So, the father went straight into his room and brought out a stack of cash.
Ning Yue had been waiting for the host to announce the fourth lottery number when she felt a tug on her sleeve. Turning around, she saw her father holding a stack of cash, looking at her with a somewhat fawning and eager expression.
"Um, here, keep this for pocket money," he said. Afraid she might refuse, he quickly added, "I'll go to the bank to withdraw a bit more tomorrow. This is all the cash we have at home right now."
He and his wife worked at the same factory and had a limited income. However, Ning's mother was excellent at managing the household. After deducting their fixed monthly expenses, they always had some savings left over. Mr. Ning had already made up his mind—his daughter hadn't been by his side for over a decade, so he had to make it up to her properly.
It was strange. When he got off work that afternoon, he had felt that his life was completely meaningless. He had thought there was no point in making money because his daughter belonged to another family. But now, Mr. Ning only felt regret for being so incompetent for most of his life. He had earned so little! He needed to work harder from now on to make more money and raise his biological daughter!
The key point was: his *biological* daughter.
Ning Yue's beautiful small face remained expressionless, but her heart was far from calm.
At that moment, the female host on the television announced the final winning number for this Super Lotto draw: 10.
The seven winning numbers were 02, 20, 28, 29, 30, 07, and 10.
She had thought she would win the first prize, so she hadn't placed extra bets to avoid winning too much and ruining other people's fortunes. However, she only won the second prize because the last number she chose was 09. Still, a second prize would net her at least eighty to a hundred thousand yuan. It was decent enough.
As for the pocket money Mr. Ning offered, seeing his expectant gaze, Ning Yue eventually took it. "Thank you, Dad."
Seeing her accept the money, Mr. Ning was overjoyed, unable to hide the bright smile on his face.
Just then, Ning's mother returned. She was carrying several large shopping bags, having clearly bought a brand new quilt among other things.
"You bought the stuff? Let's put them in Yuanyuan's room quickly," Mr. Ning said. He walked over to take the bags from his wife, his tone half-complaining and half-aching for her. "Why didn't you call me to help you carry all this?"
"I can carry it myself. The quilt looks bulky, but it's super light. It wasn't tiring at all."
Ning Yue noted that the couple seemed to have a very loving relationship.
The couple busied themselves in her room for quite a while before coming out.
"Yuanyuan, your pajamas are on the nightstand, and your toiletries are in the bathroom. The unopened ones are yours," Ning's mother said. "It's too late today, so there were a lot of things I couldn't buy. Mom will take you shopping for clothes tomorrow."
Ning Yue thought about it and didn't object. She had to go out to claim her lottery prize tomorrow anyway, so she might as well buy some spare clothes while she was at it.
Seeing her nod, Ning's mother breathed a sigh of relief. She and Mr. Ning then walked out of the room, each carrying a large bag as they headed out.
These bags contained Qingqing's belongings. Their home was small, and now that their biological daughter was back, these things took up too much space. They could only pack them away and store them in the basement for now.
In truth, Mr. Ning had wanted to throw them straight into the dumpster. But after giving it some thought, he kept quiet.
The next morning.
After the family had breakfast, Ning Yue headed to the mall with the couple. As they went downstairs, the neighbors in the building greeted them enthusiastically.
"Old Ning! Is this your biological daughter? Didn't Qingqing's parents say yesterday that they wanted to raise both girls together? Why is this child back here?"
It couldn't be helped. The Yan family had put on a massive show yesterday. Not only did the three members of the Yan family, Yan's aunt, and Gong Yuze all come to the Ning Family home, but they had also parked several luxury cars right outside the building, as if terrified that people wouldn't notice them.
Naturally, several households in the building had heard the commotion.
Ning's mother had no choice but to explain the situation to their old neighbors, barely managing to break away from the overly enthusiastic elderly residents.
Even after they had walked quite a distance from the building's entrance, Ning Yue could still hear the neighbors gossiping behind them.
"I have to say, growing up in a wealthy family really makes a difference. Never mind her good looks, her temperament is absolutely outstanding!"
"Is Qingqing any worse? Old Ning and his wife spent plenty of money on that girl. But I reckon these two families won't be interacting much anymore."
"Nonsense! Who would ever come back to this dump after suddenly finding out they have such a great family background?"
Ning's mother hurriedly pulled Ning Yue along. The mall wasn't far from the Ning Family's residential complex, so the three of them simply walked there.
Mr. Ning and Ning's mother figured that their daughter was used to the best food and clothing. While they couldn't afford top-tier luxury, they didn't want to treat her poorly either. Thus, they led Ning Yue toward the designer clothing stores, only for her to firmly pull them away.
"Mom, designer brands aren't necessarily the best," Ning Yue said. "As long as it fits my style and is comfortable to wear, that's enough.
"In the past, I never cared about the brands of my clothes. I only wished my parents would occasionally accompany me shopping or watch a movie with me.
"Unfortunately...
"Maybe blood ties are just a very strange thing. They didn't treat me badly; they never deprived me of food or clothes. But compared to Yan Qingqing, the difference was like heaven and earth.
"Now that I've returned to your side and can go shopping with you and Dad, I'm happier than anything else."
Thinking of the Yan family's wealth, and recalling how Mother Yan had kept her chin held high, looking at her with sheer disdain when she came to pick up Qingqing, Ning's mother suddenly felt a pang of sorrow. The Yans probably never cared about Ning Yue's feelings. "If they won't accompany you, Mom will. From now on, Mom will always be with you, and so will your dad. We'll buy whatever you say. Mom will do whatever you want."
Fortunately, her biological daughter was back. As long as their family could be together, that was better than anything else!
Mr. Ning also nodded at Ning Yue, silently promising that he would always stay by his daughter's side.
Ning Yue linked arms with Ning's mother, smiling radiantly. "Then let's hurry up and pick out some clothes. The ones I used to wear were never what I liked. This time, I want to choose according to my own preferences."
This was the truth. She hadn't liked a single piece of clothing the original owner used to wear. That was why she hadn't brought a single item with her when she left the Yan family—which also saved her from being accused of taking advantage of them!
After strolling around the mall, they found a domestic clothing brand that perfectly matched her aesthetic. She casually picked out a few sets of casual clothes suitable for a student, along with two pairs of shoes and some undergarments, before leaving the store.
On the way home, they passed by an electronics store. Ning Yue selected a decent branded computer. Although Mr. Ning worried that playing on the computer might interfere with his daughter's studies, he didn't say much and readily paid for it.
The moment they got home, Ning Yue hugged her new computer and went straight to her room.
Although she had received the original owner's memories of this world, she still needed to carefully investigate the differences between this world and the one she used to live in. For that, nothing was faster than surfing the internet.
That evening.
Ning Yue received a call from the Yan family's driver, who said he had something for her and asked her to come downstairs to pick it up.
Seeing her emerge, the driver took a file folder from the car and handed it to Ning Yue.
Ning Yue opened it and took a look. Wealth and power truly came with privileges. No Ning family member had even shown up, and it was the weekend, yet her household registration transfer had already been completely processed.
Still, this was fine. It saved her family the trouble of making the trip.
Ning Yue put the documents back into the folder, thanked the driver, and headed upstairs.
The driver sighed as he watched her leave. Originally, the CEO had wanted to transfer Miss Ning's school as well, but Miss Qingqing had stopped him. She had argued that the college entrance exams were fast approaching and it was best not to cause extra trouble, lest it negatively affect her sister's grades.
However, driving to First High School from here would take thirty to forty minutes—and that was without traffic. Moreover, suddenly going from a wealthy heiress to a poor family's daughter, especially with Miss Qingqing acting as a constant comparison, the driver felt it would be much better for Miss Ning to just transfer schools.
After going upstairs, Ning Yue handed the new household registration book to Ning's mother and returned to her room.
In the living room, Ning's mother stared at her daughter's name in the household registration book, feeling overwhelmed with joy.
At the same time, however, she couldn't help but think of the daughter they had raised since childhood. After all, she had kept that child by her side for seventeen years. To have her suddenly disappear from their family's registry... it would be a lie to say she wasn't sad.