My father, had a wide social network and liked to seek help from unreliable acquaintances, in almost everything.

For the college entrance examination, I had already filled in the local university, but he told an acquaintance whom promised to get me into Queensland University.

As a result, I failed and had to repeat the entrance examination.

When I went home for summer vacation, he kindly arranged for someone he knew to pick me up.

Not only did I pay for the gas and highway tolls, but my father also sold my computer to treat him to a nice meal.

I tried to get the money back, but my brother accused me of being naive.

"He's so kind to bring you home, how could you not treat him to a meal? You've been hanging around books so much that you don't even know your manners."

Dissapointed and angry, I went to the doctor for my breast nodules.

My father's acquaintance immediately leaked my privacy.

I was about to report them the police, yet my family still said they were family and we perhaps had to ask them for a favour in the future - so let me bear with it.

Fine, I didn't care.

Let's see what else my father's good acquaintance could do!

——

Welcoming the summer holidays, I had already booked a train ticket.

My father, Patrick Dempster, called.

"Dear, I've asked someone I know to pick you up. Get ready to ride back."

Thanks to his outrageous behavior before, now I trembled hearing him mention "someone I know."

I was about to say I had already bought my ticket back home when he hung up without giving me a second thought.

In just a matter of seconds, he sent me the license plate number.

I had to go. I had no choice but to refund my ticket.

Vince Hamlet, my father's acquaintance, was a thug from the same village. I usually called him, Uncle Vince.

He enthusiastically helped me carry my luggage up.

Once I got in the car, I only found a small gap to sit in and the rest, full of boxes.

I knew Vince were always unreliable, but not to expect him to be so unreliable.

His car wasn't only smelly and tattered, but a fuel guzzler. We stopped at a gas station a few kilometers from the starting point and he ordered someone to fill up the tank.

He said with a smile, "Miss Dempster, I took my time here for free to pick you up, so you should pay for the fuel for the car, okay?"

Looking at the over twenty-eight dollars fuel bill, I forced a smile.

The train ticket was only over eleven dollars, enough for a round trip, but I still paid.

Because I knew if I didn't pay, he'd definitely complain to Patrick, who would not only give him the money but also make my summer restless.

So, I paid for the fuel and the highway toll before returning home.

Suddenly, Patrick and Vince were chatting, shoulder to shoulder, like close friends.

Vince said, "Patrick, I've brought your daughter back safely."

"Thanks to you, Vince. I don't know, without you, how worried I was about her the whole way."

Yes, without him, I would have come back long ago and spent less money.

"Today, the two of us should have a good drink."

The two of them were talking to themselves and the car, which had not yet turned off, drove away in the blink of an eye.

"Dad! My backpack is still on the car."

As I watched the car drive away, I quickly called him and got an impatient response.

But when Patrick got home, the laptop was gone from my backpack.

He chuckled and said, "Don't worry. I found someone he knows and sold the laptop for that amount."

"You can trust my connections."

He patted my shoulder.

"Dad!"

I saved up for ages to buy the laptop.

I could no longer suppressed the rage inside me.

"Dad! I paid for him to drive me back home, the fuel and tolls and even treated him to a meal when he got hungry on the way."

"I don't owe him anything!"

"I saved up for ages to buy that laptop. It cost over four hundred twenty dollars and you're selling it for seventy dollars?"

"You've been ripped off again and again, with your so-called acquaintance, friend, or whatever."

"I told you all along that not a single one of them is unreliable!"

I was truly furious and frustrated.

From when I was a child to a teenager now, Patrick had been deceived countless times by his so-called acquaintance, friend, or whatever to handle in almost everything.

And I had argued countless times with him about it, but he still insisted on.

Patrick wasn't satiesfied.

"You know nothing, Patricia. If it weren't for my wide social network to find someone picking you back home, you might be kidnapped to be raped or even killed on the way by stranger!"

"And your laptop isn't good enough. If it weren't for my kindness, no one else would offer you this price!"

Here we went again.

Every time I argued with him, he always managed to argue with excuses.

Undenieable, his so-called acquaintance, friend, or whatever had led things more complicated and disadvantageous.

Yet he still didn't get my points and chose to trust his connection to handle things better.

"I can take the train back by myself. The chances of what you're saying happening are very small ...."

Patrick interrupted me. "It's because I found someone so it didn't happen."

I was tongue-tied. I felt dizzy and almost breathless.

My older brother, Luigi Dempster, happened to be passing by and overheard our argument, a bit gloating.

"He's so kind to bring you home, how could you not treat him to a meal? You've been hanging around books so much that you don't even know your manners."

My father, seeing someone agree with him, grew even more confident.

"You brat, you just don't get the principle of using acquaintances to get things done, a society, you get it?"

He nudged my forehead hard.

I returned to my room, annoyed and dissapointed, clutching my empty bag.

It was normal for me to have kinds of reaction.

Three years ago, after taking the college entrance exam, I had already chosen a local university based on my scores.

But Patrick asked me to change my first choice to Queensland University.

He promised me, "I have a friend who will help get you into Queensland Unniversity."

I wasn't a fool. I knew my family's financial situation. I didn't even want to mention my father's so-called friend.

Choosing a university was a major life decision and I didn't want to rely on outsiders.

"Did your friend explain the specific process? Do I have to change my choice? Even if he's so capable, can he just help get me into that university?" asked me to Patrick.

Speechless, he went to make a phone call and came back in a hurry.

"My friend works at Directorate of Education. He said, it's confidential and can't be leaked, so you can rest assured."

The more he convinced me, the less I believed him.

Just pretend to change it to Queensland University and then change it back as soon as he left.

I thought the problem would just end there.

However, I had yet my admission letter.

My father leisurely crossed his legs and said, "Don't worry, I've got someone to take care of it. Just wait for the admission letter from Queensland University."

I only then learned that he got my account and password from my mother, Lucia Dempster, then changed it back.

He had only chosen Queensland University.

Patrick continued. "What are you afraid of? If you're going to a university, you'll go to the best!"

I was so angry that I didn't talk to him for a month.

I just watched him go from being so confident at the beginning to making phone calls multiples times later.

After confirming I had been rejected, I tearfully questioned him, "Can't you just see me doing well? I told you he wasn't reliable, so why didn't you believe me, why?"

Three years of hard work had been utterly shattered and the culprits were my family. Devastated, frustrated, I wished I could jump off the top floor.

What I got in return was a slap from my father, who was furious and embarrassed.

"If your grades weren't so low, how could my friend have failed to accomplish this!"

My grandmother, Eleanor Dempster, and Luigi also told me I didn't understand my father's deep love for me. They both blamed me for not getting a higher score on the test.

I had to repeat a grade before I could get into college.

Thinking about the volunteer work, I didn't sleep well the whole night.

When I woke in the morning, I felt my breast hurt and even nodule. I thought it might be breast hyperplasia, so I decided to go to the hospital for a check-up.

I acted as if nothing had happened, but when I bumped into the table, the sharp pain made me cry out.

Eleanor sensed something was wrong.

"Patricia, do you have chest pain? Your dad knows a doctor, right? So, ask him to help you. Don't waste your money."

Patrick looked up at me.

I immediately sounded the alarm, shook my head repeatedly in denial.

"I don't, I just bumped into it."

But he didn't think so. He came knock on my door after dinner.

"Patricia, don't be afraid. I have a lot of friends, some of them are medical experts. If you get sick, I'll take you to see them."

"Patricia, open the door!"

He banged on the wooden door, eager to take me to the doctor immediately.

I stared at the trembling door in fear. I wished I could hide from his friends now.

I pretended not to hear and he calmed down for a moment. But soon, he started making a phone call outside.

"Dr. Leander, yes, it's me Patrick. My daughter has chest pain. Aren't you an expert in this field? Please, prescribe some medicine for her."

Soon, I heard Patrick leave. I made up my mind not to open the door today.

During lunch break, another knock was heard again on my door.

"Patricia, open the door quickly! I asked someone to get some oral medicine. Come out and drink it."

He shouted and banged on the door at the same time.

Who would dare to take medicine from a doctor who prescribed medicine without checking the patient's condition?

"Patricia, I won't harm you and neither will my friends. So, come out and drink it!"

The locked door opened and Eleanor stood there, with the key in hand. She looked at me with disapproval.

"Your dad spent a lot of money on this medicine, hurry up and drink it."

Patrick handed me a bowl of black-syrup medicine as if it were a treasure.

I felt as if I had seen poison.

"You're so ungrateful girl! It's hard to believe that your dad had to resort to so many favors to get this medicine."

Eleanor wiped away her tears.

As a mother, she had a layer of filters for her children. She thought her son was a capable person, so she thought everyone her son knew was also capable.

She had been doing well in the village these past few years.

Everyone knows my father and was willing to treat him with kindness. She truly cherished him.

Patrick's expression was grim.

Seeing him was about to pour the oral medicine into my mouth. In a hurry, I pulled my grandmother up to the front.

"Dad, I don't have chest pain, but breast pain. I need to see a surgeon. The oral medicine can't treat the root cause."

To avoid taking the medicine, I had to tell him what was wrong.

He frowned.

"Then this medicine...."

My grandmother's eyes lit up.

"That's perfect for me. I've been experiencing chest discomfort for years. I'm getting old, so I'd love to have some to replenish my body."

She was my own grandmother, anyway, I thought for a moment and advised her.

"Grandma, if you have chest discomfort, it's better to go to a hospital for treatment and also to get the medicine there. It's safer."

"Are you just jealous of me? You can't bear to see me get better? You can't bear to see me take the medicine?"

She pinched me angrily.

I almost jumped, my hand numb from the pain.

"That's right. With your dad's connections, how could he have gotten fake medicine?"