Xia You was the daughter of the Xia Group in City Z—the legitimate daughter of the Xia family.
But in a twist of melodramatic fate, she was the real daughter who had been switched at birth.
Three years ago, the Xia family had recognized her and brought her back into the fold.
Yet no one in the Xia family liked her. Even her four biological brothers loathed her to the core.
Because the fake daughter, Xia Xing, was the family's darling.
And the four brothers were famously obsessive when it came to doting on their little sister.
Afraid that Xia You might steal away anything from their precious Xia Xing, they subjected her to constant coldness and verbal abuse.
As for her biological parents, they paid lip service to "making it up to her," but never once allowed Xia You to outshine Xia Xing in any way. Everything always prioritized Xia Xing.
Until two years ago, when Xia Xing pushed a classmate down the stairs, leaving her in a vegetative state.
When the incident blew up, the entire Xia family banded together to protect Xia Xing. They forged evidence and used every means at their disposal to pin the crime on Xia You—and had her sent to prison.
They even tricked Xia You into confessing in court first, promising they would help clear her name afterward.
Xia You had naively waited for that promise. All she got in return was the cold bite of shackles.
"Don't worry. Since I've been reborn in your body, I'll avenge you too."
She made that silent vow.
Just like the people who had bullied Xia You in prison.
Every single one of them would get what they deserved.
"Miss Xia, shall I take you to President Lin's villa to wait for her?" the driver asked politely.
Xia You opened her eyes. "How far is the Lin family's old estate?"
The driver replied, "Not far. About the same distance as going back to President Lin's villa."
Xia You said, "Take me to the Lin family's old estate."
The driver hesitated for a moment. "Well… alright."
He didn't know why, but he inexplicably found himself obeying Xia You's words.
How strange. A young girl who had just come out of two years in prison… how could she have such a commanding presence?
Turning the steering wheel, the driver headed straight for the Lin family's old estate.
At the Xia residence.
The whole family had gathered in the living room. After Xia Zhiwen returned, everyone's expression turned especially grim.
Their father slammed his hand down in anger. "She's still not coming back? Ha. Quite the airs she's putting on."
The eldest brother glanced at the cake on the table and frowned. "Let her be. It's just a waste of Xiao Xing's thoughtfulness."
The third brother wasn't worried at all. "Relax. She'll come back eventually. There's nowhere else for her to go."
They all knew very well that aside from the Xia family, she had nowhere else to turn.
Xia Xing wiped her tears with a hurt expression. "It's all my fault… Xia You probably doesn't want to come back because of me."
The fourth brother frowned. "Why are you blaming yourself? Don't take everything onto your shoulders."
Xia Xing suddenly thought of something. "Wait—Second Brother, you said a luxury car picked her up? What kind of luxury car? Didn't Xia You just get out of prison? Why would anyone come to pick her up? And with her connections, there's no way she'd know someone like that…"
Although Xia Zhiwen had mentioned this earlier, no one had paid much attention at first.
Now that they thought about it, it was indeed a bit strange.
Xia You had just been released. Who would come to pick her up?
For a moment, suspicion flickered across every face in the Xia family.
"I don't know… and I feel like… she seems different from before…" Xia Zhiwen muttered in confusion.
Xia Xing frowned. "Could she have arranged the car herself? Putting on a show for us on purpose?"
Xia Xing's theory won the approval of the entire family.
After all, before returning to the Xia family, Xia You's adoptive parents were ordinary poor people, and she'd spent two years in prison. Where would she get connections like that?
"That must be it. You can rent a car like that from any app platform these days. It's just for show." The third brother sneered. "I'd like to see how long she can keep up the act."
Meanwhile, at the Lin family's old estate, things were just as lively.
"Mother's illness is a torment for her too. Maybe we should—"
"Absolutely not! Mother is only seventy, and she hasn't even written her will yet. How are we supposed to divide the assets then?"
"Stop arguing! Calm Mother down first! All you ever do is bicker!" Lin Siyi slammed her hand on the table in fury. "What we need to focus on now is how to cure Mother's illness!"
The woman who had spoken was impeccably maintained—actually in her forties, but she looked like she was barely past thirty.
Although Lin Siyi was the youngest and only daughter of the Lin family, she was the one who held the family's financial reins and was the current head of the Lin household.
So when she spoke, her two brothers, who had been arguing moments before, immediately fell silent.
"Easy for you to say. How do we cure it? We've been trying to treat Mother's strange illness for years without success!" the eldest brother said with a cold laugh. "With the Lin family's resources, we've consulted every expert imaginable—they can't even name the disease!"
"Who says it can't be cured?" Lin Siyi said in a low voice. "Just wait a little longer. Maybe a miracle will happen."
She was out today. As long as she was out, there was a chance.
"Do you actually believe that? The world's top experts can't cure Mother's illness. Who else on this earth could?" the eldest sister-in-law scoffed. "Mother has been sick for so many years. If she could be cured, it would have happened by now."
Those words sent everyone's spirits plummeting to rock bottom.
Old Mrs. Lin had contracted a strange illness five years ago. Half of each day she spent in a deep sleep, and the moment she woke, her entire body would be wracked with agony as if bitten by thousands of ants, even convulsing uncontrollably.
To ease her suffering, the only recourse was to administer sedatives daily and keep her asleep for extended periods.
But this could not go on forever.
Today, the old lady had fallen ill again, so the entire family had rushed back to the ancestral home.
Just as everyone was losing all hope—
A clear, calm young girl's voice sounded from outside the house. "I can cure her."