The Burns family has only one biological son, Jason.

I, Norah, am just a facade for the Burns family.

Jason wants to control me, of course, it's just a game to him.

No matter how outrageous Jason is with me, Dad will only give him a few light warnings.

Fortunately, the Burns family is wealthy; they are among the top elite in Vertex.

Mom, wanting to maintain her "virtue," will still take care of me financially.

Although that money is just a small fraction of what the Burns family has.

It's enough to make me stand out on campus!

I get a monthly allowance of two hundred thousand.

Plus, I have various designer clothes, bags, accessories, and cosmetics.

It's simply the dream of most girls.

Mom gave me a credit card.

She said, "Norah, Jason doesn't understand.

"Don't let your brother get to you.

"This card has a limit of one hundred fifty thousand; consider it my apology to your brother."

I happily accepted my mom's kindness.

Meanwhile, Jason shot me a look of hatred.

"Are you satisfied? Happy?

"Isn't this why you came to our family?"

I had nothing to say.

I knew that no matter what I said, it would be pointless.

Even though I was still very hungry, I put down my fork to avoid Jason and headed upstairs to my room.

I wanted to go back to my bedroom and study quietly.

But as soon as I reached the corner of the stairs...

A big hand pressed me hard to the ground.

My whole body throbbed in pain.

Tears brimmed in the corners of my eyes.

The voice behind me kept roaring.

"Norah, it seems like you're handling this money quite easily?

"Is it that cheap and easy to take?"

Jason kept punching and kicking me.

The injuries I got during the day had already left me weak.

And now, I was getting new injuries.

I kept thinking to myself, 'Norah, don't cry.

Norah, you are strong.

Norah, your parents are great scientists of the nation.

Norah, you can't embarrass your deceased parents!'

Perhaps Jason felt that my reaction was not what he had anticipated.

He became bored after a while.

Exhausted from beating me, he finally stopped.

Throughout it all, Mom and Dad of the Burns family just kept their heads down.

One was eating, the other was nibbling on fruit.

They showed no intention of stopping their son.

It seemed like I came to the Burns family just to amuse their son.

I was so hungry and in pain!

I knew that if I didn't save myself, I might die here tonight.

I quickly walked out of the villa.

Behind me, I heard Jason's scolding.

"Norah, if you're brave enough, don't come back to our home.

"Hmph, you must be reluctant to leave this immense wealth behind!"

...

Even though I was badly hurt, most of it was external injuries, which weren't hard to deal with.

I went to the pharmacy to buy some bandaging supplies.

By chance, I ran into Riley.

He was also buying medicine.

"Excuse me, can you give me a discount?

"Can you sell it to me for thirty dollars less?"

The sales clerk turned red in the face.

Angrily, she said, "You're the aunt here; your whole family is a bunch of aunts."

I walked over.

That woman looked to be at most in her mid-twenties.

My body was already in excruciating pain.

Laughing only aggravated my injuries.

I felt the urge to laugh, but it hurt so much.

This feeling was really unpleasant.

I looked again at the nerve medication Riley bought.

The total price was only fifty bucks.

He asked the seller to lower it by thirty.

No wonder the salesperson was getting angry.

I knew that Riley genuinely couldn't spare much money.

Otherwise, with his prideful nature, he wouldn't have resorted to such humiliating behavior.

I paid for Riley.

"Do you need anything else?"

Riley blushed and stayed silent.

He just glanced at the other two medications.

I bought two more boxes for Riley.

I knew Riley had a grandmother who often suffered from headaches.

His father was a rich kid, and his mother ran off with another man.

He worked hard to take care of his grandmother.

Riley held the medicine in his trembling hands and said, "Norah, I owe you this money.

"I'll pay you back as soon as I get my scholarship."

It was only a little over a hundred bucks.

But for Riley, that was already a significant amount.

I said, "You can tutor me to make up for the medicine."

In my past life, Riley was destined to be a scientist.

His grades were excellent.

Since he hadn't "made it" yet, I decided to build a good relationship with him in advance.

For me, that was a win-win situation.

Riley hesitated.

He still had an innate resistance towards me, the "rich girl."

"If you don't see me as a brother, that's fine.

"I won't consider you a friend anymore."

Riley finally nodded.

"Okay, Norah, we'll be good friends from now on."

I bought the medical supplies.

With the help of the staff and Riley, I finished the bandaging.

"Norah, did your brother bully you again?"

I replied, "To wear the crown, one must bear its weight!"

Riley's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Good friend, I remember now!

"I won't let Jason get away with it."

...

In this life, Rose went to the poor Mr. Martin's house to become a "stepdaughter" to win over Jason.

She thought that since I thrived in the Martin household in my past life, she could do the same.

But she overlooked one thing.

My success was the result of my hard work.

Although the Martin family was poor, poverty didn't equate to goodness.

It certainly didn't mean they were good people.

Mr. Martin was sexist and a gambling addict.

His second wife was lazy and cold-hearted by nature.

I can only say that Rose truly went down the wrong path by going to the Martins.

Not a single one of them was a decent person.

In my past life, Mr. Martin had always hoped for a son.

They could only adopt me because they couldn't find a willing "male heir."

In the Martin family, I did all the hard, dirty work.

I studied tirelessly to prove my worth.

Only then did Jason value me like a treasure, to the point where he wouldn't marry anyone but me later on.

Also, it was because Jason developed feelings for me.

Only then did Mr. and Mrs. Martin begin to look at me favorably.

From initially beating and scolding me, they later called me their "good daughter."

Now, Rose insists on jumping into the fire pit; I can only say it's her own doing.

But whether she can crawl out of that fire pit depends on her own abilities.

In my previous life, when this old couple found out I was Jason's "chosen" fiancee, the two old geezers could hardly wait to celebrate.

They announced to the neighbors that I was the daughter-in-law of the Burns family.

However, when they learned that I didn't want to marry Jason,

Mr. Martin's big whip fell on me, as if it were striking a lifeless tree stump.

And that wicked woman made sure I went three days without food.

In the end, it was only out of fear of causing a death that she finally fed me a little rice soup.

Even then, the old woman said it was worse than feeding a dog.

At least a dog knows to bark a couple of times after being fed.

As for me, it was just a loss!

...

Fortunately, in this life, although I endured all kinds of torment from Jason, I also received much care from the Burns family.

I no longer had to suffer beatings from Mr. Martin and the old woman, nor live a life of going to school during the day and cooking and washing feet for my stepmother at night.

On the contrary, I could be driven to and from school, focusing on my studies every day.

In my previous life, wanting to buy some study materials required me to take odd jobs to earn a little money.

And if I wasn't careful, and the old woman or Mr. Martin found my "secret stash," it was sure to result in a beating.

Now, however, I have more designer clothes than I can wear.

Luxury watches, high-end items, custom-made, all dazzling Rose's eyes.

She always glares at me with hatred.

Clearly, she lived this kind of life in her previous life as well.

Why can't she appreciate the beauty in this life?

Instead, she chooses to give it all up to become the daughter of those two wicked old folks.

But as long as she thinks about becoming Jason's woman in the future, Rose can calm her mind.

All hardships are temporary.

The final outcome is what matters.

Because of the "inhuman torture" she suffered in my previous life, Rose looks like a little chick that has been abused.

Every day in class, besides catching up on sleep, she is "scheming."

Of course, her scheming definitely won't involve studying.

Even though we are all descendants of "scientists," the gap in intelligence is enormous.

I was born with extraordinary intelligence, clearly inheriting my late parents' excellent genes.

While Rose's mind is rather mediocre.

Even if she focused on her studies, she would probably only be an average student.

Moreover, she has no intention of studying.

Instead, all her thoughts are on scheming about Jason.

Rose pours all her energy into Jason.

Assignments? She doesn't do them.

Tutoring? She doesn't attend.

Instead of thinking about how to write love letters to Jason,

she spends all her time recording Jason's every move to study him at any moment.

At the slightest call from Jason, she skips classes for a whole day.

Accompanying Jason to play basketball, hang out, stargaze, and watch the moon.

Even when the school leadership required all students to rehearse for the concert, she didn't show up.

But when the day of the concert finally arrived, she was stunned.