Chapter 4

I cried all the way back to the dorm.

My roommates had already heard about my situation and gathered around, concerned, asking what was wrong.

I choked out, "I might have to take a leave of absence for a while." To go out and earn enough for living expenses.

The dorm room instantly erupted.

"Mia, your grades are so good! This is a crucial time for aiming for elite universities, you absolutely can't drop out!"

"That's right, Mia. I'm trying to lose weight right now, let's eat lunch together from now on."

"Oh! I brought so much fruit and milk from home, it's going to spoil if I don't eat it soon. Mia, help me out!"

"Hehe, Mia, you know I'm lazy. Can you help me get late-night snacks tonight? I'll pay!"

Everyone talked at once. I heard the subtle help in their words, and a warm feeling surged through me.

Roommates, who shared no blood relation, were offering me a helping hand, while my own parents were trying to drive me to a dead end!

In that moment, my last shred of hope for parental love was completely shattered.

Over the next month, though living expenses were tight, with the help of my roommates, I managed to get by.

I thought that after this period of turmoil, I could at least smoothly face my university applications.

But then my homeroom teacher, Mr. Harrison, suddenly found me.

"Mia Miller, your tuition has been overdue for so long, why haven't you paid it yet?"

Tuition? Didn't Mom pay it before school started? She transferred it to the school-issued bank account, waiting to be deducted. I saw her do it with my own eyes.

Did she withdraw the money to punish me?

If that were the case, I truly had no options left. Even with my roommates' utmost help, the high tuition fees were something a high school senior like me couldn't possibly raise.

Extremely desperate, I had no choice but to try and overcome my fear, dialing Mom's number once more.

Sure enough, when I mentioned the unpaid tuition, I was met with an even more furious torrent of insults.

"Liar! Thief!"

"You must have stolen and spent that money!"

"Do we look like the kind of parents in your eyes who wouldn't send their child to school? Your dad and I poured so much effort into your education since you were little. Asking that question is so disrespectful and it's like stabbing me in the heart!"

"Tell me, where did you secretly spend that money?"

I was terrified, my mind racing. A memory suddenly flashed in my mind.

"It was Chloe. She was there when you transferred the tuition and secretly watched you enter the transfer PIN." I had seen it with my own eyes, but I didn't understand what she intended then and didn't think much of it afterward.

At these words, a dreadful silence fell on the other end of the phone.

After a long while, Mom finally coldly squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth.

"Not only stealing money but also slandering others, Mia. When did you become so wicked?"

The next day during morning self-study, my parents stormed into the classroom and dragged me to the school gate.

I was completely bewildered, only hearing Dad's unchallengeable tone saying,

"Kneel."

The next second, a heavy kick landed behind my knees.

I knelt at the school gate in front of everyone, with people coming and going, all turning to stare.

Dad's heartbroken and furious voice came from above me.

"I, David Miller, am a failure for raising such a morally corrupt daughter. Not only did she steal money, but she also slandered her own relatives. Today, right in front of all of you, I'm going to teach her a good lesson."

With that, he took out his belt and whipped me, lash after lash.

People gathered around in circles, many of them parents dropping off their children. I heard them say,

"Isn't that the famous Mr. Miller? What did his daughter do to make him so angry?"

"She stole tuition money and even slandered her cousin. This Mia usually seems so honest, I never expected her to be this kind of person. So rich, yet doing something like this. She's inherently evil. I need to keep our children away from her."

"Mr. Miller is truly amazing, such a powerful man, yet he doesn't spoil his child at all. I don't envy people like him with money, because he's fair-minded."

"Mr. Miller! A good lesson!"

"Bad kids need to be disciplined like this, or they won't learn their lesson! Mr. Miller is awesome!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd, and at the same time, gazes of contempt were cast upon me.

Listening to the praise from the crowd, my dad's face showed a proud expression. It seemed playing the role of a strict father in front of others greatly pleased him, and the force of his hand unconsciously grew heavier.

An unprecedented humiliation and intense pain utterly shattered my dignity.

I finally made up my mind to execute a crazy plan I had been devising for a long time.

Looking at my smugly smiling parents, I closed my eyes in disgust.

You despise me, your daughter? Good, because I don't want you as my parents anymore either.