Chapter 1

Tags: Rebirth, Cutting Ties, Mother's Scorecard, Favoritism, Tearjerker, Post-Mortem Regret

I Turned the Scorecard on My Mother

During the gas leak explosion, Mom only carried my sleeping little sister out.

Left behind in the inferno, I suffered third-degree burns across my entire body, clinging to life in the ICU.

To decide whether I was worth the hospital bills, Mom started a scorecard.

A total of one hundred points.

Can’t dress herself: minus one point.

Can only stare blankly: minus one point.

Within three months, she deducted all one hundred points.

With tears in her eyes, she signed the order and pulled the plug on my ventilator.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the days right after the blast.

This time, I started a scorecard of my own.

Mom saves all her smiles for Chloe: minus one point.

Mom snaps at me for no reason: minus another point.

When my score hit zero, I clutched my notebook on the hospital bed and closed my eyes forever.

Only then did Mom break down, drowning in regret.

On the day of the gas leak, Mom carried only Chloe out.

I was left beneath the collapsing debris, the skin on my face, hands, and chest melting in the blistering heat.

By the time the firefighters pulled me out from the rubble, my flesh was still smoking.

When I finally woke up, I was already in the hospital.

Bandages covered me from head to toe. The only things I could move were my eyes.

The elderly woman in the bed next to mine had visitors every single day. My bedside remained completely empty.

On the third day, Mom finally showed up, holding a crisp, brand-new notebook.

"Maya."

She said my name in a voice as flat as water.

Later during my recovery, I accidentally knocked the notebook over and saw the title penned on the first page:

"Survival Viability Scorecard."

Total: 100 points.

The handwriting beneath it was neat and cold.

Can’t dress herself: minus 1 point.

Can only stare blankly: minus 1 point.

Incontinent: minus 2 points.

Needs to be fed: minus 1 point.

Emotionally unstable: minus 3 points.

With every line I read, my blood ran colder.

I didn't know what the rubric was for back then. All I knew was that I didn't have many points left.

That night, my wounds developed a severe infection, and my fever spiked to a dangerous 104 degrees.

Delirious, I called out for Mom all night long. No one ever answered.

The next morning, Mom walked in. She completely ignored my raspy calls, flipped open her little notebook, and wrote:

"Cried all night and disturbed other patients: minus 5 points."

I was so weak from the burning fever that I couldn't even keep my eyes open.

"Maya, if you don't even have the will to live, stop wasting my money."

I shook my head frantically, tears soaking through the edges of my gauze.

*Mom, I want to live.*

*I really want to live.*

Two months later, my score hit zero.

Mom stood outside my hospital room. The doctor said, "There's a targeted drug that could save her. It's expensive, but if you're willing to try..."

Mom held Chloe's hand, shaking her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. "No."

"Doctor, we're just an ordinary family. We can't afford it. Dying... dying is a relief for her."

A searing spasm ripped through me, and I snapped my eyes open.

Above me was the sterile, pale ceiling.

This was... the third day after the explosion.

I had been reborn.

My right hand could barely move, but I remembered that a nurse had placed a pad of sticky notes and a pen in my bedside drawer two days ago.

Using every ounce of strength, I turned my body, tugged open the drawer, and gripped the paper and pen.

On the very first page, my trembling hand wrote:

[Starting Score: 100 points]

Mom walked into the room, exactly like in my past life.

She stood by my bed, staring down at me for a long time.

Didn't ask about my injuries: minus 1 point.

"If only you were like your sister and gave me less trouble."

Comparing me to my sister: minus 1 point.

"I have no idea how much this treatment is going to cost. Our household savings..."

Implying I'm a financial burden: minus 2 points.

Just as I was about to keep writing, Mom said something she had never said in my previous life.

"Maya, don't blame me for only grabbing Chloe. She's little. You were old enough to run out on your own."

My hand froze on the pen.

*You're the older sister; you have to look out for Chloe.*

I had heard that sentence for fourteen years.

So when it came to our only chance at survival, Mom didn't even bother to wake me up.

She could have easily shaken me awake.

[Mom abandoned me to burn: minus 5 points.]

Current score: 91 points.

Seeing that I remained silent, Mom assumed I accepted her excuse. She nodded in satisfaction.

"All right, just rest up. I'm going over to check on Chloe."

She turned to leave, but paused at the door and glanced back at me.

That look. I knew it all too well.

In my last life, her scorecard had started with that exact same look.

Lying on the hospital bed, I added another note:

[Mom is preparing to score me: minus 10 points.]

Current score: 81 points.

Staring at the number, a strange calmness settled over my chest.

In my past life, Mom used a hundred points to justify throwing me away.

In this life, I gave myself a hundred points.

The day they hit zero, I would leave.

Cleanly, quietly, without causing her any trouble at all.