The Jiang Family was a prestigious and wealthy household, occupying a top-tier position in their social circle.
Old Master Jiang was a military man in his youth, earning numerous decorations before retiring due to injury and turning to business. Old Madam Jiang came from a family of scholars, a refined and well-read lady who still held considerable renown in educational circles.
The two sons of the Jiang Family, influenced by their parents, were raised to be exceptionally accomplished and had already taken over Old Master Jiang's business, each capable of running things independently.
However, as their careers became increasingly demanding, some drawbacks gradually emerged—the familial warmth in the household began to fade.
The younger generation was so busy they practically lived at the office, and the two grandsons, mature beyond their years, had chosen to board at school.
It was at this time that Jiang Yan arrived.
This perfectly timed little life undoubtedly became the focus of attention for the Jiang Family.
Old Master Jiang and Old Madam Jiang need not be mentioned; Jiang Yan's career-focused uncle and aunt even paused their work to come back specifically to visit; Jiang Yan's father was especially attentive, staying by her mother's side, allowing his wife to vent her frustrations...
Jiang Yan was born amidst everyone's expectations.
She was a little princess from birth, born into privilege, showered with love, and raised to be outstanding.
The little princess lived a carefree life, doted on by her elders at home and protected by her two older brothers at the private school.
At that time, Jiang Yan played the role of the clever and well-behaved little girl at home, but transformed into a cool girl once she stepped out, biting on a strawberry-flavored lollipop and treating others with indifference.
Ironically, her naturally striking appearance made her look adorable even when she was trying to be aloof. Her classmates played along, greeting her as "Sister Yan" whenever they saw her, making her dizzy with delight, her lips curling up in a restrained smile.
Later, when her elders took her out to dinner, she met a child of the same age at the table named Lin Cheng.
Lin Cheng was the little tyrant of the school. Despite being less than a meter tall, he always wore a baseball cap, hands in his pockets, acting tough.
But after that meeting, Lin Cheng became Jiang Yan's little follower, obediently calling her "sister" at every turn. Whenever Jiang Yan came downstairs and ran into Lin Cheng, he would politely greet his sister.
This made little Jiang Yan feel quite accomplished, so she started taking Lin Cheng out to play every day. The elders of both families lived close by, so Lin Cheng would stay there during holidays, climbing trees and walls with his Yan-jie...
Jiang Yan should have been the protagonist of her own world, by any measure.
But from that day on, things took a subtle turn.
Jiang Yan took Lin Cheng to climb an old tree in the garden, and accidentally witnessed an unpleasant incident next door.
A woman wearing pointed high heels and covered in jewelry dragged a little girl out of a black car parked outside the villa and threw her violently to the ground!
The sound of flesh and bone colliding with the ground was enough to make one's teeth ache, causing Jiang Yan to frown involuntarily. At that time, Lin Cheng was still bouncing around at the bottom of the tree, acting as his sister's guardian knight.
As Jiang Yan was still in shock, she saw a man in a black suit step out of the car. He lowered his head, looking at the weak little girl who had fallen to the ground and couldn't get up. He seemed somewhat reluctant and said to the woman who had hit the child, "She's still a child, and she's done nothing wrong. Don't be so harsh..."
The woman was immediately enraged and shrieked, "If it's not her fault, then whose fault is it?! Tell me! Did I tell you to go out and cheat? Did I tell that woman to have a child?!"
"She's that woman's child, so she's guilty!" The woman became more and more angry as she spoke, even raising her hand to slap the weak little girl again.
The girl looked even younger than Jiang Yan. After being violently thrown to the ground earlier, she remained motionless, but she was still conscious, her dark eyes open, seemingly numb and emotionless.
Lin Cheng had heard the commotion and climbed up, sitting behind Jiang Yan to steady her. He had occasionally overheard adults talking about the Qin family next door, who had brought back an illegitimate daughter.
The man surnamed Qin was a son-in-law who had married into the family, originally from a poor background. His wife's surname was Yang, and their two children also bore the surname Yang.
Marrying into a wealthy family was a life-changing opportunity for the man surnamed Qin, directly altering his fate. Although his in-laws often picked on small things, and he was occasionally teased by friends... everything else was really quite good.
However, as his desires gradually grew, he slowly developed a wish to have a child that bore his own surname. With money in his hands, he found it easier to act on his impulses, and he began keeping a minor celebrity as his mistress.
Madam Yang was an extremely proud person. Having married a man who had nothing, the only thing she could show off in her social circle was his loyalty and affection...
But when the news of the illegitimate daughter broke out, she lost all face, and even that last thing she could be proud of was gone.
However, the man surnamed Qin had been with her for so long that he knew her weakness. He immediately knelt down, crying and kowtowing, admitting his mistake. This made Madam Yang reconsider her thoughts of divorce, but she demanded that the illegitimate daughter be brought back to live with them.
Choosing to marry the man surnamed Qin was her own mistake, his infidelity was his mistake, but she didn't want to admit her own error, and she couldn't bring herself to harm him. So she could only vent all her anger on this illegitimate daughter.
Madam Yang knew the girl's name; the man surnamed Qin had called it out before getting out of the car. Her name was Qin Zhenzhen.
Surnamed Qin. How laughable. He had previously said that children were the crystallization of their love, regardless of their surname, they were the crystallization of their love.
Her parents had also pressured her, and he had held her then, saying he understood...
Madam Yang swallowed the tears in her eyes and swung fiercely at the girl on the ground. Her existence was proof of Madam Yang's mistake, like a thorn deeply embedded in her heart, excruciatingly painful, yet impossible to remove.
This scene was quite frightening for the two children. Just as Lin Cheng was about to jump down to find an adult, Jiang Yan had already called out to stop the fierce-looking woman: "Hey! Don't hit her!"
Madam Yang's hand paused mid-air. She looked up and saw the exquisite and adorable girl in the tree. She vaguely remembered that this was the pampered little princess of the Jiang Family, almost a world apart from the gloomy girl on the ground.
She was about to tell the child not to interfere when suddenly she heard Jiang Yan shout from the tree: "If you want to hit someone, hit that man!"
Madam Yang froze, as if someone had pierced through her painful secret. Her lips trembled, but she couldn't utter a word.
The man surnamed Qin seemed to finally muster a bit of fatherly love. Closing his eyes, he gathered the courage to say to his usually unquestionable wife: "Song'er, you... you can hit me. It's my fault. She... she's still young..."
Madam Yang closed her eyes for a moment, tears about to fall. She slapped him, as if overturning her previous clumsy perseverance: "So you know it's your fault!"
The man surnamed Qin, who had only intended to plead for leniency and hoped his wife would forgive him as always, was stunned by the hard slap that turned his face aside. What broke him even more was the realization...
No matter how decisively Madam Yang dealt with others, no matter how fierce she was to outsiders, she had never laid a finger on him, regardless of how big a mistake he had made!
As the man surnamed Qin was still in a daze, Madam Yang's slaps came down like a torrential rain. When she tired of slapping, she started scratching and clawing. The man's face was swelling up like a pig's head... Yet he dared not dodge, much less fight back. He could only endure it.
To Jiang Yan, it seemed like she had watched an absurd, laughable comedy, but the little girl on the ground had escaped a beating.
Jiang Yan turned, ready to go back for dinner. Lin Cheng stood below, stretching out his little arms to catch her, but she waved him off, saying, "Get out of the way, I'll crush you to death!"
Before Jiang Yan descended, she took one last look. The little girl on the ground was still lying motionless, her forehead pressed against the cold stone path.
Her only moving eyes were fixed on Jiang Yan, her thoughts unknown.
Jiang Yan jumped down from the tree and ran back with Lin Cheng.
Later, Jiang Yan learned that Qin Zhenzhen was actually two years older than her. It was just that Qin Zhenzhen had grown up in a poor environment and had been malnourished for a long time.
Her mother was a minor celebrity who had entered the entertainment industry hoping to become a big star. Not only did she fail to achieve stardom, but she ended up being kept by the man surnamed Qin, had a child, and then fell into the bad habits of the industry, neglecting the child she kept with her.
Perhaps due to these experiences, Qin Zhenzhen was not fond of talking. She usually wore a cold expression on her little face, and the only person she was still somewhat close to was Jiang Yan.
However, after that incident, Madam Yang never laid a hand on her again, leaving her in the Yang Family without further interference.
In fact, compared to her previous life, her situation had actually improved in this way.
