2
My mom scurried after me, growing frantic when I kept ignoring her.
She shot her hand out and pinched my arm, hard.
"You damn brat! I'm talking to you, did you hear me? Stop pretending you're mute."
I winced, frowning from the pain. I stopped and turned, staring at her coldly.
My mom started yelling again, pointing a finger right in my face.
"You walk around with that long face all day, acting like someone in this family owes you something."
As she spoke, she held her palm out to me and snorted.
"Hand it over."
She stared at me.
My frown deepened. "What?" I asked, confused.
"What?"
My mom shrieked.
"The 200,000! Don't you even think about pocketing that money for yourself."
For once, my brother wasn't playing his video games. He stood next to my mom, mimicking her pose and holding his hand out to me.
"Penelope, stop playing dumb," he said. "Just hand over the money."
Hah. Seeing the greed on both their faces, one old and one young, only chilled me to the bone.
They never used to give a damn about me, but now, it seems, they've decided I have some value.
The year I got into high school, my family wouldn't let me attend.
I cried and knelt before my mom, begging her for so long my knees swelled up, but she still refused.
She glared at me. "What are you crying for? Why does a girl like you need so much education? That money should be saved for your brother. Get out and find a job. You need to earn money to support him."
'My brother, my brother...' In my parents' eyes, in their words, he was the only child that mattered.
You could see their favoritism just from our names.
My name is Penelope. My Chinese name literally means "to hope for a boy."
His name is Jason. His Chinese name means "family treasure," and he's been treated like one his whole life—the precious darling of the family.
When her precious treasure wanted money, my mom would hand it over without a second thought.
If I asked for so much as a penny, I'd get an earful that lasted for ages.
That time, I begged and begged, but she refused. Eventually, my pleading got on her nerves, and she raised her hand and slapped me across the face.
The force of it snapped my head to the side, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of my mouth.
For a split second, a flicker of panic crossed my mom's eyes. But when she saw I was all right, her brows furrowed in anger and she started shouting again.
"Get out, get out, get out! The sight of you, you worthless money pit, makes my skin crawl."
She lifted her foot and kicked me in the chest. I spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed, lying on the ground for a long time before I could even catch my breath.
Just then, my dad walked in carrying pork ribs, and he saw the whole thing.
He walked right past me without a word, handing the ribs to my mom.
"Cook these ribs for Jason tonight. They're fresh."
My mom immediately broke into a wide grin as she took them, unable to stop repeating my brother's name.
"What's Penelope doing on the floor?"
My dad saw me lying there, but the thought of helping me up never even crossed his mind.
My mom spat in my direction. "The damn girl wants to go to high school. As if she deserves it."
My dad grabbed my hair with his nicotine-stained fingers and yanked my head up.
"I heard the Warren family's eldest daughter finished high school before she got married, and her Bridal Gift was a hundred thousand yuan more than anyone else's. Tsk, tsk. I hear city folks these days have a thing for educated girls."
"We should let her go to school. If she can get into a university, even better. We'll be able to sell her for more money then. That way, we'll have enough for Jason to get a wife."
"Really?"
My mom's eyes lit up instantly. She walked over and stood before me, sizing me up with a condescending gaze.
"Heh. I never thought having a girl could fetch so much money. Fine, let her go to school. She can pay her own way with a part-time job, anyway."
I'll never forget the look in my mother's eyes then. They were gleaming, like those of a shrewd she-wolf.
