Zhang Jiacheng finished the college entrance examination, barely scoring a three-digit total.

Uncle and Auntie were anxious, especially Uncle whose face was swollen with anger. My parents were also in a flurry, trying to come up with ideas.

After all, isn't it simple to have books to read? It's easy if you have money.

My dad comforted Uncle while smoking a cigarette.

Both of them smoked one after another, the room filled with smoke, making it hard to see clearly.

In the middle of the night, as I got up to use the bathroom, passing by my parents' room, I overheard them quietly discussing.

My mom said, "There's not much left in the bankbook, we don't have much money left. The last hundred thousand is for Yuan Yuan's university tuition."

My dad paused, then angrily retorted, "Isn't it too early for Yuan Yuan? There are still two years left. Besides, how much can Jiacheng use for his education?"

"Think about how to spend this money wisely. Let Jiacheng go to a vocational school. No matter what happens in the future, Big Brother's family will remember our favor. Money can be repaid, but can favors be repaid?"

My dad's words instantly dispelled the drowsiness in my head.

He wanted to use the money meant for my university education to help Zhang Jiacheng!

I was so angry that I laughed, as if I had heard the funniest joke in the world.

I curled up in my blanket, a terrifying laughter escaping from deep within my throat, the air squeezed out of my chest vibrating with bones and every inch of flesh.

That night, the lonely sky had no stars visible. I kept reassuring myself repeatedly that everything would be fine, there would be a solution.

Sure enough, a few days later, I caught my dad handing over the bankbook to my uncle.

My dad looked cautious, like a mouse stealing food.

He was guilty.

But it was precisely this hypocritical guilt that made me feel an unparalleled disgust.

Zhang Jiacheng went to a nearby vocational school. When she returned for Mid-Autumn Festival, she had dyed her hair golden and wore bright makeup on her face.

When Uncle tried to remove the shiny stud from her lips, she swatted his hand away impatiently, saying, "This is a lip piercing. Are your hands clean? Don't touch me."

Her room was filled with many airplane boxes, the kind used for shipping parcels, with a strong scent of cheap perfume in the air.

Her arguments with Uncle and Auntie gradually became a daily occurrence. One day, I heard her screaming angrily, "Get out, get out! Mind your own business, okay? What does it have to do with you?"

"Why do you care about me doing my nails? I'll do as many as I want, get out!"

Perhaps I used to look down on her attitude towards her parents, but now, I inexplicably envied it.

There were no moral or ethical constraints, and she didn't care about what labels others put on her.

Every time my exam results came out, they were average, nothing special.

He Xiaoman would use a blue pen to add points to my paper, muttering seriously, "You got this right, add ten points, you got that right, add five points..."

Looking at the ranking, I should have been in the top three of the year.

After the college entrance examination, I exceeded the admission cutoff by nearly forty points.

My mom was overjoyed when she found out about my results.

But she didn't dare to share her joy with anyone, not even with me. She would just sit in the room, smiling to herself when no one was around.

She stared at the swaying green leaves outside the window, smiling absentmindedly, as if she had done something unspeakable.

Success had come, but she didn't dare to boast about it.

When it was time to choose colleges, I secretly took my admission ticket and ran to He Xiaoman's house.

He Xiaoman was my deskmate. Ever since she transferred to our school in the ninth grade and went straight to high school with me, we had always been deskmates.

She lived in a large house alone, which was well-decorated but felt particularly empty and desolate.

Sitting in front of He Xiaoman's computer, I entered my admission ticket number one by one. When it came to choosing a school, I hesitated and asked her, "Where are you going?"

She propped her head with her hand, blinking her eyes, and said, "Wherever you go, I'll go, Yuanyuan."