Felicity deliberately led me through the crowd, gracefully.
accepting everyone’s birthday wishes and gifts for her,
the “Sterling heiress.” Her hands were full of presents,
making my empty hands seem particularly shabby.
Finally, she dragged me to her group of friends, letting
those heiresses surround me.
“This is my second sister, who just came home-” She
deliberately emphasized “second,” causing the
“heiresses and socialites” to smirk.
“Even though my sister got lost because she was
naughty when she was little!”
“But no one is allowed to call her a little dummy~”
“Sister grew up in a small town~ She didn’t even make
it to high school~ The luxury brands we usually use,
Sister isn’t even familiar with their English names~”
“So, when we play together in the future, everyone has
Chapter 2
06:31 C
to be mindful of my sister’s fragile self–esteem-”
Under their scrutinizing, mocking gazes, I coldly shook
off Felicity’s hand. “No need. I don’t think I’ll have any
opportunity to ‘play‘ with you and your ‘socialite‘
friends. After all, I’ll be taking over the company. Unlike
your friends, who are lucky enough to be mere
parasites on their families.” –
2
Dominic, who had been silently watching, saw Felicity’s
“distress” and rushed over to her defense. “Elara, I
know that when people are overly self–conscious, they
mask it by pretending not to care!”
“But since you chose to come back to the Sterlings,
please exert some self–control!”
“Don’t disgrace the Sterling name!”
“If you can’t adapt, you can choose to leave! Anyway,
no one at this party came for you.”
“In short, I will not allow you to disrupt Felicity’s
birthday party!”
Around him, the “heiresses” gazed at him with
adoration. With the title of Sterling heir, Dominic was
already a sought–after match. Yet, in my past life, he
Chapter 2
06:31 D
had always acted as Felicity’s loyal guardian. Just as
Dominic was reprimanding me, a familiar voice from the
crowd called out to me.
“Elara?!”
6
It was Ethan, whom I hadn’t seen in ages!
“Elara, long time no see.” Ethan walked closer, casting a
sidelong glance at me. “Looking at you now, it seems
abandoning me for wealth hasn’t quite brought you the
heiress life you imagined.”
The scattered murmur of the banquet hall instantly drew
everyone’s attention to Ethan’s booming voice. Felicity,
feigning ignorance, feigned surprise. “Ethan, you know
my second sister?” She sweetly linked arms with our
parents, who had hurried over, and introduced Ethan.
“Mom, Dad, this is Ethan, my classmate from my
tutoring class. Though from a humble background, he’s
very ambitious~ He’s already participating in research
projects in university, and he might become a great
scientist someday!”
Humble background, but in the past, he had me, a fool
who was willing to be his blood bank. Without financial
Chapter 2
06:31
pressure, Ethan could, of course, devote all his energy
to his studies. Felicity then steered the conversation
back to me. “Ethan also knows my sister~”
Ethan snorted coldly. “Know her? Miss Elara has been
clinging to me for years.”
“After all, back then, for an uneducated, poor orphan, a
promising university student like me was Miss Vance’s
best option.”
“I agreed to Miss Vance’s pursuit out of a sense of
kinship and shared upbringing, but I never imagined that
the first thing Miss Vance would do after becoming a
phoenix was to break up with me.”
“But it’s no wonder, Miss Vance is now a Sterling
heiress, so of course she looks down on a poor boy
like me!”
Watching my parents‘ suspicious glances, Dominic
quickly chimed in, “confirming” Ethan’s story. “When I
picked Elara up, I indeed saw her decisively break up
with Ethan.”
“She also said that since she was now a Sterling
heiress, Ethan shouldn’t bother her anymore.”
Chapter 2
06:31 D
“Otherwise, she’d show him what the power of a
wealthy family could do.”
So that’s why Ethan hadn’t pestered me at all after I
left that day. It turned out he was a “secret weapon,”
waiting for a grand occasion to deliver a fatal blow to
me in front of everyone. Ethan’s eyes gleamed with
triumph as he looked at me, chin raised.
“But Miss Elara, you don’t need to worry.”
“I said I might be poor, but I have backbone.”
“I didn’t come here to bother you, but to thank Miss
Felicity Sterling.”
“Miss Felicity is beautiful and kind. When she learned
of my humble background, she didn’t look down on me.
Instead, she funded my tuition and living expenses…”
As Ethan spoke, he pulled an invitation from his pocket.
“This is an invitation from Apex Labs. I’m giving it to
Miss Felicity as a birthday gift today.”
“As long as Miss Felicity needs me, I will do everything
in my power to help.”
The words “Apex Labs” caused another stir. This was
Chapter 2
06:31 D
currently the nation’s top private research lab, and an
invitation meant limitless prospects. Ethan raised his
eyebrows, looking down at me.
“Elara, never underestimate a poor young man.”
“You were so eager to cling to a powerful family, you
never imagined I’d rise to prominence so quickly, did
you?”
Ethan’s “gift” added a significant weight to Felicity’s
side of the scale. For wealthy families, bloodline was
important, but the benefits it could bring were even
more crucial. The guests, already prejudiced against me,
now, after this spectacular performance, sided
overwhelmingly with Felicity.
“She used to cling to that university student when she
had no talent herself.”
“Now she just recognized her family, and she dumped
him! This second Miss Sterling is truly manipulative!”
“She climbed over others to get ahead! I say, so what
if she has a bloodline? She’s clearly gone rotten all
these years!”
“People say poverty breeds cunning, while wealth
cultivates conscience! Miss Felicity, who grew up in the Sterling family, is truly gentle and kind!”
Amidst the whispers, Dominic leaned towards my
parents, suggesting in a low voice, “The guests here.
today are all wealthy and influential. If Elara stays here,
it will undoubtedly bring significant negative publicity to
Sterling Enterprises.” Just as my parents frowned in
distress, about to ask me to leave early, the banquet
swung open, and a clear, cool male
hall doors sudden
voice spoke.
“My apologies.”
“Miss Sterling’s birthday banquet, I’m late.”
