Gu Zi was woken up by a woman's crying. Before she could open her eyes, a bunch of unfamiliar memories flashed through her mind.
Just then, footsteps could be heard in the distance, and the woman's crying gradually stopped.
"No, I absolutely won't allow my own daughter to marry an older man with three children!"
"I never expected that we mixed up our daughter with the Lin family. The Lins are so poor, and they agreed to marry our precious daughter into such a household. You need to think about this, Lin Miao is our real daughter, not Gu Zi. You should think about our real daughter."
Gu Zi groggily opened her eyes and saw a man standing by the window, while the woman by her bedside was still weeping and wiping away tears.
It then dawned on her that she had transmigrated into the historical novel she had read just last night.
The real heiress of the Gu family, Lin Miao, had recently shown up at their doorstep. She was a spitting image of Madam Gu, Zhang Mei, when she was young. The Gu couple had even had her authenticated, and it turned out that Lin Miao was indeed their daughter.
The original host used to be pampered, but her position in the Gu family was now very awkward.
Lin Miao, the real heiress, had lived in poverty, and as soon as Gu Zi heard about the mix-up, she clung to the Gu family and refused to leave.
The original host of this body was going to marry the chief's son according to her parents' agreement. She was on the verge of ascending to a high social status. Who would have thought that the appearance of the real daughter would cause her life to undergo earth-shattering changes?
Originally, the Gu family had wanted to keep both daughters, but the Lin family objected. They had long planned for Lin Miao to marry an older man with three children, and now that Lin Miao was gone, the Lin family could only make the original host take her place.
The original host couldn't accept her current situation. She was forced to marry an old man and mistreated his three children, ultimately leading to a bitter end, with the husband divorcing her and her tragic death on the streets.
Because the original host wasn't the main character, her story was just a side note in the novel.
Now, the current timeline of the story was at the point where the original host learned she was to marry the divorced older man and had attempted suicide by jumping into a river. However, she was rescued.
Gu Zi noticed that the two people in the room hadn't realized she had woken up. She struggled to sit up, making some noise, but the Gu couple remained lost in their own world and didn't hear her.
From Gu Zi's point of view, the Gu Zi in the book was too arrogant and had never faced real challenges, which is why she exploded over small matters.
But she was different; she was thirty years old now and had experienced many hardships. She had just bought a house and a car, ready to reach the pinnacle of her life, only to wake up in this novel's world.
Gu Zi looked at Zhang Mei, her supposed mother, and softly said, "Please don't cry. I'm willing to marry him."
Gu Shan turned his head to look at Gu Zi on the bed but remained silent.
Zhang Mei suddenly snapped out of her thoughts. She looked at Gu Zi's calm face and thought of what she had just said. A trace of embarrassment flashed across her eyes. "Zizi, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I couldn't protect you and had no choice but to let..."
"Mom, I understand," Gu Zi flashed a sweet smile and said softly, "If I stay with the Gu family now, people might think I want to steal Lin Miao's fiancé. Mom and Dad, thank you for taking care of me all these years. I'm fine now. We don't need to go back. I can go directly to my fiancé's house."
Hearing Gu Zi's words, Zhang Mei felt guilty and uncomfortable. Gu Shan also couldn't bear it.
For over a decade, they had treated Gu Zi like their precious daughter. If Gu Zi had caused a scene, they might have felt like they wasted all those years raising her. But now, Gu Zi was being so obedient, it touched their hearts.
The door opened, and the real heiress, Lin Miao, walked in. She saw that Gu Zi had awakened and that her parents were hesitant to send her away. With teary eyes, she said, "Gu Zi, you should stay here. I'll go get married..."
Gu Shan and Zhang Mei looked at Lin Miao's weak appearance, and the guilt in their hearts instantly disappeared. They reasoned with themselves that Gu Zi was just returning to her rightful place.
Gu Zi looked at Lin Miao, who was being super fake, and smiled, saying, "Miao Miao, this is your home. I should be the one to leave."
Gu Zi got out of bed and, as if remembering something, looked at Zhang Mei, who was in front of her. "Can you lend me some money? I need to take a bus to my fiancé's house."
Zhang Mei, upon hearing this, quickly took out ten yuan and handed it to Gu Zi, saying, "On your way there..."
Before Zhang Mei could finish her sentence, Gu Shan furrowed his brows and pulled out a hundred yuan. "Zi Zi, just take it! Don't talk about borrowing. If you ever need anything, just call."
Gu Zi thanked him. It would be a waste not to accept it.
Gu Shan's words sounded nice. He gave her a hundred yuan and refused to let her return it. In other words, he did not want her to come back to the Gu family again.
He even said that she could call them directly if there was anything. This sounded nice, but in reality, he was cutting ties with her.
Gu Zi still obediently said "thank you" and left without taking anything with her.
As Gu Zi walked away, Zhang Mei couldn't help but watch her retreating form, a growing sense of unease settling within her.