Chapter 1

After I confirmed I was the Delgados' true heiress, I reached out to them myself to reconnect.

But not long after I sent the message, I came across a post asking for advice.

【The daughter we deliberately dumped at the orphanage wants to come back and be recognized, but we don't want her. What do we do?】

One commenter asked out of curiosity: 【Why would you abandon your own biological daughter?】

The poster poured out their grievances: 【Our family is well known in Ashford, an elite household. But when she was born her IQ test came back at only 38!】

【The child we adopted afterward is brilliant, IQ of 110. Only the strong deserve to be part of our family!】

Some people mocked them, and some said they understood.

But the poster only liked one reply.

【That's easy. She's not smart to begin with, so all you have to do is keep singling her out, keep isolating her, wear down her enthusiasm little by little. Give her the worst, most out-of-the-way room, for instance. She'll leave on her own, and you can even be rid of her for good!】

This is a psychological technique for mental control, PUA for short.

Every day, tens of thousands of people are driven to death by exactly this.

And as it happened, my personal phone and my work inbox got messages from the Delgados at the very same time.

On my personal phone, the tone was cold: 【Your coming back has thrown the household into too much disorder. We need time to arrange things. Come back in two weeks.】

In my work inbox, warm as could be: 【We've heard you've been named a judge at yet another international competition. Our family, the Delgados, would like to hire you at an annual salary of one million as private tutor to our son and daughter.】

And I replied to both with the same word: sure.

......

It was true that the message the Delgados sent to my personal number lined up perfectly with the post.

But finding my family had been my one fixation for as long as I could remember.

I couldn't judge the Delgados off a single post that named no names, without any proof at all.

The poster had already taken the commenter's advice and set up an environment to isolate their biological daughter half a month in advance.

And I could use the tutor role to see exactly what the Delgados planned to do during those two weeks they were making me wait.

The work phone chimed on and on. The Delgados sent more than ten messages in a row.

【It's truly an honor for us that you agreed!】

【Do you have any food you avoid? We'll instruct the kitchen to keep it in mind!】

…

But after I sent my reply on my personal phone, the Delgados went silent.

Not one word of guidance for me, their own daughter.

Not the slightest concern for whether their coldness might cut me.

I lowered my eyes, put both phones back in my bag, and went home to pack the teaching tools I'd need.

The next day, I arrived at the Delgados' door right on time and rang the bell.

The housekeeper must have been briefed by her employers. She took my bag with great enthusiasm, beaming.

"You must be Teacher James! Please, come in! The master and madam have even prepared a welcome ceremony for you!"

The housekeeper led me into the living room.

Barret Delgado, my father.

Penelope Pruitt, my mother.

The two of them clapped, faces bright with smiles, and at once someone raised a banner.

It read: 【A warm welcome to Teacher James at the Delgado home!】

There were flowers, there were gifts. The scale of it was startling.

Because the competition was a month away, and their offer had specifically required me to live in.

Barret led me up to the second floor and pointed to the first room, bright and full of light. "This one is set aside just for you, Teacher James!"

Everything inside was fully stocked, the furniture carefully chosen.

A noise from the far end of the hallway caught my attention.

I turned my head and saw a number of workers carrying things in and out of the room at the very end.

What they carried out was dusty clutter. What they carried in was broken-down furniture.

A rusted iron bed, four feet wide. A table with one leg snapped off.

Noticing my gaze, Penelope explained with a smile.

"That's the storage room. Someone's only just going to be living there."

I took a step back and glanced toward it.

Cramped and shut in, no window at all, mold in the corner. It clearly hadn't been cleaned in a very long time.

I thought of that line in the post, give her the farthest, worst room, so she can't find any sense of belonging in the house.

I drew in a deep breath and asked, feigning curiosity.

"May I be so bold as to ask who this room is meant for?"

Barret sighed. "She'll be arriving while you're still here anyway, Teacher, so we won't keep it from you!"

"The person who's going to live in that room is the biological daughter we abandoned!"

At the mention of this daughter, the two of them, so excited a moment ago, immediately frowned, their eyes full of disgust.

"She was diagnosed as mentally deficient the moment she was born. She's nothing but a stain and a disgrace on this family!"

"We assumed someone with an IQ like hers had died in the orphanage long ago. We never imagined she'd be traced down. Our family really has no need for an idiot daughter like that!"

Everything lined up.

My eyes were painfully dry, and it took a long time before I found my voice again.

"What if she isn't mentally deficient? What if the test was just a misjudgment?"

Penelope answered without a shred of hesitation.

"Teacher James, what we did was a professional test. There's no such possibility."

After I set my things down in silence, Penelope, trying to smooth over the awkwardness of having just badmouthed her own daughter in front of me, changed the subject stiffly.

"I hear you came out of an orphanage yourself, Teacher James, and still achieved all this from a place like that. Truly impressive! Which orphanage was it, if I may ask?"

Something tightened in my chest. I spoke slowly. "The one on the west side."

At that, she immediately bowed her head, sinking into thought, and murmured to herself, "The west side?"