At my family’s reality TV show appearance, the host asked us to share a funny story about our brother. My older sister laughed, "To help me collect this rare set of blind box figures I wanted, he bought out the entire store's inventory." My younger sister chimed in, "He meant to send a picture of his dog to our family group chat, but accidentally sent a shirtless selfie instead!" My brother's ears turned red. "Shut up!" The studio audience erupted in laughter. The host then turned to me. "Did you happen to save that photo, middle sister?" I held my hands up. "No. Because I wasn't in that group chat." The atmosphere instantly froze. The host hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Well, I'm sure he's bought you plenty of blind boxes too, right?" I offered a shy, timid smile. "No. But he did give me a four-leaf clover necklace once." The audience let out a collective "Aww," marveling at the wealth and generosity. I blinked innocently. "He originally bought it for my older sister. But to get me to agree to move out of the house and live in the school dorms, he used it to bribe me." "When my sister saw the necklace on me later, she called me a thief." "My dad threw me into the swimming pool so I could 'sober up' and realize my place. They only found out it was a misunderstanding later. Funny, right?" "Huh? Why isn't anyone laughing?" 1 The show was broadcasting live. The massive screen in front of us was scrolling with real-time viewer comments: [Oh my god, I smell drama.] [Rich family secrets? Shocking insider info?] [Grab your popcorn, people!] [Wait, didn't the superstar brother previously say he only had ONE older sister and ONE younger sister? Where did this middle sister pop up from?] [I just checked his Wiki page. The family section literally doesn't list a middle sister. What's going on?] [She doesn't look adopted either. She clearly looks like the mom.] The netizens were spot on. I was indeed a biological daughter of the Sterling family. It’s just that while we shared blood, we shared absolutely no affection. My parents had four children in total: one boy and three girls. I was the second youngest. Our family originally lived in a small, coastal working-class town. When my uncle made it big out of state, he offered to bring my parents into his business. However, he could only secure spots in the local elite schools for three children. After a brief discussion, my parents decided to leave me behind in our small town. They asked my dad's former coworker to take care of me, promising to send him $100 a month for my living expenses. I finished middle school in that small town before finally being brought to the Sterling family. By that time, they were already living in a massive, sprawling mansion. I only lived in that house for one semester during my sophomore year of high school. After transferring to a new school, I chose to live in the dorms. I rarely went home, maybe once a month at most. I was almost never seen in the same frame as my parents or siblings. It made perfect sense that the internet didn't know I existed. In fact, when the producers of this reality show came knocking, I just happened to be visiting the house. Before that day, no outsider knew the Sterling family had a hidden daughter. 2 [Ahhh! This girl is from my high school! She was the absolute valedictorian of the district. She just graduated college this year. We all knew she was a genius, but we had NO idea she was a billionaire heiress!] [Wait, public high school?? A Sterling kid went to a public high school? Are you joking?] [It's true! She transferred there from the elite prep academy.] [What? Why would you give up a mansion to go live in a crappy dorm room? That's insane.] Watching the live comments dig deeper and deeper, I smiled sweetly at the camera. "Please don't misunderstand. After I explained the situation, my family apologized to me." "Our family values discipline. My dad is very strict about moral character, so he only acted harshly out of tough love." "He holds himself to high standards, which is why he runs his business so successfully." "My brother told me to live in the dorms to foster my independence. He was doing it for my own good." "And after the misunderstanding was cleared up, my dad even wired me a generous compensation fund." The host immediately seized the opportunity. "Care to share the exact number? Let us peasants experience the high life!" I turned to look at my dad. "Dad, how much was it again?" My dad kept his face perfectly straight. "$30,000." "Wow!" The studio audience gasped in envy. My dad continued, his tone authoritative, "Our family operates on a clear system of rewards and punishments. If you do well, you're rewarded; if you mess up, you're penalized. No beating around the bush. That's exactly how I run my company..." The skepticism in the comments instantly morphed into praise: [That's a true businessman for you. Principled.] [Papa Sterling, please kick me into a pool and give me $30,000!] [Crying, I want a good brother like him too!] Amidst the chorus of flattery, the taping concluded successfully. My dad, looking incredibly smug and self-satisfied, actually offered to let me ride home in his car. I glanced at my younger sister, Chloe, who was pouting heavily. "No thanks. Let Snowball ride in my spot. He doesn't like it when I get too close." Snowball was Chloe's Doberman. He was incredibly vicious. I still have a scar on my calf from where he bit a chunk out of me. My mom shot Chloe a look of fake, affectionate exasperation. "You child, you're so spoiled. Make the dog give up his seat for your sister." Chloe affectionately pressed her face against the dog's head, shooting me a provocative glare. "I'll give up the seat, but that depends on whether my sister is brave enough to sit in it." "Oh, you," my mom sighed, as if she were totally helpless against her youngest daughter's antics. She turned back to me. "Well, Maya, why don't you just take an Uber to The Grand Bistro?" Before filming started, they had planned to go out for a late-night celebratory dinner afterward. Except, at the time, I wasn't included in that headcount. I looked at the darkening expressions of my older sister, Mia, and Chloe, and smiled. "I'm a little tired. I think I'll skip it." My mom let out a barely concealed sigh of relief, though she made sure to complain verbally: "You really are ungrateful. You never participate in family activities, and then you'll turn around and say I play favorites." "Mom, that's enough," my brother, Liam, interrupted, walking over and grabbing my arm. "Come on. I'll drive you home." 3 Unlike the cold shoulder she gave me, Chloe leaned on Liam's car window, repeatedly urging him: "Liam, hurry up and come back! We'll wait for you." I tried to pull my arm free. "I can just call an Uber. You don't have to go out of your way." Liam wouldn't let go. "You're my sister. How is it going out of my way?" I raised an eyebrow in surprise. Well, this was new. Liam, actually saying something nice to me. Then I glanced at the fans secretly filming us with their phones from the parking lot perimeter. Ah. Got it. Once the car pulled onto the street, I stared blankly out the window. While waiting at a red light, Liam suddenly spoke: "I didn't expect you to still remember that incident." I smiled, still looking out the window. He sighed. "Regardless of what happened, I have to thank you for today." Well, this was truly a rare occasion. The arrogant, privileged superstar young master was actually thanking me. Just as I was about to drop a sarcastic remark, my phone dinged with a text alert. [Dad has transferred $30,000 to your account] [You performed well today. This is your reward.] I accepted the transfer and showed the text thread to Liam. "Bro, how about some actual, tangible gratitude?" Liam agreed without hesitation. "I already ordered the newest four-leaf clover necklace for you. It'll be delivered tomorrow." I smiled brightly. "Thanks, bro." Liam's expression turned slightly unnatural. "You don't have to thank me. I should have given it to you a long time ago." He wasn't lying. During my sophomore year, he used a necklace to bribe me into moving out of the house and into the school dorms. But he didn't tell Mia beforehand. When Mia saw the necklace in my hands, she immediately accused me of being a thief. The entire family took her side. I couldn't swim at the time. My dad kicked me into the deep end of the pool, and I swallowed lungfuls of water. I thrashed and choked in absolute terror. They just stood on the edge of the pool, watching me with cold, indifferent eyes. It was only because Liam came home just in time that I was pulled out before I drowned. Mia clutched that necklace, her expression haughty and arrogant. "I don't care. If he gave it to me first, it's mine." My dad casually shoved a few crumpled bills into my hand. "It's just a necklace. If your sister likes it, let her have it. Go buy yourself another one." The money he handed me amounted to exactly $150. That was also the very first bit of "pocket money" I received after returning to the Sterling family. The streetlights blurred past the car window. I narrowed my eyes. "It's fine. Better late than never, right?" 4 During the short drive to drop me off, Chloe called Liam at least three times. He dropped me off at my apartment building and sped off in a massive hurry. I took a hot bath and had just comfortably settled into bed when my phone chimed with a rapid succession of notifications. I checked it. Mia had added me to the family group chat. [Mia: Welcome Maya to the group! This was my oversight, I completely forgot to add you before.] [Chloe: (Yawn emoji) Honestly, we barely talk in this group anyway, so it doesn't really matter if she's in it or not. (Doge emoji)] [Mia: (Smile) (Smile) (Smile)] [Liam: Maya, is there anything you want to eat? I can bring you some takeout. (Image) (Image) (Image)] A barrage of mouth-watering food photos flooded the screen, pushing Mia and Chloe's conversation out of view. I originally intended to decline, but changed my mind at the last second: [Anything is fine, thanks bro.] Liam replied with an "OK" emoji. After that, no one spoke in the group again. I opened a different, private chat thread and transferred the $30,000 over. [Uncle Miller, I've already arranged everything with the hospital in Boston. Next week, you and Auntie take Ryan down there for his prosthetic eye surgery first. I'll meet you guys there afterward.] The "typing..." indicator at the top of the chat box flashed for a long time. Finally, the response came through: [Please be careful with everything you do. We are waiting for you.] My nose stung, and tears rolled down my cheeks. Soon. It will all be over soon. 5 The next morning, Mom called me down for breakfast. Chloe blinked at me innocently. "Maya, it's such a shame you didn't come eat with us last night. The king crab was so fresh." Mia nudged a groggy-looking Liam. "Liam, didn't you say you were going to bring Maya some takeout?" Liam froze, a look of genuine guilt washing over his face. "I'm so sorry, Maya. I completely forgot." Before I could even respond, my mom set her bowl down with a sharp clack. "What is there to apologize for? You told her to come, and she refused. Who made the rule that you must bring her food? We don't tolerate princess syndrome in this house." I let out a helpless sigh. "Mom, you're overthinking it. I didn't expect him to." "Whether you expected it or not, I can't guarantee you won't throw a fit later. I'm just educating you now. You just need to tell me if you heard me or not." "This nasty habit of always talking back must be something you picked up from that Miller family. You've been back for almost three years and still haven't fixed it. How am I supposed to show you off in public acting like this?" "I was actually planning to set you up on a date with the Harrison boy, so you two could get to know each other..." "Mom!" Liam cut her off sharply. "Maya just graduated college. She still needs to go to grad school. Why are you setting her up on blind dates?" "Oh, right," my mom said, as if she had suddenly remembered. She stared at me intently. "What score did you get on the entrance exams? Which school did you apply to?" I kept my expression perfectly neutral. "It's not great. Nowhere near as good as Mia's. I only scored a 650. I applied to Western State." My mom seemed to let out a massive sigh of relief. She asked again to double-check, "Really?" "The acceptance letter is on my desk. The maid should have seen it when she was cleaning." My mom turned to look at the maid, Maria. Maria nodded confirming it. The tension in my mom's face instantly vanished, and her tone softened considerably: "650 isn't terrible, even though it can't compare to your sister's score. Western State is a decent school, it's just a bit far from home." "But transportation is so convenient these days, you can come back whenever you want." I murmured an agreement, and my mom finally broke into a full smile. "Eat up, before the food gets cold." Chloe snatched a piece of sausage I was just about to grab with my fork, and tossed it to her Doberman. "I could never bear to move away from home. Next year, when I take my exams, I'm going to get into the same Ivy League school as Mia." Mia smiled smugly. "Great! When you get here, you can take over my spot as Student Body President." The conversation seamlessly shifted back to revolving around Mia and Chloe. Only then did I realize that my back was covered in a layer of cold sweat. If I hadn't realized early on that my mother despised the idea of me outshining my sisters, and deliberately tanked my exam scores... Then right now, I would be facing that disastrous blind date. The Harrison boy she mentioned was a notorious, wealthy playboy in our city. He had publicly bragged that he intended to have a wife and a dozen mistresses, funding them all with his trust fund. Any family with a shred of decency refused to marry their daughters to him. But my own mother wanted to set me up with him. A metallic taste rose in the back of my throat. I forced it down by taking a large gulp of my oatmeal. Liam picked up a piece of sausage and placed it in my bowl. "When your freshman orientation starts, I'll drive you." "Okay, thanks bro." Mia smiled and asked, "What are your plans for today, Maya? Do you want to come to the spa with us?" I rubbed my hands together awkwardly. "Ah, I would really love to, but I already made plans with Ryan today. I can't stand him up." Mia raised an eyebrow, a meaningful, mocking smirk on her lips. "Oh. Well, have fun with that." Liam shot me a look. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but frowned and swallowed his words. 6 Ryan and I are both cycling enthusiasts. We rode our bikes along the coastal boardwalk, completing a full loop before finally stopping under the shade of some palm trees. "Here." Ryan handed me a boba tea. It was my absolute favorite: Jasmine Green Tea with extra boba. It was hilariously tragic that my entire biological family had no idea what I liked. But the neighbor boy knew every single detail. "Thanks." I took it, sipping the tea while gazing out at the vast ocean. He followed my gaze, his voice soft. "You like the ocean?" "Yeah. I grew up by the sea. Even though my small hometown isn't as glamorous as this city, I loved it there." Because over there, I had people who truly loved me. Uncle Miller, Auntie Miller. And my "brother," Ryan's older brother, Leo. Ryan smiled, but then his expression quickly darkened. He looked at me seriously: "Maya, there's something I don't think I should hide from you." He pulled out his phone and opened a group chat titled [The Garden (No Maya Allowed)]. "Yesterday, before your sister added you to the main family chat, she created a new, secret group. Look for yourself." He thoughtfully scrolled back to yesterday's chat history for me. [Chloe: Moving operations over here. We'll chat in this group from now on.] [Mia: Copy that.] [Dad: 1.] [Mom: 1.] [Liam: ...] [Mia: But we can't completely ignore the main chat, otherwise she'll get suspicious.] [Chloe: That's easy. Mom, just forward those random cooking tutorial videos into the main chat. She'll have to watch them before she can reply and try to start a conversation, right?] [Mom: No, what if she actually tries to talk to me about them? I won't know how to respond.] [Chloe: @Dad, Dad, just forward those dense financial articles into the chat. She won't understand a word of them.] [Dad: Not necessary. She behaved well today, clearly trying to suck up to us. I gave her a taste of the sweet life with that transfer. If we give her too much attention, she'll start getting arrogant again.] [Liam: Fine, fine. I'll be the one to talk to her in the main chat.] [Mia: Thanks, big bro.] [Chloe: Thanks, big bro.] ... I didn't even finish reading before handing the phone back to him. "So, showing me this... what exactly are you trying to achieve?" Ryan was taken aback for a second, then quickly explained: "I just think it's wrong for them to deceive you like this, and even worse to mock you behind your back. You're a member of the Sterling family too; you deserve the same love as the rest of them." I squeezed my boba cup, letting out a soft laugh: "Ryan, you knew showing me this would make me sad. Why didn't you just keep it a secret?" "Even if you never told me, it wouldn't have mattered, right?" "Why are you telling me now?" I turned to look at the stunned, handsome boy beside me. "Just like before my college entrance exams, when my brother got into that car accident and injured his eyes. He intentionally hid it from me because he was terrified it would ruin my focus for the exams." "But you just 'coincidentally' insisted I accompany you to the hospital for a check-up the day before my exams, and we just 'coincidentally' ran into Uncle and Auntie Miller there." "You wanted to see me in pain. You wanted to see me panic. But why? Aren't you supposed to be my friend?" Ryan's expression became incredibly complex. "Maya..." "Haha, why do you look so serious?" I suddenly burst out laughing. "I'm just joking! You didn't actually take me seriously, did you? You are my one and only friend in this city. Why would I ever doubt you? Right?" Ryan opened his mouth in a daze, but eventually managed to force a warm, gentle smile. "Right. I am your one and only friend." 7 Ryan didn't know. I had actually, genuinely fallen for him once. The day after I moved back into the Sterling mansion, I was supposed to report to my new elite high school. My mom told me to ride with my sisters. But Chloe refused to let me in the car. "No way! She smells like fish! Snowball hates the smell of fish." She let her massive Doberman hog more than half the backseat, declaring self-righteously: "Besides, there's no room left in the car anyway." Mia and my mom took the front seats. Not a single one of them paid any attention to my humiliation. It was Ryan who drove up and invited me to ride in his family's car to school. He even comforted me, saying, "Love from others is just icing on the cake. If you don't have it, don't force it. Loving yourself is what's most important." I wrote that quote on the very first page of my diary. After that, he insisted I ride with him to and from school every day. I felt bad constantly inconveniencing him, so I bought myself a cheap bicycle. When he saw it, he went out and bought a bicycle too, becoming my daily riding partner. He was willing to listen to my problems, offered me advice, and even confronted the classmates who were bullying me. He took me hiking, took me to see the ocean, and told me that my future was as boundless as my vision. I felt so incredibly lucky to have met someone so wonderful during my darkest, loneliest days. I was completely, blissfully ignorant. Until the winter break of my sophomore year. Because my final exam scores were dramatically higher than everyone else's, the teachers praised me as a "genius." I naïvely thought my parents would be proud to hear this. But my dad never cared about my grades. When my mom found out, her face darkened, and she made a snide, sarcastic remark: "Oh. I guess that Miller guy actually knows how to teach." Without a second thought, she transferred me to a notoriously rough, underfunded public high school. It was from that moment I realized: I was not allowed to be better than Mia or Chloe. I had to be painfully average just to survive in that house. So, I started intentionally bombing my tests. I had to score higher than Chloe, but not so high that I threatened Mia's status or embarrassed the Sterling family. It was a deeply exhausting, soul-crushing psychological balancing act. There was one time I truly couldn't handle the pressure anymore. I decided to tell Ryan my secret. I called to ask him to meet up, but he apologized, saying he was busy and couldn't get away. I decided to wait until he was free to tell him. I wandered aimlessly through the neighborhood park. And that's where I overheard his conversation with Mia: "Maya's scores plummeted this semester. I have a feeling she's doing it on purpose. Did she tell you any insider info?" "No. I think it's pretty normal. After all, her new public school doesn't have great teachers." "I'm still not convinced. Keep an eye on her for me. Don't let her have too much time to study. If necessary, arrange for some people to cause trouble for her." "Understood." "And listen to me—if you dare catch real feelings for her while playing this game, I will make sure you never see me again." "Mia, even if you don't trust me, you should trust yourself. Maya... she isn't worth a thousandth of you." I hid behind a tree, watching them embrace and kiss. The blue sky, the setting sun, the handsome boy, the beautiful girl. What a picture-perfect scene. But in my eyes, the play had ended. The sun was dead. 8 Slurp. I tossed the empty boba cup into the trash can. "It's getting late. We should head back." Ryan suddenly grabbed my wrist. "Maya, about your brother Leo... do you need me to help you contact a top specialist?" My fingertips trembled slightly. I forced out a bitter, resigned smile. "It's no use." "When Leo was first injured, Dr. Evans at the city hospital said he had an eighty percent chance of saving his eye." "But just as he was about to go into surgery, some psycho burst into the hospital and slashed Dr. Evans's hands." "The backup surgeon they brought in at the last minute... directly removed Leo's eyeball." "Ryan, it seems like anyone who gets close to me ends up ruined. You should really stay away from me." I shook off his hand and rode off on my bike without looking back. When I got home, everyone except my dad was in the living room. They were gathered around, excitedly discussing something. As soon as I walked in, the laughter and chatter abruptly stopped. Liam rubbed his nose, looking slightly awkward. "Uh, Maya, do you have a passport?" Chloe didn't give me a chance to answer. She gleefully answered for me: "Stupid! She grew up in a tiny fishing village, of course she doesn't have one! And she probably didn't think to get one after she came back, right?" She glared at me, her eyes flashing with a silent threat. I lowered my head. "Yeah, I don't have one." Mia frowned. "Ah, that's such a shame. Liam just got a reality travel show, and they want him to bring his family. Since you don't have a passport, you can't go." I kept my hands clasped tightly. "It's fine. You guys go have fun. I'll stay here and watch the house." Chloe burst into harsh laughter. "Then you'll be in the exact same social class as my dog, Snowball!" She patted the Doberman's head. "Snowball, be polite to your second sister from now on. Don't bite her again, understand?" The Doberman bared its sharp teeth, staring at me viciously. I shrank back, pretending to be terrified. "Chloe!" Liam glared at her, then turned to me with a fawning expression. "Don't listen to her. She's young and doesn't know what she's saying." I shook my head, signaling that I didn't mind. My mom smiled and comforted me: "Since you can't go this time, there's always a next time. Go apply for a passport first. When we get back, we'll pick a nice place and take you with us." I nodded obediently. "Okay. You guys keep planning. I'm going to my room." "Maya..." Liam tried to follow me. Chloe violently yanked him back to their circle. Within moments, they were back to their passionate discussion. Photos Chloe was uploading constantly popped up in the family group chat. [Chloe: @Maya, Second sister, here are some pics from the internet so you can at least look at the view, hehe (Smile) (Smile) (Smile).] She sent three smiley faces in a row. I replied cooperatively: [Wow, I'm so jealous.] Chloe responded with a meme of a Doberman baring its fangs. I stared at those sharp, white teeth and slowly curled my lips into a smile. 9 After dinner, Chloe put on a full face of dramatic makeup and took Snowball out to party. Mia went to her high-end yoga class. Liam had a late-night recording session at the TV studio. My mom was out playing bridge with the other wealthy socialites. My dad was at a business dinner, undoubtedly bragging about his wealth. I hid in my room, quietly reading a book. 10:00 PM. My phone started ringing loudly. [Maya, get to the city hospital right now! Chloe's been in a terrible accident!] Liam's voice was frantic and breathless. He sounded like he was sprinting. I pinched my thigh hard to fake a panicked tone. "What happened?" [Her dog suddenly went rabid... it ripped her eyes out...] [Ah, just don't ask! Get here as fast as you can! You guys have the same blood type, and she needs a massive transfusion right now!] I said, my voice trembling, "Okay, I'm on my way." I hung up the phone, leaned back in my chair, and let out a long, deep sigh of relief. Everything was going exactly according to plan. My book was only half-read. I picked up my pen and drew a thick red line under a specific sentence: All things in the universe operate in cycles; every cause has its effect, and every debt must be paid.
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