The Real Daughter is Done Pretending - Chapter 1: The First Day the Real Daughter is Not Allowed to Speak!

 Chapter 1: The First Day the Real Daughter is Not Allowed to Speak! 

"Are you Ye Kong?"

In the Ye family residence, on a solemnly colored sofa, an old lady gazed sternly at Ye Kong.

Contrary to her severe expression, her hand was gently stroking the hair of a girl who was leaning on her lap. The girl had only glanced at Ye Kong initially, then turned her head away, her eyes red.

"You look a lot like your father, long arms and legs," the old lady remarked, casually pointing to the side. "This is your mother."

Ye Kong had already seen her.

Sitting next to the old lady was a woman who appeared dignified and gentle.

Ye Kong's eyes lit up slightly, and she was about to say "Mom" when a voice, filled with sorrow, interrupted her.

"Mom!"

The girl who had been leaning on the old lady’s lap suddenly turned around and threw herself into the woman's arms.

The woman immediately reached out to hold her, and the old lady hurriedly said, "What's wrong, Zhuzhu? Why are you suddenly crying? No one is taking your mom from you, right, Ye Kong?"

Ye Kong swallowed her words. She stood in the middle of the hall, meeting the old lady's slightly oppressive gaze, and saw the woman's eyes filled with guilt and avoidance.

The hall was filled with guests, all of whom were looking at her with strange expressions.

For a moment, Ye Kong doubted whether she had made a mistake.

A week ago, someone claiming to be a life assistant of the Ye family found her in a small southern town, took her for a paternity test without explanation, and after the results came out, informed her that she was the third miss of the Ye family who had been switched at birth.

In the following days, the life assistant spent a whole week briefing her on the rules of the Ye family and introducing various relatives. Only yesterday did the "lessons" finally end, and she was brought to the Ye family home.

She had thought it would be a slightly awkward but happy reunion.

But the scene before her...

Ye Kong slowly shifted her gaze to the girl who was clinging to Madam Ye, thinking to herself that she probably looked more like the fake daughter.

"Why aren't you speaking? Are you too tired?"

The old lady frowned, looking at her with stern dissatisfaction. "Then go upstairs and rest. Your room has been prepared. There's a banquet tonight, and you need to meet people. It's going to be tiring."

Ye Kong was then taken away.

Before she left, the old lady lightly warned, "You just came back, and there are many rules here that you don't understand. You need to learn from your sister—right, I'll properly introduce her to you tonight. Ye Baozhu, your sister, has been fulfilling your duties to the elders before you returned."

The old lady gently patted the back of the girl in Madam Ye's arms, her old eyes tightly focused on Ye Kong.

"You must remember to thank her properly."

Ye Kong lowered her eyes, the light reflecting off the small mole on her left cheek, giving her a delicate and fragile appearance.

Without looking at anyone else, she followed the butler away.

---

It was said that this was the best-lit and largest room in the Ye family home, and Madam Ye had personally decorated it.

But as Ye Kong looked at the room filled with blinding sunlight, she suspected it was actually a room no one wanted to stay in—the lighting was excellent, but in the height of summer, even with the air conditioning on full blast, it still felt unbearably hot.

She pulled all the curtains closed, retrieved her suitcase, and fell asleep.

Ten minutes later, she was awakened by a rhythmic yet loud knocking at the door. "It's me," a lively and clear female voice sounded from outside. "Sister, Mom asked me to bring you some fruit!"

Ye Kong was somewhat surprised. The girl who had just acted like she was going to lose her mother was now cheerfully calling her "sister"?

Curious, she opened the door and was met with a bright, smiling face.

Ye Baozhu walked in with a fruit tray, but as soon as the door closed, the smile disappeared like magic, replaced by a masterful expression.

Ye Kong: …

"How does it feel?" The girl placed the fruit tray on the table and walked around the spacious and elegant room with the pride and ease of its owner. "You've never lived in such a nice house, have you?"

Ye Kong thought for a few seconds, then hesitantly nodded.

The girl let out a cold laugh. "Well, this is all you'll get."

She walked closer, her expression growing more sinister the nearer she got. By the time she was right in front of Ye Kong, her face was twisted in a terrifying manner.

"Let me tell you, everything in this house is mine."

"Grandpa and Grandma are mine, Mom and Dad are mine, and even my siblings are mine—I've had everything for sixteen years. Do you think you can take it all just because of some blood ties?"

Ye Kong heard the girl's teeth grinding with hatred and grief. "Ye Kong, right?"

"Do you know why you were brought back? Not because Mom and Dad really love you or miss you, but because the marriage alliance with the Wen family requires you. I would rather die than marry a cripple! They care about me and don’t want to force me, so they had to bring you back!"

"So, do you get it? You being able to come to the Ye family, going from a destitute orphan to a wealthy daughter overnight, you owe it all to me!"

"But don't worry," she whispered in Ye Kong's ear, "I don't need your gratitude."

"Because, just as you walked in here so proudly today, one day, I'll make you crawl out in disgrace!"

"You won't even get a speck of dust from the Ye family!"

---

The summer sun shone brightly through the window.

Ye Kong stood straight, her eyes slightly lowered, looking at the person who was shorter than her.

She parted her lips, about to speak, when the words of the orphanage director suddenly echoed in her mind.

[Ye Kong, remember! If you sincerely want to gain a normal family and affection, the most important thing when you get to the Ye family is to talk less!]

[Promise me, if you don't want to be kicked out on the first day, you must talk less! The best would be not to say a word, even if they think you're mute or autistic, it doesn't matter!]

—"Why aren't you speaking? You don't believe me?"

Ye Baozhu took a step closer, her twisted face breaking into a toothy grin. "Don't believe it? Fine, you'll soon understand the difference in status and what it means to be beneath me. A crow that flies up a tree will never become a phoenix!"

"Tonight at the banquet, I'll be waiting to see how you embarrass yourself!"

The door slammed shut.

Ye Kong stood there, her gaze empty, tilting her head slightly.

After a moment, she took a small sketchbook from her bag.

The pencil quickly sketched on the paper, and soon, two grotesque, absurd-looking witches appeared on the page.

After finishing, she casually scanned it with her phone and uploaded it online using a secondary account.