“Mom, how could you kick Xiao Xiao out? Even if she’s not my biological daughter, I’ve raised her for so many years. There’s no difference between her and my own flesh and blood…”
A loud roar made Ruan Yao Yao’s head ache. She stared over and saw her eldest daughter-in-law, Yu Xiang Qiao.
The dignified heiress of the Yu family, who had always been elegant and proper, was now screaming at her like a madwoman.
In Yu Xiang Qiao’s arms was a girl with the air of a White Lotus, crying a river of tears. She pleaded with her daughter-in-law to stop arguing with her, saying it wasn’t Grandma’s fault, it was all her own. She shouldn’t be in this family; she wasn’t their biological child to begin with, so she was the one who should leave…
“No, Xiao Xiao, you can’t leave. No one can make you leave. I don’t care if you’re my biological daughter or not. All I know is that you are my daughter…”
The mother and daughter clutched each other’s hands, their eyes brimming with tears, the whole scene playing out like a “reluctant parting” from a romantic drama.
And she? She was the malicious Evil Mother-in-law. Not only did she make things difficult for her daughter-in-law, but she also couldn’t stand the adopted daughter her daughter-in-law had raised for so many years, insisting on driving the girl away.
A lump of frustration lodged in Ruan Yao Yao’s chest, making her feel suffocated. “Xiao Xiao, Xiao Xiao, all you care about is Xiao Xiao! What about Ling Xuan? Ling Xuan is your biological daughter! Your own flesh and blood is lying in the hospital right now because of her. Are you just going to ignore that?”
But just then, her eldest son, Xu Liang Han, charged in. What did it matter if they were related by blood or not?
Wasn’t he not her biological son either, yet he had still called her “Mom” and been filial to her his entire life?
“Even if Xiao Xiao isn’t Xiang Qiao’s and my biological daughter, she has been in our family since birth. We raised her with our own hands, so she’s no different from our own flesh and blood.”
“Besides, she’s called you Grandma for so many years. Don’t you feel any affection for her? It’s not like we’re disowning Ling Xuan. We’ve acknowledged her…”
“Our family is so well-off, what’s the big deal about raising one more daughter? Daughters are their parents’ little padded jackets. Isn’t it better to have an extra jacket to wear?”
…
As if a sore spot had been hit, Ruan Yao Yao burst out cursing. Better my foot! Not biological is not biological. As expected, he wasn’t on her side. Doting on a dove that had occupied the magpie’s nest instead of his own flesh and blood—they were all out of their minds.
Then, Ruan Yao Yao was jolted awake by her own anger.
It was an incredibly frustrating and stifling feeling.
Who would have thought that years after her husband’s death, she would one day be woken up by a dream that made her so angry?
Already in a foul mood, she suddenly heard the maids scurrying about outside. Irritated, she flung open her door and demanded to know what they were doing. It was the crack of dawn, were they going to let anyone sleep?
“Old Madam…” The maid jumped in fright and quickly explained, “It’s… the Eldest Madam has gone into premature labor. Mr. Xu told us to pack her things and rush them to the hospital.”
“What’s there to pack? Weren’t the things already prepared?” Wait, hadn’t her eldest daughter-in-law already given birth? Why was she giving birth again?
Ruan Yao Yao was a bit dazed, only then realizing she had mixed up her dream with reality.
Last night, she had dreamed that her precious granddaughter was swapped at birth and the truth only came out over a decade later when she was about to be married off. The news of the True and False Heiress made headlines.
Of course, that wasn’t the most important part. What was most important was that Ruan Yao Yao had insisted on kicking out the Fake Rich Daughter and bringing her real granddaughter back to compensate for all the years of lost family affection.
But her eldest son and daughter-in-law both disagreed and fought with her about it. Her eldest son wasn’t her biological child, and she had never liked him much. Now that his wings had grown strong, he wouldn’t listen to her. What could she do?
The moment they raised a fuss, she relented.
And that was that. With the True and False Heiress under the same roof, it wasn’t long before trouble started. The true heiress was timid and cautious, nothing like a member of the Xu family. She was like a child furtively wearing adult clothes—cowering, shrinking back, and constantly at odds with the fake heiress.
As for the Fake Rich Daughter, she had been pampered and spoiled, raised to be exceptionally noble. In every aspect, she made the true heiress look like she was wallowing in mud. No one even gave the true heiress time to grow, preferring the ready-made one.
The more time the true heiress spent with her, the more inadequate she seemed.
And thus, the conflicts erupted.
The true heiress stole the fake heiress’s clothes and jade accessories, snatched her fiancé, drugged her, and pushed her down the stairs…
All the blame fell on the true heiress, while the Fake Rich Daughter acted like a pure and flawless White Lotus. In the end, the Xu family’s true heiress became a pariah, scorned by all, while the Fake Rich Daughter remained perched on her branch, arrogant and triumphant, shining brightly.
Ruan Yao Yao just couldn’t understand. Wasn’t it that damned Fake Rich Daughter’s fault that her real granddaughter had turned out this way? Why did no one blame the Fake Rich Daughter, but instead all blamed the true heiress for not being like a Xu, for being a genetic mutation?
How could Ruan Yao Yao not be furious seeing this? She resented her eldest son’s status as an illegitimate child, but that was a sin committed by her late husband. It was her late husband who had hidden the existence of his illegitimate son and tricked her into marriage. For all these years, she had never done anything to the eldest son, never abused him.
The two of them had coexisted peacefully for so many years. How did such a huge mess occur when it came to him getting married and having children?
Frustrated that he was failing to live up to expectations, Ruan Yao Yao tried everything she could to correct the situation, and in the end…
What happened in the end of the dream?
The dream seemed a bit hazy; she couldn’t remember clearly. Anyway, she had earned the reputation of an Evil Mother-in-law, and her ending wasn’t very good.
Ruan Yao Yao wished she could just wash her hands of it and let them do as they pleased. Whether they lived or died, it would be their own doing. But while she could ignore her eldest son’s family, that innocent little girl…
The thought of her family sinning against the girl like that made Ruan Yao Yao’s heart soften.
Forget it!
She could ignore her eldest son’s family, but not this pitiful granddaughter. She had to find a way to stop the “baby swap” from happening. She couldn’t let her precious granddaughter be wronged.
“Where’s Xu Liang Han? Tell him to wait for me, I’ll go with him.”
“Ah… Mr. Xu has already left with Madam in the car. He just left us behind to pack up.”
Ruan Yao Yao cursed. She’s had so many babies already, don’t they know to prepare in advance? A bunch of idiots, no wonder they were played to death by a Fake Rich Daughter later. They all deserved it.
Cursing was one thing, but her actions were swift. She quickly changed into a comfortable outfit, grabbed her bag, and called for the driver to take her to the Xu Rehabilitation Medical Center.
Yes, that’s right.
The Xu family was large and influential. Not trusting outsiders with their medical care, they had opened their own modern, high-tech, comprehensive hospital that integrated pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, and elderly care.
The name sounded grand, but it was originally the Xu family’s private hospital. Later, as they recruited more talent, it gradually opened to the public and became a major hospital, even ranking among the top in the country.
So, she just had to ask: in such a large hospital, one that was their own, how could her daughter-in-law’s baby still be swapped with someone else’s while giving birth?
This wasn’t her first time here. As soon as she reached the front desk, a nurse recognized her and immediately arranged for someone to lead her to the delivery room entrance.
By this time, her eldest daughter-in-law had already gone in to give birth, leaving only her eldest son, Xu Liang Han, pacing anxiously outside.
Ruan Yao Yao looked over and saw a golden light flashing above her son’s head, with a line of sparkling words floating there—History’s Strongest Scumbag Father.
Thinking she had seen wrong, Ruan Yao Yao quickly rubbed her eyes with her free hand and looked again.
“History’s Strongest Scumbag Father” was still there, shining brightly, just like a special effect in a mobile game. It couldn’t be more conspicuous.
She looked at the other people. They had words above their heads too, but they weren’t glowing and were gray. They generally said things like “Passerby A” or “Passerby B,” and they became invisible from a few meters away.
Ruan Yao Yao felt that after she saved her granddaughter, she had to get her eyes checked immediately. Something seemed to be wrong with them.