Chapter 1 When I was six, a volunteer teacher came to our village. During the first class, my older sister, Lily, told me to draw a picture in my notebook—a drawing of our mother, chained in the corner of her room. The next day, a fleet of cars with flashing red and blue lights surrounded our house. Police officers subdued my screaming father, then smashed the rusty lock on my mother’s bedroom door. I watched as Mom grabbed Lily’s hand and ran toward a man in an expensive suit. Her face was glowing with a smile I had never seen before. Dad lay on the ground in a pool of blood, his eyes closed. Terrified, I begged Mom to save him. She shoved me away. "Don't call me Mom! If it wasn't for Lily, I never would have given birth to a monster like you!" I froze. Lily, didn’t you say that if I gave the drawing to the teacher, Mom would finally hug me? ... Everything happening in front of me was nothing like what I had imagined. The man in the suit, who held my mother tightly, stared at me with cold, deadly eyes. He looked like someone important, someone powerful. After kicking my unconscious father a few more times, he walked toward me. His large hand blocked out the sunlight. I squeezed my eyes shut, trembling. "Wait..." It was Mom’s voice. She tugged at the man’s sleeve and looked at me with a complicated expression. My heart leaped. Lily was right! I gave the drawing to the teacher, and now Mom liked me. But then Lily pulled away from Mom’s embrace, pointed a shaking finger at me, and screamed through her tears. "Mommy, it’s her! That kidnapper loved her the most!" "He gave her all the good food first! He called her his little treasure!" "Her kidnapper dad made us suffer so much! Why aren't we punishing her?" Mom’s body stiffened. The look in her eyes changed instantly. The man, hearing this, looked at me like he wanted to kill me. Bang! He kicked me to the ground. The hard sole of his shoe slammed into my chest. It felt like my insides were being rearranged. "Mommy... Mommy..." I cried out for her, but she just held Lily tighter, never looking back at me again. Hearing me call her "Mommy" only seemed to make the man angrier. He started kicking and punching my curled-up body. The pain was suffocating. My vision blurred. Mommy, didn't you like me just a second ago? Why don't you like me anymore? A police officer finally pulled the man off me, saving my life. My father, covered in blood, was handcuffed and taken away in a car with flashing lights. As he passed me, he smiled faintly, mumbling something I couldn't hear. I knew the man in the silver bracelets wasn't coming back. Mom and Lily were getting ready to leave too. Panicked, I wailed and grabbed Mom’s leg, kneeling on the dirt. "Mommy, don't leave me! I'll be good, I promise!" Mom stopped. But Lily started crying again. "Mommy, I'm scared! I don't want to see her!" Although none of them wanted to take me, the police insisted. Reluctantly, they put me in the car. The seat was soft, but I was too scared to move. I was terrified my dirty clothes would stain it, and they would throw me out. I started feeling dizzy. When the car took a sharp turn, I couldn't hold it in anymore and fell against Lily. Lily burst into tears. "You bullied me before, and now you're bullying me again! I hate you! I never want to see you again!" In the end, they found a thick rope. One end was tied to my wrist, the other to the back of the car. They dragged me behind the car like a piece of trash. By the time the car stopped, I was a bloody mess. Chapter 2 I spent a month in the hospital. Every time the doctor came in, he looked at me with pity. Mom never came. Not once. Only Lily visited a few times. Each time, she wore a beautiful princess dress I had never seen before, holding fancy snacks. She sat by my bed, crunching on chips, bragging about her new life. "Daisy, Daddy bought me a huge toy castle. It's bigger than our old house in the village." "Mommy took me to eat French food. Escargot is so delicious. You've probably never even heard of it, have you?" Her words stung, like little needles in my heart. But I never said a word. I just watched her quietly. After I recovered, I was taken to their home. It was a mansion, but my room was in the attic. Small, stuffy, with only a tiny skylight. I wasn't allowed to leave my room, let alone go to school. Every day after school, Lily would come to my door in her pristine uniform, carrying a cute backpack, just to show off. "Daisy, today in art class, the teacher taught us how to paint. It was so fun." "Daisy, my classmates invited me to the amusement park this weekend. Mommy already said yes." I wanted to go to school too. But from the whispers of the maids, I vaguely understood my background. Until one day, Lily dragged me out of the attic and brought me to Mom. "Mommy, let Daisy go to school too." "It was the kidnapper's fault, not hers. We shouldn't take it out on Daisy." After Lily begged repeatedly, Mom finally relented. "Fine. Go if you want. Just don't cause trouble." Mom didn't even look at me. She dropped those cold words and walked away. Even though Mom still didn't like me, I could finally go to school. I was enrolled in the same elite private school as Lily. I thought this was the start of a new life. But on my first day, my desk was covered in black ink. My new textbooks were torn to shreds, confetti scattered across the floor. I didn't dare make a sound. I cleaned it up silently, alone. During recess, a group of rich kids cornered me in the bathroom. "Hillbilly trash! Do you even know how to use a toilet this fancy?" "Look at her clothes. So tacky!" "I heard her dad was a kidnapper. Scum like that shouldn't have kids!" A heavy-set girl grabbed my hair and shoved my head into the toilet bowl. I struggled, but I was too weak. I choked on the yellow water. Just then, Lily appeared. She frowned and shouted, "Stop bullying my sister!" She pulled me out of the toilet. "My sister just came from the countryside. She doesn't know how to use a flush toilet. Don't laugh at her." "Mom and Dad brought her back. Even though... even though she doesn't really look like us, please, for my sake, stop bullying her, okay?" But after saying this, she covered her nose and looked at me with disgust. "Why do you smell so bad? Did you not shower again?" After her "defense," the group laughed even harder. "Oh, so she's the charity case the family took in!" "Don't worry, Lily. For your sake, we'll take good care of her!" After school, I went home filthy. When Mom saw me, she frowned in disgust. "Just like that animal. Only knows how to cause trouble." I said nothing. I dragged my exhausted body back to the attic. Locking the door, I pulled out some paper and a pencil from under my bed. I had found them in the trash. Lying on the floor, I drew a little girl. She was standing on the edge of a cliff. Behind her, countless invisible hands were pushing her into the abyss. Chapter 3 I quickly learned the rules of survival at school. No matter how they insulted me or pranked me, I kept a poker face. They wouldn't let me study, so I pretended not to listen in class. But back in the attic at night, I studied bit by bit. Until one day, Lily tore all my notes into pieces. "Daisy, Mommy isn't going to pay for your college anyway. This trash takes up too much space. I cleaned it up for you. You're welcome." In that moment, something inside me snapped. I pushed her. Hard. She didn't expect me to fight back. She fell backward, hitting her forehead against the corner of the table. Blood trickled down. "Ah!" Mom and the servants rushed in immediately. Lily cried and threw herself into Mom's arms. "Mommy, Daisy hit me! She said I'm a bad person and she wants to kick me out of the house!" Mom looked at the cut on Lily's forehead, then at me. Her eyes turned vicious. "You ungrateful little wolf! Lily treats you so well, and you dare to hit her!" Mom raised her hand and slapped me across the face. My "father," Mr. Sterling, rushed in too. "You touched Lily? I'll kill you!" He grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the wall. Pain exploded in my skull. Lily hid behind Mom, her eyes red. "Daddy, don't blame Daisy. It's my fault. I shouldn't have touched her things..." "What things does she have? A bastard child, eating my food, living in my house, and daring to bully my daughter!" He looked around, grabbed a leather belt from the wall. The belt gleamed in the light. Mom watched without a flicker of emotion, only hugging Lily tighter. Crack! The belt lashed across my back. My clothes tore instantly. Burning pain made me curl into a ball. "It wasn't me..." I could barely speak through the pain, but I tried. "She... she tore up my notes..." "Still lying! Still framing Lily!" Crack! Crack! Crack! The belt hit my back, my legs. Everywhere was tearing pain. I looked up at Mom in the doorway, begging silently. She finally spoke, but not to save me. "Just like her kidnapper father. Full of lies. Born bad." Mr. Sterling threw the belt down and started kicking me. Chest, stomach, back... every kick felt like my organs were rupturing. The taste of blood filled my mouth. My vision blurred. Before I closed my eyes, I saw Lily peek out from Mom's embrace. A faint, triumphant smile curled the corner of her lips. Chapter 4 In middle school, Lily's grandmother returned from abroad. That night, the family held a grand dinner. At the table, Grandma met Lily and me for the first time. Lily was poised and charming, calling "Grandma" sweetly with every breath. Grandma responded politely but kept glancing at me in the corner. Halfway through dinner, Grandma wanted to walk in the garden. As we passed through the foyer, Lily, walking behind me, suddenly stuck out her foot. I tripped and fell forward. Crash! Grandma's favorite antique vase shattered on the floor. Lily screamed immediately. "Ah! Daisy! How could you be so clumsy! That was Grandma's favorite vase!" Mom’s face darkened instantly. She stormed over, raising her hand to slap me. But the slap never landed. A hand pulled me behind them. Grandma stared coldly at Lily. "Don't play these cheap tricks in front of me." Lily’s face went pale. Mom froze. After that, my life improved slightly. At least Lily stopped openly tormenting me. Although Mom still didn't like me, I understood. I focused on my studies. I couldn't change my birth, but I wanted to change my fate. My grades soared. I even skipped a grade and became Lily's classmate. She was jealous. She started sabotaging me in every way possible. In the final mock exam before college entrance tests, I ranked first in the grade again. As long as I maintained this, I could start a new life. But the day after the exam, Lily reported me to the homeroom teacher. "Teacher, Daisy cheated. Here is the evidence!" Looking at the slip of paper in her hand, I trembled with rage. "You tore that from my scratch paper!" "Lily, why are you doing this to me!" Just then, Mom rushed in. Without asking a single question, she slapped me across the face. "Have you no shame!" "You're useless yourself, so you have to frame your sister! You're just like your kidnapper father—rotten to the core!" Mr. Sterling followed Mom in, pointing at my nose and cursing. "You have disgraced the Sterling family!" "From today on, don't step foot in our house!" The principal walked in. "Mr. Sterling, I think we need to investigate further. Daisy has always been a top student. She has no reason to cheat." Before Mr. Sterling could speak, Mom cut in. "She's bad to the bone. A pathological liar. Maybe she cheated on every exam to get first place." "I didn't cheat! The note is fake! Check the surveillance cameras!" I screamed. "Shut up! A kidnapper's child getting an education is already a miracle. If we say you cheated, you cheated." Under Mr. Sterling's pressure, the principal adjusted his glasses and avoided my gaze. "Um... Daisy Sterling, senior class one. Due to misconduct and cheating, you are hereby expelled and disqualified from the college entrance exam." My world collapsed in that instant. I knelt and begged the principal to check the cameras, to prove my innocence. But he just glanced at Mr. Sterling and shook his head slightly at me. Walking out of the office, Mom and Dad flanked Lily protectively, leaving me far behind. At the stairwell corner, Lily deliberately slowed down. She leaned close to my ear and whispered, so only I could hear: "Daisy, you can't beat me. In your next life, make sure you're born into a better family." I looked at her smug face. Years of grievance exploded in a split second. I used all my strength and shoved her toward the railing. "Ah—!" Lily screamed as she fell from the fourth floor. I climbed onto the railing and looked down at the two shocked parents. "Mom, I'm giving this life back to you. In the next life, I never want to know you." Wind roared in my ears. I saw the mother I drew in my notebook, the one chained up. She reached out to me, wearing the gentle smile I had imagined a thousand times. This time, she would definitely hug me. Lily and I were rushed to the hospital. Mom screamed and cried for Lily, completely ignoring me, equally covered in blood, on the other gurney. Mr. Sterling hovered anxiously around Lily. Chaos in the ER. "Patient has lost too much blood! We need a transfusion! She's Type B, blood bank is low!" "Take mine! I'm her father!" Mr. Sterling rolled up his sleeve frantically. The doctor shook his head. "No, you're Type A. Not a match." Both parents froze. "Impossible? I'm O, he's A. How can Lily be B?" Just then, a nurse ran over with my lab results. "Doctor, this girl is Type A. We can use her blood!" Silence fell over the ER. At that moment, several police officers walked in. "Mr. Sterling, Mrs. Sterling. We are from the City PD." "The kidnapper, Zhou Yong, just revealed a major secret to bargain for medical parole." "He confessed that years ago in the hospital, he swapped his biological daughter with yours."
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