Lin Qingxue pressed her fingers against the smooth surface of her phone screen, staring at the email notification that had just arrived. Her heart pounded erratically, louder than the chatter of her classmates in the bustling university cafeteria. She had always believed she was an ordinary girl—a hardworking student juggling part-time jobs to make ends meet. But that email threatened to shatter the foundation of her reality.

Subject: DNA Test Results

Sender: Xu Medical Diagnostics

Her hands trembled as she clicked on it. The words blurred before her eyes until she blinked the tears away and forced herself to read.

"Dear Miss Lin Qingxue,

We are writing to inform you that your DNA matches the Xu family's records. You are the biological daughter of Mr. Xu Zhaoyang and Mrs. Xu Meilin. Please contact us for further steps regarding this matter."

The cafeteria seemed to tilt for a moment as Qingxue tried to process the words on the screen. Biological daughter? Xu family? None of it made sense. Her parents—no, the people who raised her—were simple vendors in a quiet suburb. She loved them deeply, and they loved her. The idea that she could belong to someone else, especially a family as renowned as the Xus, felt like some cruel mistake.

"Qingxue, are you okay?"

Her best friend, Zhang Xiaoyu, leaned over the table, her brow furrowed with concern. "You've been staring at your phone for five minutes. What's wrong?"

Qingxue blinked and forced a shaky smile. "Nothing. Just… some confusing news."

Xiaoyu squinted at her but didn't press further. "Well, whatever it is, don't stress too much. You've got that big presentation tomorrow, remember?"

Nodding absently, Qingxue tucked her phone away. The words from the email looped in her mind, gnawing at her sense of normalcy.

That evening, Qingxue sat cross-legged on her bed in her tiny apartment, staring at the contact number provided in the email. Her thumb hovered over the call button, her stomach churning with nerves.

She had always felt a vague sense of displacement growing up, but she dismissed it as a figment of her imagination. Her parents—Mr. and Mrs. Lin—had done their best to provide for her, even if money was tight. Could it all have been a lie?

With a deep breath, she pressed the call button.

"Hello?"

A warm yet professional voice answered almost immediately. "This is Xu Meilin. May I know who's calling?"

The air in Qingxue's room seemed to grow heavy. This was her biological mother?

"Um… Hello. My name is Lin Qingxue. I received an email about my DNA results." Her voice quavered, and she silently cursed herself for sounding so unsure.

There was a pause on the other end, followed by a sharp intake of breath. "Qingxue… It's you." The woman's voice broke, as though she had waited her whole life for this moment.

"I—I guess it is."

"Please, come meet us," Xu Meilin said quickly. "We've waited so long to find you. We can explain everything. Your father and I—" Her voice cracked again. "We never stopped searching."

Qingxue gripped her phone tightly, her mind racing. This was happening too fast. "I… I need some time to think about this."

"Of course," Xu Meilin said, her tone soft and understanding. "But please, don't take too long. We want to bring you home."

The next day, Qingxue sat on the train heading toward the Xu family estate. Her decision to meet them had been made after a sleepless night of agonizing over the truth. She had to know who they were, even if it didn't change how she felt about the parents who raised her.

When she arrived at the towering gates of the Xu mansion, her heart clenched. The sheer opulence of the estate made her feel out of place. A uniformed butler greeted her and escorted her through the grand halls until she reached the living room.

Inside, a woman with delicate features and tears in her eyes stood up. Xu Meilin. Beside her was a stern-looking man in an impeccably tailored suit—her biological father, Xu Zhaoyang.

"Qingxue," Meilin whispered, stepping closer. "You look just like I dreamed you would."

Before Qingxue could respond, another figure entered the room. She was beautiful, with soft, doe-like eyes and an air of elegance. But there was something unsettling about the way she smiled.

"This must be my sister," the girl said sweetly. "I'm Xu Yanran. Welcome home, Qingxue."

The warmth in Yanran's voice didn't quite reach her eyes. Qingxue felt a chill creep down her spine. Something told her that this wasn't going to be as simple as finding her place in her biological family.

As the evening wore on, the conversation was laced with tension. While Xu Meilin tried to bond with Qingxue, Xu Yanran interjected with subtle jabs about how difficult it would be for someone "unaccustomed to wealth" to adjust. Xu Zhaoyang, on the other hand, remained mostly silent, observing Qingxue with an unreadable expression.

By the time Qingxue left the estate, her head was spinning. She had stepped into a new world, one that seemed glamorous on the surface but reeked of hidden agendas and unspoken rivalries.

And at the center of it all was Xu Yanran, the girl who had lived the life that should have been Qingxue's.