Vermilion Bird Continent, Tianwu Dynasty, Shen Mansion.

Today is the 16th birthday of Dongfang Mian, the eldest daughter of the Shen family. The mansion is decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations to celebrate her birthday.

At this moment, Dongfang Mian was sitting in her stepmother Guo's room, eating large mouthfuls of longevity noodles that her stepmother had made for her.

She still had a jade hairpin with a cotton pendant, a delicate and lovely design, that Guo had just given her as a birthday gift.

"Mother, you are so good to Mian'er. You make me longevity noodles every year," Dongfang Mian said with emotion. Although Guo was her stepmother, she always treated her like her own daughter.

"Of course," Madam Guo said casually as she took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Dongfang Mian's brow. "Mian'er, I heard that the Ancestor has been looking for you, hoping that you can take over the Shen family before the Vermilion Bird Academy comes to the Tianwu Dynasty to recruit students?"

"Well, the ancestor said that going to school this way would make me look more distinguished, and he also said that the Dongfang family wanted me to go back and attend the academy with the Dongfang family's children, but I didn't agree, after all, I am a child of the Shen family," Dongfang Mian said casually.

"Yes, you are a child of the Shen family, but your surname is Dongfang," Guo's voice suddenly turned somber.

Dongfang Mian stared at her in surprise. At this moment, Guo Shi was staring at her with a sinister look that Dongfang Mian had never seen before.

“The Shen family has more than just you as a child. There is another child who actually has the surname Shen, but because of the fire attribute bloodline inherited by the Dongfang family, those old stubborn people are about to change the entire Shen family’s surname to Dongfang.”

"Mother, you..."

"Mother? I'm not your mother. Your mother died a long time ago. You've always felt that I treat you like my own daughter, and that I make longevity noodles for you every year on your birthday. You're very touched, aren't you? Do you want to know why? Because I'm using you to nourish my life force."

"If I weren't good to you, how could you have eaten the noodles I made with the Li Mai Cao without any precautions? If I weren't good to you, you would have run back to the Dongfang family long ago. How would I have had the chance to take your bloodline?"

Guo sneered, each word piercing Dongfang Mian's heart like a thousand holes.

Dongfang Mian was heartbroken. She staggered back a step, and a pair of small hands supported her. When she turned around, she saw a pretty girl in a blue dress. It was her half-sister, Shen Yan.

"Yan'er..."

"Don't call me Yan'er, it's disgusting. If it weren't for your bloodline, who would call a bastard like you surnamed Dongfang 'sister'?" Shen Yan said with a look of disgust.

He shoved Dongfang Mian to the ground. Dongfang Mian looked at her younger sister, who had always followed her around with a silly grin since childhood, and saw her with such a fierce expression, her eyes filled with undisguised murderous intent.

"Dongfang Mian, do you know that every year you get so moved by eating longevity noodles that you cry? You have no idea how much I almost laughed myself to tears when I got back to my room. I've never met anyone as stupid as you."

"Now that your bloodline has finally recovered, let me tell you, whether it's the head of the Shen family or a spot at the Vermilion Bird Academy, I, Shen Yan, am determined to get it. And you can obediently go die," Shen Yan said viciously. A moment later, she seemed to think of something funny and laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight.

"Alright, it's about time. Stop wasting time talking to her, lest things get complicated. Let's get started," Guo said coldly.

When it was almost time, Dongfang Mian wanted to stand up and fight them to the death, to tear their hypocritical faces apart, but she only felt dizzy and couldn't mobilize any of her spiritual energy.

Her head slammed heavily to the ground. In the last second before she lost consciousness, she thought she saw a pair of familiar shoes, which seemed to be the ones she had made for the current head of the Shen family, her own father, last month.

Then she knew nothing more.