Chapter 2

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital.

A few feet away, a cheerful family was laughing together. I watched them with a faint pang of envy.

“Why is she allowed to eat a burger?” I asked.

The doctor blinked in surprise. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“Those are junk food. Mom told me since I was little that eating them is bad for my health,” I replied.

The doctor smiled patiently as he explained, “You don’t need to worry that much. Eating something like that once in a while won’t hurt you.”

I shook my head quickly. “No. Mom would be upset if she found out.”

A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

In my almost 18 years, I had never once eaten my fill, all for the sake of Mom’s so-called idea of a “perfect body", let alone a burger.

Just then, Mom burst into the room. Without a word, she marched straight to the doctor and started yelling, pointing her finger right at his face.

“What kind of quack are you? Do you even have any professional ethics? How dare you tell my child to eat junk food? Show me your credentials. I swear I’ll be filing a complaint. Having my child stay here is nothing short of poisoning her.”

As her shouting filled the room, a wave of shame spread through me, burning from the inside out.

The doctor kept his composure. “Mrs. White, there are no absolutes when it comes to nutrition. Your daughter is suffering from severe malnutrition. This fainting episode was the result of long-term nutrient deficiency that led to anemia, compounded by strenuous exercise. Her body just couldn’t take it anymore.”

“Malnutrition?” Mom sneered. “What a ridiculous excuse to scam money out of patients. Her diet plan was scientifically customized to maintain her ideal body shape. How do you expect to stay beautiful without effort? Look at her—look how perfect her figure is!”

Before I could react, she started tugging at my clothes.

I froze in shock, too stunned to resist.

She was actually trying to undress me in front of everyone.

“Look at her!” she shouted. “Do any of you junk-food eaters have a body like this?”

The mother of the little girl in the next bed finally couldn’t stand it anymore. “Mrs. White, that’s your daughter! How can you treat her like this?”

She rushed over to pull Mom away, and the doctor hurried to cover me with a blanket.

A wave of helplessness washed over me, freezing me from the inside out. How could Mom degrade me like that in front of everyone?

“Mom, please stop,” I whispered, tugging timidly at her sleeve.

She slapped my hand away. “You little brat. Don’t think I don’t know what’s going through your head. You just want to eat junk food, don’t you? Haven’t you eaten enough? Are you really that greedy?”

Her fury built like a storm. The next moment, her hand came down across my face. My cheek burned and swelled instantly.

Tears slipped silently down my face as I watched her pull up something on her tablet.

I stiffened. Then, suddenly, I couldn’t feel anything at all.

Turning to the worried woman by the next bed, I forced a perfect smile. “Please don’t worry. Mom only does this for my own good.”

Then, I looked back at Mom. “I’m sorry, Mom. I was being difficult earlier.”

Mom studied my swollen face, and a flicker of something like guilt flashed in her eyes. Her tone softened, as if the woman who had just lost control wasn’t her.

“As long as you understand that I’m doing this for you, that’s what matters. Once you finish your IV, I’ll take you to school,” she said.

…

That afternoon, I returned to school. I had barely set foot on the stairwell when a group of classmates surrounded me.

“So, it was you,” one of them said coldly. “You’re the one who gave Cocoa that chocolate. He fell ill because of you.”

She thrust her phone toward me. On the screen was a picture of a small dog lying weak on the ground.

At the sight of Cocoa, my voice shook uncontrollably. “I only gave him lactose-free milk.”