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Chapter 2

Author: Jellyfish
Over the next two weeks, I lived like a servant, eager to do anything that would earn me points.

Waking up early to cook breakfast earned me 2 points. Mopping the floor earned me 2 points. Handwashing all the laundry earned me 5 points.

Even when my period cramp was so painful that I could hardly stand, I still crouched down to scrub the floor.

Cold sweat dripped down my forehead onto the tiles, and I quickly wiped it away. Points would be deducted if I made the floor dirty.

Esther lounged on the couch, snacking on popcorn.

A piece of popcorn dropped down to the floor I just cleaned. She laughed and said, "Oops, my hand slipped."

She smiled at me. "I'm helping you, Myra. If you clean it again, won't you earn another point?"

I remained silent and crawled over to pick up the popcorn. Patrick rushed over and stepped on my hand with his sneaker.

"I'll help too!"

He stepped hard. Dad, who was reading the newspaper nearby, glanced at us. If I retaliated, I would be "bullying my younger brother" and had 50 points deducted. If I cried, I would be "affecting family harmony" and had 30 points deducted.

I pulled my hand back, the skin swollen and red. "Thanks, Patrick." I squeezed the words through clenched teeth.

Dad nodded approvingly. "That's it. Siblings should always help each other."

He awarded me 2 points.

That night, I pieced back together the homework that Patrick tore apart.

I had to hand it in tomorrow, or I would be reprimanded by my teacher.

That would result in a deduction of 20 points at home.

I couldn't afford to lose any more points.

Not even one.

It was soon time for the mid-term exams.

I tried my best to do well.

My hands were shaking when I received my report card.

I was the top student in my grade.

I got a perfect score in every subject.

According to the rules, getting first place earned 100 points, and a perfect score earned an additional 100 points.

Adding the points I had saved up from doing chores day and night for the past two weeks, I had exactly a thousand points.

I clutched the report card and rushed home. The air felt sweet.

When I pushed open the door, my family was gathered around the TV, laughing.

Patrick pointed at an advertisement on TV and shouted, "I want that! I want those shoes!"

They were limited-edition sneakers worn by a certain basketball star. Each pair cost more than $400.

Esther coaxed him. "Those are too expensive. You don't have enough points."

Dad also said with a smile, "Patrick, we have to follow the rules."

I took a deep breath and walked up to Dad.

I gently placed my report card and point book on the coffee table.

"Dad, I'm the top student in my grade."

Dad picked up the report card, glanced at it, and raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

I pushed the point book over to him. "Including the points for this reward, I have exactly one thousand points. Dad, you promised to make my wish come true if I accumulate a thousand points."

Dad set down the newspaper, his gaze dropping to the point book.

"Myra," Dad said slowly, "is this Olympiad math class really that important?"

"Yes, it is." I stared into his eyes. "It's my only wish."

The atmosphere froze for a few seconds.

Dad picked up the pen, ready to sign.

My heart was in my throat.

Suddenly, Patrick threw the remote control hard at the TV screen.

"I want those shoes! I want those shoes! I want them now!"

He lay on the ground, rolling around and crying his heart out.

"Everyone else has them! I'm the only one who doesn't! You don't love me at all, Gary! You're a terrible stepfather!"

The word "stepfather" hit Dad where it hurt.

Dad's face instantly turned red, and the anxiety of maintaining his "good stepfather" reputation flared up again.

Esther wiped away tears and remarked, "Oh, what a poor boy. If his real father was still here..."

Dad suddenly stood up.

He looked at Patrick on the floor, then at the report card on the table.

The application fee for the Olympiad math class was $400, the same price as the shoes.

He picked up the whiteboard eraser and walked to the whiteboard.

My eyes were locked on his hand.

No.

Please, no.

Dad raised the eraser, aiming it at the bright red "1000" under my name.

One swipe.

Two swipes.

Chalk dust fell.

That number that I had earned with blood, sweat, dignity, and countless late nights, disappeared, replaced by a glaring blank space.

"Dad?"
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  • My Father's Point-Based Game   Chapter 10

    I did not forgive him.I felt no hate, no resentment, not even the pleasure of revenge.Only emptiness.What use was the pair of shoes to me now? I couldn't wear them anymore.What use was an apology now? I couldn't come back to life.What I wanted was just a bit of fairness, even once, in that suffocating home.I wanted to hear him say, "You're the elder sister, but you're also a child."I wanted to hear him say, "The points will not be deducted this time, take a rest because you're sick."I wanted to hear him say, "Patrick was wrong and deserves punishment."But he never said any of that, not even once.His remorse now was merely a placebo for making himself feel a little better in the latter half of his life.He wanted to use those shoes to bury every nightmare that haunted him in the midnight hours.Dream on.Some things, once reset, would remain zero forever.Gary continued to cry."Myra… please, just look at me?"No, I don't.I never will.The sun broke through

  • My Father's Point-Based Game   Chapter 9

    The house was dead.Esther was a smart woman. She emptied the house the same way she filled it before. She left with my useless brother. Before leaving, she took everything that could be sold for money, even the bags of unopened oatmeal.Dad was the only one left on the 18th floor.He had lost his job. No one dared to employ a madman who forced his daughter to death, especially if the madman would randomly take out a pen and draw on the wall.I floated on the ceiling, watching him roam the house.His crisp white shirt was now wrinkled and hanging on his body, the collar full of oil stains.He tightly held a marker in his hand.It was my pen.The red pen I used to do math problems with now became his judge's gavel.Whoosh!The pen tip scratched against the wall."Myra, +100 points."He wrote this line tremblingly while muttering it.Then, under that line, he drew a long line."Dad, -100 points. Dad is bad. Dad deserves to die. -1000 points. -10,000 points."When there was

  • My Father's Point-Based Game   Chapter 8

    Dad went insane.He started hallucinating.He always felt that I was hiding in some corner of the house, holding a pen, waiting to give him points.He started forcing himself to live according to the points system.But he reversed the rules.Before, it was rewards. Now, it was all punishment.If he woke up late in the morning, he would slap himself. "Lazy, -10 points."If he dropped food while eating, he would poke his thigh with a needle. "Wasting food, -20 points."If he remembered a harsh thing he used to say to me, he would cut a line on his arm. "Hurting people with words, -50 points."Before long, his body was covered in scars, new ones added before the old ones had healed.He lost so much weight his eye sockets became sunken.He saw me in his dreams.I was no longer a timid little girl.I was wearing the bloodstained school uniform, holding a huge red pen, standing in front of a whiteboard."Dad, your points are in the negative now."I pointed to the shocking red

  • My Father's Point-Based Game   Chapter 7

    The neighbors snapped a photo of the "family point system" and posted it in the residents' group chat.Then, it got shared on TikTok and X.The headline was: "A Stepfather's 'Number Education': Using Points to Drive A 17-Year-Old Girl to Death."In the photos, the whiteboard covered in pluses and minuses became ironclad proof of child abuse.The writing was still fresh on the line: "Leaving home without permission, -500 points".It became a hot topic on the internet.The netizens' fury drowned Dad.His workplace was doxxed, and his phone was bombarded with calls.His picture was turned into a memorial portrait and plastered at the entrance of the apartment complex.Some people sent him death threats, while others splashed red paint on his front door.The virtuous and kind Esther finally showed her true colors.When the police came to take statements, she cried buckets."Officer, I'm just her stepmom, how would I dare to interfere? Gary made all the rules. He said it was to

  • My Father's Point-Based Game   Chapter 6

    Dad was led downstairs by two police officers.The numbers in the elevator counted down one by one.18, 17, 16...With every digit that dropped, Dad's legs shook even harder due to fear.He was afraid to face the outcome, afraid to face the public's scrutiny.Esther made an excuse that she had to stay with Patrick and locked the door tightly.A cordon had been set up downstairs.The murmur of the crowd reached my ears."I heard she jumped because of a pair of shoes.""That guy looks like a decent man. I can't believe he's so cruel to his own daughter.""What a tragedy. That girl had always been well-behaved. She always smiled at people."Dad's head was lowered even further, wishing he could shrink into the ground.The police led him to the white sheet."Prepare yourself."After saying that, an officer lifted the corner of the white sheet to reveal my face.Actually, the sight wasn't too gruesome, because I landed on my back.My face was pale, my eyes were closed, and th

  • My Father's Point-Based Game   Chapter 5

    The more Dad thought about the phone call, the angrier he became."No, this won't do. I have to drag her out. This kind of prank must be severely punished!"He stood up and strode toward my room.Esther fanned the flames from behind, speaking in a sarcastic tone, "A lot of young people these days are spoiled. They'll even pretend to be the police to earn a few points. Gary, you have to deduct lots of points from her this time, or she'll do something even more terrible in the future.""You're right! I'll deduct 10,000 points! I'll make sure her points will never be in the positive again!"Dad kicked open my bedroom door."Myra! Get over here!"The door slammed against the wall with a loud bang.The long lecture he had prepared got stuck in his throat when he saw the empty room.The room was neat and tidy.The blanket was folded neatly because points would be deducted if it wasn't folded well.The desk was clean because points would be deducted if I left things lying around.

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