I'm caught in the cycle of endless competition, you're waiting for me in the apocalypse.

It was a light spring morning.

The wind, carrying wisps of spiritual energy, played with the birds.

The dew on the soil, the flowers, and even the tips of the grass exudes its own unique fragrance.

The interior is quiet and peaceful.

The warm blankets are as soft as clouds.

One of the lovely souls is awakening. As if bound by some kind of restriction, she cannot break free from these gentle shackles.

"The sun's already high in the sky! Aren't you getting up? Your adoptive parents are waiting downstairs!"

Her precious time in bed was cruelly interrupted. Even the clear, melodious boy's voice echoing in her mind couldn't stop An Xin's urge to kill him.

"Xinxin, hurry, Anna is coming downstairs!"

"Aaaaah!" An Xin angrily grabbed her messy hair, her expression contorted in rage. "Here it comes, here it comes!"

She leaped out of bed, washed up, got dressed, and combed her hair all in one smooth motion.

I'm truly grateful for the trials of the last ten years of the apocalypse. Not only did they keep An Xin alert and calm at all times, allowing her to act swiftly, but she also remained composed throughout, without a trace of panic. Everything was in perfect order, and her mindset was as steady as an old dog... If only she didn't have morning grumpiness, she would be perfect.

In no time, everything was settled. Before leaving, An Xin took a deep breath and cheered herself up: Don't be nervous, don't be nervous, the time to test my acting skills has come! Come on, come on, come on!

Open the door, close the door...

A young girl, pale-faced with her head wrapped in thick bandages, looked increasingly frail. She staggered a few steps, then slowly descended the stairs, her eyes lowered, and headed towards the restaurant.

The observant maid quickly stepped forward to support An Xin, her face full of worry: "Miss An Xin, be careful..."

"Hmm, thank you, Xiaolian..." An Xin rubbed her injured forehead, put her other hand on the maid's arm, and leaned slightly against it for support. Her frail and delicate appearance was just like that of Lin Daiyu who had fallen from the sky, making people feel sorry for her.

Just as An Xin was secretly chuckling to herself, feeling smug about her amazing acting skills, a familiar yet worried voice rang out from the other end of the table: "Xin Xin, what's wrong? What happened to your forehead?"

Upon hearing this gentle voice, An Xin abruptly raised her head, looking incredulously towards the source of the sound...

The owner of the voice was dressed in a well-fitting, moon-white cheongsam, which accentuated her mature elegance. As she walked towards An Xin, she looked at her with worried eyes, her peach blossom eyes, which resembled An Xin's, filled with concern.

“…Mom…” An Xin’s voice came out with difficulty, full of restraint and then some hesitation.

"Oh dear, what's wrong with Xinxin? Does it hurt? Your eyes are all red... Old An, don't just sit there, call Dr. Qi and have him come to our house quickly to take a look at Xinxin..." As she spoke, the woman came to Anxin's side and touched her all over, as if to make sure that her daughter had no other injuries.

"Mom... I'm fine... I'm really okay... I... I just missed you..." An Xin looked at the young woman in front of her. She was the person in her memory, but she was fairer and younger, with exquisite elegance. It was clear that she had been well protected and cherished.

An Xin carefully wrapped her arms around the young woman, burying her head in the crook of her shoulder, greedily seeking warmth. Her body trembled slightly, and she used all her strength to suppress the urge to hug the young woman and cry.

Wen Lan gently patted An Xin's back: "Yes, Mom and Dad are back now, we missed you too... Good girl, sit down, don't tire yourself out..."

After helping An Xin sit down, Wen Lan sat down next to her, glared at An Xin's father, signaling him to make a phone call, then took An Xin's hand and gently stroked it: "Xin Xin, what happened? We were only gone for a few days, how did you get like this? Did you go to the hospital? Oh dear... such a big thing, why didn't anyone tell us?"

"Mom... I... I don't know either... I hurt my head and I don't remember anything that happened back then, not even... many things from before, I can't remember them, they're all fragmented... Mom... I'm scared..." An Xin's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, sobbing and lowering her eyes, afraid that Wen Lan would see the complexity in them. Finally, she simply threw herself into Wen Lan's arms.

“Good girl, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, Mommy’s here… Let’s see a doctor first, and then Mommy and Daddy will definitely investigate the matter thoroughly… Good Xinxin, be good…” Wen Lan hugged the delicate girl in her arms back, her voice tender and comforting.

An Xin nestled in Wen Lan's arms for warmth, when suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

"Xinxin, Anna is behind you. She just tried to kill you with her eyes..." Di Ting's voice rang in An Xin's mind.

"I knew it was her, she must have been provoked! ...By the way, Xiao Jiu, why does the original owner's adoptive mother look so much like my mother? I almost couldn't hold back..."

"Does it look alike? And the name is Wen Lan... That can't be right, could it be Wen Lan from a parallel world?" Di Ting was in a dilemma. Ever since He saved An Xin, many things had been slipping out of His control. He didn't dare boast about being omniscient and omnipotent in front of An Xin anymore. "Let me listen more carefully..."

An Xin: ...

"Xinxin, Dr. Qi will be here soon. Your mom and dad are here for you, don't be afraid!" A handsome middle-aged man strolled over, put his arms around the mother and daughter, and patted Xinxin's shoulder.

An Xin: Is this An's father? An Zongping...

The handsome middle-aged man before me stood tall and straight, his figure as smooth as jade and as verdant as pine trees. Time seemed to have been exceptionally kind to him, leaving him without the marks of age or wrinkles on his skin, only a refined and mature air.

Where's my domineering CEO dad? Where's my suave and unconventional father persona? It's nothing like what I imagined! Novels have misled me…

An Xin looked at her nominal adoptive father and felt extremely awkward. She didn't know if it was because she had read too many novels and had some misunderstanding about the domineering CEO father type, or because her own father had disappeared without a trace, which made her have a bad feeling about the word "father" since she was a child.

But for some reason, I felt a sense of familiarity the moment I saw An Zongping. Perhaps it was the innate longing for family.

Seeing that his wife and daughter had calmed down, An Zongping walked towards Anna at the restaurant entrance: "You've been standing here for a long time, come in and sit down! You've been back for a year, why are you still so reserved?"

As An Zongping spoke, he led Anna to a dining chair, then sat down next to Wen Lan, putting an arm around her shoulder and naturally pulling his beloved wife back into his arms. He raised his other hand and gestured to the maid beside him, "Go tell Butler Wang to wait for me in the study after we finish breakfast."

....................................................................................

The meal was finished while everyone was lost in their own thoughts.

Anna remained silent, simply keeping her head down and eating quietly.

An Xin glanced at her every now and then, but didn't notice anything amiss.

As for her adoptive parents, it wasn't that An Xin didn't want to be close to Wen Lan, it's just that there was a pink bubble between them, completely isolating them from everyone and everything else. Even without speaking, the atmosphere made it impossible for An Xin to join in... This is such a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection)...

When An Zongping, the patriarch, spoke again, everyone dispersed and returned to their rooms.

An Xin returned to her room and snuggled back into bed. Knowing the doctor would be coming to see her soon, she forced herself to stay awake, a hundred complaints running through her mind. In her mind, she summoned Di Ting: "Xiao Jiu, this house is so strange. It seems like my adoptive parents prefer the original owner. Look, the real heiress can't fit in at all! And what's more, have you noticed? The original owner looks more like my adoptive parents. No wonder no one noticed anything amiss all these years! You really don't know, when I saw my adoptive mother, I genuinely thought she was my own mother..."

"Xinxin, your observation is very accurate. I also noticed a lot of things that are not right." Diting tilted its head, its thoughtful little expression was quite cute.

"And also, Xiao Jiu, what about the original owner's biological parents? If they were switched, then they definitely need to have biological parents, right? They didn't just spring out of a rock. Could it be the real heiress's awful parents? When the real heiress confirmed her return, didn't she look into the original owner's background?"

"When we went to do the paternity test, at Anna's strong suggestion, the original owner also had her sample taken. After it was confirmed that she wasn't the biological child, the original owner was deeply shocked and became withdrawn for a long time. It was her adoptive parents who couldn't bear it and let An Xin rest at home during that time, telling her not to think about anything, arranging everything for her, and taking great care of her. Later, An Zongping also privately hired someone to investigate, but after a long time, they found no clues. Of course, An Zongping also hired a detective to investigate Anna's parents and collected relevant biological information to be tested with the original owner's, but the problem was that they didn't match."

"Speaking of which, the original owner's adoptive parents were very kind. They not only took good care of the original owner, but also took great care of Anna when she first returned home. They gave her a lot of freedom, tried their best not to put pressure on her, often chatted with her, went shopping with her, and even introduced her to their friends..."

An Xin listened quietly, but was shocked: What kind of amazing parents are these? No wonder An Zongping is so rich and powerful, with a beautiful wife and children by his side!

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that the mastermind behind disrupting the life of such a perfect couple was too vicious and simply insane!

Just as she was feeling indignant on behalf of the original owner and her adoptive parents, her expression contorted with rage, an untimely knock sounded at the door…