My parents said they didn't have the energy to raise two kids. So, they took my younger sister and moved to the city, leaving me and my grandmother behind in a rundown house in the countryside. Over a decade passed. They had everything now. But they forgot about me and Grandma. When I called, they brushed me off with vague excuses. My sister, raised like a princess, became an influencer. To gain followers, she spread rumors that I was the golden child, the one our parents favored. When angry netizens stormed our old home to confront me, they didn't know I had already fallen into the swollen river while picking fruit for my family. I was long dead. In the morgue, my parents cried as if their hearts were being ripped out. "I'm dead. Now my sister is their only daughter. Why do they regret it?" 1 "Guys... even though Mom and Dad only love my sister, and even though she bullies me, they are still my family... blood is thicker than water!" "I'm not sad. I have to go cook dinner for my parents later to apologize. I shouldn't be inconsiderate of my sister." On the phone screen, my sister, Chloe, was crying beautifully, her makeup impeccable. She was live-streaming, telling her followers how much she had suffered growing up. How her older sister forced her to boil water for noodles, resulting in burns... How her parents secretly gave her sister snacks and not her... How her sister framed her, causing her to be beaten by their parents... Chloe told the stories with vivid detail, and the viewer count kept climbing. Everyone in the chat was cursing my parents and me. But what they didn't know was that these stories were true—except the roles were reversed. I was the one being bullied. I wanted to rush over and argue with her. But my hand passed right through her shoulder. No matter how loud I screamed or tried to explain to the screen, it was useless. My hand only ruffled Chloe's glossy, well-maintained hair. I looked at my own palms. There was no river mud, no cuts from picking fruit. I stared blankly. So, I really was dead... I remembered not long ago, the apricots in the mountains had ripened. My parents and sister hadn't come back for the holidays in years. But this time, Grandma said they were definitely coming. I was so happy I couldn't sleep. Before dawn, I grabbed a basket and went to pick apricots. I hadn't spent much time with my parents or sister. I didn't know what they liked or what they needed. But dried apricots were the best treat I knew. You can't go wrong with good food! So, I tirelessly picked basket after basket. Dew soaked my clothes, branches scratched my hands, but I didn't feel tired... As I headed home with a full basket, the surging river water from the flood season washed away the small bridge. I fell in. I bobbed up and down, screaming for help, but the roar of the water drowned out my voice. Finally, I sank to the bottom, vanishing as if I had never existed... "Guys, I have to go now! I have to cook for my sister and parents." Chloe closed her laptop and walked out of the simple room that only had a bed. Outside, it was spacious and luxurious. I had never seen such a beautiful house. It had multiple floors! Compared to the house I lived in with Grandma, this place looked like a palace. Yes! Such a big house, so beautiful. But there wasn't a single room for me or Grandma. Even though I was their child too! Even though I needed their care too. When they took my sister out of the mountains, they promised they would come back for us. But... they seemed to have forgotten that promise. Forgotten that they had another daughter who looked at the stars every night, counting the days until our reunion... "Sweetie, you're done streaming? What do you want to eat today?" "I don't have much of an appetite. Let's go for Italian." Outside the door, Mom and Dad had been waiting for a long time. They carefully helped Chloe change out of her "poor girl" costume into a beautiful designer dress. "Chloe looks so good in this! If Harper wore it, her dark skin would make it look terrible!" "With all those calluses on her hands, she'd ruin the fabric!" "Harper is nothing compared to Chloe! Not even a single strand of her hair!" They chatted happily, not forgetting to belittle me. Watching them drive away in their luxury car, my nose stung. Yeah! My hands were rough, my skin dark from the sun. I wanted to be like my sister too. But if I didn't work the fields under the scorching sun, Grandma and I would have starved to death in the mountains. My dark skin, my thin frame, my callused hands—they all told the story of their bias. 2 Over the past few days, I tried to leave this house, but failed. I couldn't leave them. I finally fulfilled my wish of living with Mom and Dad. Just not while I was alive. And it turned out, Mom and Dad didn't seem to love me in their hearts either. For days, they talked about Chloe constantly, rarely mentioning me. I was the contrast to their precious daughter, the punchline when conversation lulled. They attacked my appearance, saying I was like a block of wood with no thoughts or emotions. Calling me a country bumpkin who would just get married early and have kids... Chloe's social media account exploded because of the "parents favor the older sister" gimmick. Now, Chloe was rubbing her forehead, struggling to come up with the next video idea. Mom and Dad were brainstorming beside her. Pfft! Beside me, Mom suddenly burst out laughing. Chloe rolled her eyes in annoyance, wanting to leave but stopped by Dad. "Hahahaha! Chloe, do you remember the dried apricots Harper gave us? We still haven't finished them! That bumpkin thought dried apricots were the best thing in the world! Hahahaha..." The whole family burst into laughter. Only me, my face pale. So, they didn't like dried apricots. Why didn't they tell me earlier? Maybe then I wouldn't have lost my life... For those apricots, Grandma and I guarded them day and night. Worried about rain, worried about bugs. Just so they could eat something good. "So they don't like them..." I murmured, blood tears rolling down my cheeks, making my pale face look even more terrifying. Even though I had become numb to them over the past few days, their words still pierced my heart like swords. Day by day, I watched how Mom and Dad loved this sister. She had bad grades and couldn't get into high school, so they hired the best piano teacher to tutor her, planning to send her abroad as an art student. I was always in the top ten of my school. My teacher said I was the most likely student to get into a top university. But when I timidly asked them for money for tutoring, they claimed business was tight and couldn't even spare five hundred dollars. She wanted to be an influencer, so they brainstormed ideas for her. At the amusement park, Chloe was bored with the rides. She reluctantly looked up for photos. I stared wide-eyed at the rides I had only seen on TV. When I was little, they promised to take me to the amusement park if I got perfect scores. But in the end, my certificates covered the wall, and they rarely praised me. Eventually, they stopped visiting altogether. They gave all their love to Chloe, forgetting to leave a little for me. They always said working in the city was hard, that bringing a child along was troublesome. They said it would be hard for whoever they brought. But they chose to bring the youngest, Chloe. What about me? What was I? 3 "Our Chloe was praised by her teacher again! He said she learns piano so fast!" "Chloe has fair skin, she needs to wear designer clothes!" "Chloe..." At dinner parties, Mom and Dad bragged endlessly to their business partners about how excellent Chloe was. Chloe didn't give them face, sitting on the side playing games and swearing. But in my parents' eyes, Chloe was cute no matter what. They hid my existence. Few of their partners knew about me. "Hey, Joe... Chloe is great, but your older daughter Harper is also good, right?" "Joe, you have another daughter? Why haven't I heard you mention her?" "Why bring her up? Ruining such a good day! Are you doing this on purpose?" Smash! Mom threw her wine glass to the ground, shattering it. Her hysterical screaming silenced everyone. The air froze. No one knew why mentioning the older daughter would trigger such a reaction. "Sorry! Everyone, she drank too much. Please enjoy your meal, we're leaving!" Dad smiled apologetically while dragging Mom out. The family fled in embarrassment, leaving whispers behind. "Harper is such a jinx!" "She ruined the good mood today!" "Why doesn't she just die?!" In the car, the family blamed me for Mom's outburst. I listened quietly. Today I truly felt how much of a disgrace my existence was to them. I was like a stain they tried their best to cover up. Thinking of this, I felt a bit happy. I even smiled. Now that I was dead, I wouldn't be an eyesore to them anymore. And I wouldn't make them eat dried apricots they hated. They would be happy, right? "Wow! Mom, Dad, you're so good to me!" "You're our child. We have the means now, who else would we treat well?" The next day, Chloe was blindfolded and taken to a large apartment. The decoration was in her favorite style, filled with clothes and toys. This was the apartment they bought for Chloe. Her graduation gift. Chloe said thank you for once. Moved to tears, my parents posted on social media about how their daughter was sensible and grateful. I stood by a pile of toys and dresses, reaching out to touch them. But my hand passed through, feeling nothing. Soft or hard? Thin or thick? Warm to wear? These clothes, I couldn't wear in life, and couldn't touch in death. Just like my parents' love. Overflowing, but not for me. It always flowed to those who didn't lack love. And I was still fantasizing that Mom and Dad would find a conscience and care about me a little. Wearing my old, ill-fitting blue shirt, I fell into the turbulent river that day. From beginning to end, I drowned in the cold water, unnoticed. I started to worry about Grandma. That small, thin old woman who saved all the good food for me. She loved me more than anyone. Maybe she was the only person in the world who still cared about me. But she had Alzheimer's, which had gotten worse over the years. When I went to school or out, I always locked her inside. I wondered if she was hungry now, if she had a moment of clarity and realized I was gone. It was late summer, and it rained constantly in the mountains. The old house leaked, and Grandma would groan in pain, holding her rheumatic knees. The suffering Grandma and I endured, they ignored. To Mom and Dad, it seemed less important than what Chloe would eat tomorrow.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "388984", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel