After my billionaire-family brother found me—the true heiress—I’d already been scavenging for eight years. He crushed my cardboard pile with his polished shoe as I gnawed on spoiled rice from a dumpster. “Aria has cancer,” he said flatly, hiding disgust. “I’ll bring you home after she’s gone.” I just nodded cheerfully. On his birthday, I spent my last money on his gift and flowers for Aria. Approaching the house, I heard him reassure her softly: “Flora will never know your cancer is fake. We can stall three, even five years. She can survive without me—but you can’t.” He blew out his candles and wished, “May Aria stay by my brother forever.” I walked away without entering. His wish came true—I didn’t have five years. Three days after I died, a viral video titled “Eighteen Years: A Cancer Patient’s Entire Life” spread online. 1 My brother had just given Aria a bracelet worth five million dollars. Her delighted laughter echoed from the grand villa. I couldn't bring myself to disturb their happiness. The moment I stepped outside the gates, I couldn't hold it back any longer. A mouthful of blood spewed from my lips, splattering across the gift in my hands. It was just a cheap watch, but the sight of it stained made my heart ache. I had spent three months collecting cardboard to afford it. I frantically tried to wipe the blood away, but my eyes caught a pile of cardboard next to a trash can, and professional habit kicked in. I had just bent down to grab it when a man holding a camera stepped in front of me, the lens practically shoved in my face. "'Exploring the Underclass,' episode three! What do you say, folks? Should we follow this little scrap-picker for the day?" The man was clean-cut and handsome, but something in his eyes made my skin crawl. "No, no, absolutely not!" I waved my hands frantically. He simply pulled out his phone and showed me a payment QR code. "Five hundred bucks for a day's filming. I'll pay you at the end." Trash-picking could wait. Making money couldn't. I scanned the code so fast I was afraid he’d take it back, tell me it was all a joke. The man lowered the camera for a second and sneered. "Her eyes sure light up at the sight of money." I just grinned back at him like a fool. The truth is, money is useless to the dying. It’s for the living. And I didn’t have many days left. "My name is Kai," he said. "I'm a vlogger who makes documentaries about the poor." "You're skin and bones. Must be starving. Let's get you something to eat!" There was a calculating excitement in his voice as he dragged me towards the most expensive restaurant in the area. The gilded, opulent building would be the perfect backdrop to highlight a poor girl's pathetic state, guaranteed to rack up clicks and controversy. Just as he'd hoped, I clutched the hem of my washed-out shirt, my voice timid. "That's… that's a place for rich people. I've never been inside." A triumphant smirk played on Kai’s lips. He could already see the video going viral. Heh. I was lying. I came here all the time. Covered in grime, I'd scavenge through the dumpsters out back, watching my brother lead a princess-like Aria inside for dinner. Every night, the restaurant would throw out the leftovers. I’d be there waiting, squatting by the door for my "lucky feast." Once, I hit the jackpot. I found a necklace in the scraps. It was a gift from my brother to Aria, her name engraved on the back. She'd tossed it because she thought the style was outdated. Shamelessly, I picked it up and put it on, admiring my reflection in the grimy mirror of a public restroom. I pretended… I pretended he had given it to me. I was still lost in the memory when Kai half-pushed, half-pulled me inside. The moment we sat down, his camera was back in my face. "You look so young. Why are you picking through trash? Don't you have a family?" I held up two fingers, a strange pride in my voice. "I've had two families…" I paused, thinking of my brother, and raised a third finger. "No, wait. Three." Kai raised an eyebrow, his tone mocking. "Three? Shouldn't you be the happiest girl in the world then?" A lump formed in my throat. I started to tell him about my first family. "When I was five, I was sold by traffickers to an old, childless couple in the mountains." Because I was a girl, I was cheap. The daughter of the city’s wealthiest man, sold for a mere thousand yuan. But in those backwoods villages where sons were prized above all else, being a girl was a sin. 2 My days were an endless cycle of herding sheep and finishing chores. They ate meat, but never shared any with me. All I got were potatoes. One for breakfast, one for lunch, half for dinner. When the hunger was unbearable, I'd beg from the other villagers. One man made me kowtow and call him grandpa before tossing me a stale bun. Another kicked me over and told me to get lost. At night, I slept in the sheep pen. In the winter, with no blanket, I’d press myself against the sheep for warmth. Through the low-set windows, the faces of the family I barely remembered would flicker in my tear-filled eyes. I tilted my head back, forcing the tears down, and put on a brave smile. "You know, whenever I thought I was going to freeze or starve to death, I would dream of my mom, my dad, and my brother," I boasted. "They were so good to me. My parents would give me my favorite toys, and my brother would hold me in his arms and call me his 'little treasure.'" The mocking smile on Kai's face froze. The food arrived—all the restaurant's signature dishes. He placed a piece of pork rib on my plate. "Let's eat," he said, his voice a little strained. I fought back the nausea churning in my stomach and shook my head with a hint of defiance. "I don't eat meat." Kai blinked, then burst out laughing. "A little beggar who's a picky eater? You don't eat meat?" I chuckled along with him, but tears welled up in my eyes. "At my adoptive parents' house," I began, "even their dog, Big Yellow, felt sorry for me. He would always leave me half of his food." I was one step away from calling that dog my big brother. Thanks to him, I finally wasn't starving anymore. To show my gratitude, I scrubbed his food bowl clean every single day until it shone. The first time I tasted meat was when my adoptive parents threw me a bone they had already gnawed clean. It was the most delicious thing I'd ever eaten. I chewed on it until my face was greasy. Then, my adoptive father smiled at me, his yellow teeth like gravestones. "Tastes good, doesn't it? That's Big Yellow. We got a good twenty pounds of meat off him." The half-chewed piece of meat lodged in my throat. I clawed at my own neck, gagging and retching until I was spitting up bile. "After that," I finished, pushing the plate away with a flourish, "I never touched meat again. Even when I could get it. I just… quit." Kai stared at the pork rib, his Adam's apple bobbing. "What happened after that?" "After that…" I rested my chin in my hand, my tone light. "That night, my adoptive father crept into the sheep pen. He started pulling at my clothes. Luckily, I was brave and clever. I grabbed a rake and cracked him over the head with it!" "He got really mad and said he was going to strangle me, but I squeezed through a hole in the wall that Big Yellow had dug before… you know. My dog brother saved me one last time." I told the story as if it were nothing, but Kai's eyes were turning red. He violently waved over a waiter. "Take all the meat dishes away! Bring us all vegetarian plates!" The waiter looked bewildered. Kai exploded. "What are you waiting for? Can't you see this girl is starving?" I ate until I was full, patting my round belly with a satisfied burp. As we were leaving, I stopped the waiter. "Don't throw those meat dishes out. Please pack them up for me." At my words, the flicker of sympathy in Kai's eyes instantly turned to suspicion. He aimed the camera at me, his voice dripping with contempt. "There it is. The act couldn't last, could it? Tells a sob story about not eating meat, then turns around and asks for a doggy bag. What a little liar." I ignored him, carefully scraping every last morsel of meat into the takeout containers. After the meal, Kai insisted on filming at my "home." The car pulled up to a desolate garbage dump. In the center stood the burnt-out frame of a shack, patches of early winter snow still clinging to the broken roof tiles. That was my home. Just as I got out of the car, my phone rang. It was one of the students I sponsored. "Sister, I got the money. But it's too much! Are you sure you have enough for yourself?" I puffed out my chest, my voice loud and proud. "Of course! Your sister is rich! I'm a billionaire's daughter! I live in a huge mansion, drive a convertible, and eat gourmet food every day. Don't you worry about me." Kai looked around the foul-smelling dump, pinching his nose. "This trash heap… this is your 'huge mansion'?" "It's huge, isn't it?" He kicked the tire of my three-wheeled cart, the one I used to haul trash. "And I suppose this is your 'convertible'?" "Never gets stuck in traffic. Eco-friendly." He scoffed. "And the 'gourmet food'? I guess that part's true. Scraps from a dumpster that not even a dog would touch!" "Waste not, want not," I shot back. "Tch," he muttered. "Too proud for your own good." His condescending tone lasted until he glanced at my phone and saw the transfer history. The five hundred dollars he had just sent me… I had forwarded every last cent to that student. 3 His hand, holding the camera, faltered. He followed me into the burnt-out shack in silence. The inside was bare, but spotlessly clean. The walls were covered with donation certificates. The most prominent item was an old, yellowed certificate for "First Place in Class." Kai squinted, adding up the amounts on the certificates. "Holy crap… you've donated a grand total of one hundred and five thousand, three hundred seventy-two dollars and sixty-three cents?" "Some of that was from my grandma," I corrected him. "You have a grandmother?" he asked, surprised. "She was my second family." When I was ten, I escaped my adoptive father's clutches but nearly froze to death on the streets. An old woman who also collected scraps found me and took me in. She declared the day she found me to be my new birthday. I finally had a home again. Grandma sponsored a lot of students with the money she made from collecting scraps. That's why, after a lifetime of doing it, she was still poor. But every day, she made sure I had milk and an egg. She said it would help me grow tall. I'd try to get her to eat some too, but she'd just shake her head and say she'd already eaten. Grandma was a liar. I knew she was living on cold, hard buns. So I became a liar, too. I'd pretend I had a small appetite, throw a little tantrum, and "waste" half my milk and egg in the trash can. She would always pick them out later and eat every last bit. "So what's with the certificate?" Kai asked. "I didn't go to school for a single day during the five years with my adoptive parents. But the day after Grandma found me, she enrolled me. She always used to say, 'Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful if our little Flora could get first place?'" I studied like my life depended on it. And on my thirteenth birthday, I did it. I got first place. I ran all the way home. When I pushed open the door, I saw a hot meal on the table and a tiny little cake. But Grandma was lying on the floor. She never woke up. The doctor said if I had brought her in just half an hour earlier, she would have been fine. "I came home at the same time every single day. That was the only day I was late… by half an hour… because I waited to get my first-place certificate." The memory was a familiar weight, crushing my heart all over again. My name is Flora, but it feels like happiness has always been just out of my reach. "That was the only time in my life I ever got first place," I whispered. "And she never got to see it." "I believe that education can change your destiny. But after Grandma died, I was afraid no one would look after the students she sponsored. So I dropped out of school, took over her route, and kept picking trash to pay for their education. I just hope they can be happy one day." "It doesn't matter, though," I said, waving a hand dismissively, though I wasn't sure who I was trying to comfort. "Knowledge just turned me from a happy pig into a miserable Socrates. I think I'd rather be the pig." Kai's hand was shaking so much he could barely hold the camera. He opened his mouth to say something, but I suddenly remembered. I wiped my tears, grabbed a stainless-steel basin, and ran outside, banging it like a gong. "Dinner time!" From all corners of the dump, stray cats and dogs appeared, rubbing against my legs affectionately. I carefully divided the meat dishes I'd brought back into a dozen broken bowls and watched them devour the food. "Don't fight, there's enough for everyone." Kai stared at me, dumbfounded. "You packed up the food… for them?" "Yep. This is my crew," I said, beaming with pride. His face turned beet red. He fumbled for his phone. "I'm so sorry, I…" "I'm sending you another five thousand!" he blurted out, then quickly spoke to his camera. "And this isn't for show, I swear." My eyes lit up at the transfer notification. I started counting on my fingers. "Okay, so that means I have to film with you for ten more days." Ten days. I should… I should still be alive for ten more days. "What about your third family?" Kai's tone had become gentle, almost cautious. I looked up at the sky, trying to remember. "I guess they were really my first family. I was born to the wealthiest man in the city. But when I was five, my brother was being dragged away by a kidnapper. I tried to save him, and they threw me in the van instead." Kai's jaw dropped. "You were kidnapped because you were trying to save your brother?!" 4 He whipped out his phone and started typing furiously, quickly pulling up news articles about the city's richest family. "The Sterling family, city's wealthiest tycoon… your parents passed away a few years after you went missing. They said it was from heartbreak." "But then your brother… he must have been looking for you this whole time. After all…" His voice trailed off as he came across an article about Aria. "Six years ago, your brother, Jared Sterling, adopted a girl. He named her Aria and treats her as if she were his own flesh and blood…" His voice got quieter and quieter. I gave him a sad smile. "Funny, isn't it? My real brother found me, and he still didn't want me." "Then why didn't you go find him?!" Kai yelled. I just smiled, a tear tracing a path through the grime on my cheek. "I was too scared." Besides, I was out of time. Kai was furious. He grabbed my hand and started dragging me toward the road, determined to confront my brother. He was so enraged he forgot his camera, his hand just gripping mine tightly. For a dizzying moment, the warmth of his hand felt just like my brother's, from a lifetime ago. As we stood before the opulent gates of the Sterling mansion, a ridiculous sliver of hope bloomed in my chest. Would he let me stay? The butler led us inside. As we approached the study, we heard Aria's voice, whining and tearful. "But what if Flora throws a fit and demands to come back? Will you get rid of me then, brother?" Jared's voice was warm, laced with a smile. "I've raised you for six years. Don't you know me by now? I would get rid of Flora before I ever got rid of you." "You bastard, Jared!" Kai roared, kicking the door open. The air in the room froze. Jared didn't even bother to look up, his voice dangerously calm. "Kai, isn't it? I've looked into you. A minor influencer who fakes everything for clicks. What is it you want?" Kai lunged forward, but I held him back. "The whole house is full of bodyguards. You'll get hurt." He gritted his teeth, pointing a shaking finger at my brother. "I might have faked things for money, but there are some lines I won't cross. But you? You're loaded, yet you let your own sister eat out of trash cans on the street! You're worse than an animal!" Jared let out a cold laugh, his gaze landing on me like a shard of ice. "Is it money you want?" Before I could say no, Aria rushed forward and yanked at the necklace around my neck. "Isn't this mine? It even has my name on it! You stole from me!" I clutched it desperately. "No, I found it!" Terrified that Jared would find out she'd thrown it away, she doubled down, screeching that I was a thief, clawing at my hands. In the struggle, my nail accidentally scratched the back of her hand. SLAP! Jared was on me in an instant, his hand connecting with my cheek in a brutal slap. "So this is what happens when you're not raised right. No manners at all. You steal, and you think you're justified?" I just stood there, stunned. The burning pain on my face spread straight to my heart. Kai screamed in rage and tried to throw a punch, but two bodyguards slammed him to the floor. Jared pulled out a thick wad of cash and threw it at my face. "This is what you wanted, isn't it? Here, take it!" he snarled. "I told you I'd take you in after Aria was gone. Did you have to disgust us like this?" The bills fluttered down around me. A sudden, coppery taste filled my mouth. A mouthful of blood sprayed from my lips, splattering across the scattered bills in a sickeningly bright red. Oh. Maybe I don't even have ten days left.
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