Meng Zhen felt somewhat dizzy. She was sitting on the cold floor and holding a palm-sized, square device in her hand placed next to her ear.

“Sister^[1]older sister, please don’t cry. Even though Mom and Dad won’t agree to pay to terminate your contract, I have some savings in my account. We can figure something out if we pool our resources.” The soft and gentle voice of a girl came through the device. Meng Zhen rubbed her sore and throbbing temples and suddenly realized that the object she was holding was a mobile phone, capable of making calls.

“They said you’re already eighteen, and that parents have no obligation to bear those costs for you. The Xu family should live independently, with self-respect and dignity. You shouldn’t grow up like a dodder flower^[2]a leafless parasitic plant; also called love vine in a greenhouse, lacking any survival skills.”

Meng Zhen felt a sharp, burning pain in her abdomen, making her brows furrowed as tiny beads of sweat formed on her forehead and her face turned deathly pale.

Those words sounded particularly familiar to her. Not long ago, she had witnessed the life story of a young woman who had endured similar experiences.

That girl, also named Meng Zhen, was the long-lost daughter of the Xu family in the capital. After finally finding her real family, she discovered that her parents had long ago adopted another child, replacing her and erasing any trace of her existence.

The Xu family’s adopted daughter was named Xu Xueruo, and she possessed enviable good fortune.

She was a premature baby abandoned by her biological parents due to being frail, yet miraculously survived to the age of three against all odds.

At that time, the Xu Group had already become a renowned real estate developer in the capital. However, the CEO’s daughter had been abducted by human traffickers and couldn’t be traced no matter how hard they tried. To ease their family’s pain and sorrow, Xu Youheng and his wife, Zhao Rong, visited an orphanage in the capital. As soon as they got out of the car, little Xu Xueruo, who could barely walk, hugged Xu Youheng’s leg.

Seeing the adorable Xu Xueruo, Xu Youheng and Zhao Rong did not hesitate. They immediately proceeded with the adoption process.

From then on, Xu Xueruo became the sole heiress of the Xu family.

While the long-lost Meng Zhen became nothing more than her foil.

Xu Xueruo, despite her frail health, was very intelligent, consistently ranking in the top ten of her class in exams. On the other hand, Meng Zhen, who was healthy but had to drop out after graduating from middle school due to the orphanage’s financial constraints, became a trainee under an entertainment company.

Meng Zhen, after starring in an online drama, faced severe online criticism that ruined her reputation. If she didn’t pay the fee for the breach of contract, she would face being shelved. With no other options left, she planned to seek help from her recently reunited family. However, before she could utter a word, she was kicked out of the house.

The entertainment company wanted to profit from the penalty fee and pressured Meng Zhen to star in a highly explicit film. Refusing to comply, she called her non-blood-related adopted sister for help once more, only to be rejected again. Eventually, she chose to end her life by taking medication.

Meng Zhen’s stomach churned violently. She stumbled into the bathroom and used her fingers to scratch at her throat, retching continuously until she vomited out the pills that hadn’t yet dissolved in her stomach.

Hearing the sound of vomiting, Xu Xueruo was somewhat surprised and couldn’t help but ask, “Sister, are you feeling unwell? Should I call an ambulance?”

Meng Zhen weakly declined and then hung up the phone without further words.

She remembered being in a car accident, the pain of being crushed and rolled over felt like tearing her whole body apart.

After her death, somehow, her spirit did not go to the underworld but instead came to a much more modern place, where she watched a young woman live through a brief life.

After inducing vomiting, Meng Zhen’s brain gradually cleared from the dullness caused by the medication. She fiercely pinched the inside of her arm, causing sharp, piercing pain.

After confirming she wasn’t dreaming, she had to accept this bizarre reality.

She arrived in a completely new and unfamiliar world and became a completely different person.

This current country differed greatly from the republican era she knew. There was no longer ongoing warfare within its borders, and the nation had grown stronger, wielding influence internationally. There were no beggars or hungry people on the streets, and ordinary citizens could afford expensive cars and ride airplanes.

It was truly different.

Meng Zhen lowered her eyes and glanced at the phone, randomly tapping into the small square. The explicit insults were displayed on the bright screen, containing derogatory remarks and disrespectful comments towards her. Each word was filled with profound malice, causing her to furrow her brows involuntarily.

【Meng Zhen is just a b*tch, pretending to be a baifumei^[3]refers to fair-skinned females with wealthy families and good looks while bullying her colleagues and acting arrogant. This country’s entertainment industry is already chaotic enough, this kind of trash should get lost quickly.】

【I heard Meng Zhen was being kept by the CEO of Yunlai Entertainment. Otherwise, how could an orphan play the second female lead in an online drama? Although Meng Zhen’s character isn’t great, her face isn’t bad.】

【The entertainment industry isn’t a nightclub. If she wants to sell herself, she should go work as a prostitute. Why bother becoming a celebrity? Disgusting. She even collaborated with my idol. I hope she doesn’t have any infectious diseases!】

The reason the other Meng Zhen suffered these insults was because her public persona had collapsed.

The other Meng Zhen grew up in an orphanage from a young age. But with her delicate and beautiful features, before reaching adulthood, she was scouted by an entertainment company to become a trainee. The entertainment company excelled in packaging stars and crafted her image, using paid posters to spread rumors that she was a rich girl returning from abroad.

Just then, a clip of her slapping a colleague on set went viral online. Her identity information from the orphanage where she grew up was also exposed, and all the filters were gone.

The short clip was a scene from the script, but from the director to the crew, no one was willing to step forward to clarify for her. As a young woman without anyone to lean on, not to mention she had offended someone, more online slander was hurled against her.

There were even quite a few antis who opened threads on forums, fabricating some groundless scandals about her.

Meng Zhen was born in the republican era. She grew from a dance hall singing girl^[4]a young woman of low social status (often enslaved) who performed as a musician and entertainer to the country’s first silent film queen, enduring countless hardships along the way. Naturally, she didn’t care about such trivial insults.

But the other Meng Zhen was different from her. The young woman had been separated from her family and displaced since she was little. She finally entered the entertainment industry, only to face widespread online criticism.

If someone had offered her support and pulled her through this tough time, perhaps the other Meng Zhen wouldn’t have resorted to taking sleeping pills to end her life. Unfortunately, just as her parents had brought her back home, they found out she had secretly taken care of a kitten, which led to their adopted daughter, who had a weak constitution, developing an allergic reaction. And so Meng Zhen was kicked out of the house. They accused her of being corrupted by the orphanage and being inherently selfish, like a beast.

Terrified of her furious parents, the other Meng Zhen dared not plead with them to help cover the fee for breach of contract. Instead, she had to sneakily go to the hospital to seek assistance from her adopted sister, Xu Xueruo.

At that time, Xu Xueruo lay on a snowy-white hospital bed, her exposed skin covered in red rashes due to allergy. She had a respirator on her face, and her fingers weakly clutched her clothes. Her fragile and pitiful appearance evoked immense sympathy.

The other Meng Zhen felt both ashamed and guilty, believing it was her fault for feeding a stray cat outside the villa, causing Xu Xueruo to suffer. However, Meng Zhen, as an observer, saw the situation clearly.

After the other Meng Zhen left after feeding the kitten, Xu Xueruo went to the garage area, avoiding all surveillance cameras in the Xu family’s villa. She used sausage to lure the kitten over and held it in her arms, which triggered a severe allergic reaction.

The other Meng Zhen struggled to understand, but Meng Zhen understood perfectly well, having experienced a strikingly similar situation herself.

To Xu Xueruo, who was adopted by the Xu family after the other Meng Zhen’s disappearance, an adopted daughter was still just that— an adopted daughter, lacking the crucial bond of blood ties.

In the past, it would have been fine if the other Meng Zhen had not appeared in front of the Xu couple, but now that she had been brought back by Xu Youheng and was living under the same roof, if they develop feelings for each other, where would Xu Xueruo stand in the Xu family as their adopted daughter?

Therefore, Xu Xueruo steeled her heart and picked up the dirty and skinny stray cat.

Faced with the concern and anger from Xu Youheng and Zhao Rong, she silently shed tears without uttering a word.

Driven by guilt, the other Meng Zhen took the initiative to apologize but was driven out of the house by her furious parents. From then on, she walked a path toward despair step by step.

Meng Zhen felt extreme disgust towards such hypocrisy. She walked out of the bathroom and threw the constantly vibrating phone onto the bed.

She was currently staying in an apartment building under Yunlai Entertainment, which was specifically for trainees who had not yet debuted or had just started their careers. The small units, measuring fifty to sixty square meters, were not luxurious, but they offered the advantage of convenient transportation. In a place like the capital, where every inch of land was precious, this was already quite remarkable.

Before reuniting with the Xu couple, the other Meng Zhen had always lived there. After Xu Xueruo’s allergic reaction, this apartment became the only place where she could find shelter.

The other Meng Zhen previously participated in a talent show. Due to her exceptionally striking appearance, the program team gave her extra screen time during the broadcast, attracting many face fans. As a result, she gained a bit of popularity.

However, her skills were not strong enough to match the other contestants who had been training in singing and dancing since childhood. Fortunately, her fans were dedicated enough to support her, allowing her to debut in tenth place.

The phone still kept ringing, so Meng Zhen picked it up and pressed the answer button. She immediately heard the cold voice of her manager, “Come to the café downstairs of the company and meet Director Ou. He’s a renowned director in the country. If he didn’t need an actress willing to dedicate herself to art, do you think such a good opportunity would come to you?”

The other Meng Zhen’s manager’s name was Yu Jing, a top manager at Yunlai Entertainment. Having worked in the industry for nearly twenty years, she held many valuable resources.

Naturally, such a manager has other artists under her care, so typically, the other Meng Zhen’s work was handled by an assistant. But recently, the company wanted to force the other Meng Zhen to terminate her contract, so Yu Jing personally stepped in.

Although Meng Zhen was born in the republican era, her thinking wasn’t outdated. Having acted in numerous films, she was well aware of the tactics of entertainment companies. She despised Yunlai Entertainment’s method of exploiting artists to the point of destruction.

Now, Yu Jing’s proposal for a meeting suited her perfectly. After all, she wasn’t the other Meng Zhen and wouldn’t be easily manipulated by the manager.

After arranging a time with Yu Jing, Meng Zhen hung up the phone and walked into the bathroom to wash her face with cold water. She looked at the reflection in the mirror. The face resembled her original appearance by about fifty percent. The person looking at her through the reflection had a palm-sized face, well-shaped and thick eyebrows, full cheeks, a prominent nose bridge, and soft, plump lips. The only issue was her skin, which was too dull.

Luckily, her facial bone structure was good, making her particularly photogenic.

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Robbin: Just a heads-up. This novel has a large age gap between the MC and the ML.