My younger sister and I were back at the orphanage, right at the moment we were about to be adopted. She chose the elite, billionaire family from Manhattan. But instead of living like a princess, she was used as a pawn for a corporate merger, married off to a ruthless older man, and ultimately tortured to death. Meanwhile, I chose the ordinary, working-class family. I eventually got into a top-tier university and became a highly respected high school teacher. Reborn into a new life, we were once again faced with the choice that would dictate our destinies. This time, my sister practically lunged toward the couple from the ordinary family. "Eleanor, I’ve always let you have your way," she said, her eyes gleaming with barely concealed greed. "This time, I'll let you have the rich family!" I looked at my sister's poorly hidden smirk and offered a faint smile. You actually think I had a good life just because I was lucky? A father who died early, a mother with a severe gambling addiction, and an entitled mama’s boy of a brother. Well then, good luck to you. 1 My sister had dragged us back to the exact moment in the orphanage director's office when our adoptive families were being chosen. Sitting across from us was an elegant, gentle-looking middle-aged man. He smiled warmly at us sisters. "Girls, which one of you would like to come home with me?" "I don't have a daughter. If you come home with me, I will treat you exactly like my own flesh and blood." When he finished speaking, I quietly lifted my head and peeked at him with curiosity. The middle-aged man gave me a kind smile. But standing next to me, my sister shuddered violently and shrank back. In our previous life, the scene had played out exactly the same way. My sister chose the seemingly glorious and wealthy Vance family. But she never expected that this elegant, gentle man would raise her in the lap of luxury until she was eighteen, only to package her up and sell her off in a business marriage. She ended up being tormented to death by an abusive older man. After she left for the billionaire's mansion, I was adopted by the ordinary family. I became their daughter. Eventually, I worked my way into a great college and became a proud, honorable teacher. So in this life, there was absolutely no way she was stepping foot in the Vance household. Watching her tremble, I smiled faintly and stepped forward of my own accord. I looked the man directly in the eyes. "Sir, I'd like to go with you." The moment the words left my mouth, my sister nodded frantically and even gave me a slight push forward. The man took a closer look at my face. I had an oval face and bright, almond-shaped eyes. Even though I hadn't fully grown into my features yet, anyone could tell I was going to be beautiful. The man gave the orphanage director a look. Understanding immediately, the director ushered my sister out of the office. The man asked me a few more questions. I answered them one by one. My logic was clear, and I possessed an intelligence that seemed far beyond my years. Richard Vance nodded in satisfaction. He took my hand gently. "Then starting today, you are my daughter." "You won't be needing your orphanage name anymore. From now on, your name is Eleanor Vance." With that, he gestured to the teenage boy standing behind him to take my hand. He led us out of the office. A sleek Maybach was parked downstairs. Richard initially wanted us to leave immediately. But I told him I wanted to pack my belongings and say goodbye to my friends at the orphanage. A flash of admiration crossed Richard's eyes, and he chuckled. "You have a good heart. You're a good kid." I bowed respectfully to him, then turned and ran back to my dorm room. I said that out loud, but honestly, after spending over a decade in this orphanage, I didn't have anything of value. The house my parents owned before they died was stolen by greedy relatives, and my only valuable piece of jewelry had been swiped by my sister. The real reason I came back to the dorm was to see my sister one last time. After all, the next time we'd meet would probably be at her funeral. I pretended to pack my things on my small cot, reaching under my pillow to pull out a single piece of jewelry I had hidden. It was a tarnished, handmade silver charm bracelet. I had secretly worked odd jobs when I was fifteen just to save up enough to buy it. Suddenly, my sister appeared behind me and shoved me hard onto the bed. I turned around to see her face twisted into a malicious grin. "You don't actually think you're going to turn into a princess just because you're entering a rich household, do you?" "Let me tell you, Eleanor. You're dead meat." I looked at her face—so similar to mine—and smiled coldly. "Isabella, since you don't believe I can live a good life, let's see who has what it takes." With that, I shoved her out of my way, grabbed my duffel bag of old clothes, and walked out the door. My sister screamed after me. "Just wait until you're sold to some old creep and worked to death! You bitch!" I slammed the door behind me, my face entirely devoid of emotion, and walked away with my bag. The Maybach was waiting downstairs. The driver opened the door for me, gesturing for me to get in. I looked up. The kids from the orphanage were leaning against the balcony railing, staring at me with overwhelming envy. The chances of being adopted into the top 1% were like winning the lottery. Even normal people dream of getting rich overnight, let alone kids growing up in the crushing poverty of an orphanage. Yet my expression remained completely unfazed as I slid into the backseat. Sitting next to me was the teenage boy. He looked a few years older than me. He was exceptionally handsome, radiating a casual, elegant aura with every movement. Seeing me get in, he casually pressed a button on the door panel. The soundproof glass partition of the Maybach slowly glided up. The driver kept his eyes glued to the road as he started the engine. The boy looked me up and down and suddenly smirked. "You clean up nicely. You're actually pretty cute." I looked up, meeting his amused gaze. His smile deepened. "Since you're easy on the eyes, I'll give you a way out." "If you come back to the Vance estate with me now, it's a dead end." "Just say the word, and I'll have the driver turn the car around, drop you back off, and let you live your life." He stopped talking and just stared at me quietly. I shook my head slightly. "Nothing could be worse than going back to the orphanage. Take me to the Vance estate." I heard the boy let out a cold laugh. He turned his head and completely ignored me for the rest of the ride. 2 The reason I said that was because my past life was an absolute nightmare. In my previous life, I was adopted by that ordinary working-class family. They looked like kind, wholesome people who simply couldn't have children of their own. They even swore to the orphanage director that as long as I took care of them in their old age, they would treat me like royalty and spend every dime to put me through the best schools. The director was totally charmed and handed me over without a second thought. But it wasn't until I got to their house that I realized they had a biological son whose legal residence was registered under a different relative's name. And their reason for adopting me was incredibly simple. They were drowning in debt and couldn't afford a house for their biological son. They needed to adopt a girl just so they could eventually sell her off to an older man for a massive cash payout. Since they planned on selling me anyway, they figured there was no need for me to get an education. Knowing how to read a few words was enough. If I hadn't stubbornly fought tooth and nail to keep going to school... I really would have been sold to an old creep by my adoptive mother the second I turned eighteen. Thank god I was given a chance to study. No matter what happened, I studied like my life depended on it. I didn't dare stop for a single second. And so, after over two decades of fighting, a girl from nowhere finally took control of her own destiny. As for that family? Things didn't end well for them. After I escaped, they had no one to sell for a payout, so they had to work themselves to the bone. While their precious mama's boy of a son was sleeping comfortably at home, my adoptive parents were driving long-haul trucks to make ends meet. Fatigued behind the wheel, they crashed and died on the highway. As for that brother, he fell for an overseas scam and ended up trafficked to a criminal syndicate in Southeast Asia. I was given a literal hell-mode start, but I was the woman who had the last laugh. But in this life, would my lazy, entitled sister really be able to laugh until the end like I did? I looked around at the low-key luxury of the car's interior and lowered my eyes. At the very least, living in high society was infinitely better than being drained dry by those bloodsuckers. The luxury car slowly pulled into the city's most exclusive gated community. I looked up at the sprawling mansion bearing the Vance family crest and stepped out of the car without a word. The boy looked at me, seemingly surprised by my absolute lack of reaction to the obscene wealth. But he didn't say anything. Mr. Vance's wife had passed away years ago, and he had never remarried, meaning there was no matriarch in the household. There was only a butler who had been with them for decades. He smiled and took my duffel bag. He didn't look down on me for my shabby clothes. Instead, he gave me a detailed tour of the estate's layout. I memorized every detail, then followed him to the dressing room to change. A teenage girl looks good in practically anything if she tries. Not to mention, I wasn't bad-looking to begin with. A simple, tailored plaid cotton dress made me look as fresh and delicate as a blooming peach blossom. The boy appeared out of nowhere, his eyes full of probing curiosity. "You look totally different. What was your name again? Isabella?" I shook my head. "Isabella is my sister. My name was Eleanor." "Eleanor..." he muttered softly, a look of sudden realization washing over his face. Then he looked up. "I'm your brother from now on. Call me Sebastian Vance." I nodded. The butler called out from the hallway, telling us to come down for dinner. Mr. Vance was an incredibly easygoing man. At the dinner table, he asked about my grades. When he heard that I was always at the top of my class and had countless academic awards, he nodded in deep satisfaction. "I've already arranged your transfer. You'll be attending the same prep school as your brother." "The curriculum at St. Jude's is rigorous. If you feel too pressured, make sure you tell me." I smiled and nodded, then continued eating. That night, Sebastian came to my room to brief me on the ins and outs of the prep school, helping me transition into my new life. Ever since he asked my name in the dressing room, his attitude toward me had completely softened. He was a grade above me at school. Worried he wouldn't be able to look out for me all the time, he even gave me his old study notes. When he noticed the cheap, bulky silver bracelet on my wrist, he hesitated for a second. Then, he slipped a sleek, black onyx beaded bracelet off his own wrist and handed it to me. I held the bracelet, which was still warm from his body temperature, feeling a bit hesitant. The tips of Sebastian's ears turned slightly red. "I wear this all the time. If you wear it, people will recognize that you're under the Vance family's protection. No one will dare mess with you." "I... I still have homework to finish. I'm leaving!" With that, he panicked, stood up so fast his chair scraped loudly against the floor, and fled the room. I shook my head in amusement and slid the bracelet onto my wrist. The Vance family wasn't the absolute wealthiest family in New York, but they were definitely top-tier players. Still, I was just an adopted kid. At best, I was an imposter. So when I got to school, I didn't announce my identity. Everyone assumed I was just the daughter of some average businessman. They figured I was a transfer student whose parents spent a fortune to buy a spot at St. Jude's. The wealthy kids here valued status above all else. Seeing that my background was nothing special, they felt no need to network with me and treated me with cold indifference. I hid the onyx bracelet Sebastian gave me under my uniform sleeve and quietly kept my head down, doing my work. St. Jude's was full of prodigies, and the academic gap was massive. Even though I was the valedictorian at my old public high school, I was practically at the bottom of the barrel here. While everyone else was prepping for their SATs and AP Calculus, I was still memorizing basic vocabulary words. Between my unremarkable "background" and my currently poor grades, I became an outcast in the classroom. 3 I originally thought that if I studied hard and improved my class ranking, I'd eventually fit into the prep school ecosystem. Who knew that when I came to class on Monday, I would find my desk shoved next to the trash cans, all my books dumped in the corner. When the homeroom teacher saw me walk in, she immediately frowned and scolded me. "Eleanor, hurry up and clean your mess! The student council is coming for room inspection any minute!" "Because of you, our class average dropped a full point. Now you're going to drag down our cleanliness score too?!" She glared at me, then crossed her arms and watched me pick up my things. As I bent down to pick up my books, I heard a few girls giggling behind their hands. The girl sitting in the center of the group had her uniform blazer draped over her shoulders and flawless, intricate makeup on her face. Her brown contacts made her eyes look huge, and her light chestnut hair was perfectly curled. She wore a smirk that was far too mature for her age. I narrowed my eyes, instantly identifying the culprit behind my dumped books. In my past life, my job as a teacher exposed me to several severe bullying cases. Some of them had occurred at elite schools just like St. Jude's. The students here were wealthy and powerful. Even though the teachers were Ivy League graduates, they didn't dare cross the ultra-rich parents. The classroom had a strict caste system. To maintain a twisted sense of "class unity," every class would single out an "untouchable"—a designated target for everyone to bully. "Untouchables" were usually kids with poor grades or mediocre family backgrounds. Looking at the situation, the class's "Queen Bee" had officially designated me as the new untouchable. But I wasn't just some sixteen-year-old girl. I had already lived a whole lifetime and spent years battling in the trenches as a frontline high school teacher. My mental fortitude was unbreakable. After picking up my books, I calmly dragged my desk right next to the Queen Bee in front of the entire class. The other students exchanged stunned looks. My expression remained totally neutral. "The teacher didn't assign me a seat, and this is the only empty spot left." With that, I sat down, completely ignoring her face, which was rapidly turning red with fury. I knew she wouldn't do anything right now, because the student council was about to walk in for inspection. Sure enough, right after I spoke, the student council pushed open the door. Leading the group was none other than Sebastian. He was wearing his St. Jude's uniform, the zipper pulled down just past his collarbone, the sleeves rolled up to reveal his lean, defined forearms. Paired with his striking face, he looked exactly like the male lead in a teen drama. The homeroom teacher's demeanor shifted instantly. She smiled brightly and pulled him aside to chat. He responded politely, but his eyes drifted toward my side of the room. Seeing me sitting calmly in my seat, he seemed to let out a breath of relief before returning his attention to the teacher. A girl in the front row turned around excitedly and whispered to the Queen Bee sitting next to me. "Regina, was Sebastian totally looking at you just now?!" Regina Thorne scoffed, but her face flushed with the undeniable bashfulness of a teenage crush. "Who knows." I looked at Regina with mild surprise, thinking to myself that Sebastian really did have some serious charm if he had the lower-classmen Queen Bees swooning over him. But what did that have to do with me? I lowered my head and went back to my physics worksheet. After school, a kind-hearted girl secretly texted me, warning me to watch out for Regina. She told me Regina was a notorious bully at St. Jude's. The last girl she targeted had already dropped out due to severe depression. Rumor had it that Regina even visited the girl a few weeks ago. She pretended to be a concerned classmate, but she was really just there to gloat. The day after Regina's "visit," the poor girl jumped off a building and killed herself. Staring at the message on my screen, I fell into a rare moment of deep thought. After a long pause, I thanked the classmate, and firmly resolved to keep my seat right next to Regina Thorne. For the next few weeks, Regina went out of her way to make my life miserable. She was absolutely certain that I was too intimidated by her family's wealth to fight back, so she tormented me endlessly. I remained entirely unfazed. I was waiting. Waiting for the moment my grades surpassed hers, so I could clean house once and for all. 4 Back at the Vance estate. Mr. Vance truly treated me like his own daughter. He constantly reminded Sebastian to help me adjust to my new academic life. Sebastian followed his father's orders to the letter, coming to my room every night to tutor me. He was the golden boy of the junior class. At only seventeen, he had already secured early admission to Columbia University. If he wanted to, he could pack his bags tomorrow and cruise straight into an Ivy League. But his new little sister was apparently a total idiot. Staring at the sea of red X's on my paper, Sebastian took a deep breath and sighed helplessly. "It's fine. Let's go over it one more time." Logically speaking, I had a great memory. In my past life, even though I missed my peak teenage learning years, I still managed to get into a top university using sheer brainpower. But there is always a bigger fish. Even a lazy mean girl like Regina had grades that were miles ahead of mine. To bridge the gap, I pulled all-nighters for an entire semester. Finally, during the midterms of the second semester, my rank surpassed my desk-mate, Regina. That wiped the smirk right off her face. After all, when I first transferred in, she mocked me for being a delusional loser who didn't know her place. Now, my grades had eclipsed hers. It was a brutal slap to the face. After the class awards assembly ended, she looked at me directly for the first time. "Eleanor Vance, right? Wow, aren't you just amazing." With that, she grabbed her water bottle and aggressively splashed it all over my open textbook! My pen stopped moving. This was a custom math worksheet Sebastian had made for me. It was incredibly difficult, and I had just barely finished it. She opened her mouth to say something else, but in the next second, I had my fist wrapped tight in her light chestnut hair. I dragged her out of her chair by the hair and marched to the back of the classroom. Regina screamed in pain, but forced to follow my momentum so her scalp wouldn't rip off. The trash cans in the back hadn't been emptied yet. They were full of banana peels, half-eaten cafeteria lunches, and snotty tissues from a sick classmate. With one swift motion, I shoved Regina's head straight into the trash can. She shrieked, but I pushed her down even harder. The entire class was stunned into silence, but no one dared run to get a teacher. I watched her thrash wildly with cold detachment. I waited until she ran out of energy before yanking her up and tossing her onto the floor like a dirty rag. I looked down at her from above. "I've tolerated you for an entire semester just for this day." "Don't think I didn't know about all your pathetic little stunts." "Putting a dead rat in my backpack, stealing my assignments, throwing my gym clothes in the toilet." I stared at the pathetic, filthy mess she had become on the floor. "I've been genuinely curious how an illegitimate love child could be this arrogant." The moment the words left my mouth, the room went dead silent. Everyone knew Regina was an illegitimate child, but no one ever dared to say it to her face. After all, the Thorne family wasn't something you messed with. Yet I stood there, under the collective gaze of the entire class, smiling as I delivered my next line. "But then I remembered your mother was a cheap escort who threw herself at any man with a wallet, and it all made perfect sense." Looking at the girl who had relentlessly bullied me, my words were laced with absolute venom. "Am I wrong? Did I frame you?" "Your mother was a college student who chose to work at high-end clubs for the cash. She intentionally trapped your father to give birth to a little mistake like you." "Look at you now. Are you planning to follow in Mommy's footsteps? Graduate college and go become some rich guy's side piece?" The class audibly gasped. They stared at me in shock, looking at me like they were seeing me for the very first time. Regina swept her garbage-stained hair out of her face and glared at me with pure hatred. "Eleanor, you are dead." I looked down at her and smirked. "We'll see about that when you can actually win a fight against me." I dusted off my hands, walked back to my seat, and calmly used a tissue to wipe the water off my ruined worksheet. Regina couldn't beat me in a fight, and sitting next to me made her physically sick. She grabbed her designer bag, slammed her chair in a rage, and ran out of the room. I took it all in stride and went back to writing down the answer to the next equation. 5 The Vance family protected me flawlessly. Knowing I didn't want to broadcast my status as their adopted daughter, Mr. Vance considerately kept the news out of the social circles. He only brought Sebastian to public events. He wanted to create a quiet, normal environment for me to study. Because of this, despite all the strings she pulled, Regina couldn't dig up a single thing about who my backers were. And that realization finally made her terrified. If she couldn't uncover my background, it meant my family was vastly more powerful than she could ever imagine. For the next two months, she acted like a turtle hiding in its shell, nervously observing me from afar. Meanwhile, I went to class, went home, and ate the late-night study snacks Sebastian cooked for me like nothing ever happened. Hard work pays off. After half a year of grinding, my grades shot up like a rocket. By the end of my sophomore year, I went from the bottom of the barrel to the top 20 in the entire grade. St. Jude's hosted a massive awards gala. The top 20 students of each grade were invited to the stage to receive an award—a custom lapel pin carved in the shape of a fleur-de-lis. When I handed the invitation to Mr. Vance, he beamed with joy. Especially when he saw my certificate that read "Rank 19". He was smiling so hard his eyes practically disappeared. He patted my shoulder and laughed loudly. "My Eleanor is making us so proud! As your father, I absolutely have to be there!" "I'll have my secretary clear my schedule for that day. I'm going to my daughter's award ceremony!" "To reward you for making the top 20, dad's treating you to dinner! Pick anywhere you want!" Sebastian chimed in from the side, sounding a little salty. "When I was ranked number one in the whole school, you were never this excited." "You never offered to treat me either!" Dad waved him off, completely unbothered. "Are you really comparing yourself to Eleanor?" "You're a teenage boy, you'd survive eating garbage out of a dumpster. Stop causing trouble!" "If you're going to be jealous, you can stay home and guard the house while Eleanor and I go out!" Sebastian gave a helpless shrug. He and I shared a look and laughed at his expense. The day of the awards ceremony arrived. Dad sat in the front row as a school board director, looking up at me with overwhelming pride. Dressed in my crisp uniform, I smiled as I took the bouquet from the principal. It was a tradition at St. Jude's for outstanding upperclassmen to present the awards to the younger students. Sebastian picked up the tiny silver fleur-de-lis pin from a velvet tray held by an etiquette volunteer. With long, elegant fingers, he expertly undid the clasp and leaned in to pin it to my lapel. We were so close I could hear his breathing. Suddenly, Sebastian chuckled softly. I gave him a confused look, and he whispered his explanation. "Are you really this nervous for your first award? You're literally trembling." I lightly punched his arm, and he instantly grabbed his chest, acting like a drama queen in agonizing pain. Suddenly, I felt a hostile glare burning into the side of my face. I looked up and saw it was Regina. Because of her abysmal grades, she obviously had no right to stand on stage to receive an award. So she was up here serving as the etiquette volunteer. She had been standing next to Sebastian holding the tray for an excruciatingly long time, wearing beautiful, delicate makeup. But Sebastian’s eyes were locked entirely on me, completely oblivious to her existence. A flash of mockery crossed my eyes before I turned back to quietly chat with Sebastian. Sebastian looked at the little silver iris on my chest. "I didn't realize the iris suited you so perfectly." "Yesterday, Sotheby's sent over their upcoming auction catalog." "There's an antique high-jewelry set themed around the iris. It's stunning. Do you want it?" Standing next to us, Regina's eyes practically bulged out of her head. Just yesterday, her mother had been begging her father for that exact jewelry set, only to be ruthlessly shut down. Her father had even mocked her mother for being a gold digger who only cared about money. It caused a massive screaming match between them. Now, Sebastian was offering it to me like it was pocket change. How could she not be consumed by jealousy! Faced with his question, I rolled my eyes slightly. "Senior, don't you know that you're never supposed to ask if a girl wants something? You just buy it." "I'm a modest lady, so naturally, I want the entire set." Sebastian burst out laughing. He was about to reply, but the other upperclassmen had already finished pinning the awards and were lining up for photos. The principal stood next to Sebastian and gave him a smiling thumbs-up. After the ceremony, the sophomores were herded back to class to review an exam. Dad, accompanied by the principal and Sebastian, went on a nostalgic tour of the campus where he had spent six years of his own youth.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "421050", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel