My mother has hated me since the day I was born. Whenever she’s upset, she hits me, yells at me, and sometimes even throws me out onto the street in the middle of the night. She’s especially fond of her best friend’s daughter, Scylla Reed, and has even made Scylla her goddaughter. For Scylla, she buys strawberry cakes and pretty dresses, practically giving her everything she owns. I truly don’t understand: why is she so biased towards her? Until one day, my mother came down with a high fever. While taking care of her, I heard her talking in her sleep: “Scylla, when mommy has the means, I’ll definitely take you back as my biological daughter.” Only then did I realize I wasn’t actually my mother’s child. With my heart racing in excitement, I went to my mother’s best friend, but she just sneered at me with contempt. “What difference does that make? I only acknowledge Scylla, not you.” My heart felt like it had been punched hard. From then on, I stopped hoping and focused only on myself. When I finally discovered who my birth mother was, those two came to regret their actions. 1 Standing at Aunt Hunter’s doorstep, my mother lowered her voice, each word as firm as a nail. “We’re going to Aunt Hunter’s for Christmas Eve feast. At the table, you are not to take any meat from Scylla, nor steal her spotlight! Do you understand? If you make her unhappy, I’ll beat you when we get home!” I nodded obediently. I was used to my mother’s ways by now. Though I didn’t understand why she always insisted on dragging me to Aunt Hunter’s for Christmas dinner, or why she favored Scylla so much. “Scylla, look! Your godmother bought you that dress you’ve always loved. Christmas is the perfect time for new clothes!” As soon as we entered, my mother’s expression of disgust instantly transformed into one of tenderness. I lowered my head, looking at my own tattered clothes, my heart filled with bitterness. I had never owned a new piece of clothing. During dinner, I remembered everything my mother had said. From the table full of food, I only took a few vegetables to eat with my rice. My mother kept putting food onto Scylla’s plate. Sitting beside me, Scylla suddenly waved her bulging red envelope in my direction – the traditional monetary gift given during holidays. “How much did your mom give you in your red envelope this year? She gave me five thousand in mine.” I froze for a moment. As for red envelopes, my mother had never given me a single cent. I forced a bitter smile, nodded, and didn’t respond to her question. At the table, my mother continued praising Scylla. “Scylla is such a beautiful, well-behaved, and obedient child. I truly envy you for having such a wonderful daughter!” “Unlike my good-for-nothing who can’t do anything right. I regret every day having brought such a worthless child into this world!” She always managed to slip in a few words to belittle me. After dinner, Scylla wiped her mouth and began whining to Aunt Hunter. “Mom, I want strawberry cake.” Before Aunt Hunter could respond, my mother immediately stood up. “Godmother will go buy it for you right now!” It was snowing heavily outside, but she left without any hesitation. When she returned, her face was red from the cold. Everyone watched Scylla eat her cake with adoring expressions, while I shrank into the corner, feeling like an unwelcome shadow. She pushed the small amount of leftover cream toward me. “Amelia Carter, I can’t finish this. You can have the rest.” I picked up my fork, curious to taste what this strawberry cake was like. But in the next second, my mother slapped me hard across the face. “You little brat, have you forgotten what I told you before we came in?!” “Don’t even think about taking Scylla’s things, even if she doesn’t want them, you have no right to them!” My face burned with pain, my eyes welling up with tears as I put down my fork and apologized to Scylla. As the holidays continued, New Year’s Eve should have been festive, but for me, it was torture. That night, my mother caught a cold from going out to buy Scylla’s cake, which turned into a fever. I brought a basin of hot water to wipe her face when I heard her mumbling in her delirium. “My child, my child, mommy misses you so much.” My heart suddenly tightened, and I unsteadily walked to her side, gripping her hand tightly. “Mom, I’m right here.” Then she continued: “Scylla, my child, mommy misses you terribly.” “Mommy deeply regrets giving you away, but I simply couldn’t provide for you properly back then.” “When I have the means, I’ll definitely acknowledge you as my biological daughter!”
2 My hand stopped as I was wiping her face, a mix of emotions washing over me. But I quickly understood. Mom didn’t love me because I wasn’t her biological child. If I found my birth mother, would I receive the kind of love that Scylla got? Since Mom had exchanged me with Aunt Hunter’s child, then Aunt Hunter must be my biological mother. The more I thought about it, the more excited I became. Without even putting on shoes, I ran straight to Aunt Hunter’s house. I was out of breath when I reached Aunt Hunter’s doorstep, just as she was returning from grocery shopping. “Amelia, what brings you here?” she asked, looking at me with confusion. I took a deep breath and blurted out everything Mom had said yesterday. I had expected her to break down in tears of regret after learning the truth. Instead, she merely chuckled. I stood there dumbfounded, not understanding what was happening. Then, she slowly pushed open her door, and just before stepping inside, she turned back. “Even if you were my biological daughter, so what? I only acknowledge Scylla as my daughter, not you.” The next second, she slammed the door shut with a loud bang, leaving me barefoot outside. My previously high spirits instantly plummeted, as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over my head. Their attitude toward me seemed to constantly emphasize one thing—I was simply unlikable, and it had nothing to do with being biological or not. No one wanted to accept me. Feeling dejected, I returned home. As soon as I opened the door, a plate suddenly flew toward my face. “Where have you been wandering off to? Your mother is sick, and you don’t even think to come take care of her? What’s the difference between giving birth to you and giving birth to something useless? Can’t you learn from Scylla? She’s both smart and filial. You’re the same age, yet the gap between you is so vast!” I was dizzy from the impact, and the resentment in my heart finally erupted. Just because I wasn’t her biological daughter, she could bully and insult me like this? It was completely unfair! From that moment, a rebellious mindset began to take root within me. “Aren’t you and Aunt Hunter the same age? Why is Aunt Hunter so successful while you’re so down and out?” This was the first time I had ever talked back to her. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at me. Without saying a word, she grabbed a clothes hanger and beat me mercilessly, breaking my skin and opening wounds all over my body. This time, I didn’t cry and beg for forgiveness as I had done before. From that day on, I began studying by lamplight at night. Rather than yearning for their love, I decided to seize the opportunity to improve myself and leave this home as soon as possible. My grades steadily improved, gradually surpassing Scylla’s. Scylla was very unhappy about this and cried when she got home. Because of this incident, Mom gave me a severe beating. Once again, I clearly understood that none of them wanted me to do well. So I learned to keep a low profile. In every exam before the college entrance test, I deliberately performed poorly, making myself one of the lowest-ranked students in the class. “Scylla is naturally intelligent. She barely studies yet still performs much better than that hateful child!” Mom’s face beamed with pride as she looked at Scylla’s report card. Only I knew that Scylla’s grades were obtained through cheating. Her actual performance might not even reach the minimum score required for college admission. But I didn’t expose her; I just agreed with Mom. On the day of the college entrance exam, I was the first person to walk out of the examination hall. Many parents had gathered outside, and I immediately spotted Aunt Hunter in a corner, talking on her phone. I intended to pretend I hadn’t seen her and walk past, but I accidentally overheard her conversation. “Mom, Scylla is currently taking the college entrance exam, don’t worry.” “Thankfully, you discovered that Scylla had been switched early on and exchanged her back, otherwise I’d be crying without tears now.” “Wendy thought her plan was flawless, and she’s been beating and scolding her own biological daughter every day.”
3 My mind went completely blank. I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. That night, I tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. To clear the doubts in my mind, I went straight to the hospital for a paternity test as soon as I got up. The day the college entrance exam results were announced happened to be Scylla’s coming-of-age ceremony. She specifically called to beg me to attend. I knew perfectly well that she was worried today’s results would expose her true academic level, so she deliberately invited me—someone who ranked at the bottom—to make herself look better by comparison. What she didn’t know was that I had performed at my normal level during the exam, without deliberately lowering my score. At Scylla’s ceremony, her mother was dressed in a beautiful dress, looking exceptionally elegant. “The scores will be announced soon. Scylla will definitely achieve excellent results and make the honor roll. She’ll have no problem getting into any prestigious university!” Everyone gathered around Scylla, saying she would surely get into a good university. They had all forgotten that today was also my coming-of-age day. But I no longer cared. After the results were announced and college applications submitted, I could leave them all behind. Before long, the exam results were released. Scylla and I both received text messages with our scores. Scylla had indeed only scored a little over 300 points. Seeing the disappointment on everyone’s faces, she blushed with embarrassment and immediately pointed at me. “That’s because the exam was too difficult this time, and I didn’t perform at my normal level. Look at her—she must have scored much lower than me.” Mom quickly ran over and snatched my phone away. “Amelia’s total score is 689 points, ranking 45th in the province.” Everyone at the scene gasped in shock. At that moment, Mom, Scylla, and my aunt all looked extremely displeased. Scylla sat down on the floor and began crying loudly. “This is my coming-of-age ceremony. Why did you have to show off and steal my spotlight?” Mom was very anxious. She frantically pulled out some tissues to wipe Scylla’s tears while comforting her. “Scylla, don’t be sad. No matter what your exam results are, in your godmother’s heart, you’re always the most outstanding child!” “That bad person must have cheated to get such a high score! I’m going to report her to the education bureau and make sure she never gets the chance to go to college!” Looking at them, I sighed helplessly. I had no desire to argue with them here. So without thinking further, I shouldered my backpack and prepared to leave. “You made Scylla cry at her coming-of-age ceremony, and now you’re just going to leave, is that it?” “You ungrateful child! I should have strangled you when I gave birth to you! Today I’m definitely going to teach you a lesson!” Mom aggressively chased after me and forcefully yanked my bag. My bag immediately tore open, and everything inside scattered across the floor. The paternity test report was mixed among these items. She frowned, bent down, and picked it up. She saw the black text on the white paper, with the phrase “supports the existence of a parent-child relationship between Wendy and Amelia” particularly prominent. Mom’s face was filled with shock and disbelief as she shouted: “You can’t possibly be my daughter!” As soon as she finished speaking, she lunged at me like a madwoman.
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