Chapter 6 The Sunflowers
Bloom
Chapter 6
“Thank you,” I said, taking the cake from my younger brother’s hands. He smiled awkwardly.
This was the first perfect Christmas I had experienced in my 17 years of life, plus my previous life. It was the first time I felt the warmth of home.
This time, I successfully took the college entrance examination. Sitting in the classroom, I looked around with deep emotions. The seat diagonally behind me was empty.
In my previous life, that was Elodie’s seat.
The person sitting behind her was her lackey, someone who couldn’t even reach the
minimum score for a junior college. Yet, during the exam, she wrote some ancient poems on a scrap of paper and threw it at my feet. When the teacher picked it up, there was a note on it saying, “Phoebe, copy the answers and keep them.”
With physical evidence and Elodie’s lackey as a witness, they accused me of cheating in
collusion.
The teacher didn’t listen to my explanation and directly sent me to the office, canceling my exam qualification. Later, the education bureau issued a notice, canceling my college entrance exam qualification for three years.
That was the darkest moment of my life, even more despairing than the abuse I
suffered at home.
After the college entrance exam, I could only work in a nearby factory because I didn’t even have the qualification for self–study exams.
At that time, I rented a room in a rundown building in the suburbs. Every time I went home, I had to walk through an alley without streetlights. Just a year into my job, before I had saved enough money to move out, I encountered a robbery.
“I’ll give you all my money. I don’t know you, I didn’t see you, and I won’t call the
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Chapter 6 The Sunflowers Bloom
police. Please let me go.
I pleaded with the robber.
He was wearing a stocking over his head, so I couldn’t see his face.
“Someone said you would bring bad luck to their family. Because of you, your family’s business is getting worse. Don’t blame me; I’m just doing my job.” I suddenly understood something. But I had clearly distanced myself from them. Why wouldn’t they let me go?
I immediately threw my bag at him and ran.
But he pushed the bag aside and chased after me with a knife.
This area was full of migrant laborers. No one would meddle in others‘ affairs. Even
though I shouted for help, no one came out. I was pushed against the wall, and he stabbed me repeatedly in the stomach.
The pain was like a hundred people jumping on my stomach.
My intestines were pulled out, and I slowly fell to the ground. The robber picked up my bag and ran away.
I shivered.
Now, sitting in the same seat as in my previous life, I looked at Elodie’s lackey behind
- me.
When she saw me, she averted her eyes and looked down.
Could it be that in this life, Elodie would still incite her to do such a foolish thing? What leverage did Elodie have over her? It was impossible to know.
The teacher hadn’t arrived yet. I walked over and looked at her. “Take it out now, or I’ll kill you.”
She looked at me in shock.
Seeing the fierce look in my eyes, she trembled and took out the paper. “It wasn’t my idea.”
I said nothing and tore it into pieces, throwing it into the trash can. I didn’t expect that even though Elodie was in the detention center, she could still find out my exam school and seat number.
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The teacher arrived.
Elodie’s lackey seemed scared this time and didn’t come to the exam in the afternoon.
When the college entrance exam results came out, my score was better than ever
before.
I applied to a prestigious 985 university in Befnard, where my parents lived. They hoped
to spend more time with me to make up for the lost years.
They took me on trips all summer, introduced me to various delicious foods, bought me many clothes, and gave me my own room and a walk–in closet.
All the things I never dared to dream of in my previous and current life were now right
in front of me.
“Sunny, you’re grown up now, and the hospital’s technology is very advanced. Do you
want to remove your
birthmark?”
While traveling in Khigas, my mom touched my forehead and asked.
“No need, Mom. Beauty should be judged by the heart, not appearance. I love the way I
look now. It bears witness to my painful past, and I love my birthmark.”
My dad smiled with relief after hearing this, while my mom started to cry again. “Oh, my dear daughter, you’re so strong, so smart, so adorable.”
In college, I chose to major in Biological Sciences. Research on bacterial culture abroad was indeed ahead of ours. I knew many outstanding female scientists in our country had made significant contributions in this field. It was my honor to continue researching based on their achievements.
“Sunny, your high school alma mater wants to invite you back to give a motivational speech to the senior students.”
I was doing research in the lab when I received a call from my high school English
teacher, Ms. Chen.
I had already changed my name back to my original name, Sunny, in my freshman year, and Ms. Chen knew about it.
She said she was representing the school to invite me. “But I didn’t get into a top domestic university. I’m afraid I might mislead the students.”
“Your story is very inspiring, and I believe your experience can influence many
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students who are in the same predicament you once were.”
By this time, my parents had enrolled me in various interest classes, making up for all the ones I missed as a child. Combined with global travel, my transformation was nothing short of a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.
When I appeared at Ms. Chen’s doorstep, she didn’t recognize me.
“Oh my, Sunny, you’ve grown up. You have a unique aura now, a beauty with a touch
of heroism.”
“Thank you, Ms. Chen.”
After starting college, Ms. Chen and I occasionally chatted on WeChat due to our busy schedules. Sometimes, she would praise me on Facebook.
But after two years, meeting again felt like a lifetime had passed.
Ms. Chen mentioned Elodie’s parents, angrily saying they used to be professional human traffickers. Many children who went missing back then were found, but some were sold to unknown places.
“They were sentenced to life imprisonment because some evidence was lost, so they
couldn’t be sentenced to death.”
But this was still a great relief.
“As for Elodie, after she got out of the detention center, I heard her family had some issues. She probably felt embarrassed at school and didn’t continue her senior year or take the college entrance exam. She went to work in a factory early on.”
Ms. Chen had gotten married and just had a baby. Her home was a bit crowded, so I
brought her some supplements and toys. After dinner, I returned to the hotel to rest.
I didn’t expect to see Elodie again.
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