The Silly Fake Heiress - Chapter 1

When the real heiress, Su Wangui, returned to the Su family, the entire household was overjoyed.

That made things a little awkward for me, the fake heiress.

I didn’t want to stay in the city and put Mom and Dad in a difficult position, nor did I want to make things uncomfortable for Su Wangui when she had only just come home.

So I sensibly picked up my little suitcase and left of my own accord.

But when I actually arrived in the village and saw the crumbling cave dwelling—and the two black pigs in the yard squealing at the tops of their lungs—I fell silent.

The Su family had pampered me from childhood. I could count on one hand the number of times I’d set foot in a kitchen, never mind fed a pig.

But there was nothing else to be done.

My biological family had all passed away. I was the only one left.

Sigh.

When the boat reaches the bridge, it’ll naturally sink.

I would simply have to fend for myself.

Su Wangui had lived alone before returning to the Su family. If she could do it, so could I.

After silently giving myself a pep talk, I marched over to the pigsty to feed the pigs.

Half a bucket of bran mixed with wild greens remained in the feed bucket, all sticky and glutinous.

Squatting beside it, I pinched my nose and scooped up a spoonful—only to get a huge clump that refused to come off the spoon.

No one had touched it for days. It had long since dried out.

How was I supposed to feed them this?

After eighteen years of being spoiled, I didn’t know how to do a single chore. I was completely at a loss.

I didn’t know anyone in the village, either. I scrolled through my contacts again and again.

Apart from Su Wangui, whom I’d only met a few days ago, there wasn’t a single person I could ask for help.

After agonizing for nearly twenty minutes, I finally worked up the courage to make a call.

To Su Wangui.

She answered almost at once.

Su Wangui said nothing.

The few times I’d met her, she’d always been distant and sparing with words.

Since I was the one asking a favor, I steeled myself and spoke in my most pitiful voice.

“Sis, it’s Su Man.”

“Mm. What is it?”

Her voice was cool and flat, without much emotion.

“I wanted to ask how I’m supposed to feed the piglets in the yard. The feed in the bucket has dried into one big lump. I can barely stand to look at it, let alone the pigs.”

There was silence on the other end for three seconds.

“Add half a ladle of water to the feed, mix it evenly, and pour it into the trough. Don’t stand too close.”

I nodded frantically. Still holding the phone, I rolled up my sleeves, found half a ladle of water in a fluster, and poured it in.

I obediently stirred for ages, but it only grew stickier.

The bran clung to the spoon and refused to shake off.

In a panic, I added another half ladle of water and stirred like mad, but it was still full of lumps.

The two starving pigs squealed even louder, nearly knocking the sty gate off its hinges.

I shrank back and said into the phone, “Sis, it won’t mix! I think they’re angry. They’re about to break down the gate. What do I do?”

Su Wangui told me, “Stir in one direction.”

I did as she said.

My hand slipped, and this time I knocked half the bucket of feed onto the ground.

The pigs’ furious howls mingled with my despairing cry. Su Wangui was silent on the phone for a full five seconds.

Then she sighed.

“Go inside and wait.”

With that, she hung up.

I assumed she was going to ask a neighbor in the village to come help me, so I obediently went back inside, hugged my knees on the heated brick bed, and waited for rescue.

I waited until three in the morning.

A soft knock sounded at the courtyard gate.

Wiping away my tears, I climbed down to open it, my empty stomach growling loudly.

At last, the rescuer Su Wangui had sent was here. Thank goodness.

But when I opened the gate, I froze.

The girl outside was tall and slender. Years of manual work and no skincare had left her skin slightly tanned.

Dew clung to her hair. She had clearly rushed here from the city overnight.

It was Su Wangui.

“Sis, wh-why are you here?” My eyes went round, delighted and astonished.

“To help you feed the pigs.”

“You could’ve just told me over the phone. I’m so stupid—I made you come all this way.”

Su Wangui glanced at me, too tired to say anything more.

She took off her coat and headed straight for the pigsty.

She picked up the wooden ladle, added water, and stirred…

For the first eighteen years after two sets of parents accidentally took home the wrong babies, I had lived like a princess in the city.

She had done work like this every day.

Her movements were so practiced that it hurt to watch.

The two black pigs that had been baring their teeth at me and doing everything they could to make my life difficult seemed to recognize who their master was. They quieted at once.

Once the feed was ready, they obediently crowded around the trough and began to eat.

Snort, snort.

I hovered beside her, my eyes full of stars, practically bursting with admiration.

“Sis, you’re amazing! You’re literally my lifesaver! If it weren’t for you, the pigs might have bullied me all night.”

I rambled on with sincere, enthusiastic thanks.

The whole “real heiress, fake heiress” business never even crossed my mind.

As far as I was concerned, anyone willing to travel this far in the middle of the night to help me was a good person.

Su Wangui paused as she wiped her hands and looked up at me.

The weak courtyard light fell across her face. I clearly saw a flicker of barely perceptible surprise in her eyes.

She was quiet for several seconds.

When she spoke again, there was an unfamiliar hint of hesitation beneath her usual coolness.

“Su Man… don’t you hate me for taking your place?”

“Why would I hate you?”

I blinked, then realized what she meant.

“You mean your place as the Su family’s daughter?”