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?"

I asked anxiously, "Is there anything wrong with the milk?"

"Based on the test report, it's just normal fresh milk. We didn't discover any other issues," they replied.

My heart sank instantly.

There was nothing wrong with the milk. All this happened simply because I was unfortunate.

I stared at Jason, who was surrounded by everyone celebrating his achievement, and was still doubtful.

I knew Jason's results very well.

He stayed up to play games every day and slept during classes. He barely scored ten points on his exams.

He would never get such a high score.

I suddenly thought of Melody and Annie.

A shocking thought slowly emerged in my mind.

I shot to my feet and exclaimed, "I want to request a remark on my exam papers!"

Everyone fell silent in an instant.

Mom questioned in disbelief, "What do you want to do?"

I repeated myself.

Melody burst into laughter. "Samantha, are you sick because you slept for too long? You only sat for one paper. How are you supposed to remark them?"

"Not only do I want to request a remark on my exam papers, but I also want Jason's papers checked," I demanded.

The color drained from Jason's face. Then he flushed red with anger. "Samantha, what do you mean? Do you think I couldn't get a high score?"

I replied bluntly, "I don't think you could get such a high score! Your results should have been mine."

The room sank into silence for a moment, and everyone laughed.

Mom walked up to me and patted my shoulder. "Samantha, are you too stressed out these days?"

Exasperated, I flung her hand away. "I'm serious. I don't understand why they did so well in the exam when they were always fooling around. But I did badly in the exam."

Pointing at Melody, I asked, "Melody, how many lessons did you attend during high school? Your workbook was empty. How did you get into an elite college?"

Melody's face fell. Before she could retort, I pointed at Annie. "Annie, you didn't even attend high school. How could you be accepted into a top college?"

Annie fumed, her face turning red.

Then, I pointed at Jason again. "Jason, you play games all the time. You were always late for classes and left early. Have you ever scored well?"

Jason lowered his head.

"Did you guys swap your score with mine?" I bellowed.

Mom couldn't take it anymore and yelled furiously, "Samantha, shut up!

"Do you think you're filming a TV show? Who's capable of swapping your score?

"Do you really think you're a top student? I'll make a call to check your score now, okay? The Department of Education will tell you if they did you wrong!"

Soon, the call was connected.

The Department of Education revealed that nothing was wrong with Jason's and my scores after reviewing the exam papers.

I could appeal if I disagreed with the result.

After ending the call, Mom sighed and confessed, "I didn't want to tell you about this, but your mental health is deteriorating."

I was baffled at her words. "What do you mean?"

Mom explained, "You've been suffering from a mental illness. You always think you're the best student…"

Mom said I had been performing badly in exams, but Melody, Annie, and Jason were top students.

Since then, I developed a mental disorder and kept imagining that I was a smart student. Instead of bursting my bubble, Mom and others put on such a show to help with my treatment.

I stared at everyone in the house. Suddenly, everything around me seemed to be spinning.

Mom's eyes were brimming with tears as she said, "Your results weren't good, so you had an episode during the college entrance exam every time. Now that you've learned the truth, let's not take the exam anymore."

I felt a lump in my throat, and I was struggling to breathe.

My other family members sighed in sympathy.

Melody walked up to me and patted my shoulders. "Samantha, it's time you face reality."

I refused to believe it. I casually flipped through the exam paper, but I couldn't even answer a single question.

I finally gave up on sitting for the college entrance exam.

Mom got me a job at a beverage store.

One day, my colleague was late for work.

Holding two packs of fresh milk, she apologized embarrassedly, "I'm sorry. I woke up late. Have you eaten? Drink some milk. It's sold by the farm here, and it's different from these beverages."

I rejected her instinctively. After giving up on taking the college entrance exam, I never drank fresh milk again.

But since she insisted that I try it, I took a sip.

I was stunned. "Did you say you got the milk from the dairy farm?"

"Yeah, it tastes good, right?" she replied.

I couldn't stop trembling violently. The pack of milk slipped out of my hand and spilled all over my body.

I finally knew the secret in the milk Mom had given me before bed.