Part 3The Two-Egg Truth

At 1:30 PM, the livestream started on time.

Bella arrived punctually too.

There were also a few industry veterans participating.

Bella was bubbly, great at charming the elders.

Completely different from me.

When I first entered the industry, I was like a mushroom growing in a dark corner.

I couldn't even speak Mandarin properly, let alone flatter people.

"A Juilliard grad? That's impressive."

Simon, a famous music producer, sighed in admiration. "Hannah, your sister is amazing."

I smiled and nodded.

Bella really was amazing.

Unlike me, she was sparkling.

"Juilliard? I just Googled it. Number one music school in the world? How is she so talented?"

"More than that. Simon tried to get in back in the day and failed. That school only takes geniuses among geniuses."

"Hannah and her sister are polar opposites. One dropped out of middle school, the other is an academic god."

The chat quickly dug up Bella's school history.

Bella tried to pull me into the conversation.

I shook my head. I didn't really want to talk.

When the time came, the host introduced the theme for the afternoon roundtable.

[What is the best gift your parents ever gave you?]

Bella spoke first.

She never seemed to care about others' judgment, always brimming with confidence.

The kind of high-energy "little sun" everyone loves.

You could tell at a glance she grew up surrounded by love.

I looked at her with envy.

Bella talked eloquently for a long time.

Most of it I knew, some of it I didn't.

She said: "All the properties at home are in my name. And since I was born, they bought me an insurance policy. As soon as I turn twenty-five, I get $8,000 a month."

She smiled slyly, eyes twinkling.

"Mom said no matter how bad inflation gets, even when I'm seventy or eighty, I'll still get money they saved for me. Then I can tell everyone looking at me with envy, 'This is candy my mom and dad bought me.'"

The chat scrolled furiously:

[I'm so jealous. Am I the only one hearing about this insurance now?]

[Don't be jealous. That policy costs like $30k a year. It's expensive. You pay from birth until the kid is 25.]

[Aren't Hannah and Bella biological sisters? Didn't she say her family was poor? How did Bella have this insurance since birth?]

The people on set who knew a bit about my background cast glances at me, some subtle, some not.

The host threw the question to me at the perfect moment.

"Hannah and Bella are sisters. Did Hannah know she had this insurance too?"

They thought I lied about being poor to build a persona.

They wanted to dig up dirt on me.

But I just said "Ah," looking a bit embarrassed.

"I don't think I have that insurance."

If I had that kind of safety net back then, I wouldn't have dropped out because of poverty.

The atmosphere got awkward. The host quickly pivoted.

"So Hannah, can you tell us what the best gift your parents gave you was?"

"It should be a silver bracelet."

I unconsciously twisted the bangle on my wrist.

I've worn it since my debut.

It was my thirteenth birthday present.

In middle school, silver bangles were trendy. Most girls got them from their moms.

They said wearing silver was good for your health.

I wanted one too.

So, I carefully asked Mom.

Mom was working in another city then. She sounded impatient.

She said silver was expensive and told me to be sensible.

But on my thirteenth birthday, I received a silver bracelet.

I thought Mom was just being tough with her words but soft in her heart.

It wasn't until later, when Mom let it slip, that I found out the truth.

The sudden appearance of the silver bracelet was because...

Bella wanted a silver bracelet. But after buying it and wearing it for a few days, she didn't want it anymore.

She thought it looked tacky and ugly.

So that silver bracelet appeared on my wrist.

When I found out, I was angry.

Mom just laughed it off, telling me not to be so petty.

The matter eventually faded away, and no one mentioned it again.

I thought I had forgotten all these things.

I didn't expect a few simple questions to bring it all back.

Wounds I thought had healed were just hidden.

They didn't get better with time; they festered, red and swollen, stinking in the dark.

Occasionally stinging. Constantly aching.