Chapter 2 — The Scholar's Return: Saving My Sister, Crushing Foes, and Carrying the School

The floating barrage of comments refused to stay calm: 【Aaaaa, our female lead is as delicate and fragile as a soft flower! A real daughter should look sweet and gentle like this!】 Bah! How could anyone call that pretty? That was nothing but weak muscles and feeble bones! “Put some strength into it!” I gave Thach Thu a slap on the back to wake her up. After leading her through the Eight Section Brocade exercises, I immediately served the breakfast I had prepared beforehand. “Eat up, then study.” Thach Thu walked timidly over to the dining table, stealing nervous glances at me between bites, before scurrying into the kitchen to fetch a bowl of nourishing tonic. “Older sister, this is what Mom and Dad bought to build up my strength... Over all these years, I’ve been living in your place, enjoying the life that rightfully belonged to you...” “Sister, you should eat some too.” Although I was young, I had already spent years scraping by on the rough streets; reading people was a walk in the park. At first, when the barrage kept calling this girl the “female lead,” I found it quite annoying. But looking at her sincere expression now, the anger suddenly faded away. Eighteen years of fighting tooth and nail just to survive—if it had been Thach Thu in my place, she probably would have been chewed up and spat out without a single bone left. Trading places wasn’t such a bad deal after all. At least both of us had made it this alive. Even so, I kept a stern face and glanced at the clock: “Eat faster, you only have five minutes left.” When she finished, I dragged her straight back to her room to drill practice exams. 【This is clearly abusing the female lead! Where are the wealthy parents?! Aren’t they going to manage their own child?!】 【I don’t believe that little brat is actually kind enough to help the female lead study! She’s just a hoodlum, how many words does she even know? Probably can’t even compare to half of the female lead!】 Such prejudice! Pure prejudice! But they were right about one thing—I had no free time to hand out charity for nothing. After concluding our morning schedule, I held my hand out right in front of Thach Thu: “How do you feel?” Thach Thu smiled, dimples flashing on her cheeks: “Sister, today I feel unusually refreshed and full of energy!” That was good. “If you feel good, transfer 3,999 yuan over.” The barrage boiled with rage: 【In the end, she’s just trying to scam people out of money!!】 Thach Thu was momentarily stunned, and I half-expected her to change her mind. Instead, she lowered her head and pulled a delicate necklace out of her vanity drawer. “Sister, Mom and Dad have been watching me too closely lately and won’t give me any pocket money, how about I use this instead?” 【??? The wicked supporting actress is truly bold! That’s a designer necklace, worth nearly a hundred thousand! Selling it would be enough to buy a fortune!】 A hundred thousand? The necklace glittered brilliantly under the harsh sunlight, but I pushed it back, rummaging through her jewelry box until I found the simplest, plainest gold chain. “I only take what I rightfully earned.” With that, I hurried back to my own room, terrified that if I stayed a second longer, the pain of missing out on that money would suffocate me. A hundred thousand, good grief! That could feed so many of my brothers! Before leaving for school, my parents once again dropped heavy hints: “Than Y, you must always remember that you are now a member of the Huyen family; do not embarrass yourself at school.” “If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask your sister. Don’t make yourself a laughingstock for the whole world, understand?” I had heard those bland, empty warnings too many times to even bother replying. I gave a perfunctory nod: “Got it. After all, only someone who preserves the Huyen family’s dignity is worthy of being your daughter.” My parents exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat stiff. “Than Y, you must understand... our family is not an ordinary household.” I said nothing more, stepping out the front door before anyone else. On my very first day at school, I ran straight into the mock exams ahead of the university entrance examinations. Thach Thu gently tried to comfort me: “Sister, don’t stress too much... Although everyone in this school comes from wealthy families, they all study like maniacs, and the exam questions are much harder than at regular schools. If your scores are a bit lower than usual, it’s completely understandable...” I looked at her with a strange expression: “Worry about yourself first. Your target this time is at least 650 points.” Thach Thu’s mouth opened, as if she wanted to say something, but she swallowed the words back, finally murmuring in a tiny voice: “Yes...” I said no more, lowering my head to begin working on the test. I had only been back for two days, but the true faces of my “biological parents” were already crystal clear. To stand firm in this household, there was only one way: speak with raw competence. Once the exam ended and class was dismissed, I tossed a brief word to Thach Thu and rushed off to the hospital. 【I knew it! What could a supporting actress like her possibly achieve through studying!】 【??? Don’t tell me she went and sold the necklace? Didn’t she just get given three hundred thousand yesterday? How can she still not survive without doing this?】 I glared fiercely at the stream of floating barrage, then picked up the 3,792 yuan from selling the necklace and left. Arriving at the hospital, I spotted several dyed-blonde hair colors gathered in the distance, rummaging through their pockets. Drawing closer, I realized the combined total of the seven kids wouldn't even reach five hundred yuan. “You idiots, don’t you know how to hide your money? Flashing it around like that, are you inviting thieves in?” They looked around solemnly in unison, then hurriedly shoved the cash deep into their pockets. “Big Sis, I registered for the boxing tournament too!” “That’s right! We all signed up! We can’t let you shoulder Van Van’s surgery fees all by yourself!” I pulled out the bank card, the corners of my mouth curling up despite myself: “No need, drop the boxing. The surgery money is fully covered; someone gave me three hundred thousand yesterday!” A bunch of blonde heads jumped up, cheering so loudly it echoed down the entire hospital corridor. Even covering their mouths one by one couldn't stop them. Through the glass window, I saw little Van Van lying inside, fast asleep. The child suffered from kidney failure and desperately needed a transplant to prolong her life. I couldn’t afford to return home too late, so after paying the hospital bills, I prepared to head back. But just as I reached the hospital gates, a voice called out: “Big Sis.” I turned my head to see Vuong Bong, Van Van’s older brother, with bloodshot eyes, rushing over as if to drop to his knees. “Big Sis, on behalf of Van Van, let me thank you... She’s my own flesh and blood, yet you’re carrying the entire burden... It’s all because I’m so useless...” I quickly hauled him to his feet: “Kneel to your own head! What’s with the waterworks! I told you, Van Van is your sister, which means she’s our sister too—a big sis saving her little sister is only natural!” “What are you crying for?!” 【So the supporting actress took the money just to cure her friend’s little sister??】 【Someone who would spend that much money for the sibling of a friend... even if she’s a supporting actress, she can’t be that bad after all...】 【Why is she suddenly starting to look kind of adorable to me...】 I rolled my eyes, muttering under my breath as I walked: “What do you mean ‘friends’, those are my sworn brothers, the ones who literally pulled me out of the clutches of my adoptive parents!” Humming a cheerful tune, I walked happily back home. To my surprise, the moment I stepped across the threshold, my father slammed his hand heavily onto the table with a loud bang. “Huyen Than Y! Do you take my words as wind blowing past your ears?!” My parents were sitting on the sofa while Thach Thu stood beside them, watching me with reddened eyes. “Where on earth have you been all evening?! Thach Thu got back two hours ago, and where did you wander off to?” I had already paid the hospital bills in full, so my heart felt completely light. Therefore, I replied indifferently: “I went to visit some of my brothers.” My father immediately leaped to his feet, his voice trembling with agitation: “How many times do I have to tell you?! You are no longer to associate with those street thugs out there! Don't bring all those bad habits you learned outside back into this house!” “It’s true that you are my biological child, but whether you can survive in this house depends entirely on your own capabilities!” “For all these years without you, Thach Thu has been the true young lady of the Huyen family. If you refuse to learn how to live properly, I won’t hesitate to send you right back to your wandering street life!” I let out a faint, cold laugh. Seeing this, Thach Thu hurriedly stepped forward to offer an explanation: “Mom, Dad, Sister just came back, it’s completely normal for her not to be used to this life yet...” “Shut your mouth!” A furious roar from my father frightened Thach Thu so badly that she didn’t dare utter another word. 【Supporting actress, don’t misunderstand, our female lead is not some green tea bitch...】 【Wuu wuu, the female lead just got chewed out for failing to keep an eye on her sister.】 Looking at Thach Thu’s frightened appearance, I became even more certain of one thing—this house didn’t possess a single shred of warmth. One played the bad cop, the other played the good cop, matching the typical “expert actors” routine of this pair of parents. My mother chimed in again to smooth things over: “Than Y, don’t be mad at your father. He’s only anxious for your own good.” “You are our biological daughter, and we intend to hand important responsibilities over to you in the future. Just think about it, what wealthy young lady spends her days rolling around in the streets with hoodlums?” I was truly speechless. It turned out that the parents who had lost me since childhood, leaving me to suffer for more than ten years under an alcoholic adoptive father and a gambling-addicted adoptive mother, felt not a single ounce of guilt. Once they finally found me, the only thing on their minds was “don’t embarrass the Huyen family.” I let out a cold chuckle. Thach Thu crept timidly over to tug at my sleeve: “Sister, don’t overthink it, Dad is just afraid you’ll get scammed...” As she pulled on my arm, she inadvertently exposed a maze of scars covering her forearms.