She shook Mom’s arm, “Mom, Jenny has
$63,000!”
Jenny?
I could count on one hand how many times I’d
heard that word in both my lives.
Every time she called me “Jenny,” it was
because she wanted something.
Mom, having just finished berating me,
couldn’t change her tone so quickly and
nudged Dad hard.
Dad didn’t need reminding; he was already
restless.
Г
Eyes fixed on the prize money, he rubbed his
hands, ready to claim it.
“This is for Jenny, not for you!”
“I’m her father, this money should be mine!”
“Isn’t Jenny an orphan? Where’d she get
parents from?”
Plenty of neighbors were watching.
They knew better than the community
workers what I’d endured in the Johnson
household.
Now, they all stepped up to testify that I
wasn’t related to them.
“Who doesn’t feed their own daughter?”
“Who makes their own daughter sleep on the balcony next to a dog kennel?”
“Who refuses to take their sick daughter to
the doctor, kicking her out for fear of getting
infected?”
“Who tries to poison their daughter before
college entrance exams?”
Each accusation sliced through the Johnsons‘
ears.
I remained indifferent, almost amused.
Dad’s face flushed with embarrassment.
But the allure of $63,000 trumped his shame.
‘Jenny, you tell them!” He pushed me
forward.
I smiled. “What do you want me to say, Mr.
Johnson?”
“Tell them you’re my daughter, of course!”
I smiled, unmoving.
He turned red with anger, raising his hand to
slap me, trying to force my obedience.
“I worked hard to raise you, and now that
you’re successful, you deny me? Even
animals know gratitude, you’re worse than an
animal!”
I spat out the blood in my mouth, my face
<
Silently, I pulled a paper from my pocket…
On it, a few large words: Orphan Certificate…
“I have an orphan certificate. Am I on your
family registration?”
Of course not!
I’d been undocumented since birth.
When they bought their apartment in the city
and registered their household, only Ronnie
was listed.
“You have parents, how can you have an
orphan certificate?”
“Any minor without a guardian is eligible for
an orphan certificate. Didn’t you know that?”
く
“Mrs. Johnson abandoned me in the woods
when I was one. I almost died.”
“You didn’t give me a penny or fulfill a single
day of parental responsibility until I was
twelve!”
“After twelve, even though I lived here, I paid
rent every month!”
I presented the receipts Mom had written, al
thick stack, eight years‘ worth, not a penny
missing!
“As for food and clothing, they were all
provided by kind people! I earned my own
tuition by working! Do you need witnesses? |
can find plenty!”
The Johnsons‘ faces turned pale.
く
“Even so, you can’t be considered an orphan.
Who authorized that certificate?”
Dad still wouldn’t give up.
“Wasn’t it you who agreed to it?”
“What?”
“When I was eight, Grandma pushed me into
the pond, and I almost drowned. Mr. Miller
took me to the hospital, and the medical bills
were over $10,000.”
“To avoid paying, you wrote an abandonment
agreement… I have that too! Mrs. Johnson
signed it and even put her fingerprint on it.
Want to verify it?”
く
Dad, enraged, slapped Mom across the face.
“It’s all your fault, you damn woman! Even if
you don’t like Jenny, you can’t abandon her!”
Mom, knowing she was wrong, covered her
face and remained silent.
Dad looked at me apologetically. “Why didn’t
you tell me when you were sick? I didn’t
know!”
“How could you not know, Mr. Johnson? I
called you myself from Mr. Miller’s phone.
You said it wasn’t your problem and told me
to call Mrs. Johnson.”
Dad’s face froze again.
He’d been a hands–off father for over a
く
decade. Perhaps he’d even forgotten that
incident.
“Oh, and that year, your biological daughter
Ronnie started elementary school. To give her
a better education, you enrolled her in a
private school with $18,000 annual tuition…
You told Mr. Miller you had no money, yet you
sent Ronnie to private school and paid for her
dance and piano lessons…”
“Mr. Johnson, how can you have the audacity
to call me your daughter?”
“Jenny, I…”
I didn’t take a cent of that $63,000.
I knew if I kept it, the Johnsons wouldn’t leave
me alone.
く
I repaid Mr. Miller and the others who’d
helped me, then donated the rest.
I had only one request.
I grew up in the village, relying on the
kindness of many.
I wanted that money to prioritize education in
the village, supporting underprivileged
students like me.
As expected, Ronnie’s college entrance exam
scores weren’t good enough for a top–tier
university. She settled for a second–tier one.
I didn’t go to Harvard or Yale either, choosing
a different university.
く
At the freshman welcome party, I met him –
Harry.
A sunny, handsome guy.
Sophomore year, I joined a research project
sponsored by Universe Corp., and Harry was
the heir to Universe Corp.
Many tried to get close to Universe.
I was unremarkable, but I used my skills to
help the project achieve a breakthrough.
In my past life, I became Harry’s assistant,
despite only having a high school diploma.
Because of that, everyone on the team felt
insulted and constantly ostracized and
<
But this time, they had to toast me, hiding
their jealousy behind forced smiles.
Harry began pursuing me.
The colder I acted, the more intensely he
pursued me.
The day the Johnsons showed up, he drove
his sports car to pick me up for our meeting
at the tea house.
Seeing the luxury car, their eyes lit up again.
“Jenny, we brought you some homemade
eggs, all the way from home.”
Dad nudged Mom, and she forced a reluctant
smile.
“Is there something you need?”
Two years had passed, and they’d aged
considerably, their hair streaked with gray,
likely from regretting the $63,000 that slipped
through their fingers.
Ronnie came over and enthusiastically linked
arms with me.
“Jenny, are you still mad at Mom and Dad? I
want to apologize on their behalf. It’s all my
fault. If it wasn’t for me, they wouldn’t have
neglected you…”
She positioned herself between Harry and me,
turning her head slightly, letting her tears fall
onto Harry’s hand.
L
So dramatic!
Harry’s brow twitched.
“Shall we go upstairs?”
Harry arranged the best private room.
It was a repentance session.
As we left the tea house, Harry held my hand
and said, “Jenny, you’ve been through a lot.
I’ll treat you well.”
But a week later, his tune changed.
He watched me turn Ronnie away at the dorm
entrance when she brought breakfast,
frowning with displeasure.
“Jenny, they’re your family. Aren’t you being
too harsh?”
Half a month later, Ronnie stood in the
pouring rain, refusing to leave after I rejected
her breakfast offering.
Harry finally snapped.
“Jenny, you’re so cold–blooded! She’s your
sister! How can you treat her like this?”
He held his umbrella over Ronnie like a
prince, shielding her from the downpour.
Ronnie looked at him tearfully. “Harry, thank
you…”
I stood silently in the rain, watching their little
moment, a sneer playing on my lips.
Me, cold–blooded?
I’d already found out Ronnie had racked up
hundreds of thousands in payday loans.
Debt collectors had chased her from school
to our hometown and now here.
Their goal was simple: to make me pay
Ronnie’s debt.
Now that there was another sucker, I should
be off the hook, right?
I underestimated the Johnsons‘
shamelessness.
