Chapter 3
Edward Quan ·
Ye Zhenyan had never seen such violence. Frightened, she hid behind Zhou Guangyao.
Jiang Hui's appearance had changed over the years. Neither of them recognized her.
Seeing his beloved wife frightened, Zhou Guangyao stepped in to restrain Jiang Hui, rescuing me in the process.
The teacher gathered me into her arms and gently brushed the tangled hair from my face.
The moment Ye Zhenyan saw me properly, she covered her mouth and drew a sharp breath.
“Honey, this little girl looks just like I did as a child!”
5
She sounded intrigued.
Several people in the room, however, were terrified.
“Impossible!”
Jiang Hui immediately pulled me back and turned me away from Ye Zhenyan.
“How could my daughter look like you? You must be imagining it.”
No other possibility occurred to Ye Zhenyan.
She was simply curious, like a child who had found a toy she liked.
She pulled up a childhood photo on her phone and showed Zhou Guangyao.
He glanced at it. There really was a resemblance.
The kindergarten teachers thought so too.
They saw us every day. Of course they had noticed that I looked more like the daughter of a wealthy family than Liu Qingqing did.
Liu Qingqing began to panic.
She had just watched Jiang Hui beat me. If we were switched back, she realized, those blows would land on her instead.
She couldn't bear that.
Clutching her head, she cried, “Mommy, my head hurts!”
Everyone's attention shifted to her.
Jiang Hui glared at me.
“Did you hit Chenchen?”
Then she turned to Ye Zhenyan.
“You should take her to the hospital right away. Don't waste time.”
With Liu Qingqing's interruption, everyone forgot about me.
They forgot what they had just noticed too.
Only when the family of three had left did Jiang Hui breathe again.
She didn't want to stay at the kindergarten another moment. She dragged me straight home.
“What did Chenchen say to you?”
“She said you switched me and her. What does that mean? I don't understand.”
“Then forget it. She was talking nonsense. Tomorrow I'll tell the teacher to move you to another class.”
After our quarrel that day, she couldn't bear to let her own daughter suffer any further distress.
I was transferred.
Liu Qingqing began avoiding me too.
I didn't see her again before we finished kindergarten.
To keep seeing Liu Qingqing, Jiang Hui continued sending me to the same schools as her, through elementary and middle school.
I had inherited my birth father's intelligence.
From elementary school onward, my grades were always among the best.
In middle school, I placed in the top five in our year on every exam.
Liu Qingqing, meanwhile, never managed more than reasonably good results, despite all the excellent tutors her family hired.
Wanting to see her daughter more often, Jiang Hui took a job serving food in our school cafeteria.
Liu Qingqing froze when she spotted her at the counter.
She gave Jiang Hui a look, and the two met in the corridor afterward.
Liu Qingqing was deathly pale. Her cheeks were hollow, and there were fresh scars on her body.
“What are you doing here?”
Her tone was far from pleasant.
Jiang Hui frowned at the sight of her.
“Chenchen, you're still growing. You mustn't diet.”
“Look how thin you've become.”
Liu Qingqing forced a twisted smile.
“You think I'm dieting?”
Her hoarse voice shook with resentment as she forced out each word.
“That idiot Ye Zhenyan is going to be the death of me!”
“She makes me nutritious meals every day that taste worse than shit. She bought me cosmetics, and the moment I used them, my face swelled up like a pig's head!”
“Switch us back! I can't spend another day there!”
6
She meant it.
The Zhou family was rich, but no amount of money could make up for her injuries.
At this rate, she might die before she ever got to enjoy their wealth.
Jiang Hui simply didn't understand.
She stubbornly believed money could solve everything.
“Look at your beautiful clothes. A luxury car takes you to school and brings you home every day. What more do you want?”
“I know what Ye Zhenyan is like. She's just a little silly. You're clever. Say a few nice things and keep her happy.”
At that, Liu Qingqing broke down completely and screamed in her face.
“If the Zhou family is so wonderful, why don't you go and live there?”
“It's all your fault! You did this to me!”
Her sobs echoed through the empty corridor.