Leah Xuan, just nineteen, had known pain more intimately than most people twice her age. It wasn't always like this. There was a time her father's laughter filled their modest home, her mother hummed as she cooked dinner, and her younger siblings ran around with schoolbags on their backs and dreams in their eyes.
But that was before the accident.
It happened on a rainy evening three years ago. Her parents had gone out to purchase items for her mother's small stationery shop. On the way back, a heavily loaded truck lost control on the slippery highway and slammed into their car. The crash was devastating.
Her father died instantly, crushed by the impact. Her mother survived, but with both legs crushed beyond recovery. The doctors did their best, but she would never walk again.
In a single night, Leah's world collapsed.
Her mother, once a vibrant and hardworking woman, was confined to a wheelchair. Leah had to become the backbone of the family. With three younger siblings—Wang (13), Meiling (12), and Ran (7)—depending on her, Leah put aside her own dreams and entered a life of survival.
Leah's Life: The Weight of Survival
Leah began working three jobs just to make ends meet:
Morning Shift – Café Barista (8:00 AM - 11:00 AM)
She starts her day at a cozy local café, making coffee, cleaning tables, and serving early customers. The job pays little, but the owner is kind and allows her to take leftover pastries home for her siblings.
Afternoon Shift – Restaurant Waitress (12:00 PM - 6:00 PM)
She rushes straight from the café to a busy mid-range restaurant where she serves customers, carries heavy trays, and endures rude diners. It's exhausting, but she can't afford to lose it.
Evening Shift – Office Cleaner (8:00 PM - 11:30 PM)
Her final job takes her to an upscale business complex, where she silently cleans after hours. She moves through luxurious spaces she can never afford, wiping down glass walls and boardroom tables while her body aches.
From these three jobs, she earns a total of 500,000 Yuan per year—barely enough for food, rent, her siblings' school fees, and hospital bills for her mother's physiotherapy and medications.
Her mother runs a small roadside shop, selling notebooks, pens, pencils, instant noodles, and basic items. It brings in an extra 200,000 Yuan a year, but business is slow and inconsistent.
Leah dreams of going to university one day, maybe studying business or design, but right now, her only goal is survival.
Meanwhile in Another Part of Shanghai…
Far away from the narrow alleyways of Leah's neighborhood, Ethan Sheng Xi lived in a world that glittered with luxury and power.
At just 24 years old, Ethan was the CEO and founder of XTech Dynasty Corp, one of Shanghai's fastest-growing software and AI firms, now valued at over 32 billion Yuan.
He was a self-made tech genius, known for building his empire from scratch. At 16, he had already built his first app—a data encryption software that caught the attention of government agencies and global investors. By 20, he had created a cloud-based AI system used by Fortune 500 companies. His name became synonymous with innovation.
Tall, charismatic, and strikingly handsome, Ethan was the dream of every business magazine, investor, and socialite. But behind his expensive suits, sharp eyes, and reputation for ruthlessness in the boardroom, there was a strange emptiness in him.
He had grown up poor in the outskirts of Hangzhou. His father, an abusive drunk, left when he was ten. His mother raised him alone while battling cancer. She died just months before his company took off. Her final words still haunted him:
"Don't lose your heart in your rise, Ethan. Never forget where you came from."
Ethan worked like a machine. Days filled with code, meetings, deals. Nights drowned in silence. His mansion in the hills was cold and empty, and though he had more money than he could ever spend, he trusted almost no one.
XTech Dynasty Corp wasn't just a software company—it was the brain behind:
E-Pay Secure (China's top financial security app)
VocaAI (a personal voice assistant rivaling Siri and Alexa)
AtlasOS, a revolutionary operating system for smart homes and AI-driven cars.
With over 3,000 employees and branches in Beijing, Seoul, and Tokyo, Ethan was now on the cover of Forbes Asia. But he never smiled. Not really.
Until one late night, while checking his office building security cams remotely, he saw a tired young woman quietly cleaning the hallway floor. Something about her… the way her shoulders drooped, how she looked at the city skyline through the glass wall—it stirred something in him.
He didn't know her name. Not yet.
But she would soon change everything.