The Real Daughter is Done Pretending - Chapter 8

 Chapter 8

The forum was named “Golden City.”

Those who have lived in Yuzhou for generations would recognize it as an old alias for the city. 

Compared to the refined and cultured name “Yuzhou,” the city’s earlier reputation was quite the opposite—chaotic and barbaric. A hundred years ago, it boasted the highest number of slums in the country alongside the earliest and tallest skyscrapers. Sometimes, you could walk through filthy, overcrowded alleys filled with vagrants and look up to see towering steel buildings piercing the neon-lit sky.

Elites in their tailored suits and the roughest of street dwellers mingled in every corner of the city, creating a place with money scattered everywhere and poverty just as widespread—a city also known as “Golden City” in the local vernacular.

But time has passed, and those slums have mostly disappeared. The city that was once wild and unruly has now donned a veneer of sophistication due to rapid economic development, gradually aligning more with the name “Yuzhou” in character.

Thus, only the long-rooted locals and their descendants remember the name “Golden City.”

It’s hard to say whether the person who named this forum had any particular sentiment in mind. Regardless, today “Golden City” has become the secret playground for Yuzhou's elite, accessible only by internal invitation, thus further cementing Yuzhou's high society's exclusivity.

·

【Heard the new third son of the Ye family is a lunatic?】

【Why did Wen Can acknowledge the engagement with Ye Baozhu as soon as the newcomer arrived, after not admitting it for years? Does Wen Can judge by appearances?】

【Is Ye Baozhu really Ye family’s biological daughter?】

【Who will invite the new Ye third son? My stepmother is returning soon; I’d love to borrow her courage.】

【Do you dare to say to your parents or other elders, “You slap me first, and I’ll call you father”? I’d be a corpse just imagining it.】

【Our circle hasn’t had new members for a long time. How about we organize a welcome party to “celebrate”?】

【A country bumpkin who’s been away for twenty years is now fit for Golden City?】

【Ye Kong’s name matches the Monkey King; tonight will be a big ruckus.】

【From now on, Ye Baozhu is no longer Ye Three but Ye Four. The title of Ye Three falls to the bumpkin newcomer.】

【I predict Yuzhou will soon be engulfed in a frenzy!】

【Who do you believe in tonight’s big scoop? Ye Baozhu or Ye Kong?】

【Does Ye Baozhu’s biological mother have AIDS? Or is Ye Kong fabricating out of jealousy?】

【Did Wen Can give the newcomer some confidence in their private chat? Is that why she dares to act so crazily?】

【I predict Wen Can cannot possibly be interested in a country bumpkin.】

【The forum wasn’t like this when Wen Can was just disabled. As soon as someone showed interest, it became popular again?】

【What’s it like for a high mountain flower that no one could reach for years to be taken by an outsider?】

【Even if Wen Can is disabled, he would still not be interested in someone like Ye Kong.】

【@Ye Baozhu We grew up together. Even if we’re not blood relatives, we won’t mock you. Come out and explain yourself.】

【@Ye Baozhu Why aren’t you responding to Ye Kong’s words? Could it be that your biological mother really has AIDS? What’s going on?】

【@Ye Baozhu Here’s a tip: Zhou Yan likes you, right? Marry him quickly, and you won’t have to leave Golden City.】

【How long has Zhou Yan been pursuing Ye Baozhu? Now that Ye Baozhu has an AIDS-stricken mother, can he still be interested?】

【Zhou Yan and Wen Can have been good friends for years and remain devoted to Ye Baozhu. They won’t stop loving her because of her background.】

【@Ye Kong Are you here? What do you plan to do? Will you kick Ye Baozhu out of the house?】

【Why is it assumed that Ye Kong’s words are true? I still believe what Ye’s grandmother said.】

【I’m curious about the reactions of Ye Eldest and Ye Second, and what information they have.】

【Ye Eldest and Ye Second haven’t appeared today. Do they also support Ye Baozhu?】

【I guess Ye Kong will be kicked out of Yuzhou tonight.】

【@Ye Kong Don’t leave. If you go, how will we watch the excitement? You’re exceptionally allowed to stay in Golden City.】

【Who will give out an invitation code? I can’t wait to see the fake sisters fight.】

【@Ye Baozhu Stop lurking, come out and explain. I don’t want to be sisters with a fake.】

...

The sound of notifications kept ringing.

On the secret forum's homepage, new posts appeared one after another. Each post had only a few replies, but since the forum users were all influential, even a handful of replies made each post significant.

Ye Baozhu curled up in her bed, unable to bring herself to click on the posts. Just seeing the titles made her let out a strangled and frantic cry.

After a few minutes, she could no longer hold back and threw her phone across the room with force.

In her beautiful and spacious room, resembling a princess's quarters, she felt no security at all. The once-familiar expensive decorations and furnishings now seemed alien and frightening, as if the mask had been ripped away.

She couldn’t bear to think about it, but her mind kept replaying everything that happened at the banquet tonight.

The girl’s indifferent expression under the dazzling lights, even when facing one of the highest-ranking members of the Ye family, was utterly fearless. It shattered the face she relied on for survival—an act that was completely against her survival instincts.

How dare she do that?

In this completely unfamiliar home, surrounded by family who were not on her side, wouldn’t she be scared and aggrieved? How could she dare defy her grandmother and everyone else’s will? How could she say those things in front of everyone?!!!

Was she not supposed to be timid and submissive? She had said nothing when she first returned!

Unknowingly, Ye Baozhu had burst into tears, her face drenched with tears as she clutched her head.

In the midst of her breakdown, someone gently knocked on her door.

A servant’s voice came from outside.

“Miss, the old lady has woken up and wants you to keep her company.”

Ye Baozhu was jolted awake, grasping at the chance like a lifeline. She quickly replied, “Okay! I’ll be right there!”

As long as her grandmother was around, the Ye family would never drive her away!

No… and her mother.

She wiped her tears, stumbled out of bed, and steadied herself as she walked into the bathroom.

·

Ye Kong only learned about the old lady’s order for Ye Baozhu to stay with her the next morning.

The previous day, she had been too exhausted to meet her so-called siblings.

Before she could head downstairs in the morning, a servant mentioned this casually to her.

“Miss Baozhu was raised by the old lady, and the affection she has for her surpasses even that of the eldest and second young masters. It seems she will continue to be indispensable.”

As Ye Kong was descending the stairs, she paused. Turning her dark eyes to glance at the chattering servant, she tilted her head with curiosity and said, “Do all the servants in the Ye family talk so much? It’s quite unappetizing first thing in the morning.”

The servant’s expression immediately froze.

Someone in the dining room looked up and said, “Looks like you drew the short straw and encountered the most talkative one, didn’t you? Aunt Luo?”

Ignoring the chatty Aunt Luo, Ye Kong continued down the stairs.

The first thing she saw was a head of golden short hair, and beneath it, a pair of beautiful eyes looking up with an air of arrogance that didn’t diminish.

Ye Zhen.

The second young master of the Ye family, currently the most popular actor in the entertainment industry, the so-called top star.