At first, she couldn't believe it, but the truth sank in gradually.
Her parents never revealed her orphan status to others; they claimed she and Su Ran Ran were twins, lost and then found.
She was grateful and happy.
They loved her.
Indeed, they loved Su Ran Ran more—but it was understandable; she was their real daughter, and they felt guilty for not raising her for fourteen years.
A month later, her parents wanted Su Ran Ran to her to give the job placement she had gotten.
Feeling guilty, she agreed readily.
When one of them had to go to the countryside as part of the nation's call, she volunteered.
It didn't have to be done when she was so young but her father convinced her saying their rivals were watching and waiting for him to make mistake.
So, she went to countryside at the age of 14 years.
It had been six years since she last returned home.
In the first year, she constantly wrote home, planning to send food to her parents as filial piety.
But in the second year, she was discovered in bed with the youngest Jiang son by the entire village.
She didn't know at the time she had been tricked, but naked appearances of two in the same bed made it scandalous.
To avoid accusations of immoral thinking—or worse by the society and being killed—she had to marry.
The conservative times branded being in bed with a non-husband as shameful, deserving scorn and harsher punishment if reported.
After marraige, in the Jiang household, she was despised, overworked, and denied the food she wanted to send to her parents, which was instead taken by the Jiang family as dowry.
Her husband, the youngest son, had not forced himself on her and treated her relatively well in the beginning.
Even when she discovered that her belongings and small savings had been confiscated, she held her silence to avoid conflict.
She helped around the house to avoid her mother-in-law's scoldings, following her husband's advice.
Slowly, she became a pushover, pushed to her limits, and eventually "died."
Her parents must be worried about her. She wanted to go back. They would be devastated to hear she had passed.
She floated to the train bound for City A, leaving Jiang Father behind.
As a soul, she didn't even need a ticket, and she thought herself clever.
After a week, she arrived. Exhaustion didn't touch her.
Seeing the familiar yet changed scenery, she felt emotional—she would have cried if she had her physcial body instead of being soul with no tears.
She floated to her home.
The house had changed slightly, but not much.
Her original room was now Su Ran Ran's.
Her parents were not home.
Su Ran Ran was in her room with Chen Biao, her childhood classmate and neighbor.
They had once played together often, their social standing matched, and people had joked they would marry.
It seemed Chen Biao was now Su Ran Ran's fiancé.
If Su Miao Miao knew Su Ran Ran had insisted on this marriage only because of gossip linking Chen Biao to herself, she would think Su Ran Ran was dumber than her.
The rumor was false.
She would have told her not to live in her shadow—it was just stupid.
Though her own circumstances had left her powerless and abused for five years, eventually leading to her death. She was the most stupid.
The Jiang couple returned from work.
From their conversation, she learned Su Ran Ran's wedding with Chen Biao was in a week.
She felt a mix of happiness, envy, and pity when she heard no one talking about her.
They must have thought she was thriving in the countryside and needed no concern. She couldn't blame them.
Chen and Su families were of similar standing, and everyone was pleased—except Su Miao Miao.
Su Miao Miao, while eavesdropping, discovered that Su Ran Ran was not as virtuous as she appeared.
The girl was corrupt, seeking favors from multiple men. And it all started from the age of fourteen.
Su Miao Miao had married at fifteen but she was tricked.
But Su Ran Ran had willingly traded herself for favors.
The group that harassed Su Miao Miao before one month of her departure to countryside as educated youth was among arranged by Su Ran Ran by paying with her body.
Su Miao Miao gritted her teeth in anger, which would have broken her teeth if she had a physical body instead of just being a soul.
A day before the wedding, her father received Jiang Father's letter.
He burned it immediately, showing no reaction. The reaction puzzled Su Miao Miao. She couldn't understand. Had he not read it? Perhaps he couldn't decipher the crooked handwriting.
Later, she saw him return home, unusually excited.
He had bought braised pork from a state-owned restaurant, seemingly to celebrate. He did this only when he was happy.
This saddened Su Miao Miao but she convinced herself with her own delusions.
Understandable—his real daughter was getting married. He must be happy.
She tried being happy for him.
Su Miao Miao knew that no matter how much she tried to deny it, those thoughts of Jiang mother were most likely true.
She looked at her parents and Su Ran Ran sitting at the table, eating while chatting and laughing.
They looked like a small happy family.
She wanted to know the truth. Was the Su family really the one behind her misery?
Jiang Mother had said so. And it was probably true.
After all, if the Su family hadn't contacted them first, how would the Jiang family even know of their existence?
No one from the Su family had attended her wedding. No one knew she was married.
So then, how did Jiang Father know the Su family's address?
Just then, loud laughter filled the room.
Pulled back from her messy thoughts, she looked at the three of them chatting joyfully.
Su Ran Ran turned to her father and asked, "Dad, what's the occasion? Why do you look extra happy today?"