Ye Zhuo opened her eyes once again to find an endless stretch of pitch darkness before her.?Right then, her nasal cavity was flaring up with a strong alcoholic stench.

Even though she could not see anything, Ye Zhuo’s sharp senses that she had developed as a prominent tech mogul made her aware that her surrounding ambiance was different – it was no longer the world that she used to live in.

Where was she?

Was she dead or alive?

Ye Zhuo used her hands to maneuver around the room, searching for the switch to turn on the lights.

“Buzz…”

The room then lit up with snowy white light.

Swiftly, Ye Zhuo sized up everything in her surroundings.

The curtains were tightly shut while empty wine bottles were scattered across the room as cigarette butts covered the floor. Every sign gave Ye Zhuo an insight into the house owner’s persona.

All of a sudden, countless memory fragments flooded Ye Zhuo’s mind.

Ye Zhuo combed through these memory fragments slowly and eventually came to a crucial conclusion – she was reborn!

The original owner of this body was named Mu Zhuo. The surname ‘Mu’ was one that everyone was envious of as it belonged to a wealthy family.

Nonetheless, despite being born into a wealthy family, the body’s original owner was clearly incredibly dumb! She was a typical, ignorant, and spoiled girl who refused to learn anything to the point where she could not understand many simple words despite being in high school.

She was a widely-known deadbeat and a target of mockery for wealthy families during their leisure time.

Three days ago, the Mu family members accidentally discovered that Mu Zhao was not the Mu family’s biological daughter. There was an accidental switch at birth in the hospital back in those years.

The surprise came like a shocking thunderbolt that made Mu Zhao’s world lose its color entirely in a flash.

The Mu family members did not like her from the beginning, so they disliked her even more after the revelation.

Their real daughter was named Ye Yourong.

Ye Yourong was gentle, polite, and talented. She was a classic ‘model’ child, and as compared to the dumb original owner, the differences were simply astonishing and too large to ignore.

The original owner of the body and the Mu family’s real daughter studied in the same school where the Mu family’s real daughter was, unsurprisingly, very popular. She was the most beautiful girl in the school and received numerous international awards to go with her good looks!

If one were to describe the real daughter as the bright round moon in the night sky, the original owner was even worse than the mud on the ground.

Today was the day that the Mu family’s real daughter, Ye Yourong, was supposed to return home. The Mu family members appreciated Ye Yourong’s presence so much that they threw a grand banquet downstairs to serve their countless invited relatives and good friends from rich and powerful families.

The flashbacks stopped at this point.

Ye Zhuo narrowed her eyes and thought about how Ye Yourong would become Mu Yourong from now on.

On the other hand, she would go from Mu Zhuo to Ye Zhuo as well.

Apparently, their switched lives would return to their proper paths from this point on.

After processing her emotions, Ye Zhuo opened the closet to get ready to take a shower.

Her body was still emitting a pungent concoction of alcohol and sweat. It was a genuinely uneasy feeling in the heat of the summer.

However, as soon as she opened the closet, Ye Zhuo was startled by the clothes inside. The view of exceedingly revealing clothes came into her sight. There were clothes with plunging necklines, ultra-short shorts, studded pants, fishnet stockings, and the like…

Ye Zhuo clearly obtained more information about her current body’s original owner by looking at her clothing choice.

The worst was yet to come as she was dumbfounded when she saw a photo that was beyond her imagination placed right on the night table!

What!? What the f*ck!?

What kind of person was she?

Ye Zhuo searched for a long while, yet she did not find a single ordinary piece of clothing in the closet. Hence, she decided that she would not take a shower for the time being and just put on a long-sleeve top over her attire. She then strolled downstairs with her excessive makeup.

“Mom! Dad!” Ye Zhuo made her way to her ‘Mu’ parents.

The guests at the scene glared at Ye Zhuo despisingly upon her arrival.

It was the day of Mu Yourong’s return! Why would a dog in the manger make an appearance here?

Moreover, who was she to address Mu Yourong’s parents as her mom and dad? She was truly shameless!

“How could she still have the courage to make an appearance? I would have jumped off a building to my death if I were her! What is the point of living anymore? She is an embarrassment!”

“Ugly people are bound to do bad things to get attention!”

“I heard that her biological mother is named Ye Shu and that the family is impoverished to the point that they don’t even own a house now. I think she’s probably too spoiled and too used to living a good life which is why she still refuses to leave now!”

“Are all of you aware that Ye Shu is a mistress? She doesn’t even know who the father is till now...”

“So, it turns out that you’re an illegitimate daughter that no one wants, huh?”

“...”

The crowd of people raised a babble of criticism, and their cold, merciless remarks were akin to sharp blades. If another person were in her place, that individual would not even be standing steadily anymore. Yet, there was not the slightest change in Ye Zhuo’s facial expression as she remained as calm as the sea.

Mrs. Mu Shen Rong looked at Ye Zhuo and braced herself to speak, “Come here. Allow me to introduce you to your elder sister, Yourong. Both of you siblings must be nice to each other from now on.”

Mrs. Mu maintained the smile on her face on the surface, yet her heart was already burning with hatred at Ye Zhuo in reality.

The little b*tch Ye Zhuo was obviously not her daughter, yet she still refused to budge from their home. She was truly shameless!

Nevertheless, it did not matter because the Mu family would still come up with a way to make her disappear from this world!

Meanwhile, Ye Zhuo looked toward Mu Yourong. “Hello.”

Mu Yourong paid no attention to Ye Zhuo, but instead, she turned her head to look toward Shen Rong and asked with reddened eyes, “Mom, I thought that I only have two older brothers? If she is your daughter, who am I?”

Even when she was a young girl, Mu Yourong could sense an extremely strange premonition.

She sensed that she was not a common person; she hated the dim basement where she lived, and she hated the lowly people around her…

She refused to believe that she was a daughter born out of wedlock by a disreputable mistress mother.

The truth had proven that she was not as wildly imaginative as she seemed to be. Apparently, she was akin to a princess who was stranded in an ordinary world.

She was an inherent royalty!

Needless to say, she was overjoyed when she received the news.

What a waste that destiny had played a cruel joke on her.

She could not forget her miserable past life.

She already had a nap hand that she ruined.

Yes.

Mu Yourong was reborn as well.

She was taken back by her biological parents in her past life when she was over 20 years old.

After returning to the Mu family, her parents treated her well. They sent her to many training classes to morph her from Cinderella to the magnificent daughter of a wealthy family.

What a waste that she was so blinded to marry the wrong man in the end. She took a fancy on a beast dressed like a gentleman!

In the end, she was sacrificed as a scapegoat, leaving behind not even bones or a corpse.

…

However, her current life was no longer going to be the same as what it was in the past.

The reborn Mu Yourong had the Goldfinger system that common people did not possess.

She also carried with her the memories of her past life. Therefore, she would become the brightest, most prominent person in the world in this life. She wanted to make her parents proud of her! On top of that, she wanted to make the Mu family the most powerful family in Yunjing Province!

Mu Yourong knew from the Goldfinger system that a financial magnate who was so powerful that he could make Yunjing Province tremble with just a stomp of his foot would be at the banquet tonight. What a waste that there were too many people at the scene, and she had never encountered the legendary financial magnate in her past life…

Fortunately, she had a beautiful face that put the flowers to shame and outshined the moon – an appearance that could charm the birds from the trees. She would certainly be able to draw the attention of the financial magnate this time. In fact, she would make the financial magnate fall head over heels for her.

In this life, she would never allow herself to end up like her past and let Ye Zhuo die so easily! Ye Zhuo wanted to remain in the Mu family, right? She would fulfill Ye Zhuo’s wish then!

She wanted to keep Ye Zhuo to become the accessory that set her off to her success. She even wanted to make Ye Zhuo fall for the beast from her past life to add more misery to her life! She would make the hideous swine, Ye Zhuo, her stepping stone to success!

At the thought of this, the corners of Mu Yourong’s lips curled up while her face was tainted with a determined expression that was barely discernible.

Meanwhile, two men were seated at the corner of the living hall.

The man seated on the upper corner had a black hat on his head. The shadow cast from the brim of his hat concealed his facial features while he held a cigarette between his long, slim, fair-complexioned fingers. His face, which was already hard to discern, turned even more clouded from the puffing smoke in front of it.

Meanwhile, his other hand held a string of prayer beads. The dark-colored prayer beads contrasted his snow-white complexion and accentuated his fair skin.

He was dressed in a plain-colored Chinese robe buttoned all the way to the top of his collar with the same-colored buttons. A cold and solemn aura seemed to disperse from his body, so even though his face was barely discernible, it was hard for one to ignore his lofty aura.

Meanwhile, the other man had a handsome face and appeared more relaxed. His gaze landed on Ye Zhuo. “Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I would truly find it incredulous that such a shameless person like Mu Zhuo still exists in this world. She is a dog in the manger, a fake substitute. Brother Fifth, your fiance is too despicable…”

From an outsider’s perspective, Ye Zhuo’s shamelessness was truly despicable.

Even as the fake daughter of the Mu family, she had the audacity to intrude the debute of their real daughter!

Out of the blue, the man suddenly reacted to the situation and added, “No! The person who is betrothed to you is the real daughter of the Mu family. This fake daughter is totally unrelated to you! An unpresentable object like her does not even deserve to carry shoes for Brother Fifth.”

The person speaking was Li Qiandong, and he was an influential official in Beijing.

Normally, the Mu family would not be able to invite a bigshot like him to a party in view of his family’s status in Yunjing Province. However, the man seated opposite him was the fiance of the Mu family’s daughter. So, he came to accompany the man.

Speaking of the man opposite him, he had his lips pursed while his legs were crossed. His cold elegance was tainted with solemnness, and his body was enshrouded in a snowy glow.

Li Qiandong heaved a sigh and could not help but continue describing the scene, “The real daughter of the Mu family is truly piteous. Her identity was taken by someone else for years for absolutely no reason, and now, she is forced to accept this fake sister as her own.”

No one could accept this matter willingly, regardless!

Upon saying that, he raised his head to look at the man seated opposite him. “Frankly, I didn’t expect the fiance who you’ve never met before to be so pretty, Brother Fifth! I was still under the assumption that there would not be beauty in a small place like Yunjing Province.”

The blood of the Mu family flowed in Mu Yourong’s veins after all. She was genuinely beautiful. Otherwise, why was she reputed to be the most beautiful girl in the school? In stark contrast, there was Ye Zhuo’s excessive makeup! So, she appeared even more exquisite!

The man took his time to look up. His pair of mysterious eyes cast a gaze so deep that it was beyond fathomable. His complexion was very fair as if he had not been in the sun for a long time. In addition, there was a red mole on the upper corner of his eye. In short, he looked 30% sickly and 70% cold and arrogant.

One could tell that he was a man who was hard to please at one glance.

“You won’t be regarded as a mute if you don’t speak!” A nonchalant remark from him in a voice that carried 70% hoarseness and 30% overbearingness was heard. It was a voice that sounded so pleasant it could suffocate a man.

Li Qiandong trembled in fear, but he still braced himself to say, “Brother Fifth, the real daughter of the Mu family is the one who is engaged to you. Even though the Cen family has moved away from Yunjing Province over the years, the Mu family and the Cen family have a tight bond. What if Aunt Xiang and Madam Cen insist on you marrying the Mu family’s daughter?”

“Brother Fifth, do you have a soulmate in your heart?” Li Qiandong inquired soon afterward.

“What’s a soulmate?” The man raised a charming eyebrow.

Li Qiandong replied, “A soulmate is a person that you love; you love the person so deeply and dearly that you won’t marry anyone except her.”

The man shook his head ever so slightly. “I don’t have one now, and I won’t have one in the future either.”

Li Qiandong did not doubt this man’s words even the slightest.

They had been acquainted for more than a decade, and he had never seen this man on intimate terms with a woman.

To make matters more difficult, the man was a strict vegetarian. He spent his days working on documents in the office and the rest of his time meditating in a temple nearby, listening to Buddhist chants.

He would not be surprised even if the man were to become a monk in the future.

Mu Yourong continued to behave provokingly and feigned pitifulness such that the public opinion leaned toward her. In fact, she would easily win any fight just by being the real daughter of the Mu family. Whose fault was it that Ye Zhuo was a dog in the manger anyway?

Ye Zhou was well aware of her current situation, so she said while looking at Mu Yourong, “Ms. Mu, I’m truly sorry for occupying your identity as the Mu family’s daughter for 18 years! I will leave this place immediately and return to where I belong.”

“The identity of the eldest Mu daughter shall return to its rightful owner, and I shall be called ‘Ye Zhuo’ from now on.”

This place was not Ye Zhuo’s or the original owner of her body’s home. As a result, she would not insist on staying.

Nonetheless, Mu Yourong was stunned for a moment.

She did not expect Ye Zhuo to propose to leave on her own initiative. Things were a little different in her past life.

In the past, Ye Zhuo shamelessly insisted on staying with the Mu family. She was rejected by the people around her and was even killed by a member of the Mu family in the end.

Mu Yourong was prepared to lay out a scheme to embarrass the shameless b*tch. However, with Ye Zhuo’s sudden decision to leave, how would she carry out her scheme?

The b*tch probably retreated for the sake of advancing her own cause and feigned pitifulness to gain some sympathy. Was she trying to do so fraudulently?

At the thought of this, a disdainful look emerged in Mu Yourong’s eyes. Was an illiterate deadbeat like Ye Zhuo trying to play a trick on her?

That was absurd! She was a phoenix that rose into the heavens! What was Ye Zhuo? She was not even worthy of being a little sparrow!

Mu Yourong chuckled softly, and her lips curled into a mocking smile.

“Return to its rightful owner? Ye Zhuo, you took a life that belonged to me for 18 full years and enjoyed a life of luxury the entire time! Do you expect me to forgive you just by making a statement?”

The expression on Ye Zhuo’s face was nonchalant. “Please allow me to correct you; it wasn’t me who caused the switcheroo 18 years ago. It wasn’t you, nor our parents. It’s only human that you are resentful, and it’s normal for you to loathe me. However, you should be hating the hospital the most. Had it not been for their negligence, our lives would not be switched! Ms. Mu, we were just swaddled babies back in those years. This is neither of our faults, so there’s no need to talk about forgiveness.”

Even though her body’s original owner had a bad reputation, she never actually did anything bad to Mu Yourong.

However, it was only human for Mu Yourong to loathe her. After all, anyone would be displeased to suffer an incident like this. Nevertheless, Mu Yourong should not be provoking her when she had retreated so willingly! The original owner of her body was but a tiny baby in swaddling clothes back in those years; she did not have a choice!

Mu Yourong sneered, and her eyes were filled with cynicism as she uttered, “Do you think that a sacred, strict place like the hospital can cause a switched-at-birth incident?

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Mu Yourong’s remark was made nonchalantly, yet it stirred up a clamor in the crowd.

She was right!

How could a hospital possibly cause a switched-at-birth incident?

Perhaps, someone switched the babies at birth on purpose.

Ye Zhuo’s biological mother was a mistress with despicable means. Therefore, she was capable of even nastier actions.

If an outsider were in her place, the person would certainly be shocked by Mu Yourong’s remark. However, the person standing before Mu Yourong was Ye Zhuo, after all. She was a mogul who used to stand at the peak of the world at one point.

Ye Zhuo lowered her gaze ever so slightly and looked at Mu Yourong casually. Then, she responded in an indifferent tone, “Since what Ms. Mu said it is so plausible, I believe that there’s certainly adequate evidence to prove that this incident is deliberate, right? The laws in this country are fair and righteous. The lawbreakers can’t outrun the long arm of the law, so I shall respectfully wait for Ms. Mu to file a lawsuit against me with evidence!”

Mu Yourong narrowed her eyes. She felt panicked in her heart for no apparent reason as she looked at Ye Zhuo standing before her. This person was obviously Ye Zhuo, so why did she feel threatened? Could it be that she was not a worthy match for a deadbeat?

So, she calmed herself with great effort and then said, “It has already been 18 years since the incident. Even if there is evidence, it would have been swept under the rug by time. You’re just shoving false arguments down my throat!”

Ye Zhuo smiled. “Without evidence, to put it nicely, you are basically speculating; in less pleasant words, you are making a false accusation! On a more serious note, there’s an offense known as defamation in our country too!”

The strange feeling from before just grew more intense!

Mu Youroung could not allow herself to argue with Ye Zhuo anymore because only the weaker side could gain the crowd’s attention and sympathy.

She had to do something to capture everyone’s attention once again. Hence, Mu Yourong’s eyes welled up with tears and she said with a sobbing voice, “You took my place in the family to live a good life for 18 years while I lived in a dark, damp basement with that despicable mother of yours. I lived a life not knowing if I’ll get my next meal! Ye Zhuo, who do you think you are to stand here and criticize me!?”

Upon hearing that, Mrs. Mu’s hands were trembling as she held Mu Yourong’s hands.

They lived in a grand mansion over the years while her biological daughter was trapped in a basement…

Was a basement appropriate for human beings to live in? She wished that she could choke Ye Zhuo to death right away.

Furthermore, the rest of the people looked at Mu Yourong sympathetically as well.

Ye Zhuo raised her gaze ever so slightly. “Both you and I are victims. I’m not criticizing you, but I’m only speaking the truth. Moreover, I said that I’m leaving this place at once and that my surname will be ‘Ye’ from now on. I don’t have any connection to the Mu family anymore, and there’s no need for you to hang on to this matter either!”

Mu Yourong replied with reddened eyes, “How am I hanging on to this matter, huh? Why do you have to be so provocative then? I’m only finding the incident to be a little suspicious! I know that you’re unwilling to part with my family. You were acting like my parents’ daughter for so many years, after all! I will treat you like my real sister from now on…”

“Oh god! Brother Fifth! Your fiance is too kind! She still wants to forgive the fake daughter after all this!” Li Qiandong was moved beyond words, for he had never met a person as kind as Mu Yourong.

Upon hearing that, the people in the crowd praised Mu Yourong for being too kind!

Ye Zhuo smiled. “Thank you for your good intentions, but this is not my home.”

Mu Yourong was stunned.

What was going on with Ye Zhuo?

She had made her earlier remark to keep Ye Zhuo, yet she still insisted on leaving.

Mu Dabing immediately waved his hand and summoned someone to bring over a document. “Since you’ve already made up your mind to leave, sign the severance agreement then.”

In China, even an adopted daughter had the right to inheritance. Since Ye Zhuo had already decided to cut ties with the Mu family, Mu Dabing did not want to leave his inheritance to an outsider with no blood relations a century later.

Ye Zhuo actually signed the severance agreement without the slightest hesitation.

The severance agreement was then separated into two copies.

Ye Zhuo kept one of the copies and then said to Mu Dabing and Shen Rong, “Uncle, auntie, goodbye.”

Since the severance agreement was signed, there was no need for her to address them as dad and mom anymore.

If she were to address them that way, the others would certainly suspect her of scheming something.

Upon saying that, Ye Zhuo got down on her knees and knelt on the floor right away. She gave a kowtow solemnly toward Mu Dabing and Shen Rong. “Thank you for your love and tender care over the years, uncle, auntie.”

One should not be ungrateful for others’ favor.

The Mu family raised the original owner of Ye Zhuo’s body until she was of age, so Ye Zhuo gave her respect on behalf of the original owner.

‘No, I can’t allow Ye Zhuo to leave just like that!’ Mu Yourong still wanted to use Ye Zhuo for her schemes!

If Ye Zhuo were to leave, who was going to marry the scumbag?

Maliciousness flashed past Mu Yourong’s face, but it was replaced with a change of countenance soon. “Ye Zhuo, I’m sincerely asking you to stay. It’s always easy for the frugal to become extravagant but very difficult for the opposite to happen… I’m worried that you will not be used to living in a basement. Stay, and we can be filial children to dad and mom.”

Mu Yourong’s remark was made exceedingly craftily.

On the one hand, she criticized Ye Zhuo for being a merciless, ungrateful child for leaving without even repaying the parents for their love and tender care. On the other hand, she was making a grand display of her magnanimous character before the crowd.

Upon hearing that, the people in the crowd immediately looked toward Ye Zhuo with different expressions.

She was right.

Ye Zhuo was ungrateful, right?

She had yet to repay her parents’ kindness, yet she wanted to evade the problem by walking away from it!

Upon hearing that, Ye Zhuo looked back ever so slightly and said in a nonchalant tone, “Ms. Mu, if I’m not mistaken, my mother has also raised you for 18 years, so why haven’t you stayed with her and repaid her kindness then?”

Mu Yourong was stunned for a moment.

Ye Zhuo did not give Mu Yourong the chance to refute. Instead, she took her sweet time to get up from the ground. Her chin was tilted ever so slightly while the lighting cast a layer of snow glow on her face. “Do not do unto others what you don’t wish on yourself.”

Mu Yourong simply could not believe that the person before her eyes was Ye Zhuo! What the heck was going on? Since when did the deadbeat become so well-versed? Could it be that this was a butterfly effect resulting from her rebirth?

Ye Zhuo retracted her gaze ever so slightly in preparation to leave. At the very moment she did so, her vision landed on a pair of deep eyes.

The man narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, and an overbearingness was emanating from behind his gaze.

Nevertheless, her expression remained indifferent. She was totally unconcerned.

The man was dressed in a classic Chinese robe buttoned meticulously all the way to the top with the same-colored retro fastening. His well-chiseled lower jaw was as perfect as a statue’s, while his complexion was fair and radiating coldness. He had a tall, straight nose and his entire body emitted an aura of abstinence. He also carried the posture of someone looking down at the world arrogantly.

Ye Zhuo was skilled in reading people, so she was naturally aware that this man was not some common influential official. She knew very well that this man was not someone to be messed with either.

She did not want to be targeted by a man of this nature.

In just a moment, Ye Zhuo shifted her gaze without leaving a trace. She turned around and left.

The man looked in the direction where Ye Zhuo vanished without any expression on his face. Then, his long, slim finger tapped on the surface of the table randomly.

“What are you looking at, Brother Fifth?” Li Qiandong followed the man’s gaze out of curiosity. In the darkness, Ye Zhuo’s silhouette could no longer be seen.

“Nothing.” The man stood up and put out the cigarette that he had yet to finish in the ashtray. “Let’s go back as well.”

“Brother Fifth, aren’t you going to meet your fiance?”

When he looked up again, the man’s tall and slim silhouette had already made its way to the doorway.

Li Qiandong hastily jogged to catch up to him. “Wait for me, Brother Fifth!”

Mu Yourong looked in the direction where Ye Zhuo disappeared. Her eyes were filled with a malicious glow.

In this timeline, she was the prettiest girl in school! She was also finally the daughter of the Mu family!

Ye Zhuo was merely a lowly pauper; who was she to compete with Mu Yourong?

Even though Ye Zhuo had left the Mu family, she could not escape her destiny of being Mu Yourong’s stepping stone in the future.

After experiencing her rebirth, Mu Yourong became highly skilled in acting. Moments ago, she appeared as if she could not bear to part with Ye Zhuo.

The sight of it made Shen Rong’s heart wrench in pain!

The child was so good in every way, but perhaps her weakness was that she was too kind.

Ye Zhuo took everything that belonged to her, yet she could not bear to part with the good-for-nothing girl. In addition, she proposed to keep Ye Zhuo as her own sister…

“My good child, I know that you’re kind-hearted, and you can’t bear to let her leave. However, a person like her is truly unworthy of your kindness. Ye Zhuo is an immature, ungrateful scum!” Upon saying that, Shen Rong added, “Oh right, Yourong, about your adoptive mother… has she treated you well over the years?”

“I almost dropped out of high school when I was in my freshman year because my adoptive mother refused to pay my school fees. In the end, the headmaster made an exception to waive the tuition fee, and I was accepted because of my outstanding achievements. When I was in elementary school, everyone referred to me as a bastard child that no one wanted…”

Mu Yourong sobbed upon remarking.

In truth, her adoptive mother treated Mu Yourong well to the point where she never had to endure any hardship since she was young. Her adoptive mother doted on her lovingly.

Even after learning that Mu Yourong was not her biological daughter, she was still worried that Mu Yourong would be bullied upon rejoining the Mu family and that she would be looked down upon. As a result, she gave all her life savings to Mu Yourong so that she could use it to hold her ground.

The reason behind Mu Yourong’s courage to lie vicariously was because no one here knew the truth. After all, only evilness could set off kindness in this world. Only green leaves could contrast red flowers. Those lowly people lived for the sole purpose of making her stand out.

Before Mu Yourong’s voice died away, the people in the surrounding crowd assumed furious expressions!

According to Mu Yourong’s statement, it was not difficult to analyze and come to the conclusion that the switched-at-birth incident was her adoptive mother’s own doing.

It was the perfect reenactment of the ‘Civet Cat Exchanged for Crown Prince’ opera!

Otherwise, how could Mu Yourong’s adoptive mother possibly stop her from attending school? Her adoptive mother was obviously trying to turn Mu Yourong into an uncultured deadbeat.

What a disgusting woman!

Shen Rong bawled while hugging Mu Yourong. “My poor child... how could she treat you that way? That’s truly vicious.”

Mu Yourong patted Shen Rong’s shoulder and spoke in a sorrowful tone, “It’s fine. I’ve gotten used to it over the years. I’m not her biological child after all…”

“You’ve had a rough time, my child…” Shen Rong held Mu Yourong with a guilty yet sympathetic expression.

From an angle where the crowd could not see, Mu Yourong’s lips curled into a proud smile.?Her goal had been achieved.

Everything she wanted in this life was within her grasp now. Furthermore, she was certain that the mysterious financial magnate was peeking at her secretly from a dark corner.

…

Using the original owner’s memories, Ye Zhuo found the address where the original owner’s mother, Ye Shu, lived.

Ye Shu rented the cheapest basement in Yunjing Province.

The place was a chaotic mess, and it was so dark that one could not tell if it was day or night in there. To make matters worse, a gush of musty stench filled the air.

It was dinner time, coincidentally. The elderly and young children of every house there were having dinner standing at the doorway. The crowd watched Ye Zhuo curiously upon her arrival.

It was clearly a slum… so why would someone like Ye Zhuo be here?

Ye Zhuo’s body’s original owner had thick makeup on her face, and her entire body emanated a gloomy, intolerant aura that concealed the brilliance of herself.

On the other hand, Ye Zhuo was different. She was a tech mogul that everyone feared. Even if the leader of another world were to encounter her, the person would show respect to her. At this moment, she still possessed the aura of a superior being that others could not replicate despite the thick makeup she had on her.

Ye Zhuo knocked on the tightly shut door under the close gaze of the crowd.

“Thud thud thud.”

After a long while, the door was opened from the inside.

Ye Zhuo met a sickly middle-aged woman with a ghastly pale face. She looked just like a modernized version of ‘Lam Mui-Mui’ that one could not help but love upon seeing.

“Are... are you Zhuo Zhuo?” Ye Shu looked at Ye Zhuo in astonishment. She was dumbfounded for a long while, and her eyes were filled with disbelief.

Ye Zhuo looked at Ye Shu. “Mom, I’m home.”

“What... what did you call me?” Ye Shu’s eyes warmed with tears.

It was just yesterday that Ye Shu went over to see Ye Zhuo. However, Ye Zhuo refused to acknowledge her. On the contrary, Ye Zhuo humiliated her ferociously and said that she did not have such an embarrassing mother.

Ye Shu was hurt beyond comparison, yet there was nothing she could do.

Ye Zhuo refused to acknowledge her while the Mu family consented to continue raising her willingly. As a result, Ye Shu could only abandon her daughter.

Obviously, Ye Shu did not expect that Ye Zhuo would actually come searching for her and address her as ‘mom’ after just one day!

She could not have been dreaming, right?

Ye Shu had a story too.

She was pregnant with twins at the age of just 19 back in those years because of love.

However, although she was pregnant with twins, the nurse was notified that one of the babies was stillborn during the delivery.

After her daughter was born, her lover, who used to be on intimate terms with her in the past, vanished without a trace. He was gone for 18 full years just like that.

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After reporting the case to the police, she learned the truth.

Everything about her lover was fake. Whether it was his family address or name… He was a conman.

He was a love rat with a sweet tongue.

One should know that it was an embarrassment to the family for a 19-year-old maiden to have a child out of wedlock back in that era. As a result, Ye Shu’s parents wanted to abandon the child after Ye Shu gave birth to her daughter and even found her adoptive parents.

However, Ye Shu could not bear to part with her young daughter, so she moved out of the home with her daughter despite her parents’ objections.

Over the years, Ye Shu worked odd jobs while she raised her daughter.

A single mother’s life was not easy, but she never gave up on her daughter and chose not to remarry.

Ye Zhuo looked at Ye Shu and hugged her gently. “I’m sorry, mom. I was naive in the past. Please forgive me; I promise that I will stay by you from now on.”

“It’s fine. I am fine now that you’re home.” Ye Shu broke into tears of joy as she welcomed Ye Zhuo into the house. “Come in, quick, Zhuo Zhuo. The house is shabby; I hope you don’t mind.”

As compared to the Mu family’s house, the Ye family’s dim basement was more than shabby. It was simply slightly less than a slum.

The living room was about 10 square meters in size with its white wallpaper aged yellow, and the concrete floor cracked into fine rifts because it was not tiled. Humidity was seeping off the ground indistinctly.

Additionally, a three-legged table was placed at the side of the living room, and a broken club was used to prop up the side where the other leg used to be.

On the television cabinet that was old beyond recognition placed sat a black and white television. It was placed in front of the table.

Ye Zhuo had never expected to see an old antique like this in this thriving era.

Nevertheless, on the positive side, the living room was kept in good order, and there was no strange stench in the air. She could tell at once that Ye Shu was a neat person.

“Zhuo... Zhuo Zhuo, have a drink.” Ye Shu fetched her a glass of water.

“Thank you, mom.” Ye Zhuo received the glass in her hands and took a sip of the water.

Ye Shu observed Ye Zhuo’s action of drinking the water.

Ye Shu’s hooded, upturned eyes, which looked exactly like Ye Zhuo’s, were filled with shock. Ye Zhuo had truly changed!

Ye Zhuo came here a few days ago, and Ye Shu fetched Ye Zhuo a glass of water just like today. How did Ye Zhuo react at the time? She had covered her nose and said disdainfully, “I use Evian water to wash my face, and you’re actually serving me this kind of water to drink!? Are you trying to poison me?”

At the time, Ye Shu did not know what Evian meant yet.

Afterward, she learned that Evian was a very costly type of mineral water.

Yet today, somehow… there was not a single ounce of disdain in Ye Zhuo’s eyes.

Albeit being somewhat relieved, Ye Shu was still a little reserved with Ye Zhuo. “Zhuo Zhuo, it’s almost time for dinner. What would you like to have? I’ll cook for you.”

Ye Zhuo placed down the glass and considered her answer in all apparent seriousness for a moment. “Mom, is there a shower in the house? I’d like to take a shower first.”

She had thick makeup on her face and a strong alcohol stench on her body. Ye Zhuo just wanted to have a nice, warm shower to look and feel more like a normal person!