The Secret of Second Marriage

Looking at the pampered rich woman in front of me, I felt a pang of envy for some reason. When I was a child, I saw that all the other children in my village were loved by their mothers.

I am the only left-behind child.

My mother, Tian Hongxia, has a bad temper and is extremely stingy. Every year during the Spring Festival, when she and my father return to their hometown village from their workplaces, they always show a hint of disdain in their eyes when they see me.

Over time, I completely gave up hope.

But unexpectedly, when I met Xia Weiwei's mother, a feeling of envy still welled up in my heart.

Xia Weiwei quickly came over, took her mother's hand, and said sweetly, "Mom, there are many people in this world who look alike, what's so strange about that?"

"Mom, what brings you and Dad here? I love your cola-braised chicken wings the most."

"My darling daughter, Mommy brought this for you."

Bai Jie smiled gently, glanced at me, and led Xia Weiwei to the room next door to rest. From the large and small bags she carried, she took out a layer of stainless steel insulated containers, which contained the food she had personally cooked.

Cola chicken wings, braised beef, sweet and sour pork ribs, braised shrimp, corn stew with pork ribs, and cold lettuce salad—all of these are Xia Weiwei's favorite dishes.

My parents came to visit me, but they didn't bring anything with them.

At noon, I took them to the hotel's buffet restaurant...

When my mom saw me, she said, "You've made something of yourself now, you should help your brother. Jiang Man, your brother's wife is getting a divorce from him, he lost his job and spends all his time playing video games."

My nephew and niece are so young, I can't bear to see them without a mother.

"Could you lend us some money? It's not much, just a little over 200 million. Your sister-in-law wants to open a beauty salon in our hometown. Is that okay?"

"No money"

I say.

As soon as I said that, my mother's face changed immediately, becoming extremely harsh. She coldly cursed at me, saying, "What's the use of raising you all these years? You don't even help your own brother."

"Who is my real brother? For so many years, you've left me with my grandparents, have you ever cared about my life or death for even a single day?"

In my haste, I blurted out a shocking piece of gossip: "I already had a paternity test done, and I'm not your biological child at all; I was adopted."

My childhood name was Zhao Di. Have you forgotten?

"you--"

Tian Hongxia was furious and immediately started yelling, "So what? No matter what, we raised you. Give us your money and we'll cut ties! Otherwise, don't even think about being a star!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she was about to slap me across the face.

Just as we were arguing and I was almost beaten, a beautiful woman with exceptionally fair skin, and a particularly intellectual and elegant demeanor, instinctively rushed in front of me and shoved Tian Hongxia aside.

"Don't hit her!"

Bai Jie wore a light blue, well-tailored brocade dress embroidered with white orchids, looking exceptionally elegant and beautiful.

Tian Hongxia saw Bai Jie's face turn red and white in turns, and she seemed particularly flustered for some reason, so she shut her mouth without saying a word.

She urged my dad, "Stop eating! That brat is so disobedient, I'm so angry, what's the point of eating? Let's go home."

"Why did you go back without getting the money? Didn't you say you came to collect it?"

The man said.

"Girl, it's alright now. I'm here, they won't dare hit you!"

Bai Jie gently pulled me into her arms, protecting me.

Although I am already over 30 years old, I have long been sharp and assertive, and I will take revenge for any wrongs I have. I am not afraid of anyone bullying me.

But hearing that gentle voice, I felt an indescribable emotion welling up inside me. Why? I suddenly felt like crying…

When my mother, Tian Lixia, heard her say that, she surprisingly remained silent, instead turning her face slightly to avoid the other person's gaze.

After calming me down, Bai Jie took a few steps forward, looked at my mother carefully, and after a brief moment of shock, called out a name: "Hongxia, Tian Hongxia. Is that you?"

"Bai Jie, what a coincidence! We actually met on the show. What a coincidence, haha..."

My mom was acting strangely; she was stammering and seemed a bit nervous.

What exactly is going on?

Bai Jie said, "It's been so many years since we last met. Let's have some tea sometime."

"Mom, do you know her?"

I asked in shock.

Because I simply cannot reconcile the pampered, well-off lady in front of me with my mother, a commoner.

Tian Hongxia glared at me and said, "You brat, why are you asking so many questions?"

Bai Jie was particularly gentle and kind to me, patiently explaining: "Your mother and I used to be best friends, and my maternal grandmother and your mother's maternal grandmother were from the same village."

When I was little, I often played with your mother. We were classmates in elementary school, junior high school, and high school.

After I got into university, I went to study in the city, married my current husband, and later started a business in the city, building a villa.

When I gave birth to twins, your mother came to visit me and helped me during my postpartum period. I was really touched.

Tian Hongxia quickly said, "Bai Jie, really, it's all in the past, let's not talk about it. You're doing so well now, married to such a rich man, how can I compare to you?"

After chatting for a while, Xia Weiwei came over, pulled her mother away, and glared at me. It was as if I was trying to steal her mother's place from her…

She said, "Mom, this woman is so scheming. She's divorced and seduces men all the time. None of the girls in our program want to hang out with her... I heard she went to great lengths to get close to that rich second-generation CEO Jiang, and he's already dumping her."

The show is going to implement an elimination system tonight. If no one chooses her, she'll have to leave the show first thing tomorrow morning.

"Weiwei, Mom thinks she looks a lot like your sister."

Bai Jie glanced at me, and for some reason her heart was racing. Did she want to come over and ask me if I had any old photos?

But Xia Weiwei pulled her away...

She said, "Mom, how could she be my sister? It's impossible, let's go."

For the first time, Bai Jie seriously shook off Xia Weiwei's hand. Instead of pampering her as before, she said, "Weiwei, how could you do this? Do you know who your mother has worried about the most all these years? It's your sister."

She was taken away when she was just over one year old, and we don't know if she's alive or dead.

How many tears did Mom shed because of this? You and your sister are both Mom's flesh and blood, both are my flesh and blood, and Mom owes her so much.

"Mom must find her, or she'll never rest in peace!"

"Mom, you only need me. I will still take care of you and Dad in your old age and see you off when you die."

Xia Weiwei also lost control and started arguing.

"Weiwei, how can you be so immature at such a young age? She's your older sister! For so many years, your mother has been thinking about her day and night."

If I could, I would give my life to bring her back.

Bai Jie burst into tears.

She felt guilty for not taking better care of the children. That day, the nanny took the two children to the park. On the way, she went to a phone booth to make a long-distance call. When she came out, one of the children had been stolen.

Therefore, she sued the irresponsible nanny. The incident caused a great stir in the city at the time. The nanny was shameless and insisted that it was the human traffickers who did it and that she had nothing to do with it.

Bai Jie's mother was furious. Later, she found evidence, hired a lawyer, and made the nanny pay her tens of thousands of yuan in compensation. But what good was that money? Could it bring her back her lost daughter?

"Mom, but I've never had this older sister in my childhood memories. I'm the only child in this family, and I'm used to being pampered as an only child."

Everything in this house belongs to me. Why do you insist on bringing a stranger home? I have no feelings for her.

I don't want any older sister...

Xia Weiwei asked, puzzled.

"Weiwei, you..."

Bai Jie was so angry that she burst into tears.

"Shut up! Look what you've done to your mother!"

Xia Weiwei's father, Mr. Xia, feeling sorry for his wife, stepped forward and slapped her...

Xia Weiwei ran away crying and angry, glaring at me fiercely before she left: "Jiang Man, you jinx, you're the one who caused all this."

I'm speechless.

Xia Weiwei has always been so hostile towards me. Could she possibly think that I am her missing sister?

A string in my mind suddenly snapped: could this couple really be my biological mother?

What a coincidence!

After calming herself down, Bai Jie excitedly came to me and cried, "Miss Jiang, do you have any photos of yourself when you were little? Even just one would be fine. Can I see it?"

I've been searching for my biological daughter all these years, sob sob sob, my hair has turned completely white in the process.

Later, in order to look more presentable in front of others, I dyed my hair black.

"I have photos from when I was a child."

I took out my phone, opened the photo album, and found a black and white portrait photo of myself when I was in first grade.

There are very few photos of me from when I was a child. My mother couldn't bear to spend money on taking photos of me, so she didn't let me attend preschool, and she didn't even want me to go to primary school. This is the only photo that I managed to keep.

It was because the village secretary wanted to promote compulsory education in rural areas, so he told my grandparents that he must send me to primary school.

I took these photos when I first went to the village primary school and put them in my file folder.

Upon seeing the photo, Bai Jie exclaimed excitedly, "It's my husband, it's her, it's her! She's our daughter... She looks exactly like her when she was little, waaaaah... This is wonderful!"

"Meimei...is it really you?"

Mr. Xia looked at me deeply, his eyes reddening: "You are our daughter, that's wonderful. After the show is finished, could you accompany my husband and me to the police station to have our blood drawn and DNA collected for a paternity test?"

"No, she can't go!"

Tian Hongxia immediately rushed forward and shouted to stop them, "She is not your daughter, she is my biological daughter. I'm telling you, I raised her all these years."

If you want to acknowledge it, it's not that easy. Don't even think about doing that paternity test without 200 million!

In the end, it all comes down to money, doesn't it?

My heart is completely broken. I couldn't understand how my parents could be so heartless. For the sake of the bride price, they actually tricked a man into coming to my rented apartment, trying to force themselves on me. To put it bluntly, they were selling their daughter...

But now I understand, because they are not my biological parents at all.

So, I calmly said, "I won't give you a single penny. Let me tell you, I'm an adult, and it's my personal freedom to want to do a paternity test. No one has the right to stop me!"

"Do you believe I'll beat you up?"

Seeing that his source of income was cut off, my dad became furious and prepared to beat me.

My eyes were icy cold, filled with chilling intent: "Try it in front of all these cameras."

He was used to being arrogant, but when he suddenly thought about recording a TV show, he immediately became timid.