Chapter 1

I land a 30-million-dollar deal for my parents' factory.

On payday, my older sister, Hailey Irving, receives a 50,000-dollar bonus. Meanwhile, my younger brother, Hanson Irving, gets a 100,000-dollar bonus.

But my pay slip shows only one line—Base Salary 3,000 dollars.

"Hailey hasn't made a single mistake in the books in ten years. As encouragement, you get a 50,000-dollar bonus."

"All the clients praise Hanson for being handsome and charming. He deserves the most credit for landing this big deal, so I'm giving him a 100,000-dollar bonus."

Before I can even react, Mom throws 30 crumpled bills at me while saying with disdain, "Someone who's both stupid and ugly needs to work harder. Don't think putting in more effort means you're worth more. That's all the value you create."

I stare at my pay slip, feeling dazed.

My parents raise us to be independent, so everything in our family comes with a price tag.

A plate of steak and fries costs 30 dollars. A ten-minute hot shower costs 50 dollars.

To earn money, my siblings and I have to work at our parents' factory from a young age.

Hailey is good at math, so she sits in the air-conditioned office writing receipts.

Hanson is handsome, so he works as a greeter in the reception room, where snacks are available in unlimited supply.

As for me, I was the family’s all-purpose errand runner, forced to fill in wherever help was needed. I unload shipments, sweep floors, and even go out to negotiate business deals.

However, all three of us earn the same base salary of 3,000 dollars per month.

If I want meat for my meals, I have to work desperately hard and constantly find ways to create more value.

But now, I no longer understand what all that hard work is for.

I lower my head and take out my phone to search through the spam messages until I find the one offering me a high-paying job.

Chapter 1

"I'll pay 40,000 dollars to buy the bedroom in our new home that gets the most sunlight."

""I'll pay 80,000 dollars for the exclusive use of Dad's Cadillac for five years.""

My older sister, Hailey Irving, and younger brother, Hanson Irving, couldn't wait to spend their bonuses.

I looked at my pitiful 3,000 dollars and the single-digit balance in my bank account. After paying for food, rent, and living expenses, I wouldn't be able to save a single cent again this month.

I cautiously asked, "Mom, could you pay me a little more? After all, I was the one who worked my butt off to land this deal."

Mom replied in an annoyed tone, "What did you do? All you did was serve drinks to the clients and drive them around. That's nothing but meaningless, cheap physical labor. I've told you so many times. In this society, physical effort is the least valuable thing! 3,000 dollars is already plenty for you."

I snapped back angrily, "To land this deal, I devoted every single day of six months to this project. I had to get to the production line before dawn to supervise the manufacturing every day.

"Whenever the client wanted to see the products, I had to get up and drive over to pick him up, even if it was 3:00 am. And that wasn't all. I basically became his family's nanny. I picked up his kids from school and cooked for his family.

"To explain our products to the client, I pulled over a dozen all-nighters to memorize product manuals word for word. You can't seriously call all that meaningless and cheap physical labor."

Mom hadn't expected me to say all that.

She froze for a moment before suddenly letting out a cold snort.

"You think everything you did was meaningful, don't you? Let me tell you something. The client chose us because our products are good and we have a good reputation. What does that have to do with you?

"Besides, Haileyhandles massive daily financial transactions worth hundreds of thousands of dollars every day. Hanson deals with countless clients and job applicants every day. Isn't that more exhausting than what you do? Isn't it more meaningful than all your useless busywork?

"A person needs to know their own worth. You're already in your 20s. It's time you know what level you're at. Your father and I are the only ones willing to keep you around. Once you leave this house, who would want a freeloader like you who does nothing but eat and drink for free?"

Chapter 2

My whole body trembled with rage.

Was I really that worthless in my parents' eyes?

Hanson gloated from the side, "Helena, all you've ever done is slack off since we were kids. That's already bad enough. You're being greedy by asking for more. Look at you now. Mom finally put you in your place!"

Hailey pulled a bill from the thick stack of cash in her hands and stuffed it into mine.

She chimed in, "It hasn't been easy for Mom and Dad to raise us. The job market is so terrible these days, so stop being so picky and learn to be grateful. Here, I'm giving you 100 dollars. Go buy yourself something nice to eat."

Looking at the 100-dollar note, I felt utterly humiliated, like someone had just slapped me in public.

After working myself to the bone for so long, was my worth no different from a beggar? And upon asking for a just reward, all I got was 100 dollars.

"No thanks." I threw the bill onto the floor.

They hadn't expected me to react that way.

Mom slammed her hand on the table in fury. "Helena, what kind of attitude is that? We feed you, clothe you, and even give you a job. Is this how you repay us? Did we raise you to be an ingrate? If I wanted to, I could just spend 2,000 dollars and hire a college graduate to replace you.

"You're asking for returns that are hugely disproportionate to what little value you brought to the job. What, do you want me to hand the entire factory over to you, while we all go out and starve? Will you be satisfied, then?"

Hanson picked up the 100 dollars from the floor with a smug grin and sneered, "You don't even know how to take advantage of someone else's generosity. Just leave her alone, Mom. People who think too highly of themselves and too little of their own abilities will get a harsh lesson from society sooner or later. Then, she'll know how easy she's had it with us."

I ignored them and walked straight out of the factory.

The temperature was already close to 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

My phone, which I'd been using for nearly ten years, had gotten so hot that it shut down. However, I couldn't even afford a basic phone that cost a little more than 100 dollars anymore.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that even breathing in my family came with a price tag.

Anyone who heard that I'd worked for ten years but had been unable to save a single cent would look at me in disbelief.

I felt pathetic and deeply wronged. Tears streamed down my face despite my best efforts to hold them back.

I hurried to the bank, and my phone finally turned back on.

I quickly called the person who had tried to recruit me.

"Is this Ms. Irving? I'm glad you finally returned my call. I'm an HR representative at Syndar Tech. We're very impressed by your work experience. If you're willing to join our company, we'd be happy to offer you a base salary of 30,000 dollars plus a 10% commission."

Upon hearing that figure, I couldn't help but gasp. "Am I really worth that much?"

The HR representative laughed. "Of course! I heard you just landed a 30-million-dollar deal. The commission alone should be around 300,000 dollars, right?"

I was too embarrassed to tell him that my base salary was only 3,000 dollars.

So, I told him I'd think about it before hanging up.

On the way home, the more I thought about it, the more excited I became.

But then, I was also engulfed by self-doubt. Could an ordinary person like me, who wasn't particularly smart or attractive, really create that much value?

Before I knew it, I'd arrived home.

I reached out to scan my fingerprint. To my shock, the fingerprint lock alerted me that I was an unauthorized user.

Just then, the video intercom rang. "Pay this month's rent first, and then I'll let you in."

I gave a bitter laugh.

Everything in my family had a price tag, and sleeping arrangements were no exception. There was nothing I could do, so I transferred 1,500 dollars to Mom.

The door opened.

I was about to go inside, but Mom blocked my way. "We've moved into a new house, so the rent is now 3,000 dollars a month. I'll give you a 200-dollar discount this month. Pay another 1,800 dollars, and I'll let you in."

I stared at her in shock. "I only make 3,000 dollars a month. If I pay the rent, what am I supposed to eat?"

Mom snorted. "Can't you go deliver food or wash dishes? You're so lazy. You're already 25 years old, yet you still live off your parents. Aren't you ashamed of yourself?

"I'm doing this to teach you how to be independent, so you won't become a useless person who contributes nothing to society. You'll thank me someday."

I was too exhausted to argue with her about any of it, so I transferred the money and entered the house.

Just as I was about to walk into the smallest bedroom, Hanson pulled me away.

"Helena, this is my computer room. Your bed is over there," he said, pointing toward the folding cot on the balcony.

Chapter 3

Seeing my stunned expression, Hanson explained, "If you want to sleep in a bedroom, you have to pay a 30,000-dollar deposit. But I knew you couldn't possibly afford that, so this room is mine. Your stuff is over there."

I looked beside the folding cot and saw the few pieces of my old clothes scattered carelessly across the floor.

Hailey had just finished showering. As she walked past, she casually stepped on one of my white T-shirts and used it like a rag to wipe up the water on the floor.

The shirt was just like me. In this family, I had always been worth nothing more than a rag.

I silently picked up my clothes from the floor and carefully folded them. Then, I placed them on the rough folding cot.

Mom came out of the kitchen carrying dishes. "Dinner's ready, kids! To celebrate us landing that big deal, I spared no expense today. The lobsters with caviar are 300 dollars each. The abalones are 50 dollars each. Half a roasted Deathlayer chicken is 150 dollars."

Hailey's and Hanson's eyes immediately lit up, and they started splurging with their newly received bonuses.

There wasn't even a single plate of vegetables on the entire table. Any one of those dishes cost way more than what I could afford.

Seeing how embarrassed I was, Mom tossed a plate of plain risotto in front of me as though she were throwing food to a beggar.

She said, "I'm charging three dollars per plate of risotto, and you can get unlimited refills. You're 25 years old and still ended up like this. Aren't you ashamed?"

Hanson stuffed lobster into his mouth and teased me, "She has skin as thick as an elephant's. How could she possibly feel ashamed? If she had any shame, she'd have worked harder a long time ago. Then she wouldn't be making only 3,000 dollars a month."

Hailey picked up a piece of abalone and held it right under my nose. She made some demeaning tutting sounds as if she were feeding a dog.

When I ignored her, she became annoyed and sneered sarcastically. "Hmph. Helena has such high standards. She thinks this job is beneath her. Apparently, the only job worthy of her has to pay well, involve little work, require no degree or ability, and come with full benefits.

"I think I know the perfect job for you. You should become a rich man's mistress!"

Everyone at the dining table burst into uproarious laughter.

My cheeks burned. To hide the tears that were about to spill over, I could only look down and lower my head over my risotto. I let my tears soak into it.

I could smell the delicious aroma of abalone and lobster as I mechanically shoveled rice into my mouth. The risotto was salty and hard to swallow, but it was nowhere near as bitter as what I felt inside.

Mom wiped away the tears of laughter from her eyes and looked at me with renewed disgust.

She mocked, "Her? A rich man's mistress? Why would anyone want her? She's not smart or pretty, and she doesn't even know how to sweet-talk people. I'd be thanking my lucky stars if she could even find a husband.

"But there's nothing we can do. Someone like her is destined to amount to nothing in this lifetime."

I suddenly slammed my spoon onto the table, startling everyone.

"Can't you even take a little criticism? Am I wrong about anything I just said?" Mom growled.

I took a deep breath. Then, I swallowed every bit of the grievance, resentment, and anger I'd accumulated over all these years.

"I quit."

Everyone froze for a moment. Then, they burst into even louder laughter.

"Quit and go where? Deliver food? The delivery industry’s strict rules will crush you in no time!" Hailey laughed so hard that she fell off her chair.

I said seriously, "As long as it's not a heartless company that withholds my wages, I'll be fine."

The moment I said that, everyone stared at me in shock.

Dad, who had remained silent the entire time, suddenly slapped me hard across the face. The force of the blow sent both me and my chair crashing to the floor.

Chapter 4

I stared at Dad, whose expression was dark with fury, in disbelief.

He growled under his breath, "You shameless, ungrateful brat! Go out and ask around. What other parents would treat their child as well as we have? We gave you a job so you could gain experience, and we even paid you a salary.

"It's one thing for you to be ungrateful. How dare you turn around and accuse us of being heartless? If we were really heartless, we'd have drowned you the day you were born!"

I'd actually known the answer to my parents' blatant favoritism deep down in my heart. It was only at that moment that I finally faced the truth.

I was nothing more than an extra child my parents had conceived in their efforts to have a son.

Maybe I was never supposed to exist in the first place. That also explained why they had always turned a blind eye to everything I did, even when I'd worked so desperately to prove my worth and earn their approval.

It was something I should have realized when I was 12, yet I didn't understand it until I was 25.

Thankfully, my realization didn't come too late. From now on, I no longer needed their approval.

I stood up, stuffed the few clothes I owned into a bag, and slung it over my shoulder.

As I opened the door, Mom shouted from behind me, "If you have the guts to leave, don't ever come back!"

Hanson stopped Mom and sneered, "Let her go. Some people won't learn until they hit rock bottom. A useless person like her would probably be too stupid to even get hired to clean toilets. Once society teaches her a lesson, she'll come crawling back with her tail between her legs, begging us to take her in."

I ignored them and walked out of the house that had felt no different from a cheap motel.

The moment I reached the entrance of our residential area, I called the HR representative.

As soon as he heard that I was ready to join the company, he immediately came from home to pick me up. He arranged a dorm room for me and took care of all the onboarding procedures.

After hearing what I'd been through, he even helped me apply for a 5,000-dollar salary advance from the company.

Looking at the number on my phone, I felt dazed.

Before this, I'd had to work more than ten hours a day for over a month. I would've had to exhaust myself to the point where I could barely eat just to earn that much money.

But now, simply because this company recognized my value, they trusted me enough to advance me 5,000 dollars before I'd even worked a single day.

Only after leaving the umbrella that my family constantly held over my head did I realize there hadn't even been any rain outside.

Just then, I received a call from William Zahn, the client who had signed the 30-million-dollar order with me.

He gushed, "Helena, business has been incredible these past few days. We're almost out of materials. I want to place another order worth 50 million dollars!"

I quickly said, "I've switched companies, Mr. Zahn, and I haven't gotten familiar with my new company's products yet. How about—"

Before I could finish, William interrupted me. "There's no need. I'll order the materials from your new company. Materials are just that—materials. The quality is pretty much the same everywhere. What's most important is that I trust you. Come sign the contract with me next Monday."

After hanging up, I was so excited I nearly jumped for joy.

When my new boss heard that I'd landed a 50-million-dollar order right after joining the company, he immediately gave me a 500,000-dollar bonus, with the commission to be calculated separately.

Excited about the positive change that was finally happening in my life, I arrived at the entrance of William's company two hours early when it was time to sign the contract.

But to my surprise, I saw my parents, Hailey, and Hanson.

Mom looked delighted as she rambled, "That brat, Helena, quit without even properly handing over her work. We didn't even know Mr. Zahn was going to sign such a huge order with us. I only found out because I saw his post on social media.

"Last time he came over, he said Hanson looked just like his son! I told you our boy was popular. This time, he must have decided to renew the contract because of Hanson."

The whole family beamed as they prepared to go inside.

But then, they saw my reflection in the glass door. In an instant, their expressions turned cold.

Mom couldn't hide the smugness in her eyes. "I was wondering who it was. Well, if it isn't our star salesperson, Ms. Helena Irving? It's only been a few days, and you're already struggling out there? You heard Hanson just landed a 50-million-dollar deal, right?

"That's why you came crawling back, expecting us to just take you back, huh? How shameless."

Dad's expression was stern. He looked at me as though I were a piece of trash.

He snarled, "You shameless disgrace. Don't embarrass us at such an important occasion. Go kneel at the front door and reflect on what you've done."

But I merely glanced at them from the corner of my eye and walked straight inside. "I'm here to sign a contract. I don't have time to argue with you."

Hanson was furious.

He grabbed my clothes and demanded, "What contract are you here to sign? A labor dispatch contract to clean toilets?"

When I ignored him, he angrily raised his fist. "You bitch! You don't even know your place now!"

Just as he was about to hit me, William's secretary, Iris Alford, walked out and said, "Ms. Irving, Mr. Zahn is available now. We can sign the contract."