Chapter 1

My peers could no longer stand still the moment they saw my lips going white.

A guy pressed his face against the window while urging me anxiously, "Kate, stop being stubborn! Hurry up and apologize to Ms. Miller!"

After all, everyone on campus viewed my mother, Jasmine Miller, as the best teacher in the entire university. She was a skilled and capable teacher who had nurtured batches of excellent graduates.

What they didn't know was that Mom, despite being an outstanding teacher, viewed me as the only stain in her supposedly pristine life.

She was such a strong-willed woman. Even when my cheating father forced her to give up on all of their marital assets, she insisted on getting my custody.

Mom initially wanted to raise me as a successful person so that she could spit in Dad's face and make him regret everything. Unfortunately, I was a total failure.

Since I was a kid, I had always suffered from various illnesses due to my frail health. Mom put in her blood, sweat, and tears just to teach me how to play the piano. She went to great lengths in order to secure a spot for me to play the piano on stage at a gala, only for me to skip out on it at the very last minute due to diarrhea.

Later on, she taught me badminton, thinking that it'd be a great workout for me. But I ended up tripping and falling right in front of the colleague she despised the most.

This time, Mom specifically taught me the perfect posture to stand at attention in advance just so I could show off during the freshman orientation program.

Who would've thought that the hot weather would make me feel sick? My sweat had gotten into my eyes. In order to see the orientation leader, Edwin Styke's instructions, I had to wipe it away while standing at attention.

As I floated in mid-air, I couldn't help but tremble in fear.

There was no way Mom would forgive me this time!

I knew it. Mom dragged that guy away from the car instantly, her gaze frigid.

"Kate's clearly lounging happily inside the car! Why are you all looking so uneasy, anyway? I'll let her out of the car the moment she apologizes to me!"

Alicia Hoffman, the class president, was on good terms with me. As she looked at my sweaty face, she decided to speak up.

"From the way I see it, I don't think the internal temperature is just 96.8 degrees, Ms. Miller. Kate's face is practically crawling with sweat. She seems to be sweating a lot more than us right now."

Mom stiffened up at Alicia's words. She sighed, opting to move closer to the window so that she could take a good look at me.

But that was when Mr. Styke reached out to stop her.

"Don't worry. Kate's clothes aren't damp at all. How could the internal temperature be that high, to begin with? She must have gotten her face all sweaty on purpose just so you'll take pity on her and let her off the hook!

"I've seen too many manipulative and cunning youngsters like her! Don't fall for her tricks now, Ms. Miller!"

What Mom and Mr. Styke had conveniently forgotten was that they made me wear black clothes, which could absorb heat the best, instead of my usual camo uniform right before the orientation program took place. Their excuse was that I could push myself to my limits even more during the program.

Even though my black shirt was completely soaked with sweat, no one could tell the difference from the outside.

As Mom stared at my seemingly dry shirt, she felt flames of fury consuming her senses instantly. So, she snapped at me angrily through the window.

"I'm so done with your stupid act, Kate Miller! If you don't open your eyes right now, I'll dial up the temperature inside the car! Let's see how long you can keep up with that act of yours!"