Chapter Six: Familial Bonds, Bullying, and Challenges

 With a decisive knock, Mother, perhaps fearing my change of heart, instructed the nanny to take me to the bedroom. As I glanced back from the stairs for one last time, I saw Mother affectionately patting my sister's head, comforting her, "Don't be sad, Nannan, you're our only precious daughter."

Father, standing nearby, also removed his glasses, asking, "What would you like me to buy for you?" Unable to tolerate the disparity any longer, even a passerby like me finds it unbearable. The differential treatment is too blatant. Not only has the experiment not stopped, but they also lied to my sister, claiming she was abducted. Is Mother out of her mind? Seeing someone standing up for me, I feel no sadness. This indeed resembles the ideal family life I had imagined in my past life, but alas, it's not mine. On Monday morning, I arrived at my sister's class as a transfer student, clad in a stark white tracksuit, and meticulously wrote my name on the blackboard. The previous night, I had chosen a new name for myself. During break time, as I emerged from the restroom, I stumbled upon a group of boys teasing someone. Their eyes darted towards the barrage of comments. "Hey, looks like the experiment is starting again. Rumor has it this is the last time. Let's hope Sister gets liberated soon." Fed up with it all, I noticed a slender girl trembling in the corner, her body soaked. It was the same girl I had seen in my sister's video before. How is she still being bullied? Didn't my sister resolve this already? In this noble and cultured school, it seems that commoner students who enter based on merit are considered the lowest class. Fortunately, the few who couldn't endure the bullying have transferred out. Only this girl remains, for reasons unknown. The ringleader seems familiar, doesn't he? Wasn't he the bully last time? I heard his family has some influence; many people dare not provoke him. Look, here comes my sister, the camera is never far away. The radiant girl walks confidently in the sunlight, hands on hips, confronting the situation. "Gu Xiaobai, what's the matter with you? Bullying your classmates again?" My sister's voice is sweet but firm, and with a scolding, the air is instantly filled with pink bubbles. Gu Xiaobai, with a smirk on his face, casually throws the frail girl's backpack into the sink in the restroom. "Nannan, see, I'm not holding anything." The two of them flirt shamelessly in front of the girl, seemingly oblivious to the gazes around them. Doesn't my sister care about the bullied student? It's as if they're the catalysts for each other's flirtation, nauseating. Didn't the bullying stop? If my sister weren't kind-hearted, she wouldn't bother. Watching them walk away, I remove my clean apron and drape it over the trembling girl. "Are you feeling unwell? I'll take you to the infirmary later." After comforting her, I approach Gu Xiaobai politely. "Will you apologize to the girl you just bullied?" Gu Xiaobai's expression turns cold and fierce. Irritated, he retorts, "Who am I? Why should I apologize to a pauper like her?" "Then I can rest easy," I reply calmly. Taking a deep breath, I use the strength honed from working in the fields to slam him over my shoulder. The smooth floor echoes with a loud bang as Gu Xiaobai, resembling a duck with its throat grasped, struggles to breathe. After a while, he weakly mutters, "Damn it, sister." The crowd erupts into chaos, and amidst my sister's stunned expression, I casually clap my hands. Now that we have a base of supporters, the louder the outcry against bullying, the better. With the bullying incident at the elite school, the stock of the Gu family plummets, and the young master of the Gu family issues an apology statement. Several trending topics appear very timely. Mother couldn't sit still; on the first day of school, she was summoned by the teachers. Furious upon returning home, she instructed the nanny to cover the cameras in the house and slapped me hard. "Do you even know who you've offended? The Gu family invests millions in the lab every year, and you've messed it all up. You're not worth that much even if I sell you." Feeling my face burn, my sister adds fuel to the fire. "Mom, Sister just got trimmed down. She doesn't understand anything. If it weren't for her, we'd almost have formed a marriage alliance. She can't even interact with classmates at school; let her go back to her old home." As Mother's emotions gradually calm down, she points at me and says, "The final exams are coming soon. If you fail, Nannan will come and go as she pleases, and we'll act as if we don't have a daughter like you. In her subconscious, I have no chance of winning. Growing wildly like a weed on the wasteland, how could I ever compare to my sister, carefully nurtured in a greenhouse? On the day of the final exam, the netizens woke up earlier than me, cheering for Sister. "Did you bring everything? Wear something warm; the weather forecast says it's going to rain. And don't forget your umbrella. Sister wants a stick of fried dough and two eggs. It's a good omen. One person's words are enough. Now that we're in the first year of high school without specialization, all nine subjects revolve around you. You need to eat three eggs. Sister, you can do it! Mom loves you very much." I smile slightly, feeling a bit shy at the netizens' overly straightforward concern, but I rarely experience such warmth and can't help feeling happy. Upon entering the classroom, my sister deliberately chooses a seat behind Qi Fan, the girl I had escorted to the infirmary.