My mother was obsessed with competing with me. When my grandmother gave me a jade bangle, my mother's eyes turned red with envy. She snatched it from me, snarling, "A worthless girl like you doesn't deserve such a fine thing!" When my boyfriend sent me a bouquet for Valentine's Day, she gritted her teeth in rage, then feigned nonchalance. "He only likes you because you're my daughter. If I were a few years younger, do you think he'd even look at you?" Later, she actually climbed into my boyfriend's bed, naked. When she was caught, she begged us not to tell my father. Soft-hearted, I agreed. But during a family trip to a scenic mountain, she pushed me off a cliff... Before I died, I saw her face twisted in a euphoric grin. "Everything you have is only because you're my daughter! Why should you have a better life than me? I should never have given birth to you!" When I opened my eyes again, it was the summer after my high school graduation. Mom, this time, I won't be silent. I'll be the loudspeaker broadcasting your "victories" in this twisted competition. 1 When I was seven, I admired a matching mother-daughter outfit in a shop window. I tugged at my mother's skirt to show her. She looked at me with disgust. "Are you just trying to outshine me so your dad will praise you?" At fourteen, while Dad was away on business, I cooked a huge meal for her while she was out shopping, hoping for a smile or a compliment. Instead, she flipped the table in a rage, screaming, "You wasteful brat! I worked so hard to raise you, I quit my job for you! What's the point of cooking all this? Who are you trying to impress?!" I thought I would wake up eventually. I thought I would stop craving her warmth. At eighteen, I got into college. My grandparents gave me an exquisite jade bangle. She made snide remarks and threw fits until I offered it to her with both hands. Only when it was on her wrist did she calm down. Later, in college, I found a boyfriend who genuinely loved me. When I excitedly shared my happiness with my family, she tried on my clothes in my room behind my father's back. Posing in front of the mirror, she scoffed, "If I were a few years younger, do you think he'd ever look at you?" In the end, she crawled naked into my boyfriend's bed. When he fled screaming in terror, she cried and begged me not to tell my dad. I softened again. The price of my soft heart was my life ending in a nameless valley. 2 The moment I opened my eyes, I still felt the dull pain of the rocks against the back of my head, and the shock and resentment filling my chest. When I came to my senses, I found myself squatting in the bathroom, staring at a basin full of socks so dirty they were black. It was the summer after my high school graduation. My dad, wearing a tank top and carrying a bowl of fruit to wash, passed by the bathroom. He poked his head in and grinned at me, eyes full of relief. "Looks like our Lily has grown up. Not a lazy girl anymore." Before I could speak, my mom, like a bloodhound tracking her prey, appeared. She wore tight jeans and pink slippers, even her toenails studded with rhinestones. Holding a tub of Häagen-Dazs she just took from the fridge, she looked me up and down and let out a disdainful "Tch." "Not lazy? If she wasn't lazy, would she save up so many dirty socks before washing them?" Dad looked awkward, wanting to speak but stopping himself. As if smelling something foul, Mom covered her nose in disgust, taking a big step back and pulling Dad with her. "Lily, how long have you been wearing these? Your feet stink! You didn't inherit a single good trait from me. Dark and skinny is bad enough, but a girl with foot odor?" I stood up, wiped my hands on a towel, and grinned at my parents. "Mom, you forgot. You told me to throw away your dirty socks." "So you went into my room, took my clean socks, wore them until they were dirty, and stuffed them back in my drawer?" "I can't just let them sit there dirty, so I'm washing them." The air filled with a terrifying silence. Mom's face turned green with rage, her hand hovering over her nose, unsure whether to keep covering it or drop it. I ignored them, walked past, and went straight to my room, locking the door. Half an hour later, I received a text from Dad: "Lily, you shouldn't be so blunt. It hurts people. She's your mother after all. She's been crying on the sofa for half an hour. Come out and apologize." I sneered and closed the chat. She is my mother, but if she truly treated me like a daughter, she wouldn't have pushed me off a cliff in my past life. As for her crying, real or fake, it wasn't because my words hurt her heart. It was because the perfect image she meticulously built in front of her husband had been torn open, exposing the truth. She was humiliated. 3 My dad was an only child. My grandparents were retired teachers who lived in the same apartment complex. To celebrate my acceptance into the city's Normal University, the old couple prepared a big feast at their home and invited our whole family. On the way downstairs, Mom wore sunglasses and refused to talk to me, probably because I exposed her sock secret the other day. But she hummed a tune, seemingly in a good mood. When a familiar neighbor asked why she was so happy, she took off her sunglasses and acted coy. "Oh, my daughter isn't very capable. She only got into the local Normal U. Her grandparents wouldn't even book a hotel for her graduation party." "It's all because she didn't try hard enough. Back when Frank and I got married, we had the best hotel in the city, the best dress, the best jewelry..." "What's the use of my in-laws valuing me? She's just disappointing. In the old days, they'd call her a money-loser." Reaching the part she enjoyed, Mom covered her mouth and giggled, trembling with laughter. I couldn't be bothered to respond. Her breakdown was coming later. Arriving at the other building, Grandma was already waiting downstairs with a beaming smile. Seeing me, she pulled me into a hug, patting my shoulder. "Our Lily is so capable! City Normal U, that's wonderful!" She led me upstairs, arm around my shoulder, seemingly forgetting there was another person behind us. Entering the apartment, I realized it wasn't just my grandparents. The living room was full of men and women, surrounding Grandpa. They were all well-dressed and successful-looking. Following Grandma inside, people stood up one by one, greeting me with smiles and handing me gifts. I thanked them under Grandma's guidance and chatted, realizing these were all former students of my grandparents, invited to celebrate my success. When Mom walked in and saw so many people, she froze. Seeing the pile of gifts in my arms, the familiar hateful glint returned to her eyes. I knew that look too well. Learning she was my mother, the guests exchanged polite pleasantries, but their distance was obvious. Mom didn't seem to sense the awkward atmosphere. She sat herself down carelessly and started chatting intimately with those around her. The topic was invariably me. How she never expected a daughter who was last in her class in middle school to get into college. How I, a wasteful and argumentative daughter at home, acted so obedient outside. I saw the guests' faces turn uncomfortable; some couldn't even keep up with her conversation. Suddenly, Mom said quietly, "Lily, are your scores even real?" Silence fell over the room. Questioning her own daughter's academic integrity at her graduation party—she was definitely the first. Grandpa cleared his throat, interrupting her. "It's getting late. Everyone, please take a seat." Mom was silenced. She wanted to sit next to me, but Grandma said coldly, "Lily sits between me and the old man today. Frank's wife, you don't have a problem with that, do you?" She wouldn't dare. If Grandma farted, she'd rush to smell it and call it perfume. The atmosphere at the table improved. Everyone but Mom wore smiles, encouraging me to broaden my horizons in college. At 7:30, Dad rushed back. Shortly after he sat down, Grandma brought out an exquisite box from the inner room. She opened it in front of everyone. Inside lay a beautiful jade bangle, translucent and smooth. Tears welled up in the old couple's eyes. "Lily is going to college. Grandma and Grandpa prepared a gift too. This is for you. May your life be smooth and safe." Grandma took my hand, ready to slide the bangle onto my wrist. That was when the accident happened. Mom suddenly rushed over, eyes red, and snatched the bangle from Grandma's hand. Her voice was shrill: "Mom! She's just a worthless girl! Why give her such an expensive gift?!" The room erupted in shock. Dad reacted first. His face darkened. He patted Mom's shoulder, whispering her name, signaling her to behave. Mom shook off Dad's hand, shouting, "Did I say anything wrong, Frank? I carried on the family line for the Zhangs! Even if I only gave birth to this money-loser, I still contributed!" "Are you just going to let your parents trample my face into the ground?!" The guests looked at each other, hesitant to speak, silence reigning. In my past life, under such a grand display of madness from my mother, I would have buried my head in the sand, apologizing in a mosquito's voice while tugging at her clothes. My grandparents, seeing me like that, couldn't support me even if they wanted to. They could only sigh. And after getting home, I would have offered this precious gift to her with both hands just to make her stop. My thoughts returned. Dad frowned, looking at me pleadingly, as if hoping I would step up to smooth things over. I feigned helplessness and grabbed Grandma's hand. I said, "Mom, you melted down all the silver bracelets, necklaces, and earrings Grandma gave me for seventeen years to make new jewelry for yourself. But can you please not take this bangle? I really like it..." "This is a graduation gift from Grandma and Grandpa. It means something different..." My voice trailed off at the end, sounding unsure. A crazy mom, a passive dad, and a broken me. Anyone with eyes could see the truth. Smash! A loud crash beside me made Mom jump, her lips trembling uncontrollably. Grandpa had smashed a bowl. Shards flew everywhere. I trembled too, feeling a gentle squeeze on my hand. Meeting Grandma's reassuring gaze, warmth rose in my heart. "Lily, you said your mother took all the silver jewelry we gave you for seventeen years and melted it down for herself?" Grandpa's face was grim. I nodded timidly, hesitating. "Mom said I have dark skin, so wearing those things looked dark and tacky, so she took them..." Whispers broke out among the guests. Seeing the commotion, Mom shrieked: "Dad, how can you listen to a child's nonsense? How could I take her things? I'm saving them for her..." "Kids shouldn't be so flashy." Seeing Mom's stiff smile, Grandma scoffed. "In that case, go home right now and bring back everything we gave Lily." At this point, Mom seemed to lose the ability to argue, but she refused to give up. The guests, sensing the family drama, politely made excuses to leave. When most people were gone, Mom ignored Dad's warning looks and continued to be stubborn. "Mom, Dad, I've been married into the Zhang family for so many years, raised Lily this big. She's just a child. Aren't her things mine?" 4 Hearing this, I sneered internally. Yes, just because you gave birth to me. My things must be yours. My achievements are all thanks to you. I should live in your shadow. You whisper in my ear under the guise of love, magnifying my flaws to highlight your superiority. But Mom, I should be your daughter, not your competitor. Dad, the invisible man, looked bad too. In our small family, he was the head, indulging his wife's tantrums and forcing me to compromise as a father. But here, he was the son. In this atmosphere, he wished he were the grandson. Grandma's gaze was cool but disappointed. "I don't care what you did before, but this is a gift from us to our granddaughter." "A thief in the family is still a thief." "If I ever see anything belonging to Lily on you again, you don't need to step through this door." Mom's face turned green then red. She grabbed her sunglasses, stomped her foot in rage, huffed, and left unwillingly. Youth is priceless; confronting Mom is priceless-er. Since my rebirth, I've confronted my mom twice, exposing a small part of her true nature to my dad and grandparents. She treated me like air these days, pretending I didn't exist. Dad sighed constantly, hinting I should apologize. Hilarious. Who complains about too much peace? Living comfortably, I made it to the start of college. College life was rich, and so was my mom's social media. I often heard my roommate, who scrolled videos late at night, complaining: "Check the video I tagged you in. Is this lady crazy? She posted a photo of her daughter's back with photoshopped white hair, and a filtered-to-death selfie of herself, asking netizens to guess who is the mom and who is the daughter?" I clicked the tag. As expected, the video featured me and my mom. Luckily, my face wasn't visible. I sighed in relief. Not completely humiliated. My roommate on the bottom bunk had a sharp tongue. She typed furiously. A moment later, I saw her comment: "The daughter with the photoshopped white hair is the mom, and the auntie with the heavy filter is the daughter." Reading her comment, we all burst into laughter. Two months into the semester, I was studying in the library with my roommates. Suddenly, a note was slid in front of me. Following the slender hand, I saw a familiar face—my boyfriend from my past life. I smiled, accepted the note, and added his contact info under my roommates' teasing gazes. Just then, a message from Dad popped up on WeChat. "Lily, you and Mom have been in a cold war for so long. She can't bring herself to apologize, but she misses you dearly. When will you come back to visit?" I thought for a moment and typed: "Next month." A month is enough to do many things, like fall in love. Mom misses me? Thinking about those words gave me chills from head to toe. My roommate nudged me, showing me her phone. It was another video from Mom. Maybe she got roasted too hard on the last one, so she launched a "loving mother" persona. Same video, new caption: "Mommy's little jacket, I miss you so much. Don't stay away just because of a few words." A sensible netizen commented: "The auntie who looks like a daughter doesn't seem to have a good relationship with the daughter who looks like a mom." Mom replied instantly: "My daughter is coming back to see me next month." So that's why she wanted me back so urgently. Ignoring me for months was fine, but now she "missed me dearly." Her "pampered wife" persona wasn't enough; she needed a doting daughter too. But this time, she wouldn't get what she wanted.
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