Chapter 1

I was a child from a single-parent home. Mom always said I was her hope, bought at the cost of half her life.

To pay for my ridiculously expensive prep courses, she worked three jobs a day. Her hands were raw and cracked, she wouldn't even splurge on a pair of socks for herself.

Our walls were plastered with 'Straight A's or Else!' posters, making the whole place feel like a prison.

I got a 99% on my final exam, the highest score in the entire school. When I got home, all I wanted was five minutes of sleep on the couch.

The moment Mom saw my eyes close, she instantly tore my test paper to shreds. Her scream pierced my eardrums:

"I slave away to support you, and you have the nerve to sleep? Where did that point go? You're bleeding me dry!"

She lit the curtains like a maniac, threw all my books into a fire pit, and locked the front door.

"You want to sleep, huh? Wake up in this fire! If you don't get a perfect score, we'll die together!"

Thick smoke filled my nostrils. I watched Mom's twisted face in the flickering flames and stopped calling for help.