Chapter 16: Sense of Ritual (Eri’s rumored boyfriend +1)

Sister, by the time you see this message, I should have already left for the Imperial Capital.

Today is a very special day, and I bet you, being such a fool, probably forgot.

But Lingling remembers—today is your birthday, so happy birthday!

I ordered your favorite strawberry cake.

Life may be bitter, but please remember to treat yourself kindly; everyone has their own way of surviving.

Don’t be too sentimental or blame yourself too much.

Just be true to yourself.

You only need to know that there are still people in this world who love and support you.

Oh, and there’s a surprise inside the cake~

Bai Nian looked at the elegant handwriting on the card.

The signature at the bottom was Bai Ling.

Bai Ling was her half-sister, sharing the same father.

Their mother, Bai Nian’s father Bai Tianyi’s lawful wife, was Bai Ling’s mother.

In other words, Bai Ling was the legitimate heir of the Bai Family Manor in Tenmu City.

As for Bai Nian’s mother, she was merely a caretaker who wanted to rise in status.

Through certain means, she got pregnant and gave birth to Bai Nian.

The two had never been involved in any relationship.

Her mother had fabricated a victim’s identity, attempting to use the child to gain status and power.

But in the eyes of the great family, these tactics were nothing more than petty tricks.

By the time Bai Tianyi found out, the other party had already secretly given birth.

What happened in between, Bai Nian did not know.

Even this information came from Bai Ling.

All Bai Nian knew was that in the end, her mother committed suicide, and she herself was never accepted by the family.

Simply put, she was “expelled” from the family.

But the Bai family’s traits were very distinctive: all members, male or female, had white hair.

The Bai family maintained strict rules, and if they had secretly gotten rid of Bai Nian, the main family would have found out and it would have led to serious consequences.

They dared not do so.

At the same time, to preserve the family’s face, they never truly expelled Bai Nian but left her in a sort of fostered state.

“I never imagined my own background was this absurd,”

Bai Nian sneered but didn’t care much.

Actually, the Bai family of Tenmu City treated her much better than the big families written about in novels.

No matter the reason, at least they were “doing their best.”

As for Bai Ling, her sister, she wasn’t the typical spoiled heir with a privileged background.

She had a good personality and didn’t dislike Bai Nian.

She had even helped her secretly multiple times.

The reason she had to do so in secret was because after their father found out, he had explicitly forbidden any contact with Bai Nian.

Bai Ling and Yu Zishan could be considered the only two beams of light in Bai Nian’s eighteen years of life.

She picked up the plastic knife and fork, ready to inspect the cake.

The knife pierced the center of the cake and immediately hit something hard, unable to go further.

Bai Nian turned it over and saw a corner of red.

When she took it out, it turned out to be a red envelope.

It was thick and had a substantial feel.

She opened it, and inside was a neat stack of cash.

Bai Ling knew she was poor, so she purposely sent her some pocket money…

Bai Nian counted it: a few thousand yuan.

If she lived like she used to at school, this money would be enough for her to live for several months.

But now was different.

Bai Nian wasn’t just a psychological counselor; she also possessed a Calamity Core, so she wasn’t exactly short on money anymore.

“Damn, speaking of which, the Professional Association can buy back Calamity Cores, how did I forget?”

Bai Nian slapped her forehead, cursing herself as an idiot.

“Oh well, I’ll go this afternoon,”

she sighed helplessly.

Then Bai Nian took a candle from the bag and lit it, sticking it on the cake.

Watching the number ‘19’ candle flicker to life, Bai Nian clasped her hands and closed her eyes to make a wish.

I hope everyone who reads this becomes handsome or beautiful, may all their wishes come true, and may they become rich!

After silently reciting her wish, Bai Nian opened her eyes and blew out all the candles at once.

Even if she was alone, there had to be a sense of ceremony.

She dipped her finger into some cream and spread it on both cheeks.

“Mm, that feels right.”

Saying that, she took out the knife and fork and prepared to continue cutting the cake.

Happy birthday, Bai Nian.

She silently wished herself before looking at the cake on the plate, picking up her fork.

“I’m digging in!”

***

Afternoon arrived quickly, and Bai Nian was about to head out again to the Professional Association to sell her Calamity Core.

But just as she was about to leave, her phone suddenly rang in the quiet rented room.

She looked at the unknown number on the screen with a puzzled expression but still chose to answer.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Miss Bai, this is the butler from Bai Family Manor. The Master asked me to notify you to return to the family,”

a middle-aged man’s hoarse voice came from the other end.

Bai Nian’s expression grew more confused.

How long had it been since the family last contacted her?

Months?

Years?

Apart from the fixed monthly thousand yuan allowance on her card, there had been almost no communication.

Why were they suddenly contacting her now?

“Miss Bai, are you there?”

the voice on the other end spoke again.

Snapping back to reality, Bai Nian replied coldly, “What do you want?”

“The Master didn’t say, only that there is something very important that requires your return.”

“I see.”

She responded and immediately hung up.

From the butler’s tone, Bai Nian knew that the family’s servants never truly regarded her as a member of the Bai family.

Otherwise, they would have called her “Young Madam” instead of “Miss Bai.”

“This family isn’t as good as it looks,”

Bai Nian suddenly laughed.

“I wonder how they even raised Bai Ling.”

They hadn’t cared about her for so long but suddenly contacted her today.

It was obvious there was some other purpose.

Bai Nian knew very well what kind of man the family head—her father—was.

She opened the door and didn’t go to the Professional Association as planned.

Instead, she headed toward the Bai Family Manor on the outskirts of the city.

She wanted to see what purpose this long-faded place from her memories had in calling her back.

Bai Nian flagged down a taxi by the roadside.

By chance, the driver was the same unscrupulous man who had taken her to the Professional Association yesterday.

“Hey, little lady, what a coincidence! Going to the Professional Association again?”

The driver recognized Bai Nian and smiled to strike up a conversation.

“No, to Bai Family Manor,”

Bai Nian replied indifferently.

Hearing “Bai Family Manor,” the driver glanced again at her white hair in the rearview mirror and suddenly understood something.

He nervously cleared his throat and stammered,

“Uh, about that… the meter was broken yesterday and overcharged you…”