Sunlight filled the tree-lined path, casting mottled shadows of coolness. The sound of cicadas chirped one after another, buzzing with the stuffiness of summer.

The driver secretly glanced at the rearview mirror.

In his blind spot sat a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy. The boy had a thin frame and wore the uniform of an international middle school. Unlike the loose athletic wear of ordinary schools, his uniform was a well-tailored Western-style suit.

This person was none other than the young master of the Gu family—Gu Sui’an.

Since getting in the car, Gu Sui’an had sat silently, one hand propping up his chin, eyes dazed as he stared out the window.

The driver had only recently started working for the Gu family and didn’t know much about this young master. He only knew that the boy wasn’t fond of talking and usually walked with his head down.

People outside didn’t even know Mr. Gu had a son. The driver only learned this secret after entering the household. To be honest, the young master didn’t look much like Mr. Gu. Perhaps he took after some unknown mother.

Judging from Mr. Gu’s completely hands-off attitude toward his son, there must be some unspeakable story behind it.

The driver clicked his tongue quietly. Now that Mr. Gu had married a new wife, the unfavored young master’s situation was even more difficult. Sure enough, just a few days had passed, and the boy had already moved out of the villa to live at school.

Thinking of this, the driver who is also a father, couldn’t help but feel soft-hearted. He took the initiative to speak. “Young master did well this time. When Sir finds out, he’ll definitely be pleased.”

The boy held a report card in his hand. The driver had seen it earlier. Though he didn’t understand all the densely packed English text, the bright red 100 at the top was quite eye-catching.

If his own son scored a hundred, he would definitely be overjoyed!

But Gu Sui’an showed no reaction. He suddenly asked, “What day is it today?”

His voice was hoarse. The moment he spoke, it was like an old, rusted machine groaning to life.

“Ah, today is May 31, 2020. Tomorrow is Children’s Day. My kid even said he wants to go to the amusement park…”

The rest of the words didn’t register with Gu Sui’an. His mind was full of that one date.

2020—four years before he jumped off a building.

He lowered his head and stared blankly at his pale wrist. The skin there was smooth, with none of the later self-inflicted scars.

He had come back?

Why?

Gu Sui’an felt no joy from being reborn—only confusion and fear. But before he could figure anything out, the driver suddenly slammed the brakes.

Under the effect of inertia, Gu Sui’an’s head slammed hard into the seat.

Then, he heard the voice that had haunted him through countless nights of fear.

“Gu Yi! You’re finally back!”

Yu Lan watched “herself” heroically stop the car, saw “herself” reveal a look of girlish infatuation. Then, when the door opened and it was Gu Sui’an instead of Gu Yi who got out, “she” instantly changed her expression. “Why is it you?!”

“………………”

Let it all be destroyed.

Facing the stepmother who had once bullied him, those terrifying images buried deep in his heart gradually surfaced. Gu Sui’s fingers began to tremble uncontrollably. Even though he had lived to the age of seventeen in his previous life and was no longer a clueless child, the fear had been deeply etched into his mind and could not be restrained.

He could only lower his head and remain silent.

Because this was how he usually behaved, no one found it strange.

“Yu Lan” rolled her eyes in disdain and said, “Little mute.”

Her voice was not low, and everyone present, including the driver, heard it.

In fact, when she had first married into the family, the original owner still pretended to be a kind stepmother. Later, when she realized that Gu Yi did not care about this son at all, she simply stopped hiding her malice.

Just like now, when she saw the person in the car was Gu Sui’an, she did not even bother to pay attention to this stepson. “Sigh, I’m so tired. I want to eat Brazilian steak. Butler He has to hurry up and grill it.”

As she spoke, she turned around and left while muttering to herself.

She did not notice that behind her, Gu Sui’an silently raised his head. Beneath his long bangs that covered his eyelashes, a pair of eyes filled with disgust was revealed.

　

Yu Lan regained control of her body the moment she returned to her room.

She glanced at the time. This time, being forced to follow the plot lasted for about ten minutes. Although no harm was done, the feeling of being a puppet on strings made Yu Lan extremely annoyed.

Just thinking that if she failed to complete a mission in the future, she would lose control over her body again was enough to dampen her excitement about becoming a wealthy lady.

[Ding, new task issued. The host must exploit the rich for three hundred yuan and donate it to an orphanage. Time limit: twenty-four hours. If the task fails, forced plot mode will be activated!]

Here it comes again!

Yu Lan frowned deeply, so much so that when she received a call from her fake bestie, her tone was full of impatience. “What do you want to buy this time?!”

Xu Jiajia, on the other end of the phone, was immediately choked by the question.

She had indeed called to ask Yu Lan for something. As best friends, Xu Jiajia’s family background could only be considered average. It could not compare to the nouveau riche Yu family, let alone the deeply rooted Gu family.

At first, Xu Jiajia was able to maintain a calm mindset, but after Yu Lan married into the Gu family and suddenly became the highly respected Madan Gu, entering and leaving high-end venues every day, wearing clothes that cost more than Xu Jiajia could imagine, her mentality completely collapsed.

She did not even feel grateful, because she believed Yu Lan was deliberately showing off—showing off that she had married into the Gu family. This made Xu Jiajia spend Yu Lan’s money with a clear conscience, while also gossiping about her behind her back without any scruples.

But in the past, Yu Lan would arrogantly pay for her without saying a word. When had she ever questioned her like this?!

Xu Jiajia suppressed her dissatisfaction and asked in a low voice, “Lanlan, what’s wrong with you? Are you unhappy? Did that stepson of yours bully you again?”

Besides showing off, what Yu Lan talked about the most on a daily basis was that stepson of hers.

Back then, Xu Jiajia had been truly shocked when she heard. She did not expect Gu Yi, who had always maintained a clean reputation and remained unmarried in his thirties, to actually have an illegitimate son!

The original owner liked older men and was full of hatred and disgust toward this stepson. She often complained about him to Xu Jiajia.

But Xu Jiajia thought Yu Lan did not know how lucky she was. If it were her, she would definitely get along well with the stepson.

“That kid must be thirteen now, right? At this age, there’s no difference between a child and an adult. If he’s already bullying you like this now, he’ll only get worse in the future!”

Listening to Xu Jiajia’s words, Yu Lan raised an eyebrow. “Then what do you think I should do?”

The original owner could not see it, but Yu Lan was no fool. She had known since the moment she transmigrated that the other party had two faces. The so-called sisterhood was fake—treating her as an ATM was the truth.

“Sigh, what else can you do? Being a stepmother is tough. If you can’t provoke him, at least you can avoid him. There’s a JOZY stage performance tomorrow, how about I take you out to relax?”

These words seemed like comfort, but with the original owner’s temper, hearing them would only make her angrier. Even if there was no conflict, it would create one.

Xu Jiajia had a good plan, but she didn’t know that the person on the other end of the call was no longer the same soul. “Sure.”

Yu Lan agreed immediately. “But I don’t have a ticket. You buy one for me first.”

Xu Jiajia: “……”

Although JOZY was not a hugely popular group, a ticket still cost two thousand yuan—equivalent to one month of Xu Jiajia’s living expenses. But thinking about the handbag she had her eyes on, she gritted her teeth and agreed. “Alright, don’t forget to come tomorrow!”

Just like that, the two of them set the plan. Yu Lan pretended not to hear the pain in Xu Jiajia’s tone. After hanging up the phone, she pulled out the idle system chat and asked, “Can I only exploit the Gu family?”

System: [As long as it’s a wealthy family, it counts]

It reminded her: [But Xu Jiajia’s family background is only considered middle-class. She doesn’t qualify]

Yu Lan shook her head and sighed. “Your vision is too narrow.”

System: [?]

“Even middle-class families are happy to contribute to society. I bet Xu Jiajia will donate at least ten thousand to the orphanage. Oh wait, no—twenty thousand!”

System: […………]

On the other side, Xu Jiajia had no idea about the grand vision awaiting her.

Early the next morning, she called to inform Yu Lan that she had already gotten the ticket and told her to come early.

Yu Lan agreed on the surface. But after hanging up the phone, she calmly closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

The first rays of morning sunlight slipped quietly through the curtains. On the spacious double bed, the woman’s skin was as fair as snow, her soft pink lips slightly parted, emitting slow and gentle breaths.

Two hours later, Yu Lan slowly woke up.

At this point, only thirty minutes remained until the time Xu Jiajia had mentioned. But Yu Lan was not the least bit anxious.

She first asked the maid to bring her a glass of iced milk. During that time, she faintly heard some commotion coming from downstairs.

These past few days, the villa had been quiet and lonely, like a golden cage holding a nightingale. The maids always walked silently, and nothing like this had ever happened before.

But she only found it strange for a moment before brushing it off. After finishing the milk, she went into the bathroom to take a hot bath.

Yu Lan looked at the beautiful woman in the mirror.

She did not know why, but she and the original owner not only shared the same name, but their appearances were also exactly the same: almond-shaped eyes, a delicate nose, and soft pink lips. Especially on the right collarbone, there was a small red beauty mark, giving off an innocent yet slightly seductive aura.

Unfortunately, none of the original owner’s clothes matched this face and figure. Looking around, it was either high-saturation color clashes or non-mainstream styles full of studs and iron chains. After picking through for a long time, she could only find a loose white shirt and light-colored short denim pants.

Yu Lan looked at herself in the mirror. The original owner’s white shirt was a men’s style, which looked especially loose on her and created a “missing lower half” effect. She was somewhat satisfied, but still decided to replace all the clothes in the dressing room.

At this moment, the noise downstairs grew louder, making one feel irritable and annoyed. Yu Lan walked out of the room, originally intending to ask the butler about it. But after just a few steps, she saw a thin teenage boy standing by the dining table on the first floor.

At first glance, Yu Lan did not react until the boy turned around in panic—

“Gu Sui’an?”

“Bang!”

The glass bottle shattered upon impact, and the rich scent of perfume instantly filled the entire villa, almost suffocating.

Yu Lan frowned. “You—”

Gu Sui’an realized something, and his body suddenly froze.

It had come…

He did not expect that even after living again, he still could not avoid this scene.

In his previous life, he had also accidentally broken her perfume, which led to the woman’s ridicule and even abuse.

The pain in his hand gradually became numb. Gu Sui’an lowered his head and looked at the wound, sneering bitterly. Next, she would use the glass shards to scratch her own face…

Just as he thought that, he heard the woman’s cheerful voice ring out beside his ear. “This was broken by you, so pay me three hundred yuan!”

A broken iron shoe could not be found anywhere, but now it had come effortlessly. Yu Lan was overjoyed. She had just been worrying about how to complete her task!

Gu Sui’an, who received thirty thousand yuan of pocket money daily: “???”