Chapter 2

"Celeste, if you look down on our poor relatives, just say it! Who are you trying to fool with these pieces of scrap paper on Christmas?"

Everyone's gaze turned to me, then to my mom.

My mom was about to accept everyone's gratitude when her smile froze instantly. "What... What happened?"

She immediately stood up, slapped the table, and shouted angrily, "Celeste! You brat, I told you to give a gift envelope filled with cash to everyone. What did you use to deceive everyone instead?"

Her reaction was quick, immediately shifting the blame onto me. "I gave them good stuff, but she swapped them out. "

Cheryl immediately played along, rattling her cutlery on the table. "I knew it! Celeste, you're too greedy! How dare you swallow the cash prepared for our relatives?"

Our relatives' expressions changed instantly — from disappointment to contempt.

"It turns out it was embezzled; that's completely out of line."

"She'd even scam her own mother out of her money. What a waste of all those years of education."

Facing everyone's condemnation, I remained calm. I even helped myself to a piece of braised pork with a pleasant smile. “Mom, you should at least have a conscience when you say things like that.”

I put down my cutlery and took out the remaining unsealed gift envelope from my bag. "This is all you gave me. I didn't touch a single one. I packed them untouched. If you've forgotten, take a look at the rubber bands holding them together."

I turned the gift envelope upside down and shook it out in front of everyone.

Those tattered vouchers fell out, still bound by a rubber band that had a few strands of graying hair caught in it.

I pointed at the hair. "Mom, this rubber band is the kind you use to tie up your hair; it's even got strands of your hair wrapped around it. My short hair certainly doesn't require anything like that."

The evidence was irrefutable.

My mom's face instantly turned crimson red.

The hair was unmistakable — half-black, half-white, and with the same curl pattern as the hair on the crown of her head.

The look in our relatives' eyes changed again; this time, they were looking at my mom with suspicion.

"Sophia, are these... really your gifts?" Mary asked tentatively.

My mom's eyes darted around, clearly panicking. However, her greatest talent in life was being unreasonable. "I... of course not! Right! Celeste, did you make a mistake?"

She slapped her thigh, feigning exasperation. "The real gift envelope must still be at home!"

It was an excuse so lame that even a three-year-old would not buy it, but Cheryl bought it — or rather, she needed that excuse to pick a fight.

Cheryl stood up and pointed a finger right in my face. "You grabbed the wrong one on purpose! You wanted to humiliate Mom! How can you be so evil? If you knew Mom had grabbed the wrong one, why didn't you say something?"

I stood up too, towering half a head above her as I looked down at her. "I did say something. Mom insisted these were 'VIP premium vouchers' and were more valuable than gold. As her daughter, how could I possibly contradict her?"

Cheryl was left speechless by my retort.

Sensing the situation was getting out of hand, my mom deployed her ultimate tactic. "Alright, that’s enough! Why are we arguing during Christmas?"

She glared at me and ordered, "Since it was a misunderstanding, pay up right now, Celeste! Give everyone an extra 1,000-dollar gift envelope as an apology!"

1,000 dollars — with over a dozen people at the table, that would come to more than ten thousand dollars.

She was certainly generous, using my money to buy herself goodwill.

I sat back down and calmly wiped my mouth. "You gave me paper scraps; why should I make up for it with real money? I'm not paying."

"You won't pay?" Cheryl shrieked, reaching out to knock my plate right off the table.

Pasta scattered across the floor, and the sauce splattered onto my coat.

"Celeste! Why are you acting poor? You know how many of Mom's reward points you pocketed over the years!"