Shen Baizhi stared at the three items in the mall, practically drooling. She no longer despised how crude the mall was—though there were only three items, they were simply too tempting!
Especially that experience voucher that allowed time travel…
Time travel! And she could even bring items back from another time and space. It was a perfect match for her spatial storage!
Calm down! Calm down!
That said, where did this system even come from? Didn’t it need a host or carrier…?
Wait—if it had a carrier, wouldn’t it also require a blood contract to recognize its owner? In the past two days, there had only been one place where she’d been injured and bled.
She raised her hand and looked at the silver bracelet on her wrist—the one Lin Ranran had almost snatched away. Shen Baizhi narrowed her eyes. That’s right—yesterday, when Lin Cheng was fighting her for the bracelet, she seemed to have heard a mechanical voice…
Damn Lin Ranran and Lin Cheng! So they’d even stolen a system from her. Letting them die peacefully in her previous life was really letting them off too lightly!
No wonder those shameless creatures, who had no sense of decency at all, suddenly became so enthusiastic about doing charity after making money. Now it all made sense—they were earning merit!
In her previous life, yesterday morning, ignorant of the truth and only wanting to live a good life with Lin Cheng, she had been pressured by the two of them and painfully gave the bracelet to Lin Ranran as a “meeting gift.”
After taking such a huge advantage of her, they still refused to let her go…
Sitting on the ground and staring at the river not far away, Shen Baizhi suddenly felt a little lost. She wondered whether there was something wrong with the education she had received.
Her teachers had taught her to be grateful and to treat others sincerely.
Then why was it that after receiving such great benefits from her, Shen Baiwei and Lin Ranran not only felt no gratitude, but instead wanted her dead?
Were they simply too evil—or were her teachers wrong?
Shen Baizhi was confused for only a few seconds before clarity returned to her eyes.
Yes—they were the bad ones. There were still far more good people in this world.
Hadn’t there been many lovely, warm-hearted strangers online in her previous life who spoke up for her and pleaded on her behalf, eventually leading the authorities to give her a lighter sentence?
So this world was still beautiful. There was no need to think the whole world disgusting just because of a few rotten apples.
Shen Baizhi didn’t wallow for long before pulling herself together again. What happened in her previous life would not happen this time. There was no need to dwell on sorrow—she needed to seize this rare second chance and live this life the way she wanted.
“System, system—are you there?”
She called out several times. When the screen showed no changes and that mechanical voice didn’t sound again, she basically confirmed that this was one of those most primitive, old-fashioned systems.
Fine then—even a dumb system would do!
Thinking of having to face the Shen family and the Lin family next, Shen Baizhi didn’t hesitate and directly used her only point of merit to exchange for a Strength Pill.
This was exactly what she needed right now. She had been worried she might not be able to beat them before, but this Strength Pill was a timely blessing. Now she really could fight anyone who dared to challenge her!
Since this was her first time exchanging something from the system, it was safer to test whether the effect was really as described.
After swallowing the Strength Pill, Shen Baizhi spun around in place a couple of times to feel it out. Finding nothing unusual, she picked up a stone and squeezed hard.
A shocking scene unfolded.
When she opened her hand, all that remained was a small pile of powder. This effect would definitely be a “pleasant surprise” for the Shen family and the Lin family!
Suppressing her excitement, when she stepped into the Shen household again, seven or eight banquet tables had already been set up in the courtyard. The guests were seated and ready to start eating, and the whole yard was filled with a festive atmosphere.
But on closer inspection, the smiles on the Shen family members’ faces were all somewhat forced. Shen Baizhi laughed inwardly and walked straight toward the main hall.
Today was her huimen—the day a married daughter returns to her natal home. No matter what, there should be a table for her at her parents’ home. As for the Shen family choosing to save one banquet by setting her return day on the same day as her fourth uncle’s wedding, she couldn’t care less. A daughter returning home eating at the main table in the main hall was perfectly reasonable.
At the main table in the main hall, ten seats had been arranged, and nine were already filled. The bride and groom needed to go around proposing toasts, so they weren’t seated. Those at the table were the old Shen couple, the bride’s brothers, sisters-in-law, uncles, as well as the village brigade leader and the village party secretary.
The one remaining empty seat was presumably reserved for Lin Cheng, the factory director’s son and grandson-in-law. Since Lin Cheng hadn’t come, it suited her just fine to sit there.
Ignoring the scrutinizing gazes of others, Shen Baizhi plopped herself down in the empty seat.
Old Madam Shen shot her a fierce glare, hurriedly stood up, and looked toward the door as she asked:
“Second girl, where’s your husband? Why are you back so late? We’re about to start the meal!”
“Hurry up and move—this seat is for your husband. You and your mother can just eat in the kitchen!”
Shen Baizhi responded with a calm “Oh.”
“That works out perfectly. He had a bit of an accident yesterday and is in the hospital now—he can’t come. So I’ll just sit here.”
Old Madam Shen’s expression changed. She glanced at the others at the table and, in the end, swallowed the curse she was about to spit out, forcing a stiff smile as she asked:
“You child—your husband is in the hospital, so why aren’t you there taking care of him instead of running back here?”
Shen Baizhi looked up and asked innocently:
“But today is my huimen day. Grandma, are you saying I don’t need to come back at all? Or are you planning to make it so I won’t acknowledge my natal family anymore in the future?”
“Nonsense. You married so well—how could you not acknowledge your natal family?”
Old Madam Shen’s mouth twitched. How could she possibly let this wretched girl cut ties with her natal family? Now that she’d finally married into a good household, Old Madam Shen was counting on that grandson-in-law to get the two boys from the eldest branch into the steel factory as regular workers!
Shen Baizhi nodded seriously.
“Grandma, you’re absolutely right. No matter how well I marry, I’ll definitely take good care of my natal family!”
She deliberately stressed the words “take good care”, but no one understood her meaning. Old Madam Shen was about to say something more when Old Man Shen cut her off, saying impatiently:
“Enough. Since your husband didn’t come, go call your eldest uncle over to sit here.”
“There’s food set aside for you women in the kitchen!”
Shen Baizhi looked at Old Man Shen and spoke in disbelief:
“Grandpa, what do you mean? Does a married daughter returning home not even qualify to eat one meal in the main hall?”
Then she turned to the others.
“Elders of the Tang family, when my fourth uncle and fourth aunt return home the day after tomorrow, will you also not let them eat in the main hall?”
“Uncle Zhang, Uncle Li—are there any other families in our village where daughters returning home have to eat in the kitchen?”
Finally, she looked at her grandmother.
“Grandma, when my cousin gets married in the future, will she also eat in the kitchen when she returns home?”
The people she questioned all looked embarrassed. Old Madam Shen blurted out:
“How can you compare yourself with your cousin? She is—”
“Ahem! Ahem! Ahem!” Old Man Shen interrupted her again. “Since you insist on sitting here, then sit. It’s no big deal. But in other people’s homes, you can’t be so competitive and pushy—otherwise others will say our Shen family has no manners!”
With that sanctimonious remark, Old Man Shen made it sound as if everything was Shen Baizhi’s fault for being too assertive.