Mom is very biased. Every night, she will pour me a glass of milk before bedtime, simply because my grades are the best.

My twin sister, Melody York, and my younger brother, Jason York, have never received this treatment before.

On the night before my college entrance exam, Mom brings me a glass of milk before my bedtime as usual.

But the next day, I end up collapsing in the exam venue even though I've always been healthy.

Because of that, I miss out on the college entrance exam, causing me to fail. Meanwhile, Melody, whose grades have always been terrible, miraculously gets into an outstanding university.

Mom consoles me, telling me that it's fine to just repeat the senior year. Every night, she prepares the same glass of milk for me as usual.

Before the second college entrance exam, my cousin, Annie Wood, is staying over at my place temporarily. She wants to have a taste of my nighttime milk, only to get berated by Mom for being shameless.

But halfway through the exam, I suffer from an intense stomachache all of a sudden. After that, I get sent to the hospital for emergency treatment.

That year, I end up failing the exam again. But Annie, who comes from a vocational high school, gets into a pretty good university thanks to her scores.

The entire family is elated, to say the least. But the fact that I have to repeat my senior year for the third time makes me the butt of everyone's jokes.

I don't understand why all sorts of health problems will plague my body when it's time for my college entrance exam.

When I'm taking the exam for the third time, I tell myself that this is my final chance, so I mustn't slack off no matter what.

Three days before the exam, the only food I've ingested is the food offered by the school's cafeteria, just in case I run into more health problems on the day of the exam.

But on the night before the exam, Mom brings me yet another glass of milk before bedtime.

"Samantha, drink it while it's still hot. I've prepared this milk just for you."

Mom leaned in close to my ear and whispered, "I didn't even prepare any for your brother."

The rich aroma of the hot milk made me gulp instinctively.

However, I somehow heard a voice telling me not to drink it.

Holding the glass of milk, I saw my brother, Jason York, who happened to pass by the study.

I called out to him and said, "I can't finish it by myself. I'll share it with Jason."

Jason was stunned. Then he asked happily, "Really? Do I get to drink a glass of milk before sleep now?"

Just as he was about to take the milk, Mom slapped his hand away.

With a grim look, she said, "It's not for you. Samantha is sitting for the college entrance exam tomorrow. This is to boost her energy!"

Jason withdrew his hand and asked aggrievedly, "Why does only Samantha get to drink it? I'm also sitting for the exam tomorrow. Why can't I have some?

"It's because she's smart, right? Mom, you're biased!"

As if she had done nothing wrong, Mom replied, "Why don't you look at your own results? No wonder I favor your sister!"

Jason grew more resentful and mumbled, "So what if she always does well in her exams? She did badly on the college entrance exam. Her results were worse than Annie's. Also, the year before last—"

Mom's face darkened, hinting at Jason to stop talking.

Only then did Jason leave the study unhappily.

After driving him out of the room, Mom put on a smile again. "Don't listen to him. Drink it, then go to bed early. You still have to sit for the exam tomorrow."

Looking at Mom's eager gaze, I couldn't bring myself to turn her down. But I could barely hold up the glass of milk.

Two years ago, my older sister, Melody York, and I had sat for the college entrance exam together. The day before the exam, I drank a glass of milk before bed, but she didn't. The following day, I ended up fainting in the exam hall.

When I woke up in the hospital, the exam was already over.

My results were bad, and I wasn't even eligible for an associate degree program.

Unexpectedly, Melody was accepted into one of the elite colleges I had always dreamed of attending.

Last year, my cousin, who was attending a vocational high school, came to my house to prepare for the exam.

Annie wanted to take a sip of the milk, but my mom, who had always been kind, called her shameless and asked her if her family was so poor that they couldn't afford a meal.

That year, I suddenly had a severe stomachache during the exam and fainted from the pain. I did badly in the exam again.

But Annie got accepted into one of the top colleges.

These incidents had happened twice. I couldn't help but grow suspicious about the milk Mom made me drink before I slept.

This time, I set the glass of milk on the desk and said, "Mom, I'll drink it later."

Once Mom left, I poured the milk into the pot on the windowsill.

I figured nothing would go wrong this time.

I woke up at 6:00 am the next day.

Melody, who had just started college, came home to cheer Jason and me on before the college entrance exam.

Mom had prepared breakfast.

The others were given a serving of yogurt with two croissants, but she placed a bowl of milk in front of me.

"Samantha is in poor health, so she has to take something nutritious. Let her have it."

Melody pursed her lips. "You've been favoring her, and we don't even get a glass of milk."

Jason chimed in, "Yeah. I wonder which college your dear daughter will be accepted into after drinking so much milk."

Melody and Jason spoke in turn, and they were harsh with their words.

I stared at the bowl of milk in front of me and felt extremely uneasy.

I stood up and swapped my milk with Melody's yogurt. "Mom, I feel like having some yogurt today."

The next instant, Mom took the yogurt away from me.

She said solemnly, "I said you're in poor health. Yogurt isn't nutritious. You must finish the milk today!

"I deliberately got this fresh milk from the dairy farm for you. Drink it, or you don't get to take the exam today!"

Melody said sarcastically, "Hurry up and drink it. Don't let Mom's effort go to waste."

A spurt of anger flashed through me. "I said I'm not drinking it. Don't you get it? What is in the milk? Why must you make me drink it?"

Mom was taken aback, a hint of sorrow flitting across her eyes. Then, she set the milk down. "Forget it then. I'm worrying too much for nothing."

Melody rolled her eyes at me and chided, "What a considerate daughter. Mom even has to beg you to drink the milk."

Mom's reaction made me feel bad.

I would be taking the college entrance exam today, so I would never allow anything to affect me.

I took a bite of the croissant and said, "I'm sorry, Mom. But I really don't feel like drinking the milk today."

With that, I grabbed my exam slip and left.

…

It was my third time sitting for the exam, but I was still nervous.

Fortunately, I had revised the questions before, and everything went well.

But halfway through the exam, I suddenly struggled to stay awake.

Even the words looked blurry to me, and I could barely hold onto the pen.

I pinched my thigh hard and sobered up for a moment.

A wave of drowsiness swept over me. My vision went black, and I lost consciousness.

…

I found myself at home when I opened my eyes again.

I quickly got out of bed and wanted to continue taking the exam.

My legs gave out, and I almost fell.

Just then, Mom came into the room with a glass of milk.

I quickly said, "Mom, send me to the exam hall. I'm going to take the exam!"

Mom let out a sigh. "You've slept for three days and nights. The exam is already over."

I froze at Mom's words. What did she mean by that? The college entrance exam was over?

Mom set the glass of milk down and helped me to bed.

"I told you you were in poor health and that you should drink more milk, but you wouldn't listen to me. You fainted from low blood sugar during the exam. Your teacher informed us, so I took you home."

Clutching my throbbing head, I was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. "Again! You're bringing up the milk again! What exactly was in the milk you gave me? Why did things always go wrong after I drank the milk before the exam?"

Mom was stunned. "Do you think something is wrong with the milk I gave you?"

"Am I wrong then?" I asked.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at her and questioned, "Why did you only give me the milk every time before the college entrance exam?"

Before Mom could explain, Melody pushed the door open. "Samantha, can you stop taking it out on Mom? She only gave you the milk for your sake."

Jason chimed in, "Exactly. If something was wrong with the milk, why did things only go wrong during the exam, even though you've been drinking it for years?"

I couldn't help but sink into deep thought.

Even if something was wrong with the milk, I didn't even drink it this time.

I wondered what exactly the reason was.

Mom brought a glass of hot milk to me and said with concern, "You haven't eaten anything for three days. Drink some milk. I'll cook something for you later."

After hesitating for a while, I sipped the milk slowly.

It was aromatic, sweet, rich, and tasted the same as before.

Mom let out a sigh in relief when she saw me drinking it.

As soon as they left, I stuck a finger down my throat and vomited.

I collected the milk I had vomited and decided to send it to the medical institution for a test.

Although I hadn't drunk any milk that day, I had consumed too much of the milk before this. Maybe that was why I had passed out during the exam this time.

If nothing was wrong with the milk, it showed that I was never meant to attend college. I would just give up and get a job.

Soon, it was the day to check the results, and our family gathered together.

Annie and her parents came to my house, too.

As soon as Annie saw me, she mocked me. "Isn't this the top student who has been drinking milk for six years? I heard you did terribly in the exam again."

Mom smiled and comforted me. "It's okay. If things don't work out this time, you can always try again."

I was the first person to check my results. Just as expected, my results were bad. I got zero in every subject, except the language paper.

Melody and Annie laughed. My relatives' gazes were laced with sympathy and a hint of gloating.

They had been envious of me before, but I was just a laughingstock to them now.

Next, it was Jason's turn to check his results.

He anxiously typed his ID number and password, then jumped up excitedly. "Mom, I got a really high score!"

Mom hugged him excitedly and said, "I knew you'd ace this. Given your results, you can definitely get into the top college!"

Everyone was overjoyed, but I stayed in a corner without saying a word.

Just then, my phone rang.

It was a call from the medical institution. "Hello, Ms. York. The test report is out. When will you come to collect it?"