Chapter 1

My sister gave up studying to work in a factory, all for a man.

In my past life, I became a billionaire because of that very man.

She wanted to copy me, but ended up getting sold for marriage money instead.

She never anticipated that this life, we'd have a little brother.

“Our family is poor. We can only afford to send one of you to college. You two draw lots to decide.”

Dad held two wooden sticks, his face etched with what looked like pain.

“Whoever draws the shorter stick gets to continue their studies. Lily, you're the younger sister, you go first!”

This familiar scene hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been reborn!

My gaze locked onto the wooden sticks, fragments of memories flashing through my mind.

The terror as my sister pushed me down, the agonizing pain when I hit the ground.

But my thoughts quickly snapped back to the moment of decision in my previous life.

Last time, I chose the stick on the right. From that day on, my schooling ended.

Yet, my grades were far better than Blair’s. I had even been accepted into the city’s top high school, known for its incredible college acceptance rates.

Blair’s grades? Even if she pushed herself to the limit in high school, she’d be lucky to get into a mid-level university.

Given our family’s poverty, letting me continue my education was clearly the most beneficial path for everyone.

But my parents, for some reason, chose to decide with a draw.

Because they favored Blair!

I’d always known it, so even getting the chance to draw felt like a small victory.

Since childhood, they’d buy Blair new clothes, but never me.

Every time, they’d say, “Blair’s clothes are too small for her, but they’re perfect for you. Buying you new clothes would just be a waste of money.”

As the second child, and a girl at that, I had always been on the receiving end of their coldness.

Blair was their first, the fruit of their love, so they loved her.

As for me?

Grandma had wanted a grandson, so they risked financial strain to have a second child. But in the end, they got me, another girl.

My birth cost the family thousands of dollars in unexpected expenses!

Grandma despised me, and that resentment extended to Mom too.

So, after I was born, Mom had a really tough recovery period.

She couldn’t hate Grandma, or Dad. She could only resent me.

She felt it was all my fault.

In those days, a second child was a significant financial burden, and a third even more so.

They couldn’t afford to try for a third child, hoping for a son!

So, they believed I had blocked their path to having a son. They saw me as bad luck.

Mom wanted to name me “Superfluous.”

Grandma said to name me “Short-Lived,” hoping I’d die young.

If I died, they could have another child, and it would still be considered their second, avoiding the even higher costs of a third.

In the end, Dad was afraid the villagers would laugh, so my name became something mundane, signifying my insignificant existence.