Chapter 1

Chu Jingzhu was awakened by a series of knocks on the door. Dazed and groggy, she opened her eyes and saw sunlight filtering through the curtains—it was already bright outside.

The knocking continued, accompanied by faint voices outside. However, Chu Jingzhu was feeling weak and uncomfortable all over. Her throat was dry, and she couldn’t make a sound.

Soon, the knocking stopped, but not long after, there were rustling sounds at the door. With a soft click, the door opened.

“Young Madam, are you alright?”

Squinting at the group of unfamiliar people who entered, Chu Jingzhu was momentarily stunned. But she quickly lacked the energy to think further, especially after she overheard a doctor in a white coat telling the woman leading the group that she had a fever of 39°C and needed an IV drip.

Oh, so she was sick. No wonder her whole body felt so uncomfortable.

The doctor quickly prepared the medicine and inserted the IV needle. Whether it was due to exhaustion from illness or the medication taking effect, Chu Jingzhu soon drifted off into a deep sleep again.

When she woke up once more, the room was dimly lit, with only a warm bedside lamp left on.

Chu Jingzhu slowly sat up and, using the warm glow, fumbled to turn on the main light. She raised her hand to block the harsh brightness. Once her eyes adjusted, she lowered her hand.

Looking around at the unfamiliar furnishings in the room, she confirmed this wasn’t her original bedroom. So what she saw earlier in the day wasn’t a hallucination.

While asleep earlier, she had a dream. In it, she was called Jiang Jingzhu, a girl who had no father since birth—there wasn’t even a photo of him at home. She grew up relying solely on her mother.

As a child, other kids would often call her a wild child without a father. Back then, she would ask her mother where her father had gone. Her mother told her he had gone somewhere very far away. She didn’t know exactly where that was, only that he would never return.

From then on, she never brought up her father again. Even when she was bullied, she would hide and cry in secret. This made her sensitive. And because her family was poor and her mother was often ill, she had to juggle between the hospital and school, sometimes even taking on part-time jobs.

Due to her reclusive nature, she didn’t make many friends in high school or university. Her quiet life continued until she got accepted into Jing University in the capital due to her academic excellence. Her mother sold their home and moved to the capital with her.

During freshman orientation, they happened to meet Chu Zhennan, who was also there to drop off his daughter. It was then she found out who her biological father was.

Chu Zhennan and her mother Jiang Xue had both grown up in an orphanage. Childhood friends, they did everything together—studying, working—and eventually fell in love.

They both had excellent grades and got into prestigious universities in the capital. But after entering university, the orphanage no longer covered their tuition. Studying in the capital was expensive, and as orphans, they couldn’t afford it.

They pooled together all their part-time earnings and scholarships from high school, but it was only enough for one person’s tuition.

So during the summer, they worked non-stop trying to save money. Despite their efforts, they barely managed to scrape together enough for tuition.

Once the tuition was paid, they were penniless—no money even for food, let alone other necessities.

While Chu Zhennan was worried, Jiang Xue tore up her own admission letter. She gave up her chance to study and chose to support him financially through various jobs.

Chu Zhennan didn’t disappoint. He was outstanding, and in his senior year, he co-founded a small tech company with friends. Despite its size, their strong technical skills attracted attention from large companies.

He was also handsome, which caught the eye of Li Lingqin, the heiress of the Li Corporation.

Originally, Chu Zhennan was steadfast. But when his company was targeted by competitors and on the verge of bankruptcy due to a lack of investors, Li Lingqin persuaded her father to invest in his company—and even took down his rival company.

It was then that Chu Zhennan realized the power of influence and status. From that moment, he no longer resisted Li Lingqin’s advances.

Unaware of everything, Jiang Xue remained in the dark until Chu Zhennan broke up with her. Only then did she realize she had been betrayed by the person she trusted most. Maybe she had suspected it all along, but never confronted it.

Chu Zhennan felt guilty toward Jiang Xue. She had sacrificed her future for him, supported him through everything, and he had been deeply touched by her devotion.

But people are inherently selfish. Though Jiang Xue had stayed by his side during their hardest times, marrying Li Lingqin—the only daughter of a powerful family—meant access to high society and a life of success that would take him decades to achieve otherwise.

To “compensate” Jiang Xue, he gave her a large sum of money—as a repayment for her years of support and sacrifice.

Jiang Xue was a strong-willed woman. Even upon learning of the betrayal, she only showed a moment of shock before regaining her composure. She had been willing to give up her future for him once; now, she could just as easily take the money and walk away.

Since he had let go of their past, she would, too. She split the money into two parts—donating one half to the orphanage where she grew up and using the other half to settle in a small town, buying a modest two-bedroom home for a quiet life.

Not long after settling down, she found out she was pregnant. At first, she didn’t plan to keep the child, but she was too lonely. Having grown up in an orphanage, she longed for someone to be by her side.

After what happened with Chu Zhennan, she no longer trusted men. The arrival of this child felt like perfect timing.

She decided to keep the baby and raise it on her own.

Ten months later, she gave birth to a daughter and named her Jiang Jingzhu, hoping her child would be as strong and resilient as bamboo.

Because she was alone and attractive, rumors still circulated even though she told neighbors that the child’s father had died in an accident.

But Jiang Xue didn’t care. She devoted herself entirely to raising Jingzhu. With the money from Chu Zhennan, she stayed home until Jingzhu entered kindergarten, then took a job.

Jiang Xue was beautiful and well-spoken. Many men pursued her, but she turned them all down. Her only focus was raising her daughter.

She poured all her love into Jingzhu to make up for the absence of a father in her life.