I opened my eyes, suddenly realizing I had been reborn to the day my parents divorced. My sister Iris was clinging to our dad, her voice familiar as she pleaded, “I want to go with Dad, I want to go with Dad…” This time around, Iris had surprisingly chosen to stay with our father. In my previous life, she had gone with our mom without hesitation, thinking she was headed for a better life. But her wealthy stepfather’s company soon went bankrupt, and Iris’s fair-weather nature led her to cruelly abandon him. Her stepfather ended up in a car accident due to mental distress, and relatives came knocking, cursing Iris and our mother as harbingers of misfortune. Now Iris was desperately holding onto our father. I clearly realized – she must have been reborn too. Our mom looked at Iris in disbelief. “Iris, are you sure about this?” Iris nodded firmly, already moving behind our father. “Let Ava go enjoy life with Mom. Dad and I will be fine even if things are tough.” Mom sighed heavily, her eyes full of concern for Iris. After all, Dad was just starting his business with no money or connections. Everyone doubted him, and staying with Dad meant Iris was choosing a hard road ahead. In my past life, I had been the one to leave with Dad under Mom’s regretful gaze. Dad had tried his best to provide for me out of guilt, and we did go through some difficult times before things improved dramatically. That had sparked Iris’s jealousy. Now Iris was urging Dad to leave quickly, as if worried we might ruin her new life plans. As we passed each other, Iris whispered in my ear with a smirk, “Dear sister, you’re only fit for a miserable life as a burden. This time, I’ll be the one enjoying all the glory and riches.” I turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. She really thought I had just coasted through life before? Looking at her foolish, smug expression, I could only laugh. She had no idea that Dad’s company’s success and his rise as a business tycoon had all been just a facade. Without me, Dad would never have met the right connections or received the major funding to support the company. He would have spent every night drowning his sorrows in alcohol over the lack of orders, using you as a punching bag to vent his frustrations. He would have even drugged you and sent you to the bed of a middle-aged investor to curry favor, standing guard outside the door to prevent your escape… There were so many dark secrets behind that glittering exterior – countless empty tubes of ointment, new injuries layered over old ones, and massive gambling debts that could never be repaid. With these thoughts, I turned and took Mom’s hand, my face beaming with happiness. The life Iris sneered at was actually the warm family I had always dreamed of. I no longer had to put on a brave face alone or tend to my wounds in the dark of night. Even if we faced hard times, Mom would always be by my side. Perhaps deeply hurt by Iris’s choice, Mom crouched down to my eye level. “Ava, don’t worry. Mom will take good care of you and never let you suffer.” I knew she would. I squeezed her hand and nodded. “I trust you, Mom. I’ll always be your good girl.” I went home with Mom to my stepfather’s house. As soon as we entered, I saw Uncle Steve sitting on the couch with a worried expression. When he saw us, he quickly adjusted his mood and smiled as he walked over. “You must be Ava? I’ve heard your mom mention you often. You can call me Uncle Steve.” By my calculations, Uncle Steve’s company was already facing a cash flow crisis and investors pulling out, though he was trying to keep it together. Uncle Steve wasn’t a bad person. In my past life, he had treated Iris like his own daughter – sending her to an elite private school and throwing her lavish birthday parties even when the company was barely scraping by. He had truly doted on her like a princess. Even after the company went bankrupt, he had promised to earn money to support the family and never let them live in poverty. With this in mind, I gave the man in the blue shirt a sweet smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Uncle Steve. Mom has told me about you too. You’re even younger than I imagined!” The man seemed surprised by my attitude. He took my backpack and excitedly offered me some fruit. I didn’t stand on ceremony and sat down on the couch. Looking around, it really did feel like a happy family of three. But before long, Uncle Steve’s assistant came running in urgently. “Mr. Chen, the factory shipment has been seized too…” Seeing people in the living room, he abruptly stopped talking, sweating profusely as he stood to the side. Uncle Steve paused with the fruit knife in hand, looking a bit awkward as he asked Mom to check on the soup in the kitchen. He then told me to watch TV before heading upstairs with his assistant. I watched the two figures walking upstairs, then glanced at Mom who had been shooed out of the kitchen by the housekeeper when she tried to help. Seeming to make up my mind, I turned and went upstairs. Outside the study, I could hear Uncle Steve’s agitated voice. “In any case, we absolutely cannot let my family know about the company’s situation. Ava has her college entrance exams coming up soon. We can’t let outside factors affect her state of mind. I’ll try negotiating with the factory again to see if we can work something out. If not, we’ll have to sell off my properties. I still have some jewelry we can pawn too.” “But sir, the only property left in your name is the apartment your mother left you. And that jewelry is all heirlooms from your mother…” “I’ve made up my mind. Go take care of it right away.” As soon as he finished speaking, I pushed open the door and walked in. “Wait, Uncle Steve. I have a way to help you get through this crisis.” The two men turned to look at me appraisingly. Uncle Steve spoke first: “Ava, why did you come up here? I appreciate your concern, but this situation may be different from what you imagine. Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.” “Actually, you know very well that the factory seizure was done deliberately by someone. So no matter how you negotiate, it won’t help. But I have other reliable channels we can use.” Uncle Steve’s gaze on me grew thoughtful. I met his eyes calmly, quietly waiting for him to consider. After all, I was just a high school student. There was no way I should understand the intricacies of business dealings or the company’s predicament. But I didn’t have time to explain everything to him now. After a long silence, Uncle Steve let out a deep sigh. He looked at me as if he had made up his mind. “Let’s hear it then.” When we went downstairs for dinner, Mom looked at us in surprise. “Why are you two coming out of the study together?” Uncle Steve had a big smile on his face and couldn’t stop praising me. “Having Ava in our family is truly a blessing. It really is as they say – a daughter is a treasure!” Mom didn’t know what had happened, but seeing how well Uncle Steve and I were getting along made her smile and pat my head affectionately. Looking at the joy in Uncle Steve’s eyes, I felt a warmth in my heart. In the past few years when Dad decided to start his business, our family had cut back on all expenses to pour money into the company. Dad was often out late for work, missing even my birthday because of calls from his secretary. He would blame Mom for not being a good supportive wife, leading to constant arguments at home. It had been so long since I’d experienced this kind of warm family atmosphere. Now I was feeling it with Uncle Steve. My eyes grew misty without me realizing. While my life was filled with happiness, things were very different for Iris. Because I had introduced Uncle Steve to the factory connections that were originally meant for Dad’s company, while also revealing the defects in Dad’s products. In my past life, it was those defects being discovered that gave others leverage over Dad. To cover up the truth, he had even tried to send me to an old man’s bed. Thankfully I had slit my wrists and used my life to bargain. In the end, I was only saved because of that man… Thinking of this, the image of a tall figure with broad shoulders and a warm embrace floated through my mind… But they weren’t so lucky this time. Dad was in a panic trying to deal with the product issues, and his fledgling company was on the verge of collapse. In his frustration, he would come home to see Iris all dressed up and not studying, which infuriated him even more. He would beat and kick her, and even threw her out into the cold winter night, where she collapsed on the street. A kind person took her to the hospital. Unable to reach Dad, they called Mom instead. I went with Mom to the hospital. In just a month’s time, Iris had become skin and bones. Her exposed skin was covered in bruises. Seeing this, Mom burst into tears and ran to carefully hug Iris. “How could that beast do this? You’re his own daughter!” “Iris, come home with Mom. I’ll take care of you, my poor child.” But in the next moment, Iris violently pushed Mom’s hands away. “No! I’m staying with Dad, even if it means eating gruel and pickles. I’m not leaving him!” Mom stumbled back two steps, looking up at her in disbelief. “This has nothing to do with you. Stop interfering in my life, okay? You just married a rich guy, what’s there to show off about? You came to the hospital specially to laugh at me? Hah, how long do you think you can stay smug? What goes around comes around – you’ll be the ones crying soon enough!” “Iris, how can you say such things?” In Mom’s eyes, Iris had always been gentle and sensible since childhood. That’s why she had chosen Iris first during the divorce. She had run all the way here after getting the call, even wearing mismatched shoes in her hurry. Now she was met with such cruel words from Iris. Iris laughed coldly and turned her face away, then violently smashed her water glass on the floor. “Get out! Stop meddling in my life!” I gave Iris a long look, then chased after Mom as we left the hospital room. Back home, Mom locked herself in her room and cried for a long time, only coming out for dinner. I knew better than to bring up the incident again, but I could tell Mom was truly heartbroken. That night, I got a call from Iris. “This is all your doing, isn’t it? You knew about the defects in Dad’s products and leaked that information. Are you happy now, seeing me beaten to this state?” I pretended not to understand, not saying much. But Iris didn’t believe me. She laughed coldly, and I could imagine the hatred on her face without seeing it. “Ava Chen, the fates of you and I were decided long ago. You may be able to change things temporarily, but can you change them forever? The wounds on my body now will become glories in the future that others can only dream of. While you, no matter how many times you’re reborn, will always end up as the loser beneath my feet, a rat drowning in the gutter!” “Are you done talking? If so, I’m going to sleep. It’s getting late, and dreams are where anything is possible.” I hung up the phone before she could respond. She was right about one thing – the wounds on her body would become glories others could only envy in the future. But those glories weren’t destined or inborn. They came from me. It was me who used my own hands to reverse my fate. It was me who climbed to the top by stepping on those scars. And I looked forward to the moment when Iris would finally realize this truth. As the college entrance exams drew closer, Iris’s absences from school became more and more frequent. Each time she returned, the new injuries on her body sparked gossip among the other students. I would just glance at her briefly before burying my head in my studies again, working hard to make the most of every minute. In my past life, Dad’s frequent beatings had forced me to miss a lot of school. Even at home, I was busy taking care of his drunken rages with no time to study. Add to that severe sleep deprivation, and I had failed the college entrance exam, only managing to get into a vocational school. But this time, I was determined to seize the opportunity, study hard, and get into the university of my dreams. Three months before the exams, Iris suddenly took a week off school. I calculated the timing – this must be when Dad’s company project had completely failed, and he tried to curry favor with investors by sending Iris to an old man’s bed. The old man had unusual tastes, and with Dad standing guard outside the door, Iris had no escape. Just as I was thinking this, the students around me suddenly started buzzing with excitement. I followed their gazes to the classroom door, where I saw Iris standing in designer clothes with perfect makeup. She was affectionately holding the arm of a tall, handsome young man. The young man was backlit, but his chiseled profile in the shadows gradually overlapped with a figure from my memories. I gripped my pen tightly, not even noticing as the tip left a long mark across my paper. How could those two be together? Iris’s gaze swept across the crowd and landed steadily on me, her eyes glittering with excitement and a desire to show off that was painfully obvious. “Let me introduce you all – this is my fiancé, Jackson King. His father just donated a new library to our school.” At her words, the classroom erupted into chaos. After all, Jackson was the son of the richest man in the country. Now that they were engaged, what did it matter if Iris went to college or not? But in the midst of all the chatter, Jackson walked over to my desk. He lowered his eyes to scan my desktop, then fixed his gaze on my face. “So you’re Iris’s sister, Ava Chen?” “I heard your dad’s company lost $5 million because of product defects. That was thanks to you, wasn’t it?” I gripped my fingers tightly. Based on what I knew of Jackson, his current expression – halfway between a smile and not – was like a predator who had spotted its prey, his whole body radiating excitement at the hunt. Iris came over and leaned half her body against Jackson, her voice coy as she said, “I told you on the way here, didn’t I? My little sister here is quite something. You’d better watch out, or she might trip you up someday.” I was still confused about how Jackson had ended up with Iris in the first place, and I couldn’t be bothered to read between the lines of what she was saying. I lowered my head, packed up my things, and walked out. I clearly remembered that in my past life, when I had finally escaped and ran into Jackson, I had traded my dad’s core company project to get him to protect me. But Jackson was cruel by nature. Compared to my father who resorted to domestic violence at the drop of a hat, the scheming Jackson was truly terrifying. But I had already exposed Dad’s core project as part of my plan. So what had Iris traded to get Jackson on her side? Whatever it was, in this life I was determined to stay far away from Jackson. But soon after, I received a message from Jackson. He had completely guessed my thoughts: “Aren’t you curious about why I became Iris’s fiancé?” I immediately blocked his number and asked for leave from school, deciding to go home instead. I knew Iris’s personality well. Now that she was engaged to Jackson, she felt like a slave who had overthrown her masters and become queen. She had finally achieved the life of her dreams and would definitely want to show off. Sure enough, by the time I got home, even Mom knew about it and was asking me worriedly about the details. “The upper class is as deep as the sea, especially a family like Jackson’s. Who knows what hidden motives they might have? Iris may be willful, but she’s still my daughter. I can’t just stand by and watch her jump into the fire.” Uncle Steve didn’t say much. The company was at a critical juncture, and if they could get through this period, the crisis would truly be over. Naturally, he had no energy to concern himself with other people’s business. Dad’s company received a large investment along with the engagement, and just like in my past life, it gradually became successful. But I had an uneasy feeling that something wasn’t right. Sure enough, the night before the college entrance exam, I was cornered by a group of thugs on my way home from school. They lewdly called out my name, clearly targeting me specifically. I clutched my backpack warily. “Who are you? What do you want?” “Little sister, we heard you have your big exam tomorrow. We came specially to help you relieve some stress.” As they spoke, several men with large tattoos on their arms started walking towards me, their lecherous gazes roaming over my body. I felt nauseated, goosebumps rising on my arms. Without thinking, I turned and ran.
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