After graduation, my niece’s diary, titled “The Agony of Living Under Someone Else’s Roof,” went viral. She moved in with us right before her senior year. To make her feel comfortable, I’d occasionally ask her to help with some light chores. When graduation came, both she and my daughter got into Harvard University. News stations were clamoring to report on our story, asking how I managed to raise two straight-A students. Just as I was cheerfully sharing my parenting tips, my niece pulled out a diary. Its content: The Agony of Living Under Someone Else’s Roof. My niece became an internet sensation, while I was cyberbullied and doxxed by furious netizens. “Auntie, my parents sent you money for my expenses every month. So why did I have to live like a mouse in your house, tiptoeing around? You deserve everything that’s coming to you.” Ultimately, thanks to my niece’s “accidental” location reveal, “righteous” netizens pushed me into a river, and I drowned. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the moment my husband’s brother dropped his daughter off at our house. Heh, the pain of being a dependent, huh? This time, you’ll get to experience what *real* dependency feels like.
“Eleanor, I really appreciate your help. Skylar’s the same age as your Mia, and taking care of one kid is the same as taking care of two, right? I’ll transfer the living expenses to your account every month, so please bear with us.” Looking at the familiar SnapChat message from my husband’s brother, David, and the $100 deposit notification in my banking app, I finally confirmed I’d been reborn. I couldn’t help but chuckle at that $100. They really had it all figured out. Because my daughter was in her senior year, and I’m a freelance writer with a flexible schedule, I’d rented an apartment near the school so Mia could commute. David and his wife, Brenda, found out and used the excuse of going out of state for work to send Skylar to live with me. Then they said they’d give me $100 a month for her living expenses. I knew that $100 wasn’t even enough for her food. Not to mention all the extra expenses a teenage girl has. But she was family, a child I’d watched grow up since she was tiny. Could I really have refused? And just like that, Skylar moved in. Fearing the young girl would overthink things, I told her that her parents sent me money for her living expenses every month—though I didn’t tell her how much—and encouraged her to treat this place like her own home. And anything my daughter had, I’d buy one for her too. From small things like a single pen or school supply, to larger expenses like pocket money and tutoring classes. I never once treated her poorly just because she wasn’t my biological daughter. At first, when she volunteered to do chores, I’d even refuse. But later, I worried she’d feel useless and hurt her pride, so I agreed to let her do some light, quick tasks. Ultimately, both girls got into Harvard, and I was incredibly proud. I felt all the effort I’d put into caring for them both had paid off. But I never imagined it was all one-sided, my own wishful thinking. And that I’d raised an ungrateful viper. The memory of being cyberbullied and dying a terrible death in my previous life flashed through my mind. This time, I wouldn’t go soft on her again.
“Auntie, what did my dad tell you?” Skylar stretched her neck, craning closer to me. She was clearly trying to read my SnapChat conversation with her dad. In my last life, to keep her from finding out her heartless parents had dumped her on me with only $100, I quickly closed my phone, hiding the message. But she misinterpreted it, thinking I didn’t want her to know how much money her parents had given me. She believed I intended to pocket the money for Mia and myself. It wasn’t until after graduation, when our families completely fell apart, that I learned from Mia that Skylar often called her parents, crying about how terrible her life was here. And her parents would get furious on the other end, cursing me out and saying how I was supposedly treating their daughter so harshly despite receiving living expenses—but they never told Skylar that the “living expenses” were only $100. After yelling at me, they’d tell Skylar that this was just how it was when you lived at someone else’s house, and to “just bear with it until graduation.” Recalling all that, this time I simply handed her my phone, letting her see exactly what kind of parents she had. “Here, your parents said you could live at my house, but they only gave $100, which isn’t even enough for your rent.” Yes, $100 wasn’t even enough for *her* rent. Because it was an apartment in a highly-rated school district, rent was roughly three thousand dollars a month. If you divided it by person, it should be at least a thousand dollars a month. Yet, she lived here for three years for free and never appreciated it, showing no gratitude in the end. Then, I sighed dramatically. “This school district rent is so expensive, it’s about three thousand a month. I have no idea what your parents were thinking; $100 isn’t even enough for your food.” She was still a young girl, and her face instantly flushed red. “Auntie, I don’t eat much.” Mia, behind me, tugged quietly at my sleeve, signaling that maybe I was being too harsh. I patted Mia’s hand, then turned back to Skylar. “Anyway, I’m still your aunt. So, I won’t ask you for rent. Every month, you’ll eat with us; whatever we eat, you eat. But don’t expect anything extra.” “I understand, Auntie.” Seeing Skylar lower her head, looking pitiful, I almost felt soft again, to be honest. But wasn’t it exactly this innocent act that fooled me in my last life? Indeed, academic achievement doesn’t equal good character. Even if she got into the best university, it wouldn’t change the rotten core inside her.
After school started, It wasn’t long before the first act of me being the biggest fool in my last life came around. Both in my last life and this one, I still couldn’t understand. How could parents not even pay their child’s tuition? Were they really just expecting others to raise their kid? In my last life, I paid for Mia’s tuition on my phone. I had no idea Skylar’s tuition hadn’t been paid. Not until Skylar’s homeroom teacher called and asked me to come to school. That’s when I found out. Yes, David and Brenda had directly put *my* information in the child’s guardian contact section. When I arrived at school, I saw Skylar standing in the office, head down. It was clearly her parents’ fault, but she looked as if she’d committed some terrible mistake, and it broke my heart. I quickly paid her tuition. Then I told her to go back to class and study hard. “Auntie, why didn’t Mia’s homeroom teacher call you?” Looking at Skylar’s pitiful expression, How could I say: “I already paid my daughter’s tuition, who knew your parents simply don’t care about you?” Fearing she might resent her parents later, I suppressed my anger towards David and Brenda and patiently explained: “This is all Auntie’s fault. I paid Mia’s tuition a long time ago. Your parents just transferred your tuition to me yesterday, and I was so busy with you two starting school that I completely forgot!” Yet, later, in her public diary, she wrote this: “My parents clearly transferred my tuition and living expenses to Auntie a long time ago, but Auntie refused to pay my tuition until I was called out by the teacher in front of the whole class. Only then did she reluctantly pay the tuition that should have been settled before school even started. This small incident, however, became an unforgettable scar for me throughout my senior year.” After the second time I hung up on Skylar’s homeroom teacher, My phone once again showed a missed call notification. I finally picked it up, exasperated. “Hello, is this Skylar’s guardian?” “What’s wrong?” “It’s like this, we need you to come to school for a moment.” “I understand.” Although it was still unavoidable to go to their school, this time I wasn’t so flustered. I carefully tidied myself up. Then I went to a local bakery and bought a strawberry cake Mia liked, and ordered her a bubble tea. High school is stressful, and eating some favorite desserts can relieve it. But in the last life, because I had to raise two children, and when buying anything, I always had to buy two copies. Plus various tutoring fees, rent, etc., Mark and I were also under considerable financial pressure. So I rarely bought these non-essential treats for the kids. But this time I wouldn’t treat Skylar equally. So there was no need to save this little snack.
After leisurely taking care of all that, I arrived at Ms. Davison’s office about an hour and a half later. As soon as I stepped into the office, Skylar and the teacher’s eyes both turned to me. I casually placed the items I was holding on a nearby shelf before walking over. “Sorry, Ms. Davison, I’m a little late. Is there something wrong?” Perhaps because I was so slow, Ms. Davison seemed a bit impatient, and even though she maintained a polite facade, her tone was quite cold. “It’s like this, Skylar’s guardian. Classes officially started today, but we haven’t received the child’s tuition yet. Did you perhaps get too busy with work and forget to pay it?” “Oh?” I covered my mouth with both hands, feigning great surprise. My gasp made the other teachers in the office turn their heads to look at us. “Skylar hasn’t paid tuition?” “That’s right, Skylar’s guardian. This isn’t good for the school or for the child.” “Oh, Ms. Davison, I’m really not too clear about this. Her parents just dropped her off at my doorstep and then took off for out of state. They only gave me $100 for her living expenses; they didn’t transfer any other money, so I had no idea about this tuition. By the way, Ms. Davison, I’m not Skylar’s guardian, I’m just her aunt. My daughter is actually in your first-period class.” This school assigned classes based on entrance exam scores. My daughter, Mia, who I’d raised since she was little, ranked among the top ten in the entire city on her entrance exams, so she naturally got into the top class. Her grades had always been consistently excellent, never dropping out of the top tier, even by her senior year. Skylar, while not terrible, was in the fifth class, certainly not considered top-tier. In my last life, to improve her grades, watching her slowly climb from the fifth class to the first, I put in so much effort. I even often asked Mia to sacrifice her own study time to explain problems to Skylar. When Ms. Davison heard I was just a relative, not the parent, and that my own child was in their top class, her tone immediately softened considerably. “Is that so? I saw your contact information filled out in the child’s guardian section, so I naturally called you.” “Alright, Ms. Davison, I’ll call her parents right now.” I had just taken out my phone. Skylar suddenly tugged at my sleeve. “Auntie, did my parents not transfer my tuition to you?” “What nonsense are you talking about, child? Didn’t you see my SnapChat conversation with your dad yesterday? He only transferred $100, which isn’t even enough for food. How could it possibly cover tuition?” Perhaps the gazes of the surrounding teachers and the occasional student walking in were too intense. My niece’s face turned completely red. “How about you pay it for me first, Auntie? I’ll have my parents pay you back when I get home.” “Skylar, what are you saying? Tuition for the year is twelve thousand dollars! I just paid Mia’s tuition, plus rent and utilities. Rent alone is thirty-six thousand a year! I’m completely broke right now; all I have left is the $100 your parents transferred yesterday. How about I just give this $100 to Ms. Davison?” Ms. Davison saw what was happening. She pushed up her glasses and said to me, “How about you give her parents a call?” “Alright, Ms. Davison, I was just about to.” With that, I gently pulled Skylar’s hand away from mine, called David, and put him on speakerphone. “Hello, Eleanor.” “David, did you and Brenda get too busy and forget to pay Skylar’s tuition?” “Huh? Eleanor, isn’t Skylar living with you now?” Hearing that, I really wanted to peel off his face and see how thick his skin was. “Yes, she is! You two just drop her off without a word, and then expect me to cover everything. I’m her aunt, so I won’t charge for rent and utilities, but $100 a month? What kind of food can a child eat on that? I won’t even mention all that, but how could you forget something as important as tuition? I’m in the teacher’s office right now; you can explain it to her yourself.” He clearly hadn’t expected me to directly confront him and even bring up the $100. Ms. Davison greeted him several times with “Hello, parent,” before he finally reacted. “Oh, oh, hello, Ms. Davison. Um, well, my wife and I are out of state right now. We’ve entrusted Skylar’s care to her aunt. So, maybe…” Hearing that, I interjected. “David, even though Skylar isn’t my biological child, she’s family, I watched her grow up. I’d love to pay her tuition, but I just paid Mia’s tuition, and with rent and utilities, I’ve already spent over fifty thousand dollars. I genuinely don’t have any money left. “If you two can’t come up with it, maybe you should try borrowing from other relatives?” Ms. Davison also spoke up sternly. “Parent, according to school regulations, if tuition isn’t paid, the child may need to go home for self-study until the tuition is settled before returning to school.” “Alright, alright, I’ll transfer the tuition to her aunt right away, okay? Ms. Davison, please let Skylar take the phone.” Skylar tremblingly took the phone from Ms. Davison’s hand and carefully called out, “Dad.” “You little brat, always spending my money! You’ve cost me so much since you were little! I’m telling you, you better get into a good university after graduation, or you won’t be worthy of me or your mom.” After cursing her out, he hung up. And as soon as I received the tuition transfer from David, I didn’t waste a single second, immediately transferring it to Ms. Davison.
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