Chapter 4

The hotel's most luxurious private dining room was full of relatives from the Sterling family.

The moment they walked in, all eyes turned toward them.

I saw my grandparents sitting in the seats of honor. When they realized no one was behind my parents, the light in their eyes dimmed.

"Where's Alysa?"

Grandma stood up shakily, looking anxiously toward the door.

"Didn't you say you'd bring Alysa today? Since the child came back to the city, I haven't even gotten a good look at her."

Mom sat down in her seat and picked up the wine glass in front of her, taking a small sip.

"Don't worry."

She smiled, though her tone carried a hint of helplessness.

"Alysa is so stubborn. She got wild living in the countryside. She said she didn't want to see the family, so now she's at home staging a hunger strike."

My soul floated in midair.

The table was full of delicious food, but I couldn't smell any of it.

I only felt cold.

I watched grandma sit back down in disappointment and secretly slip a freshly fried chicken leg into her coat pocket.

She muttered quietly to herself, "This child just loves the chicken legs I make... I'll bring it back for her later."

A fashionably dressed aunt spoke up, her tone dripping with flattery. "Oh, don't worry too much. Ethan is so outstanding. That's what matters, right?"

"Exactly," another uncle chimed in. "Our Ethan is an influencer with millions of followers and a future Ivy League student! What could a country girl possibly amount to?"

The relatives immediately began praising Ethan.

Ethan waved his hand modestly.

"Hey, everyone, please don't say that."

He sighed, his voice just loud enough for everyone at the table to hear.

"My sister is completely unmanageable. Today during the study livestream, everyone saw it. She started playing sick while doing problems, acting like she was dying."

"For her sake, my mom quit her job. My dad goes out networking every day. What does she do? She doesn't appreciate any of it."

With just a few sentences, he painted me as ungrateful.

The entire private room turned into a collective trial against me.

"I told you. Kids who grow up in the countryside just don't work out. Nothing but bad habits."

"Must be a genetic mutation. Otherwise how do you explain a family of geniuses producing a waste?"

"Thank God we still have Ethan to carry on the family name, or she'd have ruined the Sterling family's reputation completely!"

Bang!

Grandma slammed the table in fury and stood up.

Her thin fingers trembled with anger as she pointed at everyone around the table.

"What nonsense are you all spouting!"

"Alysa is the sweetest child in the world! When she was in the village, she drew pictures for me every day-clouds in the sky, flowers in the fields. She's more thoughtful than anyone!"

"It's you! It's you people who brought her back and pushed her too hard!"

Dad finally put down his fork.

He wiped his mouth deliberately and looked at Grandma with stern authority.

"You don't understand education."

"She needs to suffer a little now so she won't be worthless in the future."

"We locked her at home to make her reflect on what she did wrong."

Reflect?

I floated beside Grandma, wishing I could hug her and tell her not to be angry.

Don't be angry over someone who's already dead.

But the moment I got close, Grandma shivered violently.

"Oh my, why is the air conditioning in this room so cold?"

Grandma, it's me.

I'm too cold.

I looked at the fried chicken hidden in grandma's pocket-the one she saved for me. My soul trembled violently.

That chicken leg was still hot and steaming.

But I would never get to eat it.