"Where’s your backpack? Give it here! Let Mom see what you scored on your exam!"

"Hey, Mom, my dress is getting wrinkled! Don’t touch it!"

Cao Jiajia shrieked.

"Why are you freaking out?! It’s not a big deal! Lots of people in my class did worse than me!"

Cao Jiajia lunged to grab it back, her small hands clawing at the closet door as she stomped her feet in frustration.

"That’s the dress for my video shoot tomorrow! If you ruin it, I’ll lose followers!"

Liu Yingzi wasn’t listening at all.

She yanked open the closet door, pulled out the backpack, and flipped it upside down.

The contents came tumbling out, clattering all over the carpet.

Pencils, erasers, and workbooks scattered across the floor.

Along with some lipstick and perfume samples.

Liu Yingzi squatted down.

She flipped through a workbook and found that not a single page had been filled out.

And tucked inside the Chinese textbook was a signed photo of an internet celebrity.

Her heart sank bit by bit.

Then she pulled a test paper from a math book and spread it open.

Out of a hundred, she had scored a nine.

Liu Yingzi’s vision went black.

"You... How did you only get nine points this time? Didn’t you used to get at least forty?!"

No matter how much Liu Yingzi wanted to appear gentle, she couldn’t suppress her anger now.

She slammed the test paper onto the floor.

’Shanshan... that girl is so exceptional.’

’She gets high scores on every test.’

’And my own daughter?’

’She spends all her time painting her nails and taking pictures, and her books are practically gathering dust. How did I not notice any of this?!’

A wave of bitterness washed over her, and she hugged her daughter, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.

It wasn’t that she was truly heartbroken; she wanted to make her daughter feel like her mother was at her breaking point, that she needed to get her act together.

"It’s because Mom is useless. I couldn’t give you a good life, or a smart brain... You can’t even compare to some little orphan girl. It’s Mom who’s holding you back."

Cao Jiajia’s fists clenched.

"Mom, don’t cry."

"I’ll study hard. I promise. I’ll make sure I understand every problem and pay attention in every class. I’ll never disappoint you again."

"My Jiajia is the best."

Liu Yingzi raised her hand and gently caressed her daughter’s cheek.

"Mom believes in you. As long as you’re willing to work hard and put in the effort, you can do it. No matter how capable that wild girl is, she’s not worth a single one of your fingers. You’re ten times, a hundred times better than her!"

As she spoke, Liu Yingzi raised a hand to forcefully wipe the tears from the corner of her eyes.

Then she pulled a stack of brand-new workbooks from her bag.

She thought that from this day forward, her daughter would finally turn things around.

But no one knew how agonizing Cao Jiajia’s efforts were.

She had to watch as Shanshan comfortably secured the top spot in their grade after every exam.

And her?

She drilled practice problems until dawn, her eyes aching so much she could barely keep them open, but her grades never improved one bit.

Cao Jiajia truly gave it her all for a week.

She turned down all her classmates’ party invitations and rejected her friends’ suggestions to go shopping.

But while her grades didn’t improve, all her friends started avoiding her.

The girls who used to crowd around her, laughing and chatting, now just gave her a cool nod when they saw her.

They gossiped in private.

"Cao Jiajia is trying way too hard, she’s like a monster."

"All she cares about now is studying. She ignores everyone."

"Don’t mess with her. Her temper is getting weirder and weirder."

She sat alone in the classroom.

When the dismissal bell rang, she didn’t wait for her mother to pick her up. She ran out of the school gates without looking back.

She didn’t want to go home. She didn’t want to study.

To escape, she went to a mall to wander around.

And there, she witnessed the last thing in the world she ever wanted to see.

At the entrance of the familiar milk tea shop on the corner, her father was walking over, holding a little boy’s hand.

The child was wearing a cartoon T-shirt and holding a large cup of pearl milk tea.

Her dad was looking down with a smile, listening patiently as the boy spoke.

Cao Jiajia clapped a hand over her mouth.

She rubbed her eyes hard, again and again.

’Yes, that’s my dad, Cao Daqiang.’

She hastily ducked into a nearby alley, not wanting them to see her.

’But they’re the ones in the wrong. Why am I the one hiding?’

’Shouldn’t I rush out and confront them?’

But she didn’t. She cowered in the dim alley, not even daring to breathe too loudly.

She didn’t understand.

She didn’t understand why her father was doing this, didn’t know if her mother was aware, and had no idea who that child was.

Being held in her father’s arms, smiling so happily.

’Who is he?’

’He’s Dad’s son.’

’He’s my brother.’

The moment the thought surfaced, it stabbed into her heart.

She remembered her dad always nagging her mom.

"I really want to have another kid, a son."

She was little back then. Whenever she heard that, she would run over crying and throw herself into her mother’s arms.

"No! You can only have me! I don’t want a little brother, I don’t!"

Her mother would hold her and coax her softly.

"There won’t be anyone else. Jiajia is Mom’s only treasure."

But now?

The fatherly love she had fought so desperately to protect had been effortlessly snatched away by a little boy.

Cao Jiajia sobbed in the alley, her whole body trembling, but she didn’t dare go home.

She was afraid that the moment she walked in the door, her mother would see that something was wrong.

She didn’t dare let her mother know, and she had no idea how to face her father.

It wasn’t until dusk that Cao Jiajia wiped her face and headed home.

That night, Liu Yingzi surprisingly didn’t suspect a thing.

When Cao Jiajia got home, she immediately rushed to her room, curled up under the covers, and shivered slightly.

She suddenly recalled the things Shanshan had said before.

Thinking back now, there were clues in every sentence.

During break the next day, she gritted her teeth and rushed to the junior high building, spotting Shanshan’s figure around a corner in the hallway.

She strode forward and violently grabbed Shanshan’s wrist.

"You knew all along, didn’t you? You were just waiting to see me make a fool of myself, weren’t you?"

Shanshan’s brow furrowed instantly.

She violently shook off Cao Jiajia’s hand.

"Know what?"

"I’m not interested in your mood, and I don’t have time to play guessing games with you. If you dare lay a hand on me again, don’t blame me for not holding back."

Cao Jiajia stared at her own hand, then looked up at Shanshan.

She took two steps back, not daring to get any closer.

"My dad... you already knew, didn’t you?"

"Is that why you deliberately talked to me like that? Deliberately smiled at me like nothing was wrong?"

"I told you, I don’t know."

Shanshan continued, her expression cold.

"Stop dragging me into your family’s mess. I have my own life, and I have no obligation to carry your burdens."

With that, she turned and walked away.

When she returned to the classroom, a classmate asked in a low voice.

"Shanshan, what was that about just now? Why was that person grabbing you?"

Shanshan forced a smile and shook her head slightly.

"It’s nothing, just a misunderstanding."

She gave a reassuring wave of her hand.

"Don’t worry, everyone go back to your seats."

But when she looked back toward the end of the hallway, Cao Jiajia was already gone.

’She should understand now.’

’I just hope she realizes soon who she really needs to be wary of.’

Shanshan gazed out the window at the darkening sky and sighed internally.

She knew that some truths, once revealed, could be devastating.

But she knew even better that some things are ultimately unavoidable.

On the way home, Cao Jiajia kept her head down the entire time.

She wanted to say something to her mother but could never bring herself to speak.

When she got home and pushed open the door, the sound of a fierce argument erupted from the living room.