I had twin daughters.

My younger daughter was a sweet-talker who cried easily, always throwing a fit to get her sister's things.

My older daughter never caused trouble. She was quiet and obedient, so I inevitably neglected her.

After my younger daughter got married, I ran myself ragged taking care of her. Her dowry was more than double her sister's.

Who would have thought that in her heart, I wasn't even as close to her as a nanny.

Worse, the moment I was diagnosed with cancer, she turned around and demanded to cut all ties with me.

Instead, it was my older daughter who cared for me day and night, using all her savings to pay for my medical treatments.

When I opened my eyes again, I didn't hesitate to put the chicken drumstick in my older daughter's bowl.

I turned to my younger daughter. "What's there to cry about? You're going to tear this family apart with all your crying!"

1

When I opened my eyes again, I couldn't quite process what was happening.

The cold hospital ceiling was gone, as was the monotonous sea of blue and white.

Instead, I was in my own bedroom. I surveyed the decor, unable to snap out of my daze for a long time.

There was a sound from outside, and the nanny knocked on my door. "Madam, the young ladies are back."

I stepped out of the room and looked at the familiar yet foreign surroundings.

My younger daughter, Julia Thorne, was already on the sofa munching on an apple. My older daughter, Joyce Thorne, came through the door, neatly arranged the shoes they had both taken off, then turned to give me a sweet smile.

"Good afternoon, Mom."

I nodded and looked over at Julia Thorne. She had her feet propped up on the coffee table and was complaining, "Why didn't you come pick me up, Mom? I wanted to show my classmates our new car today."

Just last week, I'd bought a new car, and my younger daughter had been pestering me to drive it to pick her up from school.

But the car was a two-seater sports car. If I picked one of them up, the other would have to walk home.

"I wasn't feeling well, so I didn't want to go out. Now, take your feet down."

My younger daughter pouted and put her feet down. Meanwhile, my older daughter, who had been quiet the whole time, walked over to my side.

"Mom, what's wrong? Are you not feeling well? Should we see a doctor?"

I remembered my past life, how everyone distanced themselves from me after I got cancer.

Only my older daughter, the one I'd always neglected, stayed with me. At the slightest sign of trouble, she would immediately call a doctor and pace anxiously by my side.

In contrast, my younger daughter, whom I'd spoiled since she was little, hardly ever visited after she got married.

When she found out I was sick, she did rush over immediately—but only to cut ties with me.

I remember the impatient look on her face as she threw the agreement down in front of me.

"You're about to die. You're not seriously thinking of dragging me down with you, are you?"

'Reborn into this life, my daughters were now only ten years old, yet the difference between them was already so obvious.'

'To think I was so blind in my past life.'

At this thought, I pulled my older daughter into my arms, feeling an even deeper wave of tenderness for her.

"Mom's fine. How was school today? Did you have fun?"

My older daughter was taken aback for a moment, then hugged me tightly. "It was great."

Seeing this, Julia Thorne, who was still on the sofa, suddenly shrieked and threw her half-eaten apple onto the carpet.

"What are you two doing? Why are you hugging? Let go of her!"

"You're both my daughters. Is there a problem with me hugging one of them?"

At my words, Julia Thorne's lip immediately began to tremble, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Seeing that she was about to launch into her usual theatrics—crying, screaming, and making a scene—my expression hardened.

"Shut your mouth and clean up that mess on the floor right now, or I'll stuff that apple right back in your mouth!"

Julia Thorne froze, stunned into silence. Just then, the nanny brought the last dish to the table.

"Madam, Young Ladies, dinner is ready."

Only then did I tell them both to start eating.

But when I saw what was on the table, I fell silent.

Julia Thorne was the first to the table and immediately put one of the chicken drumsticks from the platter into her bowl.

Now there was only one drumstick left on the platter.

Joyce Thorne, without a second thought, picked it up and placed it in my bowl. "Mom, let's eat."

I looked up at the nanny, who was about to leave, and stopped her. "Go make a list right now. I want all the grocery receipts from the last three months gathered and organized. I want to see them in two hours."

The nanny froze on the spot, her face turning deathly pale.

"Is it that urgent, Madam?"

"Yes, it is. Because I'd very much like to know why I give you so much money for groceries every month, yet you only ever cook two chicken drumsticks."

: Raising a Tiger

2

The nanny's name was Melody Hale. She started working for us last year. Unlike the other nannies, she was a young woman.

She had just graduated from college with a degree in nutrition.

When she interviewed, she stood out among a group of middle-aged women, and her skills were superior.

She said she came from a rural area and, as the eldest daughter, knew how to do plenty of housework.

She was working as a nanny to save money for graduate school.

I took pity on her circumstances. Her work was good, and coupled with the fact that she was more educated than the other nannies, I hired her.

Little did I know, I was raising a viper in my own home.

"Mom, Auntie Hale hasn't eaten yet. Why are you picking on her?"

After Melody Hale left, Joyce Thorne came to her defense.

I took the chicken leg right out of her bowl and placed it in my older daughter's.

"Alright. Since you think what Auntie Hale did was right, your sister can have this chicken leg."

The next second, Joyce Thorne burst into tears.

"What are you doing? That was my chicken leg!"

"Does it have your name on it? What are you crying for? You're going to cry away all the good fortune in this house."

Joyce Thorne froze, staring at me in terror.

"This chicken leg doesn't have anyone's name on it. Any of us could have eaten it, but Auntie Hale deliberately made one less so that someone would have to go without."

It's just that my older daughter is used to giving in, which means she never gets one. This has led Joyce Thorne to assume she's entitled to everything.

And I was determined to set her straight.

"It's okay, Mom. I don't like chicken legs."

My older daughter was silent for a long moment before quietly pushing her bowl forward.

Joyce Thorne instantly stopped crying. She had just picked up her chopsticks when I blocked her.

I looked at my older daughter and patted her head.

"Tell me the truth. Are you saying you don't like chicken legs, or are you just giving in to your sister because she's crying?"

My older daughter didn't say a word, just quietly nodded.

"Then let me tell you something. You shouldn't sacrifice your own feelings just because someone else is crying. This is also a lesson for your sister—so she learns that crying doesn't solve every problem. Understand?"

The atmosphere at the dinner table grew tense.

After a long silence, my older daughter finally picked up her chopsticks and started eating the chicken leg.

The moment she saw the chicken leg was gone, my younger daughter threw down her chopsticks, yelled, "I'm not eating!" and stormed into her room.

"It's fine. Let's just eat."

Joyce Thorne hid in her room and began to wail, but she had deliberately left the door open a crack, and the sound of her crying drifted out through the gap.

I pretended not to hear and continued eating, asking my older daughter about school.

The crying didn't finally subside until after dinner.

But soon after, I got a call from my husband.

"I heard Joyce didn't eat dinner tonight. What happened? It was just a chicken leg. Why didn't you just give it to her?"

: You're Fired

3

I looked at the closed door. Joyce Thorne must have realized her one-woman show wasn't working, so she called for backup.

"It's just a chicken leg. Do the two sisters really need to be so petty? Especially Julie, she's the older sister. Can't she just let her little sister have it?"

I leisurely sipped my tea before speaking. "I'm planning to make an investment recently. As it happens, your brother's company has a pretty good project, so I invested $7 million in it."

"What!"

He immediately grew anxious on the other end of the line. "Don't you know my company needs money too? I'm on this business trip specifically to secure funding! How could you invest our money elsewhere?"

"It's only $7 million. Do you two brothers really need to be so petty? Especially you, you're the older brother. Can't you just let your little brother have it?"

I threw his own words right back at him. The other end of the line fell silent.

"It's not scarcity that people resent, but inequality. They are both my children. Why should one sister get something the other can't have? Over time, what do you think Julie will feel?"

I was about to say more when I suddenly looked up and saw the reflection of Melody Hale standing behind me in the glass.

"Let's leave it at that for now. Come back soon. There's something I need to talk to you about."

After hanging up, Melody Hale walked in cautiously.

"Madam, I've prepared the list."

She handed me a printed spreadsheet.

I had to admit, Melody Hale was very good in some respects. The spreadsheet she made was clear and easy to understand.

"You're so capable. Being a nanny in our home is a bit of a waste of your talents."

Hearing this, Melody Hale immediately broke into a smile.

But the next second, I continued, "You're so outstanding, you could shine anywhere. So you don't need to stay in our home any longer."

"Madam, what do you mean? Why are you firing me out of the blue?"

"Let's not even talk about how you can't even get the portions right when you cook. Before you came here, the housekeeping agency should have trained you. Don't you know about protecting your employer's privacy? You're so good at making short videos, it's a real shame you're not a full-time influencer."

Melody Hale's face went pale. She probably never expected that I would know she was filming videos to make extra money on the side.

After all, in my past life, I only found out about it many years later.

Melody Hale shared her daily life online, her selling point being what it's like to be a nanny for a wealthy family.

She frequently filmed the inside of my home and even snuck into my bedroom to shoot videos several times when I wasn't there.

Because of the luxurious environment and easy work, she attracted the envy of a large number of netizens.

So, she leveraged her online traffic to start live-streaming and selling products.

She completely forgot about the privacy agreement I had her sign when we made the contract.

But I didn't have a habit of scrolling through short-form videos, so I never discovered it.

"I will give you severance pay. You can pack your things and leave my house."

Melody Hale looked at me in terror, tears instantly welling up in her eyes.

"Madam, you know my family's situation. By doing this, you're trying to kill me."