0017 Once_1

Ellen Young was picked up as an infant by her grandfather.

At that time, no one knew who she was.

As she grew up, Ellen showed her extraordinary intelligence. Even within the same village, teachers were astonished by her brilliance.

What took others a long time to memorize, she remembered clearly and distinctly.

She grasped arithmetic concepts immediately upon being taught; there was no need for a second explanation, and she could even respond quicker than the teachers.

The teachers told her grandfather about Ellen's intelligence, saying that she was not suited for life in the mountain village, that staying there was a waste of her abilities.

Her grandfather later found an acquaintance and cautiously sent Ellen to a better place, which then attracted special attention.

Ellen was even smarter than they had imagined, frighteningly so.

Her professor said that a person like Ellen might appear only once in a hundred years.

She was a true genius of her generation. In other people's words, she was like an immortal.

Learning anything was effortless for her, even things in which she wasn't interested; to her, everything was virtually without difficulty.

She was fascinated by physics and mathematics. By the age of nine, she had completed studies that others might not finish until their twenties. She then continued her studies at the top-ranked Hadton, receiving instruction from world-famous professors—and after a few years, she became a teacher herself.

At a teenage age, she had reached a level unimaginable to others.

Or to put it another way, she had reached a level that 99.9% of people could not attain in their entire lives.

Later, she entered the laboratory, delving into various subjects and conducting technological experiments. She was very interested in high technology.

She created many high-tech products, amassing patents and numerous awards so effortlessly.

However, because she deliberately maintained a low profile, this extraordinary genius stayed hidden from the public eye.

It wasn't until last year that she eventually grew tired of it all. Her grandfather's death also had a certain impact on her; while others might just be starting their lives at 24, for her, it felt like time to retire.

Of course, "retire" was just a euphemism; the country would not let her linger in idleness for long, especially since she had her own company.

There were now specialized personnel managing her company, so she didn't need to worry too much. She just needed to take a simple year off before continuing with what interested her.

However, to the people of Haran Village, Ellen was just a young girl who had finally finished her studies elsewhere, returned to the countryside, and was about to start earning a living.

Ellen had long been aware of the Wood Family's affairs.

At her level, many matters were handled smoothly by others. All of the Wood Family's information had been laid on her desk when she was in her teens. She glanced at it and lost interest.

After all, the Wood Family had deliberately abandoned her.

For this reason alone, they had lost any chance with Ellen.

Perhaps there was a last, unclear thread of sympathy in the depths of Ellen's heart for Lucy Wood.

Because Lucy was the eldest of the Wood Family, and the reason Ellen had been abandoned was that back then, the Wood Family had not yet reached its current status and only wanted a son.

Ellen's birth caused disappointment and even triggered a period of depression for Olivia Johnson.

Thus, the Wood Family could not bring themselves to like Ellen at all.

The Wood Family already had a superfluous Lucy, so they could not afford another superfluous Ellen.

She and Lucy, they were both superfluous.

But fate still intertwined their lives.