Chapter 2: Should I escape

The door clicked shut, and Su Nuannuan slid down to sit on the carpet, her back against the door.

Her heart was still pounding wildly, as if it wanted to burst out of her throat, and her palms were drenched in cold sweat.

“It’s over, it’s over, it’s over… I’m done for…” She buried her face in her knees, sobbing in despair.

The True Daughter! Lin Wei! She’s back!

The legitimate heroine from the Novel—the one who would snatch her spot, suffer countless hardships, and eventually throw this vicious Fake Daughter out onto the streets to meet a miserable end!

She’s back!

Su Nuannuan trembled all over. It’s clearly not my fault… so why is this plot so ridiculously dramatic?

Five years ago, the moment she opened her eyes, she found herself trapped as the namesake villainess in this outdated, melodramatic Novel.

At first, she was terrified out of her mind and tried every way to return: banging her head against the wall, standing in the rain, wishing on shooting stars. The only results were a big bump and a severe cold.

No hope of going back. After the initial panic faded, she looked at this castle-like house, the wardrobe overflowing with beautiful clothes, and the daily gourmet meals… and shamefully gave up.

Heh heh.

Isn’t it nice to be a salted fish? Even if I’m labeled the “Fake Daughter,” the True Daughter hasn’t appeared yet!

I can survive day by day! So she started living as a laid-back freeloader, knowing she wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. She put minimal effort into studying, her grades consistently bottom-tier.

Knowing she was in the wrong, she kept a low profile—no trouble, no reckless spending, polite even to the servants, doing her best to be a transparent little mushroom.

The only annoyance was that maid named Chen Li.

Chen Li always gave her weird looks, spoke in a sarcastic tone, and sometimes acted impatiently.

Su Nuannuan was a little afraid of her because Chen Li seemed to already know she was the Fake Daughter.

The way she looked at her was so wrong, it made Su Nuannuan nervous, and from then on, she never dared to provoke Chen Li, always feeling that this maid held the “evidence” against her.

Five years of peace almost made her forget she was a ticking time bomb.

Until yesterday, when the Su Family announced they had found the long-lost biological daughter, and the car carrying Lin Wei drove through the gate—shattering her sweet dream.

Could it get any more ridiculous?

The plot has started! The countdown to the end of her happy life… has begun!

Earlier, she hid behind a pillar on the second floor to sneak a peek at Lin Wei. Oh my god, the real person was even scarier than in the Novel.

That cold gaze, the aura of a queen—every inch of her screamed:

“I’m not someone to mess with. You’re dead meat.”

Su Nuannuan was so scared she scrambled back to her room, locked the door, and played dead. When the servants called her to dinner, she trembled and said her stomach hurt—when really, she was just scared.

There was no escaping it.

Dinner time arrived, and when the maid cheerfully asked again, Su Nuannuan forced herself downstairs.

The dining room was blindingly bright. Lin Wei sat there laughing and chatting with their parents, like a real princess.

Su Nuannuan felt like an ugly duckling, every step feeling like a march to her doom.

She whispered a quick greeting and then hurried back to her seat, not daring to lift her head.

The food smelled delicious, but Su Nuannuan tasted nothing.

Her mind was occupied by only one thought: It’s over… I’m getting kicked out… This might be my last good meal. Forget feasts—I’ll have to save even instant noodles!

Driven by a fierce survival instinct, she turned into a squirrel, stuffing food into her mouth like crazy.

Her little mouth moved rapidly, cheeks puffed out, eyes staring at the food with tragic determination.

Eat! Every extra bite counts! If I don’t stash now, I’ll starve later. She was so immersed in this grim reality of “one meal less” that she didn’t even notice Lin Wei’s alien-like stare from across the table.

After finally finishing, Su Nuannuan wasted no time, dropping a quick “I’m done” before bolting upstairs and locking herself in.

Leaning against the door, she gasped for breath, heart still racing.

“What do I do, what do I do…”

She paced anxiously in her room. The tragic endings of Su Nuannuan from the Novel played on a loop in her mind: exposed in public, stripped of everything, stabbed in the back, frozen to death on the streets…

No! She can’t just sit and wait!

She rushed to the wardrobe and flung it open. Inside were piles of beautiful clothes and bags.

Frantically, she started pulling things out.

These… these should be worth some money, right? If I get kicked out, I need some spending money!

She dragged out a big suitcase, flung it open, and began stuffing clothes inside haphazardly.

Halfway through, her hand froze on a particularly fancy little dress.

It was last year’s Birthday Gift from Lin Mama—extremely expensive.

If she took this… would that count as stealing? Would the Lin Family call the police on her?

She collapsed onto the floor, staring at the clothes scattered around and the half-packed suitcase.

A crushing sense of helplessness surged over her, and tears started falling.

“Waaah… I don’t want to leave… I don’t want to freeze to death on the streets…”

She hugged her knees, crying like a child who weighed a hundred pounds.

Five years of living like a salted fish—shattered.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside her door.

They stopped right in front of it.

Su Nuannuan immediately went silent, holding her breath.

Is it Lin Wei? Has she come to confront me?

Terrified, she widened her eyes and stared fixedly at the door, shrinking into an even smaller ball, wishing she could vanish on the spot.

Outside, the footsteps paused for a few seconds, then she seemed to hear a soft sigh before the steps retreated.

Su Nuannuan’s tense nerves relaxed just a little, but the fear remained.

She knew her good days were over, and she—the stupid quail who had taken another’s nest—didn’t even know where to hide.

The footsteps outside faded away.

Su Nuannuan collapsed onto the floor, sweat covering her back. She should be safe for now.

But the relief was short-lived.

Fear surged back as she looked at the clothes scattered everywhere and the half-packed suitcase.

Sell the clothes? Dream on!

She barely ever left the neighborhood gate, who would she sell to? Junk collectors?

Besides, Lin Family’s things still had tags attached. Too obvious! What if they thought she was stealing?

“Ugh…” Tears fell again.

The days of being a salted fish were truly over.

Ahead lay a dark, grim road.

“No, Su Nuannuan, no crying!” She wiped her face fiercely and forced herself to think.

“In the Novel… what do Fake Daughters usually do?”

She racked her brain until it hurt.

Fight back? Forget it! The other party is the True Daughter with a halo! What does Su Nuannuan have? Just a barely decent face and a total coward. If she faced off with Lin Wei, she wouldn’t last three seconds.

Play the pitiful victim for sympathy? Mom and Dad might still care a bit for her now, but Lin Wei’s back! The real daughter! Her tears couldn’t compare to eighteen years of suffering.

Besides, Lin Wei’s gaze clearly wasn’t the type to fall for that.

Sabotage and frame her? Here’s a bowl of Iron Bull Beef Noodles for you to try.

No way! Su Nuannuan was a coward and never did bad things.

At worst, she once stole a small cake from the kitchen and got stared down by Chen Li.

She’d get scared just thinking about hurting someone else.

After all the thinking, her brain went numb—then one word popped up:

Hide!

Right! If you can’t fight, then hide!

Lin Wei is downstairs? Then she’ll stay upstairs.

Lin Wei’s in the living room? Then she’ll stay in her room.

Lin Wei’s in the garden? Then she won’t go to the garden.

Dinner? Avoid if possible, if not, just do what she did today—bury her head in food, eat fast, then run, not saying a word, not giving any sign!

Be like air! Be invisible! Let Lin Wei look for trouble and not find a single person!

The goal was clear—survive! Every extra day counts!

Maybe… maybe if Lin Wei sees how obedient and harmless she is, she’ll soften and let her stay in a corner.

Or Mom and Dad might remember she’s been their daughter for eighteen years and give her some severance pay.

Enough to rent a tiny room and get a job waiting tables or washing dishes.

Not starving would be enough!

“Yes, that’s the plan!” Su Nuannuan cheered herself on, though her voice still trembled.

She shoved the messy clothes back into the wardrobe carelessly and kicked the suitcase under the bed.

Running now? Too stupid—she’d be walking right into the trap.

First, stay calm, act good, act invisible!

Who says I’m stupid? I’m super smart!

I am this one 👍