Chapter 1

I had a strange ability.

Whenever my younger sister, Charlotte Lane, took something from me, I would briefly see in my dreams the future she would have because of it.

When we were kids, she took my piano. I saw her standing onstage ten years later, taking her final bow at a concert hall.

In middle school, she stole my spot in an academic competition. I saw her holding a certificate and getting into an elite class.

Then, the day before the SATs, she took my exam admission pass.

This time, I finally saw my own future.

There were no applause or flowers.

I stood on the roof of a hospital, clutching a crumpled certificate proving I had missed the exam.

Down below, Mom and Dad were shielding a sobbing Charlotte in their arms.

My brother, Andrew Lane, looked up at me and shouted, "Rachel, are you seriously going to drive Charlotte to her death before you'd be satisfied?"

The wind was howling.

I watched my future self smile and stepped off the roof.

*****

When I woke up, Charlotte was sitting at my desk.

She was holding my clear pencil case in her arms.

When she saw me wake up, she flashed me a smile. "Sophie, could you not go in for the first exam tomorrow?"

Her eyes were puffy and red. "Mom went to a fortune-teller, and the fortune-teller said the first exam is important to me.

"Sophie, you've bad luck. If you go into the exam room with me, you'll mess up my good fortune."

I couldn't help but scoff.

It was the same old story.

Ever since we were kids, everyone in the family said Charlotte was our lucky star.

The day she was born, Dad's factory was about to go under, but then he landed a big order that saved the business.

Grandma held Charlotte, who was the first to cry, and said the Lane family finally got lucky.

As for me, I almost didn't survive because they were half an hour late saving me.

Grandma said I was born with bad luck, destined to bring misfortune to the family.

When I was six, I took first place in a piano competition.

On the way home, Andrew broke his leg.

Mom was holding Charlotte, who was sobbing and trembling, and for the first time, she said to me, "Sophie, try not to stand out so much anymore.

"Whenever you do, you ruin our family's luck."

After that, whenever I outshined Charlotte, something bad would happen at home.

After that, I barely brought any awards home anymore.

Now, I reached out. "Give me back my exam pass."

Charlotte flinched.

Just then, the door opened.

Mom walked in with a cup of warm milk. When she saw I was awake, she handed it to me. "Sophie, drink this and get some sleep."

My nose tingled, and as I took the cup, she pulled a piece of paper from her apron pocket.

She said, "Your father and I have talked, and we've decided you shouldn't go to the first exam tomorrow."

I looked down at the paper.

At the top, there was [Pre-Exam Promise]

The rest read: [Sophie is not allowed to go near Charlotte before the first exam starts.

[She is not allowed to exit the car through the same door as Charlotte.

[She is not allowed to touch Charlotte's exam supplies.

[If Charlotte's mood is off, Sophie will voluntarily wait before entering the exam room.]

At the bottom, my name was already filled in.

All that was missing was my signature.

The milk in my hands suddenly felt like it was burning.

"What do you mean by 'voluntarily'?" I asked.

Mom avoided my eyes. "Sophie, I know this isn't fair to you, but your sister is different.

"She gets so nervous she can barely breathe. Your grades have always been solid. Skipping one exam won't ruin your future."

Dad walked in soon after, holding a pen and a folder.

My heart dropped the moment I saw that folder.

Inside wasn't just my exam pass. There was also a printed enrollment form for a cram school.

Dad set it on the table. "I've already arranged a backup for you. If you really miss the first exam, you can enroll in the summer session at the cram school."

I looked up at him. "Tomorrow's the SATs. Charlotte gets to take it, but I don't?"

Dad's expression darkened. "Sophie, you're becoming more and more unreasonable. Charlotte's always been frail. Can't you let her have this one?

"Is that what it'll take for you to be happy, seeing her collapse at the exam entrance?"

Charlotte's tears started falling right away. "Dad, let it go. I won't take the exam. Sophie always thinks I'm taking things from her. I don't want to owe her anything anymore."

Mom's voice went up a notch, full of panic. "Don't say things like that."

Andrew pushed the door open, looking completely fed up. "Sophie, are you done yet?

"The whole family's been running around after you all night. What more do you want?"

I let out a laugh. "Everything's about me, huh?"

He pointed at the promise letter on the table. "Isn't this your safety net?

"Sign it, skip the first exam tomorrow, and no one's going to bother you."

I reached for my exam pass.

Dad grabbed my wrist. "I'm keeping it tonight."

Before I could react, Andrew was already holding my shoulders from behind.

Dad wrapped my hand around the pen.

I struggled desperately, and the milk went flying, soaking the whole table.

Mom's first instinct was to pull Charlotte back protectively.

She said, "Your sister has an exam tomorrow. Is this really what you want, turning the house upside down because of this?"

I was forced to sign the promise.

Dad let go of me, like he'd finally dealt with a headache.

Mom folded the paper, slipped it into the file folder, then grabbed my pencil case and removed the name sticker I'd put on.

She slapped on a new sticky note.

It read: [Charlotte's backup]

I stared at those four words, my hands still trembling.

Charlotte took the pencil case back and said softly, "Thank you, Sophie."

I saw her fingers lingering over the photo on my exam pass.

The next second, everything went black.

I saw the future again.

The missed exam notice had a red stamp on it, with the words: [Sophie Lane missed the first exam.]

There was also a note next to it. [Statement from the candidate's family: The candidate became emotionally unstable before the exam and voluntarily chose not to enter.]

I snapped back to reality.

After they all crowded around Charlotte and left the room, I turned and made a call.

*****

At dinner, a bunch of relatives showed up at our place.

A big congratulatory banner was hanging in the living room.

It read: [Good luck to Charlotte for the SATs. All the best!]

Charlotte was front and center on the couch. Mom had gotten her a new jacket for the occasion.

Relatives crowded around, showering her with good luck wishes. The coffee table was stacked with gifts.

I was parked in a corner, tasked with writing out wish cards.

Mom shoved a gold marker into my hand. "Make it look nice, or the relatives will laugh at you."

I picked up a slip of paper, and when I flipped it over, my fingers froze.

On the back of the paper was my old piano competition certificate from grade school.

Half the line was still visible: [Sophie Lane, First Prize Winner.]

I flipped through the other cards.

Essay contest first prize, math competition finalist certificate, outstanding student leader award, city-level speech contest certificate... All chopped up into small pieces, each barely bigger than my palm.

These were all awards I'd kept hidden for years, never letting my family find out about them.

I asked, "Who went snooping in my drawer?"

The living room went dead silent.

Mom frowned. "It's just a bunch of old papers. Are you really going to throw a fit over this?"

Charlotte's eyes welled up right away. "Sophie, I didn't know they were yours.

"Mom always said you used to win a lot of awards, so I thought using them would give me good luck."

My aunt smiled, trying to smooth things over. "Sophie, your sister is having her SATs tomorrow. As her big sister, what's wrong with spreading a little good fortune her way?"

I clenched that half-torn certificate. "This is mine."

Andrew scoffed. "Yours? Every time you brought these awards home, didn't it always upset Charlotte?

"You've been holding her down for years. What's so wrong with letting her have a bit of your luck for once?"

Dad slammed his glass down. "Sophie, today's all about bringing luck to Charlotte, not you digging up the past.

"If you keep sulking, get out of here and go back to your room. Stop messing things up for your sister."

Mom took the torn pieces of my award from my hand and slipped them into a side pocket of Charlotte's pencil case.

"Sophie's got bad luck, but her awards will give Charlotte confidence."

Charlotte asked softly, "Mom, will Sophie be upset about this?"

Mom patted her head. "Even if she's upset, she'll have to put up with it. She's always been better than you at everything. She can put up with it for one night?"

The relatives started writing out wish cards.

One wrote: [Charlotte, hope you ace the exams.]

Another wrote: [Lucky star Charlotte, may everything go smoothly for you.]

Someone else joked, "Sophie, don't snatch the top honors from your sister tomorrow."

The whole room burst out laughing.