Stolen Opportunities: A Sibling Rivalry

My cousin, Phoebe Dolton, deliberately turned my air conditioner down to 16 degrees Celsius the day before my college entrance exam and even spiked my water with laxatives.

I spent the entire exam period in the hospital.

When the results came out, my name was boldly printed on the admission letter from Quantum Valley University, one of the top universities in the country.

Phoebe couldn't believe it.

I smiled and said, "Sorry, I forgot to tell you that I gained admission to college without taking the exam."

1.

When my mom brought Phoebe home, I was sitting on the couch in the living room, munching on chips and playing video games.

The college entrance exam results were released that day. Early in the morning, my mom held Phoebe's hand and told her to make something delicious and pick out a dress for her party to celebrate her becoming a college student.

On the day the college entrance exam ended, Phoebe had confidently declared that she did well enough to get into a top university. Even if she couldn't join Quantum Valley University, she would surely enter one of the other prestigious universities.

My mom was overjoyed and pampered Phoebe with good food and drinks for a whole month.

After I returned from the hospital, Phoebe loudly said, "Aunt Shana, I'll definitely take care of you when I make money since I'm going to a top university."

She pretended to notice me then and quickly covered her mouth, saying, "Oh, sorry, Jessica. I meant you could spend your meager salary on yourself if you become an ordinary factory worker."

I watched her act with a hint of sarcasm and nodded, "Alright. Then you will take care of my mom, and she won't need to rely on me for support in the future."

Phoebe's smile froze, and just then, the phone rang.

She rushed to answer it. "Hello? Quantum Valley University?"

Her voice nearly pierced the ceiling. And my mom excitedly joined her and held her hand.

Phoebe gave me an arrogant look, and I yawned out of boredom.

Suddenly, Phoebe's expression changed as she asked, "Jessica Kirby? Are you sure there's no mistake? She didn't even take the exam!"

My mom was stunned as well until Phoebe confirmed three times that Quantum Valley University was calling me. Then she hung up.

Her pretty eyes were now filled with tears. She was like a fragile flower in a storm as she said, "Jessica, the college entrance exam is no joke. If you really cheated, you'd better turn yourself in!"

My mom trembled with anger and snapped, "How could I have raised such an evil daughter like you? Go and confess your crime!"

I didn't respond to them and just gently reminded them, saying, "Why don't you check Phoebe's scores?"

My mom and Phoebe suddenly came back to their senses and hurried to check Phoebe's results.

"It's impossible!" Phoebe's sharp, piercing voice echoed. She pointed at me in disbelief and shouted, "There must be a mistake! Did you switch our scores?"

I shrugged helplessly. "Do I have that power? Think about why this happened, Phoebe."

My mom wanted to ask what had happened. But she quickly pulled me away as she saw Phoebe's pained expression. My mom said, "Jessica, leave her alone. Don't annoy her."

Of course, I was willing to do as my mom expected and leave far away.

2.

Phoebe came to stay with our family when we started high school.

She was my mom's sister's daughter, my aunt's child.

She got into a high school in the city, but she had to stay with my family since the school didn't offer boarding.

In their small county, there was a traditional bias favoring boys. Phoebe was only allowed to attend high school because she scored exceptionally well.

She stayed with us for three years.

I rarely saw my aunt, but my mom always said that my aunt was a capable woman.

When my mom was almost kidnapped as a little girl, my aunt clung to the trafficker's leg and saved my mom.

Since then, my mom willingly fulfilled all of my aunt's requests.

My mom offered my aunt money occasionally and agreed to my aunt's every demand.

Even when my mom got married to my dad, she first sought my aunt's approval.

I thought we had repaid enough over the years, but my mom's actions showed otherwise.

The same thing happened again when it came to Phoebe.

When Phoebe first arrived at my house, she wore rustic clothes, a pink jacket, short boots with zippers, and had ruddy cheeks.

I, on the other hand, wore a beautiful princess dress, clinging to my dad's arm and bouncing around with cotton candy in hand.

When I saw Phoebe for the first time, I felt nothing but curiosity.

My mom said with a smile, "Jessica, this is your cousin. You'll be attending the same high school."

I saw Phoebe lower her head, so I quickly grabbed her hand and said, "Hello! I'm Jessica. I'll take good care of you. I have many dresses in my room. Do you want to wear one?"

I was excited to have another girl in my family, so I pushed my dad aside and eagerly helped Phoebe change her dress, although she was timid.

I led Phoebe into my room and opened a wardrobe full of clothes.

A look of envy appeared on her face instantly. I seemed to see something else in her eyes besides envy at that moment.

But it quickly disappeared.

I spent the entire afternoon with Phoebe, who was seemingly thin and weak, in my room.

I thought it would bridge the gap between us to do so. But the next day, she went to my mom.

2

That day, I was having breakfast when my mom walked over with a serious expression. "Jessica."

I was replying to messages on my phone while having breakfast.

My mom stopped me from looking at my phone. I realized her expression was not as easygoing as before and sat up straight. "What's wrong?"

My mom hesitated for a moment and whispered in my ear, "Did you bully Phoebe?"

I widened my eyes and shook my head. "No! I didn't. I even wanted to give her my dresses!"

My mom quickly hushed me. She glanced towards Phoebe's small room and was afraid she might hear our conversation.

After a long silence, we didn't hear any sound from Phoebe's room. My mom continued talking to me.

By then, I understood that Phoebe had complained about me to my mom and felt a bit like Phoebe bit the hand that helped her.

"It's good if you didn't. Phoebe is just sensitive," my mother said.

"But I didn't bully her," I said.

My mom patted my head gently and said, "Jessica, you shouldn't wear dresses anymore. Phoebe will be sad when she sees them."

I looked at her incredulously and asked, "Why?"

My mom gave me a look that seemed to say, "You silly child." Then she sighed, "Consider Phoebe's feelings. She doesn't have a dad. She just has your aunt. She's not as fortunate as you."

Hearing my mom's sigh, I felt aggrieved. But I looked into her eyes and didn't want to see any emotion that would make me sad.

So, after a moment, I reluctantly nodded.

But I didn't know that Phoebe was laughing as she had been eavesdropping on us.

That was just her first step.

Later, I thought about it and realized it wasn't hard to understand.

Phoebe's family wasn't wealthy, so she naturally mistook my kindness for showing off and resented it.

I was too naive back then.

So the next day, I took Phoebe to amusement parks and bought her pretty dresses. My dad didn't have to go on a business trip, so he joined us and took many photos.

I had a habit of recording my life on social media. So I posted the photos and kept them private.

I hoped Phoebe would be a bit happy.

3.

Soon, school started.

I noticed that even though I had bought Phoebe many beautiful clothes, she seemed to wear the same rustic clothes from home during the first few days of school.

But I wouldn't stop her from wearing her previous clothes if she liked doing so.

I respected her choice and understood that everyone had different tastes.

My mom asked me to look after her at school.

But I was in Class 1, and she was in Class 7. We were separated by several floors, so it was hard for me to take care of her.

After some time, a friend asked me if Phoebe was my cousin.

I had no reason to deny it, so I nodded and admitted it.

The next day, some other students asked me the same question, and I admitted it as well.

By the third day, my best friend came to me and asked about Phoebe. I was a bit impatient and asked, "Phoebe is my cousin, so what?"

My friend hesitated but eventually said, "Phoebe is facing bullying at school."

I frowned instantly and asked, "What?"

When did that happen?

It was the first time I rushed from the first floor to the upper floors, almost immediately after hearing the news.

Class 7 was near the restroom, and I heard someone shout, "Jessica is here!"

Only then did I notice the door to the ladies' room had been flung open. I suddenly had a bad feeling as I walked over, only to find that Phoebe nearly fainted from torment.

I wasn't sure something was wrong with my eyes. Phoebe seemed a bit disappointed to see me.

I quickly brushed the thought aside and shouted, "Who did this?"

Silence surrounded me until a female voice echoed, "Why are you putting on a saintly act? Don't you abuse Phoebe at home?"

"What?" I asked, confused.

Her words sparked a flurry of chatter among the crowd.

"That's right. Jessica torments Phoebe at home, right?"

"Look at her fancy clothes, while Phoebe wears rags."

I was so angry that I could feel my fists clenching. I was about to confront whoever was spreading these rumors when I heard my mother's voice.

My anger subsided significantly as I saw my mom rush over. Tears were streaming down her face, and she hugged Phoebe in her arms tightly.

4.

After we took Phoebe to the hospital, I followed my mom home.

As soon as we entered our home, my mom sternly said to me, "Get down on your knees."

I didn't argue and silently knelt.

"Jessica! Didn't I ask you to take care of Phoebe? Is this how you do it? You didn't even know she was being severely bullied at school."

"I really didn't know that!" I said helplessly.

I felt aggrieved. Briarwood High School was so large, and how could I keep my eyes on Phoebe? If Phoebe needed help, she could have come to me.

But she never said anything. Plus, school bullying was often kept tightly under wraps.

No matter how much I explained, my mom looked at me with disappointment.

"Stop making excuses for your mistakes."

Her disappointment pierced me deeply.

I remained kneeling in the living room, feeling the weight of my mother's disappointment, questioning myself. "Is it really my fault? Is Phoebe bullied... because I didn't take good care of her?"

My mom's words trapped my thoughts in a strange place, and I couldn't escape.

Whenever I saw my mom's disappointed eyes, I failed to escape.

Maybe it really was my fault.

The next day, whispers and stares bombarded me as soon as I arrived at school.

I wanted to escape, but there were too many people gossiping about me, leaving me nowhere to hide.

That day, I only attended half a day of school and slinked home in the afternoon.

Why was everyone blaming me?

What did I do wrong?

I forced myself to stay calm.

First of all, Briarwood High School was for the wealthy.

It was like a small society, where one's family status determined their class.

If Phoebe had dressed like me, she could have avoided being bullied.

But...

I opened my eyes and stood shakily. I walked to Phoebe's room to open her wardrobe.

It was filled with beautiful clothes from various brands.

I had bought Phoebe plenty of pretty clothes.

So she deliberately dressed that way, deliberately subjected herself to bullying!

And she started the rumors about me.

Once I understood everything, a sudden sound echoed in my mind and startled me.

Then, a mocking electronic voice sounded. "Congratulations, my host, for breaking free from your mental confines and successfully awakening."

5.

Then I realized that I had a system like those found in novels.

Phoebe had bound herself to a system designed to steal others' fortunes, and I was the fool she intended to steal from.

If I failed to break free from my mental trap and kept blaming myself, I'd never recover for the rest of my life.

Cold sweat poured down my back as I thought about it.

The system said, "No worries. Now that you have me, we can work together. We'll be unstoppable."

I said helplessly, "You can be shameless on your own."

Now that I knew Phoebe did it deliberately, I wouldn't feel sorry for her anymore.

But I couldn't fall apart with her openly yet. So I had to endure.

I knew that only she would feel the most pain when she fell from the highest point.

"System, do you have any magic?" I looked at Phoebe's room full of clothes and said calmly.

The next day, I chose not to go to school again but went to the hospital to visit Phoebe with a bunch of fruit.

My mom was there too. When she saw me, she remained cold and silent. Phoebe, however, gently tugged at my mom and signaled her not to be angry. She seemed to mean that she didn't blame me.

She was such a manipulative girl...

I cursed inwardly and pinched my thigh hard until tears welled up in my eyes. "I'm sorry, Phoebe. I'm truly sorry."

Phoebe seemed puzzled by my attitude. "Logically, Jessica shouldn't be crying, right?" Phoebe frantically asked her system in her mind, although she said it was okay on the surface.

I held her hand and asked, "Phoebe, do you blame me?"

"Of course not..."

"That's good. When I saw you lying in the restroom, I was scared to death. Why didn't you tell me you were bullied? Why did you suffer everything alone, my dear cousin?" After I spoke, I hugged Phoebe tightly with every ounce of strength I had. I was determined to see who would be more disgusting that day.

As I hugged her, Phoebe seemed to bump against my clothes. She let out a cry of pain in a low voice and struggled to breathe from my tight embrace.

My mom was very pleased and nodded in satisfaction after she saw my apologetic demeanor.

After a while, I released Phoebe and said, "Phoebe, I asked around. Other students bullied you because you dressed too plainly. You know there are mostly students in Briarwood High School. And you have so many nice clothes in your wardrobe. Why didn't you wear them?"

Phoebe's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. She glanced at my mom in panic and then lowered her head. "I... love them too much. They're so expensive and beautiful."

I smirked, impressed by her excuse. "But... now many people are criticizing me. Phoebe, could you clarify things for me?"

I quickly turned to my mom and said, "Mom, I really didn't bully Phoebe at home. You know me. If I make a mistake, I'll admit it. But I won't accept the rumors that I bullied Phoebe at home."

My mom nodded in agreement. When I turned back to Phoebe, she was grinding her teeth. She said, "Okay, Aunt Shana. Okay, Jessica."

I accomplished my mission and squinted. I tucked Phoebe in and said, "I won't disturb you anymore. Mom, I'm leaving now."

With that, I left swiftly while shouting in my mind, "System, send them out!"

If Phoebe could spread rumors about me, I could certainly clarify them.

6.

"Sensation news! The untold stories of Jessica's cousin!" That evening, a headline instantly ignited the forums.

The author claimed he couldn't stand it anymore and posted several pictures from my social media, which showed Phoebe and I going out together.

Phoebe, did you anticipate my move of using my social media?

That post shattered the rumors that I abused Phoebe at home.

Some even suspected the photos were edited, but they were verified as genuine soon after the photos were sent to some professionals.

I slept soundly that night. The next day, as Phoebe and I entered the school gates, the whispers and stares were directed at her because I had the system subtly guide the post to portray Phoebe as a manipulative girl.

I watched Phoebe's face turn red with anger and held her hand tightly.

Did she try to escape? No way!

I sensed her struggle and immediately wrapped my arm around her waist. I said, "It's okay, Phoebe. This time, I'll protect you every moment. Let me see who dares to bully you."

I spoke loudly and drew discontent from those around us.

"Jessica, stay away from that manipulative girl."

"Exactly!"

I clutched my chest and noticed Phoebe's struggle. So I held her in my arms even tighter. "Don't say that about my cousin. She's just sensitive."

Instantly, the way people looked at me changed.

Now I understood why Phoebe liked to pretend to be innocent. If I were her, I'd do the same.

I might have done it all the time.

Phoebe eventually gave up struggling, and I forcibly escorted her to her classroom.

She tried to escape on the way, but how could I let her go?

I caught her in every class under the guise of protection and feared that she'd be hurt again.

She had no grounds to refute me. All my actions were reasonable. Phoebe couldn't fall apart with me openly and had to endure my "care."

For a while, the school's hottest topic was like below.

"Please, Jessica, don't be fooled by the manipulative girl."

When I saw that trending topic, I was shocked and puzzled. "Oh my, how awful! Phoebe, how could you be manipulative?"

Phoebe heard my words and directly fainted.