Mom didn’t even care if I went to school at
all. I knew this was my punishment for defying
her.
“I work so hard every day, I don’t have time to
deal with her schooling! She’s so capable, let
her figure it out herself!”
That’s what she told Dad.
Her eyes darted towards me.
“Don’t worry, the community center has
<
already helped me enroll!”
Being an orphan made everything incredibly
easy. In my past life, it was my parents‘
status that prevented me from doing so many
things.
The community center also helped me apply
for a $500 monthly financial aid grant, but I
wouldn’t tell them that.
But someone had their eye on that money.
The year I took the middle school entrance
exam, a thousand dollars went missing from
Mom’s stash.
Ronnie said I stole it and even “found” a
thousand dollars in my backpack.
Mom slapped me across the face.
“I knew you weren’t any good!”
Years of resentment finally found an outlet.
When Dad got home from work, she
exaggerated the story.
Dad also slapped me.
く
“Ever since you came into this house, there’s
been nothing but trouble! Now you’re stealing
money!”
He hit me hard, and my head slammed into
the coffee table, causing a gash.
The three of them froze, shocked.
I silently got up and walked out.
A neighbor, seeing my bloodied face, was
furious.
“Ma’am, please call the police. Their money’s
missing.”
Hearing about calling the police, Ronnie
panicked.
She tugged at Mom’s sleeve. “Mom, it’s just
a thousand dollars, do we really need to call
the police? What if Jenny gets arrested and
goes to jail? That would be so awful!”
Mom, finally having something against me,
wouldn’t let it go.
The police arrived quickly.
“Officer, it’s her. She’s so young and already
learning bad habits! You should take her
away and teach her a lesson!”
A smug smile played on her lips, her eyes.
gleaming with excitement.
Unfortunately for her, this time would be
different.
My thousand dollars had a clear source, even
with proof from the community center.
Ronnie, on the other hand, had a $1,000+
charge on her phone for buying albums for
her favorite boy band.
There were messages in her group chat
praising her for being generous and
supportive, all of which could be used as
evidence.
“Should we take Ronnie in for a lesson?” the
officer asked.
Mom quickly shielded Ronnie, shouting, “My
daughter using my money isn’t stealing! Mind
く
The neighbors stared.
“When they suspected Jenny, they couldn’t
wait for the police to arrest her. Now it’s
Ronnie, and she’s protected like this…”
“Those two sisters look so much alike. I used
to wonder if Jenny was really their daughter.
Now, I think she really isn’t!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me, would a real
mother treat her own daughter this way?”
Amidst the neighbors‘ gossip, Mom slammed
the door shut.
I got a dozen stitches on my forehead.
To save money, I went to a small clinic
outside the complex.
The stitches were crooked and messy, like an
ugly centipede.
“Jenny, I…”
Dad’s face was full of guilt. He started to
speak several times but trailed off, fumbling
in his pockets again. He pulled out his day’s
wages.
I took the money, and he sighed in relief.
Then, Mom’s hawk–like eyes fixed on me.
I gave the money back to her.
Dad’s lips twitched, but he didn’t say a word.
If he truly wanted to give it to me, he
wouldn’t have done it in front of Mom.
Doing it in front of her was just a show, an
attempt to ease his guilt without actually
sacrificing anything.
I didn’t need that kind of fatherly love!
Mom became even colder towards me.
Before, she would at least pretend to leave
me some food.
Now, she didn’t even bother, instead feeding
all the leftovers to a dog she got.
The dog’s bed was placed less than a meter
from where I slept.
Every day, I slept surrounded by the smell of
dog urine and feces.
L
But I didn’t mind.
Because I started boarding at school in
middle school.
I only came home during breaks.
And during long summer and winter breaks,
I’d work at nearby stores, so I was rarely
home.
When the middle school exam results came
out, Mom was in a good mood and actually
let me sit at the dinner table.
“Celebrating Ronnie getting into Northwood
High! That’s the second–best high school in
the city!”
She looked at me triumphantly, finally having
something to brag about.
Ronnie preened like a peacock. “Jenny, where
did you get in? You didn’t fail, did you?”
Dad was also happy that day, and hearing I
didn’t get in, he didn’t care.
“Not everyone is as capable as Ronnie. It’s
just as well, Jenny, you’re old enough to work
and earn money. Once your sister graduates
college and gets a good job, you’ll benefit
too…”
Mom barely suppressed her laughter.
“I got in too.”
“Where? Not Westside High, right? You’re
better off not going to that dump.”
“Eastwood High…”
The best high school in the city.
The air in the Johnson household froze.
Later, Mom hired a tutor for Ronnie.
“If that girl can get into Eastwood, there’s no
reason our Ronnie can’t do better!”
How could she allow the daughter she
abandoned to outperform the daughter she
poured all her efforts into?
In my past life, I was often punished for
getting better grades than Ronnie, kneeling
on a washboard for hours!
Oh, and I almost forgot, in my past life, I was
Ronnie’s free tutor.
This time, to hire this tutor, Mom had to take
on extra work.
She seemed exhausted, coming home every
night after midnight.
Throughout high school, I watched her hair
turn grayer.
But every time Ronnie got a decent grade,
she would proudly brag to everyone in the
complex.
She poured all her energy into Ronnie, a living
embodiment of a mother’s “great love.”
But I no longer envied that.
Right before college entrance exams, they
approached me again.
Mom pinched Dad’s leg several times before
he awkwardly began,
“Jenny, you know our family’s situation. We
can’t afford to send two kids to college…”
<
Afford?
That word was so ironic!
I pulled out the ten–dollar bill he had given
me years ago.
“This is the only financial support you’ve
given me in over ten years.”
Dad couldn’t continue.
He stood up angrily and yelled at Mom,
“I’m not dealing with this! You tell her
whatever you want to say!”
Mom looked at me, her tone unusually gentle,
almost apologetic.
“Fine, if you want to go, go.”
She even made me a bowl of noodles with a
fried egg on top.
“Eat and get some sleep so you’ll have energy
for the exam tomorrow.”
I didn’t say anything, taking the noodles to
the balcony where I always ate.
Then, I dumped the entire bowl into the dog’s
く
Before Mom could stop me, the dog devoured
it in a few bites.
Then, it started convulsing on the floor.
Mom’s face turned black, her hands clenching
into fists.
“The second time…” I said coldly.
Mom looked up sharply, a flicker of fear in
her eyes.
I silently packed my remaining belongings into
my burlap sack.
I probably wouldn’t be coming back to this
place.
Behind me, Ronnie wailed,
“Mom, what did you put in the egg? Blackie is
dying!”
The same thing happened in my past life.
Even though I’d already promised her I
wouldn’t go to college, just take the exam,
she still couldn’t leave me alone.
That night, I was vomiting and had diarrhea,
<
burning up with fever and eventually losing
consciousness.
She said, “You’re just cheap! Stop wanting
what doesn’t belong to you! This is your fate!
Accept it!”
The college entrance exam results came out.
Ronnie scored just above the minimum
requirement for a good university.
The Johnsons threw a big party, bragging to
everyone.
They said, “Ronnie just barely made it, so it’ll
be tough choosing a college,” but they were
actually ecstatic.
They had no idea that in my past life, with my
tutoring, Ronnie scored thirty points above
that line, with her pick of top universities.
It was the first time I saw a genuinely warm
and kind smile on Mom’s face, as if her
dream had finally come true, and all her hard
work had paid off.
く
She turned to me and asked, “Jenny, what
did you get?”
“I don’t know.”
Because my scores were withheld.
Mom laughed. “You’re so vain! No one would
blame you if you didn’t do well!”
Ronnie chimed in, “Just because you went to
Eastwood doesn’t mean you’ll get into a good
college! You’re just too arrogant and
complacent!”
Dad said, “I told you to learn from your sister,
be more down–to–earth and hardworking…”
Just then, a community worker arrived with
representatives from the Department of
Education.
And with them were admissions officers from
Harvard and Yale.
<
Chapter 2
“Jenny, congratulations! You scored a 718,
the highest score in the state for science!”
The air froze again.
It took a few seconds for Ronnie to shriek,
“How? How did she get a 718? She must have
cheated! You have to investigate!”
Mom was furious. “That unwanted little brat
could never get a score like that! Something’s
fishy!”
The Harvard and Yale reps were
dumbfounded.
The community worker whispered a few
words to them, and they finally understood
my situation. Their expressions softened into
pity, and they ignored the Johnsons.
I was the top scorer in the city and the state.
The education departments awarded me a
total of $60,000, and the community center
secured a $3,000 college grant for me.
A total of $63,000!
Enough for them to pay off their mortgage
and give Ronnie an even more comfortable
life.
Not just my parents, even Ronnie’s eyes were
wide with disbelief.
She forgot all her past disdain for me,
thinking only about how much fancy food,
く
princess dresses, and albums she could buy
with $63,000.
