Ning You suddenly felt her whole body grow lighter, instantly understanding that the little girl had finally departed.
She sighed softly.
“You should live well too. I hope your wish comes true.”
Whether there was another life or not, hopefully she would never again meet a father like Ning Zhongyi.
The room fell silent.
Other than faint breathing, not a single sound remained.
On the bed, Ning You—who had been sleeping deeply—suddenly jolted awake.
“A dream?”
Probably not.
The original owner still had lingering attachments and refused to leave completely, so she had come to entrust her with a dream? That possibility seemed more likely.
In the darkness, Ning You casually tugged the light cord. Leaning against the headboard, she looked up at the lamp overhead and let out a long sigh.
Life’s twists and turns truly were impossible to predict.
Before sleeping, she had even joked that she’d never seen another wandering ghost besides herself.
And then one showed up that very night.
Since things had already become this fantastical…
Ning You straightened up and silently chanted in her heart:
“Oh mighty God of Fate, you’re basically my reborn parent now. Giving your precious daughter a cheat ability isn’t too much to ask, right?”
After going out during the day, she had deeply experienced just how harsh this era was.
Even with money, you still couldn’t buy food. Was there anything more tragic than that?
“Dear father, give your child a cup of instant noodles.”
The moment her words fell—
Bang!
A cup of braised beef instant noodles smacked directly onto her head.
Then dropped to the floor with a thud.
Ning You didn’t even care about the pain in her head. She bent over and picked up the noodles.
Did her dream just come true?!
“How about a steamed bun too~”
Moments later, a steaming hot meat bun appeared on the bedside table.
Ning You’s eyes lit up. She grabbed it and stuffed it into her mouth.
The bun was rich with oil, the meat filling incredibly fragrant—so delicious she nearly cried tears of joy.
Oh heavens, from today onward, you are my father. My one and only father!
Wait.
Calm down first. Figure out the situation.
The current circumstances were obvious enough.
She seemed… maybe… probably… possibly… to have some kind of cheat ability now—
“System?” Ning You called out.
Dead silence.
“Storage-space marketplace?”
Still no response.
“Superpowers?”
Nothing.
“Super strength?”
Silence remained tonight’s Cambridge.
“Open sesame!” Ning You’s patience finally snapped.
The worst thing was sudden silence.
Ning You took a strategic deep breath, then threw herself backward onto the bed.
“So it’s not a system, not a storage space, not powers… Don’t tell me it’s literally a commercial street?”
The moment the words left her mouth, dizziness overwhelmed her.
Then she saw blue skies and white clouds.
“…”
Ning You froze briefly before climbing to her feet.
What appeared before her was—
An entire commercial street.
“So it really is a commercial street? That’s surprisingly generous!”
Her eyes swept around. At the entrance stood a stone monument engraved with the words:
“Ning Corporation.”
“Ning Corporation?”
Those four words stirred something faintly within her heart.
At the same time, chaotic fragments of memory suddenly surged through her mind.
She struggled desperately to sort through them, but couldn’t make sense of anything.
After trying for a long time, she could only arrive at one conclusion:
This marketplace seemed deeply connected to the memories she had lost.
Ning You shoved the thought aside and walked inward.
There wasn’t a single person around.
Shops lined both sides of the street, containing every imaginable necessity for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation.
—With such a massive cheat ability, maybe surviving this difficult era wouldn’t be impossible after all!
(?ˉ??ˉ??)
She happened to be hungry and noticed a steamed bun shop. Excitedly walking over, she reached out to grab one—
Only to discover that no matter how hard she stretched, she couldn’t touch the buns.
Ning You: …
Seriously, even the bamboo shoots underground were being dug clean at this point!
The food was right in front of her, yet she still couldn’t obtain it. Was this something a god would do?!
Unable to eat the buns, Ning You tried something else instead.
The milk tea shop next door looked unfamiliar but pretty good.
Heartbreakingly, she encountered the exact same problem.
She could see it—
But couldn’t touch it.
The smile gradually vanished from Ning You’s face.
Right before her mentality completely collapsed, a transparent light screen suddenly appeared before her.
Words slowly emerged upon it.
The general meaning was:
Don’t even think about getting things for free. If she wanted to use anything here, she had to unlock it first…
As for how to unlock it?
No explanation.
It only stated that when the right time came, she would naturally understand.
Ning You: (-_-#) I already took my pants off and this is all you’re showing me?
Thankfully, she was civilized enough not to start cursing aloud.
Fine then…
While Ning You was riding an emotional roller coaster between ecstasy and despair, the neighboring Zhou family was having a small argument because of her situation.
“Mom, that project at the factory—Engineer Ning is a hot favorite for the position. If he becomes the project leader, what if he causes trouble for my husband?” the Zhou family’s eldest daughter-in-law said with a frown.
She felt her mother-in-law had acted too impulsively.
Yes, Ning You was pitiful.
But no matter how much sympathy one had for others, shouldn’t one still prioritize their own family?
Originally, Aunt Zhou had been in a great mood, pleased that she had finally done something she’d always wanted to do.
Who would’ve thought she’d come home only to get lectured by her daughter-in-law?
Her mood instantly soured.
Instead of answering, she looked at her son.
“Son, what do you think? Do you also believe I was wrong and harmed your future prospects?”
Zhou Shun’an was both capable and filial. He shot his wife a cool glance before smiling.
“How could that be? Your son has genuine talent. My future won’t disappear just because someone trips me up.”
“Little Yuzu is a child we watched grow up. When she’s suffering, we neighbors can’t just stand by and do nothing.”
The eldest Zhou daughter-in-law’s expression instantly became awkward and miserable, changing colors like an overturned paint palette.
“Mom, that’s not what I meant…” she hurriedly explained.
Aunt Zhou remained silent.
She had always only concerned herself with her own son.
As for daughters-in-law? Their husbands should manage them.
If a man couldn’t even manage his own wife, then he might as well quit his job and stay home raising children.
Seeing that his mother’s anger had faded, Zhou Shun’an gently said:
“Mom, it’s late. You should go rest.”
Aunt Zhou knew her son wanted to speak privately with his wife. She shot him a look warning him to mind his limits before returning to her room.
Her eldest daughter-in-law was good in every other way—
Except that she valued empty status and reputation too much, to the point where she couldn’t distinguish priorities.
Looking at his wife’s reddened eyes, Zhou Shun’an sighed softly.
“You shouldn’t have spoken to Mom that way…”
The woman felt wronged and explained:
“You work so hard. I was only afraid this matter would affect you.”
“I know.” Zhou Shun’an’s face grew serious. “But many things can’t be measured by only one standard. You only saw Mom helping Little Yuzu, but why not think about how much Comrade Wen helped our family back then?”
The eldest Zhou daughter-in-law lowered her head obediently.
“I understand now. I’ll change in the future.”
But in truth, she didn’t think she was wrong.
Comrade Wen had indeed helped the Zhou family.
But over all these years, hadn’t the Zhou family also helped Ning You plenty?
Surely the debt of gratitude had long been repaid. Was it really necessary to go this far for her?
Zhou Shun’an stared steadily at his wife, hoping she truly took his words to heart.
Otherwise, sooner or later, she would suffer greatly because of this mindset.
Early the next morning.
He Meili walked out of her room and was just about to wash up when she discovered both thermos flasks were empty.
Her face darkened, and she instinctively wanted to start cursing.
But before the insults left her mouth, she remembered Ning Zhongyi’s warning from the previous night.
The vicious words at the tip of her tongue were forcibly swallowed back down.
She walked to the storage room and knocked on Ning Hong’s door.
“Honghong, it’s getting late. Hurry up and get up. Nobody boiled water, and the house hasn’t been cleaned. There’s still a ton to do—come help already.”