When I was young, I met someone who took my breath away. He was the golden boy, the son of a major shareholder. I was the scholarship kid from the wrong side of the tracks. On Liam’s birthday, his limited-edition sneakers went missing. Everyone decided I stole them. Even Liam looked at me with disdain. "Didn't your mother teach you not to touch things that aren't yours?" He didn't know I didn't have a mother. My father was "invited" to the school and humiliated in front of everyone. I was forced to drop out. Years later, I heard... The high-and-mighty Mr. Liam Vance had been looking for me for eleven years. Chapter 1 Everyone was convinced I stole Liam’s sneakers. They tore through my backpack. They even pried open my locker. "You guys are going too far!" Josh pulled a gift box out of my locker. "Still denying it? What's this if not Liam's shoes?" "Thief! Disgusting!" Even Liam looked at me with pure disgust. They were certain the box contained the stolen shoes. "That's not..." Josh had already ripped the box open. Inside was a modest, off-brand wallet. Amidst the pile of luxury gifts Liam had received, it looked pathetic. "Whoa, don't tell me this is your gift for Liam?" The whole room erupted in laughter. They looked at me like I was a joke. "No... it's not." Josh acted like he’d found a smoking gun. He picked up the birthday card and read it aloud. "To Liam, Happy Birthday. A small gift, hope you don't mind." "Hahahaha!" Josh clutched his stomach, laughing. Liam’s face grew darker. The look in his eyes turned from suspicion to repulsion. "Tara, you have the nerve to give this trash to Liam? This piece of junk isn't even fit to wipe his shoes. So cheap... why even bother?" They didn't know. I had saved up my lunch money for months to buy that wallet. Liam looked at the wallet like it was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever seen. He walked up to me, cool and detached. "You trashing it, or am I?" I snatched the wallet back, ran a few steps, and threw it into the trash can myself. Along with the torn card. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Liam wiping his hand, the one that had touched the wallet, over and over again. I wanted to escape this farce. But Liam stopped me. "Tara, where are my sneakers?" "I really didn't take them." His gaze suddenly turned cold, filled with displeasure. "Didn't your mother teach you not to touch things that aren't yours?" My eyes instantly went red. They didn't know. I really didn't have a mother. But I didn't take his stuff. "The thief is getting emotional? Liam, don't waste your time. She really is motherless and uneducated. No one taught her the rules." Liam’s cousin, Chloe, looked at me arrogantly. Her gaze mirrored Liam’s perfectly. "Selling those shoes would feed you and your dad for three years. If it wasn't you, who else could it be?" "You searched everything. You looked everywhere. Why won't you believe me?" Liam led his entourage out, carrying his gifts. On the last trip, he "accidentally" bumped into me. I expected an apology. Instead, he said, "How much is the word of a charity case worth, anyway?" Chapter 2 That’s when I knew. It wasn't an accident. He bumped into me on purpose. None of them showed up for afternoon classes. The hallway was chaotic. People in the front row kept glancing back at me. I kept my head down, taking notes, until I heard my father’s voice from outside. "I'm... I'm sorry..." "Sorry..." "Dad..." I dropped my pen and ran out the back door. In the hallway, a group of them had surrounded my dad. Josh, specifically, tripped him. My dad just smiled apologetically, saying sorry over and over. "Dad!" Chloe grabbed me tight. She wouldn't let me pass. The takeout box in Josh’s hand was dumped on the floor. It was the lunch my dad had brought for me. Sweet and sour pork. My favorite. Josh crouched down, feigning apology. "Oops, Uncle, my bad. Butterfingers!" "It's... it's okay..." "Hey, Uncle, is this food... good?" "Good, it's good." Josh smirked maliciously. "If it's good, why aren't you eating it?" My dad looked up. Liam was standing there, watching the show. The students around them jeered with fake enthusiasm. "Uncle, don't tell me you're picky?" "Uncle, we're all Tara's classmates. We've never seen anyone eat off the floor. Uncle, you wouldn't deny us the show, right?" Under their aggressive taunts... My dad smiled and reached for the food on the ground. He laughed as he ate. Liam "accidentally" stepped on the food. But I knew. He did it on purpose. My dad grabbed the dirt-stained rice and put it in his mouth. I was sobbing uncontrollably. My arms were bruising from being held back. "Liam, I'm telling the Dean!" Liam paused slightly, but the others just laughed. "Hahaha! Don't you know Liam's dad is on the Board of Directors?" I knew. But I didn't believe the school would cover for him like this. This was a prestigious state university, after all. I pulled my dad up. He couldn't bear to leave the last two pieces of pork, stuffing them into his mouth. He smiled at me. "It's okay. Food isn't dirty just because it touched the ground." "Dad..." We went to the Dean's office. Liam sat in the Dean's chair without a care in the world. He had his legs crossed, playing a game on his phone. The Dean smiled and offered Liam a blanket. But when he looked at me and my dad, his eyes were cold as ice. "Tara, apologize to Liam." "Dean! You haven't even heard what happened. Why should I apologize?" The Dean looked stern. "Don't forget, you're a scholarship student, a special admission. If you want to stay here, apologize to Liam." "Dean, he falsely accused me of stealing and bullied my father, he..." The Dean's voice rose sharply. "Did I stutter?" I wanted to argue. But my dad pulled my arm. "Apologize. We apologize." "Dad, why should we apologize! They should be the ones apologizing!" Chloe stood there, arms crossed, sneering. "First, get one thing straight. This school might as well be named Vance! One word from my cousin, and you're done here." Chloe looked me up and down. "Someone as poor as you, getting a special spot here... you should learn to keep your head down." Chapter 3 "But I didn't do anything wrong." I said it firmly. Liam, still playing his game, glanced at me. "Your mistake is having a useless father." Slap! I rushed over and slapped Liam across the face. He was stunned. Everyone in the office was stunned. "Tara, do you know what you just did?!" "Tara, are you crazy!" Chloe moved to hit me, but my dad pulled me behind him. The slap landed squarely on my dad's face. "No mother, no manners. Is this how you were raised?" "Dad!" My dad held my hand down, shaking his head frantically. Liam stood up from the chair. The Dean was panicking, looking at me helplessly. "You two... kneel and apologize to Liam!" I was shaking with rage, but my dad put on that ingratiating smile again. "Kneel. I'll kneel." I pulled at my dad, trying to get him up. "Dad, I'm quitting. I'm not staying here." "Don't talk nonsense." I looked helplessly at Liam. He was unmoved. I knew he was tacitly accepting this. My dad had a bad leg. When he knelt, he fell awkwardly to the floor. Everyone laughed. My dad rubbed his leg, looking up with a smile. "Uncle, that kowtow wasn't very loud, was it? Did you eat too much just now?" My dad looked back at me with tears in his eyes. He shook his head at me, pleading. Then, he steeled himself. The sound of his head hitting the floor got louder. Crack! The tile cracked. Small stone shards dug into my dad's forehead. His forehead turned red, blood seeping out. But facing Liam, my dad kept that fawning smile. "Mr. Liam, it was my Tara's fault." Liam finally lifted his eyelids. His look seemed to say: See? You were wrong. Yes, I was wrong. From the beginning, I shouldn't have messed with Liam. I should have stayed far away from him. I shouldn't have tried so hard to get into the honors class. When I helped my dad out, he couldn't even walk straight. We sat on the steps outside the building. I used half a pack of tissues to wipe the blood. "It's okay. Just... study hard. Stay in school." "My daughter is the best student of the year." "There's still some pork left at home. We'll eat it tonight." I nodded, choking back tears. "Okay..." As I helped my dad walk away, a commotion started behind us. "Liam! The... the sneakers..." Josh looked at me. He didn't finish his sentence. I didn't care to know. That night, my dad developed a fever. I carried him to several hospitals. Only one was willing to take him. But we faced a massive surgery bill. In that moment, I felt the sky collapse. The next day, I went to school and withdrew. I worked two jobs to pay for my dad's treatment. The doctor said he had a brain tumor. The violent impact had worsened his condition. I worked for three years. My hands were covered in chilblains, but I kept going. But my dad couldn't hold on. That year, I lost my father forever. I didn't see Liam again until eight years later, at a company party. It was supposed to be a standard corporate dinner. But Liam and Chloe were there. Chapter 4 My boss was fawning over Liam, clinking glasses. Liam’s gaze drifted toward me occasionally. Colleagues around me whispered. "I heard those two are the main investors for the Carey Project. Didn't expect them to be so young." "The boss is obsessed with the Carey Project. If we don't land this tonight, we're all screwed." "More than that. Whoever lands this gets a 30% commission!" I felt uncomfortable being there. Thinking about the past with Liam made me sick. But of course, they brought it up. "I didn't expect Mr. Lee's company to hire people with such low education. That person... didn't even finish college, right?" Chloe didn't speak loudly, but the people over there heard it clearly. Everyone turned to look at me. "Ms. Vance is right. She... was a good student, but unfortunately family issues..." "I know. She was classmates with me and Liam." Everyone looked at me with envy. They assumed that 30% commission was mine. They didn't know Liam and I disgusted each other. "Really! Tara, why didn't you say anything? Go toast Mr. Vance!" Colleagues urged me on, jealous. "Tara, go! Don't miss this chance." "Yeah, if you land this, you're rich!" The boss's secretary even shoved a wine glass into my hand. "Tara, they're calling you." I gripped the glass but couldn't take a step. Liam’s stare was making my skin crawl. I placed the glass on the table. "Excuse me, I need to use the restroom." Ignoring my boss's glare, I rushed out. I stayed in the bathroom for twenty minutes to calm down. When I finally composed myself and walked out, I found Liam leaning against the wall outside. His dark eyes seemed to drill holes into me. "Long time no see." "Mhm." I tried to walk past him to the private room. His hand clamped onto my wrist. "I found the sneakers back then." I looked at him, saying nothing. Trying to see the boy from eleven years ago through this man. "I was wrong. My bad." I smiled bitterly and shook off his hand. "Mr. Vance, you still stand so high above everyone. My dad smashed his head open, and all it's worth is a 'my bad'? You can't even say the words 'I'm sorry'?" Liam fell silent. I washed my hands and went back to the room. The moment I entered, my boss started screaming. "Tara! Do you want this job or not! Is toasting Mr. Vance going to kill you? Out of everyone here, you're the only one with a connection. What, you too good for it?" "I'm telling you, Tara, if the Carey Project falls through, it's on you!" "You dare walk out on Mr. Vance? Did you see his face? Even I have to smile and beg! Who do you think you are?" In the room, no one dared to breathe. I sat down calmly. Accepting the criticism. He thought of something and raised his voice. "Don't forget who paid for your dad's treatment back then!"
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