Chapter 2The Dumpster Baby Heiress

Back home, the fur babies were fascinated by the creature in my arms, sniffing her non-stop.

The kid seemed pretty chill. She didn't cry or fuss on the way, just stared at me with big, round eyes.

I opened her swaddle, and my household register fell out.

My mom had actually registered her already. The name was casual as hell: Penny Zhou.

Looking at the baby on the bed, I felt dazed.

I had a daughter!

Then came the endless panic.

I'm great with cats, but what do I do with a kid?

I can't feed her kibble, right?

"Guys, how do you raise a human? Tutorial needed!"

I sent a voice message to my group chat, "The Plastic Sisters."

"Holy sh*t! Sarah, you secretly had a baby behind our backs?"

"Which wild man is the father? Confess immediately!"

"You didn't steal it, did you? Kidnapping is a felony, girl. If you really want one, take my two monsters, no thanks needed."

The usually dead group chat exploded.

I laughed bitterly.

"No, adopted. My mom adopted her for me!"

"I don't know how to raise her! What formula is good? What brand of diapers? Does she need shots?"

My brain was swarming with questions. This kid came so suddenly I didn't even have time to Google.

An hour later, the girls showed up at my door with bags of stuff.

Diapers, formula, hand-me-down clothes.

"Use these for now. We'll send you the Amazon links later."

My friend Jessica was beaming.

Rachel was laughing so hard she couldn't close her mouth.

"Hahaha, just thinking about you suffering through parenting like us makes me so happy."

"Let's see how you enjoy your 'freedom' now, hahahaha."

Emily was scribbling furiously at the table. "I'm writing down all the things to watch out for. Stick it on the wall and read it."

"Raising a kid isn't like raising a cat. You have to be careful."

The girls stayed until eleven, giving me a crash course in parenting.

Then, summoned by their mothers-in-law and husbands, they reluctantly left.

Luckily, I'm smart and a quick learner.

After struggling for half a month, I got the hang of it.

The fur babies were helpful too. Every time the kid cried, peed, or pooped, they'd smell it and come get me.

But my bank account hit zero.

I usually worked for six months and took a year off. That plan was dead.

"How is it? Does being a mother feel blissful?"

A month later, my mom, who was hiding out at some relative's house, video called me.

In the video, she looked glowing and smug, while I looked like I'd lost ten pounds.

"You want this bliss? You can have it!" I hung up angrily.