My blood boiled with rage.

I pulled out my phone to call the police. But just as I pressed the call button, a hand knocked it out of my hand. It crashed heavily to the ground.

Luke stood in front of me. He wore an innocent yet hurt expression.

“Zephyr, I know you look down on me and think that ordinary classmates like us aren’t worthy of entering your home.

“But how could you call the police to arrest us just because we came over to Eula’s house to hang out?

“What did we do wrong?”

His words instantly ignited everyone’s anger.

“We’re just here to have some fun. Do you really need to call the cops?

“Do you really think you’re some big shot? How could you be so cruel!”

Eula raised her hand and slapped me hard across the face twice.

“Zephyr, have I spoiled you too much?”

My cheeks burned with pain. A metallic taste filled my mouth.

Luke covered his mouth. He put up a fake, heartbroken expression.

“It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me, none of you would have upset Zephyr.

“It’s only natural that a rich guy like Zephyr looks down on ordinary people like us.”

He was bringing up that same old class conflict rhetoric. It had never once failed before.

Sure enough, his words made all the classmates’ expressions change.

“For crying out loud, I can’t stand people who think they’re special just because they’ve got a few stinking bucks!”

“Why waste our breath on him? Let’s show him who’s boss!”

Two male classmates immediately stepped forward, grabbed my arms, and roughly shoved me to the ground.

Eula pulled out a bottle of red wine and walked up to me. Her eyes were brimming with malice and glee.

“Zephyr, I can tell you’re not thinking straight today. Come on, I’ll help you clear your head.”

The dark red liquid poured down over my head and soaked my clothes. I looked pitiful.

The sticky liquid smeared across my eyes, while their unrestrained laughter and jeers rang through my ears.

“Come on, let’s see if he’s still so cocky now!”

They laughed and joked while taking photos and videos to preserve this moment as a source of eternal embarrassment.

I was both furious and exasperated, wishing my parents had not happened to be on a trip abroad. This group would never have dared to act so brazenly otherwise.

“Hey, what are you guys doing?”

“Let go of Zephyr!”

Luke shouted insincerely, but made no move to intervene.

He walked over to Eula, slipped his arm around hers, and spoke gently.

“Eula, don’t be like this. Zephyr surely knows he was wrong.

“Let’s just let it go, okay?”

He turned to look at me. His eyes gleamed with the smugness of a victor.

“Zephyr, just apologize to Eula, and we’ll put this behind us.

“We’re all classmates. It wouldn’t look good if we made a scene.”

I stared intently at the pendant around his neck.

“Luke, take that thing off your neck right now!”

“My grandmother left that to me. How dare you wear it?!”

She had given it to me on her deathbed, calling it a family heirloom and told me to take good care of it.

Every night before bed, I would take it out and look at it. It felt like my grandmother was still right there with me.

Luke blinked innocently. He ran a hand over the necklace around his neck, and spoke in a hurtful tone.

“But Eula… she gave me this necklace.

“She said it looked good on me.”

Eula’s gaze shifted away for a moment before returning to normal.

She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration and snapped impatiently.

“It’s just a lousy necklace. Did you need to go this far?

“Zephyr, can’t you stop being so unreasonable!”

Her words cut like a knife, piercing my heart.

I could no longer control my emotions. I violently broke free from the two boys’ grip and staggered to my feet.

“Eula! Have you no conscience left?!

“That’s my grandmother’s heirloom!

“What right do you have to give it away?!

“For the sake of the seven years our family raised you, give it back to me!”

Eula’s face instantly twisted into a hideous grimace.

Smack!

With a sharp slap, my head was violently jerked to the side. My ears rang.

Eula hated it most when people brought up her past as a dependent.

It shattered what little self-respect she had left into a million pieces.

“Who told you to bring that up?!

“As expected, you really have always looked down on me!

“Zephyr, you really have always thought of me as nothing more than a dog your family kept!”

Luke wrapped his arm around her as he added fuel to the fire.

“Eula, don’t get angry. Zephyr didn’t mean it. He’s just in a bad mood.”

As he spoke, his gaze drifted casually toward my room. A sinister smile played on his lips.

“By the way, I think I saw Zephyr’s computer in his room just now. The browser was even logged in.

“Why don’t we just fill out his college applications for him? Let’s save him the trouble.”

My heart clenched suddenly.

“No!”

I screamed at the top of my lungs. But my arms were once again pinned down so tightly I could not move an inch.

The fury on Eula’s face slowly faded. A cold, cruel smile took its place.

“Zephyr, do you think being the valedictorian makes you so great?

“Let me tell you, even if you get into the top universities like Ozford and Hafard, you’d still have to do as I say!”

She turned to look at Luke. Her flippant tone was tinged with a hint of barely perceptible affection.

“Luke, where would you like Golding to go to school?”

Luke tapped his chin with his finger, pretending to think.

“Hmm, let me think. I heard there’s a community college with a pretty good beauty and hairdressing program. Why don’t we send Zephyr there to further his studies?

“With his looks, he might even become the school’s heartthrob!”

A burst of laughter immediately erupted around us.

“Eula, I’m begging you.

“This is my future. You can’t do this to me…”

My pleas did not elicit a shred of pity. Instead, it only made them laugh even more wildly.

“Zephyr, I’m just trying to help you. What’s wrong with studying beauty and hairdressing?

“You’ll be able to blow-dry my hair for me in the future. Wouldn’t it be convenient?”

Luke snuggled up beside her and grinned happily.

“That’s right, Zephyr.”

He sighed and feigned concern. In contrast, his tone was shrill and grating.

“You’re always so eager to serve Eula. If you study beauty and hairdressing, it’ll be the perfect way to learn even more service skills.

“You’ll even be able to design hairstyles for Eula in the future. Don’t you see how thoughtful that’d be?!”

He deliberately emphasized the word “service”. His gaze was full of provocation and mockery.

“Hahahaha! Luke is right!”

“We might be able to get in on the action too! Having the valedictorian wash our hair? That kind of treatment is beyond our wildest dreams!”

“Eula is awesome! That’s exactly how you deal with him!”

I watched helplessly as Eula filled out every slot on the application form, listing that community college as the sole choice.

I screamed in agony.

“No! Eula, you can’t do this to me!”

She finished submitting the application and flashed me a triumphant smile.

The application had been submitted. Everything had been set in stone.

The two arms that had been holding me down finally let go. I collapsed to the ground in despair.

Eula seemed to want more. She intended to crush my last shred of hope in the most ruthless way possible.

Amid the deafening cheers and applause from the crowd, she grabbed my laptop.

“Zephyr, take a good look. This is your future!”

The moment she finished speaking, she let go with a sudden jerk.

The casing shattered instantly.

One of the shards grazed my cheek, leaving a thin trail of blood.

I really could not understand what our family had ever done to her.

She was doing everything in her power to destroy me.

I braced myself against the cold floor, slowly stood up, and walked toward the door.

There was still time. I was going to find a computer and change my college application.

“Oh, right, I almost forgot. Tomorrow is the deadline for college applications.”

Luke covered his mouth, feigning surprise.

“Zephyr, you aren’t planning on going to an internet cafe to change your application, are you?”

My heart sank.

Eula looked at me with an unexpectedly dark expression.

“Lock him in the basement.”

She gave concise orders to the two lackeys by her side.

The basement of my house was dark and damp. It never saw the light of day.

Most importantly, I had claustrophobia.

I have had it since childhood. Until that moment, it was still a nightmare that I could not shake off.

“No!

“Eula, you can’t lock me in the basement! Please, you know I’m afraid of it.”

I pleaded incoherently. My dignity had long since been crushed to dust.

“I’ll stay in the living room. I won’t go anywhere, okay?

“I’ll just sit here and watch you guys. Please…”

Eula seemed slightly moved. However, that flicker of hesitation was quickly dispelled by Luka’s soft snort.

“Eula, you can’t let your heart get in the way.

“What if he runs away? Wouldn’t all our efforts today have been for nothing?”

The last trace of hesitation in Eula’s eyes vanished instantly.

“Drag him down.”

I was roughly thrown into the basement.

The darkness was absolute. The silence was as still as death.

I curled up in fear on the cold floor. My whole body trembled uncontrollably as my teeth chattered.

From upstairs came the sounds of their revelry, which grew even more unrestrained.

I heard Luke’s excited suggestion.

“Eula, let’s go on a trip. I want to go skiing in Swisserland!”

“Sure,” Eula replied with a laugh. Her tone was full of passion.

“We’ll go wherever you want to go. I’ll show you the world.”

When I opened my eyes again, I was already in the hospital.

It turned out that after Eula and the others had left, the maid hiding in the kitchen had immediately rescued me.

Just as I started speaking, the hospital room door burst open.

My parents rushed in, looking haggard. Their faces were filled with anxiety and relief.

When Dad learned the whole story, he was so furious that he was shaking all over.

“That beast! We, the Golding family, have raised her all these years, only to end up with an ungrateful wretch!”

He immediately grabbed his phone. His voice was overflowing with uncontrollable rage.

“Freeze every single bank account in Eula’s name!

“From today on, the Golding family has nothing to do with her!”

After hanging up, he looked at me. His eyes filled with heartache and guilt.

“Zephyr, it’s my fault. I let that disaster into our home and caused you so much pain.”

I shook my head, nestled into Mom’s embrace, and forced a smile.

Actually, I had already secured a guaranteed spot at Ozford before the SATs.

I had only taken the exams to support Eula.

So, whatever college she listed as my choice had absolutely no impact on me.

She thought she was ruining my future. But in reality, she had only destroyed the last shred of affection between us.

Meanwhile in Swisserland, Eula discovered that her cards had been frozen.