Chapter 1

On the first day of my senior year of high school, I found my student ID card had no money on it. Meanwhile, my billionaire parents had already jetted off to Switzerland for a vacation with my cousin.

I carefully called them to ask:

"Mom, didn't we agree that I'd get my living expenses if I worked at our family's factory over the summer?"

She sneered at me, "You ungrateful wretch, do you even have the nerve to ask for money? You made money and didn't even think to buy us a gift. If I don't teach you a lesson this time, you'll be absolutely useless!"

But Mom, the wages you paid me were far below market rate, just enough for me to eat.

That evening, my cousin posted pictures on Ins of her fancy seafood dinner with my parents, while I could only scavenge leftovers in the cafeteria to fill my stomach.

I was just soaking a leftover piece of stale bread in hot water when I saw Chloe’s post on Ins of her lavish dinner with my parents.

A table covered with all sorts of expensive seafood.

My dad, David, dotingly placed a rich lobster dish onto Chloe's plate.

My mom, Sarah, clinked glasses with Chloe affectionately. The wine they were drinking, one glass cost more than my entire year's living expenses.

Chloe smiled brightly, captioning the photo: "Aw, expressing my love to the best Sarah and David in the world! Because of your love, my diet plan has failed again."

It looked like they were the real family.

I greedily stared at the feast, but all I had to eat was the mush made from cold, stale bread soaked in hot water, accompanied by the salty taste of my tears.

Having been hungry for too long, the food caused a sharp pain in my stomach the moment it entered. I couldn't stand, so I quickly squatted down, knocking over the bowl of bread mush I had just prepared.

The cafeteria was about to close, and all the leftovers on the tables had been cleared. Desperate, I hastily scooped the spilled mush from the table back into my bowl, even licking the residue from my hands.

"Mia, why are you eating that?"

My roommate Lily's astonished voice rang in my ears, and my face instantly flushed red.

It wasn't surprising she was shocked; after all, everyone knew I was the daughter of the wealthiest family in town.

My parents were always known for their generosity, and the school even had a poverty alleviation fund donated by them.

But who would have thought their own daughter was starving, eating other people's leftovers?

They said they had endured great hardships when starting their business, and therefore, I too needed to experience enough setbacks to be worthy of becoming their perfect heir.

To that end, they constantly belittled and suppressed me, their only biological daughter.

Yet, they were almost always obliging to my cousin, just to maintain their image among relatives.

This summer, they proposed that I could only earn my living expenses for senior year by working at our own factory.

I dared not object. After all, to make me appreciate the difficulty of earning money, since I was seven, every penny I spent had to be earned through labor.

Knowing how strict my parents were, despite earning half the wages of a regular worker, I worked diligently. I didn't even dare to rest when I had a fever, fearing they would accuse me of being "spoiled" and use it as an excuse to dock my pay.

Finally, the day before school started, Mom nodded at my daily work hours, which exceeded ten, and promised to deposit the money onto my student ID card before school.

I hadn't even had time to sigh in relief when Chloe suddenly showed up with a small charm she'd gotten from a drink promotion.

"Sarah, David, this is a gift I specifically brought back for you from my vacation."

With that, she hung the small charm on my mom's designer bag.

My mom smiled with satisfaction, pulling a wad of cash directly from her bag and pressing it into Chloe's hand.

"It's rare for Chloe to think of us while away. Sarah doesn't have a gift for you right now, so take this money."

Chloe's face lit up with joy. She glanced at me and spoke.

"I heard Mia earned money working at our factory this summer. Did she think of buying Sarah and David any gifts?"

I smiled awkwardly.

That money was barely enough for me to eat the cheapest cafeteria food. The only pitiful bit left I planned to buy some new underwear because my old ones were falling apart. How could I have any money for gifts?

Seeing my silence, Chloe reproached me.

"Mia, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you're so grown up now. Sarah and David raised you with such difficulty; you can't be so selfish. You should always think about giving back to your parents."

I could only force another awkward smile, not noticing Mom's expression had already changed.

That evening, Mom sternly made me write down every single expense.

Though I didn't understand, I dared not resist, and tremblingly wrote down my spending plan on paper.

Mom read out each item, her face growing uglier. When she reached the item for "underwear," her anger flared. She ripped the paper to shreds.

Before I could react, a sharp slap landed squarely on my face.

"You ungrateful wretch! Your dad and I raised you for nothing. You don't care about us at all, you're even worse than Chloe, our niece!"

"You get money and don't think about giving back to your parents, but you're thinking about buying underwear? Disgusting! You're shameless. Is this how David and I raised you? I think you're looking for a boyfriend!"

She even started wiping away tears, as if she had suffered a great injustice.

Years of resentment pressed in my chest, and I couldn't help but murmur a quiet complaint.

"But the living expenses you gave me were only enough for food, there was nothing left. And I needed new underwear because my old ones were worn out."

Mom, hearing my rebuttal, began to tremble with even greater fury. She hysterically screamed for my dad.

"David! David! I can't handle her anymore, your daughter is rebelling!"

The door opened, and Dad stood in the doorway.