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"I can dance too!What's my reward though?"
"Ugh,stop it!This is just how I look in reality!"
At 1 a.m.,washing up,I heard faint,suggestive moans from her room.
Her syrupy voice was like the cheap$1 cakes from childhood—sickeningly sweet.
While I buried myself in study,head spinning,she showed me the dashboard of her account.
"Sis,look at all the tips I got from streaming.Isn't it a lot?"
"When I earn more,you won't have to work so hard!"
Without hearing her thoughts,I'd have been moved to tears.
"Even if she retakes the exam,her monthly grind doesn't match my few days of streaming.Trash!"
That was what she truly wanted to say.
For extra income,I took a night shift cleaning hotel rooms.
Returning home,I found my sister,who should've been in class,talking in her room.
"I'm not scared!She got insurance,and I'm the beneficiary."
"Her dying would be great!"
I clenched my fists tight.
How ironic and ridiculous.
My own flesh-and-blood, my own little sister, valued me less than a stranger.
On my way back,a man approached,making me frown.
"Anna!Working hard lately?"
"Wanna grab a bite at Uncle's place?"
Mark Hayes was Dad's old drinking buddy.
After Dad died,he'd been eyeing us.
Young as I was,I already knew enough,dodging his invites with work or study excuses.
But this time...
"Sure!You haven't seen my sister in ages.I'll bring her along."
Mark grinned,his leering gaze repulsive.
When I told my sister,I feigned hesitation.
She eyed me suspiciously."What's wrong?It's just dinner at Uncle Mark's."
I glanced at her face and pretended to lower my head ruefully.
"Uncle Mark used to like me best."
"If he sees how pretty you are now,he won't like me anymore."
She sneered inwardly:"You,a plain nobody,think you can compete with me?"
Therefor at Mark's,she clung to him like a child,leaving no room for others to speak.
Mark's eyes glued to her,both treating me like air.
I pretended not to see his wandering hands on her body.
After that,Mark bothered me less and less,instead he sent her cash to “help with her studies” from time to time.
But his money barely enough for her.
She grumbled inwardly:"Broke loser,just like my sister!"
When she got no more from him,she strung him along while cozying up to her top-paying fan online.
Free from Mark's harassment,I relaxed.
One day,returning home,I found my door open.
My sister stood at my desk,holding a business card in hand.
Before she could ask,I took it back,saying flatly,
"It's a tutor someone recommended to me."
She sized me up,replying sweetly,"That's great!You'll ace the exam!"
But thought:"Who'd tutor a broke nobody like you?"
Her vicious,nasty insults made me nauseous.
I tried to shoo her out,but she pressed,
"You work all day.Where do you and your tutor meet?"
