Chapter 2: Smack! — A Slap in the Face

No one had expected that Chu Yue — who used to be quiet, timid, like a doormat — would suddenly speak like this.

Li Amei’s expression stiffened, twisted between awkwardness and fury.

Chu Yaoyao’s anger flared instantly. She shot Chu Yue a vicious glare and shouted:

“Chu Yue! Who are you cursing?!”

After yelling, she immediately turned toward the man leaning against the doorway smoking a cigarette. Her face shifted into a pitiful expression as she cried:

“Dad! You have to do something about Chu Yue! What kind of nonsense is she saying? You’ve been married to Mom for years, and now she won’t even acknowledge her as our mother!”

That man was Chu Nanshan.

The supposed head of the household… yet he just stood there in silence, smoking in the corner without saying a word.

And he wasn’t the only man in the room.

Chu Yue’s biological younger brother, Chu Jianjun, was standing near the cabinet. He stared at his fingers, picking at them idly, acting as if none of this concerned him.

Whether Chu Yue lived or died, or what injustices she had suffered — it was as if none of it had anything to do with her father or her brother.

A cowardly father. A scheming stepmother. A domineering stepsister.

Even her own little brother didn’t side with her.

Chu Yue saw through this so-called “family affection” with a single glance — it was cold and heartless.

But she couldn’t help feeling angry on behalf of the original Chu Yue.

She raised her head and looked at Chu Nanshan, fixing her gaze on the man who was the original host’s biological father, and questioned him:

“Dad, Chu Yaoyao is your daughter. But so am I. I’m your real, biological daughter. Do you really not feel any pain for me? Do you not care at all? You’re really going to kick me out and marry me off to a man I’ve never even met?”

Chu Nanshan didn’t move.

He kept his head down, silently puffing on his dry tobacco pipe, his face blank and passive.

He looked just like those useless, cowardly fathers you see in every household — too spineless to protect their own children.

Li Amei had figured out Chu Nanshan’s character years ago — she had him wrapped around her finger like a ripe persimmon.

Before Chu Nanshan could respond, she rushed in with more fake sobbing, wiping at her tears with her sleeve.

“Yueyue, if anyone’s to blame, it’s me. Don’t take it out on your father… Everyone says being a stepmother is hard — I know you don’t like me. It’s all my fault these past few years…”

Putting on her act again, Li Amei dropped to her knees, trying to cry her way out of trouble.

Chu Yue listened to all this theatrical nonsense without even furrowing her brows.

She cast a cold glance and snapped:

“Shut up. I’m talking to my father — who asked you to butt in?”

Her words landed like a slap.

The entire room fell deathly silent.

Everyone was stunned by Chu Yue’s sudden assertiveness, even Chu Jianjun looked up in surprise.

But the real shock was yet to come.

Chu Yaoyao, having always been coddled by her biased mother, had never been second to anyone — especially not to Chu Yue.

She had never swallowed such humiliation before.

“Chu Yue! You damn brat — you’ve really lost your mind!”

Furious, Chu Yaoyao rushed forward and reached out to grab Chu Yue’s collar.

But Chu Yue was no longer the helpless original host who’d let herself be bullied.

She raised her hand and grabbed Chu Yaoyao’s wrist.

In one smooth motion, she twisted her arm around — and then:

Smack!

A crisp, ringing slap echoed through the room.

Five red fingerprints instantly bloomed on Chu Yaoyao’s round, pampered face.

And… it hurt.

After delivering the slap, Chu Yue casually rolled her wrist.

She was still adjusting to this frail body — after all, the original girl had been underfed for years, skin-and-bone thin, her wrists so delicate they looked like they could snap at any moment.

Good thing she, Chu Yue from the apocalypse, had plenty of experience doing heavy, dirty work — she still had strength.

Though her hands were rough — from years of washing clothes in winter, eight of her ten fingers were covered in chilblains — the slap stung even her.

But the one who felt it most… was, of course, Chu Yaoyao.

She froze, clutching her face in disbelief, staring wide-eyed at Chu Yue.

“Y–You actually dared to hit me?!”

Chu Yue raised her eyes coldly and calmly.
“If you dare lay a hand on me again, believe it or not, I’ll make sure the other side of your face is swollen too.”

“Who do you think you are—”

Chu Yaoyao was completely enraged. Her eyes widened in fury, and she looked like she was about to pounce on Chu Yue.

But Ling Amei was someone who knew when to pull back.

If they pushed Chu Yue too hard and she refused to go through with the substitution marriage to Lu Zhanlin, then her own daughter Chu Yaoyao would be the one to suffer.

She couldn’t afford to lose control.

She had to devour her bit by bit.

“Yaoyao, don’t make a scene. Yueyue is your younger sister…” Ling Amei hugged the furious Chu Yaoyao tightly and tearfully turned to Chu Nanshan.
“Nanshan, say something…”

But Chu Yue didn’t spare the two tear-streaked, hypocritical women a single glance. From beginning to end, her eyes were fixed on Chu Nanshan.

At this point—

Even if Chu Nanshan didn’t want to speak, he had no choice.

He put down the dry tobacco pipe in his hands. His cloudy eyes looked at the tearful Ling Amei first, then shifted to his biological daughter, Chu Yue.

“Yueyue, you’re a girl. What’s the use of a girl studying so much? In the end, you’ll just get married. No matter what, Amei is still your mother. She wouldn’t harm you. She’s told me everything about the man—Lu Zhanlin is an honest and dependable fellow. Once you marry him, you two can live a steady life together.”

Hearing this—

Chu Yue sneered inwardly.

So that was it.

Chu Nanshan had known all along about Ling Amei’s plan to swap the sisters. Yet he hadn’t considered his own daughter’s feelings even once. He was fully on board with selling her off.

What a wonderful father.

Chu Yue’s gaze grew even colder, her expression full of disgust as she looked away from Chu Nanshan.

She then looked over at Chu Jianjun.

Chu Jianjun had just turned eighteen this year. He hadn’t been able to get into a regular high school, so after graduating from junior high, he enrolled in a vocational school.

There were three children in the family—he was the only boy, and also the most spineless and unambitious of them all.

From the original owner’s memories, Chu Yue knew that before he was ten, Chu Jianjun had been different—he used to dote on his sister and study hard.

But ever since Ling Amei married into the family, day by day, she turned him into a lazy good-for-nothing.

And the once-close bond between Chu Yue and her younger brother had completely crumbled.

With just one glance from Chu Yue, Chu Jianjun immediately tried to distance himself.

“Sis, why are you looking at me? I didn’t know anything about this from the beginning—I’ve always just listened to Mom and Dad. Stop making a scene. It’s embarrassing if the neighbors hear. You’re getting married, Yaoyao is going to college, and I’ll graduate from tech school soon and take Dad’s job at the steel factory. The three of us all have a future—it’s all good, isn’t it?”

“All good”?

Just another weakling trying to smooth things over.

Chu Jianjun hadn’t learned anything useful, but he’d fully inherited Chu Nanshan’s pathetic cowardice.

Chu Yue’s lips curled into a mocking smile.

At the same time, the frail body she inhabited suddenly felt drained of all strength.

Chu Yue could vaguely sense something fading inside—
the last trace of the original owner’s lingering consciousness.

She had been completely brokenhearted.

So be it.

Chu Yue no longer had anything holding her back. A family this cold-blooded and devoid of affection—she didn’t need it.

“Fine,” she said. “I’ll do it. I’ll marry in her place.”

At those words, even Ling Amei couldn’t suppress the joy in her face—no matter how much of a white lotus she pretended to be.

The thrill of a successful scheme couldn’t be hidden beneath her wrinkled old face. Her smile stretched so wide, she could barely restrain it.

She tried her best to act surprised.

“Yueyue, Mom is just so happy… It’s so wonderful that you’ve come around. Don’t worry—no matter where you go after the marriage, this will always be your home. You’ll always be my and your dad’s daughter. We won’t abandon you.”

Chu Yue saw through Ling Amei’s fake sweetness instantly and smiled coldly.

Then she interrupted.

“Don’t get too happy just yet. I’ll agree to the marriage—but I have three conditions.”

Ling Amei sensed something wasn’t right, but at this point, she had no choice but to play along.

“Yueyue, say it. Your dad and I are listening.”

Chu Yue looked up and said,

“First, I want five hundred yuan.”