"Aster Li Zhou Ling."

Aster stiffened up.

"If you're not going to take this seriously, then just drop out. Don't waste everybody's time and effort." Her tutor's high-pitched voice grated on her nerves.

"...I'm really trying my best." She murmured.

"You call this your best? It's nowhere near your family's talents."

Aster kept her lips pursed and her head low. This was nothing new.

"Do you have nothing to say for yourself?"

"...No."

Her tutor went red in her face. "That's it for today. We'll resume the next time. Revise your content as usual."

Aster nodded and calmly kept her study materials, ignoring the slamming and stomping of her tutor's departure. She checked off the box in her to-do list. 'Alright, last tuition for the day and it's cooking time.'

She trudged out of her room and stalled at the top of the stairs. She could still hear voices from the living room down below.

"She's still performing the same as any average person out on the streets. Is it still the same in other areas?" Based on the high pitch of the voice, there was no mistaking who it belonged to. She could also guess that her parents nodded. She knew her own results.

"Perhaps she's the type to do better with less work? You know, work smart, not hard?" Her mother's worry was evident.

"We're already trying that. Any lesser work and you might as well stop calling me over. No offense but she may really be the dud in your family. She has completely no talent."

"Excuse you. Even if she has no talent at all, she's never a dud." Her mother's voice was raised a notch. "You don't have to return any longer. Perhaps the issue is you."

"Pardon me." Her tutor's solemn words was quickly accompanied with the slamming of a door.

A sigh travelled up the stairs and weighed heavily on Aster's heart. "Should we give her a break from everything?" Her mother suggested.

"We could try. It's all trial and error now, my love."

Aster looked at the tall bookshelf in her room behind her. It was packed full of nonfiction books, everything she had ever delved in for the past 18 years of her life. Yet, she had only ever produced mediocre result, unlike her siblings who both revealed talents at a young age.

Were they finally giving up on her?

Aster twirled her fine hair between her thumb and finger. 'It's about time, I guess.'

Aster waited to hear footsteps before she made her way down. There was no need to make her parents feel any more guilty.

At the dining table, the results of Aster's research, planning, and cooking was laid bare for everyone to see. The food looked appetising, but the taste was... Ordinary. Sometimes, it would be the other way around.

Nonetheless, everyone showed joyful and proud expressions, praising her for the effort she had put into the dishes. Aster received it all with a polite smile and asked for critiques and suggestions, which earned her even more praises from her parents and admiration from her siblings.

After they were done with the small discussion, their talk carried on to more casual topics. Aster was not much of a conversationalist, so she spent more time listening and staring than talking.

Occasionally, her mind would drift by itself and she would see herself and the people around her from a third person's point of view. It was during those moments that feelings of being the odd one out were the strongest.

Her entire family was made of attractive people by society's standards.

Her father had rich and bountiful black hair, big grey eyes that carried a sharp gaze, thin lips, strong features, and a well-toned muscular body.

Her mother had long wavy black hair, hazel phoenix eyes, a dainty nose, perfectly bow-shaped lips, a sharp chin, and a tall and slender figure.

Her siblings received the best features of their parents, thus looked equally good. Luna was somehow the only one to inherit the plainer features of their bloodline and only that. By no means was she a head-turner like the rest of her family.

The next morning, the siblings headed out to the driveway where their chauffeur was waiting to drive them to school. After everyone hopped in, the chauffeur continued to hold the door open.

"What's wrong?" Rhiannon asked.

"Is Miss A-" The chauffeur's voice was stuck in his throat as he caught sight of Aster seated beside Rhiannon. She had gotten in from the other side by herself. "My apologies." He closed the door right after.

Rhiannon could guess what had happened and pouted with a deep frown.

Aster smiled wryly. "You should be used to it by now."

"It shouldn't be something you get used to! I don't like how people always fail to see you!"

Darius chimed in from the seat at the front, "I really can't understand how people fail to see this brilliant sister of ours! I mean, she practically shines, doesn't she?"

Rhiannon beamed proudly. "That's right! Everyone should know of how great she is!"

"I'm really sorry." The driver squeaked while he started up the car.

Aster sighed helplessly and smiled. "Will you both stop teasing the poor man already?"

Darius laughed heartily while Rhiannon grumbled, "This really isn't something to let go of..."

After a short drive, a building that looked like a palace fit for a king came into sight.

"Okay, that's enough for today, we've reached school." Aster patted Rhiannon's hand.

Rhiannon pouted but obediently swallowed whatever words she had wanted to keep spilling.

As the car rolled into the spacious drop-off point, they passed by several beautiful men and women dressed in their exquisite school uniform. Aster played with the edge of her skirt. The day when she would stop feeling out of place would probably never come, especially when she had the knowledge that she had only made it into this school through the backdoor. Her grades had not been good enough. She did not belong here. She was only here because of her background.

"Bye, big sis!" Rhiannon waved. "Bye, big bro!"

"Take care!" Aster replied with a smile. "Especially you, big bro. Don't come home injured again."

Darius laughed and rolled up the sleeve of his otherwise wrinkle-free military uniform. "I'll be fine, see?" There was a faint red line on his forearm. "Healing up well, as always. You should worry about yourself more. It's gets quite intense on your side, doesn't it?"

"Well, this is when I'm thankful for the ability to fly under the radar."

Darius smiled and tousled Aster's hair. "See you later."

School progressed as per normal. Students mingling and playing politics, hardly paying any attention to class. Perhaps they took extra classes outside of school to bolster their studying, but Aster was the only one here who had to make use of the teachers for real studying, not networking. Although the classroom was not the most conducive environment for studying, at least no one bothered her.

At the end of classes, Aster headed straight to the library and settled in her favourite spot that she had long claimed for herself. There was no longer any need to continue revision or self-studying because of the break her parents' asked her to take, but there was nothing else she could think of doing.

After an hour or two, she looked up from her notebook and stretched. She gazed outside the tall window where the crown of the plum blossom tree was in plain view. A faint smile graced her lips. The flowers were in full bloom.

The sound of a chair moving beside her grabbed her attention.

It was Lucifer Wu, the scholarship student for her year, seated at the other end of the table. Each year, this school admits one scholarship student from poverty as an act of charity. It was for reputation. Nonetheless, it was still an opportunity to turn their lives around for those in the lower rungs of society, so everyone in need would still fight for the chance.

Despite his background, Lucifer's aura, poise, and looks did not lose out to the rich brats that filled this school. In fact, whenever Aster was noticed, she was mistaken as the scholarship student instead.

Aster discreetly checked out the books stacked by his side. 'Wow, he upgraded again...' Her gaze lingered for only a second longer before she returned it to her notebook. Her hand moved fervently and her pen flew across the page.

Just as she was entering the peak of her focus, bright chatter brought her back to reality. She glanced at the far end of the table, where Lucifer was at. His two buddies, Eric and Guinevere, had arrived to invite him out for leisure.

'They really bring light wherever they go...'

If Lucifer could be described as the dark side of the moon, then Guinevere would be described as the bright side of the moon, and Eric, the sun. If Aster had to pick her favourite out of the popular trio, she would pick Lucifer. She had always found it a pity that his fate was to be overshadowed by Eric. Despite his intelligence, he always ranked second, below Eric, who Aster regarded as the school's airheaded casanova. There had to be more to the school ranking than meets the eye, especially since Eric was the son of the school's principal. Moreover, Aster had caught the looks that Guinevere gave Eric and, in turn, the gaze that Lucifer had for Guinevere.

'Ah... What a second male lead thing to happen. I'd have severe second male lead syndrome from this story.'

Aster was not sure when it started to happen, but she no longer found joy in the fictional stories that she used to binge on by sacrificing her sleep. She had became more cynical. Plot holes, plot conveniences, overly simplified plot, flat characters, and more, became increasingly glaring to her.

Perhaps it was around the time when she started to have the dissociation-like experiences. Perhaps it was when she started to view her life in the same way she viewed those fictional stories.

Some people were like the main characters of a story, blessed with talents, and well-loved by all, sometimes with a dash of a tragic backstory. Other people were cannon fodder with nothing much to their name or character, whose purpose were only to spice up the main plot.

In this manner, Aster began to predict relationships between people and their progressions. For example, right now, the female lead was none other than Guinevere, the childhood sweetheart of the male lead.

Aster eventually realised that her life was just another crappy story where she was nothing but an inconsequential insignificant character.

Not long after the golden pair left, another beautiful person that she recognised came through the library's doors. However, this person had never made an appearance here before, nor had any reason to. The oddness of the situation made Aster's brows draw together ever so slightly.

'What's she doing here?'