Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Ma, I'm home."
The middle-aged woman stood rather stiffly, contrasting her calm and delicate features. She did not turn to Yulia and kept her gaze afar.
Yulia's face contorted with pain and disappointment directed to herself. Her lower lip stung after gnawing on it, containing her anxiousness. Her mother still wouldn't spare her a glance and she hated herself for that very reason.
"Ma," she reached out, her voice quavering. "Please don't be mad anymore. I promise I'll take that spot back."
Her arms desperately wrapped around her waist, her face landing on her mother's back. "Ma... Please don't ignore me."
All her life, her parents had been the only people whom she shared everything with. Without them, Yulia felt lost, unsure of what to feel and how to act.
"I just don't get it," her mother droned with a still voice. "We give you everything you want and need. We check on your studies, but you always assure us that there's no problem. You could've just told us if you're having some difficulties."
Yulia broke into tears against her will. "I really didn't know..."
She felt horrible. She was being provided everything yet she failed the only thing she was expected to do.
The woman turned to her and enveloped her in a tight hug, kissing her forehead. "I get it. But there's no next time, okay? I believe in you."
Yulia sobbed even harder, clutching on her mother's chest. She loved her parents more than anything and treasured them even more than herself. All she knew was that she had to make them happy, satisfied.
"I'm sorry, Ma. I'm so sorry."
Something desperate started simmering inside her. She couldn't point out exactly why an agonizing feeling spread through her chest.
"You can do it, Yulia. I love you, okay? I believe in you."
It was supposed to be an assurance but why did it hurt rather than soothe her feelings?
♟
Two Weeks Later IST Competition
The results returned to its normal order with Yulia and Daniel topping every announcement. However, Elijah Xia's name was nowhere else to be found in the first hundred.
It should be a relief to Yulia, but it just made her a laughingstock.
First only because the passive and uninterested genius didn't take his studies seriously.
First only because Elijah Xia didn't bother competing with her, like she deserved no effort from him.
"They said she's also Luciel Zhang's tutor, but look at how ineffective that must be. And now she'll represent our school for ISTC?"
