After being kicked out of the wealthy family along with her yandere childhood friend

Bai Tao swiped her hand down twice, and then she found an account.

The profile picture is a mass-produced cartoon character, the account name has a string of emoticons, and the voice is an excited, mechanical AI voice that speaks very fast.

Bai Tao was about to swipe past it, but the first sentence in the video made her finger stop on the screen.

"Sisters, this is really a case of fiction coming to life! It turns out those novels are all true."

Bai Tao's movements stopped.

She stared at the screen, watching the video play bit by bit.

The mechanical voice was devoid of any emotion, but the intonation was perfectly controlled.

The screen displays several photos, some blurry, some clear, some distant, some close-up, switching between them one by one.

"The young lady took care of the bedridden nanny, the same nanny who switched her own daughter with the wealthy family."

Before leaving, the nanny was moved by the young lady's filial piety and told her the truth about her background.

The young lady has now reunited with her wealthy parents and is living a good life.

The image shows a photo of Yu Xiaozhen.

The first picture shows her working at a restaurant, wearing a white apron, holding a tray, and with her hair tied in a low ponytail.

The second picture shows the caregiver attending to the patient at the bedside. She is sitting by the bed, holding a bowl of porridge, with her head down. The picture has been adjusted to a warm color tone, making it look very cozy.

The third, fourth, and fifth photos are from restaurants, hospitals, supermarkets, and convenience stores.

Each photo is proof of her hard work in life, and each one is accompanied by sentimental background music and mechanical voiceover.

"Hey Miss, now that you've made it big, don't forget about us!"

Bai Tao's heart suddenly started beating very fast.

That feeling was uncomfortable, like something was stuck in my chest, a dull feeling that I couldn't swallow or spit out.

Her finger tapped on the related recommendations, the screen refreshed, and a list of accounts popped up.

Zhenzhen's surname is Bai.

The profile picture is a selfie. Yu Xiaozhen is wearing a white dress and standing in the garden of the Bai family villa. The sunlight falls on her, making her look like a newly blooming white flower.

Bai Tao clicked on it. The homepage was very new, with only three videos posted, but each one had hundreds of thousands of likes.

The latest post shows Yu Xiaozhen accidentally wandering into the Tian family's house while filming in various corners of the first floor of her villa.

She started filming from the entryway, the camera shakily capturing the marble floor, crystal chandelier, spiral staircase, oil paintings on the walls, and an antique clock on the fireplace.

The copy reads:

None of my family members understand. I've been home for so many days, but I still don't know my own home well.

Bai Tao stared at the post for two seconds, then opened the comments section.

[Connect, connect, connect.]

[My sister is incredibly lucky.]

I've already beaten up my parents, but they still refuse to acknowledge that I'm a spoiled rich girl.

"Young Miss, this old servant has arrived."

[I've truly stumbled into the imperial palace.]

Bai Tao slid her finger down, looking at each line one by one.

A few people below asked, "What happened to the original young lady?"

Someone replied, "They were definitely kicked out."

Perhaps it's because Bai Tao's account stayed in this topic for too long that the algorithm remembered her.

She scrolled down a few more items, and all the push notifications were related to Yu Xiaozhen.

But the comments below are all the same, one after another.

Bai Tao swiped a few times, returned to her account, and saw her likes rise to over five hundred, after which nothing more happened.

The comments section was still full of praise for her beauty; no one cared about her paintings, but she gained 26 new followers.

Bai Tao turned off her phone, placed it face down on the coffee table, then bent down and pulled out all the buckets of instant noodles from under the bed.

Pickled cabbage, braised beef, mushroom, seafood,

Buckets were placed on the coffee table. She boiled water, and when one pot wasn't enough, she boiled another.

Scalding water was poured over the dough, and puffs of steam rose up, blurring her vision.

She put the lids on all five buckets of instant noodles, secured them with a fork, then sat cross-legged on the sofa with a tablet and four buckets of instant noodles in front of her, and another bucket of instant noodles in her hand.

This is the scene that Pei Jin saw when he got home.

Bai Tao sat cross-legged on the sofa, with four open buckets of instant noodles in front of her, looking rather mushy.

The tablet was resting on my lap, the screen still lit, I wondered what it was showing.

She was holding a bowl of instant noodles, her nose was red, her eyes were red, and there were still wet tears on her eyelashes. She looked very pitiful.

Pei Jin stood at the door, carrying a plastic bag from the supermarket containing a small piece of pork, two small green vegetables, a bunch of scallions, and a few eggs.

He was supposed to leave work at six o'clock.

At 4:30 p.m., he went out to use the restroom and overheard several workers who were also resting nearby talking about something.

"Did you guys watch that video? The one where the novel comes to life?"

A man was squatting on the ground, a cigarette between his fingers, ash scattered all over the ground.

"I swiped it all up, it's that really poor girl who got adopted by a wealthy family."

Another person was leaning against a tricycle, legs crossed.

"Tsk tsk, I'm so envious."

"We can't compare to their fate."

Pei Jin frowned and asked a question.

He asked a seemingly random question, but the workers all understood.

They all gave their accounts of what happened, with some saying they saw it on Douyin (TikTok).

Some say the girl's surname is Bai, others say the wealthy family lives in Beijing, owning several villas, companies, and luxury cars—they all sound very convincing.

Pei Jin turned around and walked back to the factory.

He took leave.

The supervisor glanced at him, didn't ask any further questions, and nodded.

Pei Jin changed out of his work clothes and went to the finance department to collect his wages for the day.

He put the money away and rode his bike to the market.

He felt that Peach would be sad.

Although she doesn't say it, she definitely sees those videos.

He wanted to get back as soon as possible.

When Pei Jin pushed open the iron gate, Bai Tao looked up, her nose and eyes red. Pei Jin was stunned for a moment.

"Why are you back so early?"

Bai Tao swallowed the instant noodles in her mouth, glanced at the time on her phone, and saw it was just past five o'clock.

Pei Jin looked at her.

Her tears were still on her face, but her tone and expression were relaxed; only her red-rimmed eyes betrayed something.

He couldn't tell whether she was genuinely not sad or just pretending.

He had met many people, but Bai Tao was the only one he felt he couldn't understand at all.

"Yeah, I worked a bit more at lunchtime today, so I came back early."

Pei Jin placed the plastic bag next to the coffee table, bent down, and took out the dishes one by one.

"I might not get home until 6:30 from now on."

Bai Tao's eyes lit up when she heard this.

She placed the bucket of instant noodles on the coffee table, wiped her mouth with a tissue, and spoke with a heartfelt, undisguised praise.

"That's a great job for you, lunch is provided and you don't have to work overtime. You're awesome, Pei Jin."

Pei Jin kept his head down, tidying up the vegetables in the bag, without looking at her.

He understood what Bai Tao meant. She thought he had a very prestigious job with no overtime and daily pay, which did sound like a respectable white-collar job.

She didn't know it was a parcel sorting center, and she didn't know he had to bend over thousands of times every day.

He did not refute it.

How much did you earn today?

Bai Tao leaned over and glanced at the groceries in the bag. "You bought so much stuff."

Pei Jin took out two hundred and sixty yuan from his pocket and handed it to Bai Tao.

He put the rest back in his pocket; he would need it for breakfast and lunch tomorrow.

"Why are you giving this to me?"

Bai Tao stared blankly at the crumpled banknotes for a moment.

Pei Jin turned his face away uncomfortably, stood up, and went into the restroom.

He turned on the tap, and the water gushed out. He squeezed out some hand soap, lathered it in his palm, and slowly washed his hands.

"What's left over from today's salary?"

His voice was muffled by the sound of water, "I'll return it to you for now."

Bai Tao smiled and then accepted it.

"Okay, I'll remember that for you."

Pei Jin originally planned to cook.

He glanced at the four buckets of instant noodles on the coffee table. The noodles were already soft and the lids were half open. Pei Jin paused for a moment, then reached out and picked up the nearest bucket.

He glanced at the vegetables on the ground next to him as he ate.

The pork was wrapped in plastic wrap, but it was still stuffy in the basement. If it stayed overnight, it probably wouldn't be good to eat tomorrow.

Pei Jin thought for a moment, then swallowed the noodles in his mouth.

"I'll get up tomorrow morning and see if I can make some vegetable and lean meat congee. I don't have a refrigerator, so I don't want the meat to spoil."

"That amazing?"

Bai Tao said, her tone revealing a heartfelt and undisguised admiration.

Pei Jin took a bite of instant noodles, expressionless, and shifted his gaze from Bai Tao's face to the wall beside him.

"I'll search for tutorials online in a bit."

While Bai Tao was taking a shower, there was a sudden knock on the door.

The sound of rushing water drowned out the noise outside. Pei Jin sat on the stool scrolling through his phone.

The screen displays a cooking tutorial, showing a chubby chef stirring something in a pot, with a label next to it reading "Homemade Vegetable and Lean Meat Porridge".

He looked up at the doorway and asked, "Who is it?"

There seemed to be a shout from the other side, but the sound was blocked by the iron door and enveloped by the stuffy heat of the basement, so it came through as a blur.

Pei Jin vaguely heard the words "delivering an air conditioner," but couldn't hear the rest clearly.

He put down his phone, stood up, and opened the iron gate.

A young man wearing a red JD.com uniform stood at the door, his clothes soaked with sweat, the back of which was several shades darker than the front.

He was still breathing heavily, and beads of sweat were streaming down his forehead and nose, but he didn't wipe them away.

Next to it was a cardboard box about half a person's height, leaning upright against the wall of the aisle.

The box was printed with an air conditioner fan pattern and brand logo, and the seal was sealed with JD.com tape, and it was intact.

"Hello, your package has arrived. Please sign for it."

Pei Jin took it and glanced down at the label.

The recipient's name was Mr. Bai. He didn't sign it immediately, but turned around, walked to the bathroom door, and knocked on it.

The sound of water stopped, and there was a moment of silence inside. Bai Tao's voice came through the door, soft and sweet, carrying the scent of water.

"What's wrong?"

"Did you buy an air conditioner?" Pei Jin's voice was gentle.

"Yeah, I thought we wouldn't make it today."

As soon as she finished speaking, the bathroom doorknob came down, and Bai Tao pushed the door open from inside.

The door had barely opened a crack when Pei Jin reached out and grabbed the doorknob from the outside, closing the door shut again.

A sweet, rose-scented aroma wafted out from the narrow crack in the door.

The warm, moist scent of shower gel and hot water steam washed over Pei Jin's face, like an invisible hand gently stroking it.

"What's wrong?"

Bai Tao's voice came from behind the door, sounding somewhat inexplicable.

Pei Jin's hand was still gripping the doorknob, his knuckles tightening slightly.

"There are people here, we'll open it later."

After hearing Pei Jin's words, Bai Tao turned around and looked at the half-person-high mirror in the toilet.

A thin layer of mist covered the mirror, making her reflection somewhat blurry. Her rose-red halter dress, with its thin straps hanging on her shoulders, made her skin appear as white and tender as if it had been soaked in milk.

I had just finished showering, and my face was slightly pink from the steam, the blush spreading from my cheekbones to my ears.

Her wet hair was pulled back and casually clipped with a shark clip, with a few stray strands falling from her temples and clinging to her ears.

Water droplets dripped down her hair, landing on her collarbone and disappearing into the neckline of her sundress, revealing her slender neck. The lines of her shoulders and neck were smooth and graceful, like those of an elegant swan.

In addition, her naturally slightly upturned eyes, still damp and sleepy from her recent shower, were half-open and half-closed, with the corners of her eyes slightly upturned.

Indeed, going out in public looking like that would easily lead people to have all sorts of wild thoughts.

Bai Tao winked at her reflection in the mirror, then smiled with her lips pursed.

It wasn't a shy smile, but a knowing smile tinged with a hint of smugness.

Pei Jin turned around and pushed the deliveryman, who was already sticking his head in, out of the room.

When the deliveryman handed him the pen, he glanced at him again, probably thinking the man was a bit strange, but he didn't say anything, took the signed form and left.

Pei Jin bent down and carried in the cardboard box that was half his height.

Hearing the door close, Bai Tao leaned against the doorframe, her voice soft and sweet.

"Is it okay now?"

Pei Jin put the box on the ground, stood up straight, and didn't look in the direction of the toilet.

"Okay, come out now."

When Bai Tao came out, Pei Jin only glanced at her hurriedly before quickly looking away.

He quickly stood up, picked up the scissors from the table, walked to the cardboard box, squatted down, and neatly cut open the sealing tape.

"Where should I put it?" Pei Jin asked.

Bai Tao pointed to the space between the sofa and the floral fabric. It wasn't a big spot, but it was just big enough to fit an air conditioner fan.

"Put it here."

Pei Jin picked up the air conditioner fan, walked over, squatted down, placed the machine against the wall, looked around, and then moved it a few centimeters to the side so that the air outlet was directly facing the center of the room.

Only after making sure it was stable did I stand up.

The instruction manual and remote control were in a transparent plastic bag, attached to the side of the device. He took them out and looked at them. They were easy to operate; just plug them in and they would work.

Pei Jin put down the floral cloth quickly, as if he were running away from something.

"I'm going to take a shower first."

Bai Tao glanced at the curtain.

When she was taking a shower, she asked him if he wanted to shower first, but he said no and told her to shower first.

Now that she's finished washing, he's getting anxious.

Bai Tao didn't say anything, squatted down in front of the air conditioner fan, and began to study it.

Soon, the sound of running water could be heard from inside the toilet.