I had been sponsoring a student for three years. When she finally got into college, she suddenly turned into a he. When I confronted him, this boy—who had stolen someone else's spot—stood there with red-rimmed eyes and asked me: "Just because I'm a boy, don't I have the right to be helped?" I scoffed. "If you want money that bad, go be a gigolo. You can earn from both ends that way." Chapter 1 The boy stood before me in a crisp white shirt and jeans, looking down. His eyelashes fluttered nervously, and his fingers anxiously gripped the hem of his shirt. He looked like a delicate flower trembling in the cold wind. If he hadn't been standing in the line of female students I was sponsoring, I might have appreciated the aesthetic. But right now, I just felt a surge of rage shooting straight to the top of my head. I tried to keep my tone even, though my pen tapped impatiently against the desk. "I remember sponsoring a girl named Lily Miller from Miller's Creek. Are you Lily? Or..." The boy's eyelashes trembled even harder. He spoke softly. "I... I'm Lucas Miller. Lily's younger brother. My sister felt the academic pressure was too much, so she dropped out in her sophomore year to get married." "Our family discussed it, and we didn't want to disappoint you. So... so I took my sister's place to continue her education. We didn't want your expectations to go to waste." I actually laughed out loud. "So, should I be thanking you?" Before selecting candidates, I had conducted a meticulous review to ensure every scholarship dollar went to a girl who genuinely needed it. I never imagined that under all those layers of scrutiny, a boy could impersonate his own sister to collect the funds. And he managed to hide it for two years, only getting caught when they came to thank me after high school graduation. My temples throbbed with anger. I didn't even want to think about the corruption involved. How many deserving girls didn't get this money? How many people who didn't need help stole opportunities that weren't theirs? Seeing my anger, Lucas rushed to explain. "I'm so sorry, Ms. Vance. It was my sister. She thought studying was too hard, but she was too embarrassed to say it, so she came up with this idea." I looked at his brand-new clothes and pristine white sneakers. Then I looked at the girls next to him, wearing clothes that were clean but washed until they were faded and thin. "I'm truly sorry, Ms. Vance. Our whole family feels guilty about this. No matter how you scold me or treat me, I won't complain." Lucas's eyes turned red, tears hanging precariously on his lashes. My expression remained flat. "I want you to pay back the money. And compensate me for emotional distress." I waved my hand, signaling my secretary to take them away. Chapter 2 After getting everyone settled, my secretary, Sarah, came back to report. "The girls are all back at the hotel. The local specialties they brought are in your car." "Only that Lucas Miller... he was lingering downstairs, refusing to leave. I had security escort him out." "Did he think he was staying for dinner?" Sarah smiled, then pursed her lips seriously. "Is Lily the little girl who hugged your leg crying two years ago during our site visit, saying she wanted to go to school?" I pinched the bridge of my nose. "That's her." I, Evelyn Vance, clawed my way up from the bottom to get where I am today. I dropped out of school because I couldn't afford tuition. I saved every penny for living expenses and tuition before returning to school, getting into college, and climbing the ladder step by step. I know what poor girls go through. So after I made my fortune, I discussed it with my partners and established a foundation dedicated solely to sponsoring girls. To avoid situations like today, I even took time out of my busy schedule to visit many of the families myself. And Lily... she walked ten miles of mountain road alone just to meet me when she heard the inspection team was in town. I still remember her clearly. She wore oversized, patched clothes. She was in junior high but looked as small and frail as an elementary schooler. She looked dusty and gray, except for her eyes. They shone. When I was about to get in the car to leave, she hugged my leg. Before she could even speak, tears started streaming down her face. I followed Lily to her home. Her mother had passed away early, and her father had broken his leg at a construction site. Her elderly grandmother was responsible for the whole family's livelihood. The only breadwinner had fallen. Lily had to drop out, waiting for the family's situation to improve before she could return to school. I asked her why she wanted to study. At the time, she looked lost and whispered her answer. "I don't know. Our teacher said if we don't study, we'll be stuck in this village forever. I don't want that. I want to see the world written in the books." As long as she wanted to read, I would support her. Chapter 3 Lucas's case was definitely not isolated. Being played for a fool felt terrible. I took Sarah and traveled overnight to Lily's hometown. With a fire burning in my chest, I wanted to ask Lily face-to-face. Plane to train, train to bus, bus to a rickety three-wheeler. It took fifteen hours to reach Lily's home. It took me fifteen hours to get here from the most prosperous city. But for a girl like Lily, it might take a lifetime to get out. I didn't believe the girl who hugged my leg and begged for an education would choose marriage because she "couldn't handle the hardship." And I absolutely refused to let the money that countless women and I worked so hard for fall into the wrong hands. I followed the village chief and the local coordinator through the muddy path, trudging through the sludge. The chief knew me but didn't know why we were here. Once he knew we were looking for Lily, he wouldn't shut up about the Miller family's situation. "Ever since you sponsored the Millers, Ms. Vance, their life has improved so much." "It's just a shame Lily is so disappointing. She didn't want to study anymore in her sophomore year." "Luckily, her brother has a brain. He's made for studying. Always top of his class, and his SAT scores were great." "If you ask me, boys are just better. Girls can't hack it." He rambled on, praising Lucas non-stop. The coordinator beside him chimed in too. "Lucas really did us proud." "We have quite a few capable boys like Lucas in our county." "Does Ms. Vance want to meet them this time?" These two chatterboxes reminded me of when I first started the foundation. My company had just taken off, and the liaison sent to work with me was a man. When he learned I only provided opportunities for girls, he tried to "educate" me earnestly. "Girls only do well in elementary school. Once boys hit their stride, they easily surpass girls." "There are plenty of boys in the world who can't afford to eat or pay tuition either." "Ms. Vance, you're a person of vision. Surely you won't be swayed by that divisive gender rhetoric online." "The country needs excellent men. You should sponsor more boys, Ms. Vance. Contribute to building the nation." I have to say, men have a natural ability to advocate for their own kind. Even facing a superior with more money and status, they dare to fight for strangers of the same sex. And they spare no effort to suppress and exclude anyone who isn't like them, cutting off their upward mobility and demeaning their character. I deeply admired that. It's something I need to learn more about. So I kicked him out of my company. After communicating with his company's higher-ups, a female executive who had climbed out of poverty just like me promised to give me an explanation. Soon after, I heard he was fired and saddled with a huge penalty for breach of contract. He spent every day working odd jobs to pay off his debt. We arrived at the Miller's gate. Last time I was here, it was a mud hut. Now it was a red brick house with a tiled roof. My heart sank. The moment I entered the yard, I recognized the girl washing clothes in the center. Chapter 4 She was as thin and frail as ever. Hearing the noise, she turned to look. Those eyes that once shone were now dull, as if covered by a veil. When she recognized me, she lowered her head nervously, wiping her hands over and over on her tattered clothes. Lily's voice was as thin as a mosquito's buzz. "Ms. Vance..." I walked closer to her. Lily kept her head down, afraid to look me in the eye. The commotion in the yard disturbed her father inside. He dragged his leg, limping out. I scrutinized him. He looked energetic. Even with the bad leg, he didn't look like the deathly ill man lying in bed a few years ago. In contrast, Lily, a teenager, wore clothes washed white with age. Her back was deeply bent. She didn't look young at all. Seeing me, Mr. Miller froze, then greeted me awkwardly. "Ms. Vance... you're here." The village chief shooed away the onlookers and ushered us inside. Lily stood by the door. Mr. Miller sat aside, puffing on a cigarette. The room was filled with smoke, making me nauseous. Checking my phone to confirm the police were on their way, I didn't bother beating around the bush. I slammed a stack of documents onto the table. "Explain this. How did the student I sponsored turn from a girl in freshman year to a boy in sophomore year overnight?" Mr. Miller glanced at the contract and stammered. "Ms. Vance, I'm sorry. Our family is just too poor. Lily's grades were bad, and we were afraid she wouldn't get into college. That's why we came up with the idea of letting Lucas take the scholarship." "We'll pay you back! Just give us some time. Once Lucas graduates and gets a job, we'll pay you back." "If that doesn't work, I'll sell the house and land to pay you back." I ignored his plea for pity, my voice flat. "Mr. Miller, do you take me for a fool?" "The agreement was to sponsor Lily. Even if she didn't get into college and the money went down the drain, I wouldn't care." "If you wanted Lucas to have a scholarship, you could have found a foundation for boys." "You deceived me for two years. If Lucas hadn't run to me, were you planning to keep hiding it?" The village chief stepped forward, grinning to reveal yellow teeth. "Look at this mess. You just wanted to sponsor a student out of the goodness of your heart, right? Does it matter if it's a boy or a girl? They're both students." "Lily didn't want to study anymore. She was the one who brought it up." "She said she couldn't do it, that the family needed a scholar, and she was willing to support her brother. Old Miller beat her and scolded her, but the kid just wouldn't go back to school. We couldn't do anything." "She's saved up quite a bit working these past two years. The money she owes you will be paid off soon." With that, he shoved Lily forward, forcing her to explain. Lily's voice was hoarse. "Yes, my grades were slipping too fast. I couldn't keep up with my classmates, so I dropped out voluntarily." I had seen Lily's records. She had always been top of her class growing up. Even in high school, she was consistently above average. How could she plummet in sophomore year? I didn't believe a girl who believed she had a gift for reading and wanted to change her destiny through books would quit for no reason. Looking at this exhausted child, I asked softly. "Were you bullied at school? Or did something happen?" The village chief stepped forward, trying to pull Lily back. "What could happen to a kid? She's just dumb. Not smart enough." Lily opened her mouth to speak but was shut down by the chief. Seeing that the chief was intentionally silencing her, my face darkened. "I'm asking Lily. Do you think you can answer for her?" The chief looked embarrassed and reluctantly let go.
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