Chapter 3  : Mother

Mu Yourong looked in the direction where Ye Zhuo disappeared. Her eyes were filled with a malicious glow.

In this timeline, she was the prettiest girl in school! She was also finally the daughter of the Mu family!

Ye Zhuo was merely a lowly pauper; who was she to compete with Mu Yourong?

Even though Ye Zhuo had left the Mu family, she could not escape her destiny of being Mu Yourong’s stepping stone in the future.

After experiencing her rebirth, Mu Yourong became highly skilled in acting. Moments ago, she appeared as if she could not bear to part with Ye Zhuo.

The sight of it made Shen Rong’s heart wrench in pain!

The child was so good in every way, but perhaps her weakness was that she was too kind.

Ye Zhuo took everything that belonged to her, yet she could not bear to part with the good-for-nothing girl. In addition, she proposed to keep Ye Zhuo as her own sister…

“My good child, I know that you’re kind-hearted, and you can’t bear to let her leave. However, a person like her is truly unworthy of your kindness. Ye Zhuo is an immature, ungrateful scum!” Upon saying that, Shen Rong added, “Oh right, Yourong, about your adoptive mother… has she treated you well over the years?”

“I almost dropped out of high school when I was in my freshman year because my adoptive mother refused to pay my school fees. In the end, the headmaster made an exception to waive the tuition fee, and I was accepted because of my outstanding achievements. When I was in elementary school, everyone referred to me as a bastard child that no one wanted…”

Mu Yourong sobbed upon remarking.

In truth, her adoptive mother treated Mu Yourong well to the point where she never had to endure any hardship since she was young. Her adoptive mother doted on her lovingly.

Even after learning that Mu Yourong was not her biological daughter, she was still worried that Mu Yourong would be bullied upon rejoining the Mu family and that she would be looked down upon. As a result, she gave all her life savings to Mu Yourong so that she could use it to hold her ground.

The reason behind Mu Yourong’s courage to lie vicariously was because no one here knew the truth. After all, only evilness could set off kindness in this world. Only green leaves could contrast red flowers. Those lowly people lived for the sole purpose of making her stand out.

Before Mu Yourong’s voice died away, the people in the surrounding crowd assumed furious expressions!

According to Mu Yourong’s statement, it was not difficult to analyze and come to the conclusion that the switched-at-birth incident was her adoptive mother’s own doing.

It was the perfect reenactment of the ‘Civet Cat Exchanged for Crown Prince’ opera!

Otherwise, how could Mu Yourong’s adoptive mother possibly stop her from attending school? Her adoptive mother was obviously trying to turn Mu Yourong into an uncultured deadbeat.

What a disgusting woman!

Shen Rong bawled while hugging Mu Yourong. “My poor child… how could she treat you that way? That’s truly vicious.”

Mu Yourong patted Shen Rong’s shoulder and spoke in a sorrowful tone, “It’s fine. I’ve gotten used to it over the years. I’m not her biological child after all…”

“You’ve had a rough time, my child…” Shen Rong held Mu Yourong with a guilty yet sympathetic expression.

From an angle where the crowd could not see, Mu Yourong’s lips curled into a proud smile. Her goal had been achieved.

Everything she wanted in this life was within her grasp now. Furthermore, she was certain that the mysterious financial magnate was peeking at her secretly from a dark corner.

…

Using the original owner’s memories, Ye Zhuo found the address where the original owner’s mother, Ye Shu, lived.

Ye Shu rented the cheapest basement in Yunjing Province.

The place was a chaotic mess, and it was so dark that one could not tell if it was day or night in there. To make matters worse, a gush of musty stench filled the air.

It was dinner time, coincidentally. The elderly and young children of every house there were having dinner standing at the doorway. The crowd watched Ye Zhuo curiously upon her arrival.

It was clearly a slum… so why would someone like Ye Zhuo be here?

Ye Zhuo’s body’s original owner had thick makeup on her face, and her entire body emanated a gloomy, intolerant aura that concealed the brilliance of herself.

On the other hand, Ye Zhuo was different. She was a tech mogul that everyone feared. Even if the leader of another world were to encounter her, the person would show respect to her. At this moment, she still possessed the aura of a superior being that others could not replicate despite the thick makeup she had on her.

Ye Zhuo knocked on the tightly shut door under the close gaze of the crowd.

“Thud thud thud.”

After a long while, the door was opened from the inside.

Ye Zhuo met a sickly middle-aged woman with a ghastly pale face. She looked just like a modernized version of ‘Lam Mui-Mui’ that one could not help but love upon seeing.

“Are… are you Zhuo Zhuo?” Ye Shu looked at Ye Zhuo in astonishment. She was dumbfounded for a long while, and her eyes were filled with disbelief.

Ye Zhuo looked at Ye Shu. “Mom, I’m home.”

“What… what did you call me?” Ye Shu’s eyes warmed with tears.

It was just yesterday that Ye Shu went over to see Ye Zhuo. However, Ye Zhuo refused to acknowledge her. On the contrary, Ye Zhuo humiliated her ferociously and said that she did not have such an embarrassing mother.

Ye Shu was hurt beyond comparison, yet there was nothing she could do.

Ye Zhuo refused to acknowledge her while the Mu family consented to continue raising her willingly. As a result, Ye Shu could only abandon her daughter.

Obviously, Ye Shu did not expect that Ye Zhuo would actually come searching for her and address her as ‘mom’ after just one day!

She could not have been dreaming, right?

Ye Shu had a story too.

She was pregnant with twins at the age of just 19 back in those years because of love.

However, although she was pregnant with twins, the nurse was notified that one of the babies was stillborn during the delivery.

After her daughter was born, her lover, who used to be on intimate terms with her in the past, vanished without a trace. He was gone for 18 full years just like that.

After reporting the case to the police, she learned the truth.

Everything about her lover was fake. Whether it was his family address or name… He was a conman.

He was a love rat with a sweet tongue.

One should know that it was an embarrassment to the family for a 19-year-old maiden to have a child out of wedlock back in that era. As a result, Ye Shu’s parents wanted to abandon the child after Ye Shu gave birth to her daughter and even found her adoptive parents.

However, Ye Shu could not bear to part with her young daughter, so she moved out of the home with her daughter despite her parents’ objections.

Over the years, Ye Shu worked odd jobs while she raised her daughter.

A single mother’s life was not easy, but she never gave up on her daughter and chose not to remarry.

Ye Zhuo looked at Ye Shu and hugged her gently. “I’m sorry, mom. I was naive in the past. Please forgive me; I promise that I will stay by you from now on.”

“It’s fine. I am fine now that you’re home.” Ye Shu broke into tears of joy as she welcomed Ye Zhuo into the house. “Come in, quick, Zhuo Zhuo. The house is shabby; I hope you don’t mind.”

As compared to the Mu family’s house, the Ye family’s dim basement was more than shabby. It was simply slightly less than a slum.

The living room was about 10 square meters in size with its white wallpaper aged yellow, and the concrete floor cracked into fine rifts because it was not tiled. Humidity was seeping off the ground indistinctly.

Additionally, a three-legged table was placed at the side of the living room, and a broken club was used to prop up the side where the other leg used to be.

On the television cabinet that was old beyond recognition placed sat a black and white television. It was placed in front of the table.

Ye Zhuo had never expected to see an old antique like this in this thriving era.

Nevertheless, on the positive side, the living room was kept in good order, and there was no strange stench in the air. She could tell at once that Ye Shu was a neat person.

“Zhuo… Zhuo Zhuo, have a drink.” Ye Shu fetched her a glass of water.

“Thank you, mom.” Ye Zhuo received the glass in her hands and took a sip of the water.

Ye Shu observed Ye Zhuo’s action of drinking the water.

Ye Shu’s hooded, upturned eyes, which looked exactly like Ye Zhuo’s, were filled with shock. Ye Zhuo had truly changed!

Ye Zhuo came here a few days ago, and Ye Shu fetched Ye Zhuo a glass of water just like today. How did Ye Zhuo react at the time? She had covered her nose and said disdainfully, “I use Evian water to wash my face, and you’re actually serving me this kind of water to drink!? Are you trying to poison me?”

At the time, Ye Shu did not know what Evian meant yet.

Afterward, she learned that Evian was a very costly type of mineral water.

Yet today, somehow… there was not a single ounce of disdain in Ye Zhuo’s eyes.

Albeit being somewhat relieved, Ye Shu was still a little reserved with Ye Zhuo. “Zhuo Zhuo, it’s almost time for dinner. What would you like to have? I’ll cook for you.”

Ye Zhuo placed down the glass and considered her answer in all apparent seriousness for a moment. “Mom, is there a shower in the house? I’d like to take a shower first.”

She had thick makeup on her face and a strong alcohol stench on her body. Ye Zhuo just wanted to have a nice, warm shower to look and feel more like a normal person!