“Don’t let her into the main hall just yet.”
Standing outside the door, Shen Nian froze for half a second when she heard the woman’s hushed voice from inside.
The door hadn’t been fully closed. Warm golden light spilled through the crack, falling across her faded jeans. Beyond it were crystal chandeliers, champagne towers, piano music, and waves of laughter.
Outside, there was only the evening breeze—and the worn black duffel bag in her hand.
She was supposed to be today’s guest of honor.
Yet the guest of honor couldn’t even get through the door.
The speaker was Lin Man.
Mrs. Shen herself—the woman who had personally driven to the old district earlier that day to bring her home.
On the way back, Lin Man had sat elegantly in the car, flawless makeup, gentle smile, even saying warmly,
“Niannian, you’ve suffered all these years. From now on, you’re home.”
Shen Nian hadn’t answered.
Thinking back now…
That word, home, was almost laughable.
The maid blocked her way awkwardly, sweat already forming on her forehead.
“Miss… Madam said you should wait in the side hall for a while. Once all the guests have arrived…”
“And then what?” Shen Nian lifted her eyes, her voice calm. “Then you’ll bring me out so everyone can take a look at me?”
The maid turned pale and didn’t dare respond.
Shen Nian looked past her shoulder.
The main hall was magnificent. The Shen family’s old mansion had always been impressive, but today it had clearly been decorated with extraordinary care.
A long table covered in white linen.
Silver cutlery gleaming beneath the lights.
Roses and champagne everywhere.
Guests in expensive clothes wandered through the room with wine glasses in hand, chatting in small groups.
The most eye-catching sight was the backdrop beside the staircase.
Across it, in large gold letters, was written:
Welcome Home, Miss Wan’er
Shen Nian stared at the words for two seconds.
Then she laughed softly.
So that was it.
No wonder she’d been stopped at the entrance.
This banquet had never been arranged for her.
It was meant to comfort Shen Wan’er—and to publicly show the Shen family’s support for her.
At that moment, the door opened.
A young woman in a custom-made white evening gown stepped outside, gathering up her skirt.
Her hair was styled flawlessly.
Tiny diamond earrings sparkled beside her cheeks.
Her eyes were red, as if she had just cried—or perhaps had cried on purpose.
“Big Sister, please don’t misunderstand.”
Her voice was soft, carrying a carefully controlled tremble.
“Mom was only worried that you just came back and wouldn’t be comfortable with so many people. I was going to spend some time talking with you first.”
Shen Wan’er.
The woman who had lived under Shen Nian’s identity for twenty-three years.
The most cherished daughter of the Shen family.
Shen Nian looked at her, but her gaze never settled on her face.
Instead, it stopped on the white jade pendant hanging around her neck.
The pendant wasn’t large.
Along one edge was a faint crack so subtle it was almost invisible.
She recognized it instantly.
Three years ago, her adoptive mother had died in a cramped rented apartment.
Before passing away, she’d taken an old photograph from beneath her pillow. Her hands trembled so badly she could barely speak, repeating only one sentence over and over.
“Niannian… find her… find the person in the photograph…”
In the picture, a gentle-looking woman held a newborn baby.
Around her neck hung that exact jade pendant.
Later, Shen Nian had spent months investigating before finally learning the woman’s identity.
Her name was Su Lan.
She had once been the eldest daughter-in-law of the Shen family in the capital.
She was also…
Shen Nian’s biological mother.
“What are you looking at?”
Almost instinctively, Shen Wan’er raised a hand to shield the pendant, though her smile remained gentle.
“Big Sister, do you like it? I can have another one made for you later.”
Shen Nian smiled too.
“Another one?”
Her voice was light.
“The one around your neck was mine to begin with.”
Silence fell instantly.
Even the two waiters carrying wine nearby stopped walking.
Shen Wan’er froze.
The next second, her eyes turned even redder.
“Big Sister… I don’t know why you’d say that. Mom gave me this pendant when I was little. I’ve worn it ever since…”
“Whether she gave it to you—or took it from someone else—you know the truth.”
Shen Nian reached out and grabbed the clasp behind Shen Wan’er’s neck.
“Big Sister!”
Shen Wan’er cried out.
Her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried perfectly into the hall.
Several guests immediately turned toward the entrance.
“Let go!”
Lin Man practically rushed over.
Her high heels clattered frantically across the marble floor.
She shoved Shen Nian aside, her face twisted with anger.
“What kind of occasion is this? You come home on your very first day and try to steal Wan’er’s things?”
The shove forced Shen Nian back half a step.
The back of her hand struck the doorframe, leaving an angry red mark.
She lowered her eyes to look at it.
Her expression never changed.
“Steal?”
She looked up at Lin Man.
“Mrs. Shen… can’t you even recognize what’s mine?”
Lin Man’s chest rose and fell violently.
The warmth she’d been pretending to show shattered completely.
“No one here owes you anything! Wan’er has been with us for over twenty years. She’s always been our daughter. You come back and start causing trouble on your very first day. What kind of behavior is that?”
“The behavior of someone who’s spent twenty-three years being robbed.”
“I’m simply taking back what’s mine.”
Her voice wasn’t loud.
Yet the words landed like a sharp slap across everyone’s face.
The entrance fell silent.
People inside the hall had already begun looking over.
“So that’s the Shen family’s biological daughter they just found?”
“Isn’t her temper a bit much?”
Shen Nian heard every word.
She wasn’t embarrassed.
She only found it amusing.
Because she hadn’t even done anything yet.
These people had already convicted her.
At that moment, Shen Chongshan walked over.
Her biological father looked older than he had in the photographs.
His features were stern.
His tailored suit was immaculate.
Whenever he looked at someone, it always felt as though there were an invisible barrier between them.
He stopped beside Lin Man.
His first glance was toward Shen Wan’er.
Seeing her tear-filled eyes, he frowned immediately.
Only then did he look at Shen Nian.
“Enough.”
His voice was low and authoritative.
“Today is your welcome banquet, not the place for you to behave like a madwoman.”
Shen Nian looked at him.
Suddenly, she remembered all the information she’d uncovered over the years.
Shen Chongshan.
Chairman of the Shen Group.
A man famous throughout the capital for his dignity and refinement.
Yet this refined gentleman…
Had just found the daughter he’d lost for twenty-three years.
And the very first thing he did…
Was blame her.
“A welcome banquet?”
Shen Nian glanced toward the brilliantly lit hall and curled one corner of her lips.
“I thought it was her birthday party.”
Her gaze swept toward the backdrop.
Shen Chongshan’s and Lin Man’s expressions changed at the same time.
Every guest had heard her.
Tears streamed even faster down Shen Wan’er’s face.
Her voice shook.
“Big Sister… do you hate me? If you do, I’ll give you my room, my clothes, my jewelry—everything. Just… please don’t make things difficult for Mom and Dad…”
As she spoke, she even stepped backward as though terrified of Shen Nian.
The performance was practiced.
Far too practiced.
Sure enough, the moment she finished speaking, everyone’s eyes changed.
It was as though Shen Nian had become the villain who had returned to destroy their family.
“How could she act like this? Wan’er is crying so hard.”
“She grew up outside the family. It’s no surprise she has no manners.”
“The Shen family is going to be in chaos.”
Their whispers were quiet.
Every word was barbed.
Shen Nian stood motionless, not even blinking.
She had grown up in the old district.
She’d heard much worse.
As a child, she’d helped her adoptive mother sell vegetables at the market, where people had called her a fatherless, motherless bastard.
Later, while investigating her background, she’d begged hospital staff for old records, only to be thrown out by security as a fraud.
Compared to that…
This was nothing.
What truly amused her was that everyone here knew she was the real daughter—
Yet they instinctively rallied around Shen Wan’er.
That was when Ye Chen walked over.
Dressed in a charcoal-gray suit, the handsome man stood out immediately in the crowd.
He first glanced at Shen Nian, his gaze filled with scrutiny and undisguised contempt.
Then, naturally, he stepped to Shen Wan’er’s side.
His hand even hovered protectively near her arm.
It was obvious whom he intended to protect.
“Shen Nian.”
His tone dripped with superiority.
“You should know when to stop. You just returned to the Shen family. There are plenty of rules you don’t understand. Wan’er can tolerate you, but that doesn’t mean you get to trample all over her.”
Shen Nian looked at him for two seconds.
Then asked,
“You’re Ye Chen?”
He frowned.
“Yes.”
He had expected her to be nervous.
Or at least embarrassed that her fiancé clearly disliked her.
Instead, Shen Nian merely nodded.
“Good.”
Her voice remained indifferent.
“Stay away from me from now on.”
“I find you filthy.”
The room exploded in shocked murmurs.
Several guests nearly choked on their drinks.
Ye Chen’s face darkened instantly.
“What did you say?”
“Didn’t hear me?”
Shen Nian looked at him calmly.
“Then I’ll make it clearer.”
“A man who has never even met me, yet rushes to defend a counterfeit before knowing the truth…”
“I have no interest in him.”
Ye Chen had probably never been humiliated so openly.
His gaze turned icy.
“You think returning to the Shen family makes you comparable to Wan’er? She received the finest education growing up. She learned etiquette, piano, horseback riding. She grew up among people from our social circle.”
“And you?”
His eyes slowly traveled from her faded jeans to her worn canvas shoes.
He gave a mocking laugh.
“What exactly do you have to compete with her?”
The insult was far sharper than the earlier whispers.
Shen Wan’er lowered her head, looking as though she wanted to intervene but didn’t dare.
Yet satisfaction flickered in her eyes.
Shen Nian smiled.
“Why would I compete with her?”
She looked up.
“Everything that’s mine…”
“I’ll simply take it back.”
She walked directly toward Shen Wan’er again, her eyes settling once more on the jade pendant.
“I’m only saying this one last time.”
“Take it off.”
Shen Wan’er hid behind Lin Man, her shoulders trembling as she cried.
“Mom…”
Lin Man finally lost her temper completely.
“It’s just a piece of jade! Do you really have to fight over it today?”
“Yes.”
Shen Nian met her eyes.
“Because it isn’t just a piece of jade.”
“It belonged to my mother.”
The words my mother pierced Lin Man like needles.
Her expression stiffened.
A flash of guilt crossed her eyes—
So fast that most people would have missed it.
Shen Nian didn’t.
That wasn’t ordinary discomfort.
It looked more like someone whose carefully hidden secret had just been exposed.
A weight settled in her chest.
So Lin Man really did know something about this pendant.
Just then…
The sound of a cane striking the floor echoed from upstairs.
“What’s all this noise?”
The voice wasn’t loud.
Yet it silenced the entire hall instantly.
Supported by a maid, Old Madam Shen slowly descended the staircase.
She wore a dark cheongsam.
Her complexion was pale with illness.
But her eyes remained as sharp as ever.
She rarely appeared in public these days.
Yet within the Shen family, her word carried more authority than anyone else’s.
She looked first at Shen Nian.
Just one glance.
It reminded Shen Nian of the elderly woman she’d once seen in an old photograph.
The same stern features.
The same cold gaze.
Only…
The faint trace of kindness that had existed in the picture had completely disappeared.
Old Madam Shen’s gaze shifted to the jade pendant around Shen Wan’er’s neck.
Her brows knitted together.
“Take it off.”
Lin Man hurriedly protested.
“Mother, Wan’er has worn it since she was a child. There are so many guests here today…”
“I said.”
“Take it off.”
Her tone remained calm.
No one dared argue again.
With trembling fingers and streaming tears, Shen Wan’er slowly unclasped the pendant.
Even as she handed it over, her hands shook violently.
She looked as though she had suffered an unimaginable injustice.
Shen Nian accepted the pendant.
Her fingers slowly tightened around it.
The cool jade rested against her palm.
For the first time in years…
The pressure weighing on her heart eased, if only a little.
She had thought reclaiming it would feel satisfying.
Instead…
The first thing that came to mind was her adoptive mother’s dying words.
“Don’t believe they’ll all love you… Find the evidence first…”
So…
Her adoptive mother had known all along.
She had known that even if Shen Nian returned to the Shen family…
She still might never have a home.
Old Madam Shen looked at her for a long moment before speaking.
“Since you’re back…”
“Come inside and greet the guests.”
Shen Nian gave a quiet nod.
Carrying her worn duffel bag, she stepped into the main hall.
Among all the glamorous guests dressed in designer clothes…
She was dressed the most simply.
Yet she wasn’t the least bit out of place.
She looked more like someone who had returned…
To collect an old debt.
After the banquet resumed, the atmosphere appeared lively again on the surface.
Lin Man smiled as she explained to the guests,
“The child just came home. She’s still adjusting. Please don’t mind her.”
Shen Wan’er stayed close beside her, eyes still red, looking both obedient and pitiful.
Every familiar face she passed offered words of comfort.
“Wan’er, you’re too kind.”
“Don’t worry. The Shen family will never abandon you.”
“So what if the biological daughter came back? Family bonds are built through years together.”
The remarks were clearly intended for Shen Nian to hear.
She simply held a glass of water and stood quietly in the corner, watching the entire family perform.
She made no effort to greet anyone.
There was no point.
Across the room, Ye Chen’s cold gaze followed her constantly, as though she were something unworthy of appearing in public.
Soon another man arrived.
Shen Yanzhou, the Shen family’s eldest son.
He had apparently rushed straight from the company, not even changing out of his business suit.
He had obviously already heard about the confrontation at the entrance.
When he looked at Shen Nian, there was scrutiny…
And unmistakable wariness.
“You’re Shen Nian?”
He stopped before her.
“Who else would I be?”
She took another sip of water.
“You’ve been home for less than a day and you’ve already turned everything upside down.”
His voice was deliberately lowered.
“It won’t benefit you.”
“No matter how dissatisfied you are, today wasn’t the time.”
“When would be the right time?”
Shen Nian looked at him.
“After they’ve completely taken everything that belongs to me…”
“And then generously throw me a few scraps?”
Shen Yanzhou frowned.
In his eyes…
Shen Wan’er was the little sister who had grown up with them.
Shen Nian was simply the outsider who had suddenly appeared and shattered their family’s balance.
“You and Wan’er are different.”
His voice hardened.
“She grew up in this family. Some things can’t simply be judged as true or false.”
“But true is true.”
“And false is false.”
Her voice remained calm.
“She took my identity.”
“My room.”
“My fiancé.”
“My mother’s belongings.”
“And you’re telling me it isn’t that simple?”
Shen Yanzhou had no answer.
Several nearby guests heard the word fiancé and immediately exchanged meaningful looks.
Ye Chen strode over, his expression dark.
“Shen Nian, stop blaming everything on Wan’er. The engagement was arranged by our elders. That doesn’t mean I have to accept it.”
“Don’t worry.”
She glanced at him.
“I’m not interested in taking something that’s already been touched by someone else.”
The words were merciless.
Ye Chen gripped his wineglass so tightly that veins bulged across the back of his hand.
Shen Wan’er’s eyes reddened again.
As though she had endured enough, she finally spoke through sobs.
“Big Sister… what will it take for you to forgive me?”
“If it matters that much…”
“I’ll tell everyone right now that I’m not the Shen family’s daughter.”
“That you’re the real one.”
“Would that make you happy?”
“Go ahead.”
Shen Nian looked at her.
“Who said I’d stop you?”
Shen Wan’er froze.
She clearly hadn’t expected Shen Nian to refuse to play along with her act of self-sacrifice.
Lin Man immediately shielded her.
“Enough! Shen Nian! How far are you going to push Wan’er?”
“I’m pushing her?”
Shen Nian laughed.
“Weren’t you the ones holding a banquet to support her while making me wait in the side hall?”
She lifted a hand and pointed directly toward the backdrop by the staircase.
“Go on.”
“Read out loud what it says.”
Every eye in the hall turned toward it once again.
Hidden behind flowers, the backdrop hadn’t seemed particularly noticeable before.
Now it looked painfully conspicuous.
Lin Man’s face turned deathly white.
Only then did she realize…
In all the confusion, she’d forgotten to have someone remove it.
Shen Chongshan barked,
“What are you all standing around for? Take that backdrop down!”
The servants hurried over.
But the more frantic they became…
The more obvious the cover-up looked.
The guests said nothing openly.
Yet their expressions had already changed.
“The Shen family situation doesn’t seem so simple.”
“They found their biological daughter, yet the adopted daughter is still the star of the banquet…”
“And wasn’t that jade pendant left behind by the first wife?”
The whispers became softer.
But they cut even deeper.
Shen Nian lowered her eyes.
Her thumb gently rubbed the jade pendant in her palm.
At last, she understood.
Today’s banquet wasn’t merely to support Shen Wan’er.
It had also been arranged to put her in her place.
They wanted everyone to see that even after the real daughter returned…
The only daughter the Shen family truly cherished…
Was still Shen Wan’er.
Unfortunately for them…
Shen Nian wasn’t the sort of person who would stand outside a door with tears in her eyes and quietly accept defeat.
This wasn’t a family reunion.
It was merely…
The opening move.
As the banquet drew to a close, Shen Nian excused herself to use the restroom.
Instead, she walked to the balcony at the end of the corridor.
The cool night breeze washed away the cloying scent of perfume lingering around her.
The garden below blazed with lights.
Luxury cars filled the parking area.
Occasional laughter drifted upward with the wind.
Leaning against the railing, she finally lowered her head and carefully examined the jade pendant.
The crack was still there.
Even the chipped edge matched the photograph perfectly.
Her adoptive mother hadn’t lied.
She hadn’t been mistaken about Su Lan either.
Which only left her with even more questions.
Why was her biological mother’s keepsake hanging around Shen Wan’er’s neck?
Why had Lin Man’s expression changed the instant she mentioned my mother?
Why had the Shen family searched for her…
Only to act as though they wished she’d never come back?
At that moment, her phone vibrated.
An email had arrived from an unfamiliar address.
The subject line contained only one sentence:
Do you want to know how you were switched at birth?
Shen Nian’s eyes darkened.
She opened the attachment.
Inside was a duty roster from the maternity ward twenty-three years earlier.
The attending doctor.
The nurses.
The nursing aides.
Every name was listed neatly in rows.
The final name had been circled heavily in red ink.
Delivery Nurse: Zhou Guifen
The email itself contained only one sentence.
If you want the truth, find her first.
Shen Nian stared at the screen for several long seconds before tightening her grip on the phone.
Downstairs, Lin Man was seeing off the guests.
Shen Wan’er still clung to her with tearful eyes.
Ye Chen stood nearby, expression cold as a stone guardian.
Standing alone beneath the night sky, Shen Nian finally understood with absolute clarity.
She hadn’t returned to a home.
She had returned to a place where someone had dug a pit for her long before she ever arrived.
Very well.
She had plenty of time.
She intended to find out…
Whose bones were buried at the bottom of that pit.