That meant I could spend the day reading
comic books undisturbed.
And when the maid asked, “Jane, would you like
[blah blah blah] for lunch?” I could just nod and
be done with it.
As for the maid muttering, “She never says
anything,” I just pretended I couldn’t hear her.
Dinner was a different story.
Even when Arthur passed me food, it felt like an
order. “Eat the fish.”
I immediately took the bowl, and said in the
same serious tone, “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
The dinner table fell dead silent.
Even David, who usually acted like I was
invisible, glanced at me.
<
Olivia chimed in, “You don’t have to be so
formal at home.”
But when she said it, she sounded cold as ice.
I nodded. “Okay, ma’am.”
Olivia sighed. She looked at David. “Starting
today, you’ll be teaching Jane some manners.”
David rolled up his sleeves, with a dark glint in
his eyes.
4
The next day, Summer came over to visit.
She jumped out of the car, waving at the
driver’s seat, “Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!”
“Bye!” A cheerful voice came from the driver’s
seat.
<
8:00
Yeah, Summer definitely picked the right family.
The first thing she asked me was, “How’s it
going at the Chiangs‘?”
Before I could answer, she sighed. “Nevermind.
I already know the answer to that.”
But she gave me more of the backstory on the
Chiangs.
Turns out, the reason they went to the
orphanage was because their daughter died in
an accident.
So, they wanted to adopt a girl about the same.
age to fill the void.
That was Arthur and Olivia’s plan.
David, however, was dead set against it.
He thought his sister was gone. and there was
く
no point in trying to replace her.
That’s why, last time, David treated Summer
like dirt.
Summer kept telling me, “No matter what David
says, don’t pay any attention to him.”
LO
5
As if I could avoid David.
On Olivia’s orders, he had to teach me the rules
of high society.
David called me into his study.
The moment I walked in, his handsome face turned cold. He frowned and snapped, “Don’t you know how to knock?”
I said, tonelessly, “Sorry. Let me try again.”
Thacked out knocked a fow timos and walked
I backed out, knocked a few times, and walked back in.
David was still scrutinizing me. “In a few days, it’s your Aunt Olivia’s birthday. A lot of people will be coming over. What will you say when you meet them?”
I deadpanned, “Hello, I’m Jane. Nice to meet you.”
David looked at me. “Can’t you smile?”
“Not really a fan of it.”
David just stared at me.
Finally, he said, “You’re not exactly charming.”
Whatever. I could care less.
But then, David saw a glimmer of amusement flashing across my face, which startled him.
((
78
<
8:00
“You’re a piece of work.” He muttered, glaring
at me.
Hey, don’t get mad.
If you insult me well enough, I might actually
enjoy it.
6
Since David said I was impossible to teach,
Olivia decided to take over.
Besides going to school, Olivia started
overseeing my piano lessons, tennis lessons,
etc.
While I was playing the piano, Olivia sighed a
few times. “Your fingers are like claws.”
“When it was my birthday every year,” Olivia continued, “Amy would come out and play the
piano. If I asked you to do that, it would be like
farming
intr
a hala II
forcing a square peg into a round hole.”
Amy was the Chiang’s dead daughter.
I looked at Olivia. “I could be ready by next year.”
“Next year?” Olivia said absentmindedly. “That depends on how you do.”
Even though I didn’t care about a lot of things, I picked up on something key that Olivia said.
“I’ll do my best, just don’t send me back.”
“So, that’s what you’re afraid of.” Olivia’s cold expression flickered. “Jane, I remember you
saying you’d become whatever we wanted, right?”
I nodded. “Yep.”
“Even become like Amy?”
I remembered the family photo hanging in the
living room.
Amy was sweet and gentle.
I’d learned a little bit about drawing, and after imagining myself as a model copying Amy, I managed to force out a smile.
Olivia seemed stunned.
She gave me a calculating look. “Not bad.”
That day, I practiced in the soundproofed music
room until dawn, eventually falling asleep inside. The maid found me in the morning.
When David heard about it, he said I was trying too hard.
But Olivia seemed pretty satisfied.
