Chapter 3

When I returned home, I went to see Grandma first.

When I walked in, she was on the phone with my mom.

I looked at the old phone, the one that usually rang only during the holidays, and couldn't quite put my feelings into words.

The red phone was ancient, and the sound even leaked through its casing.

"Mom, how many times do I have to tell you? Stop letting Sue come looking for me! I finally managed to get rid of that burden. What exactly are you trying to do?

"I told you to abandon her back then. Why didn't you? And now look at all the trouble she's causing!"

Grandma glanced at me cautiously before speaking in a low voice to the person on the other end, "All right, stop talking about it."

"I don't care! If you're going to raise that burden, then you need to keep her under control! If she ruins the life I've built for myself, then we'll all go down together!"

Grandma hurriedly hung up. "Sue, your mom didn't mean it."

I managed a strained smile and tossed my backpack onto the sofa. "Grandma, I'm sorry. I didn't bring you a present."

Grandma hesitated, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she simply brought out a plate of my favorite cinnamon-sugar French toast. "Eat, eat. Then go to school."

I nodded and hurried into the little room. I dug out everything my mom had sent over the years and examined each item, one by one.

It turned out the things she'd casually mailed back weren't the result of my mom scrimping and saving to buy them, as Grandma had told me.

The name engraved on the electronic reading pen wasn't a brand. It was Sofia's name.

The floral dress I'd treasured for so long, the one I'd never dared wear even once, wasn't even my size.

Even the ice skates everyone had envied were two sizes too small for my feet.

When I was little, I was so vain that even when something didn't fit, I'd grit my teeth and force myself into it.

Looking back now, I realized that every bit of maternal love I'd received had been something Sofia didn't want. I was like a scavenger, picking up things other people had thrown away and treating them like treasures.

I threw everything into the trash and looked up at the moon.

Was it the same moon my mom saw on the other side of the ocean?

Starting today, I would stop making wishes to my mom. I would become my own wish-granting fairy.

…

Three years. More than a thousand days and nights. I hadn't taken a single day off.

From that day on, I buried myself in my studies. I completed all my required credits a year early, ranked first in my major, and earned dual degrees in finance and law.

By my junior year, I'd secured an internship offer from one of the top investment banks in Crestholm. After graduating, I joined the firm with a monthly salary of $20,000.

In my second year of work, I jumped to a top-tier investment fund and became an investment manager.

A junior from the journalism department at Westbridge University once interviewed me. She asked why I pushed myself so hard.

I thought about it for a moment, then took out a electronic reading pen. It was the one I'd thrown into the trash that day, only to secretly retrieve it later.

"When I first started, all I wanted was to have my name engraved on this pen. I wanted to prove that I deserved a new one of my own."

She didn't understand what I meant, but she carefully recorded every word in her interview report anyway.

In my third year at work, the company sent me abroad to attend an industry summit.

"Sue, you're the youngest investment manager in our company. All the biggest names in the world will be listening to you speak onstage. Make sure you're prepared."

The moment I saw the destination, my whole body began to tremble.

I'd waited five whole years for this day, maybe even longer.

I suddenly remembered the parent-teacher conference in fifth grade. I was the only student in the entire class whose seat was empty.

My classmates had pointed at me and whispered about me all afternoon. I'd spent the whole afternoon crying.

When I got home, I begged Grandma to call my mom. I wanted to ask when she'd be coming back and whether she could make it to my sixth-grade parent-teacher conference.

Grandma hesitated for a long time before finally making the international call.

The phone rang for ages before someone answered.

Before I could even say hello to my mom, the call was disconnected again.