A Mother's Misguided Love

My mom believed in one thing above all else: being number one.

To achieve that, she created a strict daily schedule and even developed a monitoring app that required us to submit reports every day.

Anyone who failed to rank first according to the app's evaluation would be tied to a chair and severely punished.

No matter how difficult the task was, my younger brother, Jason Hunt, could always complete it and receive a perfect score.

Even when he actually ranked last, the monitoring software would still display him in first place.

As for me, a single misspelled word was enough to trigger a failing warning from the app, followed immediately by my mom's harsh punishment.

At first, I tried to explain.

Later, I stayed silent.

In the end, I could only kneel and beg.

My mom remained unmoved.

"Trash doesn't deserve sympathy," she said coldly. "You'll thank me when you become successful in the future."

On the first day of the New Year, my mom took Jason out to visit our relatives and exchange greetings.

I, meanwhile, was burning with a high fever and could not even finish the day's assignments.

Ignoring my illness, my mom dragged me into a bathtub filled with ice.

"If you're trying to escape studying, you don't deserve to live," she said. "Pretending to be sick? If you've got the guts, then just die already."

She forced my head underwater and raised a rod, smashing it against my skull again and again.

I begged desperately for mercy, but it was futile.

My mom left with Jason, and I curled up alone on the floor.

She was right. Only those who work hard deserve to live.

"Mom…I'm so cold."

My entire body was submerged in icy water. My skin had taken on a blue hue from the cold, and I trembled uncontrollably.

Suddenly, there was a sound outside the house.

I opened my eyes and, using every bit of strength I had left, climbed out of the bathtub and staggered toward the door.

It must be my mom. She must have changed her mind and come back for me.

I had worked so hard this year. Surely she would forgive me.

"Don't forget to take the gifts! The traffic's bad today. We'll be late if we have to come back for them!" she shouted.

"Mom…I'm sorry…"

I crawled across the floor with difficulty, kneeling in the living room as I whispered my apology.

"I'll work even harder next year. Please…just let me take some medicine."

However, my mom only glanced at the phone on my desk. Her expression immediately turned furious.

She strode over and kicked me hard in the face.

"I told you to finish memorizing 500 words on those flash cards while you're in the bathtub! And you dare disobey me? Didn't you say you have a fever? I prepared all that cold water to help bring your temperature down. That should've been enough for you to recover!"

My younger brother stood at the doorway, sneering impatiently.

"Mom, Erwin just likes to play tricks. He thought he could slack off without getting caught. If we hadn't come back to grab something, he'd definitely have snuck back into bed and wasted the whole day."

My mom's expression darkened even further.

Without another word, she grabbed my hair and dragged me back toward the bathtub, forcing my head into the icy water again.

"A worthless brat like you will only learn through punishment!"

As if afraid I might escape again, she reached behind the door and grabbed a rod, smashing it hard against the back of my head.

"You want to sleep, don't you? Then, you can sleep right here. When you wake up, you can come out. If you haven't finished memorizing those words by tonight, I'll deal with you again when I get back!"

My dad, hearing the commotion, walked in from outside.

When he saw the scene before him, he quickly shut the door, afraid that passing neighbors might notice.

"Honey…isn't this a little too much for Erwin?" he asked.

"What's there to be afraid of? Talents are forged under the rod. If I'm not harsh on him now, he'll be the one suffering in society! They're both boys. Why is Jason able to complete every evaluation perfectly every time? It just proves Erwin isn't trying hard enough!"

However, I had already tried my best.

In the final exams this term, Jason's ranking had dropped by five, yet his monitoring software still reported that he had passed with a perfect score.

Meanwhile, I had placed in the top three, but the software said I had been seriously slacking off.

So my mom dragged me out into the snow and forced me to kneel there for an entire night that time.

She threw the rod aside and turned to leave.

The door slammed shut again.

I lost consciousness.

I did not know how much time had passed before I suddenly realized I could no longer feel the cold.

Staggering out of the icy water, I crawled toward my desk and opened the software.

I had to finish memorizing today's words.

If my mom came back and saw the big 'Failed' warning on the screen, she would be furious again.

As long as I completed her requirements, she would treat me well.

She would let me take medicine.

I forced myself to open my English textbook.

However, after reading only two words, a sharp pain suddenly tore through my chest.

Clutching my heart, I looked helplessly toward the camera.

"Mom…I really tried my best. But no matter what I do, the software says I failed. I'm so tired… I don't have any strength left."

Before I could finish speaking, my arms suddenly went limp, and the phone slipped from my hands, crashing to the floor.

I tried to pick it up in panic. Instead, I felt myself falling, my body collapsing straight to the ground.

Then, suddenly, I was floating.

When I looked down, I saw myself lying on the floor, my face deathly pale.

The software's countdown reached zero.

A sharp notification sounded, saying, "Evaluation failed."

I muttered, "Mom…I'm sorry. Even until my death, I still couldn't meet your expectations."