Chapter 2

In the end, Yannick adopted me.

But he also promised to support Yulia financially, covering her living expenses and schooling, and even offering her a job in the future.

This ending was a happy one for everyone, except for Yulia.

Soon, Yannick's assistant arrived at the welfare center. After finishing the paperwork, I was about to leave with them.

Sophia, along with my little friends, came to see me off.

Yulia appeared reluctant and held my hand tightly.

She stared at me intently and said, "Ruby, I never expected you to be this kind of person. To get rid of this broken place, you'd abandon me."

I smiled faintly and said, "I only told the truth. Yulia, I didn't expect this from you. You lied about saving Mr. Carter just to be adopted by a wealthy family."

Clenching her fists tightly, Yulia gritted her teeth and snorted coldly, "So what if you got adopted? Mr. Carter is supporting me, too. I'll find you sooner or later.

"You're just moving to the big city to live. Maybe you won't adapt and will be sent back in a few days.

"Did you hear me? Hey..."

She was still shouting, but I had already turned around, leaving her a dismissive back.

The road ahead was long. I wanted to see how she would walk it this time.

I went to Chalon with Yannick and changed my name to Ruby Carter.

Yannick's wife had a difficult childbirth years ago and had her uterus removed, so they only had one son, a year younger than me, named Tyler Carter.

On my first day at the Carter family, Tyler grabbed a snake and threw it onto my bed.

But I immediately caught the snake and threw it back into his face.

Since then, Tyler never dared to mess with me again and respected me as family.

With everything I lacked in my previous life now within reach, I transferred to a top middle school. My adoptive parents cared for me, a driver took me to school, and like a seedling, I grew, absorbing everything around me.

In my previous life, it wasn't until my junior year of college that I found my real parents. At that time, they were still abroad, so I didn't rush to acknowledge them.

With the memories of my previous life and the efforts of this one, I quickly became the top student in school and kept that ranking until I graduated high school.

My adoptive parents loved me even more, and even Tyler sincerely accepted me as his family.

I remember my adoptive mother divorced during my high school years in my previous life, but in this life, they were especially loving. Our family of four lived peacefully and warmly.

After the SAT, I chose to attend the local Chalon University. I visited home regularly and lived a steady, well-ordered life.

Until the summer vacation before my sophomore year.

One weekend, I went home to visit my adoptive parents but saw a long-missed figure in the living room.

Dressed in a delicate camisole and light makeup, Yulia greeted me with a sly smile, "Ruby, long time no see."

Yannick explained, "Ruby, Yulia just finished the SAT and applied to a university here. Since it's summer break, I brought her over so you two can reconnect and she can get familiar with the place."

I had no idea that all these years, Yulia had still been keeping in such close contact with Yannick.

Compared to her exquisite outfit, my casual clothes made me look downright plain.

"Since you're here, just enjoy yourself for a few days," I replied coolly.

Then I went to the kitchen to help my adoptive mother with the meal prep.

That evening at dinner, there were five of us at the table.

Yannick kept serving food to Yulia while asking her all about how she'd been over the years. Yulia answered each question obediently.

Tyler, who had also just taken the exam this year, was curious and asked, "What score did you get?"

Yulia gave a sweet smile and said, "I didn't do that well. I just scored 631."

Tyler gasped, "That's incredible. Yulia, how did you manage to score so high? With results like that, you could get into any university you want around here."

Her face brimming with confidence and composure, Yulia shot me a glance and continued, "With Ruby as my role model, of course I have to push myself hard. So, what was your score back then, Ruby?"

Tyler exclaimed, "She didn't even break 600. You're amazing, Yulia."

Tyler kept showering Yulia with praise, and Yannick chimed in with compliments now and then. In just a single day, the men in this family had already taken her side.

Keeping my composure, I served my adoptive mother some food while thinking to myself.

In my previous life, Yulia barely made it into a community college. Now, without all those privileges, she did even better? That didn't add up.

I glanced toward Yulia's room, set down my fork, and said, "That's a pretty high score. Why don't you pull it up and show me?"

Before anyone else could react, Yulia sprang to her feet. "I already told you I got 631. What's the point of checking again?"

Tyler shot me an annoyed look and said sharply, "Ruby, you don't think Yulia's lying, do you?"

Yannick's expression turned stern as he said, "Ruby, that's out of line. Where are your manners?"

I said with a smile, "Dad, Tyler, you're overthinking it. Yulia's eighteen now and can be independent. As her elder, I'd love to help. A screenshot of her score would help me find her tutoring jobs."

I cast another glance at Yulia and asked with a smirk, "Or do you intend to freeload off the Carter family throughout your entire college life?"

Her face turned pale as she stammered incoherently.

At that moment, my adoptive mother interjected, "Ruby makes a valid point. Yulia, you're an adult now. You'll need to be more independent from now on."

I nodded and added, "Yulia, checking the score won't hurt unless you've got something to hide?"

Tyler stood up for her, saying defiantly, "Yulia, let her check. Then she'll have to eat her words."

Yannick also nodded and said curtly, "Then go ahead and check."

Yulia's face betrayed rising panic, but refusing now would be an outright admission that she'd been lying.

She played dumb and claimed she'd lost her exam admission ticket.

But Tyler wasn't stupid. "You've got the search history on your phone. Just show us."

When Yulia still refused to budge, Tyler snatched her phone and handed it straight to me.

I found the search history on her phone, tapped into it, then read out slowly and deliberately, "Candidate Yulia, ID number...

"Literature 89, Math 73, Language 66, History... The total score is 316."

After reading it out, I looked up at the panicked Yulia and asked with a smirk, "Where's that 631 you were bragging about? Or did you get the digits mixed up?"

Tyler stood there dumbfounded, while his adoptive parents' faces also turned grim.

Their earlier doting affection had instantly twisted into suspicion and contempt.