I gritted my teeth before forcing a sweet smile on my face. I said, "I'm fine with sleeping in the living room. My parents' photos are placed in the living room, anyway, so I'll pretend they're keeping me company. But…"

I was hesitant to speak. Nancy frowned a little as she looked at me, prodding, "But what?"

I whispered, "Aunt Nancy, I read in a book that you're not supposed to use a dead person's belongings. It's really bad luck! Look, my mom's photo is looking right at you!"

I extended my hand and pointed at the photos of my parents placed next to the TV in the living room.

When Nancy heard that, she looked up to find that she was meeting the gaze of the person in the photo. Startled, she looked like she wasn't interested in the high-end skincare products anymore. She shoved them aside in disdain.

I subtly turned up the corners of my lips, deciding to add more fuel to the fire.

I went to the living room and retrieved the first aid kit stored there. Taking out a tube of ointment meant for skin abscesses, I graciously handed it to Nancy.

I said, "Here, Aunt Nancy. My mom always had skin infections when she was alive. I'm not sure if it can be transmitted via clothing, though. Anyway, this ointment is the one she always uses. It's pretty effective."

"Skin infections?" Nancy frowned deeply as she leaped off the bed in panic, exclaiming, "You brat! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

With that, she hurriedly grabbed her clothes and ran into the bathroom connected to the master bedroom.

I exited the master bedroom and proceeded to sit on the couch. I stared at my mom's photo.

I said in my mind, "Mom, I'm sorry for lying that you had skin infections. I should've been more respectful of you. Still, I was doing it to protect your belongings. I had no choice.

"Dad, Mom, please protect me as you watch over me from above. I have to protect everything our family has and teach these evil people a lesson for trying to hurt us."

Just then, Amy tossed my school bag and books out of my room, treating them like trash. My stuff crashed heavily onto the floor. "Julia, this room is mine now, so take your garbage with you."

The pink princess-like dress she was wearing was a dress my mom had bought for me. It was an expensive branded item.

As expected, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Both Amy and her mother had a weird tendency to wear other people's clothes.

"Well, Amy, since all my stuff is garbage to you and you hate me so much, why don't you take off that dress and give it back to me?" I retorted nonchalantly.

Amy instantly had a foul look on her face as she said, "Did you think I'd care? From today onward, you're nothing but my maid, so your things naturally belong to me, too."

"I'm your maid, you say? Who made that decision, you or Uncle Charles? Why don't we go ask him about it?" I retorted. Then, I took her hand and pretended that I was going out to look for Charles.

Amy's expression froze as she silently retracted her hand.

She turned around to go back to her room, but then, she happened to catch sight of my parents' photos in the living room. Stopping in her steps, she said mockingly, "Do you suppose you're the sort of person who brings bad luck, Julia? Were you the reason your parents died when you were only 14?"

My gaze instantly turned cold. I didn't mind them mistreating or bullying me, but I couldn't tolerate them talking bad about my parents, especially when they were taking over my house like robbers!

Just then, I heard the sound of the key turning in the door lock. Calming down, I put on a look of indignation as I said, "That's not impossible. If you're worried that I might bring death and bad luck to you too, I can get Uncle Charles to revoke his guardianship rights."

Charles had just entered the house when he heard me talking about getting his guardianship rights revoked. His expression shifted in anxiety. "Julia, don't listen to Amy. We don't think that at all."

They hadn't gotten their hands on my family's house and the password for the bank cards. Of course, they wouldn't want to have the guardianship rights revoked right now.

Getting the guardianship rights revoked was a clean hit to Charles' critical weakness.

"But Uncle Charles, Amy just said that I was the reason my parents died. She might be right. I don't want to get you and your family in trouble too," I said, biting my lip and trying to look as pitiful as possible.

Fearing that I might actually get the guardianship rights revoked, Charles hastily glared at Amy and shouted angrily, "Amy, apologize to Julia right now! I'll teach you a lesson if you say those things again!"

Amy was Charles and Nancy's only daughter and the apple of their eye, so of course, Charles' harsh tone startled her. Her eyes instantly reddened as she began sobbing pitifully. She said stubbornly, "No way! She really does bring bad luck, and she'll be the death of our family!"

When I heard that, I pursed my lips and put on an even sadder expression. I lamented, "It's all my fault, Uncle Charles. I don't think you should take me in, after all. Just leave me alone to fend for myself."

In his panic, Charles raised his hand and slapped Amy across the face. He shouted, "Come on, Amy! Apologize!"

Amy's cheek quickly became red and swollen. She was stunned by the slap. Charles and Nancy had pampered her all her life, so the slap came as a surprise.

She lay on the floor as if she were throwing a tantrum. Then, she began wailing and making a fuss about it, crying, "Save me, Mom! Dad hit me because of Julia! Waaah! Save me, Mom…"

Back in the master bedroom, Nancy had already taken a shower and changed into her own clothes. She walked out of the bedroom.

When Nancy saw her precious daughter crying on the floor, her heart ached terribly for Amy. She shoved me and Charles aside as she hastily helped Amy up.

Turning around, Nancy stared coldly at me as she warned, "Do you really have to cause such a ruckus in this house, Julia?

"You said that you want to get the guardianship rights revoked, so does that mean you want to be sent to an orphanage? You can't even behave at home, so I can only imagine how much you'll suffer there!"

I lowered my head. I knew that this wasn't the right time to completely turn against them. So, I said calmly, "Uncle Charles, I know that Amy is still a clueless kid, so I shouldn't hold it against her. However, Amy has said that I was the reason my parents died. She should at least apologize for it, right?"

Charles hastily gave Nancy a look. Nancy understood what Charles meant. She had to choose between money and her poor daughter's pride. She eventually decided to choose the former.

Caressing the top of Amy's head, Nancy coaxed gently, "Amy, I've taught you to be patient, right? So, please be a good girl and apologize. I'll buy lots of dresses and dolls for you when the time comes, promise."

"When the time comes?" I thought. Nancy was probably talking about when she and Charles had completely wrestled my home and the bank cards out of my hands.

It was only the first day, but their greed was already in full view.

The angrier I felt inside, the calmer I appeared on the outside.

A long while later, I finally heard Amy's reluctant apology. "I'm sorry, Julia. It was my fault. Please forgive me."

She was apologizing, but I could see the rage and malice in her eyes. I knew that she wouldn't stop there.

However, I would show her that I wasn't someone to be trifled with, either.

That night, I curled up under a blanket and spent the night on the couch. The couch was too narrow, so I woke up several times from the cold to look for my blanket which had fallen onto the floor.

The next day, my whole body was sore and in pain.

Before daybreak, I went out with my bag on my shoulders. I got on a bus and had to make several transfers before I arrived at my Aunt Elizabeth's place.

Even from a distance away, I could see Elizabeth with the child carrier as she carried my baby cousin, who wasn't even a year old, on her back.

She was pushing her cart full of breakfast wraps as she walked out the door.

It was summer then, and the heat was unbearable. She hadn't taken more than a few steps when her forehead was already full of sweat.

I called out to her from behind, "Aunt Elizabeth!"

Elizabeth looked at me in surprise. She probably didn't want me to witness her predicament, for she tried to send me away after getting an egg-filled breakfast wrap from her cart and stuffing it in my hands.

"Can you please take me in, Aunt Elizabeth? I can help you sell the wraps in the mornings before I go to school." After painstakingly helping her push her cart to the designated spot, I spoke up helplessly.

When I said those words, I felt like something was lodged in my throat, and I couldn't get it out.

As always, the answer I received gave me nothing but despair.

Elizabeth firmly rejected me. She was already having a hard time bringing up a child, so if she had to raise two children alone, it would be too much for her.

After facing rejection from Elizabeth, I went to the orphanage in the suburbs.

At the orphanage, I saw several older kids being mean to another kid over a toy. They threw punches at the kid and kicked him.

I completely chickened out. In the end, I chose to go home. I also had to gain a foothold in that house.

When I got home, I saw Nancy sitting on the couch in the living room with her arms crossed. She seemed to have been waiting for me for a while. She said, "Finally had it in you to come back, huh? I thought you'd be brave enough to revoke your uncle's guardianship rights."

I pretended that I didn't understand the sarcasm in her tone. Smiling, I replied, "You and Uncle Charles have been so nice to me. Why would I do that?"

Realizing that I was being civil about it, Nancy dropped her malice and said, "Since you want us to take care of you, Julia, you'll have to at least give us some money for that, right? You do know the password for the bank card your parents left you, don't you?"

"Hadn't my mom given Uncle Charles a bank card before, Aunt Nancy?" I asked.

My parents had left behind two bank cards with large sums of money in those cards. A bank card with 300 thousand dollars in it was given to Charles for safekeeping, and the money was meant for my tuition and daily expenses. My mom had given the other card solely to me in case of emergencies.

"Hah, did you think it's that simple to raise a child? That bit of money was gone in the blink of an eye," Nancy said, rolling her eyes at me in exasperation.

I pursed my lips. I knew that I mustn't fight back, so I could only insist that I couldn't recall the password for the other card. I also told Nancy that I would tell her the password as soon as I remembered it.

I had adamantly refused to say a word, so Nancy couldn't do anything about it.

That night, while I was showering, Nancy told Amy to pour a basin of cold water onto the blanket I slept in.

When I came out of the bathroom, they shut their doors tightly. I wanted to ask them for a new blanket, but they ignored me no matter how much I shouted.

That night, I could only hug myself as I curled up on the couch. I was freezing throughout the night.

I also committed to memory everything they had done to me.

…

When the new semester began, Charles said that he couldn't afford my tuition fees in a private school, so he transferred me to Amy's school. I was put in the same class as Amy.

On the second day of school, Amy and her lackeys stood in my way at the school gates.

"Julia needs a lesson. I want you two to discipline her for me." Amy was saying the most wicked words with that most innocent expression on her face.

When her lackeys heard that, they slowly approached me.