Her Comeuppance Had Arrived!

Jiang Youyi closed her eyes in pain. She had thought that at least Xixi would share her feelings, but now it seemed she had expected too much. No one in the world could understand her.

After it happened, unable to ease the pain in her heart, she had searched online for answers.

If one day you discovered that the child you had raised yourself had been switched at birth, what would you do?

Many people online said that of course you should switch them back. They couldn't understand why parents would favor their adopted daughter; blood ties mattered most.

But Jiang Youyi wanted to ask: didn't all the energy and love she had poured into raising her, and all the happy times they had spent together, matter?

Twenty-six years ago, she had given birth to a son out of wedlock. To win the Shen family's approval, Shen Yunsheng had sent Shen Heng back to the Shen family before he was even a month old.

Back then, she was a minor star who had just shot to fame, and her romance with the heir to the wealthy Shen family of Hong Kong had the whole city talking.

No one believed in their love. They said only that Jiang Youyi was scheming, bent on marrying into a wealthy family, and using her pregnancy to force a marriage and climb the social ladder.

The public vilified her as utterly worthless. The Shen family acknowledged their grandson but refused to accept her as their daughter-in-law, and she became a colossal joke.

She had no friends. People in the entertainment industry didn't dare associate with her, and the socialite circle wouldn't accept her.

During that time, Shen Yunsheng went north to build his career, while her mother-in-law refused to let her see her son. Living alone in an empty mansion, Jiang Youyi had contemplated suicide more than once.

Four years later, she followed Shen Yunsheng north. Her daughter was born soon afterward, and life suddenly took a turn for the better.

She devoted herself to raising her child and caring for the family. As Shen Yunsheng's career stabilized, she also found a social circle of her own.

The malicious words of the past gradually scattered on the wind, and she became the object of everyone's envy.

More than twenty years later, her son came north to join them. Jiang Youyi felt a happiness she had never known before, convinced that every regret in her life would be made up for.

She never expected that just then, the news would break that her daughter had been switched at birth. How could Jiang Youyi accept it? She simply couldn't make sense of it.

Seeing Jiang Youyi so heartbroken, Chu Tianqing was at a loss for a moment and turned to Shen Heng for help.

She felt guilty, but she didn't think she was wrong. She couldn't call Jiang Youyi Mom anymore; that would only make things worse and worse.

Shen Heng agreed with how Chu Tianqing had handled it. He gently comforted his mother. "Mom, it's already happened. You should learn to accept it. There's nothing wrong with Xixi calling you Auntie."

Jiang Youyi took a deep breath. She didn't want to lose her composure in front of her son, and in the end, she managed to suppress her emotions on her own.

She forced a smile and asked Chu Tianqing with concern, "Where are you living now? Are you settling in? If you don't want to come home, how about I have your things sent over?"

Chu Tianqing's nose prickled. She could feel the weight of Jiang Youyi's love for her. Jiang Youyi was a victim too, and she truly couldn't bear to hurt her.

"All right," Chu Tianqing answered in a hoarse voice, pretending to sound relaxed. "I'm staying at my brother's place now. It's quite nice, and he'll take care of me, so you don't have to worry."

Jiang Youyi was deeply gratified and turned to her son. "Ah Heng, thank you for taking the trouble."

Jiang Youyi felt she wasn't close to her son and hadn't expected Shen Heng to step forward and help her at a time like this. It seemed her son did care about her a little after all.

She had lost a daughter but gained her son's care. It seemed even the heavens couldn't bear to watch anymore and wanted to give her a little compensation.

Thinking of this, Jiang Youyi felt a little better. Some of the sorrow left her face, and she chatted with Chu Tianqing about other things.

Partway through, Shen Heng went out to take a call. He said he had something to attend to and had to leave first, and naturally, neither Jiang Youyi nor Chu Tianqing objected.

With just the two of them left, this mother and daughter who weren't truly mother and daughter, Chu Tianqing felt there were things her sense of justice obliged her to say.

"Auntie, I think the person who's suffered the most in all this is Bufan. You should visit her more often when you have time. I've enjoyed your motherly love for over twenty years, and I think that's enough. I won't forget any of it, but it's time for me to move forward."

Lin Bufan, the true heiress, beautiful, strong, and tragic, was the protagonist of the original story. She was now a graduate student at Jin University and an exceptionally outstanding person.

Jiang Youyi was deeply moved. She took Chu Tianqing's hand and said, "Xixi, you've grown up and become sensible. Mom—I mean, Auntie understands. I won't disturb you so readily anymore, but I can still send you a message once in a while, can't I?"

Chu Tianqing nodded vigorously. "Of course you can. We can chat once in a while. If we don't say anything, no one will know."

An hour later, the mother and daughter who weren't truly mother and daughter ended their conversation, left the teahouse, and went their separate ways.

Chu Tianqing watched Jiang Youyi walk away and thought back on their conversation. She had to admit, it had been a little green tea.

But she had meant every word!

Chu Tianqing gave the matter serious thought and realized that, as the fake heiress, she was doomed to bear an original sin. No matter what she said, it sounded like green tea.

"Ugh, this is driving me crazy!"

Chu Tianqing was frustrated. Sure enough, keeping her distance was the only solution. As long as the Shen family was involved, whatever she did would be wrong.

The day after meeting Jiang Youyi, Jiang Youyi sent someone to deliver all of the original Shen Xixi's belongings to the place where Chu Tianqing was now living.

Chu Tianqing looked at the designer bags, jewelry, shoes, and clothes, her head spinning a little.

So luxurious! No wonder the fake heiress couldn't give it up and went astray, one step at a time.

Chu Tianqing abruptly came to her senses and locked the clothes in the walk-in closet. She was still wearing the clothes she had bought from a street stall.

She had to resist temptation and live a down-to-earth life, or she would surely fall prey to the fake heiress's curse.

It was another ordinary night. Just after midnight, Chu Tianqing changed out of her cleaning uniform and sneaked out for a breather.

She had gotten friendly with the bartender and could drink mango juice for free.

After thanking the bartender with a grin, Chu Tianqing sat in a corner of the bar, drinking mango juice and scrolling through her phone.

She was engrossed in her phone when a figure suddenly leaned toward her and spoke in a shrill voice. "Shen Xixi! It really is you! Looks like the rumors are all true. You're not the Shen family's eldest young lady anymore, and now you're scrubbing toilets here!"

Chu Tianqing slowly turned around. The bar lights swung back and forth, and she stared for a long moment before recognizing who it was.

Her first thought was, I'm screwed. They found out after all. My comeuppance is here!

It was none other than her archenemy, Yan Ruyu!

Jincheng's socialites were divided into two major factions. One went for the elite, independent-woman style and focused on their careers; the other went for the airhead style, competing over food, drink, entertainment, and men.

Shen Xixi and Yan Ruyu were the two leading figures of the latter faction.

Like bickering elementary school kids, the two had each formed their own little clique and took pleasure in getting on each other's nerves. They fought over limited-edition items and men, posted unflattering photos of each other, exposed each other's embarrassing secrets, and so on.

Of course, Shen Xixi had always held the upper hand, and sometimes she went pretty far when their fights escalated.

Once, for instance, Yan Ruyu was invited to model in a show for a major brand. Shen Xixi bribed someone to tamper with her outfit, and halfway down the runway, Yan Ruyu's dress slipped off, leaving her badly exposed in front of the media. Censored photos made entertainment news headlines, and the Yan family had to pull strings to suppress the story.

That was why Chu Tianqing said she was truly screwed this time.