After Rebirth: The Ugly Daughter Shocks The CEO

CHAPTER 1: THE FORGOTTEN BIRTHDAY On my 16th birthday, my family threw a huge party for my perfect younger sister and locked me in the dark storage room with rats. I sat on the cold cement floor, hugging my knees, listening to laughter and music from downstairs. My mother Li Yue's elegant voice floated up through the vents: "Thank you everyone for coming to celebrate our Mei Mei's 16th birthday! Our Mei Mei is Saint Ying's school flower, so talented and beautiful!" No one remembered that today was also my birthday. My name is Su Wan. I am also 16 today. I am also a daughter of the Su family. But I am the ugly one. For 16 years, I was the ugly duckling of the Su family. When I was 6, my mother said I was too ugly and too stupid and moved me from the second-floor bedroom to the third-floor storage room. That room has no window, no closet, only one flickering yellow bulb, and rats that run in the corners at night. It smells like mold and old clothes. That has been my room for 10 years. My younger sister Su Mei is one year younger than me, but she is everything I am not. She has big bright eyes, white skin, long wavy hair, and she wears Chanel and Dior that my mother buys her every month. She is Saint Ying Elite Academy's school flower. Every boy likes her. Every mother wants her as daughter-in-law. I have messy long black hair that I never had time to wash properly, dark skin from no skincare, big black glasses that are too old and scratched, and I always wear Su Mei's old faded hand-me-downs that are too big for my thin body. My mother calls me ugly toad. My classmates call me ugly toad. Even the maids call me ugly toad behind my back. This morning, I woke up early, thinking maybe this year would be different. I am 16 now, maybe my mother would remember. I went downstairs in my cleanest old dress. "Mom, today is..." I whispered. My mother was busy directing servants to decorate the living room with pink balloons and fresh roses for Su Mei. She didn't even look at me. "Su Wan, you ugly thing, what are you doing here? Guests will come soon, don't scare them with your ugly face! Go back to your storage room and stay there until party ends! If you dare to come out, I will not give you dinner for 3 days!" Then she locked the third-floor door from outside. So I sat here the whole day. No cake. No gift. No birthday song. Only cold floor and rats. At 8 PM, the party downstairs was at its loudest. I could smell steak and cake. My stomach growled. I hadn't eaten since morning. I stood up and looked at the small broken mirror I found from trash last year and kept hidden under my mattress. In the mirror, my face was pale, lips cracked from no water, but I took off my big ugly glasses slowly. I let down my messy ponytail. My long black hair fell down like a waterfall, reaching my waist, shiny even in dim yellow light because I washed it yesterday with cold water. I looked closer. Maybe because I cried too much today, my eyes were washed clean, big and watery. Maybe because I am 16 now, my face shape had changed a little, my jawline small and sharp. My skin, even without skincare, was white and smooth, glowing faintly under the bulb. I wasn't ugly. I was just... hidden. Like a pearl covered in dust for 16 years. For the first time in 16 years, I looked at my own face and thought, I am beautiful enough that even this dark, moldy storage room seemed a little brighter. A small fire lit in my chest. Not big, not loud, but warm. I survived 10 years in this dark room with rats. I survived being called ugly toad every day. I survived no dinner, no love. I clenched my small fists inside my sleeves, my nails digging into my palms. I will not be ugly toad forever. I sat back on floor and waited until midnight. The music downstairs stopped. Guests left. The house became quiet. My mother and Su Mei's laughter faded. At 12:30 AM, I heard my father's tired voice downstairs. "Where is Wanwan? Today is also her birthday..." "That ugly thing? Don't mention her, she is sleeping," my mother said quickly. My father sighed. I heard his footsteps come up to third floor and try the locked door. "Li Yue, why did you lock the storage room again?" "Rats," my mother lied. My father unlocked the door. The door opened. He saw me sitting on cold floor, hugging knees, in dark. "Wanwan..." His eyes turned red. He is the only one who sometimes remembers me. He works abroad most of time and doesn't know how mother treats me. "I'm okay, Dad," I whispered, my voice hoarse. He helped me up, gave me a small piece of cake he hid in his pocket. "Happy birthday, Wanwan. Dad is sorry. Dad will buy you a new dress tomorrow." I held the small cake, tears falling on it. It was the only birthday cake I had in 16 years. That night, after my father left, I didn't sleep. I sat in front of broken mirror again. I washed my face clean with cold water. I brushed my long black hair 100 times until it was shiny. Tomorrow, I will go to Saint Ying Elite Academy. Tomorrow, I will not wear big ugly glasses. Tomorrow, I will tie my hair neatly and wear my cleanest uniform. Tomorrow, they will see a different Su Wan. And Su Mei, my perfect younger sister who stole my birthday party, my room, my mother's love — tomorrow, she will see that the ugly toad she locked in storage room is gone.