It was June, shortly after the college entrance examination.
Guan Xuxu completed her discharge procedures from the hospital and was returning home. Just as she stepped into the gate of the Guan family's villa, a suitcase was suddenly thrown at her feet with a loud "bang."
A glamorous woman, dressed expensively, stood in the foyer, looking down on her. Her gaze swept over the delicate features and snow-white skin of the young woman, and a flash of jealousy flickered in her eyes, followed by an unmistakable disdain.
"I've had your things packed. From today onward, get out of this house and go back to your real parents!"
Guan Xuxu didn't even glance at the suitcase on the floor. She looked coldly at the woman before her, Bai Shuqin, the woman she had called "mother" for seventeen years.
The noise at the entrance caught the attention of the people inside. Soon, Guan's father and his two children walked out.
Guan's father looked at the suitcase at Guan Xuxu's feet and then turned to his wife with a tone that seemed to carry some reproach.
"Shuqin, what is this about? Xuxu is our daughter, we've raised her for eighteen years."
"She's nothing but a troublesome burden!" Bai Shuqin glared at Guan Xuxu.
"On this occasion, the city's representative for the image was chosen, and I clearly told her to give the opportunity to Rui Rui. She ignored my words completely! If I hadn't found out the final list, she'd still be kept in the dark! If she had any conscience, she wouldn't have taken what should have been her sister's!"
At the side, Guan Rui Rui, hearing Bai Shuqin's words, a trace of hatred flashed in her eyes, but it was quickly concealed. She then put on a slightly aggrieved and sad look, saying,
"Mom, don't say that. The opportunity to represent the city is rare. It's normal for sister not to want to give it up. Maybe I didn't do enough, or else I wouldn't have been chosen…"
"What's wrong with you? Don't you know everything she has was given by our Guan family?" Bai Shuqin gently comforted her daughter.
Guan Xuxu silently watched this mother-daughter performance. She had seen this countless times over the years, and at this moment, she felt nothing but indifference, even a hint of amusement.
Four days ago, she had been thrown over twenty meters by a car while trying to save Guan Rui Rui. Everyone thought she wouldn't survive.
When Bai Shuqin and the Guan family arrived at the scene, their first reaction wasn't to check on her injuries but to console Guan Rui Rui, who was crying uncontrollably from the shock.
Guan Xuxu lay on the ground, feeling cold in her limbs. But what truly chilled her heart was the conversation between her father and Bai Shuqin:
"The front of the car is smashed to pieces. She probably won't make it."
"Maybe it's for the best. If she dies, it means Rui Rui's great calamity is really blocked. It won't be in vain that we've raised her all these years…"
Guan Xuxu had always known she was nothing more than a tool used by the Guan family to block bad luck for Guan Rui Rui.
When she was younger, she didn't understand why every time Guan Rui Rui got sick, Bai Shuqin would insist she take care of her twenty-four-seven, and every time, Guan Rui Rui would recover quickly, while she herself would fall seriously ill afterward.
It wasn't until she met her mentor, who guided her, that she realized her and Guan Rui Rui's birth charts were aligned in a Yin-Yang balance.
They were two halves of a whole, and she was the good half.
The Guan family had raised her beside Guan Rui Rui to use her good fortune to fill in the bad luck that resided in Guan Rui Rui. As this cycle repeated, Guan Rui Rui's fate gradually improved, while hers worsened.
If Guan Xuxu hadn't been prepared, perhaps she would have already run out of luck and died in the car accident four days ago.
And because of that car accident, her biological father had unexpectedly found her.
"Are you done? Can I leave now?"
Having heard the couple coldly discussing her death, all the last bits of hope Guan Xuxu had for the Guan family vanished.
She felt no attachment to leaving the Guan family.
"Xuxu, don't blame your mother. This is really your fault."
It was only now that Guan's father spoke up, his face as serious as always. "Since you've found your biological parents, you should go back to them."
Guan Rui Rui also spoke up, her voice soft and timid.
"Sister, don't be angry with mom. She's doing this for me."
Then, suddenly, she picked up an envelope from the side and handed it to her, saying kindly,
"This is the travel money for you. I heard dad say your biological parents live in a mountainous area. Their family is poor, and the place doesn't have good internet. It's better to take cash."
Bai Shuqin scoffed coldly.
"Don't act like we haven't thought about you. This money will last you a whole year in the mountains. Our family has been more than kind to you."
She then sneered again.
"Once you're back there, you'll probably never see us again. I've heard that in such mountainous areas, there are many old men who can't find a wife. You can marry one of them when you go back. After all, your grades are mediocre; you'll probably never get into college."
Guan Xuxu looked at Bai Shuqin's expression, full of mockery and malice. She gave her a cold glance and said,
"Your forehead wrinkles are quite deep. That's a sign of over-calculation and accumulated karmic debt. Instead of worrying about me, you might want to use that few thousand yuan to buy a face mask. It might help."
She paused for a moment, almost deliberately adding,
"Though, it probably won't do much."
Guan Xuxu's words were delivered with complete seriousness, but they immediately caused Bai Shuqin's face to twist in anger. She yelled,
"You little bitch, who gave you the courage to speak to me like that!"
With that, she raised her hand, ready to slap Guan Xuxu.
Guan Xuxu simply looked at her coldly, gently sidestepping, causing Bai Shuqin's slap to miss.
Bai Shuqin couldn't believe it. "You dare to dodge…"
At the side, Guan Rui Rui quickly stepped forward to hold Guan Xuxu, saying,
"Sister, don't make mom angry. If you speak nicely, mom will forgive you."
Her words sounded sweet, but in reality, she was holding onto her to stop her from dodging Bai Shuqin's slap.
Guan Xuxu was about to push her away when her eyes caught a glimpse of the jade bracelet on Guan Rui Rui's wrist.
In a flash, she grabbed Guan Rui Rui's wrist, her voice cold as she asked,
"How did you get this bracelet?"
Guan Rui Rui had deliberately worn the bracelet to show off.
At this moment, seeing that her sister finally noticed, she quickly acted startled and cried out in pain,
"It hurts…"
The moment Guan Rui Rui cried out, Bai Shuqin's face turned pale. She grabbed Guan Xuxu's hand and pulled her away, shouting,
"Guan Xuxu! What are you doing?!"
But Guan Xuxu stared at Guan Rui Rui coldly and said in a frosty tone,
"That bracelet was left to me by Grandma."
"What's yours?! That was left to the Guan family's daughter by the old lady. You're no longer part of the Guan family. Of course, that bracelet belongs to Rui Rui!"
Guan Xuxu clenched her teeth, let go of the suitcase she had been holding, and looked straight at Guan's father.
"I'm not taking anything from the Guan family. I only want the bracelet Grandma left for me."
If there was anything she felt attachment to in the Guan family, it was her grandmother.
Her grandmother was the only one in the family who truly cared for her. Even when she passed away, her last wish was that Guan Xuxu wouldn't suffer after she was gone.
That bracelet was the only token left to her by her grandmother.