The day my billionaire parents found me, I was gutting a fish in the local market. After they brought me home, the "Fake Heiress" tried to play mind games with me, dropping passive-aggressive hints left and right. Unfortunately for her, I barely went to school, so I didn't understand a word of her subtle shade. My biological brother couldn't stand watching it anymore, so he gave me a copy of The Mean Girl Survival Guide. I became a self-taught master. Later, I smiled innocently at the Fake Heiress and said: "Haha, trying to mess with me? Jokes on you, it’s like kicking a cotton ball~" She was so mad she literally ended up in the hospital. 1 When my biological parents found me, I was passionately chopping fish. It was a scorching summer day. I was wearing a waterproof apron, my cleaver thudding rhythmically against the cutting board. I smelled like a mix of fish guts and old blood. I looked at them blankly. Their faces were completely unfamiliar. I asked them dumbly, "You want a carp?" The man ignored the stench and pulled me into a hug. "Lily, you are our daughter. Mom and Dad are taking you home now, okay?" Seeing how sincere he was, I nodded and agreed, but I insisted on bringing my mutt, Lucky. I couldn't read the complex emotions in their eyes. Dad patted my head. "Lily, we can buy you a new dog when we get home, okay? A Poodle, a Maltese, whatever you want." I shook my head and hugged Lucky tight, climbing into their luxury car. Mom kept staring at me, telling me not to get the car dirty. I nodded and hugged Lucky tighter. "Mom, I'm very good, and so is Lucky." Mom finally turned away and stopped looking at me. 2 I rode in their car to a massive estate. A girl about my age was waiting at the door. She was wearing a pristine white dress with a flower in her hair. She looked beautiful. Mom went over and hugged her, stroking her back. "Bella, Mom is home." I hugged my dog, Lucky, and hid behind Dad. I was so dirty. I didn't want to stain that white dress. Dad pulled me out from behind him. I looked awkwardly at the mother and daughter hugging. The girl turned to hug Dad but hesitated when she saw me. I wisely stepped aside, but Dad pulled me back. "This is your sister. Even though she's adopted, we've raised her as our own for years, so she is your sister." I nodded, wiped my hands on my apron again and again, and reached out. "Hi, sister!" She looked at me in horror, then looked at Mom. "Does sister think I'm dirty?" I asked Dad. Dad’s eyes filled with tears. He grabbed my outstretched hand. "Lily isn't dirty." Mom realized her mistake and looked at me with guilt, ordering the housekeeper to take me upstairs to clean up. Actually, I really wasn't that dirty. I showered every day after selling fish. I soaked in a bathtub for the first time. It was amazing. The housekeeper, Mrs. Higgins, was washing Lucky. It turned out Lucky wasn't a yellow dog, but a white one. I was a little embarrassed. 3 I was enjoying my bath when Mom came in. She brought me a dress. "This is one of Bella's old dresses... I'll take you to buy new ones when I have time..." Before she could finish, I stood up, eyes sparkling, smiling foolishly at her. "A dress! I've never worn a dress before. It's so pretty." Mom looked at me and suddenly started crying. Did I scare her? She hugged me tightly, heartbroken. "Lily, why do you have so many scars?" I looked at my arms, legs, and shoulders. Some scars were fading; others were freshly scabbed. "Some are from gutting fish. I wasn't good at it at first and kept chopping myself. Some are from my old dad hitting me. He hit people whenever he got drunk," I said nonchalantly. "But later I got really good at gutting fish, and I never cut myself again! Mom, aren't I awesome?" I looked at her, waiting for praise. But Mom just hugged me tighter and sobbed uncontrollably. Mom put the dress on me, but it was a bit too big. Then I didn't understand why she cried even louder. Her crying summoned Dad. Dad asked Mom what was wrong. Mom said I was too skinny, looking nothing like a girl who was almost sixteen. Oh, so that was it. I sighed in relief. I thought I looked so ugly in Bella's dress that I made Mom cry. I was wearing a dress for the first time, spinning around in circles. I kept asking Dad if I looked good. Then I ran into a pillar. Why is there a pillar in the middle of the living room? Turns out it was my brother, Ethan. He looked at me with disgust. "Where did this skinny monkey come from?" Then he got smacked by Dad. I blew on his arm, saying "blow it and it won't hurt," and he looked like he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. 4 Now, only Bella was afraid to get close to me. But I was clean now. She looked at me and cried too. I felt like I had a magic power that made everyone who saw me cry. Bella hugged Mom and wouldn't let go. "Mommy, I don't want to go gut fish." Why not? Gutting fish is great. For every fish I gutted, my adoptive father gave me a dollar. I had saved almost a thousand dollars. A thousand dollars! Mom looked at Dad pleadingly. Dad looked at me. "Why does sister have to go gut fish?" I asked, confused. "Because Bella is your adoptive parents' biological daughter. After you got lost, we found her and thought it was fate, so we adopted her," Dad explained. No wonder Bella looked familiar. She looked like my adoptive mother. What a coincidence. I am my parents' daughter, got lost, and was adopted by my adoptive parents. Bella is my adoptive parents' daughter, got lost, and was adopted by my parents. Dad asked me, "Lily, how about we don't send Bella back?" "If the family has three thousand dollars a month, sure," I answered with a smile. "Why three thousand?" "Because I only use five hundred a month. Three kids would need about fifteen hundred, plus Mom, Dad, and Mrs. Higgins, so six people need three thousand," I calculated on my fingers. Dad’s eyes turned red again. Sigh, when will my magic power to make people cry wear off? I stopped crying when I was five, and they are grown-ups and still crying. "Lily, you can spend five thousand a month if you want. Mom and Dad are very rich. Look, we live in a huge house." "Five thousand dollars?!" I was shocked. If Mom and Dad are that rich, of course we can keep Bella. We could keep lots and lots of Bellas. 5 Bella looked at me timidly. "Sister, can you please not kick me out? I don't want to leave Mom and Dad." "Of course." Mom let out a sigh of relief and immediately hugged Bella. Watching them hug, tears welled up in my eyes. Weird. What is going on today? Why did I cry right after saying they love to cry? Dad looked at Mom and coughed. I sniffled and asked Dad if he was sick. Dad bent down and hugged me. Now it's fair. One kid each, I thought. Wait, not fair! I broke free from Dad's hug. Under Dad's confused gaze, I hugged Ethan. And threw Lucky to Dad. Yeah... now it's fair. Mrs. Higgins saw us huddled together and smilingly called us for dinner. We went to the dining room. I had never seen such a fancy dinner in my life. Ethan called me a country bumpkin. I ignored him. Bella put food in my bowl. I held up my bowl to receive it. Mom looked at this harmonious scene and laughed. "Oops, sister... do you still hate me?" For some reason, the food Bella was passing to me fell onto the floor. I had held my bowl out perfectly. I didn't hear what Bella said. My eyes were fixed on the fallen food. I picked up the eggplant with my hand and ate it. Mom looked at me like I was a monster. I explained in a panic, "Five-second rule! I always eat like this..." Besides, the floor in this house was polished so clean, it wasn't dirty at all. I saw a flash of shock in Bella's eyes, but she quickly recovered and whispered, "Sister, it's my fault, I didn't hold it tight..." "It's okay, sister, I'll get it myself." "Sister really hates me, doesn't she?" Bella looked like she was about to cry again. "Ah... no... oh dear, I just wanted to try every dish and was afraid you'd get tired," I blurted out, embarrassed. I really wanted to crawl under the table. So I did. Ethan laughed so loud. I didn't dare come out. Finally, Mom pulled me out and put a little of every dish in my bowl. I had never eaten such delicious food! I was happy again. 6 "Sister, did you just leave your old home like that? Don't you miss your adoptive parents? I can't imagine leaving Mom and Dad," Bella asked curiously. "Hmm... I do miss them a bit. Gutting fish is tiring, but a dollar a fish, I saved a thousand dollars in two years! And although my adoptive dad beat me, he always avoided my face so I could still sell fish." "Also, also, the kids around there told me school is super tiring, so my adoptive parents didn't let me go to school," I answered cheerfully. Bella was stunned. I thought she must be envious of my life. "If you want to experience it, I can take you! I have experience! I can train you, and we can dominate the fish market!" "Mom... Sister is threatening me again, boo hoo hoo." She cried again and hugged Mom. "Huh? Sister, I didn't... I just thought your biological parents would be happy to see you because Mom and Dad were happy to see me." "Sister, don't cry. I'm clumsy with words and can't comfort people. I'll give you all my money." I untied the cloth bag hanging around my neck, the one I never took off even in the shower. Inside was the thousand dollars I saved over two years, stacked neatly. I heartbrokenly handed the money to Bella. She didn't take it. The money fell all over the floor. "Does sister... still think I'm dirty?" I sadly picked up the scattered bills alone. Dad squatted down and helped me pick them up. After collecting them, he put the money away and handed me a bank card. "Dad put the money away for you. This card is for you. There is lots and lots of money in it. Lily, spend it however you like." Dad, my real Dad. I took the card and touched it carefully. This card was different from the ones I'd seen. It was black. But I finally had a bank card! The kids at the fish market said you have to deposit lots of money to get a card. Bella stared at Dad in disbelief. "Dad... isn't that my birthday present?" "Huh? What is a birthday present?" I asked abruptly. In my memory, I only had a birthday when I was very, very little. But I couldn't remember clearly. I didn't have a birthday. My adoptive father told me every time the year changed, I grew a year older. I always calculated my age like that. The guilt in Dad's eyes couldn't be hidden anymore. He looked sternly at Bella. "Lily just came back. You should share with your sister. Dad will give you one later." Then Dad told me May 17th was my birthday. I was so happy. I finally had a birthday like everyone else.
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