Chapter 3 — The Scholar's Return: Saving My Sister, Crushing Foes, and Carrying the School

My mother was horrified, crying out, "What on earth is going on here?!" She turned to me, her voice trembling with misplaced worry. "God's Will, I told you time and time again not to associate with those hoodlums! Did they beat you up? Is that why you're bruised?" She aggressively rolled up my sleeves, inspecting my forearms for any sign of injury.

I caught my father's stern, angry glare from across the room and let out a bitter, mocking laugh. "These scars came from the loving couple who raised me."

My mother froze completely, her mouth parting as if to say something in defense, but I didn't wait around to hear it. I spun on my heel and walked straight toward my bedroom, slamming the door shut in their faces. Just before the heavy wood clicked into place, young Shu squeezed her way through the gap.

"Sister..." she whispered, her eyes swimming with sympathetic tears. "Father and Mother are always like this. But please, don't be afraid... As long as you can make them proud and bring honor to the family name, they will treat you well, I promise."

Looking into gentle, timid Shu's eyes, a sudden flash of clarity hit me. I finally understood why the strange floating commentary had prophesied that once she scored six hundred and thirty points on her exams, she would instantly become the darling of the household.

Still, it hardly mattered. Very soon, my own exam scores would be released, and the truth would speak for itself.

Three days later, the results were finally posted. When our homeroom teacher stood at the podium to announce the class rankings, her face was practically glowing with an almost manic excitement.

"The top student in the entire grade this time around belongs to our very own classroom!" she announced, her voice ringing clear through the silent room. "Trinh Than Y! You scored seven hundred and forty-two points! Only eight points shy of a perfect score!"

An immediate wave of shock and murmurs erupted through the classroom. Every single eye snapped in my direction, while the invisible commentary exploded in a flurry of digital chaos:

[Holy crap! I seriously thought she was all talk and no substance, but she's actually a total genius?!]

[Okay, I admit I went a little overboard chewing her out earlier... but scoring almost a hundred percent on a mock test like this puts her skill level way above most veteran teachers!]

[Don't celebrate just yet, everyone. The female supporting character is stealing all the spotlight right now; when the actual female lead gets home, she's definitely going to get the cold shoulder...]

I turned my head slightly to look at Shu, and our eyes met instantly. Hers were sparkling like distant stars. The corners of her mouth curved upward into a sweet smile, revealing deep dimples, while her small hands clapped enthusiastically in genuine support for my achievement.

The teacher praised me for the remainder of the class period. By the time the final bell rang and school let out, my name had become the hottest topic of conversation among my peers.

"Trinh Than Y? Have we ever even heard that name before today? Whose kid is she anyway?"

"Could she be an illegitimate child?"

"Honestly, it's hilarious. No matter how smart you are, an illegitimate daughter is still just an outsider."

I curled my lip in disgust, far too lazy to waste my breath arguing with such shallow, miserable people. But just as I was about to walk away, Shu suddenly stepped forward. She bit her lower lip nervously, planting herself right between me and the gossiping crowd, her voice soft yet remarkably resolute.

"She is my biological sister."

"Your biological sister?!"

The students in the classroom were entirely taken aback. Up until now, everyone had treated Shu with a certain polite deference, eager to stay in the good graces of the wealthy family's heiress.

"Shu, you must be mistaken, right? You're the only daughter of the Trinh family! We've never heard a single word about you having a sister this whole time."

Observing these fickle people who groveled before wealth and sneered at anything unfamiliar, I wanted to spare Shu any unnecessary awkwardness, so I opened my mouth to clarify. "She's just a cousin—"

Before I could even finish the sentence, Shu suddenly reached out and grabbed my hand. It was a rare, proactive gesture, and she cut me off mid-sentence.

"Sister God's Will is the true, biological daughter of the Trinh family. As for me... I am the child who was mistakenly swapped at birth all those years ago."

The moment those words left her lips, the entire classroom plunged into an absolute, breathless silence. Even the floating commentary stalled for a long moment before crawling back to life:

[Sigh... the female lead is just far too honest and pure for her own good.]

[Girl, if you keep acting like this, you're going to get taken advantage of every single time! Those vultures are going to bully you to death in the future!]

I turned to look at Shu. Right on cue, someone in the back row burst out laughing mockingly.

"Ha! So she's just a cuckoo bird that occupied someone else's nest all along!"

"Well, blood doesn't lie, does it? A tiger doesn't give birth to a dog! Just look at Than Y—she shows up out of nowhere and nearly gets a perfect score!"

A few opportunistic classmates immediately tried to squeeze past the desks to butter me up, but their clumsy shoving accidentally pushed Shu toward the edge of a heavy wooden table, nearly causing her to trip.

"So Than Y is the real daughter of the Trinh family after all..."

Without a second thought, I reached out, pulled Shu securely back to my side, and cast a freezing glare across the room. "Shu was raised by the Trinh family for all these years. My parents love her just as much as they love me, if not more."

Shu looked up at me in utter astonishment, her eyes instantly growing red and watery.

[What on earth is happening? Did this wicked female supporting character just stand up and protect the female lead?]

[By all the usual tropes, shouldn't she be fighting her tooth and nail and bullying her at every turn?]

I let out a quiet huff. It was true that Shu had enjoyed a life of luxury in my place for more than a decade, but none of that was her fault. Furthermore, ever since I had returned to that stifling household, she had always remained timid and cautious, never once crossing a line or doing anything malicious.

If that was the case... instead of engaging in some pathetic, cliche catfight between sisters, it made far more sense to join forces and tackle the rest of the world together.

Sure enough, the moment we returned home that evening, my parents' attitudes did a complete one-eighty. When I walked through the front door, the dining table was laden with a feast that looked like a royal banquet.

My mother eagerly hurried over to take my schoolbag from my shoulder. "Than Y is finally home! Go wash your hands quickly and come eat. You must be exhausted from studying all day long, my smart, wonderful girl."

[Parents like this are just unbelievably pragmatic and fake.]

[That sugary, hypocritical tone of hers is giving me goosebumps.]

I took in their sudden, sickening display of affection, playing along on the surface while laughing coldly in the privacy of my own mind.

My father was sitting at the head of the table, gesturing grandly toward the empty seat beside him. "Come here, sit right next to your father."

Shu instinctively moved to pull out the chair right beside me. But before she could even lower herself into the seat, my mother aggressively shoved a plate of steamed prawns directly in front of her.

"Stop dawdling and peel these prawns for your sister."

The smile on both my face and Shu's froze simultaneously. Shu nibbled her lower lip, lowered her gaze, and nodded meekly. "Yes... I'll peel them for you, Sister."

"There's no need for that." I reached out, plucked a large prawn from the plate, snapped the head off with a practiced twist, and tossed the whole thing straight into my own mouth. "I'm not some fragile aristocrat who needs people waiting on me hand and foot."

My parents exchanged awkward glances. Forcing another bright, blinding smile, my mother started piling heavy cuts of meat into my bowl.

"Eat up, Than Y, eat as much as you like! I heard all about it from your teacher—you scored nearly perfect on the most difficult exam of the year! If you keep up performance like this for the national college entrance exams, your father and I will throw a massive private banquet just to celebrate your success! Who would have ever guessed we gave birth to such an academic powerhouse? Compared to certain other people in this house, you are miles ahead!"

The chopsticks that Shu had just extended toward the serving dish hovered awkwardly in mid-air, trembling slightly.

I reached out, nudged Shu's hand downward, and turned my gaze to my parents. "Shu has made incredible progress lately as well. Scoring six hundred and fifty points on her next exam won't be a problem at all."

Shu nodded vigorously, her eyes brightening. "Father, Mother, I will follow my sister's lead. I promise I'll try my absolute hardest."

For some inexplicable reason, I noticed a strange, inscrutable glint flash across my parents' eyes.

Sure enough, my father slammed his chopsticks down onto the table with a sharp clatter. "There's no need for all that. Among two sisters, having one child who excels academically is more than enough."

My mother chimed in instantly, her tone dismissive. "That's right. Shu has always had a delicate constitution; studying just doesn't suit her temperament anyway. But she's blessed with good looks—the classic, frail beauty type. After she finishes high school, we'll find some wealthy young heir from a prominent family and marry her off. By the time your sister enters university, you'll be happily settled into high society, which will be your way of helping lift up the Trinh family name."

What?

Shu's chopsticks slipped from her fingers, clattering loudly against the porcelain bowl. Panic washed over her face, and tears welled up instantly in her eyes. "Father, Mother, I... I want to study too! I don't want to be married off like some piece of property..."

My mother reached out, gently stroking Shu's cheek with an expression of feigned pity. "Do you have any idea how much money your father and I spent over the years just to keep your skin smooth and flawless like this? Shu, we raised you for eighteen years. Surely you aren't planning on being ungrateful and refusing to pay us back?"

My father nodded in agreement, his expression cold and transactional. "The only way you can truly repay us for everything we've given you is through a strategic marriage that helps secure the Trinh family's dominance in the corporate world. You've always been an obedient, sensible girl, haven't you? You wouldn't bite the hand that feeds you, would you, Shu?"

I listened to their abhorrent reasoning, absolutely dumbfounded and disgusted to my core.

[Oh no... I told you so! No matter how talented the female supporting character is, the actual female lead always ends up getting the short end of the stick in these toxic households...]

[At the end of the day, the supporting character is still their biological flesh and blood, while the female lead has zero blood ties. They were never going to show her any real mercy.]

I glanced sideways at Shu, who had her head bowed as silent tears streamed down her cheeks. A hot wave of anger surged through my chest. Without a word, I scooped up half the delicious dishes remaining on the table and dumped them directly into her rice bowl.

"Eat!"

That very night, I gathered my heavy stacks of textbooks, marched straight into Shu's bedroom, and kicked the door shut behind me.

"Stop letting them manipulate your mind into thinking you're helpless. Crying isn't going to solve a damn thing. Now wipe your face, sit up straight, and start studying!"

We labored through the textbooks together, pushing past midnight straight into the early hours of dawn. Back in the day, I had managed to drag an entire gang of rebellious delinquents out of the gutter through sheer willpower; surely, I could manage to lift up a girl like Shu, who already possessed a solid foundational intellect and a genuine desire to learn.

From that day onward, I utilized every available minute of our schedule to tutor Shu through difficult concepts. But since tutoring one person took just as much effort as tutoring a small group, I paused thoughtfully during one study session and asked her, "Would you mind if I invited a few of my old friends to join our study sessions?"

Shu shook her head readily.

And so, the very next afternoon after school, I led her straight to the dilapidated, abandoned school building where my old gang used to hang out.

The moment we pushed open the rusted metal door, several figures with dyed blond hair leaped to their attention, bowing respectfully in unison. "Big Sister!"

"Hold on a second," one of them muttered, blinking in surprise as he looked at Shu. "Isn't this the gentle, goody-two-shoes girl who got swapped at birth with you, Big Sister? Why'd you bring her to our turf?"

I shot the delinquent a sharp, warning glare. "This is my younger sister, Trinh Thu. From today onward, she's part of our family. Sit your asses down—I'm going to tutor all of you together!"

Shu offered a polite, nervous greeting to the group, then quietly settled down at the makeshift desk alongside the rowdy teenagers.

A total of nine people hunched over their desks under the flickering light, completely immersed in their books. Whenever one of the delinquents gave a wrong answer on a practice problem, they were promptly met with a sharp slap across the knuckles from my wooden ruler.

"Big Sister, this is totally unfair!" one of the boys complained loudly, rubbing his swollen hand. "You smacked her hand so hard it turned red, but when she makes a mistake, you don't do anything at all!"