“Mrs. Bai, the hospital’s blood supply is critically low. We can only try to save one of them for now. Please tell us—which daughter should we take into emergency surgery first?” The nurse held out a document for her to sign.

“Only one can be saved…” Bai Wanjun stood frozen between the two hospital beds, staring blankly for a moment. Then she shook her head, refusing to accept it. “No… That can’t be… This isn’t real…”

“Mrs. Bai,” the nurse said gently but firmly, “based on our assessment, Miss Shihan’s condition is more serious. We recommend starting with her.”

Seeing Bai Wanjun still hesitating, the nurse pressed urgently, “Please decide quickly. If we delay any longer, it may be too late.”

The room fell into a heavy silence. Suddenly, Shihan’s eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

She tilted her head slightly, her blurry gaze catching the faint outline of Bai Wanjun’s back.

Would she choose her? Even though she still held onto a sliver of hope… deep down, she already knew the answer.

And soon, she heard Bai Wanjun’s response.

“I… I choose…” Bai Wanjun glanced at her adopted daughter, Shi Yin, lying on the other bed. Her fingernails dug into the back of her own hand, drawing blood. “Shi Yin.”

“Understood. Please sign here.”

…

Shi Han lay motionless on the hospital bed, her face covered in blood, her body scraped and bruised all over. The white bedsheet beneath her had long been soaked a dark red.

Then she heard the soft squeak of wheels from the bed beside her.

Shi Han knew—her sister, Shi Yin, was being wheeled into the emergency room.

A doctor passed by her, bringing with him a gust of summer air—thick with the heat of the day. Bai Wanjun’s tearful voice drifted along with it, trembling and soft.
“Yinyin, don’t be scared… You’ll be fine. The doctors will save you…”

Shi Han finally let out a bitter smile and closed her eyes, no longer chasing after Bai Wanjun’s fading figure.

She lay there quietly, waiting for death.

Maybe… her blood had nearly run dry.

Though it was the height of summer, her body trembled uncontrollably with cold.

She didn’t even have the strength to move.

Her bloodless lips curled into a faint, mocking smile.

What a fool she had been—two years in the Shi family, and she still hadn’t understood her place.

It was almost laughable, really—because the truth was, she was Bai Wanjun’s biological daughter. Kidnapped by traffickers when she was just five years old, she hadn’t returned to the Shi family until she was fifteen.

By the time she came back, the Shi family already had another beloved daughter: the adopted and adored Shi Yin.

And the reason Shi Yin had become the Shi family’s cherished daughter? It was simple.

Bai Wanjun had lost her while shopping one day. Wracked with guilt and remorse, she adopted Shi Yin from an orphanage to fill the void.

Every ounce of guilt she felt toward her lost daughter… she poured it into loving Shi Yin.

How ridiculous, Shi Han thought, that she had once believed her return was something her parents had longed for.

She had tried so hard to fit in, to belong.

She’d made efforts to grow close to Bai Wanjun, even offering to accompany her on shopping trips—only to be met with that ever-gentle, ever-smiling refusal: “No need. Yinyin and I will go together.”

Back in high school, someone from the family would always attend Shi Yin’s parent-teacher conferences.

As for hers?

It was always the housemaid, Aunt Zhao, who showed up in their place.

That alone wasn’t what hurt the most.

What truly broke Shi Han was the first time she attended a formal event with her older brother, Shi Xuan.

She still didn’t know why, but that night, Shi Xuan had handed her a gown—one that Shi Yin had already worn once.

Formal gowns weren’t meant to be worn twice, let alone someone else’s hand-me-downs. Let alone Shi Yin’s.

Shi Han stood stiffly in place, head bowed, afraid to move as whispers swirled around her from every corner of the ballroom.

“Who is that? I’ve never seen her before. Is she… not quite right in the head? She’s actually wearing one of Shi Yin’s old dresses.”

“No idea. She came with the Shi family, that’s all I know. Pretty face, but she just screams ‘cheap.’”

“I bet she’s some poor relative. Probably begged her way in just to attend something like this.”

…

She was beyond embarrassed.

Lifting her eyes, she looked toward Shi Xuan, hoping—praying—that her older brother would come over and help her out.

But Shi Han waited.

And waited.

And still, Shi Xuan didn’t take a single step toward her.

Later, during the banquet, Shi Xuan warmly introduced Shi Yin to the guests.

“This is my sister,” he said with a gentle smile.

When it came to Shi Han’s turn, he paused for a moment before saying, “This is… the new sister we adopted.”

The new sister we adopted?

Even now, just thinking about it made Shi Han want to laugh.

So she was the adopted one, after all.

Her family—the ones who shared her blood—had always chosen Shi Yin.

Over and over again.

Just like now.

The doctors had clearly said her injuries were the most severe.

And yet, Bai Wanjun didn’t even hesitate before choosing Shi Yin.

Looking back on the past two years… Shi Han realized just how blind she had been.

What kind of bullshit family was that anyway? Wasn’t it better to live freely and confidently on your own?

=^_^=