All Chapters of One Cent a Day: My Mom's Anti‑Degenerate Plan: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

"Lottie, you only told me you were up after you finished brushing your teeth today. I'm so hurt. As your punishment, I'm only paying you for checking in once."My phone chimed, showing I had received one cent.I twisted my lips into a grimace. The cheapest breakfast option at the cafeteria was a bowl of plain oatmeal, and it cost one dollar. With the one cent I just received, I still needed one cent more before I could afford a bowl."Mom, I had a fever yesterday and wasn't feeling well. That's why I woke up late today. I was genuinely in a hurry. I promise I won't miss out checking in with you again," I pleaded softly.Despite her gentle tone, Mom's voice was firm as she replied, "Sweetheart, everyone has to accept the consequences of their mistakes. A mistake is a mistake, and there's no changing that. "Stop making excuses. You've always been a good girl, so I don't want you to turn into one of those bad kids who only know how to make excuses for their wrongdoings."My head dr

Chapter 2

After returning to our room that night, I felt my lower abdomen cramping slightly. A sliver of panic coursed through me as I rushed toward the bathroom.As I thought, my period had arrived.Why had it come so early this time? Due to my years of malnutrition, my periods had always been rather irregular, and I would always be in so much pain that I couldn't even get out of bed. Hence, those few days I was on my period were always like hell for me.The cramps grew increasingly worse, and it wasn't long before the pain spread to my stomach.I hurried toward my bed and reached under the pillow for the box of painkillers I had hidden under it.It was empty.The only reason I had this box of painkillers was because, back before I left for college, our neighbor suggested to Mom that she should prepare some emergency medicine for me.Thus, Mom brought me to a pharmacy and had the pharmacist pick out a random assortment of medicine for common ailments, of which included this box of painki

Chapter 3

I spent the next few days in pain, and my energy levels were at an all-time low. Since I hardly checked in with Mom, I only managed to earn a few dollars each day. Nonetheless, Mom didn't seem to care or wonder whether a few dollars were even enough for a student's daily expenses.I suddenly found it all so pointless.After that realization, I began checking in less and less each day. I would survive even with just a dinner roll a day anyway. Whenever I got too hungry, I would drink some water. A dollar could buy me a big bottle that could then last me a week.I started looking for odd jobs around the campus to do, asking for food or water in exchange. Surprisingly, I even managed to gain some weight, and my heart felt inexplicably lighter.However, Mom grew progressively more anxious as the number of times I checked in dipped lower and lower. She went from soothing me to tearfully complaining, and finally, to threatening me, "Charlotte Sander, if you don't listen to me, karma wi

Chapter 4

I stared at Mr. Whitclaw in disbelief. I couldn't understand why Mom would lie, especially since she gave Dad the cold shoulder for quite a long while back then because of that bracelet. How could she say it didn't exist?"I knew she was scamming us! It's quite scary what extreme poverty can drive someone to do!""Even her mom can't stand her actions.""Can we leave now, Mr. Whitclaw?"He nodded in agreement. As he got up to leave, I fell to my knees before him."I have proof!"Nobody believed me, but none of them moved either.Connecting my phone to the classroom's projector, I opened my photo album and displayed a photo on the screen. In it, a young me was standing by Dad's coffin, and the silver bracelet was obvious for everyone to see. It was the only photo I had of me and my dad together.Forcing my tears back, I gazed pleadingly at Mr. Whitclaw. "Please, just check the surveillance footage."The way Mr. Whitclaw looked at me was noticeably more sympathetic than befor

Chapter 5

I sent out a tentative, "Good morning."Though I didn't receive a reply, I did get a bank transfer notification.It was one dollar.Seeing that, I tried checking in with Dad again, along with Mom. "I'm heading off to class now."Once more, I received a one-dollar transfer from Dad, along with Mom's one-cent transfer.Staring at the two dollars and two cents I had suddenly obtained with so little effort, I felt tears streaming down my face, even as a laugh bubbled out of me.Just a few days ago, I had to worry about how to gather enough money to afford a bowl of plain oatmeal. Now, I could even add some toppings to it.I felt a sharp ache in my chest as I sat down in the lecture hall for the very first time instead of standing at the back while others pointed and stared at me.Strangely enough, in the past, even though I would take a photo of everything the lecturer said and send it to Mom, I never seemed to understand anything.Today, however, I only jotted down some notes, ye

Chapter 6

We wandered around the night market until a stall selling handmade jewelry caught my attention. There, a hairclip in the shape of a rainbow instantly captured my heart.A rainbow came after the rain stopped and the sun came out, symbolizing that things would get better. It was incredibly fitting for my situation.The hairclip was quite expensive at five dollars. For me, that was considered a large sum, so I deliberated over it for quite a while.Eventually, Wendy couldn't take it anymore and offered to buy it for me.I hurriedly refused her offer, though her kindness still warmed my insides. In the end, I bought that hairclip as a birthday present for myself.After that, I wore the hairclip every day.I wasn't sure if it was only my imagination, but it seemed like I became incredibly lucky ever since I bought it.When I ran out of laundry detergent, my roommates happened to have extra from a bulk order and sold it to me for cheap.Some more expensive items would somehow end up

Chapter 7

As the situation escalated further, I tried giving in to Mom and pleaded with her to delete the post.However, she simply replied, "This is the price you have to pay for not listening to me, disrespecting me, and having such terrible morals. I have to let everyone around you know what sort of person you are. Only then will you know your mistakes and change."Her answer left me utterly helpless. I even began considering taking this case to the police. I couldn't continue to drag innocent people into this mess. Even if they didn't blame me, there was no changing the fact that they were only suffering because of me.Yet, before I could do anything, the tables turned in my favor.A student from the Computer Science department hacked into my phone, planning to see what blackmail materials he could dig up on me.He certainly never expected to see my nearly empty bank account balance, let alone my chat history with Mom that showed how she would transfer me one cent as an allowance ever

Chapter 8

Jonathan Sander was my dad's name.My nose tingled as I almost burst into tears. Suddenly, a lot of things made sense.I never said a word about it, simply threw myself into my studies and participated in all sorts of competitions. I knew that I was still too weak right now, so even if I wanted to repay them, there was hardly anything I could do. Only by relentlessly improving myself and finding a good job could I then one day give back to society and these wonderful friends of mine.Now that my grandparents were transferring my allowance directly to me, I no longer had to worry about not having enough money for my living expenses.That night, I bought a huge load of snacks and drinks to share with my friends. This was the first time I was able to give something back to them without feeling burdened, and I was overjoyed that I could express the love and immense gratitude I felt toward them.Laughter and smiles were all around as we seemed to develop a deeper understanding of eac

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