It was my birthday. After school and my part-time shift, I came home at about 10:00 pm. I carried a plastic bag into the rental, and inside was an old-fashioned cake that I bought for about a dollar.

I reached out to turn on the light, but nothing happened. The room stayed pitch-dark. Although the bulb had burned out again, the moonlight filtering in was bright enough. It was fine.

Sitting by the window and greedily borrowing the moonlight, I set the old-fashioned cake on the table. There were no candles, so I pretended to stick one into the cake and light it.

I closed my eyes, made a wish, and blew gently. My wish was simple—I hoped my exams would go well.

The moment I opened my eyes, I heard someone pounding on the door. "Open up! Time to pay up, or I'll kick down your door!"

Although this wasn't the first time this had happened, I still jumped in fright. The people outside were here to collect Mom's gambling debts. She had lost a lot of money.

I hid inside while biting my lip, trying not to make a sound.

When no one answered them, they started ramming the door anyway. The rental's door was made of cheap wood. Flimsy as it was, it began to shake and give way almost immediately.

Finally, with a loud crash, the door was smashed open. Three burly men stormed in. One of them grabbed my skinny frame from where I was hiding in the corner. They yanked me up.

"If your mom won't pay," he snarled, "we'll take you instead."

I dropped to my knees with a thud. Tears were streaming down my face. "I don't have any money. She hasn't been home for days!"

One of them punched me right in the face. "In that case, you'll need something else to cover it."

With that, they started tearing the place apart. Everything was thrown everywhere. They even rummaged through my backpack and found a 50-dollar bill inside.

I covered the corner of my mouth as the taste of blood spread across my tongue. The 50 dollars they found was my pay from today's shift, the money my boss had just given me after work.

"That's it? 50 dollars? I can't even buy a bottle of good booze with this!" they complained. However, they still stuffed the money I had worked so hard for into their pockets.

They delivered another kick at the table. Just like that, the cake I barely had the chance to eat was knocked onto the floor and crushed under their feet. They ransacked the place and left in a huff, dissatisfied, leaving behind nothing but a wrecked room.

That was how my birthday passed—in chaos, humiliation, and absurdity.

I crouched on the floor, shaking as I sobbed, and pulled out my phone to check the livestream again. I wanted to see how Archer was spending his birthday.

Inside the bright, spacious villa, Mom and Dad threw him a grand birthday party. Archer was dressed in a custom-made suit. He looked polished and elegant.

"My precious son, you look so handsome!" Dad exclaimed as he looked at him. Admiration filled his eyes. "You look just like me when I was young."

The happiness in Archer's eyes was practically oozing. The birthday cake on the dining table had five tiers, and it was covered in fresh flowers. In the corner of the living room were stacks of birthday gifts.

What a beautiful, happy scene. What a cruel, heartbreaking paradox. We were both celebrating our birthdays, yet Archer had our parents by his side. I was all I had.

The chat was buzzing.

"Adam has no idea that those men were all set up by his mother."

"They come three times a month, like a fixed NPC triggering a storyline."

"Actually, every man his mom brought home was just for show, to see if he could control himself."

"Don't his parents feel even a little sorry for all the suffering he's gone through?"

Then came a pinned comment from the streamer.

"This is all part of an experiment to train him. I pay those men to put up an act, and he should be grateful for that. Once he finishes his finals, we'll take him home and make up for all the years he missed."

My hands shook as I held the phone. A bitter smile twisted my lips, but inside, all I felt was confusion and pain.

Make up for it, they said. How were they supposed to make up for six years of lies and pain?

The next day at school, my homeroom teacher summoned me. "Adam, there's a guaranteed spot for studying abroad in the math program. Tuition and fees are fully covered. Would you like to take up this opportunity?"

She added, "I understand your family situation isn't easy, which is why I think you should seize this chance. It might just change your future."

The requirements were strict. To qualify, the student would need to win a major math competition at least three times and have at least a "B" in a foreign language. I was the only student in the grade who met both criteria.

Without hesitation, I nodded. "Of course, Ms. Clark. 100%."

I guess this was exactly what my parents wanted to see—the poor kid, raised tough, working harder to become more accomplished.

Ms. Clark patted my shoulder. "Good. In that case, you won't even need to take the June exams. Take this time to rest. Then, you can report to the school early."

Soon, I would escape this place, that ridiculous livestream fiasco, and my parents, who were never worthy of that title. I could live just fine on my own.

After all, it was just a game of deception. Two could play that game.

…

Today, there was a citywide event that several schools were participating in. It was a pre-exam exchange and learning conference. As a student representative of great academic achievement, I attended with a few classmates.

Before the conference officially started, a top student from an international school gave a speech. A familiar figure stepped onto the stage, and lo and behold, it was Archer. He was representing his school.

"Hey, that guy looks like Adam."

Others noticed too. They murmured among themselves. "Yeah, kinda. But that guy's obviously more handsome. You can tell he's from a rich family."

"He's rich. How can a poor kid compare? They're in totally different worlds."

Archer and I were twins. Our faces were almost identical once, but years of malnutrition changed me. My skin was darker, and my palms were rough and calloused. His skin was clear, soft, and smooth.

He grew up with love and money, while I grew up with nothing but hardship and tears.

"I heard that guy's grades are terrible, though. He's probably only up there because his family's rich and well-connected," someone whispered.

Meanwhile, Archer was confidently sharing his study tips on stage. I caught sight of Mom and Dad sitting in the second row with their phones raised. They were grinning from ear to ear as they recorded his speech.

Those who loved someone would take every chance to record key moments in their lives.

When I thought about how Mom had never attended a single parent-teacher meeting for me over the years, I couldn't help but feel bitter.

The conference went on for a long time. At one point, I went to the restroom.

When I tried to come out, I realized the door wouldn't open. No matter how hard I pushed or pulled, it wouldn't budge. It was as if someone had locked it from the outside. "Hello? Can someone help me?"

I pounded on the door, calling out for help, but no one answered. Just when I took a step back, ready to kick the door loose, it swung open.

Archer stood outside with a few students behind him, blocking the doorway so I couldn't get out. He raised a hand in signal, and one of the students stepped forward, kicking me to the ground.

I clutched my stomach and gritted my teeth in pain.

As if that wasn't enough, Archer grabbed a bucket of water nearby and poured it over my head. The dirty, slightly foul-smelling water soaked me halfway, leaving me drenched and humiliated.

They laughed at me. I wiped the water off my face and opened my dripping eyes to stare at Archer. "Why are you doing this?"

He stepped forward and kicked me into the corner. Resentment was brewing in his eyes. His tone was laced with sarcasm. "Aren't you supposed to be an excellent student? Why didn't you go up on stage and give a speech?"

He scoffed, and his voice was dripping with mockery. "Oh, Adam. Did you really think Mom and Dad were going to take you home after the exams? Not a chance."

"I'm telling you, there's no way Mom and Dad will bring you home. The livestream won't stop either! You deserve to stay in that rotten, dark rental apartment and waste your life away so everyone can laugh and make fun of you!"

Archer clutched my hair while kicking me. My face twisted in extreme agony, and I couldn't help but find him scary. In just six years, the boy who used to be gentle and kind had turned into a monster.

As if still unsatisfied, he made a gesture and signaled the students behind him to step forward and start bashing me. At one point, they even ripped off my clothes.

Archer pulled out his phone and began filming me. "After all the kicking and punching, you barely made a sound. I guess we weren't doing it hard enough. Don't blame me. I just don't want to fall behind Mom and Dad in how they treated you."

He instructed his friends, "Kick him harder and strip him naked!"

Archer laughed maniacally. I whimpered, forcing myself not to cry. The more I cried, the more excited he would become.

After what felt like forever, Archer finally seemed satisfied and left with the others. I was soaked through and crouched on the floor, shivering from the cold.

I was glad he was laughing now because who knew if he would be able to later?

…

That night, Mom surprisingly came home with a bunch of food. "Hey, Adam. I got lucky today and bought some treats for you."

She pulled snacks out of the bags, many of which were imported. I surmised they came from the villa. They were probably things Archer didn't want, so Mom gave them to me as handouts.

She stood in front of me, like she had something to say. Just as I opened my mouth, she suddenly started crying. "I'm sorry, Adam… I… I just found out I have cancer. I don't have much time left."

Cancer? Seriously?

Before I could even say a word, Mom grabbed my hand and continued, "I don't want to die, Adam. You must help me. I have some money here, and between what you've got on you and Grandma's bracelet, we can sell it and use it for my treatment!"

The moment she mentioned Grandma's bracelet, I snapped to attention. "I can give you the money, but not the bracelet."

The bracelet was the last thing Grandma left me. I had lived in this apartment for six years, and for three of them, she was there with me.

Indeed, even she had been deceived into believing that her daughter's life after the divorce had spiraled out of control. Mom was so ruthless that she even lied to her mother. The thought of Grandma suffering alongside me despite her age made my heart break.

I furrowed my brows and glared at Mom. "Are you actually sick, though? Or is this just another trick to take my money and Grandma's bracelet to gamble?"

Mom's eyes flickered nervously for a moment before she pulled out a stack of medical reports from her bag. "It's true. Look at these results. Why would I lie about something like this?"

I gave her the chance to confess, but she chose to be dishonest and continued deceiving me. The moment I glanced at those medical reports, I knew they were fake. She didn't even bother to make them look real.

Honestly, I was extremely disappointed.

Faced with my hard stance and realizing she couldn't get the bracelet from me, she finally gave up and resorted to a pitiful act. "Fine. I'll figure out something else. I made you a cup of warm milk, so drink it while it's hot. You've been studying hard."

I drank the milk and went to sleep, carefully putting the bracelet back on my wrist so she couldn't steal it. That night, I slept like a log.

The next morning, I woke up to find my wrist bare. The bracelet was gone.

Panicked, I pulled up the livestream and replayed last night's footage. Mom had slipped a sleeping pill into my milk while I wasn't paying attention. Once I was asleep, she stole the bracelet from my wrist and returned to the villa.

No wonder I hadn't noticed a thing. I had been drugged.

On the livestream chat, someone wrote, "This is insane. That bracelet was a gift from his grandmother. She just stole it like that."