Fortunately, the auction began before Jiang Liuxu's sches could take effect.
Yu Ting shot him a resentful glare but refrained from speaking further given the occasion.
First ca the eldest Chang brother's speech, honoring their late parents by recounting their significant life events and dedication to philanthropy.
The charity auction was then officially launched in their na.
The event was attended by elites from various industries, and the dia had keen interest in the grand affair.
The bidding was lively, especially for the late Mrs. Chang's collection—rare haute couture pieces, handbags, and jewelry that were now priceless, driving the ladies present into a frenzy.
Jiang Liuxu asked, "See anything you like?"
Shen Ying shook her head. "I just ca for the drinks and desserts, not to spend money."
Yu Ting chid in, "I thought you were into this stuff. Too cheap to bid?"
"Just pick sothing, and I’ll get it for you. I have to buy sothing today anyway."
As a celebrity, skipping donations at a high-profile charity auction would inevitably invite malicious gossip.
But Jiang Liuxu caught Shen Ying’s wording and was intrigued.
Leaning close, he murmured just loud enough for her to hear, "What are you planning to freeload?"
Knowing her laid-back nature, she wouldn’t bother dressing up and attending just for desserts unless there was sothing in it for her.
Her phrasing was clever too—"not planning to buy" and "not planning to spend money" were two different things.
Shen Ying glanced at Jiang Liuxu. Intelligence undeniably amplified a man’s charm.
Then she looked at Yu Ting beside her—well, sheer stupidity had its own peculiar appeal too.
Later, she discreetly handed each of them an envelope, instructing them to open it alone after the event.
When Jiang Liuxu and Yu Ting felt the card-like contents inside, their hearts leapt, though they feigned indifference to avoid tipping each other off.
The latter half of the auction passed peacefully as they sat together, neither daring to provoke the other.
After the event, both left quickly, skipping the usual socializing.
In their cars, they opened the envelopes and found exactly what they’d hoped for, driving off eagerly to prepare.
Only then did Shen Ying leisurely hand Pei Ying a note.
"President Pei, could I trouble you for a favor?"
Pei Ying replied, "No need for formalities. Just tell what you need."
He was desperate to do sothing for her.
Shen Ying nodded, satisfied. "Thanks. I’ll treat you to dinner another ti."
With that, she left the banquet hall.
Down in the parking garage, the valet brought her car around.
She had barely pulled out when soone sat up abruptly in the backseat.
Catching the venomous glare in the rearview mirror, Shen Ying didn’t even flinch, maintaining her steady pace.
She spoke first. "The Chang family’s security is slacking if they let you slip out."
Yu Shishi lunged to strangle her. "This is all your fault! You want to suffer, don’t you? That lunatic Chang Ming even thanks you, but you’re the real monster here!"
A small knife appeared in Shen Ying’s hand, and she stabbed Yu Shishi’s arm without hesitation.
The grip loosened instantly, and the blade vanished just as quickly.
Calmly, Shen Ying said, "Then tell , what else could’ve saved your sorry life back then?"
"Chang Ming was dead set on making you pay. No plea would’ve worked. The only way was to redirect his revenge."
"Big sister saved you, and this is how you repay her?"
Yu Shishi snarled, "Saved ? If you hadn’t exposed everything, would I even need saving?"
"Do you know what my life’s like now?"
"Chang Ming is a psychopath. My bedroom has floor-to-ceiling portraits of his dead parents. My alarm is a recording of them singing lullabies. My closet is stuffed with his mother’s old clothes."
"I haven’t slept properly in days. Every night, I dream of his dead parents haunting . I’m losing my mind!"
Shen Ying feigned confusion. "Really? Weren’t you the one comforting Chang Ming for years, flipping through photo albums of his parents together?"
"Hadn’t you watched every ho video and recording of them with him?"
"And his mother’s clothes—weren’t you thrilled when he gifted you one of her prized handbags for your 20th birthday? I recall you flaunting it on social dia."
"Why are those sa things giving you nightmares now?"
Yu Shishi choked on her words before shrieking, "It’s not the sa!"
"He even fabricated a story about being kidnapped and injured, forcing to play the role of a traumatized girl he’s ‘healing’ in front of his brothers."
"They actually praised him for being ‘compassionate’—him, the kidnapper, pretending to be my savior!"
Shen Ying shrugged. "So he’s just doing what you did for over a decade, isn’t he?"
Yu Shishi’s face twisted. She glared at her sister’s indifferent expression and screeched, "This is all your fault! You’re the root of it!"
"Tell I was wrong! You know how things were in our past life. His parents were dood to die. Why did you think they’d escape fate this ti?"
"Why did you have to expose sothing with no proof? Just because I answered a phone call, I’m responsible for two deaths? Do I deserve this?"
Shen Ying countered, "Then why bother with the call at all?"
Yu Shishi froze. "What?"
"If you were so sure they’d die anyway, why take that extra step?"
After a long silence, Yu Shishi erupted into screams.
Shen Ying rolled down all the windows. "Louder. Let Chang Ming’s people hear you."
The screams cut off abruptly.
Cowering, Yu Shishi hissed, "Close the windows!"
Shen Ying obliged, watching her sister cautiously sit up only after the glass sealed them in.
With a sigh, Shen Ying said, "What a pathetic sight. A second chance at life, over a decade of foresight."
"Money? Barely a penny to your na."
"Career? Not a single marketable skill across two lifetis."
"Family? You neglected your adoptive parents, never once repaying their kindness."
"And the man you sched so hard to keep? Gone in the end."
Through the rearview mirror, Shen Ying locked eyes with her. "What exactly have you accomplished in all these years?"
Yu Shishi’s face contorted. "You’re mocking , aren’t you? You must be gloating inside. No matter how hard I fight for sothing, you always snatch it away effortlessly."
"You were like this in our past life too, always pretending to be clueless and innocent. It makes sick."
Yu Shishi burst into loud sobs: "Why? Why does the world revolve around you? If you hadn’t been adopted, Chang Ming’s parents wouldn’t have had to die, right?"
"What did you even do to make fate so biased toward you? And if it’s so biased, why did it give hope by letting be reborn?"
The look Yu Shishi gave Shen Ying was filled with undisguised envy.
Though Shen Ying wasn’t the original owner of this body, that didn’t stop her from spinning bold lies without hesitation.
She smirked and said, "Ah, such a familiar look. You used to stare at like this all the ti in our past life, thinking you were hiding it well."
"Are you thinking again, If only my sister didn’t exist. If only I were her?"
"Won’t work. Unless you get reborn again—oh, by the way, when exactly did you go back in your last life?"
"Judging by your current ntality, you must’ve been pretty young. But you lived a decently long life before, didn’t you?"
Yu Shishi’s face twisted in shock as she stared at Shen Ying in disbelief. "What did you say? I didn’t die after being reborn?"
"Then who was in my body? Who used my life to live out their days peacefully?"
Shen Ying feigned confusion. "No wonder. I always wondered how you changed overnight—suddenly so obedient, diligent, and ambitious."
[???] The system popped up, alard by how convincingly Shen Ying was spinning her lies.
It sensed with growing dread what its host was planning.
Yu Shishi was so overwheld by this revelation that her head spun.
She decided she couldn’t keep talking to her sister—who knew what else might slip out under the pressure and ruin her plans?
"Drive the car out," she ordered.
Shen Ying raised an eyebrow. "What are you planning?"
Yu Shishi snapped, "You’re helping escape. If I have no way out, I’m taking you down with ."
With that, she pulled out a bottle from beside her, unscrewed the cap, and splashed gasoline all over the car’s interior.
Shen Ying clicked her tongue. "Tsk. Such a nice car, and you’re ruining it. And the sll—ugh, pure gasoline."
Yu Shishi whipped out a lighter and sneered. "You’re worried about the car? Just drive!"
Shen Ying sighed. "Fine. But with prep like this, you could’ve asked anyone for a ride. Why ?"
"Because Chang Ming would never suspect your car," Yu Shishi retorted.
Well, flimsy as the excuse was, it was just plausible enough to pass.
When they reached the exit, sure enough, Chang family bodyguards were searching for sothing.
Yu Shishi ducked down, but Shen Ying wasn’t stopped at all.
Once they hit the highway, Yu Shishi gave directions to a dock about thirty kiloters away—a half-hour drive at least.
Shen Ying stayed silent the whole way, while Yu Shishi stewed over the bombshell she’d just heard.
Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. "What about you? When did you get reborn?"
Without missing a beat, Shen Ying replied, "After living a full life. Closed my eyes, and boom—back in my twenties."
Yu Shishi looked like she might spit blood. "Why? Your life was perfect, no regrets at all. How could you have any strong desire to start over?"
"You had no unfinished business, yet fate gave you a do-over. Was this just to give hope before crushing again?"
Shen Ying tilted her head. "So you’re saying you were reborn purely because of your overwhelming obsession—no accidents, no death involved?"
Oh-ho~
The system broke into a cold sweat. Its sense of impending doom grew stronger.
Yu Shishi scoffed. "So what? It’s still useless."
Shen Ying imdiately said, "If it’s useless, can you give it to ?"
That single sentence nearly short-circuited the system and left Yu Shishi blank-faced, utterly stunned.
Then Yu Shishi’s lips curled into a strange smile. "You think luck like this strikes twice?"
"Or do you think this is so kind of ti-travel ticket you can just hand over?"
If anything, her desire to start over now was even stronger than before. So why couldn’t she go back?
Not a single day passed where she didn’t wish for it—if she could redo everything, she’d leave no loose ends, give her sister no chance to interfere.
But the heavens ignored her prayers. Proof, once again, that no matter the circumstances, her sister would always trample her underfoot.
Shen Ying, however, just shrugged. "Just thought it’d make a nice keepsake. You know how I like auspicious things, even if they’re intangible."
"Give it to ? As thanks for helping you escape?"
"I’ll even throw in a million for your getaway. Can’t say your sister never did anything for you."
Yu Shishi sneered. "A asly million to ease your conscience? I don’t need it."
After tonight, she’d have far more than that.
Shen Ying sighed. "We’re about to part ways forever—likely never eting again in this lifeti—and you’re still making things tense?"
"You’re breaking my heart. I need to pull over for a smoke."
With less than three kiloters to the dock, Yu Shishi wasn’t about to let her derail things.
She brandished the lighter. "Don’t you dare!"
Shen Ying laughed. "Back in the parking lot, I’d have believed you’d light it up. But now, on the verge of freedom? You really still have the guts to risk your life?"
She parked anyway, pulled a cigarette from her bag, and moved to step out for a lancholic smoke.
Yu Shishi panicked—the boat wouldn’t wait forever, and ti was running out.
"Fine! That stupid rebirth ‘keepsake’ or whatever—it’s yours. I’ll take the million too. Consider the past wiped clean. Happy now?"
Shen Ying: "Too late. The million’s off the table."
Though a million was peanuts compared to her real goal, Yu Shishi still choked on her fury.
Through gritted teeth, she said, "Fine. Keep your damn money."
Only then did Shen Ying close the door and start the car again.
Yu Shishi thought she’d just tossed out empty words to placate her sister.
But the system was in full ltdown.
It had been screaming warnings since Shen Ying first brought up the "gift," all ignored.
Now, with the deal sealed, the system ntally cursed Yu Shishi as the biggest fool alive.
Then it turned on Shen Ying: [You planned this from the start? When did you set this up?]
[I knew it—you’ve killed without blinking, so why save your sister? This is why you kept her alive?]
[You cut off every escape route, turned Chang Ming—her last hope—into her nightmare, made her despair over the future, shattered any gratitude she had for being reborn.]
[You even lied about soone living happily in her body last life, so she’d resent her own rebirth now.]
[All so the mont you asked for the ‘skill,’ she’d discard it without hesitation.]
[Was this why you never bothered seducing Chang Ming?]
Finally, Shen Ying responded, but her face was the picture of smug satisfaction after scoring a high-tier ‘skill’ for free.
"Now, now, System. That tone’s uncalled for. As partners, you’re the one who kept ignoring . Don’t bla for not sharing my plans."
The System: ["Your plan is to steal assets from the ga?"]
["Skills can only be used by spending points in the ga. They can't be bought, let alone claid as your own."]
Shen Ying: "Exactly. So I’m taking it before the ga officially owns it."
The System knew arguing with soone this shaless was pointless and cut straight to the chase: ["How did you know? How did you know Yu Shishi’s rebirth was the result of a skill activation?"]
Shen Ying: "Aren’t all the skill cards displayed in the backend?"
"So low-tier skills are accessible to , but the rest are locked."
"Except I noticed sothing—those locked skills actually increase in number periodically."
"That ans they’re probably newly acquired assets for the ga. And where do these assets co from? Obviously, from various novel worlds."
The System: ["How? What makes you so sure the ga collects them from novel worlds instead of developing them in-house?"]
Shen Ying burst out laughing: "Hahahaha, with this dumpster fire of a ga, if you guys had the ability to develop anything in-house, you wouldn’t be constantly forcing to lie back and take the abuse."
"Just tweak the chanics, shift the triggering conditions to soone else, and you’d be rolling in profits. But no, you’d rather die on this hill with ."
The System was dizzy with rage at this salary thief, this gaming industry rat.
But it still needed answers: ["Then how did you figure out the retrieval thod?"]
Shen Ying: "I didn’t. It’s just that intangible things are like love."
"Who knows how it latched onto Yu Shishi in the first place? But after helping her, only to be despised, loathed, and outright discarded—if I step in, embrace it wholeheartedly, and treat it like a treasure, chances are it’ll co to ."
"And even if it doesn’t, trying costs nothing, right?"
As soon as Shen Ying finished speaking, her personal panel lit up with a new addition—a skill that should’ve been locked behind a high-tier world.
What’s more, it was placed in her private wealth column, marking it as personal property even the ga couldn’t confiscate.
Free to use, no limits—except for a cooldown period.
If Yu Shishi had been a little more patient, she might’ve gotten a second rebirth. Of course, that was just a hypothetical. Even if Shen Ying hadn’t swindled the skill away, the ga would’ve reclaid it before then.
While bantering with the System, the car arrived at the docks.
It was the dead of night, but the pier wasn’t deserted. A rundown fishing boat was moored by the shore, surrounded by a dozen wary figures on the dock and the vessel itself, herding a group of disheveled, luggage-laden people aboard.
Shen Ying glanced at Yu Shishi’s evening gown and the jewels around her neck. "You’re seriously planning to squeeze onto a smuggling boat dressed like that?"
Yu Shishi smirked. "No. You are."
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