The heroine’s affected, pretentious manner was exactly the same as that roommate of hers.
But her looks hadn’t changed much.
In the book, the description of the heroine’s beauty had taken up a huge amount of space. That roommate had practically used every adjective imaginable to praise her.
And her talent—after the original host left, the heroine entered a cultural performance troupe. In just a few short months, she stood out in the dance team and shone brilliantly.
She was practically the embodiment of talent and intelligence, grace and beauty combined.
As for whether she was truly talented or not, Wen Qiao couldn’t tell at the moment.
But in terms of appearance, the heroine looked no different from that roommate.
It was as if they had been carved from the same mold.
No change at all.
Delicate enough, but not stunning.
Plain. Bland.
When she couldn’t deal with Wen Qiao in real life, she wrote her into a novel instead—using dark, filthy schemes to drive the original host to her death.
Wen Qiao really wanted to curse her out and spit in her face.
“Yueru, what are you saying? With your health, how can you go to the countryside? Besides, no matter how unwilling she is, she’s still a member of the Shen family. When it’s her turn to contribute, she should contribute. Otherwise, why did our Shen family bring her back?”
The moment Wen Qiao finished speaking, Shen Guiyuan immediately stood up for Shen Yueru.
Wen Qiao curled her lips and withdrew her assessing gaze.
Shen Yueru did have a good mouthpiece speaking on her behalf. Too bad he didn’t have much of a brain.
Wen Qiao forced herself to squeeze out a few tears.
Her expression turned utterly aggrieved.
“So… you brought me back just to send me to the countryside? I thought you truly cared about me.”
Acting? Who didn’t know how to act?
Shen’s mother hurriedly grabbed her hand to explain.
“No, Qiaoqiao, don’t listen to your second brother’s nonsense. That’s not what we mean.”
She turned and scolded Shen Guiyuan in displeasure.
“Guiyuan, what are you saying? Qiaoqiao is our Shen family’s daughter—your biological sister. We brought her back to give her a better life, to let her enjoy blessings.”
Shen Guiyuan let out a cold snort.
“My only real sister is Yueru. I don’t want some ungrateful country bumpkin as my sister.”
Shen’s mother’s face darkened. She pointed at him.
“You child, how can you talk like that? Apologize to Qiaoqiao right now!”
“I’m not apologizing. I didn’t say anything wrong.”
With that, Shen Guiyuan turned and went downstairs, not sparing Wen Qiao a second glance.
Shen’s mother was both angry and helpless. This second son of hers had been spoiled rotten—bad-tempered and stubborn.
She could only turn back to comfort Wen Qiao.
“Qiaoqiao, don’t take your second brother’s words to heart. He doesn’t mean any harm. He just can’t accept this reality yet. After some time, he’ll figure it out.”
“You haven’t eaten all day. You must be starving, right? Let’s go eat first. We’ll talk about the rest later.”
Wen Qiao rolled her eyes inwardly. It sounded nice, but if they truly cared about her, they wouldn’t have forced the original host to go to the countryside on her very first day home.
And Shen Guiyuan—ever since the original host arrived yesterday, he had been picking on her nonstop.
Verbal attacks. Insults. And today was no different. Yet Shen’s mother brushed it off lightly.
The favoritism couldn’t have been more obvious.
But it didn’t matter.
She had no intention of building a good relationship with anyone in the Shen family.
She didn’t expect genuine affection from them.
To put it bluntly, these people were merely passersby in her life.
Insignificant.
The Shen family treated her as nothing more than a tool.
She would treat the Shen family as a stepping stone.
Once she got the money, she would leave far away—away from all this mess and these infuriating people.
Though she cursed inwardly, her voice remained obedient.
“Mm, okay.”
She allowed Shen’s mother to link arms with her and go downstairs.
Behind them, Shen Yueru watched the intimate mother-and-daughter scene, biting her teeth in resentment.
So what if that wild girl had grown up in the countryside and was their biological daughter?
She, Shen Yueru, had been the one by their parents’ side for eighteen years.
But for some reason, the Wen Qiao in front of her felt unfamiliar.
That movement when she wiped her hands just now… that look of disgust in her eyes.
Yesterday, when Wen Qiao first arrived at the Shen family, she had been timid and shrinking, dull and silent like a mute—never answering questions, always keeping her head down, not even daring to make eye contact.
Shen Yueru shook off the doubt.
It didn’t matter.
That wretched girl would soon be sent to the countryside. Shen Yueru’s childhood friend’s mother worked at the educated youth office. When the time came, she would arrange for Wen Qiao to be sent to some remote ravine in the Northwest.
She had heard that place was nothing but yellow earth—short on water and grain. Of the educated youths sent there, nine out of ten never returned.
Just days ago, one youth who came back to visit family had been so thin he looked like a skeleton. He’d rather endure public criticism than go back.
That alone showed how harsh the conditions were.
As long as Wen Qiao went there—and her grain rations were cut off—she would sooner or later be trapped there to die.
Even if Shen Yueru wasn’t the Shen family’s biological daughter, she was no less than one.
After all, they had doted on her for eighteen years. That bond wasn’t so easily erased.
If the biological daughter were gone, the Shen family would only double that love and pour it all onto her.
Her position as the fake heiress would not change in the slightest.
On the contrary, misfortune might turn into blessing—she would be cherished even more.
At the thought, Shen Yueru’s eyes brimmed with unconcealed pride and delight.
“Sister, you probably didn’t get many chances to eat meat at the Wen family, right? Mom personally made this braised pork for you. Eat more.”
Of course the Shen family had servants. But since her biological daughter had returned, Shen’s mother personally cooked in an attempt to bridge the emotional gap.
Wen Qiao quickly picked up her bowl and lowered her head, shoveling rice into her mouth, completely ignoring her.
She was afraid if she accepted that piece of meat, she’d feel sick enough to vomit later.
Shen Yueru’s chopsticks froze midair. Her expression turned awkward—if she continued offering it, she’d look foolish; if she withdrew, she’d lose face.
Seeing this, Shen Guiyuan shot Wen Qiao a glare.
“Yueru, if she doesn’t appreciate it, forget it. Don’t bother with her. Your health isn’t good—you should eat more meat to nourish yourself.”
He placed a piece of braised pork into Shen Yueru’s bowl.
“I just thought Qiaoqiao probably doesn’t get to eat meat often, so I wanted her to have more.”
Shen Yueru bit her lip, looking pitiful beyond measure.
Yet inside, she was grinding her teeth, cursing Wen Qiao.
Ungrateful brat.
How dare she embarrass her.
Wen Qiao cast her a cold glance.
This Shen Yueru in the novel was no different from her roommate—cut from the same cloth.
Seemingly gentle, kind, and considerate.
Experts at pretending innocence and vulnerability.
People like that were the best at disguising themselves—harmless on the surface, but dark inside.
Her heart was blacker than anyone’s.
Wen Qiao was so hungry her chest felt pressed to her back. Her hands trembled.
She had no mood to act out sisterly affection.
Later, she still had conditions to negotiate.
Since the original host’s image of being dull and withdrawn was already deeply rooted, she might as well keep it that way.
The original host hadn’t been hungry for just one day.
At the Wen family, she was hungry every single day—never once eating her fill.
Now, looking at the greasy braised pork on the table, Wen Qiao felt an instinctive aversion.
In her previous life, she would never even touch braised pork—not for the sake of keeping her figure, but simply because she didn’t like it.
But at this very moment, her mouth began producing saliva uncontrollably. A fierce appetite surged through her.
She couldn’t help but swallow.