I returned to my rented apartment with the meeting gift from my boyfriend's parents.

Opening the red envelope, as expected, there was a thick stack of pink bills inside, without any counterfeit one-yuan notes.

I carefully took out the money and counted it. There were a total of five thousand yuan, almost equal to my monthly salary.

I couldn't believe that it was only the first time I met his parents, yet they were so generous.

We've been dating for six months, and I know their family is just living a comfortable life.

Besides, we haven't even discussed marriage.

I held the empty but high-quality and sturdy red envelope and contemplated whether I should return the money to my boyfriend, Chen Zheng.

After all, money doesn't come out of thin air.

I tried to make a video call to Chen Zheng but couldn't reach him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a black hair stuck in the red envelope. My hair is slightly yellow, so this black hair definitely wasn't mine.

Perhaps it belonged to Chen Zheng's mother.

With that thought in mind, I held the red envelope with one hand and gently pulled the hair with the other.

To my surprise, I couldn't pull out the hair. It wasn't accidentally dropped inside and easily removable, as I had imagined.

Instead, it seemed to have grown inside the red envelope itself.

With a determination to get to the bottom of this, I hesitated for a second and then tore open the red envelope.

Deep down, I still felt a bit sorry because I had never seen such a high-quality red envelope before.

"Hello."

At that moment, Chen Zheng answered my video call.

But I couldn't pay attention to him right now.

I saw a compartment inside the red envelope that I had opened, and if it weren't for the hair peeking out from the gap, considering my fondness for the red envelope, I might have cherished it.

Never discovering what was inside.

Inside the compartment, there was a bunch of black hair and two pieces of paper. On one of the papers, there were characters I didn't recognize, painted in red ink.

One paper had the words: [Borrow luck for ten years, discard ineffective ones.]

"Hello? Hello? Are you there, Ping An?"

Chen Zheng's voice became increasingly urgent on the other end of the phone.

But my back gradually felt numb and cold.

In my memory, when I first met my boyfriend's parents, as soon as Chen Zheng and I opened the door, we saw his mother with a smiling face, coming up to us and pulling out a weighty red envelope from her pocket.

Without saying a word, she stuffed it into my arms.

"You must be Ping An, right? Auntie has been looking forward to meeting you. Here, this is Auntie's gift for our first meeting. Make sure to keep it safe, okay?

"Look at you, all sweaty. Auntie specially made mung bean soup. Come in, come in."

Facing such enthusiasm for the first time, I was momentarily overwhelmed and had to give Chen Zheng a pleading look, hoping he could help me.

But Chen Zheng, with a hint of dissatisfaction, complained, "Mom, it's only the first time Ping An is meeting you, and you're like this. Don't you even look at your son? After we get married, will I have no place in this family anymore?"

His mother pushed him and urged, "You're so sour, even at your age. Go to the kitchen and give me a hand."

Then she turned to me.

"Ping An, the TV remote control is on the coffee table. Watch whatever you like. There are freshly washed fruits here, remember to eat them. Auntie will get angry if you don't."

Hearing his mother's words, I felt nervous deep inside.

Chen Zheng's family had high expectations of me, but I had been hiding something from my boyfriend.

A sense of guilt surged within me.

I looked around the room. The living room wasn't large, but everything was neatly arranged.

On one side of the TV wall, there was a poster of an unknown girl.

"This is my sister, Chen Yun,"

I was puzzled, "Why haven't I heardanything about your sister before?"

Chen Zheng's mother smiled and said, "Yunyun is studying abroad, so you haven't had a chance to meet her yet. But don't worry, you'll get the chance soon. She's coming back next month."

Her words made me more nervous.

Chen Zheng and I had been dating for six months, and he had never mentioned having a sister.

Was he intentionally hiding it from me, or did he forget to mention it?

I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease and doubt.

As I sat on the sofa, my hands started to tremble slightly.

Chen Zheng's mother brought over a bowl of mung bean soup.

"Drink it while it's hot. It's good for your complexion."

I took the bowl with both hands, trying to calm myself down.

As I sipped the soup, I couldn't help but notice something strange.

The soup had an unusual taste, slightly bitter and metallic.

I forced myself to finish the bowl, not wanting to offend Chen Zheng's mother.

But as soon as I finished drinking, a dizzying sensation swept over me.

The room started spinning, and I felt my body growing weaker by the second.

"What's wrong, Ping An?" Chen Zheng's mother asked, her voice becoming distant.

I couldn't reply. My vision blurred, and everything went black.

I woke up in a small, dimly lit room.

My head was pounding, and my limbs felt heavy.

I tried to move, but my body refused to cooperate.

Panic surged within me as I realized I was tied to a chair.

As my vision cleared, I saw a figure standing in front of me.

It was Chen Zheng's mother, but her smile was gone.

Instead, her expression was cold and calculating.

"Ping An, I'm sorry it had to come to this," she said, her voice devoid of any warmth.

"What do you want from me?" I managed to stammer.

"Money," she replied bluntly. "Your family is wealthy, and I know you have access to a significant inheritance."

Confusion swirled in my mind. I had never mentioned anything about my family's wealth to Chen Zheng's mother.

How did she know about it?

Before I could gather my thoughts, Chen Zheng's mother continued.

"You see, Ping An, my son is not as innocent as he appears. He has been deceiving you all along."

My heart sank.

"He told me about your family's wealth, and I realized that you were the perfect target for my plan."

"What plan?" I asked, my voice trembling.

Chen Zheng's mother leaned in closer.

"I want you to transfer your inheritance to me. And in return, I will spare your life."

The realization hit me like a ton of bricks.

Chen Zheng had been using me all this time, and his mother was the mastermind behind it all.

Tears streamed down my face as I realized the depth of the betrayal.

In that moment, I vowed to fight back.

Even if I didn't know how, I refused to let them take everything away from me.

I would find a way to escape and expose their true intentions.

With that newfound determination, I began plotting my escape from the clutches of Chen Zheng and his mother.