Chapter 2

2010.3.3

Today is the day I was brought back to the Song Family.

But it seems that no one welcomed me.

My parents didn't even look at me, only comforting a very prettily dressed girl.

I stood helplessly at the door for a long time before two servants came to help me with my luggage.

On the way to the room, they kept mocking me for having a bad smell.

They said I looked very rustic, like a little village girl, and not at all as classy as Miss Xintian.

In their conversation, I finally understood.

After I went missing, my parents were so grief-stricken that they adopted a girl who looked very much like me.

To alleviate their longing, they gave her my original name, Song Xintian.

They cherish her like a treasure, but ignore me, their biological daughter.

Thinking about how my parents comforted her in the living room, my heart aches.

If she is Song Xintian, then who am I?

If my parents love her, then why did they bring me home?

I can't figure it out, I just hope they would look at me more.

But at dinner time, my parents finally looked at me directly.

But there was no warmth in their gaze.

Dad criticized my poor manners, saying I smacked my lips while eating.

Mom ordered me to put down my bowl and chopsticks and stand by the table to learn how they and Song Xintian eat.

She said that only when I learned, would I be able to come back to eat.

I had been in the car all day, not having a meal, my stomach had long been growling with hunger.

But seeing my parents' sullen faces, I dared not say no.

At the orphanage before, at least I could get enough to eat.

Why is it that after coming home, I end up hungry?

Even until they finished eating, I hadn't learned how to eat properly.

Nor did anyone care if I was hungry, they each went back to their rooms.

In the middle of the night, I was unbearably hungry, and couldn't help rummaging through the kitchen trash for leftovers.

Just as I was stuffing it into my mouth, Song Xintian suddenly appeared, screaming that I was a beggar stealing garbage.

Dad saw this scene and scolded me for being an uneducated fool.

Mom dragged me to the garden and sprayed my mouth with the garden hose.

My stomach swelled painfully, and I couldn't help but vomit everywhere.

The servants disliked that I troubled them, and since no one cared for me, they deliberately didn't give me a blanket.

At night, I lay on the cold bed, shivering and crying.

When I didn't have a home before, I always wanted to go home.

Now that I have a home, I don't know what a home is.

This diary entry ends here.

The whole room was terrifyingly silent.

Many in the audience who had been waiting to see me make a fool of myself fell silent, looking very serious.

No matter how bad my reputation became later, when I wrote this diary, I was only ten years old.

A ten-year-old child should never have experienced these things.

"There are misunderstandings in this."

My mom was the first to speak.

She, who always had the final say at the company, appeared unusually embarrassed.

"The night before Wangtang came back, Xintian cried very hard, saying she was afraid we'd abandon her if our biological daughter returned."

"Xintian was so young; we couldn't bear it, so we promised to always prioritize her."

"No one could take away our love for her."

"As for Wangtang...she is, after all, our biological daughter."

"We were only strict because we wanted the best for her."

My mom's voice grew quieter as she spoke, as if realizing her own fault.

My dad kept his head down, silent, deep in thought.

The host did not press further, only smiled mysteriously.

"Since that's the case, let's move on to the next entry."