Chapter 1

The night before my mom, Josie Swift, remarries another man, she suddenly barges into my room.

"Colin, I'm getting married tomorrow. I don't need you to be my ring bearer anymore."

The makeup artist is carefully applying concealer to my left cheek, so I don't catch what she says at first.

Mom frowns, her voice laced with frustration and disdain. "Don't bother. The scar on your face won't just disappear like that. The more you try to cover it, the more hideous it looks!

"The guests attending my wedding tomorrow are important business associates of Gavin's. Are you trying to embarrass me on purpose? You know how hard it is for me to marry him with you tagging along. They are already gossiping about me behind my back. It's so humiliating."

The makeup artist pauses, then awkwardly steps outside.

I stare expressionlessly at my reflection in the mirror, saying nothing.

My stepfather, Gavin Dunn, stands outside, his head bowed as he adjusts his son Chris Dunn's bow tie. He shows absolutely no reaction to what Mom has just said.

Mom sighs and slips into her usual self-pitying tone. "You've been a good boy ever since you were little. You should know how hard it is for me. I need to look dignified and presentable. Tomorrow, Chris will be my ring bearer, and the three of us will take a family photo on stage. You stay backstage and don't cause trouble for me, okay?"

Chapter 1

I turned my head and glanced at the array of jars on the table.

I had intended to conceal the burn scar on my face tomorrow. I thought that if I just tried hard enough to appear normal, my mom, Josie Swift, would be willing to acknowledge my existence in front of my stepfather, Gavin Dunn.

But now, the sight of the concealer became a source of my embarrassment.

I waved my hand, signalling the makeup artist to leave, and replied, "Okay."

Mom visibly relaxed at my calm response. "I'm glad you understand where I'm coming from. Chris is handsome and well-mannered. With him there tomorrow, he'll make me look good. You're my son. Once I gain my footing in the Dunn family, I won't let you go hungry."

Gavin patted his son, Chris Dunn, on the shoulder, looking all proud.

"Okay. Don't just stand there. Get some rest," Mom added.

I silently put the things on the table away and folded the outfit I had prepared for tomorrow. Honestly, I should have gotten used to being seen as a burden long ago.

When I was 12, an accidental fire broke out at home, leaving a burn scar the size of a coin on the left side of my face.

At first, my dad, Ian Jackman, was frantic with worry. He worked himself to the bone at construction sites, wanting to take me in for a skin-grafting surgery. But in just half a year, he met with an accident at work and died on the spot.

The contractor paid us 800 thousand dollars in compensation.

The atmosphere at home suddenly turned somber.

The doctor said the treatment would be long and expensive, and there was no guarantee my scar would fully heal.

One late night, I woke up for some water and overheard Mom talking to Grandma on the phone.

Grandma said, "Use the money to treat Colin's scar. He's still young and has his whole life ahead of him."

Mom lowered her voice, her tone cold. "The scar has been there for so long. Even with a skin graft, a full recovery isn't guaranteed. Anyway, Gavin is willing to marry me. It's not his duty to take on a burden like Colin. I have to bring something worthwhile into the marriage.

"Colin is my son. He should understand that if I don't land on my feet, he'll have no future either."

"What about his face?"

Impatience filled Mom's voice. "That's just the way it is. I'll use Ian's compensation money to buy Chris an imported piano. I need to get on Gavin and his son's good side first."

The glass in my hand fell to the floor and shattered into pieces. Without saying anything, I picked up the shards, returned to my room, and sat quietly against the wall in the darkness the whole night.

From that day on, I became the sensible son Mom wished for.

After Gavin and Chris moved in with us, every resource in the family belonged solely to Chris.

As for me, all I got was the same old excuse from Mom. "It's not easy for me to scrape a living for us. You need to think about my future."

Without proper treatment, the burn scar stretched and looked increasingly gruesome as I grew up.

I snapped back to reality as I put the last item away. "Mom, I'm going to bed."

She turned to look at me with a frown. "Come over earlier tomorrow to help out. Even though you're no longer my ring bearer, there's a ton of other things to do."

I nodded.

Chapter 2

I carried my things out of my room.

In the living room, Gavin was chatting with Sarah Shaw's parents.

When Sarah, my ex-fiancee, saw me, her smile faded. She nodded at me, her eyes lingering on my burn scar for a second before she looked away.

Our families were long-time friends. While Dad was still alive, he had jokingly arranged an engagement between Sarah and me.

Before transferring to a school in an affluent neighborhood, Sarah had encouraged me. "Colin, you need to study hard. We're going to be classmates in high school."

However, when she returned, I was no longer the boy she knew. Instead, she found me—a boy with an ugly scar on my face and an increasingly cold, hardened personality—and my incredibly talented, handsome stepbrother. Thus, she gradually distanced herself from me.

My engagement with Sarah had been over the moment Dad died.

Sarah and her family were only here for the wedding now because Gavin wanted to use the opportunity to strengthen ties with them.

But the engagement now belonged to Chris, not me.

As for me, I never told anyone that the perfect-score essays that made Chris shine in our middle school's literary magazine had all originated from drafts in my notebook.

Because Mom always said, "We're living off their support. Help Chris whenever you can. Don't make things difficult for me."

…

The next day, Mom woke me up before dawn.

Even though I was no longer the ring bearer, Mom still wouldn't let me rest. She assigned me to the banquet hall's back room, where I prepared wedding favors for the guests alongside a few other part-time workers.

Mom was pleased to see how obedient I was. She would occasionally come to the back room to pick up some items, and she would only relax after seeing me quietly sitting there.

With disdain flickering in her eyes, she said, "Colin, all the guests are here. Stay here and don't go anywhere, okay? I don't want people talking."

The scar on my face covered such a large area that even the thickest concealer couldn't hide it completely. Instead, it only made my skin tone look uneven and made it stand out even more. So I gave up after trying it once.

"Mom, I'm busy. I don't have time to run around."

The passing waiters all looked at me with pity, but I pretended not to notice.

The wedding ceremony began, and I stared expressionlessly at the stage through the window.

Gavin linked arms with Mom as they slowly walked toward the center of the stage.

Chris, dressed in a tailored suit, walked ahead of them.

When the emcee invited the three of them to pose for a photo, Mom's eyes welled up with tears. Her voice was thick with emotion as she said, "Gavin, Chris, thank you for giving me a complete family. I'll treat Chris like my own son."

Thunderous applause erupted from the crowd.

I was merely an outsider looking in on their happy family moment, and none of it had anything to do with me.

The emcee continued enthusiastically, "The bride, Josie, is not only beautiful, but she also raised a talented kid like Chris. He just won first prize in the city's junior piano competition. He's a real prodigy!"

I lowered my head as a smirk appeared on my face.

In the end, all my piano lessons became part of the dazzling aura that surrounded him.

When it was time for the toasts, Gavin and Mom made their way from table to table. When they reached the table where Sarah's parents were seated, a nosy relative whistled and joked, "Josie, where's your biological son?"

His eyes openly searched the hall for me.

Everyone fell silent.

Chris furrowed his brows, instinctively tensing up.

A look of embarrassment flashed across Mom's face, but she immediately smiled, trying to smooth things over. "He has always been shy, so he doesn't like to show up at events like this."

The loud-mouthed relative looked disappointed, whispering to the person next to him, "What a pity. When Ian was alive, his son was engaged to Sarah."

"Yeah. But I heard there is a hideous scar on his son's face. There's no way the Shaw family would be okay with that. After all, it's humiliating to be seen with him."

"I think Chris is way better. He knows how to play piano and is super smart. Maybe they should make him Sarah's fiance instead."

Chapter 3

Sarah glanced at the man as she lifted her glass. "Don't be ridiculous. He's Chris' brother after all."

I couldn't help but unlock my phone, staring at a photo of Sarah and me from our first year of junior high.

During that time, I could still cover my scar beneath my fringe, and my smile was bright.

And Sarah would still point at my math notebook and say, "Colin, you're better at math than anyone else."

But later, when she saw the scar and got closer to my talented stepbrother, she gradually stopped talking to me.

I was no longer the same confident, bold man. The Colin who yearned for acceptance had long since been killed off by a single remark from Mom, steeped in her favoritism, telling me I needed to understand her "difficulties".

I deleted the photo without batting an eye.

After eighth grade, Chris and I were both accepted into the city's top high school. The difference was that I got in as the top scorer, while Gavin used his connections to get Chris in.

Just one day before school reopened, Mom walked into my room with a few boxes. With a resolute tone, she instructed, "Colin, pack your things. Apply for on-campus housing tomorrow."

I froze. "It's just ten minutes away. Why should I do that?"

Mom frowned with impatience. "Chris is going to spend the next few years preparing for admission to an Ivy League school. He needs a quiet room to practice the piano and study. Your room gets the best sunlight, so give it to him. Besides, Gavin gets annoyed seeing you walk around the house every day with that scar on your face.

"Just stay on campus. I'll transfer your monthly expenses to you."

I clenched my fists, feeling my fingers dig into my palms. "But Dad left this house for us! This is my room!"

"Don't you dare use your father against me!" Mom snapped as she swept all my study materials into the box in one go. "You're living off the Dunn family, so what's wrong with giving up your room for Chris?

"Also, leave all the math notes you made in junior high for him. What's the point of you ranking first in your class? With that hideous scar, you'll never land a good job anyway.

"Chris is different. He has a bright future ahead of him. If you help him, you're helping me secure my footing in the Dunn family too. You can only have a good life if I do well."

I stared at the haughty expression on her face, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness. "Can he even understand my notes?"

Mom glared at me. "Teach him if he doesn't understand! Colin, I'm warning you. If he doesn't get into an Ivy League college, I won't be able to hold my head high in the Dunn family. If I suffer, you'll suffer too. Do you still want me to pay your tuition?"

With that, she left, slamming the door.

I was left alone in the room, filled with a profound sense of disappointment. That evening, I quietly packed my bags and cleared the room completely.

Gavin and Mom were in the living room, watching TV. When Mom saw me, she asked, "Are you done?"

"Mom, are you going to give both my room and notes to Chris?"

She froze before replying impatiently, "Yeah, Chris needs them. He has to study hard to get into an Ivy League college. As his older brother, you should help him."

Gavin nodded. "Chris is driven, and with you looking out for him, he's sure to succeed."

My heart sank little by little. "I stayed up late to compile those notes from start to finish."

"I know." Mom spoke with the same sense of entitlement as always. "But what's the point of you keeping them? Chris and Sarah are quite close now. With the Shaw family backing us, you'll live a good life too. Can't you see the bigger picture?"

I couldn't help but scoff. "Bigger picture, huh? Does that mean I'm supposed to hand over everything I own to Chris?"

Chapter 4

Mom's face darkened as she scolded me, "Colin, that's not the attitude you should have when talking to me. Do you know how much I've sacrificed to raise you all these years? You're Chris' brother. Shouldn't you help him out a little, even if it means making some sacrifices?"

I looked at the woman I used to call my mother, my eyes turning cold. She couldn't see how hard I worked or how much I suffered. All she could see was the scar on my face and how perfect Chris was.

I inhaled deeply, trying to suppress my anger.

"Okay."

I turned around, wanting to leave.

Mom asked, "Where are you going?"

"To the school."

I strode away without looking back.

That day, I stayed up all night in my dormitory. I gathered all the notebooks where I'd compiled my mistakes and their corrections, packed them up, and sent them to Chris.

…

For the next three years, I was forced to stay at school and rarely went back home.

Then came the day the college entrance exam results were released.

I had achieved the highest score in mathematics on the college entrance exams. To capitalize on the publicity, the school arranged an exclusive interview with a local TV network and arranged a celebratory banquet at a downtown hotel.

The principal insisted that I accept the interview, noting that the school intended to award me a special bonus of 300 thousand dollars.

The moment the news reached home, Mom, who had rarely contacted me over the past three years, immediately called me.

"Colin, you've finally made me proud! That money will be perfect as travel funds for Chris to go abroad. What time does the event start? Gavin, Chris, and I will go pick out our outfits now!"

Chris kept interrupting over the phone, his voice full of smug pride. "Colin, Sarah will be coming with me. When the time comes, we'll take a family photo in front of the media."

An hour later, the banquet officially began. The reporters were already stationed at the hotel entrance, their cameras set up and ready.

Mom, dressed to the nines, arrived with Chris and Gavin, but the security guards immediately stopped them.

"I'm sorry, but you're not on the guest list. Unauthorized personnel aren't allowed inside."

Stunned, Mom paused briefly before replying in an agitated tone. "Are you blind? The top scorer is my son!"

Inside the banquet hall, the exclusive live interview began. "Colin, today is undoubtedly one of the proudest moments of your life. Who would you like to thank the most?"

Hearing this question, Mom immediately lifted her chin in anticipation. She even boasted to the security guard. "Did you hear that? That's my son. He's about to invite me on stage. Hurry up and open the door!"

Chris also straightened his jacket, preparing to bask in the spotlight that would be upon him soon.

Meanwhile, I stood on stage, looking directly into the camera. "I would like to thank… my homeroom teacher, Ms. Lane."

As the words landed, the cameras panned to the audience.

Outside, Mom's smug expression froze on her face.