Chapter 2

Gu Jingshen asked a server to bring over a thin blanket and carefully tucked it around me.

Then he pressed a warm towel over my eyes, swollen red from crying. He gently brushed my tangled hair behind my ear.

When he was done, he sat down quietly beside me and watched for a long time, his eyes lowered.

I had no idea what he was thinking. But his hand kept tightening, as if he’d made up his mind about something.

4

The next day, Gu Jingshen disappeared.

He wouldn’t answer his phone or reply to my messages.

I looked for him at school and in his lab. Everyone said he’d taken a long leave and gone back to his hometown. No one knew when he’d return.

Half my heart went cold.

Seriously?

He’d turned on me that fast?

I’d only just told him the night before that I was the fake heiress. Had he already started cutting ties, avoiding me because he was afraid I’d cling to him later?

That was beyond ungrateful. He was a treacherous, scheming wolf—a backstabber who crossed a bridge and tore it down behind him. He was worse than an animal!

I didn’t even dare make a scene.

If the truth about me got exposed before the time came, I’d lose those last fifteen days of comfort. Then people would laugh at me for having raised an ungrateful wolf.

But I was so angry.

I charged into his rented room, ready to smash everything in sight.

Then I looked around, and somehow I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Because…

It seemed like… maybe… everything in there belonged to me.

Whenever I was upset, I used to run over to Gu Jingshen’s place.

I’d barge in like a bandit, kick off my shoes wherever, toss my coat aside, then flop down on the sofa.

I’d complain, too.

“Gu Jingshen, can’t you replace this sofa? It’s so hard, it’s digging into me.”

He’d bend down to pick up my shoes and put them neatly in the shoe cabinet. Then he’d collect my coat, brush it off, and hang it up.

As usual, he never answered.

I didn’t care. I’d prop my feet up and keep scrolling on my phone.

“Ugh. You have serious OCD.”

But the next day I came over, the old sofa was gone. In its place was a new one, soft as a cloud.

And it was my favorite shade of pink.

I bounced onto it.

“Wow, wow, wow! This is so comfortable! Gu Jingshen, you sure know how to behave.”

He was typing on his computer, his eyes behind his glasses never even blinking.

After that, I realized he quietly took every suggestion I made and turned it into reality.

There was a new Line Friends dog mug just for me. A pair of pink fuzzy slippers was always waiting by the door. A neat stack of blankets sat on the sofa so I could cover myself when I got tired of playing on my phone and fell asleep.

Aside from those things, Gu Jingshen owned almost nothing.

There were only a few faded outfits in his closet, and just three pairs of shoes to rotate between.

I didn’t like that, so I gave him extra money and told him to buy more clothes. He returned it anyway.

He said all he needed was for me to cover his tuition.

Back then, I’d thought he was thrifty, sincere, and ambitious.

Turns out he’d only been pretending.

Maybe he thought I was humiliating him with my money and had been resentful for ages.

I was always finding ways to bother him. He’d probably been sick of me for a long time, but because I was his sponsor, he hadn’t felt he could get angry.

He’d finally waited until I was down on my luck.

At last, he could get away from me.

He must be overjoyed. Maybe he was throwing a huge party back home right now.

I quietly walked around his spotless room.

The more I thought about it, the worse I felt. I was overcome by a sense of separation and loss, all alone and utterly miserable.

Eventually I curled up on the sofa and cried softly for a while.

At some point, I fell asleep.

By the time I woke, it was almost evening. Sunset spread across the floor tiles, and the savory smell of cooking oil drifted in from the neighbors’ homes.

I sniffed and started to sit up.

Then something felt wrong.

Wait. Had I been covered by a blanket?

I thought I’d used the little blanket as a pillow before I fell asleep.

Now a blue floral blanket was tucked around me.

Maybe I’d gotten cold and pulled it over myself in my sleep?

That was very possible. After all, I loved myself that much.

It definitely couldn’t have been Gu Jingshen coming back and covering me.

If he’d really returned, he should have shoved me off the sofa and pointed at me, yelling that he’d never again suffer the humiliation of being my dog.

The more I thought about it, the sadder I got.

I slapped myself.

Stop thinking about him.

Forget him already.

I still had fifteen days left. I should go home and enjoy them while I could.

5

I said I’d enjoy myself, but from the day I learned I was the fake heiress, I stopped causing trouble at home.

I spoke softly and behaved with an unnatural degree of obedience.

Even my little brother was confused. He poked half his head into my room.

“Sis, what’s wrong with you?”

I glared at him.

“Get out and close the door.”

He immediately looked delighted.

“That’s more like it. That’s my sister.”

I regretted it as soon as I’d said it.

At this rate, fifteen days from now, he’d be the first to stuff me into a suitcase and throw me downstairs.

So I cleared my throat and tried to use the gentlest, most polite voice I could manage.

“Could you please close the door for me? Thank you.”

The instant I finished, he looked at me in horror and disbelief. He backed away two steps, then thundered downstairs.

“Mom! Mom! I think a ghost possessed Sis!”

I was speechless.

Was my brother an M or something?

I started listening to Mom, too.

She told me to go to bed early and stop staying up so late.

She’d only said it in passing. She knew I’d never listen and would keep watching shows until midnight.

But before she’d even finished, I set down my phone, turned off the light, and went to bed.

Mom: “?”

At the dinner table, she told me to eat more vegetables and stop dieting.

Again, she’d only said it in passing. She knew I wouldn’t listen.

But I immediately piled my bowl high with greens, ribs, fish, and steak, then ate like I’d never seen food before.

Mom: “!”

I became even more polite to my little brother. I stopped asking him to shop for me or pick up deliveries. I’d often smile at him, hug him, and pat his back.

Then I’d lean close to his ear and whisper like a demon,

“I love you so much, and you love me so much.”

My little brother would shudder from head to toe and clap both hands over his ears, as if a wasp had stung him.

The two of them grew more and more suspicious. After all, I’d stopped tormenting them.

I no longer ran around the villa with a loudspeaker and microphone, forcing them to listen to me sing. I no longer pretended to be sick so my brother would bring me tea and water. I stopped causing trouble outside and making Mom clean up after me.

I even fought Auntie Liu for the chance to clean.

I grabbed a mop and scrubbed the floor with all my might.

Auntie Liu slapped her thigh behind me.

“Oh, my goodness! Young Miss, what are you doing?”

What did it look like? I was practicing for the life ahead of me.

I wouldn’t be a rich young lady much longer. Wouldn’t I have to get a job and support myself?

Knowing my brother, he wouldn’t let me take a single cent from the family.

My parents already hated me, too. They’d probably be happy if I died out there.

They certainly wouldn’t give me any money.

Boo-hoo.

Maybe I could pretend to be pitiful and stay on as a maid, cleaning the house?

Auntie Liu seemed to get paid pretty well. That should be enough to feed me.

I was so tired from working during the day that I went to bed early.

Half-asleep, I heard someone come in.

They felt my forehead.

“She doesn’t even have a fever. What’s gotten into this girl?”

Then they picked up the plush toy that had fallen to the floor, put it in my arms, and carefully tucked the blanket around me.

It was Mom.

Hearing such a gentle voice made my eyes sting.

Was she so kind and patient with me because I was her real daughter? No matter how much trouble I caused, she had to put up with it.

But…

What if she found out I wasn’t her biological child?

I’d been so disobedient and caused her trouble all the time. Maybe she’d been tired of me and sick of me for ages; she’d just never let it show.

I was still thinking when someone else came in.

It seemed to be my little brother.

He carefully pulled my hand out from under the blanket.

I thought, “?”

Was he going to strangle me as revenge?

While I was imagining the worst, my wrist suddenly felt cool. The ache from mopping all day seemed to ease.

I narrowed my eyes.

It was a medicated patch.

I had no idea where my brother had gotten it.

Hmph. Acting nice for no reason.

He probably wanted me to hit and scold him less from now on.

But don’t worry, little brother.

In fifteen days, you’ll have a kind, considerate big sister.

She won’t order you around, hit you, or scold you anymore.

6

After nearly ten days of behaving myself at home, I got a call from a friend.

Gu Jingshen had come back.

Perfect timing.