Chapter 1 Premonitory Dream

“Mom, how could you drive Xiaoxiao out? Even if she isn’t my biological daughter, I’ve raised her all these years. She’s no different from a biological child…”

A loud shout made Ruan Yaoyao’s head ache. When she looked, she saw her eldest daughter-in-law, Yu Xiangqiao.

The proud daughter of the Yu family, always elegant and composed, now was screaming at her like a lunatic.

In Yu Xiangqiao’s arms was a girl with the delicate appearance of a white lotus, crying with tears like raindrops, begging her mother not to speak to her, insisting it wasn’t her grandmother’s fault, it was all her own fault. She shouldn’t even be in this family; she wasn’t the biological daughter. The one who should leave was her…

“No, Xiaoxiao, you can’t leave. No one can drive you away. I don’t care whether you’re biological or not. All I know is, you are my daughter…”

Mother and daughter held hands, tears in their eyes, performing a scene full of reluctance and sorrow, like something out of a romance drama.

And Ruan Yaoyao? She was the scheming, malicious mother-in-law. Not only did she make things difficult for her daughter-in-law, she also couldn’t tolerate the adopted daughter her daughter-in-law had raised for so many years. She insisted on kicking her out.

A suffocating anger welled up in Ruan Yaoyao’s chest. “Xiaoxiao, Xiaoxiao, all you know is Xiaoxiao! What about Lingxuan? Lingxuan is your biological daughter, still lying in the hospital. She caused your own daughter to end up like this, and you don’t care?”

At that moment, her eldest son, Xu Lianghan, burst out, arguing: does it really matter whether someone is biological or not?

He isn’t her biological child either, yet he’s called her mom and has been dutiful all his life.

“Even if Xiaoxiao isn’t Xiangqiao’s or my biological child, she’s been part of our family since birth. We raised her ourselves. She’s no different from a biological daughter.”

“And she’s called you grandma all these years. Don’t you feel for her? We’re not ignoring Lingxuan—we acknowledge her, too…”

“Our family has the means. So what if we raise another daughter? A daughter is like a little cotton-padded jacket for her parents; more warmth is a good thing, isn’t it?”

…

It was like he had struck a raw nerve. Ruan Yaoyao lost her temper, cursing furiously. Fine, not biological, then not biological! She and her family were clearly not on the same page. They neglected their own biological child, yet doted on an interloper. They must be out of their minds.

Then Ruan Yaoyao woke up in a huff.

The frustration, the suffocation—she felt it all.

Who would have thought? Her husband had been dead for years, yet a dream could still rouse her like this.

Her mood was already sour when she suddenly heard servants running around outside. Irritated, she stormed out and demanded, “What are you all doing? It’s early in the morning! Are you trying to keep people from sleeping?”

“Madam…” The servants were startled. “It’s like this. The young madam went into premature labor. Mr. Xu told us to pack things and rush her to the hospital.”

“Pack things? Weren’t they already prepared?” Wait… hadn’t her eldest daughter-in-law given birth before? How is she giving birth again?

Ruan Yaoyao felt disoriented. Only now did she realize she had mixed up dream and reality.

Last night, she had dreamed that her precious granddaughter had been switched at birth for over a decade. It was only when marriage talks began that the truth came out, and news of the real and fake heirs hit the headlines.

Of course, that wasn’t the main point. The key was that Ruan Yaoyao insisted on driving the fake heiress out and bringing her real granddaughter home, to make up for the years of lost maternal affection.

But her eldest son and daughter-in-law disagreed and caused a scene. Her eldest son wasn’t her biological child, and she had always been displeased with him. Now that he had grown independent and defiant, what could she do?

Once they caused trouble, she relented.

Now, with the real and fake heiress under the same roof, trouble was inevitable. The real heiress, cautious and timid, didn’t resemble the Xu family at all, like a child wearing adult clothes, shy and hesitant, constantly opposing the fake heiress.

The fake heiress, showered with love and pampering, was raised in luxury, outshining the real heiress at every turn. The real heiress had no time to develop, forced to compete with someone fully formed.

Being around her, the real heiress only grew weaker.

Thus, the conflict erupted.

The real heiress stole the fake heiress’ clothes and jewelry, tried to snatch her fiancé, drugged her, even pushed her down the stairs…

All the blame fell on the real heiress, while the fake heiress appeared as pure and untouchable as a white lotus. By the end, the real Xu heiress was like a rat scurrying through the streets—everyone against her—while the fake heiress stood proud and radiant.

Ruan Yaoyao could not understand. Her real granddaughter ended up like this because of that damned fake heiress. Why did no one blame the fake heiress? Why was everyone blaming the real heiress, as if her genes were defective?

Seeing this, how could Ruan Yaoyao not be furious? She hated her eldest son’s illegitimate status, but that was her late husband’s doing. Her husband hid the truth about the illegitimate child and deceived her into marriage. She hadn’t harmed her eldest son all these years.

They had lived peacefully for so long. How could everything fall apart at the stage of marriage and childbirth?

Ruan Yaoyao was frustrated and tried every way to correct things. In the end…

What happened in the dream?

The dream became blurry; she couldn’t remember clearly. But as the malicious mother-in-law, the ending wasn’t good.

Ruan Yaoyao wanted to give up entirely, let them do as they pleased. Their fate, whether life or death, was their own making. But she couldn’t ignore her innocent granddaughter…

Thinking of how the family had wronged the little girl, her heart softened.

Forget it!

She could ignore her eldest son’s family, but she couldn’t ignore her poor granddaughter. She had to find a way to stop the “child switch” and protect her beloved granddaughter.

“Where’s Xu Lianghan? Tell him to wait—I’m going with him.”

“Ah… Mr. Xu has already taken madam by car. We’re left to pack up here.”

Ruan Yaoyao cursed. After all these pregnancies, they still weren’t prepared? Foolish! No wonder the fake heiress caused so much trouble—they all deserved it.

Despite her anger, her hands moved quickly. She changed into convenient clothes, grabbed her bag, and called the driver to take her to the Xu Family Rehabilitation Medical Center.

Yes, that’s right.

The Xu family, with their wealth and influence, didn’t trust outsiders with medical care. They established a modern, high-tech hospital integrating pediatrics, obstetrics, and elderly care.

The name carried weight. In reality, it was formerly the Xu family’s private hospital. As more patients came, it gradually became a public hospital, ranking among the top nationwide.

So she wondered: in such a large hospital, owned by her family, why could someone switch the baby?

It wasn’t her first time there. Upon arriving at the front desk, a nurse recognized her and immediately arranged for someone to escort her to the delivery room.

At this moment, her eldest daughter-in-law was already giving birth inside. Only Xu Lianghan was pacing outside, restless.

Ruan Yaoyao looked at her son and saw golden light shining above his head, with sparkling words: The Most Terrible Father in History.

She thought she must be seeing things and rubbed her eyes with the hand not holding her bag.

No mistake. The Most Terrible Father in History gleamed like a special effect on a phone—bright and impossible to miss.

Looking at others, they also had words above their heads, but dim gray, usually reading “Extra A,” “Extra B,” etc., and invisible from a few meters away.

Ruan Yaoyao decided that once she saved her granddaughter, she would have to get her eyes checked—something was wrong with her vision.