Wei Qing was stunned the first time she saw Jiang Moli.

She had never seen anyone so beautiful.

Her skin was as white as snow, her eyes dark and bright, and her curled lashes were like two little fans. Her lips were plump and red, like fruit candies.

“This is your little sister Moli. From now on, you two must get along.”

Jiang Dahai took her hand and placed it in Jiang Moli’s.

Her own hand was dark and thin, while Jiang Moli’s was fair and soft, like a freshly steamed white bun.

She was both nervous and happy.

‘I have a sister now, and such a beautiful one at that.’

But Jiang Moli clearly didn’t like her. She viciously threw her hand off, her beautiful eyes filled with disgust and anger.

Children from poor families mature quickly. She had a vague idea why Jiang Moli hated her.

She didn’t mind, though. In fact, she was thrilled.

Compared to Lotus Village, everything about the Jiang family was wonderful.

The food was good, the clothes were good, the house was good.

Compared to the hardships of Lotus Village, life with the Jiang family was like heaven.

She took Jiang Dahai and Li Hongying’s words to heart, determined to treat Jiang Moli like a real sister.

She tried to win Jiang Moli over, but Jiang Moli never gave her the time of day. At the slightest displeasure, Jiang Moli would hit and curse her, teaming up with other children in the family residential area to play pranks on her and mock her.

Eventually, she came to understand that she and Jiang Moli could never be sisters.

Soon, she and Jiang Moli became classmates.

Whenever Jiang Moli made the slightest improvement in her studies, Jiang Dahai would happily praise her and reward her with delicious food and fun toys.

When she achieved excellent grades, Jiang Dahai would only say, “Not bad.”

Over time, she gradually realized she could never be a real daughter to Jiang Dahai either.

She was just an unwanted burden, living under someone else’s roof.

Forever an outsider to the Jiang family.

The joy and anticipation she felt for the Jiang family were gradually replaced by dejection and disappointment.

She didn’t know when it started, but her envy of Jiang Moli slowly turned into jealousy, and then into hatred.

Every time she heard people in the residential area use her diligence and maturity to highlight Jiang Moli’s gluttony and laziness, a secret satisfaction and excitement would bloom in her heart.

The desire to surpass Jiang Moli, to grind her underfoot, became an obsession that sank deep into her bones.

‘I won’t accept this. I refuse to accept my fate.’

She just wanted to have a better life than Jiang Moli, so how did she end up here?

Reduced to a prisoner, and even her own mother, the only person who was ever good to her, was dead.

From now on, there was no one left in the world to worry about her, to care if she had enough to eat or warm clothes to wear.

Tears of regret streamed endlessly from her eyes, and her heart ached as if it were being torn apart.

She fell to her knees, wailing, “Mom, I was wrong! I really know I was wrong now! Mom, oh, Mom…”

…

In the morning, Qian Ling squeezed onto a crowded bus. Just as she found her footing, someone tapped her shoulder twice.

She turned around, her round face lighting up with delight.

“Moli! Are you starting work today?”

“Mhm.”

Jiang Moli squeezed in next to Qian Ling, grabbing a handrail with one hand and wrapping her other arm around Qian Ling’s waist.

“How have things been while I was away from the troupe?”

Qian Ling nodded happily. “Pretty good! But you had it best, going to the old revolutionary base areas for the outreach tour. You got to visit so many places. But Vice Yang and the others came back to work a few days ago. How come you’re only back today?”

“I had some family matters to attend to, so I took a few days off.”

The two of them chatted all the way to the art troupe.

As soon as they got off the bus, they saw Hou Yuzhu getting off another bus.

She had lost a lot of weight and looked quite haggard.

When she saw Jiang Moli, her usual confrontational attitude was gone. She just hurried away without a word.

After Hou Yuzhu was out of earshot, Qian Ling whispered to Jiang Moli, “That guy, Fang, dumped her. He’s with an eighteen-year-old nurse now.”

As expected of someone trained as a broadcast host, Qian Ling had summed up the entire saga of love and betrayal in a single sentence.

The bus had been so crowded that Jiang Moli hadn’t paid much attention to Qian Ling’s outfit. Only now did she notice that Qian Ling was dressed quite nicely today.

She was wearing a coarse plaid coat with a fleece collar, a light blue knitted scarf around her neck, and a pair of pea-sized pearl earrings, giving her a charming and gentle look.

Qian Ling felt a bit self-conscious under her gaze. “What is it?”

“Tsk tsk, all dressed up so pretty today. Are you going on a blind date?”

Jiang Moli was just teasing, but unexpectedly, Qian Ling blushed, nodded, and hesitantly asked Jiang Moli to go with her.

The match had been arranged by one of Qian Ling’s cousins. She hadn’t met the man before, so she was feeling quite nervous.

Jiang Moli agreed.

…

Once at the troupe, Jiang Moli first went to report to Director Zhong. Afterward, she headed to the drama division and chatted with Jin Chenggong for a while about her experiences during the recent performance tour.

Time flew by, and soon it was lunchtime.

Just as she stepped out of the drama division building with her lunch box, she saw a familiar tall figure standing in front of the wintersweet tree by the courtyard wall.

Jiang Moli pulled Qian Ling along as she trotted over. “Vice Yang, were you waiting for me?”

Yang Lijiong gave a noncommittal response. “I was heading to a meeting in the conference room this morning and saw you coming out of Director Zhong’s office.”

Jiang Moli beamed. “I just came back to work today.”

Yang Lijiong walked with her toward the cafeteria, her gaze concerned as she looked her over. “Have all the arrangements for your stepmother’s services been taken care of?”

“Yes.”

Qian Ling said in surprise, “Moli, your stepmother passed away? Wasn’t she quite young?”

Jiang Moli sighed, a rare moment of melancholy for her. “Life is unpredictable. You never know if tomorrow or tragedy will come first, so we have to live every day to the fullest.”

…

After work, Jiang Moli and Qian Ling went to People’s Park.

Even before seeing the man, Jiang Moli already had a bad impression of Qian Ling’s blind date.

‘It’s the dead of winter, and it’s dinnertime. He could have at least suggested a restaurant. Even a bookstore or a teahouse would be better than freezing in a park.’

When they arrived at the park, Jiang Moli and Qian Ling didn’t reveal themselves right away. Instead, they hid in the shadows to observe.

Because of the cold and the gathering dusk, there was only one young man at the park entrance.

He was wearing a worn gray jacket and a blue scarf around his neck.

“That must be him, right?”

Qian Ling nodded, her expression not very pleased.

“Alright, let’s go meet him.”

Qian Ling quickly grabbed Jiang Moli’s arm and stammered, “Moli, I… I don’t want to go through with it.”

Jiang Moli could understand why.

The man was short and stout, with thinning hair on top, and he sported a handlebar mustache that gave him an inexplicably sleazy vibe.

Never mind that Qian Ling wasn’t interested; even if she were, Jiang Moli wouldn’t approve.

Still, they couldn’t have made this trip out in the cold for nothing.

“We’re already here. I’ll go meet him for you. You wait here.”

Without waiting for a reply, she took the blue scarf from Qian Ling’s neck and wrapped it around her own.

Seeing Jiang Moli, wearing the blue scarf, walking toward him, the man’s eyes lit up brighter than lightbulbs.

‘My aunt was right,’ he thought. ‘This cousin from the art troupe really is gorgeous.’

He rushed forward before Jiang Moli could even get close. “You must be Qian Ling. I’m Hong Hua.”

Jiang Moli nodded. “Let’s hear your requirements for a partner.”

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