Chapter 56: The Humiliated Heiress of the Arranged Marriage (1)

If Bai Qian was the tender lily pampered in a garden,

then Chi Miaohan was a wild rose, standing proud and defiant.

Now that rose was dusted with grime, yet its vivid beauty shone undimmed.

Bai Qian paused in stunned admiration for just a moment before recovering and offering the other girl a warm, gentle smile.

The girl had clearly guessed her identity. Her expression faltered briefly, but then she looked away as if she had seen nothing at all.

She dumped the water from the basin and turned back toward the house, ignoring everyone around her.

“Miss, the master came by a few days ago to speak with Second Miss. The conditions here aren’t great—why don’t you wait in the car? I’ll go fetch Second Miss for you.”

“It’s fine. I’ve got nothing to do sitting in the car. Uncle Wang, you wait there. I’ll go pick up my sister.”

“But—”

Before the man could finish his sentence, the young woman had already pushed open the car door and stepped out onto the ground.

“Then wait here, Uncle Wang. I’ll go get her.”

Helpless, the man relented. “Alright, Miss. Be careful, and call me if you need anything.”

“Mm.”

The original host had always been obedient and compliant. But the moment she learned she was the fake young lady—and that the real one was coming home—fear of the unknown had instantly shattered her temperament.

Bai Qian knew the original host had a mild case of germaphobia, yet here she was today, purely to deliver a “show of strength” to the female protagonist.

She had wanted to tell the female protagonist: Even if you’re the biological daughter, I’ve been the one living in this family for over a decade. Don’t think you can just replace me.

The female protagonist hadn’t harbored any such intentions at first. But after the original host provoked her, she simply played along.

Bai Qian was grateful she had arrived in this world early. Otherwise, considering the humiliating things the original host did to her in the original plot, she wondered if she could even complete her mission to safeguard this world.

With a quiet sigh of relief, she stepped into the dilapidated house. Light pierced through gaps in the roof.

She glanced around. Most of the furniture was broken-down and dated.

The only halfway modern item—and the most valuable thing in the house—was the second-hand refrigerator the female protagonist had scrimped and saved to buy.

As Bai Qian entered, Chi Miaohan was tending the fire.

This ramshackle place still relied on the old-fashioned tools for kindling a blaze.

Bai Qian’s delicate leather shoes crunched over a small branch half-buried in the dirt, snapping it with a sharp crack. The girl ahead, perched on a wooden stool, twisted her head around.

She gave Bai Qian a single glance, her face unchanging, then turned back. Casually, she snapped the twig in her hand and tossed it into the flames as kindling.

Firelight played across Chi Miaohan’s face. Her features were plain but strikingly beautiful, beauty etched into her very bones.

Yet her impoverished upbringing had left her looking malnourished.

“You’re the one I was swapped with?”

Her voice was ice-cold, devoid of the instinctive courtesy most people offered to strangers upon first meeting.

It was exactly the attitude described in the original plot, back when she first encountered the original host.

The original host’s response had been to drop her friendly facade and lash out with the cruelest words imaginable.

That was the true spark of their feud.

It was also the point where Bai Qian would rewrite everything to come.

Unlike the original host, who despised this impoverished hovel, Bai Qian approached without hesitation. She drew up in front of the girl and extended her hand with a soft smile.

“Hello, Miaohan. I’m Bai Qian. From now on, I’m your big sister.”