During Tomb-sweeping Day, we went to the mountains to pay respects to our ancestors. My mischievous younger brother played with a lighter, almost causing a forest fire.

I stopped him, and he started wailing loudly.

My parents blamed me for making my brother cry and beat me up.

He kicked me down the mountain. There were scars on my face and I was badly mutilated.

My parents would rather spend hundreds dollars on trendy shoes for my brother than take me to remove the scars.

I was despised, dropped out of school to work and earn dowry money for my brother. Years later, I married a domestic abuser in the village and was beaten to death.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day we went to the mountains to pay respects.

My brother played with fire, causing the death of the entire family.

***

He excitedly held the lighter and started lighting the paper money. "I'll do it, I'll do it."

My mother was chatting with my grandparents, "Mom and Dad, look how filial Kane is, knowing to send you money. You must bless Kane to get into a good university and earn big money in the future, so we can bring you down from the mountain."

I was momentarily dazed, my face was smooth, without any scary scars.

I was indescribably excited, I had been reborn!

My father raised his hand and slapped me on the head, Why are you laughing at such a serious time? Look how filial your brother is, and you're just laughing!"

I rubbed my head, stopped smiling, and squatted down to help my mother arrange the offerings.

After burning the paper, my parents knelt down to talk privately to the elders, then started cleaning the grass and branches around the grave, and added new soil to the grave.

My brother, bored, got up and walked away.

My mother pushed me and said, "Go, watch your brother, don't let him get lost on the mountain."

I didn't want to go, and I couldn't go.

In my previous life, I obediently followed my brother, but he played with the lighter. When I stopped him, he didn't listen and cried.

My parents blamed me, kicked me down the mountain, and I ended up with a scarred face working to earn money for my brother. They married me off to a domestic abuser for dowry money, and I was beaten to death.

In this life, I would not make the same mistake.

My life should head towards the sun, running towards a beautiful future against the wind.

Another slap on the head, this time from my mother.

"What are you daydreaming about? Go watch your brother!"

I kept my head down and didn't move. "I'll help clean up, let dad go."

This was exactly what my father wanted. He drove here and was tired, "I'll go watch Kane."

My mother didn't say anything, and I watched as my father took out a cigarette, lit it, and walked slowly towards my brother.

In this life, it should be someone else rolling down.

My mother ordered me to work, and I obediently pulled the weeds and used a shovel to add soil to the grave.

My father and brother's laughter echoed. Just now, I barely smiled because I was reborn, and my father hit me.

Now, he was laughing and chatting with my brother. Such a double standard.

After a while, I heard a panicked scream. Looking up, I saw my father and brother stepping on burning dry leaves.

My mother's face changed, and she ran over quickly, and I followed.

The fire was small and was quickly put out, but as soon as it was extinguished, the sparks reignited with the wind.

My brother panicked, "What do we do? Why won't it go out?"

My mother suggested, "Use dirt, use dirt!"

After hurriedly putting out the fire, my brother kicked a nearby stone in frustration, accidentally tripping and rolling down the slope.

My father pushed me hard, rushing forward to protect my brother as they rolled down the mountain. My mother ran down in panic.

My brother only had a scratch on his arm.

My father was much worse off, with multiple scratches on his face, a hole in his head, bleeding profusely.

My mother hurried to help my father, then turned to me, "Quickly pack everything up."

I packed the offerings to take back, grabbed the shovel, and quickly walked to the parking spot.

No one was there.

I walked down the mountain for four hours, and my heels were in great pain. I borrowed someone's phone to call and find out which hospital to go to.

When I arrived at the hospital, I saw my dad with a bandage on his head and several bloody wounds on his face that had stopped bleeding.

My brother was sitting and watching a game livestream, laughing gleefully.

My mom saw me first. Without any concern about whether I was tired, she snatched the bag from my hand. "You took so long! I thought you might have died on the way! I'm exhausted. Hurry up and peel me an apple."

"I want one too." my dad didn't say a word, just raised his hand to indicate he wanted one as well.

I peeled apples for my dad, mom, and brother.

My brother and mom took theirs and started eating, but my dad threw his apple on the ground, making a thud sound.

"Why didn't you save your brother earlier?! He fell down, and you didn't go to rescue him? If you had saved him, would I be in this condition now? You're a heartless thing! What use is it to raise you? The purpose of raising you is to protect your brother. What did you do?!"

My dad kicked me hard in the belly.

I stumbled back, hit the bench, and fell to the ground.

My dad was injured because he saved my brother, so how was it my fault?

"It's my younger brother..."

My mom stepped forward and slapped me. "You are heartless. Not only did you not save Kane, but you're also blaming him!"

"How is your dad supposed to go and earn money now? Hmm?! I think you should just go out and work, forget about school! Go out and earn money for your dad's surgery!"

In my past life, I begged my parents for cosmetic surgery, but they would rather spend hundreds dollars on trendy shoes for my brother than spend a penny on me. I whispered, "Child labor is illegal."

I whispered, "Child labor is illegal."

"We'll get you a fake ID and send you to an electronics factory, done deal!"

I hung my head. Now that I was only in junior high, studying was the most important thing. I had to swallow my pride and promise to behave and treat my brother well.

Only then did my parents drop the idea of making me drop out to work.

My brother, who was playing his game, casually threw the apple core, missing the trash can.

"Sister, go pick it up."

I immediately went to pick it up, like a dog being ordered around.

"Is Steve here?" A man called my dad's name from the door of the ward.

My mom immediately went to greet him. "Who are you?"

"I'm the forest ranger from the mountain. Did you start a fire?"

My mom instinctively looked at my dad. My dad sat up from the bed and firmly denied it. "No."

The ranger took out photographic evidence showing clear signs of burning. "Who did this?! It's illegal, and there will be detentions!"

My parents exchanged glances, finally setting their eyes on me.

I was scared and instinctively shook my head in denial.

The ranger, sensing something was wrong, questioned again. "Who did it? Confess now!"

My dad decisively pointed at me. "It was her."

My mom nodded repeatedly. "Yes, it was her."

My brother, frightened, started crying, "It wasn't me, it was my sister."

The ranger, using his experience, looked around. "The drone footage will show who did it, and there will be severe punishment!!"

My brother panicked, and a strong smell of urine filled the air.

My brother had peed himself and hid behind my mom, where he stood, drops of urine dripping from his pants.

My dad yelled, "Emma! How could you be so disobedient? You just said you'd behave and protect your brother! Why didn't you admit it?"

My mom added, "So disobedient, huh? If you did something wrong, you should admit it and apologize!"

My parents stared at me as if they were going to eat me alive. The meaning of their words was obvious. They wanted me to admit it.

Just then, I heard the ranger's noticeably more relaxed tone.

It turned out that the ranger had found burn marks while patrolling and had come here to prevent a bigger mistake.

He warned us not to let this happen again and issued thirty dollars fine.

My parents finally breathed a sigh of relief, paid the fine, and watched the ranger leave. I turned around to see my parents and brother glaring at me angrily.

My dad slapped me across the face. "You liar! You said you'd behave and protect your brother! Why didn't you admit it?!"

My mom punched me in the back. "With your attitude, you won't be filial in the future. We can only rely on Kane. The saying raises a son to protect you in old age is absolutely true!"

My brother stepped on my shoe. "Disgusting! We almost got exposed because of you! Would it kill you to admit it for me?"

Their punches and kicks reminded me of the scene on the mountain in my past life. Thankfully, we weren't on the mountain, or I would have rolled down.

Other patients in the ward couldn't stand it and spoke up for me. "Stop hitting her, stop."

My mom yelled back, "Disciplining my child is none of your business! If you're so free, go mop the floor!"

The ward fell silent.

My brother, feeling embarrassed, called out, "Mom!"

My mom's expression changed quickly, and she gently comforted my brother. "It's okay. Everyone wet the bed when they were young. It's the same."

"What are you standing there for?! Go mop the floor!"

I mopped the floor and then washed my brother's pants. In the evening, my mom and brother went home, leaving me to take care of my dad.

The next day, while I was still asleep, I was slapped awake by my dad.

"Did you steal your brother's gold necklace? Did you steal it?"

I was stunned. "It wasn't me."

"How could it not be you? I bet it was you!"

My dad angrily said into his phone, "Emma said it wasn't her. It was probably left on the mountain yesterday. Go look for it. It's more than thirty grams of gold, it must be found!"

After issuing his orders, he hung up and glared at me. "You go to the mountain to look for it too!"

I nodded. "Dad, call Mom to pick me up."

"Bullshit! Go ahead!"

I walked to the mountain, and halfway there, I saw an ambulance speeding by.

My mom had suffered severe burns and was taken to the ICU for three days.

She died.

In her last moments, she reached out her heavily bandaged hands to touch my brother's face.

Despite everything, her eyes were filled with love, without a hint of blame or resentment. Her mouth moved silently, saying, "Kane, don't forget Mom."

It was truly pathetic.

My brother only knew how to cry and wouldn't say a word.

Even if he didn't speak, the truth was evident.

My mom and brother had gone to the mountain to find the gold necklace. My brother had once again started playing his fire-starting game, enjoying the thrill of lighting a fire and quickly putting it out to prove his prowess.

Until the last time, the fire grew, and my mom rushed to save her beloved son.

My mom's departure was only a short-lived pain for my brother, quickly forgotten.

Life went on, and I soon immersed myself in my studies. Meanwhile, all the chores fell on me.

My dad's facial scars slowly scabbed over. After they fell off, he started getting scar removal treatments, which were expensive. He cut my living expenses and study material funds to buy new phones and shoes for my brother.

My brother flaunted his favoritism in front of me. Even though my dad knew very well that my brother was responsible for my mom's death, he still pampered him.

Raising a son to protect you in old age was his deeply ingrained belief.

During this time, I carefully did what I was supposed to. Only by staying invisible could I ensure temporary peace.

But the storm's arrival was often silent.

My brother's midterm exam results came out, and he was third from the bottom of the class.

My dad didn't scold him, only told him to ask me if he didn't understand something. But my brother was furious.

After dinner, I went to wash the dishes. When I returned to my room to study, I found it filled with torn books, scattered all over.

My brother did it.

He was jealous of me and wanted to ruin me.

After thinking for a moment, I decided to talk to my dad.

Maybe he would help me, considering my good grades.

But I was wrong, very wrong.

My dad clearly didn't believe me and didn't even go to check my room. He lay on the bed watching videos, justifying himself. "Emma, don't think that just because you have good grades, you can slander your brother."

"I bet your good grades are from cheating, huh? You should remember, if you get married and are beaten by your husband, you'll still need your brother to back you up."

My dad picked up the thermos next to him and threw it at me, grazing my forehead.

My brother picked up the thermos, laughing smugly. "I won't back you up when you get beaten."

My dad took the thermos, opened it, and poured it all over me.

I struggled to move back to my room, my dad and brother's loud laughter echoing behind me.