After Reincarnating as the Real Rich Daughter, I Shot to Fame with Metaphysics

Sara's soul traveled to another world, becoming a member of a divination family. Here, she could practice astrology at three, communicate with ghosts at five, and by eighteen, she’d become the strongest in the divination circle—everyone praised her for her extraordinary talent. Then one morning, she woke from a dream, only to find herself back in her first life. In this life, she was the real daughter who’d been swapped at birth, a burden neither family desired. At that moment, she’d just been taken home, enduring relentless brainwashing from her biological parents and the whole family. Biological father: “The only daughter I recognize is just one.” Biological mother: “You’re just a foster daughter in our family.” Biological brother: “In our hearts, you’ll never compare to her.” The fake daughter wept, covering her face: “I’m sorry, sister. I stole your identity—I’m willing to give them back to you.” Watching her overconfident father and brother, her shrewish biological mother, and the fake daughter with her hypocritical sweet talk, Sara wore a look of agony. Wouldn’t it be better to focus on her own career? So Sara resolutely left, set up a small stall, unfurled a white banner, and took up her old trade. One day, a fortune-telling stall appeared at the entrance of Zhao’an Temple, with the stall keeper being a girl of seventeen or eighteen. Once the girl set up her stall and pulled out the white banner, on which was written: Three fortune-tellings a day, one thousand yuan per reading. Onlookers whispered among themselves: Times are bad and people are not as they used to be. These days, even a little girl can come out pretending to be a sorcerer. What’s more, setting up a fortune-telling stall right at the temple entrance—isn’t that like showing off one’s skills in front of an expert? Little did they know, she had no sense of propriety at all, sitting behind the stall, calm and composed. “Hey, young man, judging from your face, you’re going to have a bloody disaster. How about it? An amulet is only ¥998—you can’t lose, you can’t be cheated.” “Uncle, your business isn’t going well because your ancestors are restless underground. What do you say? The grave-moving package is on sale for only ¥25,888, guaranteed to satisfy you and put your mind at ease.” At first, everyone just wanted to watch the joke. Later, everyone started vying for the chance to get one of those three daily fortune-tellings. Months later, her biological parents, who had been plagued by ghosts for days, heard there was a great master who could resolve their troubles—and they were overjoyed at once. Unfortunately, the master was swamped with work; exorcism orders were booked three months in advance. They begged and pleaded with everyone they could, spent one sum of money after another, and pulled every string possible, finally managing to meet the master. Only then did they realize that this master, adored by thousands, was none other than their own biological daughter—the one they’d detested through and through. Her biological parents were utterly shocked: “She’s tricking people, and she’s tricked us! Let’s go, let’s go, hurry up!” Sara said nothing, just smiled and watched them leave, with the ghosts still clinging to their backs. Back again. The moment Sara opened her eyes, she could vaguely make out a few people standing in front of her. Her consciousness was muddled. She remembered encountering a fierce ghost during her training; while chasing it, she’d followed the ghost into an unknown barrier, then lost consciousness in total darkness. The next time she woke, it was now. She had no idea where she was. It was as if she was shrouded in mist—she couldn’t see clearly, nor hear properly. Sara tried to struggle, but she couldn’t control her body at all. For some reason, memories of her first life suddenly flooded her mind. She had originally been an ordinary person. The only extraordinary thing about her was probably being swapped at birth—going from a wealthy family’s daughter to the child of a domestic abuser, gambler, and alcoholic. It wasn’t until she turned eighteen that Sara got to return to her biological parents’ home. But even after coming back, Sara still didn’t live a good life. Because her family didn’t like her at all. They brought her home, yet refused to acknowledge her as a member of the family, only willing to take her in as a foster daughter. At first, Sara thought her family was just having trouble accepting the truth temporarily. But later, by chance, she learned that her parents had long known she and Lisa had been swapped at birth—they simply didn’t want to send their precious daughter, who’d been doted on and raised with care, back to that hellhole. They pitied Lisa, yet let Sara suffer in that home. Upon learning the truth, Sara, in a daze, ran away from home. Unfortunately, she got into a car accident, which was how she traveled to another world. That was a brand-new world, with demons and ghosts. She grew up in a metaphysics family, gifted with extraordinary talent, until she chased that fierce ghost and got lost in the barrier. Memories kept flashing back. Finally, it was as if the film wrapping her was torn apart—she felt herself regaining control of her body. The voices in her ears grew clearer from far to near, and the scene before her came into focus bit by bit. “Even though we’ve brought you back, the only daughter our family acknowledges is Lisa.” “We can provide you with food, clothes, and schooling—you can have all the basics. But as for anything else, don’t even dream of it.” “You’ll never compare to Lisa in our hearts. Understood?” These familiar words left Sara a little dazed, and the few people in front of her seemed more and more familiar as she looked at them. “What are you spacing out for? Didn’t you hear us talking to you?” The young man stood before Sara, looking down at her with a cold expression. Sara recognized him—it was her biological brother, Tom. Glancing to the side, she spotted a glamorous lady with a slight frown, arms crossed, staring at her hostilely. That was her biological mother. Sara could hardly believe it. It seemed she was back. Tom had never liked Sara, and now, seeing her stand there dumbly without a word, he grew even angrier. “Speak up!” Sara finally shifted her gaze back to him, looked him up and down, and let out a scoff. “What do you want me to say?” Provoked by Sara’s nonchalant demeanor, Tom’s already simmering anger flared up even more. “Elders are talking to you—this is how you respond?” Sara’s expression remained cool. She could practically recite every word they were going to say verbatim. Because in her first life, those words had left indelible scars on her back then. In her memory, today was the third day since she’d just returned home. Lisa had invited her to admire her exquisite jewelry, and Sara had agreed to go happily. When they reached the door, Lisa said she needed to fetch something from the study and told Sara to go in alone. Sara had thought it inappropriate, so she’d waited at the door. Her mother had happened to see this and immediately accused Sara of lurking suspiciously outside Lisa’s door, planning to steal. With Lisa away, Sara couldn’t defend herself no matter how she tried. Then her mother’s loud voice drew Tom over. Sara had once thought he might be her savior, but little did she know, after Tom heard what had happened, he’d joined her mother in taking turns berating her—which had led to the words Tom had just spat out. Finally, a bright and beautiful girl appeared at the staircase corner. Lisa, who’d arrived late, seemed startled by the scene before her. She stood there frozen, afraid to move. When the mother saw her precious daughter Lisa, she immediately stepped forward to greet her, put an arm around her shoulders, and said, “Lisa, where have you been? Things are different now—you need to keep an eye on your room.” Lisa paused for a moment, then turned and threw herself into her mother’s arms, sobbing softly. “Mom, Brother, don’t talk to Sister like that. Everything I have now should be hers. She’s your biological daughter and sister. It’s all my fault—I took her place. Please don’t speak to her that way.” The mother stroked her back gently. “Don’t be afraid. You’re our daughter, blood relation or not. As long as we acknowledge you, you are. You can enjoy all this with a clear conscience.” Turning to Sara, her expression shifted to disdain. “As for you—you’ve been spoiled by that foster family. Petty theft, disrespect for elders... You’d better take time to learn some manners, or you’ll bring shame to our family when you go out.” At that, Sara looked at her biological mother, her tone laced with sarcasm. “I’m just a foster daughter. What does it matter to you if I bring shame? Besides, does your family even have any shame left?” The mother froze for a moment, then her anger flared. “What did you say?” Sara let out a scoff: “Petty theft? Isn’t that just your one-sided claim? I only did as Lisa told me—waited for her at the door. I didn’t even step into her room. What could I have stolen? Your family’s door? Disrespect for elders? Haven’t you long known Lisa and I were swapped at birth? Do you think you’d ever admit it if the foster family hadn’t found out the truth and come banging on your door for money? With behavior like that, how dare you call yourselves my elders?” The mother froze in place, even the hand that had been soothing Lisa going rigid. Sensing her mother’s stiffness, Lisa called out in confusion: “Mom?” The mother didn’t respond to her precious daughter. She had known for a long time that Lisa was the swapped one. When Lisa was ten, she’d gotten hurt in an accident and ended up in the hospital. There, the hospital had accidentally discovered that Lisa’s blood type didn’t match the Lan family’s. It was only after a paternity test that they’d learned Lisa wasn’t their daughter at all. But they doted on this daughter so deeply that they’d been unwilling to believe it. Yet paternity tests don’t lie. Looking at their innocent, naive daughter who relied on them wholeheartedly, they couldn’t bring themselves to tell her the truth. They had to investigate secretly, and only then did they learn what had happened: back when the wealthy mother was pregnant, an unexpected car accident had triggered a premature delivery. Her condition was critical, so she was rushed to a small hospital near the crash site. For some reason, in that hospital, the two babies had been swapped, trading lives. When they first found out where their biological daughter was, the mother’s heart ached terribly. She wished she could fly over immediately, hold her in her arms, dote on her, and make up for the lost ten years. But when she actually went to that slum on the edge of the city—staring at the dirty, blackened sewage ditches by the roadside, and at her biological daughter, skinny and covered in grime—she hesitated. She had already investigated: the couple who’d taken her daughter had a timid wife and an unemployed husband, who happened to be a drunk, a gambler, and a domestic abuser. At the slightest displeasure, he’d beat his wife and daughter. The child, still so young, was covered in scars, yet had to cook, wash clothes, and handle all the housework. Now the child was ten years old; her personality was already set. She’d long been ruined by such an upbringing. And the thought that her own doted-on, precious daughter’s biological parents were such people—even if she didn’t send Lisa back, they’d still latch onto them—made the mother couldn’t help but draw back. She thought, maybe she should just let this mistake go on, pretend nothing had happened—then Lisa would still be their family’s precious daughter. Even though doing this was terribly unfair to the child who had been born into their family, the fact that she’d been swapped at birth meant she had no fate with a wealthy family. So the mother turned back alone. Her husband, though, was even more pragmatic. After his investigation, upon learning the character of that couple, he’d abandoned all thought of bringing back their biological daughter—he hadn’t even planned to go see her. In his eyes, even if he brought back such a biological daughter, she would be utterly worthless. So when he saw his wife return alone, he just glanced at her and didn’t say a word more. This was a secret buried deep in the couple’s hearts, one they’d never told even Tom or Lisa. Now that Sara had bluntly torn it open, the mother felt her face burn with embarrassment. She had no idea where Sara had heard this, but after thinking it through, the only time was the day Sara had just come back, when she’d talked about it with her husband. Because the foster father—a gambler—had found out the two families’ daughters had been swapped, he’d specifically brought Sara to the door to extort money. The wealthy family, fearing he’d pester them endlessly, gave him a large sum of money and had him sign an agreement. And since Sara already knew the truth about the swap, they naturally couldn’t just let her leave. After discussing it, the wealthy family figured, after all, it was just one more mouth to feed—they’d raise her until she graduated from college, then wash their hands of her. That was why they’d kept Sara. Thinking of the greedy look on that gambler’s face, the mother felt utterly disgusted, and by extension, grew even more annoyed with Sara. Typical of someone from a lowly family—ill-bred, daring to eavesdrop on adults’ conversations! The mother frowned tightly. “What are you still standing here for? Get back to your room!” Sara had no affection for this wealthy family whatsoever. She’d just tested it out—her spiritual power was all still there. As long as her spiritual power remained, she had the ability to make a living. So Sara resolutely turned and headed downstairs. “No need to trouble yourself. I can’t afford to stay in your house.” Halfway down, she paused as if she’d remembered something. “Oh, right.” The mother, still clutching Lisa’s shoulders, was extremely impatient with Sara. “Aren’t you tough and unyielding? Then go, and go quickly!” Sara stood at the stairwell landing. The stairwell light wasn’t on, so the light here was dim. Behind her, a barefoot figure in a white dress stood silently. Droplets of water trickled down her skirt hem, but just before hitting the floor, they vanished. What was even more eerie was that the family couldn’t see her at all. Sara twitched her fingertips, curved her lips into a half-smile, and said, “Nothing. Just wishing you sweet dreams tonight.” After she turned and left, a drop of water “plop” landed on the stairwell floor. Leaving Sara went back to her room to pack her things. Truth be told, there wasn’t much to pack. She’d come to the wealthy family empty-handed in the first place—because the rich looked down on her tattered, too-short old clothes and wouldn’t let her bring them. Now, though, she was glad for the ease.