C
medicine every day.”
It looked like her efforts to have a big child
had failed, so she was trying for a smaller
one.
That 500,000 was probably for their future
son’s milk money.
I just smiled and went back to my studies.
Occasionally, after I finished memorizing my vocabulary, I’d look at Mom’s messages.
She was going crazy, sharing articles from marketing accounts.
く
[Women preparing for pregnancy must drink
these supplements!]
[Three things you must do in the morning if
you want a son!]
[Share this Koi fish and you’ll definitely have
son!]
I felt complicated seeing them so late at
night.
How could someone as smart as me have
such a foolish mom?
Time went by quickly.
く
I worked hard, absorbing knowledge from my
textbooks to catch up on what I missed in my
last life.
After a while, Ashley found me.
She had taken time off from school to
recover, but she looked terrible.
“Do you know Mom’s pregnant?” she said
through gritted teeth.
I said, “Oh,”
Seeming unhappy with my reaction, she burst
out:
<
“If she has a son, will there be any room for
us?”
“I don’t give a damn.”
I bypassed her, quietly practicing my English listening comprehension.
Behind me, Ashley’s roar faded.
I got first place in the city’s mock exams for
the second time in a row.
I felt more stable and grounded than I had
last time.
<
attention to the seniors‘ experiences taking
their exams.
My homeroom teacher had a classmate call
me over.
As soon as I stepped through the door, I saw
a familiar face.
My dad was red–faced and about to slap me.
I dodged to the side.
Maybe he hadn’t expected me to dodge, but his hand hit the wooden desk, hurting him so much he cringed.
く
He growled at me:
“You’re still out there, you have no idea what
happened to your mom!”
“Your mom just got surgery, and you need to take care of her at the hospital.”
He turned to the homeroom teacher, his tone
rough:
“Teacher, I’m asking for Emily to have half a
month off.”
I dodged the hand he was reaching for.
“What kind of surgery? Isn’t she pregnant?”
<
“I’m telling you to go, so go! Why are you so
disobedient?”
He looked distorted, avoiding the question
and glaring at me.
I couldn’t help but laugh in my heart.
Recently, Mom hadn’t had her period for a month, and was convinced that she was
pregnant. She had announced the news proudly in the family WeChat group.
But the other day, my aunt told me that Mom had gone to the hospital for a checkup.
She wasn’t pregnant.
<
But she had a huge ovarian cyst that had to
be removed with minimally invasive surgery.
I expected them to come to me, so I told the homeroom teacher about the situation.
I had teared up as I cried:
“Teacher, my parents want me to take the college entrance examinations for my sister. They kicked me out during New Year’s because I wouldn’t.”
“They even want to send me to the countryside to marry some forty–year–old
cripple so I can’t go to college.”
く
So, when Dad asked to take me away, my
homeroom teacher stood in front of me.
“Emily’s dad, there’s less than a hundred days left until the exams. Everyone is busy revising. How can you take her away to distract her?”
The homeroom teacher said:
“Also, I heard that Emily’s sister Ashley is at home resting. Wouldn’t it be better for her to take care of her?”
As soon as my dad heard that, he wasn’t
happy.
<
“No way!”
“Ashley was spoiled since she was little. She
doesn’t know how to take care of anyone.”
The homeroom teacher clicked her tongue,
looking strange.
The other teachers in the office also looked
at him.
My dad cared about his image, so his face
turned red.
He raised his hand and pointed at me,
roaring, “If you have the guts, then don’t ever come home!”
<
roaring, “If you have the guts, then don’t eve
come home!”
Then he left in a rage.
The homeroom teacher sighed, patting me or the shoulder, and gave me half a day off to go to the hospital to visit Mom.
There was no way I was going to visit a
patient.
Lately, I’ve been losing a lot of hair because I’ve been staying up to revise. I’ll get some vitamin B from the doctor.
Vitamins at the hospital are cheap, only three
<
After leaving the consultation room, I looked up and saw Dad hurrying down the elevator.
He was even wearing a hood to avoid being recognized.
I glanced at the sign.
Upstairs was the andrology department.
<
Chapter 2
