Sophia didn't hold anything back. She had worked as a maid in the Lowe family for many years and knew more than she should.Given the huge commotion from that argument back then, she would have heard of it even if she hadn't intended to eavesdrop on the Lowe family's gossip.These things shouldn't be known to a child. After all, what good would it do for an innocent child to know their parents' grievances?If the child knew, they might blame themselves, thinking their birth was a mistake and a disaster that burdened their mother.But now, Penny had grown up. She was independent and even dared to defy patriarchal authority. She would protect herself against unfairness, so it shouldn't matter if she knew these things.With this thought, Sophia began to tell Penny about the past.She also had another, smaller motive. Seeing Julia give Penny the bank card earlier, Sophia, being a mother herself, couldn't believe any mother could be completely heartless.She thought Julia still had s
As they continued toward the gate, Sophia talked about many things.Penny showed no impatience and even slowed her pace, occasionally responding to Sophia with a word or two.She thought perhaps it was because she had never heard such words growing up. Even though she didn't like what Sophia was saying, she was willing to quietly listen to her.Since she didn't have her family's love, she felt like a thief, cautiously stealing and savoring these emotions that didn't belong to her.But no matter what, someone did care about her. So, she felt satisfied.While she didn't take Sophia's words to heart, it didn't stop her from pretending to have listened.At the gate, Penny smiled and thanked her."Thank you, Ms. Sophia. I will keep your words in mind and come back to visit you all when I have time."She meant visiting the people in the villa who were kind to her, not her parents.She waved with a smile. "I'll head back now. You and everyone else should take care of yourselves."So
Her high school homeroom teacher was someone special to Penny.After all, once she started high school, besides during breaks, their activities were confined to the school. It could be said that the school was where she spent most of her time during these three years.And accompanying her, besides her classmates, was this hardworking homeroom teacher of hers.Before moving out of the Lowe family's villa, Penny, who disliked living with her parents, still didn't feel like she belonged.As a result, she would come home very late every day and get up very early, trying to spend as little time as possible at the villa.That small building, which might or might not have belonged to her, eventually became just a place for her to sleep.It was not her private space, much less her home. It was just a place for her to rest.Because she got up early, she was usually the first to arrive at the classroom every day. Even so, she would always see her homeroom teacher, Sara Cameron, a minute o
Sara didn't rush to give her an answer. Instead, she listened to Penny slowly recount what had happened that afternoon, deciding to offer her advice after hearing the full story.As for the final decision, she believed it should still be left to Penny. At such a pivotal moment in life, Sara didn't feel she could decide for someone else.If the wrong path was chosen, Penny might end up resenting her.This was Sara's principle—every year after students received their scores, she would weigh the pros and cons of each option and let the children make their own decisions.But after hearing Penny's story, Sara was furious."How could there be such a father in this world? In all my years of teaching, I've never encountered such a person!"She had dealt with parents who were alcoholics, abusive, or hands-off in various ways.But she had never seen a parent who would push their own child into the fire like this, especially on the day of the college entrance exam.Even those parents who
Penny's absence from the last exam became widely known. The news didn't come from Sara but from a few close classmates who asked her how she did on the exam.Penny didn't hide the truth and briefly explained that she missed the exam due to an unexpected incident. However, she only shared the specific details with Cecilia.The classmates didn't gossip about Penny's situation. Instead, during their free time, they sent her motivational messages, subtly reassuring her that life had many paths and one exam shouldn't be a cause for despair.Penny took screenshots of these messages, feeling both amused and touched.These young hearts' sincerity, untainted by any self-interest, was something she would forever remember.In the years to come, Penny often looked at these screenshots saved in her cloud storage, especially during her lowest moments.When she was being undermined in the industry, all her resources were taken away, and even her blood relatives stepped on her, it was these word
The incident happened during their senior year when they were about to start their internships. Cecilia's grandmother, Scarlett, suddenly fell ill and was taken to the hospital by a neighbor.During her university years, Penny often returned to Riverwood, the place where she grew up, harboring a sense of nostalgia. However, she never went back to the Lowe residence.Even on New Year's Eve, she stayed elsewhere, only returning on the first day of the new year for a short visit. She would quickly leave under the pretense of having to work part-time, not even staying for a meal.Spencer scolded her, calling it disgraceful for the Lowe family's eldest daughter to be out working part-time and showing her face in public.Penny responded with a sarcastic smile, reminding him that he had cut off her allowance and never reinstated it. How else was she supposed to survive without working?Spencer, filled with anger, had nothing more to say. It was clear to everyone that he wanted Penny to b
That was why, with Scarlett hospitalized, Penny naturally couldn't sit idly by. Since she chose these people as her family, she was willing to pour in effort wholeheartedly.Scarlett had worked in the town without health insurance. Unfamiliar with the policies and having an unreliable son, she had only Cecilia, a young child, with her and hadn't considered buying national health insurance.Now, with the illness and hospitalization, all expenses had to be paid out of their pockets. But where would the money come from?The money she had earned previously was used for her medicine, living expenses with Cecilia, and other essentials. While tuition was covered by the state, living expenses were not.Moreover, Moses often came back to rummage through her belongings and take any money he found until he was finally arrested. It gave Scarlett some respite and allowed her to save a little.But this small amount of money was not enough to cover the medical expenses.Penny took out all the s
Scarlett was resuscitated in the hospital and transferred to a general ward after a week in the ICU.As soon as she regained a bit of consciousness, she started clamoring to go home.Holding Cecilia's hand, her weak voice trembled as she said, "Cecilia, take me home. I'll be fine with some medicine and a few injections."Cecilia and Penny had already understood Scarlett's health condition thoroughly over these few days. Her constitution had weakened, and her years of illness caused both frustration and sadness.When she felt unwell, she would just buy some painkillers. And if she couldn't bear it, she would go to a nearby clinic for a couple of injections.The doctors at the small clinic advised her to go to the hospital for treatment. But Scarlett stubbornly insisted on getting injections there, saying she had no money to go to the hospital and no one to care for her there.Helpless, the doctors could only prescribe her some medication. But what could they prescribe other than s