Chapter 1
“Say it again, whose child is this?”
Even in the hospital gown, my sister’s pretty face couldn’t be concealed. She stubbornly held her head high, lovingly stroking her large pregnant belly. Her voice choked with tears as she urged me to accept the child, saying that the child shouldn’t be born without a father. As her sister, I should consider her situation.
If word got out that the child had no father, how many people would gossip about us and the child? You can’t be so heartless.
I stood there silently, listening to all her accusations, as if I were the one who did such shameful things. I swallowed my bitterness and stood frozen, unsure of how to respond, so I looked to my parents standing by the bed for help.
I hoped they would stand up for me.
But to my surprise, even after my sister did something so vile, my parents’ first reaction was to ask me, as the older sister, to be more forgiving and not to argue with her.
They said, “There’s no obstacle that can’t be overcome. Forgive your sister’s youthful ignorance.” They also said, “Your parents are getting old. Your sister needs someone by her side. Take good care of her during her confinement period, and don’t let her suffer any health issues.”
The favoritism in their words pierced my heart like a thousand tiny needles. Because of the saying that the older should yield to the younger, my sister always managed to take everything from me effortlessly since we were kids.
Our family was poor when we were young. We ate cabbage stew with tofu every day, only affording a roasted chicken once a month. But when it came to dividing the chicken, all I got was the dry head and the smelly tail.
According to them, “Your sister is still growing, so the legs and wings are hers. Your parents do physical labor every day, so they get the meatiest parts for strength.”
Even when my sister couldn’t finish her food, my mom never thought to share a bit with me. She would meticulously strip the meat off the bones, shred it, and mix it with rice for my sister to eat the next day.
Even now, any good food is always for my sister first. They showered her with love and were always strict with me.
When my sister fell behind in her studies, my parents paid for expensive tutors. When I fell behind, I got scolded and whipped, so much that I couldn’t sleep at night.
Mom said girls should dress up from a young age, so she bought my sister countless dresses to wear every day, while I got my relatives’ kids’ old clothes.
During my teenage years, I wanted to look nice and begged a friend to do my makeup, only to be called a “tramp” by my parents. I even suspected at one point that my mom had taken the wrong baby home from the hospital.
It wasn’t until adulthood that I learned my mom gave birth to me in a wheat field, not even making it to the hospital.
It seemed I was destined to be lesser the moment I was born.
But they never admitted to being unfair. Whenever I questioned why they loved my sister more, they would beat and scold me, telling me to stop causing trouble. “We raised you, and you think we’re wrong? How did we end up with an ungrateful child like you?”
“When will you grow up and stop competing with your sister for attention?”
My sister took my parents’ love, everything that should have been mine, and now she wants to take my place too.
But this time, I refuse to endure it. Who set the rule that the older must yield to the younger?