2

My mom scurried after me, growing frantic when I kept ignoring her.

She shot her hand out and pinched my arm, hard.

"You damn brat! I'm talking to you, did you hear me? Stop pretending you're mute."

I winced, frowning from the pain. I stopped and turned, staring at her coldly.

My mom started yelling again, pointing a finger right in my face.

"You walk around with that long face all day, acting like someone in this family owes you something."

As she spoke, she held her palm out to me and snorted.

"Hand it over."

She stared at me.

My frown deepened. "What?" I asked, confused.

"What?"

My mom shrieked.

"The 200,000! Don't you even think about pocketing that money for yourself."

For once, my brother wasn't playing his video games. He stood next to my mom, mimicking her pose and holding his hand out to me.

"Penelope, stop playing dumb," he said. "Just hand over the money."

Hah. Seeing the greed on both their faces, one old and one young, only chilled me to the bone.

They never used to give a damn about me, but now, it seems, they've decided I have some value.

The year I got into high school, my family wouldn't let me attend.

I cried and knelt before my mom, begging her for so long my knees swelled up, but she still refused.

She glared at me. "What are you crying for? Why does a girl like you need so much education? That money should be saved for your brother. Get out and find a job. You need to earn money to support him."

'My brother, my brother...' In my parents' eyes, in their words, he was the only child that mattered.

You could see their favoritism just from our names.

My name is Penelope. My Chinese name literally means "to hope for a boy."

His name is Jason. His Chinese name means "family treasure," and he's been treated like one his whole life—the precious darling of the family.

When her precious treasure wanted money, my mom would hand it over without a second thought.

If I asked for so much as a penny, I'd get an earful that lasted for ages.

That time, I begged and begged, but she refused. Eventually, my pleading got on her nerves, and she raised her hand and slapped me across the face.

The force of it snapped my head to the side, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of my mouth.

For a split second, a flicker of panic crossed my mom's eyes. But when she saw I was all right, her brows furrowed in anger and she started shouting again.

"Get out, get out, get out! The sight of you, you worthless money pit, makes my skin crawl."

She lifted her foot and kicked me in the chest. I spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed, lying on the ground for a long time before I could even catch my breath.

Just then, my dad walked in carrying pork ribs, and he saw the whole thing.

He walked right past me without a word, handing the ribs to my mom.

"Cook these ribs for Jason tonight. They're fresh."

My mom immediately broke into a wide grin as she took them, unable to stop repeating my brother's name.

"What's Penelope doing on the floor?"

My dad saw me lying there, but the thought of helping me up never even crossed his mind.

My mom spat in my direction. "The damn girl wants to go to high school. As if she deserves it."

My dad grabbed my hair with his nicotine-stained fingers and yanked my head up.

"I heard the Warren family's eldest daughter finished high school before she got married, and her Bridal Gift was a hundred thousand yuan more than anyone else's. Tsk, tsk. I hear city folks these days have a thing for educated girls."

"We should let her go to school. If she can get into a university, even better. We'll be able to sell her for more money then. That way, we'll have enough for Jason to get a wife."

"Really?"

My mom's eyes lit up instantly. She walked over and stood before me, sizing me up with a condescending gaze.

"Heh. I never thought having a girl could fetch so much money. Fine, let her go to school. She can pay her own way with a part-time job, anyway."

I'll never forget the look in my mother's eyes then. They were gleaming, like those of a shrewd she-wolf.

: Raising the Price

3

My younger brother was spoiled rotten by our family. He was a good-for-nothing who was always getting into fights at school and skipping class.

One time, he beat someone up so badly that our family had to pay them $7,500.

Even so, in my parents' eyes, they still thought my brother was the most well-behaved and outstanding kid.

He was a Star Scholar incarnate, destined for greatness.

My brother said he didn't want to study anymore. He wanted to focus on learning to play video games so he could compete in tournaments and win a gold medal someday.

My parents actually fell for his bullshit and let him drop out of school.

They gave him tons of money and let him play games at internet cafes every day.

They called it "esports training."

Every day, my brother was either playing games at home or looking for people to play against at the internet cafe.

And he played like a complete loser.

My mom and dad could barely afford to support their precious son anymore.

So $30,000 was a complete windfall for them right now.

There was no way my mom would let me off the hook.

"You damn girl, I'm telling you, you're going to give me this money whether you want to or not."

Seeing the look on my face, my mom's expression turned cold.

She raised her hand and pinched my arm again.

'I bet she's going to leave a bruise on my arm.'

'All of this can be used as evidence against her.'

I clenched my fists, enduring her abuse.

"Mom, look at this!"

My brother suddenly shoved his phone in front of our mom's face.

He tapped the screen with a chubby finger, then looked up in my direction.

"Isn't that my sister in this picture?"

he exclaimed excitedly.

A few days ago, the college entrance exam results came out. I scored First in the Province.

The media was clamoring to interview me, and the principal asked me to say a few words.

So I said a few words to the reporters.

"The province... First in the Province,"

my mom cried out, reading the headline.

She and my brother both looked up at me at the same time.

My brother smirked. "Mom, is $30,000 a little too cheap?"

"She's First in the Province. Shouldn't we raise the price a bit?"

'His little eyes glinted with the same cunning as my mom's.'

'These two are absolutely insatiable.'

Back in high school, my grades were so good that the school waived my tuition.

When I didn't have class, I worked in the school cafeteria.

Just to earn some spending money.

My family never gave me a single penny, but even so, my mom would still call and ask me for money.

When I refused, she would yell over the phone, "If you don't give it to me, I'll go to your school and demand it!"

I was scared of her, so I gave her more than half of everything I earned from my part-time job.

Over time, this only made the whole family's appetite for money grow larger.

Whenever I came home, I would often overhear my mom and dad secretly talking about me.

"That damn girl is pretty good at making money. I have to put the screws to her every time before she's willing to cough it up."

My mom chuckled slyly in the room. "The moment she graduates high school, I'm marrying her off. I've already found the guy."

"Who?"

my dad asked nonchalantly.

"Who else? Butcher Shaw from the county. The one who slaughters pigs. He's rich. He said if we marry the damn girl off to him, he'll pay this much."

"$30,000."

After my dad's gasp of surprise, he and my mom both started cackling.

Standing at the door, my heart went cold as I listened.

'They only brought me into this world to be sold for cash.'

Butcher Shaw was almost thirty, and his last two wives had died. No daughter from a decent family was willing to marry him.

He slaughtered pigs in the county every day, and a few times, my mom had deliberately taken me to his stall.

The way he looked at me was both creepy and disgusting.

'So that was my mom's plan all along.'

Right then, I swore a silent oath to myself. I would get into the best university, escape this family, and change my own life.

: One Million Yuan

4

This life-changing opportunity was right in front of me. I was determined not to let these people ruin it.

My mom saw that I was refusing to hand over the $30,000.

She raised her hand high and brought it down toward my face.

This time, I didn't hold back. I raised my hand, gripped her wrist tightly, and blocked her slap.

My mom froze for a second, then started squawking like a mad hen.

"Fine! You wretched girl, you've gotten bold now, haven't you? See if I don't slap the life out of you."

My mom yanked her hand back forcefully, ready to leave a bright red handprint on my face.

I gritted my teeth, glaring at her hand.

Suddenly, my dad's voice came from the doorway.

"What's all this racket? I could hear you shouting all the way from the front gate. Have you no shame?"

My dad kicked his shoes aside and strode in.

He stood in front of me, patted my shoulder lightly, and gave me a fawning smile.

"Not bad, Pan Nan. First in the Province. I hear a lot of universities are fighting to recruit you."

I furrowed my brow, staring nervously at my dad.

In this family, I wasn't afraid of my mom, because all she did was screech.

It was my dad, on the other hand, that I was wary of. He wouldn't say much, but you could almost hear the beads of his mental abacus clattering away.

If I wasn't careful, one of those beads would fly off and hit me in the face.

"I hear the city university is offering you $150,000 to enroll."

"$150,000."

"$150,000."

My mom and my brother cried out at the same time. They looked at me like wolves that had just seen fresh meat, as if they couldn't wait to tear me to shreds and devour every last piece.

'Heh. A regular university. They're such wonderful parents.'

'Prestigious schools that countless families could only dream of mean nothing to them.'

My brother led my parents back to his room. I didn't have to guess; I knew the three of them were going to scheme about how to sell me for the best possible price.

'How pathetic.'

I went back to my room as well.

'Heh. My "room." It was just a converted storage closet, a freebie that came with the apartment. It doesn't even have a window.'

When I shut the door, dust rained down from the walls, making me choke and cough for a good while before I finally fell silent.

'I've always been the unwanted one in this family.'

'It's as if they've never considered me their child.'

'My brother, on the other hand, is treated like he's the only one.'

One time, I had a fever. It was almost 104 degrees, and things were starting to get blurry.

I was terrified, so I went to find my mom.

I wanted her to take me to the hospital.

My brother was throwing a tantrum, refusing to eat. She was holding him and cooing, "Be a good boy, Jason. After you finish eating, Mommy will take you to the amusement park, ride the carousel, and buy you ice cream, okay?"

My brother's tantrum escalated, and he repeatedly hit our mom on the head. "No! I want a hamburger! If you don't buy me one, I'll beat you to death!"

His little hands thumped against our mom's head.

It looked painful even to me, but my mom just kept smiling.

She kissed my brother's cheek. "Okay, okay, okay. Mommy will take you right now."

She picked up my brother and stood up without even glancing at me.

I collapsed to the floor with a THUD, grabbing the hem of her pants. "Mom, I feel so sick."

"If you're going to die, then go die somewhere else."

My mom kicked my hand away and took my brother to get a hamburger.

'But I guess she was afraid I might actually die.'

Before she left, she tossed a fever reducer at me.