Rich Cat A Would Never Fall in Love with a Fake Heiress - Chapter 12

The answer to this question ultimately came from the worst possible person.

“It’s actually very simple. When our mother was in her postpartum confinement period, she got bored and sneaked out to have fun. Afraid you might cry, she took you along.”

Mo Wang’s tone was full of sarcasm: “And then? While our dear mother was touching up her makeup in the restroom, she left the stroller behind.”

“After finishing her shopping spree in the luxury mall, she remained completely unaware. It wasn’t until she realized you were missing that she felt frightened.”

Mo Wang gradually lost his smile: “So she ran away, went home, locked herself in her room, and didn’t dare see anyone. It wasn’t until evening that the nanny, worried you might starve from not being fed for too long, went to find Father.”

Mo Li felt as if she couldn’t breathe. For the past thirteen years, she had expressed her anger and sorrow with her fists, nails, and teeth. But this was the first time warm, salty tears streamed from her eyes, flowing into her mouth and dripping onto the back of her hand.

She gripped the chairback tightly, veins bulging on her hands, and screamed hoarsely.

“Shut up! Shut up!”

Mo Wang mercilessly raised her voice, overwhelming her desperate resistance.

“Actually, with the surveillance system in that high-end mall, there was still time to find you.”

“But Father was afraid the ensuing search would attract the media and create a scandal about the irresponsible Mrs. Mo, so he first silenced all the major media outlets and then deployed the most limited rescue resources.”

“The result was that the train carrying the person who kidnapped you, bound for the slums-”

“Didn’t you hear me? I said shut up!”

Mo Li overturned the stool, her face streaked with tears and rage, and swung a punch at Mo Wang.

Mo Wang, two years older and half a head taller, effortlessly grabbed her thin wrist, letting Mo Li leave a row of bloody teeth marks on her arm.

She frowned slightly and finished the rest of her sentence.

“-had already departed.”

Mo Li soon released her bite, covered her face, and slid to the floor, alternating between crying and laughing.

Even though she knew the nature of her parents, she had never imagined it was such an absurd mistake. Every second of the beatings and hunger she endured over those twelve years was undeserved. The beautiful fantasies she had about her biological parents while in the slums were like whips, lashing at her last shred of dignity.

Mo Wang never cared about her feelings, stating the facts plainly: “So those years you spent in the slums actually had nothing to do with me. It was just Mom and Dad abandoning an unwanted child.”

“As for you, no matter how much grievance you hold, in their eyes, you were nothing more than a small, unavoidable mistake back then.”

Mo Wang patted Mo Li’s shoulder, crouched down, and leaned close to her ear.

“Do you know why the servants in this house listen to me? Because Father is a narcissistic control freak, Mother is a selfish and childish brat, and I am a cold, ruthless madwoman who clearly distinguishes rewards from punishments.”

The window was open, and the breeze lifted strands of Mo Wang’s long hair. Mo Li looked up and felt that her eyes were like thick ink, spreading out countless indescribable emotions.

“To survive in this family, you must first learn disappointment, then submit to this damned fate. Be smart.”

…

That day, Mo Wang still called someone to bandage the bite wound on her arm and, in the process, had Mo Li’s various injuries treated, some inflicted by their father, others from fights with classmates.

When Mo Li returned to her room, both her body and mind were utterly exhausted, yet for the first time in her life, she found herself unable to sleep.

She sat for a long time in the narrow space between her bed and the windowsill, just as she had when she first arrived at this hillside villa.

As the sky gradually brightened, Mo Li washed her face, combed her hair, contacted her tutors one by one according to the notes, and then went downstairs to have breakfast as if nothing was amiss.

It was still early. Mo Li’s parents hadn’t come downstairs yet, and only Mo Wang was there, fiddling with her cat’s food.

Seeing Mo Li come down, she raised an eyebrow slightly.

“I thought you didn’t have to go to school today?”

Mo Li ignored her and looked directly at the servant beside her. “Get me a set of utensils. I’ll be eating at the dining table today.”

The cook was about to glance at Mo Wang for approval, but Mo Li issued her command slowly and deliberately: “Don’t you understand? I. Want. To. Eat. Here.”

Her tone was serious and stern. The cook didn’t dare delay, quickly set an extra place, and brought her the breakfast foods she usually liked.

Mo Wang let out an intrigued “Oh~”, but said nothing more. Instead, she speared a piece of tomato with her fork and ate it.

Mo Li’s parents came downstairs soon after, clinging to each other affectionately. After just one night, they seemed to have forgotten yesterday’s unpleasantness and reconciled.

However, when Mo’s father saw Mo Li, the smile vanished from his face, replaced by a scolding tone.

“If you’re going to school, then behave yourself and stop causing trouble.”

Mo Li unhurriedly ate a slice of ham and, ignoring her mother’s frantic attempts to signal her with her eyes, retorted:

“I think I’ve saved you plenty of trouble over the past twelve years.”

“You!” Her father was furious.

“You wretched child!”

“Takes after your wretched roots?”

Her father raised his hand to strike her, but Mo Li met his gaze unflinchingly, ready to take the blow head-on.

“Pfft!” An abrupt laugh shattered the tense atmosphere. Mo Wang, for some reason, seemed to have been holding back laughter for a long time and could no longer contain it. She collapsed onto the table, laughing heartily, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

Usually, Mo Wang wore a fake smile or a meek curl of her lips, but she never seemed genuinely happy. Mo Li had never seen her laugh so freely before and was momentarily stunned.

Her laughter left Mo’s father bewildered as well. His raised hand hung in the air, unable to complete the strike.

“Act like a proper young lady. Don’t embarrass me.”

With those words, perhaps thinking both of his children had gone mad, he stormed out with an exasperated expression, slamming the door behind him.

Mo’s mother initially wanted to lecture Mo Li further, but faced with Mo Li’s defiant glare and Mo Wang’s lack of support, she timidly averted her gaze and hurried back upstairs.

Mo Wang’s laughter gradually subsided. Wiping away tears of mirth, she gasped for breath.

“You haven’t learned to be clever at all, have you? Did you come down for breakfast just to get beaten and go back up?”

Mo Li looked at the faint blush spreading across Mo Wang’s cheeks and suddenly understood why Mo Wang was considered the school beauty.

Averting her gaze, Mo Li said stubbornly:

“If it’s not my fault, why should I be the one to learn to be clever?”

“You’re the ones who are abnormal. Why should I be the one to change? Why should I be the one to suffer?”

Mo Wang rested her chin on her hand, a lingering smile still playing on her lips as she narrowed her eyes and nodded in agreement. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have tried to persuade you yesterday.”

Mo Li shot her a glance before quickly looking away, muttering uncomfortably, “Even though you washed your hands of all responsibility last night, you still used my identity to live comfortably in the Mo family for twelve years, didn’t you? You should-”

Before she could finish, the clatter of a fork slammed forcefully against a plate cut her off. The atmosphere around them plummeted to freezing point. Mo Li turned her face to see that Mo Wang had already wiped the smile from her face and abruptly stood up. Her eyes slowly lowered, as if she were about to devour Mo Li whole.

Clenching her teeth, she forced out each word deliberately.

“Who exactly are you saying lived comfortably in the Mo family in your place? And what exactly should I be grateful to you for?”