My Parents Threw Me Away, Now They Beg for a Second Chance

Before the college entrance exam, I had no father, no mother. After the exam, I became the top scorer in the entire province.

And somehow, I suddenly gained two sets of parents.

They went on TV, crying and accusing me of not recognizing them.

Fine. If they like crying so much, I’ll make sure they cry their hearts out!

I was working in the factory when a swarm of reporters suddenly appeared, demanding an interview.

“Ella Vance, as the top scorer in this year’s provincial college entrance exam, how do you feel?”

“Ella Vance, do you have any study tips you can share with us?”

I took off my gloves and lab coat, wiping the sweat off my forehead.

Before I could speak, a shrill voice rang out.

“Ella, your mom and dad are here!”

Hearing this, all the reporters turned around and saw a middle-aged couple jogging toward us.

They were visibly excited, their faces full of flattery and greed.

It was Nathan Vance and Clara.

Nathan eagerly slung his arm around my shoulders, and Clara grabbed my hand.

“Ella, you’ve been through so much,” Nathan said, pretending to choke up, as though he were about to shed tears.

I shoved them away, disgusted. “Don’t touch me.”

“I don’t have parents. I never had them, and I won’t have them now.”

The reporters were stunned, quickly pointing their cameras at us, eager not to miss this sudden twist of the story.

“Ella, I know you’re still angry with us, but no parent is perfect. After all, we’re a family,” Nathan said.

“Yeah, I suffered so much to give birth to you. Do you know the pain I went through during your birth?” Clara added.

I looked at them coldly. “What a joke. You suffered for me? Pain? You had three more daughters after me, and only stopped when you finally had a son. Don’t talk to me about suffering.”

My words sent a wave of murmurs through the reporters, and Clara’s face turned pale.

“Ella, how could you speak like that to your mother?” Nathan struggled to hold his composure.

I looked at him, feeling even more disgusted. “When I tried to reconnect with you, you said you never had a daughter and that I shouldn’t call anyone ‘mom’ or ‘dad’ so casually.”

“Now, I’m returning your words exactly: Don’t call me ‘daughter’ so casually.”

The couple’s faces turned red with anger. “Ella, you ungrateful little brat, how dare you speak to your elders like that?”

Before I could respond, a woman’s voice called out from outside the factory.

“Who said she was raised without a mother?”

Another middle-aged couple approached. They weren’t as well-dressed as Nathan and Clara, and they looked older.

The woman speaking was plainly dressed, her face haggard.

Though I hadn’t seen her in three years, I recognized her immediately—Ruth. The man with her was Owen Holloway, Ruth’s husband of three years.

Ruth stepped protectively behind me, her face full of anger as she glared at Nathan and Clara.

“Ella is my daughter, and I won’t let you speak about her like that!”

The reporters were flustered, unsure of how to handle this sudden appearance of new parents.

“I told you, I don’t have parents. I never had them, and I won’t have them now,” I said calmly.

Ruth turned to me in disbelief. “Ella…”

“Owen, you can’t say that! No matter what, she raised you for so many years. She’s a woman, she struggled! You can’t just deny her as your mother!” Owen said, his bulging beer belly almost ripping through his shirt.

“Mother? Where did I get a mother?” I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

“I knew it. She’s an ingrate. Now, not only does she refuse to acknowledge us, but she won’t even acknowledge you guys either,” Nathan and Clara smirked.

I turned my gaze to Ruth and Owen, my eyes cold. “Three years ago, when you kicked me out of the house, you said whether I lived or died had nothing to do with you. You severed all ties. Don’t you remember?”

“I remember. You seem to have forgotten.”

Ruth’s gaze shifted uncomfortably, avoiding mine.

“But she did raise you for fifteen years. Even if it wasn’t for her effort, at least give her credit for the hardships she endured. How can you be so heartless?” Owen said, dismissing it lightly.

“Ella, I was wrong. Please, don’t hold it against me. Come home with me, okay? I’ve come to take you back. Owen agrees too!” Ruth emphasized the words, “Owen agrees too.”

Because three years ago, Ruth wanted to marry Owen, and Owen didn’t want to take me in. Ruth had to choose between me and Owen, between her daughter and her husband.

And she chose him. Then she kicked me out.

I turned to Owen, expressionless. “You really agree?”

“Of course. Come back with us. We’ll be a family. Who would’ve thought you’d become the top scorer in the province? You’ve really made something of yourself. I’ll treat you like my own daughter from now on. You can call me dad, just like you would your real father.”

How laughable. Three years ago, they considered me a burden, heartlessly kicking me out when I was fifteen. I had no money, no place to go. I ended up working in an electronics factory, where they rejected me because I wasn’t even sixteen.

I had no money for food, so I secretly scavenged leftovers in the school cafeteria.

To make money, I dug through trash bins at school, collecting bottles to sell. But when it came time to pay my tuition the next semester, I still didn’t have enough money. In the end, I had to drop out.

My homeroom teacher found out about my situation and covered my tuition. She even found me a job in the school cafeteria, washing dishes to earn living expenses.

I remember crying uncontrollably at the time, vowing that when I made money, I would pay her back double.

From then on, I studied tirelessly. I knew how hard it was to get an education. These three years, I worked to earn money and studied day and night.

And now, after becoming the top scorer in the provincial exam, these people have the nerve to show up, asking to be part of my life.