Chapter one: Life changing decision

Lin Xiaxia walked out of the cake shop carrying a small but adorable cake. Today was her boyfriend Qi Siming’s birthday, and she had planned to surprise him before he returned from work.

However, the moment she arrived at his house, she noticed the lights were already on.

“Why didn’t he call me after getting home?” she wondered briefly.

Still, she paid little attention to it. In fact, she felt it was better this way since she could surprise him immediately. Little did she know that the scene awaiting her inside would completely destroy their relationship.

The moment she stepped into the house, an uneasy feeling crept into her heart.

A pair of men’s and women’s shoes lay carelessly by the entrance. Clothes and undergarments were scattered across the floor as though they had been thrown around in a hurry.

Her breathing became uneven.

“No… it can’t be…”

Refusing to believe what she was seeing, Lin Xiaxia shut her eyes for a moment before forcing herself to walk toward the bedroom.

The sight before her instantly shattered her world.

On the bed were Qi Siming and her older sister, Lin Xing’er, completely immersed in each other without the slightest awareness of their surroundings.

Lin Xiaxia staggered backward until her back slammed against the wall.

Her body trembled violently, yet not a single sound escaped her lips.

The pain was suffocating.

Qi Siming had once promised that he would never betray her trust or her love. Yet now, he was betraying her with the very person she hated most — her own sister.

Suppressing the storm raging inside her, she silently took out her phone and recorded everything before leaving the house without a word.

Outside, the cold night wind brushed against her tear-stained face.

Why?

Why would Qi Siming do this to her?

And why with Lin Xing’er of all people?

Unable to bear the pain any longer, she threw the birthday cake into a nearby trash can.

A homeless little boy immediately rushed over, carefully picking up the cake as though it were treasure. His face lit up with happiness as he carried it away.

Looking at him, Lin Xiaxia suddenly felt that her life was no different from his.

Abandoned.

Unwanted.

Hot tears streamed down her cheeks as she collapsed onto the roadside, crying helplessly. Passersby stared at her curiously, wondering why such a beautiful young woman was crying alone in the middle of the night.

The little boy soon returned, holding the cake nervously in his arms.

Thinking she was crying because of the cake, he apologized softly.

Lin Xiaxia wiped her tears and shook her head.

“I’m not crying because of the cake,” she said bitterly.

Why would she cry over something so insignificant when her entire world had just fallen apart?

Looking at the boy more carefully, she asked gently, “Why are you begging on the streets? Where are your parents?”

The boy lowered his head.

“My parents are dead,” he replied quietly. “My uncle and aunt refused to take me in, so I had no choice but to beg for food.”

His words pierced Lin Xiaxia’s heart.

At that moment, she saw herself in him.

Just like the little boy, she too had always been treated as unwanted by her family. The Lin family considered her illegitimate — a jinx who only brought misfortune wherever she went.

A strange determination suddenly rose within her.

“You’ll be my family from now on,” she said firmly. “I’ll take care of you… and I’ll make everyone who hurt us pay the price.”

Without looking back, she left with the boy.

After returning to her small rented apartment, Lin Xiaxia bathed him and prepared food for him to eat.

Only then did she learn that his name was Lu Chen. He had lost his parents not long ago, and none of his relatives were willing to care for him.

As she watched the little boy fall asleep peacefully beside her, a faint smile finally appeared on her face.

From that moment onward, she decided that Lu Chen would become her only family.

However, what Lin Xiaxia didn’t know was that the betrayal she witnessed tonight was only the beginning.

A chain of long-buried secrets had already started to unravel… secrets that would have remained hidden forever had she never walked into Qi Siming’s house that night or if she hadn't encountered the homeless little Lu chen.

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