When I was five years old, my dad got called back to the office and told my older brother to take me home. Instead, my brother got into a fight with some other kids, leaving me completely alone, and I was kidnapped. Three years later, egged on by my brother, my parents adopted another girl. Seven years after that, the police finally brought me home. Due to severe, long-term malnutrition, I was painfully thin and frail. The adopted girl clung to my mother's arm and whispered, "Why is she so dirty? She doesn't look like your daughter at all." From that day on, my parents couldn't stand the sight of me. Ultimately, I was bullied to death by that adopted girl, and my parents chose to settle the case out of court. When I opened my eyes again, I was standing at the front gate of our yard, watching my brother being stuffed into a burlap sack. Since natural-born monsters get kidnapped, in this lifetime, I'll pick out the brother I actually want. 1 When I opened my eyes, I was four years old again. My parents had taken my brother and me back to our rural hometown to sweep the ancestral tombs. And my brother and I ran straight into the human traffickers. In my past life, my brother was snatched first because he was playing right by the front gate. I hid in the firewood pile, remaining perfectly calm as I used my smartwatch to take a clear picture of the trafficker's face. The moment they left, I immediately called 911 and then ran to the neighbors for help. Because I called the police so quickly, the traffickers were caught within five hours, and my brother was brought home safely. I saved his life, but when he got back, he shoved me hard. "You were right there in the yard! Why did you hide instead of saving me?!" My forehead smashed into the corner of a table, leaving a scar that stayed with me for the rest of my life. My parents brushed it off as kids just playing rough. I was too young to understand why my brother suddenly hated me. Then, when I was five, my parents' company finally started making real money. They were too busy to pick me up from kindergarten, so they called my brother to get me. Instead, he ditched me at the school gate, glaring at me viciously. "Walk home by yourself. And don't you dare snitch to Mom and Dad." I nodded obediently, watching him excitedly round up his delinquent friends to go start a street fight. The very next second, a trafficker threw a sack over my head and dragged me away. I didn't make it back home until I was twelve. By then, I realized there was no place left for me in that house. My brother had convinced my parents to adopt a girl named Chloe. He protected her fiercely. Chloe despised me from day one. "Where did this ugly little rat come from? You think you deserve to be my sister?" From that day on, I lived a life of relentless bullying at the hands of my own brother and Chloe. When I was eighteen, on the morning of my SATs, Chloe turned off my alarm clock, and my brother slipped sleeping pills into my drink. I missed the most important exam of my life. My parents immediately slapped me across the face. "If you can't even manage your own schedule, what use are you?!" By the time I was twenty-four, my life was finally turning around. My small business was starting to boom. My brother and Chloe teamed up and bankrupted me overnight. So you see, why on earth would I save an animal like him? I’d be better off taking a nap. At least in my dreams, someone might choose to love me. Right now, I absolutely refuse to be stupid enough to make the same choice again. I remained hidden in the firewood pile, coldly powering off my smartwatch. Through the gaps in the wood, I watched Liam's mouth get taped shut before he was tossed into a three-foot-tall burlap sack. The traffickers threw him in their van and sped off. I slowly crawled out of the firewood pile, washed my flawless little face until it was perfectly clean, and walked back inside the house. I took off the smartwatch, stood on my tiptoes, and placed it on the table. Then, I crawled into bed and fell fast asleep. Liam was kidnapped. What does that have to do with me? 2 "Penny, wake up. Where's your brother? "Mrs. Miller next door said she saw you two playing together this afternoon. Where is he now?" Kids really are heavy sleepers. In my past life, from the moment I returned to this "home," I never had a single good night's sleep. It was rare to sleep this soundly. I rubbed my sleepy eyes, my face full of confusion. "What are Mommy and Daddy talking about? Liam said he was going up the mountain to find you guys this afternoon." My mom shot a look at my dad, and both their faces instantly went pale. Not long after, I heard police sirens wailing in the distance, echoing through the village. Several people were whispering anxiously in the courtyard. Mrs. Miller shouted her answer to the police. "I don't know! I saw the boy this afternoon, but I haven't seen him since!" My mom frantically rubbed my head. "Penny, be a good girl. Go eat your dinner by yourself. Mommy and Daddy have to go out for a bit, okay?" I nodded obediently. My parents rushed out to talk to the police. I followed them for a few steps and stood in the courtyard. The police asked me a few simple questions, and I just gave them vague, childish answers. My mom was just sobbing hysterically. "Where is my Liam? Where is he?" They got no useful information. The police hurried off, beginning a massive search of the entire village. Unfortunately, it was too late. It had already been five hours since he was taken. Liam, you'd better stay alive. Whatever you do, don't die. I stared deeply into the starry sky above the fields. Then I turned around and went inside to eat dinner. 3 The police investigation yielded nothing. Exhausted and broken, my parents took me back to the city. I was quiet, obedient, and well-behaved—infinitely more likable than my brother ever was. They seemed to gradually forget Liam even existed. From going to the police station once a month for updates, it eventually became once a year just to check in. I am now seven years old. A while ago, my mom actually had some free time and took me to an amusement park. But because her company was busy, she took a phone call and just walked away, almost getting me kidnapped again. Afterward, she suggested adopting a child to keep me company. Perfect. Since my demon spawn of a brother was successfully kidnapped, in this lifetime, I get to pick the exact brother I want. My parents took me to the largest orphanage in the city. Seeing my parents dripping in designer clothes, the orphanage director happily handed them a binder filled with profiles of the children available for adoption. My parents flipped through the pages, nodding constantly in satisfaction. The director had a staff member take me to the play area, then escorted my parents to meet the children they had selected. Once I was dropped off, the staff member had to leave to handle something else. The playground slides were fine for amusing a toddler. But for someone with the mental age of a twenty-something, it was painfully boring. I stretched my short little legs and started wandering around the orphanage grounds. As I walked past an outdoor equipment shed, I heard the sound of cursing coming from behind it. I peeked around the corner and saw a group of kids surrounding a boy, kicking and hitting him. A girl with her back to me had a particularly shrill, grating voice. "Beat him to death! Ever since he got here, every family that comes to adopt specifically asks for him! We never get a chance!" "Haha, what are you scared of? He got adopted last time and was sent back in a week." "Exactly! He cursed his own biological parents to death! He's a jinx!" I hid in a concealed corner. I couldn't see the boy curled up on the ground. But I got a crystal-clear look at the girl leading the pack. She was a head shorter than me, a bit chubby, with a dark complexion. The kids beating the boy didn't notice me spying at all, continuing to crowd around the girl excitedly. "Chloe, I heard a really rich family came today! We have to block him in here, or we'll lose our chance again!" The girl they called "Chloe" looked young, but her expression was unusually vicious. She viciously kicked the boy on the ground in the stomach. "Don't worry! This time, it has to be me!" My heart jolted. I stared dead at "Chloe's" profile, recognizing her face perfectly. Chloe! It was actually her! 4 The memory of her framing me in my past life was still burned vividly into my mind. Since the moment I was reborn, I swore that in this lifetime, I would make her and Liam suffer a fate worse than death. But I never expected to run into her here. Seeing Chloe rear back to kick the boy again, I frantically rushed out. I kept my head down, refusing to look at her, acting like a panicked, lost child. "C-Chloe, a family is here to adopt! The director told me to come get you!" "They must be here to adopt me!" Chloe's eyes lit up instantly, and she immediately bolted toward the main building. As she brushed past me, she slammed into my shoulder like a bear. Then she froze, staring dead at my wrist. "Where did you get that thing on your wrist?" I looked down at the smartwatch I had deliberately exposed, my face a mask of pure terror. For the kids in this orphanage, having a basic digital watch was a luxury. Where would they have ever seen a high-end smartwatch? But just because she had never seen one didn't mean Chloe couldn't tell it was expensive. I instantly started trembling and shrinking back, but Chloe and the other kids quickly pinned me down. "I-I-I... the lady who was looking for the director just gave it to me." "Gave it to you? Impossible! She definitely told you to give it to me, and you tried to keep it for yourself!" "S-sorry, sorry! It was supposed to be for Chloe! I remembered wrong!" My voice shook perfectly. Satisfied, Chloe grabbed my wrist and violently yanked the smartwatch off. Then, like a gust of wind, she sprinted away. All I could smell was the sour, unwashed stench coming off her clothes. It was disgusting. Once the other kids scattered, I quickly rushed forward to help the boy who had been curled up on the ground protecting his head. I couldn't tell exactly how old he was. His face was sallow, his body incredibly frail and thin. From his calves to his arms, all the way up to his forehead, he was covered in bruises of all sizes. "Are you okay, big brother?" I helped him up, my eyes turning a bit red. The boy actually panicked first. He stiffly patted my back, trying awkwardly to comfort me. "I'm not hurt." Saying that, he hesitantly pulled his hand out of his jacket. In his tightly clenched fist were pieces of a crushed, stale piece of bread. "Little sister, I'll give you something yummy if you smile, okay?" I let out a sudden, wet laugh. How could he be so painfully earnest? The bruises on his body were turning dark purple. His hair and clothes were covered in dirt. He was so thin his cheeks were hollow, and his cheekbones stuck out sharply. But even looking like that, his eyes were incredibly bright and clear. I carefully pinched a crumb of the crushed bread and placed it on my tongue. "It's delicious." Seeing that I liked it, the boy tried to shove the rest of the crumbs into my hand. I carefully cupped my hands and held it up to his face. "You eat some too." "I'm not hungry." He swallowed hard, but stubbornly shook his head. I had to practically trick and coax him into sharing the meager crumbs with me. I tugged on his sleeve. "Big brother, what's your name?" "Kieran. I'm Kieran. I'm a jinx." "No, Kieran is so nice. You're not a jinx." I looked at him with bright, shining eyes. "Kieran, do you want to eat yummy food every day and never get bullied again?" Kieran nodded earnestly. "I want to." I grabbed his hand and started walking toward the front courtyard. "Then come with me." Well-behaved. Honest. And he hated Chloe just as much as I did. He was the absolute perfect candidate to be my new brother. 5 When I got back to the play area, a crowd of people had already gathered. My mom saw me and immediately rushed over to hug me: "Penny, where did you go?! You scared Mommy half to death! "What happened? Why are your clothes and hair such a mess?" Because my mom rushed over, Kieran immediately let go of my hand. I looked back, and he had already vanished into the background. I sighed internally. He really was too well-behaved for his own good. I immediately turned on the waterworks. "Mommy—someone bullied me! She stole my watch, kicked me, and pulled my hair!" My mom looked at my "bird's nest" hair, which I had deliberately messed up, complete with streaks of mud. The red marks on my wrist where the watch was yanked off were glaringly obvious. My dad instantly exploded in rage, his voice dangerously low as he glared at the orphanage director. "What the hell is going on here?! Is this how your orphanage raises children?!" "I-I-I... I have no idea what happened!" The director was trembling. The scene was pure chaos. My mom held me, trying to soothe me, while I pointed right at Chloe and sobbed out my grievances. "It was her! I saw her bullying someone else, and then she stole my watch! "All the other kids call her Chloe!" My mom shot an icy glare at Chloe, then looked back at the director. "Originally, I thought this child seemed quite nice. But looking at her now, she's far from nice. She's a complete nightmare! "The fact that your orphanage breeds children who terrorize the weak like this genuinely terrifies me!" Chloe, who had been holding a gift bag my mom bought for the kids, instantly panicked. "No! Sister, look closely! It wasn't me!" I called out her name without hesitation, and she was literally wearing my smartwatch on her wrist. This was more than enough proof that we had crossed paths, and that Chloe was the culprit. No one was listening to her pathetic excuses now. My mom rubbed my head, her voice soft and comforting. "Penny, be a good girl. It's Mommy's fault. Mommy made a terrible mistake. "Mommy will find Penny a brand new playmate, okay?" I shook my head, wriggled out of my mom's arms, spun around the room, and accurately grabbed the hem of Kieran's shirt. "Mommy, I want this big brother." I smiled and said, "He protected me just now. I like him." "No! Sister, I'm your sister! Mommy already decided! I'm going to be your sister!" Seeing that my mom was about to nod in agreement, Chloe suddenly lunged out of the crowd, violently grabbing my wrist. Just as she was about to drag me to the ground, Kieran stepped in front of me, wrapping his arms fiercely around me. Before I hit the floor, he pulled me on top of him, acting as a human shield. No matter how furiously Chloe pulled at me and begged, Kieran kept me tightly protected in his arms. By the time the furious director finally dragged Chloe away, my parents were looking at her with absolute disgust. "Director Lee, if you let a child this unstable and aggressive continue unchecked, it's going to severely impact your orphanage's reputation in the future. "Our family has made our decision. We are adopting this little boy. "Also, after causing such a massive incident and terrifying my daughter like this, I expect you to give my family a proper explanation, Director Lee." The director glared at Chloe, who was still screaming and crying, and awkwardly nodded in agreement. I quickly pulled Kieran up and checked to make sure he hadn't hit his head. Once I was sure he was okay, I let out a long sigh of relief. Kieran awkwardly gripped the hem of his shirt. "I-I didn't know you were... you were..." This kid was way too sincere. I leaned in close and whispered in Kieran's ear. "Kieran, no one blames you. "Don't worry, big brother. From now on, I'll protect you. No one will ever dare bully you again." Kieran looked even more nervous for a second. "Okay, I-I'll protect you too." 6 Kieran was three years older than me, and my parents were incredibly satisfied with him. We started going to school together. Because Kieran had grown up in the orphanage, his academic foundation was very weak. But he was incredibly smart. After the private tutors went over a concept once, he grasped it immediately. I didn't hide the fact that I already knew everything being taught in school. I maintained an above-average grade point average, and occasionally, when the timing was right, I'd score first in the class. Kieran, growing up alongside me, definitely noticed that my way of thinking was different from a normal child's. But he never asked me about it. When I was eleven, we moved. Over the years, thanks to my subtle "suggestions" about emerging market trends, my parents' company caught the wave of new media and made an absolute fortune. When people get rich, they want to climb the social ladder, and my parents were no exception. As for Liam? They wanted to find him, but at the same time, they didn't want to find him. It was exactly like how they treated me in my past life. A child who has been wandering the streets for over a decade would have a massive gap in education, worldview, and psychological development compared to normal kids. Especially compared to Kieran and me? Kieran and I had become visibly exceptional over the years. Not only were our grades stellar, but we were also top-tier in various extracurriculars. We gave them plenty to brag about, elevating the family's status to a whole new level in elite social circles. If Liam came back, how would they choose? This was the dilemma my parents didn't want to face, so they deliberately avoided it. 7 Time flowed by like water. When the police finally brought Liam back to our house, I was in my second semester of freshman year in college. I had just gotten home from the university lab when I realized the entire dynamic of the house had shifted. Liam was holding my mom, sobbing so loud it could shatter glass. My mom stood there stiffly, incredibly awkward. She didn't hug him back, nor did she speak. Because Liam looked absolutely wretched. Due to years of severe malnutrition, he was sallow and emaciated, his cheeks completely hollowed out. He was barely 5'5". He was wearing a mud-splattered construction uniform, and a battered hard hat sat on our expensive marble coffee table. When Chloe saw me walk in, she immediately rushed over, taking my coat from the maid. "Sister, you're home." I glanced at her but didn't say a word. The year my family adopted Kieran, the orphanage was shut down. It was exposed that the orphanage had been neglecting the children long-term, even subjecting them to physical abuse. When the scandal broke that year, it caused a massive public outcry. With nowhere to go, Chloe was forced into illegal child labor. I didn't even need to arrange it; her life became an absolute nightmare all on its own. So, when she turned eighteen, I "kindly" threw a few breadcrumbs her way. Hoping to turn the page on what happened at the orphanage, Chloe didn't suspect a thing. She just assumed I felt guilty. Her ambitions were certainly not small. She constantly tried to suck up to my family, affectionately calling me "Sister" at every opportunity. I never rejected it, but I never explicitly accepted it either. I was just waiting for today. Sure enough, hearing Chloe call me "Sister," Liam's eyes went wide. He looked at my mom in absolute disbelief. "Mom, who is she? "Do you not love me anymore? Is that why you stopped looking for me all these years?" Liam cried so hard his tears and snot rubbed off on my mom's designer dress. My mom shot a look at the maid, who immediately stepped forward and gently pulled Liam back. "Young Master Liam, Madam is very tired today. Now is not the time for this. Why don't I take you upstairs to change into some clean clothes?" My mom smiled benevolently. "Liam, we can talk about everything later. Go upstairs first." Chloe tried to keep talking, but I gave her a pointed look, and she obediently followed them upstairs. "Auntie, Sister Penny, I'll go up and help my brother." My mom let out a long sigh of relief and pulled me to sit down next to her. "Penny, your brother finally made it home. Why don't you look happy?" I let out a dry, forced chuckle in my head. I'm not the one who's unhappy. You're the one who's miserable and trying to project it onto me. But I had to keep up appearances. I lowered my eyes, forcing a strained smile. "Mom, I'm very happy my brother is back. "But Mom, what are you and Dad going to do about Kieran?"
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