The Lucky Star That They Threw Away

I was adopted at three. The neighbors all said I looked like a porcelain doll. A year later, my "Mom" gave birth to a younger brother. Her long fingernails dug into my cheek: "Penny, your dad and I saved you. Otherwise, you'd have been eaten alive by some old bachelor by now." To repay my adoptive parents, I worked hard to become a child model. Until one day, after ten consecutive hours of shooting, I couldn't help but fall asleep. My "Mom" kicked me across the room: "Did I raise you to eat for free? Don't come home today. Stay in the studio until the shoot continues tomorrow." She left, holding my babbling baby brother. I stood there, lips trembling, too scared to cry. The photographer lady nearby felt sorry for me and took me home. Later, the video of my "Mom" beating me was leaked, and I lost the chance to be a child model. My adoptive parents told the photographer lady directly: "We don't want this damn girl anymore. Do whatever you want with her. She's not our seed anyway!" The photographer lady pitied me and adopted me. But my adoptive parents didn't know: they were destined to be childless, but I was destined to bring fortune to my siblings. That hard-won son of theirs, his life countdown had already begun! And by throwing away their lucky star, their bad luck was just beginning. 1 [Do you guys think my daughter can be a child model? Be honest, I can take criticism.] My "Mom," Brenda, posted a thread after taking a bunch of photos of me. Soon, the notifications hit 99+. [Holy crap, usually I roast these kinds of posts, but I can't hate on this one.] [Ah, this is the best-looking kid I've seen posted so far. I swear, I'm picky.] [Very high-end, she has the vibe of a female lead in an indie film.] [She has expressiveness. These already look like commercial model photos.] ... Not long after, a merchant sent a private message: [Let's try a few sets of sample shots. If the expressiveness is okay, we'll arrange a contract.] Brenda and my "Dad," Rick, looked at each other, then smiles spread across their faces. Brenda pinched my cheek. Her slightly long nails hurt me. But I tried my best to smile brightly: "Mommy, does this mean I don't have to be sent away?" Brenda patted my cheek: "Behave yourself. If you can earn big money for your brother to buy a house and a car, Mommy and Daddy will never send you away." I nodded seriously: "Mommy, I definitely can." Then I stood against the wall and began practicing my posture. Two hours every night. 2 My name is Penny, and I'm five years old this year. When I was three, Rick and Brenda adopted me from the countryside. It's said they had been married for five years without children. So they found a psychic, calculated my horoscope, and adopted me. The psychic said I was born with a "Lucky Star" destiny. As long as they treated me well, all their wishes would come true. At first, they were indeed good to me. I had endless candies, and no one stopped me even if I got cavities. I had endless clothes to wear, though every set was a boy's style embroidered with "Hoping for a Son." Every day, Brenda would make me kneel before the Buddha statue and make a wish. My first wish was: Let Mommy successfully conceive a baby boy. Sure enough, half a year later, Brenda got pregnant. People started appearing frequently in our house, saying things I didn't understand. "Almost four years old, too big, and a girl. Hard to resell." "I'll give you ten thousand at most, no more." Brenda exploded on the spot: "Only ten thousand? I worked so hard to raise her this big. At least a hundred thousand, not a penny less." ... For some reason, the strange uncle slammed the door and left. From that day on, I never wore new clothes again. Even for meals, I had to wait until Rick and Brenda finished eating before I could dip steamed buns in the vegetable soup. Until my brother, Austin, was born. I looked at this wrinkled little person, feeling inexplicably happy. "I have a brother!" I cheered to Brenda. Brenda twisted my ear and poked my forehead: "Penny, your dad and I saved you. Otherwise, you'd have been eaten alive by some old bachelor by now. "You have to repay us. From now on, your brother is your closest family. All the money you earn must be spent on your brother, understand?" Although I hadn't gone to school yet at almost five years old, I had long learned to read people's expressions and knew what to say to make Brenda happy. So I quickly replied: "Okay, Mommy, I will definitely work hard to earn money for my brother." However, when my brother was six months old, someone was willing to pay thirty thousand to take me away. That uncle said: "Girl, call me 'Daddy'?" He bared his yellow teeth, his smile terrifying me. I didn't want to leave Rick and Brenda. I cried desperately. Rick kicked me hard: "Cry, cry, cry, you're crying away all the luck." I pursed my lips, daring not to cry out loud: "Mommy, Cindy said she's a child model now and can earn a lot of money a month. I can too, Mommy, I can earn a lot of money too. Please don't send me away, okay?" Cindy was my good friend. She had indeed made money recently. Brenda asked around and felt that I seemed to have the potential to become a money tree. So, she asked for netizens' opinions. Fortunately, I passed the initial test. Rick also smiled and said to Brenda: "Be a child model when young, collect a bride price when grown up. We profit no matter what." So, to stay with Rick and Brenda, I knelt before the Buddha and made a second wish: I want to earn lots and lots of money for Mommy and Daddy. After officially becoming a child model, I started trying on clothes desperately. At first, it was 5 sets, 10 sets a day. Three months later, I could change into more than 100 sets of clothes a day. My daily income exceeded 2,000 dollars. Rick and Brenda's savings grew, and they even started asking about the luxury apartments on the east side of the city. The smiles on their faces increased, and the beatings and scolding decreased a bit. So I knelt before the Buddha and made a third wish: Let Mommy and Daddy move into a luxury apartment soon. ... Life got better day by day. More and more merchants sought me out to model clothes. But my body couldn't take it anymore. In the end, I screwed up this hard-won money-making opportunity. 3 Four consecutive days of high-intensity shooting. I could only sleep four or five hours a day. Finally, after shooting for ten hours straight, I couldn't help closing my eyes. The prop flower in my hand unknowingly fell to the ground. The next second, I felt myself flying through the air. Then my butt hit the corner of the table heavily. The intense pain made me cry out. But Brenda stood with her hands on her hips: "Sleep, sleep, sleep, all you know is sleep. Are you a pig? "I haven't slept yet, what right do you have to sleep? "Cry again, cry again and I'll beat you to death." She picked up a hanger nearby and whipped my hand viciously. I jumped up in pain but dared not make a sound. The photographer lady, Ms. Lin, couldn't watch anymore and quickly blocked me: "Mrs. Brenda, the child is still small, you shouldn't hit so hard." Brenda rolled her eyes at her: "I'm disciplining my own child, do I need your interference?" Then she turned to me and said: "Did I raise you to eat for free? Don't come home today. Stay in the studio until the shoot continues tomorrow." She left, holding my babbling baby brother. I stood there, lips trembling, too scared to cry. Ms. Lin felt sorry for me and gently blew on my red, swollen little hand: "Penny, does your mom hit you often?" I suddenly remembered Brenda said not to tell outsiders I was beaten. Otherwise, an uncle with a mouth full of yellow teeth who eats children would come to take me away. I was really scared. So I wiped my tears and shook my head desperately: "No, Mommy never hits me. It's me who's useless. I didn't take good photos. It's all my fault." Ms. Lin's eyes turned red for some reason. She hugged me. The embrace was soft and warm. My head felt a bit dizzy, and I mumbled: "Mommy, don't leave me." Ms. Lin stroked my hair: "Penny, how about Auntie takes you to eat first?" Although my stomach was growling, I shook my head: "Thank you Auntie, I won't go. I have to wait here for Mommy obediently." Seeing my stubbornness, Ms. Lin called Brenda. It wasn't until the tenth call that an irritable voice sounded from the other end: "Calling and calling, are you collecting a debt?" "Mrs. Brenda, your daughter is still here. When will you pick her up? We are getting off work." Brenda sneered, her voice raising a few octaves: "Penny, you stay there obediently, don't go anywhere. Start shooting directly tomorrow morning. If I can't find you, I'll break your legs." "Mommy, I will be obedient." But before I finished, Brenda hung up. Ms. Lin sighed helplessly: "Penny, come to Auntie's house today, okay?" I refused very seriously: "Thank you Auntie, I won't go. I want to wait for Mommy here." Then no matter how she persuaded, I sat on the chair without saying a word. Until my eyelids couldn't stay open anymore, and I collapsed. Then I fell into a warm embrace again. Smelling sweet and soft. If only it could be like this forever. 4 Ms. Lin carried the sleeping me home. She took off my poor-quality clothes and changed me into her soft fleece pajamas. Under the warm yellow light, she saw bruises all over my back. There were also several cigarette burns on my waist. That was Rick's punishment when I went into the room to see my brother and woke him up. The crimson cigarette butt extinguishing on my skin hurt so, so much. But accompanied by the smell of roasting meat, my stomach growled uncooperatively. At that time, Rick kicked me away, spitting: "Only know how to eat all day!" The scars healed with time, and I had long lost feeling. Ms. Lin patted my back gently, tears of heartache falling one by one onto the sheets. Feeling a warmth I had never known, I had a sweet dream. However, in the second half of the night, I started coughing violently. Ms. Lin took my temperature: 101.3°F. Actually, I had a low fever for many days. Brenda made me take fever reducers every day before shooting. But she left in a hurry today and forgot to leave the medicine. Ms. Lin immediately took me to the hospital. The doctor said it was the flu and prescribed some medicine. She was still worried and took me for a CT scan and a comprehensive checkup. Long later I learned that Ms. Lin originally had a younger sister who got pneumonia when she was young. Her parents didn't care, dragging it on and on, until she finally died of respiratory failure. While waiting for the results, I suddenly had shortness of breath, and my lips turned purple. Seeing the situation was bad, the doctor immediately arranged for my hospitalization. Whenever she had a moment, Ms. Lin called Rick and Brenda. It wasn't until 8 AM the next day that the call connected. Hearing I was hospitalized, Brenda questioned her loudly: "What right do you have to hospitalize Penny? She can earn 2,000 a day shooting. You hospitalized her, are you paying for the lost wages?" Ms. Lin was angry, her tone hurried: "She is your daughter, not your money-making tool. Is there a mother like you? Penny needs you now. As parents, shouldn't you come to take care of her?" Brenda snorted: "Whoever wants to take care of her can go. Anyway, I won't be the sucker. I won't pay a penny for hospitalization. You better bring her back tomorrow, don't delay the shooting." Ms. Lin: "If you do this, I'll call the police." Brenda: "Call them. It's my family affair, what can the police do to me?" Then she hung up decisively. Ms. Lin seemed to understand something. She turned back to the ward, looking at me on the IV drip. I asked her hopefully: "Auntie, is Mommy coming to pick me up soon?" She hummed a low "Mhm," then asked me gently: "Penny, what do you want to eat? Auntie will buy it." I shook my head quickly: "Auntie, just give me your leftovers, I'm not picky." Ms. Lin's eyes turned red again. Until night, Brenda didn't come to pick me up. I learned later that they were busy signing the contract for the luxury apartment that day, completely ignoring me, the money tree. Under the double effect of high fever and medicine, I fell asleep. Unexpectedly, I started trending.

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