Chapter 1: The Real Fake Daughter

“I was never really Dad and Mom’s biological child. I took over Sister’s identity, and the one who should leave is me! Dad, Mom, please stop making this harder than it already is!”

Jiang Yue had just regained consciousness when she heard a sobbing voice laced with faux sincerity. 

She slowly opened her eyes, and through her blurry vision, she noticed three people standing by the window. 

They looked like a family of three.

A man was smoking one cigarette after another, while a well-dressed middle-aged woman held on tightly to a girl who appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen, continuously wiping away tears.

“No! You can’t leave! What will Mom do if you go?” the woman cried.

“I know Mom feels sorry for me, but Sister has suffered for so many years. I can’t keep taking Dad and Mom’s love for myself. As long as I leave, Sister won’t keep acting out toward Dad and Mom anymore!”

The girl bit her lip and held back tears. 

Her pitiful yet sensible and strong demeanor made the woman feel even more heartbroken. 

At the same time, when she heard the girl mention her sister’s tantrums, the woman’s face clearly showed her disgust.

“Who said you’re hogging our love? Dad and Mom raised you and doted on you willingly!” the woman said as she gently held the girl’s hand, speaking with affection.

Suddenly, her tone shifted, becoming sharp and shrill. “But that Jiang Yue—of all times, she didn’t come back earlier or later—she just had to come back right when we’re arranging the engagement with the Qi Family. I think she’s just jealous and wants to snatch the marriage with the Qi Family for herself!”

The man, who had been silent all along, furrowed his brows at this. “Don’t talk about Jiang Yue like that!”

“Why can’t I? You’re still defending her?” The woman exploded the moment she heard his words.

She started scolding non-stop. “She went off and found some second-marriage old man—that’s embarrassing enough—and now she wants our Youyou to take her place and marry that old man? I’m telling you, that’s impossible!”

“Enough! Say no more!” the man snapped impatiently.

“Say no more—you always just tell me to say no more!” the woman cried, sobbing bitterly. “What do you expect me to do? I raised that girl for nineteen years! I have always been afraid she’d melt in my mouth, afraid she’d fall if I held her. Now you suddenly tell me she’s not my real daughter? That’s like stabbing a knife straight into my heart!”

The man appeared increasingly irritated by her crying, but he merely lifted his eyelids and took a long, hard drag on his cigarette.

Seeing that the man said nothing, the woman wiped her tears and said angrily: “I don’t care what outsiders say, I only recognize Youyou as my daughter! I won’t agree to let her marry that old man! The marriage with the Qi Family will only be Youyou’s!”

“Even if Jiang Yue dies here today, I still won’t agree!”

Jiang Yue lay on the bed, listening to these heart-piercing words, yet she felt no emotional fluctuations. 

She had just transmigrated into this world and was still digesting the dog-blood drama stored in her mind.

Jiang Yue had transmigrated into a book—specifically, into a melodramatic, dog-blood era fiction written by her best friend—becoming the vicious Female Supporting Character modeled after herself.

The original owner of the body had been switched at birth. She grew up in a patriarchal household that favored sons over daughters. 

At nineteen, unwilling to endure hardship any longer, she agreed to an arranged marriage with a second-marriage old man who already had a daughter.

However, after the wedding, the original owner immediately regretted it. 

The two of them had not even held hands.

One day, the original owner accidentally learned that she was not the biological daughter of the family she had grown up in. 

Her real parents were wealthy people living in the provincial capital. Without hesitation, she left a letter for the old man and rushed off in a frenzy to find her birth family.

To her surprise, her biological parents were cold and indifferent toward the real daughter who had been lost for years. 

In contrast, they continued to dote on the fake daughter who had taken her place all along. This left the original owner deeply aggrieved and bitter.

Even though the real daughter of the Ji Family had finally returned, and the parents were not exactly warm, they did not treat her badly either.

But the original owner was not content. 

She believed that everything the fake daughter possessed should rightfully belong to her. 

She thought the only reason her parents were not affectionate toward her was because the fake daughter had been sowing discord behind her back.

Her jealousy reached a boiling point when she learned that the fake daughter had secured a good marriage alliance. Why should she—the real daughter—marry a second-marriage old man burdened with a child, while the fake daughter who had stolen her identity got to marry the son of a high-ranking official?

So the original owner cried and caused a scene, demanding that her parents publicly reveal her true identity and drive the fake daughter out.

Of course, the original owner’s parents refused. 

Compared to their biological daughter, they had far deeper emotional ties to the fake one.

What’s more, the Qi Family had made it clear—if the bride was not the fake daughter, then the engagement would be canceled.

With that, the original owner’s status in the family became awkward. 

She didn’t want to return to the old man, and she wanted to continue enjoying the wealth and comfort of her birth family. 

But since her parents treated her coldly, she flew into a rage and slammed her head against the wall.

Originally, the original owner had only meant to scare her birth parents. She hadn’t expected to hit so hard. 

The impact caused her head to split open and she died on the spot. By the time she woke up again, someone else had taken over her body.

After finishing the memory dump of the dog-blood plot, Jiang Yue took a moment to steady herself, then sat up.

“You don’t have to feel conflicted. I’ll pack my things and leave right now!”

She wasn’t sure whether it was the force of the impact or the discomfort of just transmigrating, but her head spun terribly, and her body wobbled as she sat up.

Mother Ji finally noticed that Jiang Yue had awakened. 

A flicker of awkwardness passed across her face, but the moment she realized Jiang Yue was talking about leaving, she immediately let out a sigh of relief.

She made a show of wiping her face and said: “Jiang Yue, are you angry with Mom for being heartless? Mom really had no choice!”

Jiang Yue nodded. “I understand! After all, you’ve raised Ji Youyou for nineteen years—closer than to your biological daughter. It’s understandable!”

Father Ji and Mother Ji’s expressions stiffened upon hearing this. 

After all, the girl before them “was” their biological daughter, and she had suffered so much over the years after being lost to the wrong family. 

Deep down, they did feel somewhat guilty.

Ji Youyou noticed the trace of guilt on Father Ji and Mother Ji’s faces, and a shadow briefly flickered across her eyes.

But she quickly put on a sensible expression and said with a face full of remorse: “Dad, Mom, I should be the one to leave! Everything here originally belonged to Sister. The engagement with the Qi Family should also be Sister’s. She’s your real daughter! I’m the one who should go!”

“Silly child, you’re also our daughter! Don’t say things like that again!” Mother Ji grew even more distressed by Ji Youyou’s display of understanding and maturity.

Jiang Yue lifted her gaze, carefully observing Ji Youyou, and did not miss the look of smug satisfaction the girl shot her way.

Her first impression had been spot on—this fake daughter was absolutely a green tea b*tch. The tea aroma was practically pouring out of her. ^[1]Green tea bitch is someone who pretends to be pure and innocent, but in fact is manipulative and calculating

Jiang Yue recalled the words Ji Youyou had whispered in her ear while she was unconscious:

“Jiang Yue, so what if you’re the biological daughter? Dad and Mom will never acknowledge you! Killing yourself won’t change anything!”

“I’m getting married soon—to the son of a powerful official. Jealous, aren’t you? But the Secretary’s family chose me, not a bumpkin like you!”

“You, you’re only fit to be with that second-marriage old man who comes with baggage!”

Two-faced scheming btch—that was Ji Youyou. But clearly, Father Ji and Mother Ji completely fell for her act.

At this point, Father Ji spoke up. “Jiang Yue, don’t blame your parents. The Qi Family chose Youyou. And besides, you’re already married! Even if you stayed, the Qi Family wouldn’t want you.”

He paused for a moment, then flicked his cigarette butt to the ground and pulled out a thick stack of cash, handing it to Jiang Yue. “Here’s 200 yuan. Take it. Go home and live well. If there’s anything you need, write to Dad, and I’ll buy it and mail it to you!”

Jiang Yue lowered her gaze, staring at the stack of Great Unity bills in his hand, and the corners of her lips curved up in a hint of amusement.

Two hundred yuan was a hefty sum in this era, when monthly wages averaged just twenty or thirty yuan. 

Just how much did the original owner’s parents dislike their own daughter, that they would try to send her away with cash?

All that talk about “living well” and “write if you need something” was clearly their way of severing ties, of making it clear they didn’t want to see her again.

“Alright!” Jiang Yue took the money and stuffed it into her pocket. She grabbed her bag and, without another word, turned and walked out.

If the original owner were still alive, she might have felt hurt or angry. But Jiang Yue had no emotional connection to this family, so she felt nothing at all.

Father Ji and Mother Ji stared at Jiang Yue’s departing figure and looked at each other in surprise.

“She left… just like that?” Father Ji asked in a low voice.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Mother Ji replied with visible displeasure. “Typical of someone raised in the countryside—money’s all she sees. If I’d known 200 yuan could send her packing, I wouldn’t have wasted so many words!”