System: [Host! Juicy gossip alert! Get up!]

Simone Tymms, who had been lounging in bed lazily, bolted out from under the covers upon hearing about gossip.

Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes sparkled with excitement. Just like a child in a candy store.

Simone: [Quick, quick, share!]

Not enthusiastic for gossip? That's a serious brain issue.

A gossip a day keeps the doctor away!

System: [Three people are coming - your mom, your dad, and the fake daughter Xandra Tymms, who was mistakenly switched with you at birth. They’re here for a family reunion.]

System: [They're already at the door. Go open it.]

Just as the system finished its words, knocking sounds came from the door.

Simone got up, casually tidied herself, and went to open it.

The moment the door swung open, she was met with three pairs of eyes scrutinizing her.

She glanced at them as well and mocked internally.

[So these are my blind parents?]

Mr. and Mrs. Tymms heard the voice and looked around in alarm, as if they had heard a ghost.

Who was speaking? Why couldn't they see anyone?

Before they could figure it out, the voice rang out again.

[Tsk, tsk, blind parents, fooled by a fake daughter, and in the end, got themselves ruined!]

After sizing them up for a while, Simone spoke first, "Can I help you?"

Hearing her voice, the Tymms couple was startled.

Was that voice just now... coming from Simone?

Could they hear her thoughts?

Strange things happen every day, but today’s incident was truly bizarre!

Jodie Sanders glanced at her husband and adoptive daughter. Seeing their unchanged expressions, she assumed she was the only one who could hear it..

She smiled at Simone and said, "We are your family. We came looking for you, Simone. You've suffered all these years."

As she spoke, Jodie wiped away her tears, seemingly heartbroken.

[Suffered? Nah. Your real daughter has ascended to paradise and is enjoying eternal bliss.]

[Your daughter's name should be Bemoan, not Simone. You’re too late.]

The couple didn't understand what she meant but soon heard Simone continue her internal rant.

[Didn’t you hear how Xandra described me on your way here? She said I was a washed-up minor actress, an over-the-hill D-lister with a terrible reputation.]

[She even said I might be mentally ill, crazy and prone to biting people!]

[Anything she said, you two concurred. Right?]

This…

She described it exactly as it happened.

They had indeed been quite excited on the way over.

But when Xandra mentioned that their biological daughter was a low-tier actress with a bad reputation and a violent temper, their enthusiasm dimmed.

They even thought: What’s the point of bringing home a daughter with such a bad reputation?

But hearing Simone’s inner thoughts made them feel a little ashamed.

As for the claim that Xandra would eventually harm them, that was impossible.

Xandra had always been obedient, filial, and sweet. She was the darling of their family.

She was so delicate that she couldn't even kill a hatchling. How could she possibly harm anyone?

[They won’t like me anyway, so I can’t be bothered to deal with them.]

Hearing their daughter think they didn’t care about her made them feel even more guilty.

"I don’t have any family. You must be mistaken." Simone said, about to close the door.

Xandra stepped forward, her voice soft and frail. "Simone, we really are your family. I am your younger sister, and these are our parents."

Simone's face showed shock. "Really? You’re truly my family?"

[Might as well put on an act. After all, as a daughter of the Tymms family, I should acknowledge my roots.]

[But it took them so long to locate their real daughter. Did the Tymms family genuinely search? Or were they just going through the motions?]

[And Xandra, with that delicate little act, she’s definitely a schemer. Any second now, she’s going to say something like, “Oh, Simone, even though you have a bad reputation, if you work hard, you can change," right?]

Sure enough, Xandra’s next words were, "It’s true, Simone. Mom and Dad were really worried about you. Even though your reputation in the entertainment industry isn’t great, if you put in the effort, you can definitely turn things around."

Hearing the exact discourse she predicted, Caden Tymms and Jodie fell into silence.

It was as if they were seeing this adoptive daughter in a new light.

But they didn’t dwell on it. Xandra was still important to them. No one could replace her.

After speaking, Xandra began crying. "Simone, I’m not the Tymms family's daughter. Once you return, if you don’t like me, I’ll move out.

"I don’t want you to resent me for taking your place and stealing Mom, Dad, and our brothers from you.

"I know my place. When you go back, I’ll pack my things. I just hope that after I leave, you’ll take good care of them for me."

Seeing Xandra in tears, the Tymms couple panicked.

They rushed to comfort her. "Who said you have to move out? You’ll always be our daughter. That will never change."

"That’s right. Whatever your sister has, you will have too. The Tymms family can afford to take care of both of you."

Xandra glanced pitifully at Simone, but inside, she was smug.

"But you’ll have to publicly announce Simone's identity. Once people find out, they’ll criticize me for persisting where I don't belong."

Caden said, "No, we won’t announce it. You are both our daughters. We’ll just say you’re twins, and your sister was raised away due to health issues. How about that?"

Only then did Xandra smile through her tears. "Thank you, Mom and Dad. You really love me. Fortunately, I was there for you all these 18 years, unlike Simone, who suffered alone outside."

Watching their touching family moment, Simone mentally rolled her eyes.

[Wait, she's going to drive later and deliberately get into an accident? Then tell my blind parents and brothers that it’s my fault? That I upset her, causing her to crash? And then they’ll all loathe me?]

System: [Host, I think you’d better not go back. She has the victorious aura of a female protagonist. You won’t be able to take her down.]

Jodie and Caden could tell that Simone harbored strong hostility toward Xandra. But they refused to believe their sweet, obedient adoptive daughter would ever harm them.

They produced the paternity test results, and the four of them officially reunited.

Simone packed her things, just a bag containing her ID and bank card. She left everything else behind without hesitation.

She had no emotional attachment to this world.

She was originally an actress with the same name from a parallel world.

Because of cancer she ended up here.

She had thought that, with the help of the Gossip System, she could peacefully live out her new lease of life.

But the system informed her that her new family was poised to be cannon fodder, pulverized by the female protagonist.

And the original owner of this body? She would be thrown into the sea by the male protagonist.

But she wasn’t the original owner!

So why was she going back with them? Because no matter where she was, she could still enjoy gossip. And it was relatively safer to do so back home.

System: [Host, don’t worry. As long as we complete gossip missions and accumulate points, we can exchange them for whatever we want. Including cash.]

[Exchange? Your system shop is light years away from its inauguration! What a joke.]

System: [We just got here! Hwaiting!]

As they headed downstairs, Caden and Jodie were entirely focused on Xandra, who was wearing high heels, worried she might trip. They urged her to walk slowly, completely ignoring their biological daughter behind them.

[Not even sparing a thought for your real daughter. No wonder you're blind.]

[She’s definitely going to 'accidentally' fall in a moment and claim someone pushed her. I better stay far away. I don’t want to get dragged into this mess.]

This was a classic move for phony protagonists.

Caden and Jodie shared a glance, only to see Xandra suddenly stumbling forward the next moment, as if someone had pushed her. If they hadn’t been holding onto her, she would have fallen down the stairs for sure.

Between sobs, Xandra whimpered, "Mom, Dad, I think someone pushed me... But it must have been my imagination. Simone would never do such a thing."