My mother wept. “Mia is innocent…” My father sighed. “We’ve lived together for fifteen years, Chloe. Try to understand. Right now, Mia has nothing in the world but us.” Watching the four of them hold each other and cry, I suddenly felt like I was the intruder breaking into someone else’s home. They all promised to make it up to me. But when I actually moved in, I realized “making it up to me” meant giving me a bedroom, feeding me, and sending me to school. The love? That belonged exclusively to Mia. She was still the beloved Sterling heiress. I was just the daughter they dragged back from the sticks. At my first family dinner, I didn’t know the proper etiquette for a multi-course meal and used the wrong fork. Mia gently corrected me, but the disdain in her eyes was impossible to hide. Ashton scoffed right at the table. “You can take the girl out of the trailer park…” My mother said softly, “You’ll learn eventually.” But then she turned and put a piece of premium steak on Mia’s plate. “Eat more, Mia. You’ve lost weight these past few days.” On my first mid-term exams, I ranked first in the entire grade. Mia scored in the dead middle. When we got home, she locked herself in her room and cried. Ashton banged on my door, his tone freezing. “Could you try keeping a low profile? Did you really have to trigger Mia like that?” My mother came to me too. “Chloe, next time there’s an exam, could you maybe hold back a little? Mia is under a lot of psychological stress lately.” I agreed. On the next set of exams, I purposely skipped two subjects. My rank plummeted. Mia cheated her way into the Top 50. The whole family threw a celebration for her. My father even bought her a designer watch. No one noticed my drop in grades. Or rather, no one cared. 3 During my junior year, I won a gold medal at the National Physics Olympiad, which qualified me for a highly exclusive summer STEM camp at MIT. Mia wanted to go too, but her grades weren’t anywhere near the cutoff. My mother tried to persuade me. “Chloe, why don’t you give your spot to her? You’ll have plenty of other opportunities in the future.” That was the first time I ever said no. Ashton slammed his silverware down on the table. “Why are you so selfish?! Can’t you see Mia is crying?” In the end, I went to the camp. But during those seven days, not a single person from my family called me. When I came back, I found my gold medal shattered on the floor. “I’m so sorry, Sister,” Mia said, blinking her innocent eyes. “I just wanted to look at it, and it slipped out of my hands. But you’ll win more medals like this in the future anyway, right?” I didn’t say a word. I just quietly swept up the broken pieces of my medal and locked them in my drawer, much like how I locked away the shattered pieces of my heart. Similar things happened countless times over those three years. Every time, they would say: “Mia didn’t do it on purpose.” “You’re the biological daughter, you should be the bigger person.” “You’ve endured hardship, so you’re tougher. We spoiled Mia growing up, she’s fragile.” I gradually realized that if something doesn’t belong to you, it will never belong to you. Blood might have brought me back to this house, but a fifteen-year gap could never compete with fifteen years of shared memories. I started studying like my life depended on it. I entered every competition I could find and took home every award. Because I knew this was my only way out. Three months before the SATs, the admissions office at MIT contacted me secretly. I was locked in for the Apex Scholars Program. It was a guaranteed full-ride early admission. I signed a non-disclosure agreement; not even my high school guidance counselor knew. When the official acceptance letter arrived at my school, I quietly brought it home and locked it in the deepest part of my drawer. I wanted to wait until the final exams were over to give them a surprise. I thought, maybe then, they’ll finally see me. Looking back now, it was laughable. If they didn’t even care about me, why would they care about an acceptance letter? Now, to soothe Mia’s ego, the family was rushing off on a European vacation. It wasn’t until they were packing that they realized they had completely “forgotten” to book a ticket for me. My mother coughed awkwardly and instructed me: “Stay here and look after the house. Don’t touch anything you shouldn’t. The housekeeper took the week off, so you’ll have to figure out your own meals.” She didn’t even ask if I had any money on me. Ashton threw a stack of prep-school brochures at me, telling me to get a head start on studying since they weren’t taking me with them. I watched in silence as their luxury SUV disappeared around the corner. Then, I turned and walked quickly up to the attic. From the lining of my old, worn-out backpack, I pulled out a bulky, outdated flip phone. It was the only possession I had brought with me from my foster home. The Sterling family thought it was an embarrassment and told me to throw it away. I had kept it hidden. For three years, I had secretly charged it, keeping it tucked away in the most obscure corners of the house. Relying on memory, I dialed a number. A few seconds later, the call connected. “Hello, MIT Admissions Office.” “Hi,” I kept my voice low. “This is Chloe Sterling. I’m calling to confirm the details regarding my early admission enrollment…” 4 Ten minutes later, I hung up the phone. My palms were sweating. I opened the bottom layer of my tin box. Inside sat a neat stack of bank cards and savings books. They contained the prize money from all the district and state-level scholarships I had won over the past three years. Added up, it was more than enough to cover my living expenses for four years of college. I carefully tucked the cards into a small pouch hidden under my shirt. Then, I grabbed a notepad and started calculating exactly how much the Sterling family had spent on me over the last three years. When I added it all up, I realized it wasn’t much at all. My tuition was standard public school fare—just a few thousand a year. My clothes were all clearance items the housekeeper ordered online, totaling less than a thousand dollars over three years. My pocket money was supposed to be a hundred bucks a month, but they frequently forgot to give it to me. The grand total came out to about $9,000. I planned to pay every single cent back. It wasn’t out of spite. It was just that, since I was leaving, I wanted to make a clean break. I owed them nothing, and they owed me nothing. The so-called “family bond” and the affection I had begged for never belonged to me in the first place. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I froze, then hurried downstairs to open the door. “Are you…” “Hello, Chloe!” A middle-aged man’s eyes lit up as he extended his hand. “I’m Director Evans from the MIT Admissions Office. This is Professor Bennett from the Physics Department, and this is Ms. Hayes from our PR team.” I was completely dumbfounded. “Director Evans… what are you doing here?” “Well,” Director Evans smiled warmly, “The Apex Scholars Program is a major initiative for our university this year, and the board takes it very seriously. We like to do a home visit for the selected students, and we brought a small gift.” He gestured, and Ms. Hayes immediately unfurled a large banner. [Congratulations to Chloe Sterling on her Acceptance to MIT!] Professor Bennett handed me a beautifully wrapped gift box. “This is a little token from the Physics Department. Welcome to MIT, Chloe.” I took the box, my mind completely blank. “Um… my family isn’t home. They went on a trip to Europe.” “That’s completely fine!” Director Evans waved his hand dismissively. “Let’s just take a quick photo in front of the door, then. For the memories.” Before I could even process what was happening, I was pulled in front of the banner. Ms. Hayes pulled out a professional DSLR camera and snapped several photos. “You have a beautiful front yard, Chloe,” Professor Bennett praised, looking around. “We’ll be putting these photos up on the university’s showcase board. You don’t mind, do you?” “…Of course not.” “Excellent.” Director Evans pulled a folder from his briefcase. “This is the freshman handbook and some enrollment guidelines. Look them over when you have time. If you have any questions, reach out to us.” I took the folder mechanically. The entire home visit lasted less than twenty minutes. But even after they packed up and left, I hadn’t fully snapped back to reality. That is, until I saw our neighbor across the street, Mrs. Higgins, poking her head out. “Chloe! Who were those people? They looked very official.” “They’re… teachers from my school.” “Teachers?” Mrs. Higgins’s eyes widened. “Were they delivering an acceptance letter? Oh my, I could have sworn I saw ‘MIT’ on that banner!” She had a loud voice. Her shouting prompted a few other neighbors to open their doors. My scalp prickled. “You must have misread it, Mrs. Higgins! I have things to do, I have to go inside.” I practically fled back inside and slammed the door, leaning against it as my heart pounded against my ribs. Meanwhile, seven time zones away in Paris… Mia was shopping in a luxury boutique. She took a selfie with a mountain of designer shopping bags in the background and typed out a caption: [My family brought me to Europe to relax after I messed up my exams. I feel so guilty. It’s all my fault I bombed the test, and now my sister has to suffer through a gap year at prep school with me…] Her finger slipped, and she tapped the wrong chat group. The message went straight into her high school’s massive senior class group chat. There were over five hundred people in there—teachers, classmates, and everyone she had desperately been trying to hide her gap-year from. She hit “Unsend” a second later, but it was too late. The chat exploded. “Wait, what? Mia is doing a gap year? Didn’t she brag that she was a shoo-in for an Ivy?” “Hold up, her sister is doing a gap year too?” “Wasn’t there a rumor that Chloe got an early admission offer to MIT? Was that fake?” “@MiaSterling, care to explain?” Mia panicked and typed: “Sent to the wrong chat! Just a joke!” Then she immediately left the group. But screenshots had already been saved. In their social circle, the gossip spread like wildfire.

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1 I couldn’t bear to look a second time at the monster in the mirror. The strength and resilience I had maintained all these years collapsed the moment I touched the cold glass. The artery was severed, blood dyeing a tub of warm water red. I sat painfully slumped by the bathroom window. Allowing my body to gradually turn cold and stiff. When I opened my eyes again, I had become a soul floating into the living room. The neighbors were laughing and chatting with my parents. “Your Chloe is beautiful and capable. She was promoted to lead news anchor this year, wasn’t she?” “The groom comes from a good family. I heard he’s a manager at a foreign company in the city. These two kids have finally ended their 7-year marathon and tied the knot.” I felt strange. Didn’t they know I was disfigured and had my legs amputated? Even if they mistook my twin sister, Mia, for me. But we both quit the radio station. Then who was promoted to lead anchor? Thinking of this, I felt a bit uneasy. My parents looked jubilant. They exchanged a knowing glance and stayed silent. After the guests left. My father looked worriedly toward my room and lowered his voice. “Good thing we didn’t tell anyone about Chloe being disfigured and amputated, otherwise we would have lost so much face today.” “But letting Mia take over Chloe’s job, isn’t that unfair to Chloe?” My mother suddenly threw down the broom in annoyance. She sat on the sofa with her head down, wiping her tears. “Isn’t it enough that she’s dragging us down? She still wants fairness? Who gives us fairness?” “We are getting old, yet every day we have to carefully feed her, give her medicine, bathe her, and empty her bedpan.” “It’s been five years. I’ve done right by her. Sometimes I even wonder why she doesn’t just die. She’s just torturing my old bones.” My father kept nodding and sighing. I simply couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Five years ago, a massive fire destroyed my career as the station’s top anchor. I specifically remember my whole body being burned black as charcoal, covered in blood. My legs had to be amputated to save my life due to severe burn infections. My parents practically sold everything they owned, spending two million dollars to pull me back from death’s door. My father endured the pain of skin grafts to save me. My mother and Ethan took turns massaging me day and night. But the pain of rehab and dressing changes terrified me so much that my whole body spasmed. Many times, I couldn’t hold on. “Just let me die!” Whenever this happened, they would cry and kneel before me, begging me to keep going. Especially my mother. She said if I died, she would jump off the building. In order not to disappoint their expectations. I gritted my teeth and held on until now. It turns out they wanted to get rid of me long ago. Looking at my transparent body, I smiled bitterly. Now that I’m dead, everyone is free. I floated around the house in a daze for a few days. On the seventh day, Mia and Ethan returned from their honeymoon. Ethan’s $300,000 car was parked at the door; my parents felt very proud. As soon as they entered, my father pulled Ethan to drink tea and chat in the living room. My mother called my sister into the bedroom. Mysteriously taking out a bank card, she gave it to her. “Mia, there’s a million dollars in this card. Consider it the startup fund we’re giving you young newlyweds.” Mia’s eyes widened. “Mom, where did you get so much money? Didn’t our family incur a lot of debt for sister’s treatment?” “And if you have a million dollars, why didn’t you use it to save sister? That way, her legs could have been saved!” My mother quickly covered her mouth. Secretly opening the door a crack, she confirmed there was no movement from my room before breathing a sigh of relief. “Keep your voice down. The family isn’t in debt at all. This is from crowdfunding donations for your sister online!” “We’ve already spent two million saving her; we’ve done right by her. But she’s severely burned all over. Even if we didn’t amputate, she’d be a cripple for the rest of her life!” “Ethan comes from such a good family. Your sister being disfigured can’t hold onto him. We might as well keep this money to support you. Between two daughters, I have to save at least one.” My spirit form trembled uncontrollably. Frantically tearing at my own face. It turns out my parents didn’t try their best to save me at all. “Why didn’t you save me? I became like this because I saved Mia!” I regretted it. If possible, I would rather have never saved my sister. What right did she have to steal my life? My mother fell silent for a moment, then added: “Fate plays tricks on people. We can only blame her bad luck.” “Keep this card safe. It will let you hold your head high in Ethan’s hometown. You’ve had a sweet mouth since childhood. Between my two daughters, you are my favorite. You living well is better than anything else.” I looked blankly at my mother, my heart shattered into pieces. When it was time to eat, the mother and daughter finally dawdled out. At the dinner table, Ethan finally noticed something was wrong. “Mom, where’s Chloe?” 2 My mother glanced at my room, humming and hawing. “On the day of the wedding, her emotions were very agitated. I was afraid she’d make a scene… so I gave her a mirror.” As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere instantly became oppressive. Mia turned pale with fright. “Mom, sister won’t be able to handle it!” Ethan frowned slightly. “She… hasn’t come out for days, hasn’t eaten?” The emotions suppressed in my mother’s heart exploded. She slammed her chopsticks down, turned her head, and wiped away a tear. “Even if she can’t handle it, she has to accept reality. She can’t keep running away. This is the perfect time for her to give up hope.” “Looking like a ghost that even a dog would despise, how could she have the nerve to ask Ethan to marry her? How much longer does she want to drag us down?” My father didn’t speak, just blindly drank his alcohol. Ethan and Mia exchanged a glance and chose to remain silent. Suddenly, I felt no emotion at all. Staring blankly at my mother, I just felt she was a stranger. “Mom, I’m already dead now. You can rest easy.” The weightless sentence scattered in the air. My mother looked up abruptly. Glancing suspiciously at my room, she continued chattering. “These past few days, I’ve been at her door trying to talk sense into her every day, even kneeling and begging her to open the door, but she just ignores me.” “I don’t dare open the door recklessly, afraid of angering her further. Tell me, is this easy for me?” After the meal, while my mother was in the kitchen washing dishes. Ethan and Mia quietly brought a bowl of rice and knocked on my door. “What are you doing?” My mother suddenly appeared. Extraordinarily angry, she snatched the rice bowl away. Ethan felt somewhat helpless. He wanted to take the rice bowl back but watched as my mother threw it directly into the trash can. Ethan couldn’t help but get red eyes. “Mom, what are you doing? When it comes down to it, we are the ones who wronged Chloe in this matter.” Mia looked at my door and lowered her head guiltily. “Mom, I feel terrible. I really didn’t do it on purpose.” “That day the power went out, Ethan and I were drunk and lost control, accidentally knocking over the candle and starting the fire…” “Mom, sister hasn’t come out for days. She wouldn’t do anything foolish, would she? I’m worried and want to go in and check.” My mother panicked and quickly covered her mouth. “Silly girl, you are newlyweds; you can’t cry.” “A huge mistake has already been made; crying now is useless. Do not tell your sister about this!” Ethan patted her shoulder gently, comforting her silently. My father looked over, then lowered his head and smoked his cigarette. I was completely dumbfounded. They all knew and kept it from me alone? Mia continued to sob, blaming herself. My mother was both angry and anxious. Walking quickly to my door, she pounded on it loudly. “Chloe Sterling, how much longer are you going to torture your sister? You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” “Don’t push your luck. The more we accommodate you, the more you bully us. When did you become so selfish?” The piercing voice made my scalp tingle. How long has it been since I heard such a loud noise? Since I was burned, my emotions have become unusually sensitive. They didn’t dare make any noise in front of me. I remember once my father closed the door a bit heavily, startling me. My mother was so angry she didn’t speak to him for three days. She stayed by my bedside 24 hours a day, terrified I’d do something foolish. But now, my mother was venting her anger, looking like she wanted to smash the door down. “Mom, don’t be like this…” Ethan couldn’t bear it and quickly came over to pull her away. Mia haphazardly wiped her tears and also ran over to help. Suddenly, she pointed at my door and exclaimed. “What is that smell? It stinks!” 3 “The mirror!” “Mom, Chloe didn’t do something foolish, did she?” Realizing something, Ethan’s face was full of horror. Mia’s face changed drastically; she lifted her foot to kick the door. My mother calmly blocked the doorway. Her face showed a tartness and meanness I had never seen before. “Don’t go in!” “It’s been so many years. If she really wanted to die, she would have died long ago!” “Maybe she’s angry with me and deliberately soiled herself in bed waiting to torture me. She won’t be satisfied until she drives someone crazy.” The more my mother spoke, the angrier she got. She pushed them outside. “It’s very late. You guys go back first.” “As soon as you come back, she pulls this stunt on purpose. If you pay attention to her this time, she’ll definitely escalate her fussing in the future, giving you no peace for the rest of your lives!” I have never felt such deep hatred. A weeping ghost cry echoed through the night sky. As they prepared to get in the car, Ethan keenly noticed something was wrong. After the amputation, I had always lived in fear, calling her every day to connect. But it had been three days. Not a single questioning phone call from me. Hesitating again and again, she tremblingly took out her phone. “I’ll give Chloe a call.” Just as she was about to dial, my mother snatched the phone and hung up. Pointing at the silhouette in the second-floor bathroom window, she snorted disdainfully. “She’s fine. She’s secretly watching us from the window now. Give him some time.” “Alright, you guys hurry back.” Everyone looked in the direction she pointed and breathed a sigh of relief. I glanced at the dark silhouette in the window. Silently crying tears of blood. They didn’t know that was just my corpse. It was early summer, and my corpse had already begun to decay. Taking one last look at the second floor. Ethan found something in the driver’s seat and gave it to my mother. “Mom, this is the peace amulet Mia and I asked for Chloe yesterday. A master blessed it, saying it can protect her safe and sound. Please give it to her.” “Okay…” My mother nodded. Waiting for their car to drive far away. She hesitated for a moment, then decisively threw the peace amulet into the trash can. My father was pale with fright. “What are you doing? Didn’t you hear Ethan say this peace amulet can protect Chloe…” My mother impatiently interrupted him. “Give it to her for what? So she can harbor unrealistic fantasies about Ethan and ruin Mia’s marriage?” It turned out that in my mother’s heart, my health was far less important than Mia’s happiness. I cried, my soul almost dissipating in the night wind. My mother didn’t return to her room but came to my door. Knocking gently, she coaxed me softly just like before. “Chloe, I know you’ve already seen from the window. Don’t blame Mom for being cruel. Looking like this, it’s already impossible between you and Ethan.” “Be good. Open the door and let Mom in to help you bathe. If you don’t clean yourself, your skin will rot.” “Good child, consider it Mom begging you.” No matter how softly she pleaded, there was no movement in my room. Until my father’s sigh came from behind. My mother hastily wiped her tears and went back to their room with him. Closing the door. My father didn’t know how to comfort her, jokingly saying: “I thought you only cared about Mia.” To his surprise, my mother’s tears fell even harder. “What nonsense are you talking about? The palms and backs of hands are all meat. I was just venting my emotions earlier.” “Calling me Mom means a lifetime of responsibility. No matter how hard it is, I will never abandon Chloe.” Saying this, my mother brought out the bankbook. As if making a difficult decision, she smiled bitterly. “I never thought of abandoning Chloe. I’ve already contacted plastic surgery experts from out of state. They’ll come tomorrow to treat her. At least give her hope to keep living.” My father frowned. “This is our retirement money. Chloe has already had her limbs amputated. What’s the point of spending money on plastic surgery?” My mother got angry. Standing up abruptly, she pointed at my father and yelled. “Because she is the child I carried for ten months! Anyone can abandon her, but we can’t!” “Chloe only has us now.” By the last sentence, my mother was already sobbing uncontrollably. My father thought for a moment, then nodded helplessly. Looking at their faces full of hardship and helplessness, my heart was filled with mixed feelings. I remember when I first got my prosthetics, my mother knelt on the ground holding my feet. My father supported my body, moving step by step for rehab therapy. Every day I was in so much pain I sweated profusely. My parents were also exhausted, panting heavily. It seems that from then on, their backs remained hunched, never to straighten again. I covered my face, shaking my head painfully. Mom, keep the money. I don’t need it anymore, and I will never be your burden again. The next day, the medical team arrived. My mother paced anxiously outside my door. “Chloe, open the door. The doctors are here to do your plastic surgery.” Trying several times, she found the door was locked from the inside. But the putrid smell in the room grew stronger. The doctors couldn’t stand it and wanted to leave. My mother panicked. Quickly calling Ethan and the others. “Ethan, Mia, come quickly! Your sister is being too unreasonable, she even locked the door. I remember you have the key.” Twenty minutes later, they arrived in a rush. The moment the door opened, everyone widened their eyes in horror. 4 A smell of blood mixed with a rotting stench hit their faces. Everyone present couldn’t help but run to the door and dry heave. My mother pushed through the crowd and entered, instantly collapsing onto the floor. The bloody water flowing from the bathroom deeply pierced her eyes. She rushed into the bathroom like a madwoman. Ethan frowned in disgust, supporting Mia as they quickly followed. The corpse had already reached the state of bloating. Eyeballs protruding, lips turned outward. The skin was bloody from the maggots gnawing on it. My mother trembled and grew cold all over, kneeling on the ground in a breakdown, howling in pain. “Ah, Chloe, my child!” “Chloe…” Mia covered her mouth in terror, hiding in Ethan’s arms with a pale face. Ethan stood frozen in place like ice. My father realized something was wrong and also rushed in in a panic. The cigarette in his hand fell to the ground the moment he saw my corpse. It was very light, but very heavy. I suddenly wanted to laugh. Didn’t they think I was a burden? Now that I’m dead, what’s the meaning of putting on this show? The people present helped call the police. The house was already in a chaotic mess. Even the neighbors gathered around, whispering to each other, looking at them with changed expressions. “What’s going on? Didn’t Chloe just get married a few days ago? Whose corpse is this?” “Look at the woman holding Ethan. She has a mole on her ear, seems only their younger daughter Mia has that.” I stared straight at my mother, waiting to see how she would explain. She just kept crying, completely afraid to look up. The police arrived quickly. The medical examiner preliminarily determined I had been dead for more than three days. My mother stood up abruptly, gasping. “So, it was on the day of Mia’s wedding that she…” The medical examiner noticed the mirror shards by my feet and couldn’t help but frown. “I heard the deceased is your eldest daughter, severely burned, disfigured, and amputated. Why did you put a mirror in her room? This is very dangerous!” “For someone who worked in radio, being disfigured is equivalent to losing half her life. You didn’t put the mirrors away, but brought one out to deliberately trigger her?” Seeing the mirror again, I felt a wave of dizziness. Actually, I knew I was disfigured, and must be very ugly. But when I saw my hideous face, and that the two misplaced holes were actually my nostrils. My psychological defenses collapsed. In utter despair, I took the path of no return. The moment I cut my wrist hurt, but for me, it was an unprecedented relief. My mother knelt heavily on the ground again, crying and beating her chest. “I gave her the mirror. It’s been five years, I thought she should be able to accept it by now…” “Chloe, Mom didn’t really want you to die. Those were words spoken in anger!” The medical examiner looked at my corpse, a look of pity in his eyes. Turning his head to reprimand: “For her, this kind of emotional trauma lasts a lifetime. It’s highly likely she struggled between life and death every day.” The emotions that had been blocking my heart burst because of the medical examiner’s words. He was right. Just staying alive had exhausted all my strength. I wasn’t being manipulative, nor was I pushing my luck. I just couldn’t control myself. My father looked at the bloodstained mirror in the medical examiner’s hand in shock, unable to hold back his tears. Ethan’s heart was enveloped by an immense guilt. He couldn’t help clenching his fists. Actually, when he helped me change my prosthetics, I had seen the disgust on his face countless times. I proposed breaking up; he was the one who disagreed. That day I rushed out just to ask clearly. I really never thought of dragging anyone down. But later, when emotions took over, I despaired. The medical examiner sighed helplessly, preparing to carry my corpse away. Just then, Mia pointed at my hand and exclaimed. “Look, sister has something in her hand!”

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The seven-year itch. The number of women my husband, Ethan Vance, has slept with—I can’t even count them on my fingers and toes. The reason I always turned a blind eye. Was because he always threw money at me. If he cheated with an influencer, he’d give me a penthouse downtown. If he took a young model to a yacht party, he’d transfer an identical yacht to my name. He used money to buy off my breakdowns, my questioning, and my tears. Until I was eight months pregnant, and the fetus accidentally stopped developing, resulting in an induced labor. Supported by the nanny, I walked weakly out of my hospital room. Only to see Ethan in the next room, carefully doting on a woman who had just given birth. Our eyes met. A flash of panic crossed his eyes before he returned to his usual coldness. He walked over and handed me a blank check. “Fill in whatever amount you want.” I tore the check into pieces. I looked at him and smiled. “Ethan, this time I don’t want money…” I raised my trembling hand and pointed to the faint crying sound coming from the hospital room behind him. “I want that child.” … 01 “Chloe, are you crazy?!” Ethan’s face was written all over with disbelief. I repeated again, “I want that child.” The weakness from the induced labor made every word I spoke feel like it was draining my life force. “What nonsense are you talking about!” He lowered his voice. “That is not your child!” “Your child is already gone!” Right, my child is gone, dead… “Isn’t your child my child?” I asked softly in return. “Or do you want the eldest grandson of the Vance family to bear the title of an illegitimate child from birth?” Ethan choked instantly. He and I were childhood sweethearts; our families have been close friends for generations. Both the Vance and Sterling families are top-tier wealthy families that care about face and value rules above all else. He could play around, he could be a playboy, but he absolutely could not allow any fundamental stain to appear. The woman in the hospital bed, Mia Lin, finally reacted. She struggled to sit up, her voice shrill: “Ethan Vance! You can’t give my child to her! This is my only…” This was her only weapon to climb the social ladder. For a woman with such an ordinary background to think she could secure her status through a child is nothing but a pipe dream. Watching Ethan’s conflicted expression, I suddenly found it incredibly ironic. Using the last of my strength, I pushed him aside and walked step-by-step into the hospital room. Mia’s body shrank back, her arms holding the swaddled baby tightening. “Miss Lin, hello. I am Ethan’s wife, Chloe Sterling.” I forced a stiff smile, enunciating every word to tell her a cruel fact. “From today on, I am this child’s mother.” I paused, admiring her instantly pale face, and then delivered the final blow: “Remember, it was your child that was lost during the induced labor… Understand?” Those words “induced labor,” I said them very lightly, yet it hurt so much I could barely breathe. “Ah!” Mia screamed, breaking down, grabbing the pillow from the headboard and throwing it at me. “You’re talking nonsense! This is my child! Mine!” Ethan followed me in, looking troubled. “Ethan, you can’t let her take our child away!” Mia cried, seeking his help. Ethan looked at me, his face showing a difficult position. “Chloe…” I softly whispered a sentence in his ear: “The land development project in the West End… Grandpa values it very much, and it just so happens to be in my brother’s hands.” Ethan’s body stiffened abruptly. The West End land was the most important strategic layout for the Vance family in the next ten years, and also the key for him to prove his capability to the old patriarch of the Vance family. He whipped his head around to look at me, with anger, unwillingness, and a trace of apprehension. He took a deep breath and said to Mia: “Be good, let Chloe… raise the child. It will make his status legitimate.” I turned to my nanny and instructed: “Go, bring that child to my hospital room.” I walked out of the room and dialed my assistant’s number. “Go bribe the hospital staff. I don’t want anyone other than us to know about this. On the child’s birth certificate, the mother’s name can only be Chloe Sterling.” Soon, more intense arguing, the sound of things smashing, and Mia’s heart-wrenching crying came from next door. I looked down at the little boy in the crib. He was sleeping soundly, his little mouth opening and closing. A cold smile curled at the corner of my mouth. 2 Ethan would come to my room for a while every day, but while his body was here, his heart was next door. His phone screen was always lighting up with various messages from Mia. [Ethan, I miss the baby so much. Can you ask her to give the child back to me?] [I don’t want anything else, I just want my child.] [Ethan, I bled a lot. The doctor said I have severe postpartum hemorrhage. Am I going to die?] Mia knew exactly how to manipulate Ethan. She never attacked me directly, just repeatedly emphasized her pain and her longing for the child. Using this to highlight my “viciousness” and “unreasonableness.” Every time he read them, his frown would deepen, and then he would find an excuse to leave in a hurry. Early one morning, Ethan wasn’t there, and the child had been taken by the nurse and nanny for a checkup. Mia stood by my bed like a ghost, her eyes venomous. “Chloe, don’t think you’ve won.” “That unlucky child of yours, I was the one who made Ethan get rid of it.” “That night, Ethan drank too much and kept calling me.” “I just whined on the phone, saying the child in your belly would be an obstacle for me in the future…” “I told him to spend more time with me, not to always hover around you.” “I didn’t expect that after he hung up, he would really go back to find you. As for what happened next…” “It’s your own fault you couldn’t keep your child. You can’t blame anyone else.” “You’re just raising a child for me, don’t be happy too early!” After she finished, she turned and left. Every word was like a red-hot branding iron, searing fiercely into my heart. So that’s how it was… I closed my eyes, the hand under the blanket trembling violently. The blood backing up in the IV tube quickly dyed a section of the transparent tube red. I bit my lip so hard that a heavy, metallic taste of blood spread in my mouth. I didn’t cry, nor did I make a fuss. I just silently pulled out the IV needle from my hand. Beads of blood slid down the back of my hand, dripping onto the pure white bedsheets like a stark, tragic plum blossom. At that moment, the hospital room door was pushed open. Ethan walked in. He saw the blood on my hand, froze for a moment, then quickly stepped forward and grabbed my wrist. “Why did you pull out the needle? Are you crazy?!” He picked up a cotton swab from the nightstand, pressing down hard on my wound, his brows furrowed tightly, actually showing a bit of genuine concern. I was trembling all over. I wanted to scream, to interrogate him, to pounce and tear him to shreds. But I had no strength. “You can go. Go be with Mia.” “Martha will be back soon; I don’t need you here.” A cry came from next door. Mia was acting crazy again. Ethan ran over without hesitation. I called my assistant and told her to process an early discharge for me immediately. “Back to the main estate!” Back to throw my weight around. When I appeared at the door of the Vance family’s main estate holding that child, the whole family was in an uproar. Grandpa and Grandma, maternal grandparents, uncles, aunts… everyone crowded around. “Oh my, my precious grandson!” Grandma carefully took the child from my arms, grinning from ear to ear. Grandpa was even more excited, his hands trembling. He looked at me, his eyes full of approval. “Chloe, good job! You are a great contributor to our Vance family!” I became the hero of the entire family. Because I brought the first male heir of the fifth generation to the four-generation Vance family. No one knew that my heart had already died in that cold hospital, along with my unborn child. My father-in-law watched the nanny van drive straight into the garage and asked, puzzled, “Where is Ethan?” “Busy, probably. I didn’t even see him at the hospital.” 3 The rewards from the elders were almost staggering. Grandpa gave me an ocean-view villa located on the coast; the keys were placed directly on my nightstand. Grandma brought out all the jade jewelry she had kept at the bottom of her trunk, set after set, dazzlingly green. My father-in-law directly transferred five percent of the Vance Group’s shares to my name, making me the youngest member of the group’s board of directors overnight. My mother-in-law was even more considerate, giving me a private island in the Maldives, saying I could go there to relax once I recovered. I smiled and accepted it all. These were all what I deserved. What I exchanged for my child’s life. No one knew that in the deepest part of that luxurious walk-in closet, I hid a tiny corner. There were no expensive bags or fine clothes there. Only a small, uncarved memorial tablet made of rosewood. With no words written on it. In front of the tablet, I placed a pair of small, knitted booties I made myself that could never be given, and a few pitifully small baby clothes. Every night, when all was quiet, I would lock myself in the closet. I hugged that small tablet, stroking it over and over again. “Baby, Mommy’s here.” “Baby, today Grandpa and Grandma bought a lot of toys. If you were here, you would have them too.” “Baby, do you blame Mommy? It’s Mommy’s fault, failing to protect you…” I never cried out loud, just let the tears slide down silently, soaking the wooden tablet in my arms. Where my heart was, it felt like a hole had been torn open that could never heal. The cold wind blew in, hurting so much I couldn’t breathe. That was a secret belonging only to me and my departed child. Ethan also returned to the main estate, but he didn’t dare approach me. Grandpa pointed his cane at him in front of everyone, calling him a bastard, saying I had just “given birth,” and instead of staying with me, he was making me angry. He was punished by being made to kneel in the family shrine all night. He probably couldn’t understand how the Chloe who once loved him more than life itself, who was completely under his control, could suddenly become like this. He would occasionally come to the bedroom to keep me company, but more often, he came to see that child. He would awkwardly hold him, feed him, his eyes revealing an unfamiliar thing called “fatherly love.” He stood behind me, silent for a long time, and suddenly spoke. “Chloe, about what happened that night, I was wrong. I drank too much.” “Mia… she’s just too dependent on me. Don’t hold it against her,” he added. I slowly raised my head, looking at the two of us reflected in the mirror. He was tall and handsome; I was thin and haggard. “Hold it against her?” I chuckled lightly. “What right do I have to hold anything against her? I couldn’t even protect my own child.” His face instantly became very ugly, as if stung by my words. “That was an accident!” He raised his voice. “Why must you keep harping on it! I’ve already tried my best to compensate you!” Compensate? I was born into a wealthy family; money is the most useless thing to me. I didn’t want to argue with him anymore and pushed him out the door. “Chloe, what exactly do you want?” “What do I want?” I looked at him, my words sarcastic. “I want you to stay away from me.” Eventually, he let go of my hand. From that day on, he rarely set foot in my room again. We didn’t even bother to maintain that paper-thin disguise between us anymore. 4 When the child was a hundred days old, the Vance family held an extremely grand hundred-day banquet. The banquet took place on the lawn of the main estate. Guests gathered; almost all the prominent figures in the city were present. I wore a custom-made red gown, holding the child wrapped in a silk swaddle, standing beside Grandpa and Grandma, receiving everyone’s blessings and envy. The child was named Oliver Vance by Grandpa, hoping his life would be clear and bright, and the rivers and seas peaceful. Halfway through the banquet, Grandpa walked onto the stage leaning on his cane and picked up the microphone. The entire venue instantly quieted down. “Today, taking the opportunity of my great-grandson Oliver’s hundred-day banquet, I want to announce something.” The old man’s voice was loud and full of vigor. “Under the Vance Group, a new subsidiary specializing in high-end infant and toddler products has been established. Currently, the estimated market value has reached a billion dollars.” “Today, I give this company, as a gift, to my granddaughter-in-law, Chloe.” Thunderous applause erupted. I held Oliver, bowing slightly to express my thanks, wearing a proper smile on my face. Applause and gasps of amazement echoed from the audience. Everyone looked at me with envy and jealousy. Giving away a billion-dollar company just like that—what an incredible honor! Holding Oliver, I was about to go on stage to give my thanks. Suddenly, the doors to the banquet hall were forcefully pushed open. A woman in a white dress, ignoring the security guards’ attempts to stop her, rushed in like a madwoman. It was Mia Lin. She pushed through the crowd like a lunatic, charging straight toward the main stage. “Wait!” Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events, and the scene instantly went quiet. Ethan’s face changed, and he immediately stepped forward to stop her. “Mia! What are you doing here! Stop making a scene!” Mia threw off his hand. She raised a document in her hand, glaring at me with bloodshot eyes, her voice shrill. “Me, making a scene? Ethan Vance, look at her! She’s holding my child, accepting the wealth and glory that should belong to me! She’s the one making a scene!” Mia laughed shrilly. She shook off Ethan, pulled a document from her bag, and held it high. “Today, I’m going to let everyone see how your Vance family bullies people!” She rushed onto the stage and snatched the microphone from the emcee. “Everyone, look closely! This is a paternity test report!” Her voice carried through the speakers, spreading across the entire venue. “The report clearly states that Oliver and my DNA have a 99.9% biological relationship!” “I am his biological mother!” The entire audience was in an uproar! Everyone’s gaze hit me like a searchlight. Questioning, disdainful, gloating… My parents-in-law’s faces also turned extremely ugly. They looked at me, their eyes full of questioning. Ethan rushed onto the stage, trying to snatch the report from Mia’s hand, while still trying to coax her. “Stop making a scene, let’s go home and talk about it, okay?” But Mia ignored him. With bloodshot eyes, she glared at me fixedly. “Chloe Sterling! You robber! You stole my child and are acting so hypocritically here. You are shameless!” She pointed at me, questioning me hoarsely. The scene devolved into chaos. Ethan rushed over to cover Mia’s mouth but was bitten hard by her. “Ethan Vance, now you only have one choice: divorce her and marry me!” My assistant quietly walked up beside me and placed an antique, black-lacquered wooden box at my feet. I took a deep breath, holding Oliver—who had started to cry—and slowly walked onto the stage. I calmly took the paternity test report from Mia’s hand, not even glancing at it. Then, I picked up the microphone and looked at the guests below with their varying expressions. “That’s right.” I responded generously, even with a hint of a smile on my face. “Everything she said is true.” The chaos at the scene reached its peak at this moment. Just then, my assistant quietly walked onto the stage and handed me the heavy sandalwood box. I opened the box, spoke into the microphone, looking at the shocked faces below, and slowly began to speak. “Everyone, please stay calm.” “Because today, I also have a surprise for everyone…”

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