When I was little, Mom said to me,
"Dian'er, you must learn from your father and grow up to be a good person. He was honored by our city as a model citizen for his heroic deeds."
Back then, I looked up at my tall father and happily agreed.
But three months later, my father came across some thugs attacking someone on the street. He rushed in to fight them, but they beat him to death on the spot.
I became a child without a father, bullied by the other kids at school. They all said I had a mother but no father to raise me.
I argued back.
"I have a dad! He's a hero!"
All I got in return was endless mockery.
Later, my mother remarried and took me with her.
My stepfather was a wealthy business magnate. He had several sons, who became my brothers.
But they didn't like me. They never played with me. Once, I overheard them saying that my mother and I had only married into their family because we wanted their money.
But that never came to pass.
Not long afterward, my stepfather's business went under because of his poor management, and he went bankrupt.
Our family was left homeless. My stepfather lost all his former authority and began drinking heavily. Whenever he got drunk, he beat my mother. I couldn't stand by and watch, so I tried to stop him. He broke one of my legs, leaving me permanently disabled.
Not long afterward, my stepfather drowned himself in a river.
Unable to support herself and the children, my mother had no choice but to use her still-attractive looks to sell her body.
She never came home at night.
It was a nightmare for me.
After falling from wealth into poverty, my stepfather's