Sylvana's POV

On the first day I was brought back into the wealthy Kessler family, they threw a welcome dinner for me.

At the table, my younger sister picked up a shrimp with its shell and dropped it into my bowl. Then she turned to me with a sweet smile and said, “Shrimp shells are nutritious. They’re good for calcium.”

"The Kesslers count as a rich household. So, how broke do you have to be to eat shrimp shells for calcium?"

The family, who had been enjoying this rare moment of reunion, suddenly froze.

Turned out I mumbled it out loud.

——

Even so, I continued inwardly, 'Human stomach acid can’t even digest shrimp shells. If you want to save money, just drink more milk. Besides, shrimp shells are basically kitchen waste.'

My sister, Elowen Kessler, immediately darkened her expression.

Seeing her reaction, I'd decided to drop the topic.

'Forget it. She kind of has that adenoid face. She's probably not very bright. Better not invite trouble,' I thought dismissively.

As Elowen unconsciously put down her chopsticks, I still went on with my thought, pitifully promising, 'My research project at the institute is almost done. Once it enters the clinical stage, if it passes, I should get her something to eat first and then fix her genetic defects early.'

Elowen’s eyes instantly turned red. Her lips trembled as she spoke, sounding utterly wronged. “It’s all my fault for stealing my sister’s life. Sylvana must have suffered so much living in the mountains. Why don’t you send me there instead, so she won’t hate me?”

My mother pulled her into a tight embrace, her face full of heartbreak, while my father frowned deeply.

Only my brother, Jasper Kessler, slammed his chopsticks onto the table and glared at me with undisguised disgust.

“What’s your problem? Someone kindly gives you a shrimp, and you treat it like an insult? I told them from the beginning that you shouldn’t come back. So many years have passed, why did you insist on returning and disturbing our family? Are you after our family's fortune? Don’t even think about it. Every penny in this house belongs to Elowen. You won’t get a cent!” he spat.

My mother hugged Elowen again, then turned on me reproachfully. “You just got home, and you’re already fighting with your sister? Hurry up and apologize to her!”

I calmly set down my chopsticks and looked around at these so-called blood relatives. "I really don’t want to eat trash. Isn’t it obvious that this fake innocent act is just a performance? She cried for a long time, and not a single tear came out. Do I have to eat shrimp shells to keep her happy?"

Why did everyone in this family seem… not very smart? Did long-term exposure to low intelligence lower yours, too? Once my medication passed clinical trials, maybe I should let them try it.

The entire family fell silent in an instant. They exchanged quick, uneasy glances. The atmosphere at the table became strange and stiff.

I should’ve never listened to my mentor. Why did I even come back? This felt like a cheap, boring stage drama.

Jasper shot me a vicious look. “Let me make this clear. You’re not going to drive a wedge between us. Don’t think that just because we have the same blood running through our veins, you’re entitled to anything. These shrimp shells used to be mine. If you don’t appreciate them, then don’t even think about fitting into this family!”

As he spoke, Jasper swept all the shrimp shells into his own bowl and started crunching on them loudly.

My father seemed completely unfazed by this scene. He set down his chopsticks and looked at me calmly. “Sylvana, right? You’ve lived in the mountains all your life. Coming back to the city must be hard to adjust to. For now, we’ll arrange for you to work in the company’s cleaning department. It’ll help you get familiar with how the business operates.”

Then he turned to Elowen, whose eyes were still red, and gently rubbed her head with indulgence. “Elowen, you’re the child your mother and I raised ourselves. Even if you’re not related by blood, you’re family to us. As for your sister, she'd never eaten shrimp before. She didn’t know that shrimp shells help with calcium. So, don’t take it to heart.”

After that, his tone softened further. “Didn’t you just graduate and want an internship? Go to the CEO’s office first and work as a deputy assistant director. Once you’re familiar with things, I’ll let you take charge of one of the subsidiaries.”

Sylvana's POV

Elowen’s face lit up instantly. She bounced over to my father and planted a loud kiss on his wrinkled cheek. “Thank you, Dad! You’re the best!”

Then she turned to me, her concern obviously fake. “Sylvana, you smell a little… stinky. Life in the mountains must make it hard to bathe regularly, right?”

She smiled sweetly, as if doing me a favor, and continued, “But don’t worry! Our company has great benefits. You can shower in the restroom after work! Isn’t that amazing?”

Listening to something this brainless, I seriously considered calling the institute and asking them to send over special agents.

"Is this family secretly a foreign hostile force in disguise? Letting the adopted daughter intern as the CEO’s deputy assistant, while sending the biological daughter to be a janitor? What kind of ridiculous plot is this?" I scoffed.

The hand my father had resting on Elowen’s head stiffened.

And Jasper let out a careless sneer. “Do you think our company lets just anyone walk in? Even a cleaning job comes with full social insurance and housing funds. You probably don’t even know what that is, do you?”

I sighed quietly. "I don’t really pay attention to benefits at the research institute, but I remember my senior saying we have something like ten insurances and three funds. Is ‘five insurances and one fund’ really that impressive?"

The smug smile on Jasper’s face froze.

"Besides, I own five patents. I’m not short on money, okay? Do they really think I’m some trash-eating pauper? This is exhausting," I continued.

The atmosphere at the dinner table grew even stranger.

Elowen, meanwhile, happily ate the shrimp everyone had peeled for her. Her cheeks puffed out as she chewed, occasionally shooting me smug, provocative looks.

Watching her childish attempts at provocation, I felt nothing at all—no anger, no emotion.

“Enough,” my father said irritably. “Since she doesn’t want to eat, don’t force her. Just take her back to her room.”

I stood up and followed the maid upstairs, my mind calmly reviewing the steps of my successful experiment.

“This is your room,” the maid said, pointing to the very last door at the end of the hallway. “Miss Elowen sleeps lightly, so unless necessary, don’t come out at night. As for the bathroom, you’ll handle that inside the room. I’ve prepared a bucket for you. In the morning, clean it yourself in the yard.”

I stopped walking and frowned.

So, this was what passed for a wealthy household. Small temple, vicious spirits. If I didn’t do something now, even a maid would think she could step all over me.

I looked at her calmly, then leaned closer and whispered, “I can tolerate that this family is stupid. We share blood, after all. But you’re just a maid. Who gave you the nerve to target me?”

The maid froze and stuttered, “I… I didn’t…”

“Oh? Didn’t you?” I let out a cold laugh, about to expose her little act when, unexpectedly, she shoved me hard.

I fell to the floor, and the noise drew attention from downstairs. My family soon rushed up.

“What are you doing? Why are you hitting Agnes?” Elowen accused me the moment she arrived, without bothering to ask what happened.

With Elowen backing her up, the maid put on a smug expression. “She didn’t like the room. She deliberately fell down to frame me.”

“I knew she shouldn’t have been brought home,” Jasper said coldly from the side, his tone dripping with mockery. “She starts scheming the moment she gets here.”

Frowning, my mother said, “If you were unhappy with the room, you could’ve told us directly. There was no need for this. Agnes has worked in our home for over ten years. We know what kind of person she is.”

"What a bunch of idiots. Believing a mysterious adopted daughter is one thing. But even trusting a maid without question? I’m your newly reunited daughter. Even a stranger wouldn’t deserve to be shoved around by a servant."

Sylvana's POV

"Is this what you call 'a room'? Even a prison isn’t this bad. A chamber pot? And I’m supposed to scrub it in the yard every morning? Even rural villages don’t live like this anymore," I added aggrievedly.

My mother stood there awkwardly, clearly at a loss, and looked to my father for help.

A flash of confusion crossed my father’s face before he frowned and began to think.

Before he could speak, Elowen beat him to it. “Sylvana, I heard you came from the Colorado Plateau. Don’t people there live in cave houses? Emptying a chamber pot every morning should be normal for you, right?”

She tilted her head, then added self-righteously, “Agnes is honest and hardworking. Why would you bully her? Mom and Dad are exhausted after work every day. Can you stop making trouble? If you’re upset, take it out on me, okay? If it makes you feel better, you can even hit me.”

She looked at me with open contempt, as if she’d already seen through all my “schemes,” wearing the expression of someone completely fed up.

My mother immediately pulled her into her arms, her voice full of pity. “Elowen, you don’t need to wrong yourself like that. You’re the treasure we’ve raised with our own hands. How could we ever let someone lay a finger on you?”

“Try touching her and see what happens!” Jasper shouted, pointing at me like a street thug, spit flying as he spoke.

I let out a quiet sigh and replied, “Our institute chose the Colorado Plateau because it offers a stable experimental environment. This isn’t the 1980s. Who still lives in cave dwellings?”

My tone steady, I continued, “And if you really didn’t want me back, you didn’t have to go this far. Using a chamber pot inside a villa, have the Kesslers really sunk to this level of absurdity?”

The moment I exposed the issue in front of everyone, Elowen knew she had no ground to stand on. So, she immediately threw herself into my mother’s arms and burst into loud sobs.

To my disbelief, my mother hugged her back and started crying just as hard.

Ignoring them, I pushed open the door to the room, and a cloud of dust instantly rose, making me cough.

The place looked like an unfinished construction site. The walls were scarred where the plaster had been scraped off, the window glass was even broken, and cold wind poured in nonstop.

“You’ve really outdone yourselves,” I said, covering my mouth as I coughed.

Seeing the miserable state of the room, my father frowned deeply. “Why isn’t this room renovated yet? I arranged this long ago.”

“Dad, it’s cold lately,” Elowen replied nervously under his gaze. “No workers are willing to come.”

Was she actually brain-dead? What kind of excuse was that? Did renovation workers pick seasons now? Then who tore the place apart? Did she do it yourself?'

Helpless, I sighed. 'No, I need to contact the institute today. If I stay in this place too long, it might affect my intelligence, and that would be a loss to the country.'

Furious, my father immediately arranged for me to stay in a guest room temporarily.

Soon, news of the Kesslers' biological daughter returning home spread quickly. Competitors, aware of how the Kessler family treated their adopted daughter, seized the opportunity. They joined forces online, spread rumors, and stirred up drama, eager to watch a “real vs. fake heiress” power struggle unfold.

The Kesslers, unsurprisingly, decided to host a formal reunion party.

I knew exactly what it was really for.

Calling it a reunion was just a cover. It was a move to reassure shareholders and stabilize the company.

The party was scheduled for the evening, yet I, the supposed main character, received very little attention.

Instead, Elowen bounced around like an overexcited peacock. She went shopping for dresses, contacted guests, and busied herself with arrangements, as if she were the true star of the event.

Night fell quickly, and guests began arriving one after another.

The first floor was transformed into an event hall. Tables were laid out with exquisite dishes and expensive, well-known wines.

Standing at the entrance holding a wine glass was Elowen, greeting guests with syrupy smiles and nauseating pleasantries.