Chapter 1
My dad was a math professor at a top university.
My mom was a nationally renowned physics prodigy.
But I was just an ordinary kid.
Soon, they realized that, no matter how hard they tried, I, a three-year-old kid, just couldn't grasp calculus.
That was when they decided to have another kid.
My little sister, Sophie, started showing off her incredible intelligence the moment she was born.
By six months old, she was already barking out commands for me to bring her bottle.
By the time she was eighteen months old, she could already make sense of Shakespeare's sonnets.
By the time she was two, she was already reading with comprehension.
When Sophie was three, she solved a math problem Dad had scribbled down without even trying, and that was when my parents decided to move away with her.
They wanted to head to a big city that would be better for Sophie's talents.
The day they left, I clung to Mom's leg without thinking.
Mom gave me a frosty look and said, "Emily, you're just an ordinary kid. My precious time and energy aren't meant to be wasted on you."
While Dad cradled Sophie with care, he coldly peeled my fingers off.
He said, "Emily, you may be ordinary, but it's time you learned to fend for yourself."
They abandoned me.
So later, when my old and lonely parents kept calling and begging me to visit them, I just told them flatly.
"You know I'm just an ordinary person. I can barely take care of myself, so how could I possibly have the time or energy for you?"
*****
I was the dumbest in my family.
Dad was a math professor at a top university.
Mom was a nationally renowned physics prodigy.
And my little sister, Sophie, was already a child prodigy blowing up online, even though she was only three.
Sophie could recite all those crazy complicated physics equations like it was nothing.
She could memorize math formulas that I could never, ever get to stick in my head, no matter what.
Sophie once again cracked a math problem Dad had scribbled down, something way beyond what any kid her age should get.
That was when they decided to pack up and leave with Sophie.
Mom looked at me and said, "Emily, there's a university in the US with a special program for gifted kids. We're taking Sophie there."
She added, "From now on, you'll have to learn to live on your own."
Without another glance, Mom grabbed her suitcase and headed straight for the door, leaving me standing there alone.
The panic of being abandoned made me cling desperately to Mom's leg.
I pleaded, "Mom, please don't leave me. I can't make it on my own."
Yeah, that was right.
Since my parents never really paid attention to me, I'd already learned how to look after myself.
But even so, with them gone, I was still afraid.
I loved them so much.
I depended on them.
Even though they never loved me, a kid as ordinary as they come.
Mom glanced impatiently at her watch and shook my hand off her leg. "But Emily, you know how it is," she said.
"We just don't have the time or energy to take care of someone so average."
Dad cradled Sophie gently, but when he looked at me, his eyes were full of disgust, like I was nothing but garbage.
He said, "Emily, if you're so scared of us leaving..."
"Why don't you try to be as smart as Sophie? Oh, wait, I forgot," he paused.
"You're just an idiot with an IQ of 92. You'll never be anything like her."
My heart felt like it was being torn to shreds.
I wanted so badly to tell Dad that I wasn't some idiot. An IQ of 92 was totally normal, not what he thought.
But my throat felt stuffed.
I couldn't get a single word out.
Dad's IQ was 139. He was a total genius.
Anyone who didn't measure up to his IQ? He thought they were all idiots.
Even if that "idiot" was his own flesh and blood.
Dad snapped, "Alright, let go of me already. Don't make us miss our flight."
But how could I let go?
They were my parents.
Dad finally lost his patience. As I sobbed my heart out, he coldly pried my fingers off, without a trace of warmth.
Then he left with Mom and Sophie.
They rushed off so fast that nobody even bothered to notice that Dad had twisted my finger back.