I was reborn.
To prevent me from targeting their adopted child, Roy Campbell, my parents sent me to a popular reality TV show that disciplines troubled teenagers.
Every day I had to fight with pigs for food, compete for sleeping space, and be brainwashed by instructors before bed, forced to repeat praises about my parents and Roy a hundred times.
Whenever I made a mistake, I was stripped naked and whipped countless times on camera, and had to slap myself until Director Nathan Adams was satisfied.
After the show finished filming, I finally became the good child and brother my parents wanted me to be.
But on the day of the show's release event, when I jumped from the top of the TV station building, my parents broke down.
*****
"Dad, Mom, I'm sorry." I knelt before my parents on the doorstep, mechanically repeating the pledge I had practiced many times. "I know I was wrong. I swear I'll be good to Roy from now on. Everything will prioritize Roy. Roy is the best, Roy comes first, Roy is more important than my life."
As soon as I finished, Director Nathan Adams' voice rang out. He shouted, "Cut!"
The reality show about disciplining troubled teenagers had finally wrapped up.
After Nathan announced the end, I remained numbly kneeling on the ground.
My parents joyfully shook Nathan's hand in gratitude. "Thank you so much for teaching Daniel. When the show airs, we'll make sure all our relatives and friends watch it."
Nathan smiled and looked at me, saying, "Daniel, make sure you get along well with your family from now on!"
As he came over to help me stand, I turned pale at his outstretched hand and shrank back.
Nathan's hand froze in mid-air. My father, Jason Campbell, immediately scolded me, "What kind of attitude is that?"
I remained silent, so Nathan put his arm around my shoulders and said cheerfully, "It's fine, it's fine. The boy probably just doesn't want to leave us!"
After saying this, he patted my back firmly twice and stared at me, saying, "Just remember how good we've been to you."
I couldn't help but nod tremblingly.
After the crew left, my parents led me into the house.
As soon as we entered, I noticed Roy rolling his eyes when he saw me.
But when my parents looked at him, he immediately pretended to be excited and ran over. "Daniel, I've missed you so much! You've been gone for so long. Let me show you your room!"
Without waiting for my response, he dragged me into the room.
As soon as the door closed, he revealed his true face.
With malice, he said, "Why did you come back? It would've been better if you'd died in that place."
I was already used to seeing him like this.
Years ago, when the police first brought me home from the village where I'd been trafficked, he had already been telling me to get out of the house when my parents weren't around.
Yet I'm the one who's my parents' biological son.
Seeing that I had no reaction to him like a wooden doll, Roy smirked.
The next second, he slapped himself across the face and fell to the ground. His cries filled the room. "Dad! Mom! Help me!"
My parents quickly rushed in. Seeing the handprint on Roy's face, Jason became furious and kicked me to the ground.
He said, "What have you learned? You still dare to bully Roy? I shouldn't have brought you back!"
My mother, Maria Campbell, held Roy in her arms and looked at me with disappointment. "Roy has been so good to you. How could you treat him like this?"
Jason pulled out his phone in front of me. "I'm calling your instructor right now to see if they can take you back."
My mind went blank when I heard his words.
It was because of Roy's recommendation that my parents had sent me to participate in this reality show about disciplining troubled teenagers.
During filming, I was treated like an animal.
The production team arranged for me to rest in a pigsty, making me compete with pigs for food under the pretext of teaching me hardship. At night, I had to sleep in the corner of the pigsty. Before sleeping, I had to kneel at the instructor's feet and listen to his brainwashing about how wonderful my parents and Roy were.
I couldn't resist, or I would be stripped naked, tied to a bench, and whipped with an iron whip covered in barbs. After the whipping, I had to slap myself on camera until Nathan was satisfied.
Recalling these experiences, I immediately knelt down and began desperately banging my head on the floor. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have bullied Roy. It's my fault, it's all my fault!"
I kept banging my head, not daring to stop even when my forehead started bleeding.
Seeing me continuously kowtowing, my parents stood there in shock. Finally, Maria, unable to bear it any longer, came over to help me up.
Roy suddenly sobbed, "Dad, Mom, don't blame Daniel. It's my fault for making him hate me so much that he wants to hurt himself."
Jason's face immediately darkened with anger. "You've done nothing wrong. He was the one who bullied you first."
He walked over and yanked me up from the ground. "Stop wasting time here. I've made an appointment to get clothes made. Hurry up."
In the mall, I carefully scanned the clothes in the store, not daring to touch anything.
Jason glanced at my shabby appearance with disgust. He pointed at me and said to the store clerk, "Find him some decent clothes. He's embarrassing me looking like this."
The clerk, holding a size chart, asked, "What size does your son usually wear?"
My parents simultaneously turned their heads away, looking awkward.
I had been brought back home not long ago and immediately sent to the rehabilitation program, still wearing my old tattered clothes. Of course they didn't know my size.
As the clerk approached me with a measuring tape, Roy raised his phone toward me from the side.
In an instant, the scene before my eyes changed. I seemed to be back in that hellish village, with my foster father from the show walking toward me with a cattle whip, smiling menacingly.
"Stay away!" I pushed the clerk away in terror.
My vision blurred, and I ran like a headless fly.
The mannequins in the clothing store now looked like the villagers who had surrounded me, each one fierce and menacing, holding torture instruments.
My parents were startled by my sudden outburst and moved forward to grab me.
But in my eyes, these people were all demons. To avoid being beaten, I could only run desperately.
Most of the clothes in the store were knocked to the floor, trampled and soiled by me.
The store manager, seeing this, was about to call the police.
Finally, everyone cornered me in the fitting room, and the chaos finally ended.
Jason slapped me hard across the face. "Are you insane?"
My head jerked to the side from the blow, half my face numb with pain.
I slowly turned my head back, seeing expressions of extreme disgust on my parents' faces.
Outside the store, many passersby had gathered to watch.
"Which mental hospital let this patient out?"
"How terrifying. If he's sick, he should stay in the hospital. Why come out and harm others?"
As the criticism from onlookers intensified, my parents quickly took me away.
Back home, Jason threw me into my room. "You worthless piece of trash! Did you deliberately embarrass us in public to get revenge? Stay in your room and think about what you've done!"
I knelt down skillfully, slightly bowing my back.
They didn't know that in the show, kneeling was the most basic thing, not even considered a punishment.
After some time, Roy's voice came from outside the door. "You're still bringing him food? He humiliated our entire family, so he doesn't get dinner tonight. Don't give him water either. He won't die from going hungry for one night."
I curled up in pain.
Since returning from filming the show, I hadn't eaten for two days.
My stomach twisted with sharp pains. I needed to eat something.
Looking around, I finally found a notebook on the bookshelf.
Without thinking, I tore out pages, crumpled them into balls, and stuffed them into my mouth.
My throat burned with pain, but I was too hungry to care.
The next day, I was awakened by the smell of food coming from outside.
My parents were talking with someone. "Isn't Daniel back home? Why hasn't he come out for breakfast?"
Maria replied with resignation, "He's probably still sleeping. This child has always been so inconsiderate. I'll call him out now."
Soon, my bedroom door opened.
"Daniel, it's time to eat," she said.
I dragged my trembling legs out of the room and saw the dining table filled with various dishes and guests.
I looked at Maria. "Am I allowed to eat now?"
Maria found this strange. "Of course you can eat. You're talking as if we don't let you eat..."
Before she could finish, she saw me rush into the kitchen and eagerly devour the contents of the garbage bin.
But the kitchen was full of food waste.
Everyone watched in disbelief as I stuffed fish scales, rotten vegetable leaves, and eggshells into my mouth, their expressions extremely uncomfortable.
Jason's face turned ashen as he grabbed my collar with one hand and yanked me up.
"Who taught you to eat this garbage?" He slapped me hard across the face, fuming, "Are you deliberately trying to embarrass me?"
I didn't react, numbly swallowing the "food" in my mouth.
Maria tried to approach but stopped, repelled by the fishy stench clinging to me.
She sensed something was wrong and looked at me with concern. "Daniel, what's wrong with you?"
Just then, a relative spoke up, "Is this Daniel? How did such a good kid end up like this? Eating garbage... those traffickers are worse than animals!"
That comment froze my parents' expressions.
They had always deliberately avoided mentioning my kidnapping.
Back then, during an argument about getting rid of their child, they abandoned me at the neighborhood dumpster, and I was actually taken by traffickers.
Unwilling to admit their mistake, they quickly adopted Roy, pretending nothing had happened.
Only now did they realize the problem.
Jason unconsciously released me, and I dropped back to the ground.
But I still felt hungry and crawled back to pick up the unfinished garbage.
When Maria tried to stop me, I thought she was someone from the show and bit down hard.
Maria screamed, clutching her bleeding hand in horror. "You bit me?"
Roy came over and sheltered Maria behind him, glaring at me with disgust. "How could you do that to Maria!"
The relative who had just defended me fell silent, looking at me like I was a monster.
Jason could no longer control his anger and kicked me away. Pointing at me on the ground, he shouted, "You dare to attack your mother? I don't have a son like you!"
My throat was too dry to speak, and I swallowed the apology that had reached my lips.
The gathering ended unpleasantly. To make me reflect on my actions, Jason locked me in the storage room this time.
In the dark, cramped space, I instinctively tried to curl up in a corner.
The next moment, my foot hit a box. I fell hard, knocking over the box and scattering its contents across the floor.
Panic swept over me. If my parents discovered I'd made another mistake, they would truly abandon me!
Fighting down my fear, I slowly moved to the door and turned on the light.
As the room brightened, I saw what had spilled out—my childhood toys and clothes.
At the bottom of the box was a family photo of the three of us, everyone looking happy.
On the back was a handwritten note from Maria: [Forever loving my baby Daniel.]
Tears fell uncontrollably as I clutched the photo tightly.
I thought they had thrown everything away long ago.
So my parents hadn't given up on me; they still loved me...
A faint hope rose in my heart.
If I told them the truth about what happened to me during the show's filming, maybe they would understand me.
But just then, I heard my parents' voices outside the door.
Jason spoke with frustration, "I really don't know what to do with him anymore. How did we end up with such a troublemaker? He'd have been better off not coming back!"
Maria said, "Don't say that. He's still our child."
Hearing Maria's voice, my eyes flickered with emotion.
Then Jason raised his voice, "He's nothing like Roy. I wish Roy was our only child. Daniel does nothing but cause problems. Roy always thinks about the family, while Daniel just rejects him, making everyone miserable!"
Maria sighed deeply, "I've also wondered if we should send him away... How about this—tomorrow at the show's premiere, let's ask Nathan if he can train him some more. We'll pay whatever it costs."
My last remaining hope for survival was extinguished by Maria's words.
I collapsed on the floor, staring numbly at the door, realizing I had been delusional.
My parents had long forgotten about me, just as our family memories were carelessly tossed into the storage room.
Early the next morning, my parents let me out and dressed me in clean clothes.
I stared vacantly, showing no reaction whatsoever.
Roy still expressed concern, "What if Daniel suddenly tries to hurt someone on the way?"
Hearing this, Jason immediately found a rope and tied my hands.
Throughout it all, I didn't resist or say a single word.
After getting in the car, Maria seemed uneasy but didn't dare come near me. "Daniel, today's event is very important. Will you behave?"
I kept my head down, staring at the rope on my hands without answering.
Jason scoffed, "Such a poorly raised child."
The car drove all the way to the television station downtown, where Nathan came specially to greet our family.
He approached us with a broad smile. "I'm counting on you all to help promote our premiere today!"
Jason replied, "Of course, but we need to ask for your help too. Daniel still hasn't broken some bad habits and needs more rehabilitation."
Nathan's smile deepened. "No problem, you can rehabilitate him for as long as you want!"
After chatting briefly, Nathan's assistant rushed over. "We're about to start. Please bring the guests in now!"
Because there were cameras inside, my parents finally untied the rope from my hands.
Once inside, I spotted many familiar faces amid the flashing lights.
The instructors who had treated me like an animal sat in the honored guests' section.
My parents, upon hearing these were the instructors who had "taken care" of me on the show, dragged me over to thank them.
Jason told me, "Thank them now."
I felt like throwing up. When I didn't move, Jason pushed my head down in a bow.
"Say something!" he demanded.
I opened my mouth but couldn't hold back and vomited, instantly soiling my clean clothes.
Jason's expression darkened. He wanted to scold me but restrained himself because of the many cameras around.
Nathan quickly had someone take me to the bathroom to change clothes.
This was just a minor incident, and the premiere continued as planned.
From backstage, I could hear Nathan speaking eloquently.
He said, "Our production team has carefully documented the growth and transformation of each troubled youth. Our instructors have been consistently responsible, supervising the rehabilitation of every bad child."
Then I heard my parents being invited on stage.
They said, "We thank the production team and Nathan for giving our child a new lease on life!"
Hearing them say this, I laughed bitterly to myself and turned to walk toward the stairwell.
*****
The host announced enthusiastically, "Now, let's welcome the successfully rehabilitated youth, Daniel Campbell!"
Applause erupted, but I was nowhere to be seen on stage.
Nathan looked displeased and was about to send someone to find me when his phone rang.
He answered it, and his assistant's panicked voice came through. "Nathan, that kid just jumped from the TV station's rooftop!"
Download the My Fiction app, Search 【 370974 】reads the whole book.
My Fiction
SnackShort
Booklite« Previous Post
Revenge on the vicious bestie who pretends to be noble