Everyone always said that my sister and I didn't look like siblings. Luna was beautiful, brilliant, and talented in music and art. She was always top of her class and our parents’ absolute pride and joy. I was the exact opposite. Overweight, slow, and incapable of doing anything right. Whenever my parents looked at me, their eyes were full of disappointment. "If only Stella were even half as perfect as her sister." Every time that happened, Luna would gently stop our parents from scolding me. She would walk up to me, smiling softly, and offer her encouragement. "Stella, as long as you work hard, I'm sure you can be just as amazing as I am." When she said that, I never understood the strange, unreadable glint in her eyes. 1 For a long time, I actually believed her. I thought that if I just worked hard enough, I could close the gap between us. So, to improve my grades, I stayed up studying and doing practice tests until 2 AM every night. To look better, I went jogging and jumped rope every day after school, and practically starved myself at dinner. But none of it worked. My grades were still at the bottom of the class. My body only grew heavier. My parents, who used to dote on me, started looking at me with utter despair. "Stella really is a lost cause." "Sigh... if we only had Luna, our lives would be so much easier right now..." During the holidays, my parents would buy gifts, but only for Luna. When I was younger, I used to foolishly run up to my dad and pull on his sleeve. "Dad, where's mine? Did you forget me?" My dad would shake my hand off, looking annoyed. "This is a reward for Luna’s excellence. She got first place and won a huge award. What did you do?" When I had a high fever, my parents left me home alone to attend Luna’s parent-teacher conference. Those conferences weren't even important, but they loved basking in the endless praise the teachers showered on "Luna's parents." Even my friends slowly started to hate me. No matter how hard I tried to hold onto them, they would inevitably abandon me to hang out with Luna. Eventually, Luna was the only person in the world who was nice to me. Whenever I felt deeply defeated and wanted to give up, she would always be right there, encouraging me with everything she had. "Maybe you just aren't working hard enough. Or maybe your methods are wrong," she would say gently. "Why don't you try a different approach?" People around us would sigh. "Luna, you're just too kind. You're the only person in the world who hasn't given up on your sister." "Seriously, if I were a natural-born loser like Stella, I would have killed myself and hoped to respawn with better stats." "Don't talk about my sister like that!" Luna would frown and scold them playfully, then grab my hand. "Stella, promise me you'll never stop trying. Okay?" I would nod forcefully, and Luna would smile. I always thought her smile was beautiful. Until I discovered her secret. 2 It was a quiet night during my senior year of high school when I found out Luna was bound to a "System." I was hiding out on the balcony when I overheard Luna talking to the System. "Stella is such an idiot. She's up studying past midnight again, and she's still going to rank dead last on the next exam. I'm dying laughing. "Looking back, Mom and Dad picked the perfect names. I'm Luna, the moon, and she's Stella, the star. Stars only exist to make the moon look brighter. "Thank you, System. Thank you for being with me these past twelve years." It felt like a bomb went off in my head. Suddenly, memories from the past flooded my mind. Twelve years ago, Luna and I were six years old. Back then, I was pretty and smart. In kindergarten, I was the one singing and dancing on stage, and I helped the teacher clean up after class. Luna was lazy. She had no interest in singing, hated practicing dance, and basically learned nothing. When guests came over, everyone would crowd around me, asking me to perform, praising me for being so bright and talented. They would look at Luna, who stood to the side knowing how to do nothing, and say, "Your sister is so amazing, Luna! You need to work hard to catch up!" Maybe that was the exact moment Luna started to hate the concept of "hard work." When her System appeared, she decisively chose the "The Lazier I Am, The Luckier I Get" trait for herself. And for me, she chose "The Harder I Work, The Unluckier I Get." And just like that, over the course of the next twelve years, exactly as she wished, the gap between us widened. She put in zero effort but became more and more perfect. I gave everything I had, only to become more and more miserable. ... That night, after learning her secret, I quietly slipped away. I sat outside in the freezing night air wearing only a thin sweater for three hours. My body was numb from the cold, but all I could see in my mind was the smile Luna wore every time she encouraged me to "work harder." When I was little, I never knew what to call that strange glint in her eyes when she smiled at me. Now I knew. It was called pure malice. The sister I trusted the most. The sister who told me to never give up. It turned out she was just using my blood, sweat, and tears as fuel to power her own glamorous, perfect life. She was the main character of this world. And my only function was to stand in the shadows forever, serving as her pathetic background prop. —But I refused to accept that. I was going to change my destiny. ... With nothing left to lose, I thought of a plan and sneaked into the school's broadcasting room. I put my hand on the microphone switch and started chanting in my head. "Calling System. Calling System." There was no answer. After all, it was Luna's System, not mine. But I knew that if it was an otherworldly power, it had to be able to monitor my thoughts. "Calling System—it's fine if you ignore me, but do you see the PA microphone in my hand? I'm assuming your existence is supposed to be a secret, right? Here's the deal: if you don't respond in 60 seconds, I'm going to broadcast your existence on a loop to the entire school. Then I'm going to post it all over social media and write letters to scientific research facilities, telling them to come dissect Luna and her little parasitic System..." "60, 59, 58..." I only got to 50 before a burst of static buzzed in my head. Then, a weak, panicked voice spoke up. "...Please don't do that. No one will believe you anyway." "How about we find out?" "...What do you want?" "Swap my System with my sister's." "I can't do that. Once my functions are set, they can't be altered." I immediately reached to flip the microphone switch. "...Wait! Stop! Have mercy!" the System wailed. "How about this... what if I just do nothing?" "Nothing?" "Right. Even though I can't alter the functions, I can... malfunction..." I thought about it. That meant, starting today, I would finally get exactly what I worked for. And my sister's luck from being lazy would vanish. I paused. "Add one more condition." "What?" "Keep this a secret from my sister. "Let her keep thinking this world is still revolving around her." 3 The next day, I arrived at school early, just like always. To build up my stamina, I ran two laps around the track every morning. As I jogged slowly around the field, I saw Luna sitting in the bleachers eating breakfast with two of her friends. "Luna, your sister is running again." "Look at her fat jiggling everywhere when she runs, hahahaha." Luna replied dismissively, "My sister just has terrible genetics." Her two friends agreed, their voices filled with envy. "Ugh, I'm so jealous of you, Luna! You eat non-stop all day, chocolates, chips, zero exercise, but you have huge boobs, a tiny waist, long legs, and abs!" "You totally hit the genetic lottery. You just don't gain weight." "Why didn't your sister get those genes? She runs all day and doesn't lose a pound." I ignored their mocking and kept running. Starting today, my running wasn't useless anymore. Unlike before, where I only felt sheer exhaustion, this time I could feel the heat radiating from my forehead and the sweat pouring down my face. My calories were burning. My fat was melting. I was going to get thin. After my run, I grabbed my backpack to head to class. As if remembering something, I turned back and looked up at Luna, who was lounging in the bleachers. "Sister, don't be late for class." There was two seconds of silence in the bleachers, followed by a burst of raucous laughter. "Luna, your sister is actually telling you to go to class." "Even the Dean of Students doesn't care if you go to class, and she's trying to boss you around?" "Get lost, loser. You don't understand the world of geniuses." It was true. The teachers at our school turned a blind eye to Luna skipping class. The reason was simple: she skipped class, never did homework, never studied, but every time there was a major exam, she always ranked #1 in the entire city. But from now on... she wouldn't be so lucky. I shrugged and headed to my classroom. I couldn't wait for first period to begin. The feeling of knowledge actually sticking in my brain was incredible! I soaked up the lessons like a sponge, eager to go home and tackle practice exams. But on my way home, I ran into Luna and the school's resident golden boy, Caleb Vance. Caleb's luxury sports car was parked nearby. It looked like he was inviting Luna to a party. When Luna saw me walking by, she immediately stepped forward and grabbed my hand. "I'm not going. I have to walk my sister home." Caleb was furious. He glared at me. "Stella, did you tell Luna she couldn't go? "How many more obstacles are you going to throw in our way just because of that stupid marriage contract?" Oh, I almost forgot. This guy—Caleb Vance, the heir to the Vance empire, the guy Luna was secretly obsessed with but pretended not to care about—was technically my fiancé. 4 When I was five, I called 911 when Caleb's grandfather had a heart attack, saving his life. Out of gratitude, Mr. Vance arranged a childhood marriage pact between me and his grandson. Back then, Caleb treated me really well. He would protect me when other kids bullied me. He would carry me on his back when I scraped my knee. When the other kids teased him, calling us a married couple, he wouldn't get mad. He even shared his snacks and toys with me, saying very seriously, "Since we're going to get married, what's mine is yours." Later, Caleb moved out of state for school. He only returned when we were in high school. The day I found out he transferred to our school, I ran out excitedly to greet him. That day, Caleb was surrounded by his new, popular friends. When they saw me, they started cheering and teasing, "Hey Caleb, your fiancée is here!" In the past, Caleb would have laughed along with jokes like that. But this time, his face was as cold as ice. He took one look at me and turned his head away in disgust. "Shut up. I barely know her." After school that day, I locked myself in my room and cried for a long time. Luna, noticing my sadness, immediately ran in to comfort me. "Nobody hates someone who treats them well," her voice was soothing, almost hypnotic. "If you just try harder to show him you care, I'm sure he'll be nice to you again." I believed her. So when Caleb injured himself playing basketball, I brought him a first-aid kit. And what happened next was... Caleb took the entire bottle of red antiseptic and poured it directly over my head in front of everyone. He looked down at me, dripping red liquid, a cruel smirk on his lips. "There's nothing I hate more in this world than a desperate, clinging loser. "Stella, stop making me sick." After I ran away crying, I told Luna what happened. She frowned and blamed me. "You just used the wrong approach. You made him mad. I suggest you write him an apology letter." I didn't want to write one. So Luna ran to our parents and told them I had offended Caleb and ruined the Vance family alliance. My parents panicked. They forced me to write the letter and hand-deliver it to Caleb. Caleb stood in front of the entire class and read the letter out loud like it was a comedy routine. "What does this even mean, 'I don't want to ruin the relationship between our families'? Stella, are you trying to use my grandfather to threaten me? "Newsflash: I'm not afraid of anything." That day, Caleb went home demanding to cancel the engagement, only backing down after his grandfather beat him with a cane. But his hatred for me only grew deeper. When my parents heard about it, they sighed endlessly. "If only Caleb were engaged to our Luna instead." Luna played the understanding daughter. "Mom, Dad, I would never steal my sister's man. I won't do anything." And she truly did nothing. But Caleb became addicted to her. "Stella's sister is so pretty, and she actually has a personality," he'd say. Caleb started chasing after Luna. The more she ignored him, the more curious he became. The colder she was, the more he felt she was unique. In short, Luna did absolutely nothing, yet effortlessly captured the frantic obsession of the Vance empire's heir. Everyone said she wasn't just a natural-born genius, she was a natural-born goddess. It wasn't until I learned about the System that I finally understood Luna's strategy. In my relationship with Caleb, the harder I tried, the more my "unlucky" trait made him despise me. And the colder she was, the more she rejected him, her "lucky" trait made Caleb fall deeper into obsession. This way, my engagement to Caleb would inevitably fall apart, and she could step in to marry into the Vance family. Just like right now, as Luna continued to glare coldly at Caleb. "I don't want to go to your birthday party. And also—stop coming to find me." With that, she turned to walk away. In the past, this move always worked perfectly for Luna. According to their usual dynamic, Caleb's obsession would spike. He would block her path, begging her to get in the car until she finally relented with a stoic face, sliding into the passenger seat of his luxury car while basking in the envious stares of every student around them. To give Caleb enough time to stop her, Luna intentionally walked very slowly. And Caleb did speak up. "If you don't want to go, then don't." He scratched his head, sounding irritated. "Always making it seem like I'm begging you. It gets exhausting." I watched Luna's footsteps grind to a violent halt. She couldn't help but look back, staring at Caleb in utter disbelief. Just like how my body wouldn't instantly become skinny the second the System turned off, Caleb's feelings for Luna didn't vanish instantly either. When he saw her abruptly turn around, his foul mood immediately brightened. "See? You actually did want to go. You're just playing hard to get," Caleb smirked, pulling open the car door. "Alright, you win. Get in." If Luna had gotten in the car right then, her relationship with Caleb probably would have continued to progress. But Luna just assumed Caleb's attitude shift was the System working its magic again. So she let out a cold laugh, putting on her icy-goddess arrogance. "Caleb, I know your family is rich and powerful, and every girl fawns over you. But I'm not like them. Don't think I'll fall for you that easily." With that, Luna turned and walked away. Her face wore a look of absolute certainty. She knew that her rejection would only make Caleb think she was even more special. But actually, if Luna had looked back at that moment, she would have seen that Caleb's expression wasn't one of intrigued admiration. On the contrary, his face had turned completely dark. Sliding into the driver's seat, Caleb scowled and muttered to his friend in the passenger seat: "Who the hell does she think she is?" 5 Unfortunately, Luna, who was already walking away, didn't hear Caleb's comment. So she remained happily trapped in her beautiful illusion, convinced everything was going perfectly. Even though the System's responses had become noticeably vague and evasive lately, she didn't care at all. She continued skipping her study sessions, continued gorging herself on junk food, and continued watching me study late into the night. She offered her gentle encouragement while that mocking, malicious glint danced in her eyes. She didn't realize that everything was quietly shifting. Soon, the first major city-wide mock exam arrived. The moment the test papers were handed out, I looked at the questions and felt a surge of hot blood rushing through my chest. I could feel it—every ounce of effort I had ever put in hadn't been wasted. All those vocabulary words I memorized late at night, all those practice problems I solved... they were all stored perfectly in my brain. The only difference was that previously, due to the System's interference, the knowledge points were locked behind thick mental walls. I couldn't connect them. But right now, all those walls were shattered. Everything finally clicked. As I looked at the questions, every single one felt incredibly familiar. I had encountered variations of them thousands of times during those endless nights of studying. Now, they were just presenting themselves in a slightly different format, but they were old friends. This was the true meaning of "hard work paying off." I breezed through the questions one by one. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luna, sitting diagonally in front of me, rapidly filling in her scantron bubble sheet. Luna always finished her exams much faster than everyone else. I used to think it was because she was exceptionally brilliant. Only later did I realize it was the "luck" granted to her by the System. Whether it was multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank, whatever answer she randomly guessed turned out to be right. On essays, she could scribble down absolute nonsense and still get partial credit for her "steps." With the overwhelming power of the "The Lazier I Am, The Luckier I Get" System, even if she didn't know half the material, she would still score incredibly high. Clearly, Luna was still taking the test exactly as she always did. Soon, the bell rang, and we handed in our papers. Outside the testing room, everyone gathered in the hallway to compare answers. A crowd formed around Luna. "Goddess! Question 8 on the multiple-choice was so hard. Did you put C or D?" Luna replied casually, "C." The students who picked C cheered immediately, while the D group groaned in despair. Everyone trusted Luna's authority. As the undefeated academic queen, her answers were basically gospel. I stood nearby with my backpack and asked quietly, "Why is it C?" Luna paused and looked over at me. She probably couldn't fathom why a loser who failed the easy questions had the audacity to ask about the hardest one. She said impatiently, "Even if I explained it, you wouldn't understand." Luna's friends immediately chimed in to mock me. "Exactly. The calculation is way too complex. With Stella's brain, there's no way she'd get it." "Focus on getting the basic questions right first. You're never going to get points on a question like that anyway." I pressed my lips together and sneered internally. The correct answer was absolutely D. Luna had no idea how to solve it. She had just blindly guessed, fully expecting that, just like before, whatever she wrote down would magically become the right answer. I looked at Luna's aloof, falsely confident expression, feeling utterly amused. But on the outside, I just took a timid step back. "Oh... I see..." Suddenly, someone behind me gently supported my elbow. It was the class president, Harper Evans. Harper was also a brilliant student. She had tied for first place with Luna once before. With a polite, investigative tone, she asked Luna, "Luna, I calculated it three times and kept getting D. Could you explain why it's C?" The students who had chosen D immediately perked up, refusing to give up hope. "Yeah, Goddess, walk us through it!" "Even if I got it wrong, I at least want to know why." Luna's face turned pale. She couldn't explain it. Because she just picked C. After a moment of silence, Luna spoke coldly. "I'm tired. When the answer key comes out, read the explanation yourself or ask a teacher. I'm not obligated to tutor you." With that, she turned and walked away. In the past, Luna had always acted cold and dismissive toward her classmates, but she was still incredibly popular. But this time, Harper frowned first. "I just wanted to ask her a question. Just because she has good grades doesn't mean she has to be so rude." Other students whispered in agreement. "Yeah, Harper, your grades are amazing too, and you don't act arrogant like her." As they murmured, they started walking toward the cafeteria. I planned to go eat by myself, but out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a bloodstain blooming on the back of Harper's pants. I hesitated for a second, then hurried over to Harper and quietly whispered to her. ... In the restroom, I handed Harper a pad from my bag. "You can tie your school jacket around your waist, and I brought an extra pair of sweatpants. If you don't mind borrowing them..." My tone was a bit timid. After all, in the past, whenever I tried to help someone, it always backfired. But this time, things seemed different. Harper looked at me deeply, a hint of confusion in her eyes. "Why did I always think you were so hard to get along with?" She scratched her head. "That's so weird. You're actually really nice." Explaining the truth was too complicated, so I just smiled and turned to leave. But Harper called out to me. "Are you heading to the cafeteria too?" I turned back and received my first genuinely friendly smile since starting high school. "Let's go together." 6 And just like that, for the first time, I integrated into a friend group. After the exams, the teachers had a grading period. Some classmates organized a BBQ trip to relax, and I went too. When Luna arrived, she saw me sitting next to Harper, laughing and chatting with a group of girls. Her pupils dilated in shock. In the past, I had absolutely zero friends. My isolated, unlikable persona was the perfect foil to highlight her status as the beloved social butterfly. But now, I was roasting chicken wings and drinking Coke with everyone. Where was the outcast she knew? "...Stella." Luna looked at me, frowning. "Why are you at a BBQ?" Before I could speak, Harper looked up, confused. "This is a class event. Isn't Stella in our class?" Luna's expression stiffened, but she quickly smoothed it into a gentle smile. "It's not that I don't want her here. You all know Stella's grades aren't great. She should be at home studying instead of goofing off here. As her sister, I'm just looking out for her..." Before Luna could finish her sentence, a girl nearby suddenly blurted out, "Hey, Luna, did you gain weight?" The moment she said that, all eyes instantly zeroed in on Luna. It was true. Since the System vanished, Luna had maintained her terrible eating habits, stuffing her face with junk food. Before, everyone wore baggy school uniforms, so it wasn't obvious. But now, in her normal clothes, everyone could clearly see rolls of fat bulging over her waistband. Luna looked horrified. She didn't have time to care about my sudden popularity anymore. She stared frantically at her waist. "That's impossible," she muttered. "I don't gain weight. It's just this shirt..." At the same time, the girl who had spoken up looked over at me. "Wow, Stella actually lost a ton of weight!" Luna's head snapped up, staring at me in absolute disbelief. It was true. I had lost weight. Running every morning, combined with a disciplined, healthy diet over the past month and a half, had brought about visible changes. With the thick layer of fat gone, my jawline was sharp, my nose looked taller, my eyes seemed larger, and even my double eyelids were much more defined. Whispers broke out around us. "I've never noticed how pretty Stella is." "Well, she and Luna are twins. Luna is the school beauty, so Stella's genetics can't be bad." "I actually think Stella's facial features are more delicate than Luna's. If she keeps losing weight, she'll definitely be prettier than her..." Aside from Luna glaring daggers at me, I felt another burning gaze locked onto me from a different angle. It was Caleb. He was staring at me, utterly mesmerized, his eyes cloudy with emotion. ... That day, Luna went home early. As the BBQ was wrapping up, Caleb blocked my path. "Stella..." His voice was tight and raspy. "About what happened before... I'm sorry." I actually wanted to tell Caleb to get out of my way because I needed to go home and study. But thinking about how Luna obsessed over his photos at home, a wave of pure malice surged in my heart. I gave Caleb a sweet, gentle smile. "It's okay." 7 When I got home, Luna was having a mental breakdown screaming at her System. "How is this happening?! Why am I getting fat? Why is Stella getting skinny and making friends?!" Oh. My dear sister. Are you already this devastated just from noticing these little changes? What if you knew that just moments ago, the Caleb you are so deeply obsessed with was no longer disgusted by your "stalker" fiancé? What if you knew he actually asked me out to a movie, and you had to watch him crumble? How hard would you break down then? But I didn't want Luna to go completely insane just yet. So I waited calmly outside her room until she finished talking to her System. The System sounded terrified and evasive. "There might be some glitches lately. We are currently troubleshooting the issue..." Luna shrieked, "I don't care about my looks or my popularity right now! My grades are fine, right?!" Actually, the System probably really wanted to tell her: No, your grades are completely screwed. But it remembered the deal it made with me. To avoid being exposed, the poor System had no choice but to lie. "No issues have been detected at this time." Luna breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. As long as my grades are perfect, I can deal with everything else after graduation." Soon, the day the mock exam results were announced arrived. Our homeroom teacher walked into the classroom with a bright smile. "The number one student in the city is from our class again." The entire class turned to look at Luna. She leaned back lazily in her chair, tapping her nails on the desk, waiting to hear her name. "Let's give a huge round of applause for our top student— "Harper Evans!" Luna froze. Harper's eyes widened in shock and delight. I sat next to her, clapping wildly. I knew Harper came from a tough background. Her mom had remarried a deadbeat abuser. She wrote freelance articles to pay her own tuition while studying tirelessly. Her success was built entirely on her own blood, sweat, and tears. Every hard-working person deserves a round of applause. "We also have a student in our class who made extraordinary progress this time. That student is—Stella!" Hearing my name, I was slightly stunned. Even though I had a feeling my grades would be good this time, I still didn't dare to get my hopes up too high. After all, I was so used to being beaten down, used to disappointment, used to getting absolutely nothing in return for my efforts. The teacher looked at me, holding up the ranking sheet. "On this exam, Stella jumped from her usual rank in the 1000s... straight to rank 36 in the entire grade! "What have I always told you? Never give up, never surrender. Hard work creates miracles. "Let's all give a massive round of applause to Stella for creating a miracle!" The applause was thunderous, even louder than the applause for Harper moments before. Harper laughed, shaking my shoulder. "Hey, hey, why are you crying?" I didn't want to cry, so I bit my lip hard, but I couldn't stop my eyes from welling up. Twelve years. The endless cycle of failure and despair was finally over. I had used my own hard work to create a miracle. Amidst the roaring applause, Luna's lips trembled. She couldn't believe it. It was impossible. There was no way Stella could score this high. She was supposed to be the "The Harder I Work, The Unluckier I Get" girl! She must have cheated. She turned to look at me, intentionally lowering her voice to a level that sounded quiet, but was actually loud enough for everyone to hear. "Stella, I want you to have good grades too, but only on one condition..." Her lips moved, spitting out eight incredibly malicious words: "That these grades are actually real." The room instantly went dead silent. Even the teacher at the podium heard her. Her face darkened. "Luna, are you accusing Stella of cheating?" Luna sat in her seat, head bowed, acting like she was torn in an intense moral dilemma before finally looking up at me with tears falling down her face. "Stella, I'm your sister. I can't just watch you go down the wrong path." Harper was the first to stand up. "Luna, if you're calling your sister a cheater, show us the proof. What are you playing at?" Luna sniffled, looking victimized. "The exam was days ago. How could there be any proof left...?" In the back row, a figure suddenly stood up. It was Caleb. "Mrs. Miller," his deep voice rang out. Everyone thought Caleb was going to defend Luna. After all, it was common knowledge that Luna was the untouchable goddess he pined for, while I was the pathetic, obsessive fiancée he despised. Luna thought so too. She looked at Caleb with tearful, pleading eyes, whispering, "Caleb, I remember the seating chart. You sat right behind my sister. If you saw anything, you can tell the truth." Caleb glanced at Luna, then looked seriously at the teacher. "Yes. I sat right behind Stella. I didn't see her cheat at all. If you don't believe me, we can check the security cameras." Luna's eyes bulged in shock. Before she could say anything else, the teacher's disappointed voice echoed from the podium. "Luna, is there something wrong with you lately? Do you have any idea how far your rank dropped on this exam? Exactly six hundred spots!" CRASH. Luna fell completely out of her chair and onto the floor.
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