At the gala that evening, Mr. Su had his arm wrapped tightly around Su Yiting’s shoulders. Standing proudly before the crowd of elite guests, he made the grand announcement:

“This is my biological daughter, lost to us for so many years. As for Su Wanxia… Yiting is my only true daughter from this day forward. Though, of course, Wanxia will always remain a daughter of the Su family.”

It sounded touching on the surface, but everyone in that room knew the truth. That last line was nothing more than a scrap of pity thrown my way to save face. Standing off to the side, I was nothing more than an awkward punchline.

Su Yiting sneered at me, her eyes practically screaming, You pathetic fake. The entire Su family crowded around her, practically suffocating her with love and affection. Not a single one of them bothered to throw a second glance in my direction.

A sudden pang of hurt flared in my chest, but I quickly forced it down, regaining my composure. Turns out, they had never actually loved me. They had only cared because they thought I carried their blood. Now that the real heiress was back, I was instantly downgraded to cheap knock-off status.

Whispers began to ripple through the crowd around me.

“So she’s just adopted? A girl like that doesn’t belong anywhere near Fu Chiyan.”

“If I were her, I would have signed the divorce papers ages ago.”

“Look at her—she even showed up alone tonight. The Su family essentially just slapped her right in the face in front of everyone.”

Every word landed like a twist of a knife. I squeezed my hands into tight fists, desperately telling myself not to care, but my eyes burned red anyway.

Right at that moment, an abrupt silence fell over the entrance of the ballroom. The endless chattering vanished instantly. Every single eye in the room pivoted toward the doorway.

Fu Chiyan had arrived.

Dressed in a flawlessly tailored black suit, every step he took exuded a suffocating aura of dominance that commanded the room. Cold, aristocratic, and completely untouchable. Everyone had been waiting to watch me get publicly humiliated, but he bypassed the crowd and walked straight toward me.

I looked up at him, momentarily dazed. “Did you come all this way just to watch me make a fool of myself?”

His brow furrowed slightly. Reaching out, his thumb gently wiped away a tear at the corner of my eye. “Are you crying?”

I had been trying so hard to hold it in, but the moment the words left his lips, my tears broke through like a snapped string, spilling down my cheeks. The very next second, he pulled me flush against his chest.

Seeing his powerful son-in-law arrive, Mr. Su immediately dragged Su Yiting over with a broad smile. “Chiyan, this is my long-lost biological daughter. She’s Wanxia’s younger sister now, so please look after her.”

Su Yiting flushed a delicate pink, her voice soft and sweet. “Brother-in-law…”

Fu Chiyan didn’t even spare her a glance. His face remained carved of ice. Hearing Mr. Su turn to scold me for “acting out of line,” Fu Chiyan tightened his arm around my waist, his chilling gaze locking onto the older man.

“Since you’ve found your biological daughter…” he said, his voice laced with venom, “…from today on, Su Wanxia belongs exclusively to the Fu family.”

It sounded like a heroic act of protection, but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to be touched. Because I knew the cold, hard truth: I was nothing more than a stand-in for someone else.

On the drive home, my mind kept drifting back to the photograph hidden in his study. The girl standing beside him in the picture was beaming, her smile radiant. Most importantly… she shared a striking resemblance to me.

I used him for security; he used me as a placeholder. We were even. Yet, every time I thought about it, a faint, bitter ache still flared in my heart.

Memories of our very first meeting rushed back.

The first time was at a high-society cocktail party. Our eyes had locked for a split second before brushing past each other. The second time was when Mr. Su tried to force me into an arranged marriage with a trashy, spoiled playboy. I had fled into the night, running blindly until I slammed straight into Fu Chiyan’s broad chest.

I had clung to him desperately. The solid warmth of his chest was the first thing that had ever made me feel safe. Looking up into his eyes, I whispered a trembling plea:

“Save me…”

The drug burning through my veins made it impossible to stand, my body going completely limp. Right as I was about to collapse, a powerful arm wrapped securely around my waist, yanking me back—like someone catching a person right before they slipped off the edge of a cliff.

Fu Chiyan handled the messy situation for me completely. Afterward, I looked up at him and asked in all seriousness, “How can I ever repay you?”

He looked down at me, nonchalant. “How about marrying me? I happen to be in need of a wife.”

My eyes went wide. I couldn’t tell if he was joking or serious, but my brain immediately went into overdrive, calculating the odds. I had gotten lucky escaping this time, but what about next time? If I married him, wouldn’t all my problems be solved in one fell swoop?

Besides… I was clearly the one getting the sweet end of the deal. His looks, his aura, his power—he was the literal blueprint of an ideal man.

So, I nodded without a second thought. “Deal.”