Chapter 2

I went to the Internal Revenue Bureau the next day.

The staff member glanced at me as he held the family registry and my acceptance letter. "Your new state of residence will be Warreno after you're removed from your family registry. Are you sure about your decision?"

"Yes," I replied, nodding.

My heart felt incredibly light when I got my hands on my new family registry. I had just walked out of the Internal Revenue Bureau when I received a call from Hannah.

"Why aren't you here at Connor's celebratory party, Xavier?" she asked.

Her voice was laced with impatience as she continued, "Everyone's waiting for you. Can you stop ruining the mood for once?"

I gazed at the family registry in my hand as I stood under the shade of a tree on the sidewalk. "I'm not going."

Hannah fell silent on the other end of the line for a second. She sounded furious when she finally hissed, "What the hell do you think you're doing? Connor getting into university is a happy occasion. Do you have to cause trouble for him at this moment?"

"I'm not causing trouble," I said calmly. "I just don't want to go to the party."

"Do you think that you can look down on Connor just because your results are better than his, Xavier?" she snapped in a high-pitched tone. "He worked really hard to get accepted into Borealin University. You're his brother. Can't you be a little more understanding of him?"

I didn't say a single word. Borealin University was a regular, second-rate university. Furthermore, Connor had only managed to get in because Mom and Dad had spent money to secure his acceptance letter.

Meanwhile, I had relied on no one but myself as I stayed in the drafty rented apartment, studying day in and day out until I was accepted into a top academic institution.

"You can think whatever you want," I said before hanging up on Hannah.

…

I began packing my belongings after I returned to my apartment. Truth be told, I didn't have much to pack.

I stayed in this apartment by myself during my four years of high school. Mom and Dad told me that, due to his weak mental state, Connor couldn't stand the sounds of turning pages that I made when I studied late into the night.

That was why they rented this apartment near my school for me during my freshman year of high school. They claimed that it was to allow me to study in peace, but in reality, it was because they wanted to provide a quiet environment for Connor.

I stuffed a few old clothes into my suitcase. When I tried to close it, the zipper refused to budge. I had used this suitcase since middle school. It broke long ago. I tried to forcefully zip the suitcase shut, but I ended up ripping the zipper off altogether.

Just then, someone knocked on the door. I opened it to see Isabelle standing outside. She was carrying a trendy, black, limited-edition suitcase and two paper bags.

"Hannah told me that you weren't picking up her calls, so I came to see you," she said as she strode into my apartment and placed the suitcase on the floor. "I bought this for Connor. I thought that I might as well buy a gift for you too."

She offered me one of the paper bags. "Open it."

I didn't accept the bag, saying, "I don't need it. Thanks."

Isabelle frowned before placing the paper bag on the table. "You should know where to draw the line even when you're throwing a tantrum, Xavier. Everyone's in high spirits because it's Connor's celebratory party today. Why are you staying cooped up here by yourself?"

"Is that for Connor?" I asked, looking at the black suitcase.

"That's right," Isabelle answered. "His old one doesn't look good anymore. He needs to use a good one when he moves to Borealin."

"What about mine?" I asked, pointing at the old suitcase on the floor with the broken zipper.

Isabelle was briefly stunned when she looked at where I was pointing. "That… It's still usable, right?"

She then walked over to it and tried to pull the zipper. However, it refused to budge no matter what she did.

"Forget it. I'll tell my assistant to buy a new one for you tomorrow," she said as she stood up and clapped the dust from her hands. "You've never been a materialistic person anyway. Connor is more sensitive. You should be more understanding of him."

Isabelle was telling me the same thing again. I didn't deserve to have better things because I didn't care for them. On the other hand, Connor was sensitive, so he needed to have the best.

I suddenly felt how pointless everything was as I stared at her. "Isabelle."

Isabelle looked up when I called out to her. There was a hint of impatience glinting in her eyes. "What is it?"

"You should leave," I said. "I want to be alone for a little while."

Isabelle's frown deepened.

"When did you become so unreasonable, Xavier?" she sneered, grabbing her car keys from the table as she shot me a cold look. "I'm going to leave your gift here. You can order a cab and head over to the hotel by yourself once you've come to your senses."

She then slammed the door shut behind her.

I walked over to the table and opened the paper bag. There was an extremely ordinary and old-fashioned leather belt inside.

I had seen the gift that Isabelle gave Connor. He had shown it off on his social media account the day before. She had given him a limited-edition luxury watch.

I threw the leather belt into the trash and continued packing my belongings into my broken suitcase. I could still use it once I wrapped a few layers of tape around it.