Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My name is Su Wanwan. I’ve always felt that I didn’t look like my parents.

Both of my parents are exceptionally attractive, like the cream of the crop-my father is handsome, my mother is beautiful, and both have great figures. My older brother is also remarkably dashing.

I was the only one who felt like a common pebble mixed into a pile of gemstones; the difference was just too obvious.

So, when our nanny, Aunt Li, told me when I was thirteen that I was actually her biological daughter, I didn’t really doubt her.

There was no touching mother-daughter reunion; she went straight to demanding money.

“Your biological brother is starting high school and needs to pay a sponsorship fee. Once he makes something of himself in the future and gets a job at the Su Group, he’ll be able to look out for you.”

She talked for a long time before I finally understood what she meant.

She wanted me to manipulate the Su Group when I grew up-ideally, to seize the Su Family’s assets. And once I had usurped that fortune, it was, of course, meant for my biological brother to use.

After only a few sentences, I could tell she was the legendary type of person who favored sons over daughters.

In just three sentences, she mentioned twice that girls couldn’t hold onto money, and twice that a woman needed the support of her brothers and had to rely on them.

I frowned slightly and thought about it. My parents in the Su Family didn’t talk like that at all.

They said that girls should study hard and make progress every day; that girls and boys were equal, and that I should be strong and independent.

“I don’t have any money. I’m only thirteen.”

How much money could a thirteen-year-old child have?

Aunt Li didn’t believe me.

“Don’t think I don’t know. The Master and Madam give you allowance every month, and you’ve saved up all your New Year’s and birthday money. Think about it-if I hadn’t swapped your identity with the real eldest miss of the Su Family, how could you be living such a good life now?”

She was threatening me. If I didn’t give her money, she would expose me and end my comfortable life.

She thought I would be afraid.

I was, indeed, a little afraid.

I suggested going back to her house to take a look.

“What are you going back for? What if someone recognizes you?”

“If I don’t go back and see for myself, how will I know if you’re keeping a good eye on her?”

Aunt Li agreed. Taking advantage of a weekend when my parents and brother were out, she took me back to her home.

Aunt Li’s house was in a very old urban village. The yard was large but dilapidated, filled with a chaotic mess of junk.

A very beautiful girl in tattered clothes was laboriously scrubbing laundry.

Her name was Liu Ying, and she had a brother named Liu Qiang.

She was thin and gaunt, but her face was beautiful, and there was a sense of spirit in her eyes.

The moment I saw her, I knew she was my parents’ biological child. She looked exactly like my mother.

*Rippp.*

Perhaps the clothes were too old; they tore as she washed them.

Aunt Li, who was always polite and amiable at the Su household, rushed forward and raised her hand to strike.

“I’ll beat you to death, you money-losing brat! You can’t even do daily chores right, all you know how to do is ruin things! How much money does this family have for you to waste?”

The girl shielded her head and didn’t say a word. She just looked at me silently, seemingly sizing me up.

Being beaten like this was a daily occurrence for her; she had long since grown used to it.

I stepped forward and grabbed Aunt Li.

“Stop hitting her.”

Aunt Li was furious, but she managed a smile. “Don’t worry about it, Miss. This girl is just lowly. If I don’t beat her, she won’t learn her place.”

Lowly?

My expression turned cold as well. “If you still want money, stop now.”

Only then did Aunt Li stop, though she still cursed a few more times.

“If the eldest miss hadn’t pleaded for you, I would have beaten you to death today. You were born for a lowly life. Look, this is what a real eldest miss looks like-born for a life of nobility.”

Did she feel no shame saying those words?

I felt like crawling into a hole and disappearing.

I also met Liu Qiang. He was lying in the room playing mobile games. He was fifteen or sixteen and looked very sturdy-thick-waisted and broad-shouldered, clearly much better nourished than Liu Ying.

When he saw what I was wearing, his eyes gleamed with greed.

Then I saw Liu Wei. He was in his forties with a wretched expression, looking very shiftless.

When he saw me, his face was also full of greed. He even wanted me to give him the necklace around my neck, but Aunt Li blocked him.

Aunt Li said it was a gift from the Madam, and giving it away now would arouse suspicion. She told him to wait a few days, and she would bring money back.

These were my biological parents and my biological brother.

They felt no joy at seeing me; they only saw money.

Aunt Li didn’t let me linger and quickly led me away.

“See? Our whole family is sacrificing so you can live a good life. You can’t be ungrateful. You need to bring out money every month to help us out so we can move into a better house.”

I remained silent, telling her she had to wait.

Then, that evening, I went into my parents’ room and told them everything.