Chapter 2

3

A hospital checkup revealed that I had low blood sugar, along with a pile of other minor ailments.

They’d all been with me since birth.

Half-conscious, I remembered many things from the past.

My mother had me when she was nineteen. Back then, the family’s circumstances were ordinary—actually, they were awful—and she didn’t get proper prenatal care.

Then, just before I was born, she had a huge fight with my maternal grandparents and went into premature labor.

The argument was only because they didn’t like Dad, but Mom insisted on marrying him.

“The rich man and the high-school teacher we introduced you to—you refused to meet either of them! You insist on marrying that poor guy whose parents are dead. Are you possessed?”

“What teacher? He drove away two wives and has a terrible reputation. No one else would have him, so you’re trying to push him on me. And that rich boss is fifty years old—he’s older than you and Dad! You’d really sell me for money?”

“I had excellent grades back then. I had to quit school and work so my younger brother could study, and my life was ruined. This time, no one gets to control me!”

“No matter how bad Old Lin is, at least he doesn’t hit me, yell at me, or treat me like a pack animal. He even saved money to buy me new clothes!”

Mom had made her case with great conviction, a proud, sweet smile on her face.

“That’s how I convinced your grandparents and married your dad.”

Me: …

By today’s standards, Mom would definitely be called a love-struck fool.

But everyone has their own circumstances.

No one can say that if they’d been in her position, they would have done better.

She’d never regretted marrying Dad. The only thing she regretted was not being able to give me a healthy body.

When I woke up, they were keeping watch by my bed, listening obediently as the doctor lectured them.

“Yes, yes, yes. We’ll be careful from now on. We’ll make her eat red dates, bananas, chicken, duck, and fish every day. We’ll get her a physical every year.”

“And don’t rely only on food. You need to make sure she exercises regularly too— aerobics, jogging, anything like that…”

They nodded repeatedly, looking at me with guilty eyes like elementary-school students who’d done something wrong.

I said softly that it was all right.

When my parents were young, they probably just endured illness on their own. They may never have realized that raising a child could be so delicate.

I couldn’t blame everything on them.

I was still getting an IV and eating fruit when they started talking about the subject they’d been arguing over earlier.

Mom insisted that a girl should learn ballet. It was elegant and would make men like her.

Dad said elegance was useless. I should learn taekwondo; that would be impressive.

They started arguing again.

“I don’t mind if my life is hard. I just want our daughter to have some dignity—to marry a rich man and live a dignified life. Is that too much to ask?”

“What’s undignified about taekwondo? If she runs into some bleached-haired punk, she can knock him down with one punch.”

“You want our daughter to run into a bleached-haired punk?!”

“Enough. Stop arguing.”

I clutched my head again, and they immediately fell silent.

To be honest, aside from math and Rubik’s cubes, there wasn’t anything in particular I liked.

To be fair, my parents let me try a few classes at the ballet studio and taekwondo school near home.

The ballet teacher nearly cried because of me.

“I haven’t seen a little girl this uncoordinated in ages. Please take her away. Take her away…”

The taekwondo instructor, on the other hand, lit up.

“Her stamina isn’t great, but she’s very flexible and has excellent endurance. Her muscles recover unusually well too. If she sticks with it, she could become quite good!”

“Wait. Flexible, and good recovery…”

Mom suddenly grew alarmed.

“Isn’t that… isn’t that…”

Dad immediately covered her mouth.

“Sir, we’ll sign her up for this!”

4

And so, at eight years old, I began learning taekwondo.

I trained in martial arts while keeping up with my studies.

Four years later, I’d earned my green belt and scored the highest in the county on the entrance exam for the city’s top high school.

The school was a little far from home, which meant I had to leave my parents and start living independently.

On the first day of school, my parents hugged each other and cried loudly.

“Old Lin, you take her. I can’t bear it.”

“Honey, I can’t bear it either… Maybe, maybe we shouldn’t let her go.”

“No!”

Mom immediately wiped her tears. “If she stays in this little town for her whole life, she’ll never meet an overbearing CEO.”

In the end, both of them took me there.

As we parted, Mom reminded me again and again.

“Darling, if a boy pursues you, make sure you find out if he’s the real young master or a fake one who was switched at birth. It’s very important.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Dad pulled her away, then turned back to wave at me. “Study hard, sweetheart!”

It wasn’t long after the school year started before they got a call from my homeroom teacher.

“Could both parents come to the school when you have time? Lin Aitu got into a fight with a classmate and says he harassed her.”

Mom was shocked. “What? Has the male lead of a school romance appeared?”

“We’re not ready yet!”

They couldn’t leave the family business unattended, so Mom volunteered to go speak to my “future son-in-law” while Dad stayed to mind the shop.

As soon as she saw her, I ran over to complain.

“Mom, he’s the one who harassed me.”

Mom looked at the boy’s appearance and seemed oddly pleased.

“What kind of harassment? Did he pin you against the wall or carry you in his arms?”

“He touched my chest.”

Mom shot to her feet.

“You little bastard! Which hand did you use?”

I’d already kicked him hard enough to make his nose bleed, and his face was swollen. But his expression was still unbelievably punchable.

“You dare hit me? I’m warning you—my dad owns a company!”

Mom sat back down.

“But then again…”

“Mom!”

I stared at her with wide eyes.

Mom came to her senses and pulled out her phone.

“What company? Let me look it up.”

The boy suddenly looked uneasy, but he mumbled a name.

Mom had barely sat down again when she jumped up.

“It went bankrupt two years ago! And you still dare try to fool me?”

“You made me think you were some fancy rich second-generation heir, and you have the nerve to go after my daughter? If you don’t have a mirror at home, you’ve got water and a penis—what, you don’t have a prostate, so you can’t pee? You’re young. You should be studying instead of this. At this rate, you won’t even be able to pull strings to get into an electronics factory!”

Mom was a professional internet surfer. She was immersed in online slang all year round and never repeated an insult.

Everyone in the office gaped as they watched her go at him.

The homeroom teacher couldn’t stop her. It wasn’t until the other boy’s parents arrived that Mom finally took a break to drink some water.

The boy was crying by then. His mother felt sorry for him and accused my mom of going too far and refusing to let it go.

“How am I refusing to let it go? My daughter is a minor. She was harassed. I could report this to the police! You should be glad I haven’t made a bigger deal of it!”

“I’m telling you now: I have only one daughter in this life. If anyone dares bully her in front of me, I’ll skin them alive!”

She pointed at the mother and son, yelling until her face was red and spittle flew. Her carefully styled hair was a mess.

Seeing her looking so disheveled, I felt a sharp ache in my heart for some reason.

“Mom, I’m really okay now.”

I tugged at her sleeve.

She looked at me, and her eyes immediately softened. She just pulled me tightly into her arms.

Calling parents to school was supposed to be about educating both sides and helping them reconcile, not starting a fight.

Mom was still unconvinced, but I talked her down. In the end, the matter was settled as if each side had received fifty strokes.

Afterward, I walked her to the bus station.

She kept muttering along the way.

“Those people really are birds of a feather. The son’s a lecher, and his mother’s no better. That’s not the kind of family we should marry into…”

The sunset cast a beautiful golden glow over her face.

I watched her quietly for a long time before asking,

“Mom… if he really had been rich, would it have been all right for him to harass me?”