The thunderous slam of the door shook the tears from my eyes.

Mom called me calculating, yet she wouldn't even give me the croissants left on my sister's plate. It turned out it wasn't that I made fewer croissants—there simply wasn't any portion for me at all.

After my mother left, she never came back. Not even a phone call. And I didn't call her either.

Later, I saw Melody updated her social media feed. It was a photo of her and my mother eating croissants together.

Instead, my sister called me, "Sylvia, you need to be more generous. Why make mom unhappy over a few croissants? She's staying with you all the time, so you can always eat her croissants."

"Why be so petty? Do you think I ate them all? Look how upset mom is!"

My sister immediately started to criticise.

I felt nothing inside, only asking her indifferently, "Were the croissants good? Thanks to you, the last time I had croissants was during the New Year."

Her lecture abruptly ended.

"You think mom favors me? Do you really think she's that kind of person?!"

She hung up.

The next day, my mother came home grumbling.

"It's just a few croissants. What's wrong with eating less? Have I ever starved you? Do you realize your words made your sister feel so guilty?"

"Favoritism? I cook for you, take care of you, but your sister never got that treatment! If anyone's showing favoritism, it's me favoring you!"

Her finger was practically poking my face.

"You said it yourself—just a few croissants. Did I not make enough? I spent half the day preparing them. Why should I only get two croissants?"

I felt so wronged.

We were both her daughters, but why did I get the huge mistreatment then?

My mother was about to say more when the alarm clock rang.

She hurriedly turned it off, grabbed some ingredients from the fridge and got busy in the kitchen.

After packing the meal, she seemed to remember something. Setting the lunchbox on the table, she dashed back to her room.

I stared at the lunchbox on the table and reached out my hand toward it.

When my mother came out, she was holding the durian I'd bought two days earlier.

When I wanted to eat it, she told me she'd eaten it—turns out she'd been saving it for my sister.

"I saved some food for you on the table. I really don't know what you have to complain about. I treat both of you sisters equally."

But not long after, my mother returned carrying the lunchbox.

"Sylvia, did you touch Melody's food?"

The lunchbox slammed onto the floor, spilling its contents.

Tomato scrambled eggs with only tomatoes, chili stir-fried pork with only chili peppers, soybeans stewed with pig's trotters with only soybeans.

I forced a grin and joked, "Mom, the food looks fine. Didn't Melody eat any?"

My mother instinctively retorted. "This is clearly leftovers she picked through. How could Melody eat such food?"

As soon as she said it, her face turned deathly pale.

I felt like I was about to cry.

"So this is the kind of food I'm supposed to eat?"

Back then, my mother had refused to stay with my sister and chose to stay with me instead.

"Your sister's room is tiny and my snoring is loud—I wouldn't want to disturb her rest. You have two rooms here and I can still cook for you."

I was genuinely happy she'd come to stay with me. After all, since then, she'd always favored Melody more, but this time she chose me.

Whatever the reason, my mother really did come to cook for me, just as she said. But everything she cooked was what Melody liked.

Of course, I bought all the ingredients.

Every time she finished cooking, she'd pick out the best bits first—just like today—and send them over to my sister.

Leaving me only the leftovers.

Two meals a day, never missing a single one, always on time. And what I ate were the leftovers.

Whenever I bought something nice, my mother would think to send some to Melody. Yet she never once thought to get me anything from my sister.

I could not say she did not love me—she occasionally washed my clothes and took care of me when I was sick.

But comparisons were the worst. Compared to the affection my sister received, the little affection I received felt utterly insignificant.

My mother always prioritized my sister first; only when there was love left over would she give it to me.

My mother, flustered and annoyed, kicked the lunchbox on the floor.

"You've eaten like this your whole life, Sylvia. I only took what your sister liked—not leftovers. Why are you nitpicking?"

I couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "Do you think I like it? I have no choice!"

Melody was a picky eater, only picking at the things she liked. The leftovers were either mine or my mother's.

I was young back then. My mother said kids shouldn't be picky eaters, patting my head and praising me as a good child.

But it wasn't that kids shouldn't be picky—it was that I couldn't be picky.

As I grew older, I understood my mother's favoritism, yet I said nothing to preserve the surface calm.

I watched her shower most of her love on my sister, all while insisting she wasn't biased.

I endured it.

But when night fell and all was quiet, I couldn't sleep.

I was not asking for perfect fairness, but surely she couldn't show such blatant favoritism?

I wasn't adopted, after all.

"These are all trivial matters. Why do you have to dwell on them? Don't you know I hate this calculating attitude of yours the most?” 

“Melody is different—unassuming and generous. If you were like her, how could I not cherish you?" 

"I can give it to you, but you can't take it by force. Do you understand?"

"Your sister truly spoiled you rotten. When she was little, she gave you everything good. But you're like a debt-collecting ghost, always wanting everything."

The harsh words pierced my heart like poisoned arrows, making me barely able to breathe.

"Don’t you know the reason why she gave them to me, mom?"

"When we bought five pounds of apples, you gave me just one and gave the rest to Melody. In the end, she only gave me one because there were too many left."

"Mom, when we were little, Melody gave me a dress she didn't like. I wore it to show you, but you beat me without a word, saying I stole my sister's dress."

"You're right. I'm petty. I want everything, yet I'm never as good as her."

"Mom, just go live with my sister. I really can't stand eating leftovers anymore!"

My mother froze. She hadn't expected me to ask her to leave.

As a result, an expression of deep embarrassment spread across her face.

But her words truly hurt me. Seeing her felt like a sharp pain in my chest. So, I packed her suitcase, but for every item I put in, she took one out.

Her eyes were red and swollen, but she said nothing. She just stared at me, waiting for me to give in.

This time, I refused to endure it.

After all, she was my own mother. If she wouldn't leave, I couldn't drag her along. So I decided to take a two-week business trip to the neighboring city.

During my trip, my sister called several times. "Silvya, it's just croissants! Come back and apologize to mom. You can ask her to make as many croissants as you want."

"But remember this! She's getting old—she shouldn't have to put up with this."

I didn't say anything and just hung up.

Seeing I wasn't answering, my sister started bombarding me with messages.

Every single one of them was urging me to apologize. I couldn't even be bothered to open them.

When I returned home after my business trip, I discovered a trap waiting for me.

My father, who couldn't stand city life, had come up from the countryside especially and my aunt was there too.

My aunt was softly soothing my mother, while Melody kept giving me meaningful glances, urging me to soften my stance.

I watched everything unfold before me with a blank expression.

My aunt looked at me with disapproval as she asked, "Sylvia, no offense, but why are you counting your croissants? Your mother hasn't slept well for days because of you."

"Apologize to your mother. There's no such thing as holding a grudge overnight between mother and daughter."

I said nothing and didn't move.

The air seemed to freeze as my father opened his mouth, "You're in the wrong here. Your mother's been working so hard to take care of you. You can't just dismiss all her efforts over something this trivial, can you?"

"You can't go through life without a conscience."

He was usually a man of few words, but speaking so much this time showed he was truly upset with me.

My mother wept even harder.

Suddenly, my sister stepped in front of me and whispered softly to my mother, "Mom, it's my fault she's like this. If only I'd remembered to share the croissants from the plate, you two wouldn't have argued."

"It's all my fault, every single bit of it. Please don't be angry with her."

My mother's face softened with tenderness as she said, "Look! How could anyone not love such a sensible child? It's only right that I care for her a little more."

My aunt gave my sister a satisfied look, then spoke to me earnestly, "Sylvia, the heart naturally leans toward the left side. Besides, Melody truly deserves extra affection. There's no need to nitpick over every little thing."

Easy for her to say.

"Then do you know what gift my mother gave you for the New Year? As I recall, it was the carton of milk nearing its expiry date, right?”

“But she gave a fifty-dollar shopping voucher for another aunt."

"Auntie, do you think her favoritism is only toward her own children?"

My tone was too serious and my aunt unconsciously loosened her grip on my mother's hand.

"And on birthdays—you got a silver bracelet, right? But another aunt got a gold necklace."

"Last time both of you needed money, but my mother lent it to another aunt first."

My aunt stared at my mother in disbelief.

"Sister, is what she is saying true? Aren't we both your sisters? Why make a difference when giving gifts between your little sisters?” 

“Don't you know I needed the money for medical treatment, while her situation wasn't urgent at all compared to me?!"

My mother denied it repeatedly, "I didn't. She's making things up. She just wants to tear this family apart. Trust me!"

She glared at me, as if she wanted to tear my mouth off. But I went to my room, found a notebook and handed it to my aunt.

I smiled as I explained, "Mom, you said I'm petty and calculating, didn't you? You're right—I really am good at keeping score."