As she spoke, Liu Qin put down her luggage and pulled over a teenage boy wearing a black T-shirt, absorbed in his game.

Dragged along, Liu Sheng glanced up impatiently.

Su You stood at the doorway with her arms crossed. “Why are you here?”

“Yoyo, today is your brother’s first day of school. I came with Old Su to bring him to see you,” Liu Qin explained.

The “brother” she referred to was Liu Sheng, her stepson from her second marriage.

This year, he had been admitted to Deep City University, the same school Su You attended, and Liu Qin and Su Weiguo had made a special trip to bring him.

Su You cast a sideways glance at Liu Qin’s belly and sneered.

In her previous life, Liu Qin and Su Weiguo had shown up unannounced with Liu Sheng, stayed for a few days, and then simply refused to leave.

Liu Qin’s excuse was that she was pregnant and wanted to nurture the fetus in a big city with better medical facilities and more convenient transportation.

Meanwhile, Su Weiguo could easily find a security job in the city to take care of her and the child. Liu Sheng would be studying here anyway and could settle down after graduation. Wouldn’t it be wonderful for the whole family to be together?

Back then, Su You had been naïve, thinking her apartment was large enough, so letting them stay didn’t matter.

Besides, Su Weiguo had said he was looking into buying a secondhand apartment nearby.

But later, there was no more talk of buying a house, while Liu Qin’s belly grew larger by the day.

The household expenses—utilities, groceries, everything—came from Su You’s pocket. Even though she had a side business, her mortgage payments weighed heavily on her.

At the time, Su You was only three years out of college, still thin-skinned. Liu Qin always spoke kindly and even helped with chores like cooking and laundry, so Su You found it hard to say anything.

But one day, she overheard Liu Qin and Su Weiguo talking, and finally realized their plan.

They wanted to have their baby in her home to save on expenses. Not only that, but they intended for Su You to act as a babysitter, all so they could save money for Liu Sheng’s future wedding and house.

They had even set their sights on her run-down old apartment.

Unfortunately, before she could confront them, the apocalypse struck. She never got the chance to tear off their masks, which led to later tragedies…

Thinking of this, Su You’s heart, hardened by her rebirth in the apocalypse, grew colder.

Looking at her hypocritical stepmother, who acted so kind but was rotten inside, Su You nearly felt sick.

This kind of person wasn’t easy to deal with. If you exposed her directly, she’d never admit it. Only when caught red-handed would she show her true face.

With that in mind, Su You glanced at them both and only gave a faint reply.

Her lukewarm attitude and failure to invite them in immediately made Liu Qin feel the atmosphere shift.

She assumed it was just because they hadn’t seen each other in a while and the relationship felt distant. So she cheerfully shoved fruit and milk into Su You’s hands. “Yoyo, here, take these. Your dad’s parking the car and will be up any minute.”

But Su You was no longer the naïve girl she had once been. She heard clearly that Liu Qin was using Su Weiguo’s name to pressure her.

Still, Su You found her utterly disgusting. Even if a king came, she wouldn’t let them into her house.

Just then, Su Weiguo came up the stairs with the keys. Seeing the three standing at the door, he frowned. “What are you doing? Why aren’t you inside resting?”

Su You sneered at him. Her mother had died young—an amniotic fluid embolism, losing both mother and child.

In those days of strict family planning, the only reason her mother became pregnant again was because of the Su family’s obsession with having a son to carry on the line. Under the pressure of such traditional values, she had been forced into a second pregnancy.

After her death, Su You, being a girl, was never valued. She was only given just enough for tuition and living costs.

That was why she had worked herself to the bone in school, juggling part-time jobs and livestreaming games. Three years after graduation, she had managed to buy her own apartment with her savings—just to prove to them that girls could accomplish just as much as boys.

But instead of admitting they were wrong, they saw her success as something to exploit, treating her as a free blood bank.

The thought made Su You grit her teeth so hard they creaked. She clenched her fists, wanting to smash them against Su Weiguo.

She didn’t believe for a second that he was unaware of Liu Qin and Liu Sheng’s plans. In fact, in the last life, he had stood by and watched her be blown up by the two of them—all to preserve his own chance at survival.

He was nothing but a selfish opportunist.

“I’m talking to you! Why are you just standing there? I raised you, and now you block me at the door?”

By the time Su You snapped out of it, Su Weiguo was already in front of her, brows furrowed in anger.

Seeing her refuse to move, he reached out a hand to shove her aside.

But Su You raised her own hand and, with a cold laugh, knocked his arm away with force.

Su Weiguo froze. Normally, she never defied him. How dare she resist him now?

Once he realized what had happened, he couldn’t save face anymore. He raised his arm high in threat. “You little brat, you’ve really grown bold!”

Seeing this, Liu Qin quickly set down the bags and stepped in to stop him. “Old Su, don’t be angry. Yoyo definitely didn’t mean it like that. Calm down first.”

Su You, still with arms crossed, watched the two play their act—one fierce, one gentle—and smiled coldly. “You want to come in? Fine. Pay off my debts first. I borrowed a million from loan sharks for my business. I’m waiting to sell this place to repay them. Since you’re here, take out whatever cash you have and help me out.”

At those words, both froze.

Su Weiguo’s eyes bulged. He jabbed a finger at her. “Y-you said how much?”

Su You parted her lips. “One million.”

Su Weiguo nearly lost his breath, slapping his thigh in rage. “Unfilial child! What a disaster! All that hard-earned money given to loan sharks?”

Liu Qin also put on a worried look. “Yoyo, is this true? Don’t lie to your father—his heart can’t take it.”

Su You stepped aside, leaving the doorway clear. “If you don’t believe me, come in and see. Just yesterday, the loan sharks came to collect. They threatened to sell me off to Myanmar if I didn’t pay. I’ve already contacted an agent—half the house is packed. If I drop the price, the place can sell today.”

Half-skeptical, they entered the apartment.

Inside, the living room had only one sofa left. Su You’s storeroom, once stacked high with supplies, was now stripped bare, as clean as if it had just been built.

Su You’s behavior was so different from usual that it unsettled them. Normally, she never gave them attitude.

Could it be that what she said was actually true?

Even Liu Qin’s expression grew uneasy, though deep down she still couldn’t believe it. From childhood, Su You had always been obedient. How could she possibly have done such a thing?