It had been more than half a day, yet Xuejiao was still a little confused. Although she was a self-proclaimed "nerd," her IQ was definitely above average.

When she woke up, she not only became someone else but also inherited this person's memories as well as the contents of a book.

So, had she transmigrated?

Or had she entered the book itself?

At this moment, Xuejiao wasn't thinking about becoming a supporting character or the tragic ending where this girl died alone in the wilderness. Instead, she was fixated on one thing: Why did she die before she got to see her college entrance exam results?

Eighteen years of effort and hard work—she had finally finished the exam. How could she die before even seeing her scores?

Xuejiao, 18 years old in her previous life, had just completed her college entrance exam.

Gu Xuejiao, 16 years old in this life, was about to become a sophomore in high school. Her parents had divorced, and her mother, Li Sitong, had taken her to live with the Cheng family.

Now, Xuejiao had become Gu Xuejiao.

"Gu Xuejiao!" A loud voice interrupted her thoughts as a woman stormed into the room.

It was her "new" mother—Li Sitong.

Xuejiao glanced at her with a bewildered expression, finding the sight unfamiliar.

As soon as Li Sitong saw her sitting on the bed, her anger flared. Without hesitation, she raised her hand and slapped Xuejiao across the face.

"Pa!"

The loud slap, accompanied by a sharp pain, left Xuejiao stunned, frozen in disbelief.

This woman was her biological mother?

After waking up, Xuejiao not only had her own memories but also those of the novel. She knew the relationship between this mother and daughter was strained, but she hadn't expected Li Sitong to resort to hitting her right away.

For a moment, she was too shocked to react or dodge.

Li Sitong, too, was momentarily stunned after the slap. She looked down at her hand and then at the red mark on Xuejiao's cheek.

She opened her mouth to speak but finally said, "The day after tomorrow, school starts. Tonight, you will attend the family dinner at the old house and apologize to Mingjiao. Gu Xuejiao, you must apologize!"

After a pause, she added coldly, "I'll pick you up at five o'clock. Wash your face and clean up all that nonsense on it!"

Without waiting for a response, Li Sitong turned around and walked out.

Xuejiao raised her hand to touch her face, her expression momentarily dazed.

Was this really her mother?

In her original world, there was nothing left for her except the results of the college entrance exam. Now, as Gu Xuejiao, she was two years away from that moment. With two extra years to prepare, she was confident she could achieve even better results than her former self, who had to juggle work and study.

Thinking of this, her cheek didn't feel so painful anymore, and her mood lightened. Without hesitation, she reached for the Wu San workbooks she had barely scratched the surface of in her previous life.

Now, she had two whole years. She could complete them five more times if needed!

Xuejiao got up from her bed and headed to the bathroom. But the moment she looked in the mirror, she froze.

Her reflection was shocking: bright red hair, two oversized hoop earrings, heavily lined eyes, three layers of powder on her face, and bold red lips. She barely recognized herself.

"…Ghost…" she muttered in horror.

It took her a long time to scrub her face clean. When she finally did, the reflection in the mirror looked 80% like her original self, only more delicate. Her features were exceptionally refined, with a touch of baby fat and large, watery eyes that made her look youthful and innocent.

The only problem? Her hair was still bright red.

She tied it up into a bun with a rubber band, smoothing it down as much as possible. While it still looked out of place, it was at least less offensive to the eye.

By 4:30 in the afternoon, it was time to leave for the Cheng family's old house.

The sting of her mother's slap still lingered, but Xuejiao wasn't angry. Instead, she was preoccupied with the events that were about to unfold.

Gu Xuejiao's biological father had cheated on her mother. After divorcing him, her mother, Li Sitong, married Cheng Shuo, the eldest son of the Cheng family. Influenced by her father and stepmother, Gu Xuejiao had grown to believe that her mother remarried purely for wealth.

Over the years, her resentment festered. Meanwhile, Li Sitong favored her stepson, Cheng Mingze, while her cousin, Cheng Mingjiao, constantly provoked her. The mother-daughter relationship deteriorated even further.

To rebel against her mother's strictness, Gu Xuejiao gave up on studying and engaged in fights, making herself a constant source of trouble.

It was because of this messy dynamic that today's events had occurred.

In her desperation to enroll Gu Xuejiao in the key class, Li Sitong had been negotiating with the Cheng family patriarch. Meanwhile, Gu Xuejiao got into a heated argument with Cheng Mingjiao, who fell down the stairs and falsely accused her.

Instead of defending herself rationally, Gu Xuejiao lost her temper and stormed out of the old house—leading to Xuejiao's current predicament.

At 5:00 p.m., the Cheng family driver took Xuejiao to the old house.

As soon as she entered, the nanny was setting the table for dinner while the rest of the family sat in the living room.

The Cheng family wasn't large. It consisted of Cheng Shuo, his son Cheng Mingze, and his second brother Cheng Kai, who had a wife, Liu Yazhen, and two children—Cheng Mingjiao and Cheng Mingyu.

Xuejiao greeted them politely, reciting each name in turn.

The family stared at her in shock.

The girl standing before them was a stark contrast to the usual Gu Xuejiao. Her face was clean, her clothes were simple, and she carried herself with unexpected composure.

But instead of addressing her sudden change, Old Master Cheng coughed and said, "Now that everyone's here, let's have dinner."

The meal proceeded with occasional glances and whispers about Xuejiao's unusual behavior. Cheng Mingjiao tried to provoke her, but instead of retaliating, Xuejiao smiled sweetly and even thanked her cousin for encouraging her to work harder in school.

The Cheng family was stunned.

After dinner, Cheng Mingjiao, frustrated that her attempts to humiliate Xuejiao failed, brought up the morning quarrel. She accused Xuejiao of claiming to like Cheng Mingze.

Everyone turned to Xuejiao in shock.

But instead of denying it, Xuejiao nodded earnestly and said, "Yes, I said I like my brother."

Her calm and straightforward response left the entire Cheng family speechless.