Chapter 4

Naturally, Millie had never expected me to break down and threaten to drop out of school to find a job.

She was still counting on me for the exam! What was she supposed to do without me?

"Ella, how can you just give up on the exam? If you don't take it, how am I supposed to—"

I shot Millie a piercing glare. "What difference does it make to you whether I take it or not?"

Realizing she'd let something slip, Millie hurried to cover her tracks. "Ella, I'm just upset for your sake. You've worked so hard for so long. How can you give up now? Wouldn't all your efforts go to waste?"

What a load of nonsense! She just wanted to keep leeching off my scores!

I sneered inwardly, but I put on a heartbroken expression and cried even harder. "Millie, I want to take the college entrance exam too, but my family needs money. You still haven't repaid the money we lent you for your house. I might as well get a job..."

Millie grew even more frantic, while Leonard and Lilian's faces darkened.

My mother was too softhearted to demand repayment, so they'd assumed they could put it off indefinitely. They'd never expected me to bring up the debt in front of the entire family.

Desperate to keep me from giving up on the college entrance exam, Millie urged her parents to transfer the money to me.

But they had no intention of paying us back. Instead, they protested.

"Pay her back? That's 100,000 dollars!"

Millie tugged at their sleeves and pleaded with them in a whisper, careful not to let anyone else hear.

"Mom, Dad, you'd better pay her back. What if Ella makes a scene at school and it affects my college entrance exam's results?"

Leonard had no choice but to transfer the money to me, though his displeasure was written all over his face.

The moment the money landed in my account, my tears stopped. "Thanks! Now I won't have to drop out of school and get a job."

Millie's family looked utterly miserable, as though parting with that money had caused them physical pain.

Meanwhile, my appetite returned with a vengeance, and I dug into the food with gusto.

-

At the sight of their miserable expressions, the relatives hurried to console them.

"Millie's so smart. She's bound to land a great job someday. She'll have plenty of money then!"

"Yvonne's being far too petty! You're all family. Why make such a fuss over money? Besides, isn't it only right for an older sister to help her younger brother?"

Their words lifted Millie's spirits. A smile returned to her face, though she secretly sneered. 'Whatever. I'll just consider that money charity for Ella! Go ahead and laugh while you can. You won't be smiling for much longer!'

-

For a while after that, Millie reined herself in and stopped bothering me. She was afraid that one wrong move would push me to give up on the college entrance exam altogether.

I took advantage of the peace and quiet to work through practice problems and sharpen my skills.

On the other hand, Millie spent her days getting manicures, sleeping, and playing video games. She did just about everything except study.

Wendy was as biased as ever and turned a blind eye to Millie's blatant disregard for the rules. She even worried that Millie wouldn't be comfortable sleeping with her head on her desk, so she let her nap in her office instead.

Meanwhile, I was exhausted from staying up late to study. One day, I accidentally yawned in class, and Wendy immediately singled me out for a harsh scolding. She even forced me to stand at the back of the classroom for the entire period.

Eventually, she grew so fed up with me that she kicked me out of the honors class and transferred me to a regular one.

On my last day, she bought drinks for the entire class to celebrate finally getting rid of the class' biggest underachiever.

But I couldn't have cared less. Just wait until the college entrance exam's results came out. She'd regret everything!

…

Before long, exam day arrived.

That morning, my mother and Lilian showed up in red dresses, a color that symbolized a victorious start and success in exams.

When Lilian noticed that my mother was also wearing red, she sneered, "Honestly, you shouldn't get your hopes up too high. You'll only set yourself up for disappointment!"

My mother was gentle by nature, but when it came to protecting me, she never backed down. At Lilian's snide remark, she immediately shot back, "All I know is that pride comes before a fall. Things can take an unexpected turn when someone gets too complacent."

Just then, Wendy stepped in to put an end to their argument. She shoved my mother aside with a look of utter disgust. "Move aside, Yvonne! Don't let your bad luck rub off on Millie!"

My mother's face flushed with anger. She was about to confront Wendy, but I stopped her. "It's okay, Mom. Don't let people who don't matter ruin your mood."