The birthday banquet was in full swing.

Tang Mo glanced at the lively scene before quietly slipping away to the storage room in the back.

The season was perfect for an outdoor banquet—everywhere was ablaze with flowers and fresh greenery, the ground carpeted in lush turf.

Humming a tune, Tang Mo let her fingertips trail across the table piled high with extravagant birthday gifts. Suddenly, her fingers paused on a particularly exquisite red gift box.

She glanced around, then used her fair, jade-like finger to lift the lid. Inside was a jade Buddha statue.

She remembered from her previous life—her grandmother was a devout Buddhist. Lin Fen had presented her with a similarly wrapped box, claiming it was a blessed Xiu Yan jade carving personally sanctified by a master. The old lady had been overjoyed.

Later, Father, impressed by Lin Fen’s "thoughtfulness and grace," had rewarded her with a jewelry set worth tens of millions.

What a profitable little scheme.

Tang Mo considered this for a moment before carefully transferring the Buddha statue into another box. From her bag, she pulled out an item, wrapped it in the same red cloth that had covered the jade, and tucked it back into the original box. Then, with light steps, she walked away.

---

Back at the banquet.

"Mo Mo, the banquet started ages ago. Why are you only just now arriving?"

Lin Fen, dressed impeccably like the perfect hostess, spotted her and immediately approached, grabbing her arm. "Quick, go apologize to your grandmother. It’s her big day—don’t upset her."

Tang Mo sidestepped her, her gaze flickering with disgust as she avoided Lin Fen’s outstretched hand. But when she looked up, her eyes were as innocent and obedient as ever.

"Auntie, I was just coming. Could you help me check if this dress looks alright?"

Lin Fen, momentarily thrown by her aloofness, relaxed at her words. She studied the dress—unlike Tang Mo’s usual plain, repetitive choices, this one was distinctly more refined.

"Where’s the outfit you ordered before?"

"I spilled drink on it earlier, so I had to change last minute..." Tang Mo lowered her head, looking every bit the hapless, obedient girl.

"Fine, go on, then."

Lin Fen couldn’t deny the new dress was far superior to the one Tang Mo had originally picked. But it didn’t matter—soon, she would be out of the picture. The Tang family’s heiress would only ever be her daughter, Tang Ling. Tang Mo was a relic of the past.

Tang Mo blinked her thick lashes and nodded, making her way toward the head table.

As the Tang family’s only legitimate daughter, she should have been seated beside her grandmother. Yet, someone else already occupied her place.

None other than her dear half-sister, Tang Ling—the daughter of her stepmother, Lin Fen.

"Sister, you’re here?"

Tang Ling, currently engrossed in sweet nothings with their grandmother, barely glanced up. Her greeting was as perfunctory as it was dismissive.

Tang Ling was the daughter Lin Fen had brought into the family, even changing her surname to Tang to win favor. Beside them, a nanny fussed over Tang Ling’s two-year-old brother, Tang Hao.

Originally, their grandmother had disliked Lin Fen, sensing her manipulative nature. But after Tang Hao’s birth, her standing had risen steadily—especially since Lin Fen excelled at flattery.

Now, the legitimate heiress, Tang Mo, felt like an afterthought.

"Mo Er’s here? Come, come, sit with Grandma!"

The elderly Mrs. Tang’s wrinkled face lit up with a kind smile as she beckoned her granddaughter over. "Tang Ling, Grandma wants some of your tea. Go brew a cup for her."

The grandmother dispatched her younger granddaughter like a servant.

Tang Ling’s face darkened, but she bit back a curse. Damn old hag. After all the effort I put into sucking up to her, now that the real granddaughter’s here, I’m just in the way.

"Yes, Sister’s tea art is excellent. Why don’t you brew one for her too? Poor Sister," Tang Mo said sweetly, taking the grandmother’s hand and flashing a radiant smile. "Grandma, does your leg still hurt?"

In her past life, she had blindly followed Lin Fen’s lies, making mistake after mistake that upset her grandmother—even landing her in the hospital twice from anger-induced illnesses. Their relationship had frayed badly.

But this time, she wouldn’t repeat those errors.

Mrs. Tang, moved by her granddaughter’s sudden warmth, blinked back tears. "Grandma’s fine. My poor girl, your mother passed early, and your father married Aunt Lin. I thought... I thought you resented me for it..."

A stepmother could never replace a real mother, especially one who brought her own daughter into the family.

She had opposed the marriage at first, but her son, Tang Zhengyuan, had been adamant. Now, with a grandchild in the picture, what could she say?

"Grandma, I don’t resent you. I’ve grown up. From now on, I’ll take care of you and Father. I won’t let either of you get hurt again."

Tang Mo gripped her grandmother’s hand tightly, her eyes secretly replaying the old woman’s pitiful end in her previous life.

Those two adulterers had killed her father, then discarded the grandmother as a burden. In the dead of winter, they had driven the elderly woman out of her own home—

Left to watch her family’s life’s work be stolen, her only granddaughter kidnapped (with no word on whether she was alive or dead), the old woman had died alone, broken-hearted, within days.

And the bitch of a stepmother had gleefully boasted about it to her face.

"Nonsense. With the Tang family’s status today, who could possibly harm Grandma? Still, your sentiment is touching," Mrs. Tang said, patting her hand.

The Tang family hadn’t been wealthy to begin with—it was all thanks to her son, Tang Zhengyuan.

From a young age, Zhengyuan had worked hard, navigating the business world with skill and luck. Now, the Tang Real Estate Group was firmly established in Nan’an City.

"Mo Mo, be good and go see your father. Father-daughter relationships aren’t meant to fester."

Mrs. Tang sighed, attributing her granddaughter’s past stubbornness to youth and impulsiveness—traits eerily similar to her late husband’s.

"I know, Grandma," Tang Mo nodded.

But before she could leave, Tang Ling arrived, slamming a teacup onto the table with a loud clang.

"Here’s your tea!"

"Grandma, your tea’s ready. Drink it slowly—don’t burn yourself..."

Tang Mo stared at the steaming cup, its surface trembling with heat, then at Tang Ling’s greasy smile. A glint of mischief flickered in her dark eyes.

Turning to her grandmother with exaggerated concern, she said sweetly, "Then I’ll go find Father now. Later—"

"AH!! HOT HOT HOT!! WHO THE HELL—?!"

"Miss Tang Ling!! I-I didn’t mean to!! I swear I didn’t—!"

"DON’T LIE TO ME!! YOU SPILLED IT ON PURPOSE!!"

"N-no, no, it was an accident!! I tripped and knocked the cup over... Y-yes, it was Miss Tang Mo!! She tripped me!!"

In the chaos, the panicked maid, Xiao Lian, suddenly pointed at Tang Mo and screamed.