"Don't call me mom... I'm not your mother..."
Lin Chanchan wandered through the neon-lit streets, the cacophony of vendors and bustling crowds doing little to drown out the cruel words still ringing in her ears. Tears streamed down her face, unstoppable despite the chaos around her.
She had never imagined that the woman who had loved and cared for her for twenty years wasn’t her birth mother. The revelation shattered the peaceful life she had always known under the wings of Xia Changru and Lin Rui'an.
It all started with a simple, curious accident.
That morning, Chanchan and her dormmates had been chatting about blood types. When their university announced a "Voluntary Blood Donation for Love" campaign, she joined the queue out of sheer curiosity, following the crowd to do her part.
"I'm a universal blood donor—don't praise me, I'll blush..." Lin Chanchan posted on her WeChat Moments, attaching her blood test report and a shamelessly snapped photo of the free snacks she got for donating.
Instantly, the comments flooded in.
"Wow, Department Flower Chanchan donated blood? 666~"
"Senior Chanchan, aren’t you scared of blood? I faint at the sight of it!"
"O-type blood? Hey, same as me!"
...
The one thing Chanchan took pride in was her face—enough to make underclassmen swoon. Though not stunningly beautiful, she had a delicate, fresh charm and often jokingly called herself the "Goddess Sister." Of course, her dormmates never let her live it down. Behind that ethereal exterior was a soft-hearted girl with a sharp tongue—a far cry from the real-life "Goddess Sister," Liu Yifei.
While the comments from adoring juniors piled up, her dormmates weren’t as kind.
"Lin Chanchan, have you lost your mind? You actually went and donated blood?"
"O-type blood, huh? What a shame—if only you were some rare RH type to match that ‘Goddess’ title of yours..."
"Don't tell me she's just after the snacks! Hey, hey, freshmen up there, don't be fooled by her—Lin Chanchan is a total foodie!"
...
Damn you, Zhou Xiao! Do you have to roast me like that? We're even bunkmates! With friends like you, who needs enemies?
Screw these so-called friends. Not worth my time!
Holding her head high with an air of disdain, Chanchan scrolled through her WeChat Moments while munching on a piece of bread. She strode forward with purpose—today, she had donated 200ml of blood, and she deserved a little treat. Time to grab a coffee and indulge.
Though for Lin Chanchan, "indulging" meant buying an instant coffee to sip on the go while scanning the streets for job postings. As a junior in college, she needed to start looking for internships—something that could at least pay the bills and keep her stomach full. After all, a big eater like her couldn’t just mooch off her parents forever.
"Ugh—"
The sip of instant coffee nearly went down the wrong pipe when her phone buzzed violently in her pocket. She’d forgotten to turn off the vibration mode after yesterday’s class with their balding advisor.
"Hey, Dad."
"Chanchan, come home right now." Lin Ruian's voice carried an unusual urgency.
"What’s wrong?" She froze for a second before responding.
Lin Ruian only repeated, "Just come home now."
"Okay." She hung up, downed the rest of her coffee in one gulp, and tossed the cup into a nearby trash bin.
Back at home, Lin Ruian was gently guiding Xia Changru to sit on the sofa, rubbing her back in slow, soothing circles as he murmured reassurances.
"Dad, Mom—what’s going on?"
The moment Chanchan stepped into the house, she was startled by the scene before her. Seated on the living room sofa were Xia Changru, Lin Ruian, along with her uncle and aunt, as if some grand confrontation awaited her. Chanchan instinctively shrank back before hesitantly moving forward.
"Don't call me 'Mom.' I'm not your mother." Xia Changru's face was twisted with barely suppressed fury.
Chanchan stood frozen to the spot, her wide eyes fixed on them, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her shirt.
"Oh, Chanchan! So you're blood type O, huh?" Her aunt piped up, her shrill voice cutting through the tension like a knife. "Your mom's type A, and your dad's type B—how on earth did you end up O?" She threw her head back with a cackle, the sound grating against everyone's ears.
Her aunt had always been the type to stir the pot with careless remarks, but this time, Chanchan couldn't just brush it off.
"Dad... is what Aunt said true?" Her voice trembled as if someone had hollowed out her chest, leaving only a raw, gaping wound.
Lin Ruian nodded, his face crumpling like crushed paper.
Now, standing on the bustling street, neon lights flickering across her face, her heart felt like lead. The memory of Xia Changru's cold, final expression flashed before her eyes, drowning out the city's noise.
