My family was dirt poor. To pay for my college tuition, I worked on a construction site, but I ended up getting beaten black and blue after pissing off the foreman. To keep my parents from worrying, I went to a local Urgent Care clinic alone. But there, I saw my parents—dressed in high-end luxury brands—holding another boy, waiting to get registered. "Doctor! Our precious Ryan just cut his finger with a fruit knife! Please save him!" With that, my dad threw a stack of cash at me. "Get lost, you filthy beggar. Don't ruin Ryan's sight." The boy in their arms looked at me with pure disgust, like I was piece of trash. I looked at their expensive designer clothes, and then at the luxury Rolls-Royce parked right outside the clinic. Then I looked at my own dirty, torn clothes. My throat tightened. With a broken heart, I walked straight to the Army recruiting office. I never planned to see them again. Maybe I looked too pathetic, because my parents didn't even recognize me. I stood there, frozen, staring at the expensive designer suit on the boy in my parents' arms. Then I looked at my own shirt. It was old, didn't fit, and had been patched up for three years because I couldn't bear to throw it away. My heart ached. I remembered my dad giving me this shirt for my birthday three years ago. To buy it, he worked from dawn to dusk, even fainting on the construction site a few times. I saw how hard they worked, so I grew up fast. I never caused trouble. Even when I was bullied at school or mocked at work, I kept it to myself and licked my wounds in secret. Even when the girl I liked confessed to me, I smiled and rejected her out of insecurity. I knew my family couldn't afford any mistakes. Every step of my life had to be carefully calculated. But now, I realized my parents weren't poor at all. The only poor one was me. They gave that boy infinite luxury, yet they wouldn't even give me the tuition deposit I needed to change my life. Tears streaming down my face, I walked out of the clinic like a ghost. People on the street avoided me, terrified I would get too close. Of course. If my own parents treated me like trash, why would strangers be any different? I went back to our rented shack. I washed off the dirt with cold water, patched my torn clothes with old rags I found, and lay on the hard wooden bed, nursing my hurts. After what felt like hours, my parents' voices came from outside. "Ethan, come out quick!" "Look what we brought you!" My body was in pain, my lips pale. I was running a fever. I forced myself to stand and walked out. My parents were back in their cheap, dirty worker clothes. In my mom's hands was a jacket. "We got lucky today! Your dad and I found this jacket. It just has a little stain on it. We'll wash it and it'll be good as new. Try it on!" My mom handed me the jacket, completely ignoring how sick I looked. So, the clothes I had been wearing all these years were just hand-me-downs from their wealthy son? What I cherished as treasure was just someone else's trash. "And these white sneakers. Consider them your reward for getting into NYU." My dad pulled out a pair of shoes from behind his back, smiling. Yeah. Those were Ryan's too. He loved white sneakers. The last pair my parents brought home was also white. Maybe because I was too quiet, my mom handed the jacket to my dad and looked at me closely. She finally realized something was wrong. "Ethan, why are your lips so pale? Do you have a fever?" "Go lie down, honey. I'll get you some medicine right now." My dad immediately looked panicked and carried me to my room. Actually, my parents used to be good to me. I remember once, I went to the mountains to harvest wild herbs to sell. I fell off a small cliff and passed out. My dad climbed down a thirty-foot cliff with no safety gear to save me. My mom walked fifteen miles in the dark to the next town to find a doctor. But these same parents had lied to me for years. The poor parents and the billionaire parents were the exact same people. How pathetic. My mom mixed some medicine and fed it to me. She asked anxiously why I was suddenly sick. I looked into her worried eyes, forced a smile, and said, "I got hurt at the construction site and went to the clinic. But three rich people kicked me out." "I came home and got a fever."
Panic flashed across their faces, but they masked it in a split second. Guilt filled their eyes, and my mom's eyes turned red. "Ethan, it's our fault. We made you suffer so much." "We... we failed you." My mom started sobbing, and my dad comforted her with red eyes. In the past, I would have comforted them like a mature adult, telling them that once I graduated from college, we would have a better life. But now, I just sat there in silence. Even if I graduated and worked for ten years, I probably couldn't even afford one tire of that Rolls-Royce. Seeing that I wasn't comforting them, they stopped acting. My dad cleared his throat, put on a warm smile, and took over my usual role. "Well, we might be poor, but we have a great son. Ethan got into NYU! Once he graduates, our family will be set." He was going to be disappointed. Even if I worked for ten years, I couldn't afford that lifestyle. My mom wiped her tears and smiled. "I can't wait to live the good life." Hearing this, I bit my lip and finally asked, "Mom, Dad, I still don't have enough for the enrollment deposit. I'm short $800." "Can you... help me out?" My heart pounded. This was the first time I had ever asked them for money. I had saved enough from my construction job, but my coworkers stole it, and the police couldn't find them. College was my only ticket out. I couldn't lose it. For something this important, they would surely give me the money, right? I looked at them with hope. Hesitation flashed across my dad's face, but it quickly disappeared. He sighed. "Ethan, can you find another way? Maybe borrow it from a classmate?" "You know our situation. Your mom's surgery cost us a fortune, and we're still in debt. We really don't have $800." My mom's eyes went red again. She lowered her head. "It's all my fault. I'm dragging this family down. If Ethan can't go to college because of me, I'd rather just die!" Her words felt like a bucket of ice water poured over my head. My entire body went numb. I looked at the white sneakers on the floor. Those shoes alone probably cost more than $800. In that moment, I realized Ryan wasn't just stepping on those shoes—he was stepping on me. They knew how much college meant to me, yet they were so stingy. I forced a smile and looked down. "Okay. I'll ask a classmate." I climbed back into bed and pulled up the blanket. My parents exchanged a look. Finally, my mom walked over, forced a smile, and said, "Son, don't be sad. Today is your birthday! We'll make you a great dinner tonight." My dad walked over too, grabbing my hand. "You've been wanting that smoked brisket, right? I'll slice it up for you tonight." I nodded. Their faces lit up with joy. Just then, my dad's phone rang. He suddenly looked very tense. I glanced at the screen. The caller ID said: "Baby Boy". It must be Ryan. Must be nice to have a phone. I didn't even have one. "Ethan, get some rest. We'll take this call outside." My parents, who were just showing me so much love, walked out together. To make sure I didn't overhear, they went all the way to the yard. But they forgot one thing in their rush—I had excellent hearing. I could hear them perfectly from this distance. I peeked through the door crack. My dad frowned, keeping his voice low. "Didn't we tell you to text us? What if your brother finds out?" Ryan's whiny voice came through the receiver: "Dad, Mom, I cut my finger today. It hurts so much~" "Can you guys come home and stay with me tonight?" My parents looked at each other, then back at our front door, hesitating. Ryan's voice dropped. "I guess I'm just not as important as Ethan. ‘Sniff’..." My parents immediately panicked. "Of course not! Your brother can't even compare to a single hair on your head." "Yeah, sweetie. You're our favorite." Hearing this, Ryan cheered up. "I knew you loved me most! I'll be waiting at home!" He hung up. My parents headed back inside. I quietly climbed back into bed. Maybe because of the cold, I started coughing. Hearing me, they rushed in with worried faces and patted my back. That evening, they made a feast, including the smoked brisket I loved. But they were dressed up, ready to go out. "Ethan, we just got a call for a quick gig. We can make $200 tonight." "That means you'll only need $600 for school. We're sorry we can't spend your birthday night with you." I coughed, nodded, and smiled as I ate a piece of brisket. My parents looked relieved, walked out, and gently shut the door. I chewed the dry, salty meat, my smile turning into tears that dripped into my bowl. What was I expecting? I was never their favorite child. Under the cover of night, I walked over to our neighbor's house and borrowed his phone to call the military recruiter who had been trying to reach me. "Sergeant Carter, if I join the Army's Closed Training Program... will my college tuition really be fully covered?"
Hearing this, Sergeant Carter was thrilled. He told me that not only was tuition free, but room and board were covered too. It was just tougher than regular college. But I had suffered my whole life. What was a little more hard work? After hanging up, I went home and slept. I had a strong immune system, so I was mostly recovered by the next morning. My parents came back, holding a small cake. But a slice was missing, like someone had already eaten from it. "Ethan, we couldn't get you a cake yesterday, so we got you this today!" "And here is the $200 we made last night. Take it. Don't worry, we'll get the rest of your tuition." They handed me the cake and the money, but I pushed them away. "I don't really like cake. Too sweet." "As for tuition... I borrowed it from a friend. You don't have to worry." They were stunned for a moment, but didn't push. They left the money on my nightstand for pocket money. "We met a very generous boss. We're going to work for him for the next two weeks. Take care of yourself, Ethan." "Oh, and watch out for scammers. If anyone tells you weird things, don't believe them. When we get back, we have a huge surprise for you." Then, they rushed off. Two weeks? That was exactly when I was scheduled to leave. A week later, fully recovered, I used the advance money Sergeant Carter sent me to get my military physical at the hospital. But when I got back, the yard was a mess. My few cherished belongings were scattered all over the dirt. Ryan was sitting in the yard, surrounded by several bulky bodyguards, looking at me with utter contempt. Just like he did at the clinic. I stood there, frozen. "You don't know me, do you? I'm your brother. Our parents are actually the richest family in this city." "But they don't like you. That's why they raised you like a beggar~" His words felt like glass shards grinding into my heart. "Look at this trash you cherish. It's all stuff I threw away. My dog's collar is worth more than all of this combined." "I never understood how someone with such a trashy life could smile so much. Every time I see your face, I want to rip that smile off." I did smile a lot. I smiled at my parents, at my school bullies, at the cruel foreman. Because life was hard, and smiling was my only defense. My eyes burned, and my fists clenched to stop my body from shaking. "Why? I'm their biological son. Why would they do this to me?" Ryan smirked, laughing in my face. "Why? Because they don't love you. You were just a mistake. They wanted to drown you when you were born, but our grandparents wouldn't let them. That's the only reason you're alive." "But once they had me, grandparents finally let them dump you in the slums. I guess I'm just too lovable~" "Anyway, I'm here because the family inheritance is being decided soon. I don't want anyone getting any funny ideas, so I'm here to warn you." My mind went blank. I stumbled backward. So, I was abandoned by everyone from the very beginning. With a hollow chest, I forced out: "Don't worry. I won't fight you for the inheritance." "You couldn't even if you tried. Mom and Dad love me, not you." With that, Ryan threw a few hundred-dollar bills on the ground and swaggered away with his guards. I didn't touch the money. I just silently packed up my ruined things. Once I was done, I left the house I had lived in for eighteen years and checked into the military academy early. A week later, my parents finally returned. They were dressed in high-end luxury clothes, carrying countless expensive gifts. "Ethan, come out! We have great news!" "Actually, we are..." My dad stopped mid-sentence. The only thing waiting for them was a silent, empty house.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "NovelMaster" app ? search for "449013", and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster