Chapter 10

"Mr. Baker's little sister got fat again. Damn, I'd say she's gotta be 200 pounds now, right? Last time she came to the office, she was a bit thinner. It's hilarious, she looks like a pig."

"Keep your voice down. Hey, wasn't Alice just sitting in there? Where did she go? You think she got lost? What if she suddenly comes back and hears us gossiping about her?"

"Who knows? It's fine. She's not only fat, but she's also an idiot. Even if she hears us, it doesn't matter. She won't understand."

"Hahaha."

I was about to show myself when James's cold voice came first.

"You guys have nothing better to do?"

"...Mr. Baker."

"It's fine. You'll have even more free time from now on. You're both fired."

"Mr. Baker, we're sorry, we..."

James interrupted impatiently, "Get out."

The two of them shut up and left quietly.

When they walked to the corner, they saw me standing there. Startled and guilty, they quickened their pace toward the elevator.

I stepped out from the corner.

James, sitting in his wheelchair, glanced at me. Behind him was his special assistant pushing the wheelchair.

Seeing me, the anger in his eyes grew even stronger. "When you get humiliated, all you know is to stand in corners and eavesdrop. Pathetic."

The assistant looked awkward but still greeted me politely, "Ms. Baker."

I looked James over.

He wore silver-rimmed glasses and had a cross on his hand.

His words were cold, his expression cold.

It made me think of...

"James, you really are a devout believer with a cold personality."

I said.

The assistant couldn't hold back a laugh. "Ms. Baker, you're so funny."

James's face darkened, somewhat speechless. "Stop watching those trashy videos all the time."

The assistant pushed James into the office.

He looked back at me. "What are you standing there for? You like standing outside as punishment?"

I didn't respond.

I was just observing James's legs.

If I treated him, curing them wouldn't be a problem.

However, whether James deserved my treatment still needed to be determined.

Back in James's office, the assistant poured me a glass of water.

James impatiently glanced at me a couple of times, then suddenly paused. "You... lost weight?"

"Yeah, I've been working hard to lose weight these past few days."

I said flatly.

James's frown relaxed.

Although we were siblings, we'd been separated for over ten years. We had no real feelings for each other and nothing to talk about. The office was quiet.

Until Emily came back and took us to dinner.

...

That evening at home, I went for my usual night run. After finishing, I returned to my room and found that John had added me on WeChat.

I ignored it.

Then I checked the school notice. Tomorrow night, the school would hold an evening party, mainly to let students relax from their studies.

The party had been prepared for half a month already. This notice was just a reminder.

I hadn't paid much attention to it, but I saw my name on the performance list.

A trending TikTok dance.

Alice usually learned and imitated dances from TikTok, but with her body type, her dancing could only be described as a disaster.

It seemed some "kind person" had "signed me up."

They just wanted to see me make a fool of myself.

I put down my phone and unconsciously glanced at the snake bracelet I'd placed on my nightstand, narrowing my eyes.

I noticed something off.

Interesting.

The next evening.

The school party officially started in the auditorium.

Originally, John and Sophia were supposed to perform a duet dance, but I heard from people around me that John suddenly announced last night he wouldn't participate. The planned duet became Sophia's solo.

"Next, let's welcome Sophia Baker to perform a solo dance!"

"Everyone, please give her a round of applause!"

Thunderous applause filled the room.

Sophia slowly took the stage.

Sure enough, I saw on her hand the exact same snake bracelet as mine.

Leaving me with a fake replica, thinking I wouldn't notice?

Did she really think I was still the same old Alice?

Sophia finished her performance.

The next act was mine.

I sat in the audience in my regular clothes. When the host announced my performance, I didn't move.

Sophia, who had just left the stage, came back up and took the microphone from the host. "Alice, when we were deciding on the program list for the party, you said you'd been learning TikTok dances for a long time and wanted to perform for everyone. Are you feeling shy now?"

"It's okay, I'll stay on stage with you."

Because I wasn't cooperating, everyone in the auditorium turned to look at me.

"Alice, can you at least move or say something? What are you doing, playing dead? When we were putting together the program list, you were the one who begged Sophia to sign you up. We all saw it!"

"Exactly! Why are you backing out now? Stop it, okay? Why are you disrupting the party?"

Sophia's friends chimed in.

The night before the list was finalized, Sophia had gotten Alice to agree to sign up for a performance with just a bag of chips.

She had simply been tricked.

Seeing I wasn't moving, Sophia's friends got up from their seats, wanting to drag me onto the stage.

John suddenly appeared, blocking their way. "What do you think you're doing? If Alice doesn't want to perform, are you going to force her?"

"What do you mean we're forcing her? She's the one who changed her mind at the last minute and is disrupting the party, okay? John, what's your deal?"

"Wait, do you have a crush on Alice?"

A burst of laughter.

The school administrators sitting in the front row pretended not to see this scene.

After all, students who could attend Crestland Academy all came from well-off families. One of Sophia's friends even had a parent who was a school board member, so naturally, they didn't plan to get involved.

To avoid trouble.

John's face turned red, though I couldn't tell if it was from anger or something else.

"Alice, if you didn't want to perform, you shouldn't have pestered me to sign you up in the first place. You're really making me look bad right now, you know? Also, you forced me to eat wasabi at home, which gave me chapped lips. When I was doing my makeup today, I had to use so much foundation to cover it up..."

"I know you're the real daughter of the Baker family, and I'm just adopted, but I really have no intention of competing with you for anything. I'm not ungrateful, but Alice, can you please stop messing with me? And stop holding up the party..."

Sophia was almost crying as she spoke.

I laughed.

Good. The atmosphere was set. Now the real show could begin.

I got up, walked past John and the others onto the stage, grabbed Sophia's left wrist, and forced her to raise her left hand. "No intention of competing? Then why did you steal my thing?"