Where Both Form and Content Are Respected

My death, the death of Co Hinh Yen, came on the very day Dang Ung Uong and my childhood sweetheart were married. A trivial, lonely death. My soul hovered, witnessing their wedding, and the resentment burned so fiercely that I could not bear it. In a moment of madness, I rushed forward, intending to deliver a fierce kick to Co Duc Chu—my own brother, who had become her “lapdog”—when the scene before me suddenly shifted, like a film being constantly cut.

After a terrifying bout of dizziness, I was reborn. I returned to the age of 16, that fateful moment, the exact day my entire family moved into the new riverside villa.

Dang Ung Uong—the girl with a look that was “pitiful yet unyielding,” “lonely and dependent yet kind and adorable”—was the daughter of my father’s best friend. Her biological parents died in a car accident, and after a few years in a local orphanage, she was found by my father and brought to our home three months ago. In those three short months, her presence changed everything. My parents, unable to bear having her stay in the attic, decided to move, buying this riverside villa for her, and I was reborn just as the new house opened its doors.

My father’s excited voice rang in my ears: “Alright, kids, go pick your rooms. Excluding the master bedroom, all other rooms are available.”

I remembered clearly. In my previous life, this was the starting point of all the betrayal. Dang Ung Uong and I both liked the south-facing room on the second floor, which had a luxurious bathtub and a large floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the sparkling river scene. It was the best room.

With this memory, I strode straight up to the second floor. “I want this room.”

Immediately after I said this, Dang Ung Uong entered. Her face suddenly brightened, and she exclaimed: “Wow, this room is beautiful! Mom, can I stay here?”

My father was stunned. I had anticipated Dang Ung Uong’s reaction and said coldly: “Are you deaf? I said I chose this room.”

Hearing my blunt retort, Dang Ung Uong immediately showed a look of panic, her eyes welling up: “I’m sorry, Sister, I truly didn’t hear. If you like this one, I’ll yield it to you. Actually, anywhere is fine for me. Compared to the room at the orphanage before, this place is worlds apart. My parents treat me so well, I’m genuinely afraid I won’t be able to repay them later.”

It was that same act of “sweet lies” again. It sounded terrifyingly fake, yet there were people moved to the point of utter confusion.

“Hinh Yen, why don’t you let Ung Uong have this room? You can take a room downstairs,” my father hesitated slightly before suggesting.

My mother chimed in: “That’s right, Hinh Yen, the rooms upstairs and downstairs aren’t much different. Ung Uong is truly pitiful.”

The plot was identical, the words were identical. The only difference was that in my past life, I was astonished and stunned, while in this life, my heart was as still as water.

“Mom and Dad, you need to understand, I am your biological daughter.” I emphasized.

They looked at each other, and my father continued, his voice serious: “Hinh Yen, your mother and I have decided to formally adopt Ung Uong. From today on, both of you are our good daughters.”

Dang Ung Uong covered her mouth, tears welling up, her face filled with disbelief: “Really? Mom and Dad, are you truly willing to adopt me?”

Co Duc Chu, my brother, was also surprised yet joyful: “You’re adopting Ung Uong?”

My mother nodded with affection: “Ung Uong, this time I will truly become your mother.”

Dang Ung Uong rushed into my mother’s arms, large tears rolling down her cheeks: “Huhu, thank you, Mom, thank you, Dad. I truly love you both, very much.”

Oh! I couldn’t help but let out a dry retch.

Because the sound was quite loud, everyone looked towards me. Co Duc Chu frowned tightly, particularly annoyed: “Co Hinh Yen, what are you doing?”

“Sorry.” I waved my hand apologetically. “I think I might be pregnant.”

As soon as I finished, everyone’s eyes widened. Suddenly remembering I was only 16, I frustratingly slapped my forehead: “I misspoke. I meant I might have an upset stomach and diarrhea.”

My parents’ expressions were a bit indescribable. Dang Ung Uong’s crying was abruptly interrupted, and her face was very strange.

I gathered my luggage: “Since you two want to adopt Dang Ung Uong, then I will move out. I don’t need this room either. I’ve already arranged a place. From now on, she is your biological daughter, and may we meet again.”

Having said that, I pushed my suitcase and started to walk away.

“Co Hinh Yen!” My father angrily shouted. “Don’t be so willful!”

Who’s being willful? I just don’t want to continue being the cannon fodder female supporting character, I don’t want to end up being betrayed by my family and dying miserably on the street again.

“Dad, I mean it. If you have Dang Ung Uong, you don’t have me. If you have me, you don’t have Dang Ung Uong. You two decide for yourselves.” I stated definitively.

“Hinh Yen, did Ung Uong do something to upset you? Why have you become so selfish?” My mother’s face darkened, scolding me.

Thanks to my “enthusiastic help,” Dang Ung Uong’s emotions returned. Her eyes were red, and tears poured down: “Mom and Dad, please don’t argue with Sister because of me, I’m not worth it.”

“Enough, Co Hinh Yen!” Co Duc Chu held Dang Ung Uong in his arms, yelling at me: “Go apologize to Ung Uong immediately!”

“Apologize to your mother.” I rolled my eyes disdainfully. Truly the heroine of a “group pet” novel. With just a gentle word, my brother turned into her lapdog. No wonder I was no match for her in the previous life. I’m done with this in this life. So what if I’m the cannon fodder? Can’t I go on strike? Can’t I distance myself from this family? Can’t I go find my own spring?

“If this place won’t keep me, there are other places that will welcome me. Goodbye, brother. Take your time apologizing, I’m busy.”

Perhaps seeing that I was serious, my father frowned: “Co Hinh Yen, you are still a minor, we have guardianship over you.”

It’s true I’m a minor. If they want me to stay: “First, I do not agree to you adopting Dang Ung Uong; she can only temporarily stay in our house. Second, this room must be mine, no discussion.”

My father looked at me, and after a long while, he said in a deep voice: “Your mother and I have made up our minds about adopting Ung Uong and will not change it. As for the room, Hinh Yen, you already have so much, why must you compete with Ung Uong?”

Although the outcome was expected, my heart still uncontrollably ached. What the hell do I have? I used to have biological parents and a brother who loved me, but now they are gone, stolen by Dang Ung Uong. If I don’t retreat, I will fall into the same fate as my previous life: watching Dang Ung Uong conquer my parents, brother, and childhood sweetheart. The day the “group pet” heroine gets her Happy Ending is the day I lie dead in the street.

I sighed: “Then there’s nothing more to say. I’m sorry, Dad, but you didn’t need me first, so my life will no longer be connected to yours.”

My father finally lost his temper, his voice stern: “Co Hinh Yen, you don’t understand reason, do you? If you walk out that door today, don’t ever come back.”

“Hinh Yen, hurry and apologize to your father, otherwise I can’t help you either.” My mother’s face darkened, glaring at me.

Dang Ung Uong, who was leaning weakly against Co Duc Chu, heard this, opened her misty eyes, and looked over, a flash of smug smile flickering in her gaze. She didn’t even try to hide it. I was all too familiar with that smile. In my previous life, when I argued and fussed but still couldn’t win the room, she smiled at me just like that.

I smiled back: “Apologizing is impossible, and it won’t happen in this life either. Take care, Mom and Dad.”

Half a month later, I moved to Village Number One, the most famous wealthy neighborhood in City A, where the average housing price reached 400,000 yuan per square meter. I witnessed firsthand what an inch of land is worth.

“Hinh Yen, adopted daughter.”

A woman wearing an elegant white long dress smiled radiantly as she walked towards me. I returned a bright smile.

“Did you bring all your luggage? Is that all?”

“Yes, I brought everything. I don’t have much to begin with.”

“Good, I’ll have A Tu take you up to the room on the third floor.”

“Thank you, Mom.”

Luc Di Tu, my adopted brother, was the same age as me but a head taller, at least 1.83 meters. He had sharp, sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, and an elegant demeanor. His whole being exuded four words: Noble, distant. His elder brother, Luc Di Tuan, was a bit more gentle, looking more scholarly. Both brothers had outstanding, breathtaking looks.

The room on the third floor of this 800 million yuan villa was so large I could run laps in it, featuring a luxurious crystal chandelier, a European-style grand bed, and a glass window overlooking the entire sparkling city night view. The scenery here was much more beautiful than the riverside villa at my former home. Indeed, the lives of the wealthy are simple yet unassuming.

These two days were the final exams. Finishing them also meant the end of my middle school life.

As I reached the school gate, I saw my father’s car, apparently dropping off Dang Ung Uong for the exam.

“Sister, what a coincidence.” Dang Ung Uong saw me and waved cheerfully.

My father’s gaze fell on me, his usually gentle and kind expression instantly turning cold. I knew he was waiting for me to obediently bow my head, confess my fault, and sincerely repent for my actions of the past few days, preferably with tears and pleas for his forgiveness.

As I drew closer: “Hello, Uncle Co.”

The man’s face turned ashen, his eyes suddenly bursting with anger: “Co Hinh Yen, what kind of attitude is that?”

I shrugged: “It seems I shouldn’t have greeted you. Next time, I should just treat you as a stranger, right?”

My father glared at me, his disappointment absolute: “Co Hinh Yen, if you don’t move back home within three days, you don’t need to come back again.”

“Yes, Uncle Co.” With that, I walked away without looking back.

In the classroom, Dang Ung Uong was inviting all her classmates to her birthday party at “Thinh The Giang Nam.”

After a while, Dang Ung Uong walked up to me with an invitation, a clear look of smugness between her brows: “Sister, will you come to my birthday party?”

Facing her self-satisfied expression, I took the invitation without hesitation: “Sure.”

Her smile froze. The invitation in her hand was clutched tightly, unwilling to let go.

“Didn’t you invite me to your birthday party? Hurry up and let go.” I mocked.

Dang Ung Uong smiled awkwardly: “Sister, if you’re busy, you don’t have to come.”

“Who says I’m busy? I have plenty of time.”

Her hand still didn’t let go, feigning difficulty: “I’m just afraid that if you suddenly show up at home, you’ll make Mom and Dad angry again. They just started to cheer up these past two days.”

I gave her a cold smile: “Aren’t you being a little too nosy? They are my biological parents.”

Dang Ung Uong stared at me, the fake smile completely disappearing from her eyes. She didn’t pretend anymore: “Don’t you know, Sister? Mom and Dad have decided to send me to Han Lam Academy for high school. If you voluntarily gave up this home, you should get lost far away. Why bother coming back to humiliate yourself?”

I wasn’t surprised. In my previous life, Dang Ung Uong attended Han Lam Academy—the prestigious aristocratic high school with a 600,000 yuan per year tuition—while I attended a very ordinary high school.

I was about to mock Dang Ung Uong when a familiar voice suddenly rang out: “Ung Uong.”

A strange emotion flashed in Dang Ung Uong’s eyes, and the next second, she fell backward.

Giang Than’s, my childhood sweetheart’s, anxious voice reached me: “Co Hinh Yen, what did you do?”

It must be said that Dang Ung Uong, this little villain, still had some skill; I was set up by her again.

After being helped up by Giang Than, Dang Ung Uong’s eyes were red, and she cried bitterly while wiping her tears: “Brother Giang Than, I just wanted to invite Sister to my birthday party and find an opportunity for her to reconcile with Mom and Dad so she could move back home, but she pushed me to the ground without a word.”

Giang Than glared at me fiercely, his tone full of contempt: “Co Hinh Yen, are you sick?”

Seeing the person who was inseparable from me not long ago now showing such disgust towards me that he couldn’t even look at me, I restrained my emotions, my eyes ice-cold: “Yes, do you have medicine?”

He choked for a moment, then angrily declared: “I’m warning you, don’t cause trouble for Ung Uong at school; she’s not easily bullied.”

“Which eye of yours saw me bullying her?”

“Both my eyes saw it.”

“Brother Giang Than, stop.” Dang Ung Uong pulled back the angry him, biting her lip slightly, and said pitifully: “Sister is probably still angry about the last time I took the love letter she wrote and gave it to you. I’m sorry, Sister, I truly didn’t mean to, I just wanted to help you. Since you like Brother Giang Than, you should let him know.”

Giang Than heard this, and a look of realization appeared in his eyes, his tone even more disdainful: “Co Hinh Yen, it’s impossible between us. The person I like is Ung Uong; please stop flattering yourself.”

Whispers continuously echoed around, some people looking at me with schadenfreude. Childhood sweethearts lose to a newcomer.

I looked at Dang Ung Uong. Her expression was innocent like a fawn, but her eyes were full of smugness and provocation.

I smiled: “The ‘group pet’ heroine, right? Fine, let’s play this out.”

The two-month summer vacation quickly passed, and the first day of school arrived. Outside the gate of Han Lam Academy, luxury cars were lined up.

Uncle Vuong respectfully pulled open the car door for Luc Di Tu, then prepared to come towards me.

“No need, Uncle Vuong, I can do it myself.” I smiled, stepped out of the Bentley car, and walked beside Luc Di Tu, deliberately linking my arm with his.

“Brother Two, why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing.”

Many new students around us turned to look and whispered. Luc Di Tu’s status was too prominent. On the first day of school, he was completely dug up, and I, too, became the subject of conversation.

In class, my deskmate, Chu Tuyet, excitedly asked: “Hinh Yen, are you and Luc Di Tu biological siblings?”

“No, I’m adopted.” I answered frankly.

“Wow, your fate is truly a carp leaping over the dragon gate! To be adopted by the principal’s wife of our school… Are they lacking a child? I want to be adopted too.”

At noon, as I was eating with a group of female friends from extraordinary backgrounds (A random wristwatch was equal to one semester’s tuition at Han Lam Academy), Dang Ung Uong’s abrupt voice rang in my ear: “Co Hinh Yen.”

I looked up, meeting her bewildered face. She and a short-haired girl walked together, carrying lunch trays.

“Hello, what a coincidence.” I greeted her casually, then continued the conversation with Chu Tuyet.

Dang Ung Uong didn’t leave, looking at me strangely. She seemed not to grasp the situation, frowning slightly: “What are you doing here?”

“Eating, of course. What else would I be doing?”

Dang Ung Uong sneered, her tone full of contempt: “Don’t tell me you’re studying here too.”

“Who are you?” Chu Tuyet looked displeased. “Who are you to ask? Isn’t it rude? Can’t you see we’re talking?”

The short-haired girl quickly pulled Dang Ung Uong away: “Sorry, Miss Chu, we didn’t mean to disturb you.”

Dang Ung Uong and her friend sat down far away, her gaze somber, occasionally looking towards me.

After school, Dang Ung Uong seemed to have been waiting in ambush, roughly pulling me into the stairwell.

“Co Hinh Yen, what exactly is going on?” Her expression was absurd and incredulous. “When did you become the principal’s daughter?”

“Does it concern you?” I said lazily.

Dang Ung Uong sneered: “Don’t you want to see what kind of expression Mom and Dad will have when they find out you’ve become our school’s principal’s daughter?”

“Who cares what expression they have? I cut off all ties with your family long ago.” I casually shrugged and continued: “I learned this trick from you. Other people’s parents really are better.”

Dang Ung Uong was provoked by my retort, a sharp emotion flashing in her eyes. I didn’t linger, waving goodbye to her as I left in high spirits.

As Luc Di Tu and I walked out of the school gate, Uncle Vuong’s Bentley was parked by the road.

“Miss Hinh Yen, your milk tea.” Uncle Vuong took a warm cup of milk tea from the car’s cup holder. I had only mentioned the new milk tea shop at the intersection this morning, yet he remembered.

“Thank you, Uncle Vuong,” I sweetly thanked him.

As the car passed the next intersection, I lowered the car window. Turning my head, I saw Dang Ung Uong and Co Duc Chu standing under the bus stop sign. They were waiting for the bus.

I suddenly understood. The mortgage, combined with their 1.2 million yuan annual tuition at Han Lam Academy, put a significant burden on my father. He certainly couldn’t afford a driver and could only let the two children take the bus.

Dang Ung Uong saw me in the car, her face slightly changed, her eyes staring. Co Duc Chu was utterly astonished, calling my name: “Co Hinh Yen!”

How unfortunate. I rolled my eyes disdainfully at them, closing the car window without hesitation. The traffic light turned green, and the car sped away.

On Wednesday afternoon, the last two periods were for club activities. During the discussion for the cosplay event venue, Dang Ung Uong repeated her manipulation: “President, why don’t we go to my house?” She wanted to show off the riverside villa.

The club president agreed.

As a result, in the second anime club activity, I overheard collective complaints from the members.

“Oh my god, their house isn’t even as big as my family’s garage. How could she suggest it in the first place?”

“Exactly, and there wasn’t even a single maid; we had to run around for food and drinks.”

“Not only no maid, but no driver either. That night, my dad’s car got into a minor accident, and my driver had to file a report. I asked Dang Ung Uong’s driver to take me home, but she said they didn’t have one! Can you imagine? I, dressed in a bunny girl costume, had to hail a ride-share home. It was so embarrassing.”

The girls finished their complaints and walked out of the restroom with looks of resentment. I turned on the faucet and saw the innermost stall door open. Dang Ung Uong’s face was as dark as coal, mixed with humiliation and anger, as she stiffly walked out.

Our eyes met, and her expression became even worse. I casually washed my hands, preparing to leave.

“Co Hinh Yen!” She shouted coarsely at me.

I stood still, looking at her coldly. Dang Ung Uong stiffened her neck, her face contemptuous: “No matter how bad I am, I’m a thousand times better than you. I have a loving mother, a caring father, and a doting brother. What the hell are you?”

I understood she was upset and not in a good mood, but who gave her the right to vent her anger on me?

“And what the hell are you? Only you would treat those poor parents as treasures. And who needs a brother like Co Duc Chu? He licks Luc Di Tu’s shoes, and Luc Di Tu still thinks his tongue is too rough. You haven’t even met my eldest brother, Luc Di Tuan. Compared to him, Co Duc Chu is nothing but a maggot in a toilet.”

Dang Ung Uong’s face distorted, the hatred in her heart no longer hidden, almost cracking the corners of her eyes as she glared at me. I was immensely entertained by her expression.

“One must know one’s place. If you don’t belong to a certain class, don’t try to blend in. Our Han Lam Academy has its own class system. You should know exactly what class you belong to.”

Dang Ung Uong was clearly severely provoked by this statement. She raised her hand to slap me, but I firmly grabbed her wrist.

“You better think carefully…” I warned.