Part 2The Two-Egg Truth

The livestream was still rolling. I didn't dare listen to what else Mom might say.

I hung up.

The viewer count spiked during the call.

"I feel like Hannah's mom has no clue what Hannah actually cares about. She doesn't think she did anything wrong."

"Kinda feeling bad for Hannah. Her parents don't seem great to her."

"If they really cared, they wouldn't have sent Hannah into the entertainment industry at fifteen. Look at her sister, studying abroad since she was a kid."

"Hilarious. A bunch of broke people feeling sorry for a celebrity?"

"Here we go again. Who doesn't know Hannah failed school? She's basically illiterate."

With more viewers came more diverse opinions.

The production team moved fast to control the comments.

They told me about the situation and asked if I wanted to steer the narrative.

"It's fine. Bad publicity is still publicity."

I didn't care if people cursed me out.

The director looked at me with some hesitation, then told me the plan for tomorrow's show.

"The team saw how much traction the 'native family trauma' topic is getting. We want to hold a roundtable discussion tomorrow about family upbringing. Hannah, are you okay participating?"

I nodded. I could do it.

My family background wasn't exactly a secret in the industry.

But no one knew the details.

I was born in a poverty-stricken mountain village.

A place so poor it didn't even have a school.

Because of that, I didn't even finish middle school.

Later, a photo of me went viral by accident, and I entered showbiz.

My parents used the money I earned to send Bella abroad for school.

They always said I was "sensible," that I learned to earn money early so they didn't have to worry.

But I never chose to be sensible. I was forced to be.

We were poor. They had to go to the city to work.

They said living in the city was expensive, so they left me in the village.

I never resented them for that.

But later, they had Bella. And they kept her by their side the whole time.

I asked them why.

Didn't they say the city was too expensive to bring me?

Why could they bring Bella?

They said I was the big sister, I had to be understanding. Bella was small, she needed to be with Mom and Dad.

They couldn't bear for Bella to grow up without parents.

When I was mocked by anti-fans for being uneducated, they were busy sending Bella to the best schools overseas to get a shiny degree.

I tried to comfort myself over and over.

I'm the big sister. I need to be understanding.

Mom and Dad don't love me less. It's just that when I was little, we didn't have the means.

But hearing Bella say today that her ramen always had two eggs...

The lie popped like a soap bubble.