Chapter 2

In my previous life, I was destroyed by being "too understanding".

Ever since Vivian showed up, my parents' attention had always been on her. All the care went to her, and they spent way more time with her than with me.

The only time I ever tried to get their attention was when I had a fever. I finally worked up the nerve to call them.

To my surprise, my dad just ripped into me. "You woke us up in the middle of the night just because you have a fever. Seriously?

"Take yourself to the hospital. Vivian's got finals tomorrow, and your mom and I are busy helping her. We don't have time for this."

I was shaking all over with fever. The moment I hung up, I collapsed to the floor.

Celeste Sloan was a family friend. If she hadn't come to visit and found me, I would have died from that fever.

After I was diagnosed with severe depression, my dad called and berated me for two full hours, every word pushing me closer to the edge.

Dad, you always said we were family and that we should understand each other. That was why I swallowed everything and always put Vivian first.

I tried so hard to understand you, but what about me?

Thinking back on my previous life made my emotions spiral, filling me with sadness.

Suddenly, the System's voice chimed in. [Host emotional fluctuation detected. Severe emotional distress confirmed. The Heartbreak System has officially activated.]

[Host, as long as you keep suffering, the System will provide massive rewards to help you succeed. Remember, you need to go out of your way to get hurt.]

[Wait, this is not right. Why has the first-stage reward of 30 thousand dollars already been issued? What? Host, the ones suffering are actually your parents.]

[That must have been a System error. Host, please don't try anything risky like that again. Trust me. I am an experienced system that has guided many hosts.]

Before the System could finish, my phone started buzzing like crazy.

I could tell my parents were blowing up the group chat with messages.

Even the System sounded shocked now.

It said, [Host, the System is getting flooded with your parents' heartbreak. Congrats, you just unlocked the second-stage reward and got 300 thousand. Damn, I didn't know the System could work like this.]

The sudden 300 thousand deposit in my account instantly made me forget all about the sadness I'd just felt.

I said, "System, I've already been through hell in my previous life. If making money means I have to keep suffering, I'd rather stay broke. This time, I'm living for myself."

The System seemed to just roll with the fact that it had a bug. [So, what's your move now, Host?]

A sly grin spread across my face. "If causing them emotional pain earns me money, then I'll keep emotionally manipulating them. They'll feel it."

With that, I headed straight for Celeste's place, full of determination.

Soon enough, my parents cut off my financial support, thinking that would make me give in.

However, I couldn't care less.

I immediately invited Celeste's husband, George Sloan, the head of a tech company, over for coffee.

Since I still kept memories about my future life, I knew a lot of things that would happen later.

George read over my business plan, casually at first, but soon, his expression grew serious.

"You've got guts and real vision. Come by my office next Monday, and we'll go over everything," he said seriously. Then he added, "Your parents are going to regret ever favoring Vivian over you."

Before I knew it, my dad's birthday rolled around.

Vivian posted photos of them on Instagram, with a shot right in the center of my parents, arms around her, cutting the cake together.

My dad commented: [Thanks, sweetheart. I'm so lucky to have you in our family.]

He even threw in five heart emojis at the end.

I just tapped like.

Less than two minutes later, my mom's message popped up.

Mom: [I saw it. So, you have time to like a post but not to celebrate your dad's birthday, huh? That's ridiculous. What's the big deal about Vivian being here? Can't you cut us some slack for once?]

Oh, I did understand them.

While Vivian was celebrating my dad's birthday, I was also trying everything to please someone else's parents.

My mom waited for ages, but I just ignored her. Finally, she slammed her phone down on the coffee table and rubbed her forehead, frustrated.

My dad scrolled through his phone and snickered. "Why are you even texting her? She's probably holed up in some rundown shack, eating burgers. Once she hits a few bumps out there, she'll come home."

However, he stopped mid-sentence. On one of the trending livestreams, I was grinning, holding the custom cake out to George and Celeste.

The cruise on the river was lit up, and the comments on screen flew by.

[This girl is so sweet. I wish I had a daughter like her.]

[Best dad on the whole internet. Look at Mr. Sloan's smile. He's so happy.]

My phone started buzzing like crazy; it was my dad calling.

He snapped, "Julie Dudley, what the hell are you doing?"

I said, "It's George's birthday, so I'm just celebrating with him. Is there a problem?"

My dad let out a cold laugh. "He's got his own son. Why are you, an outsider, trying to suck up to him?"

I pretended to be shocked and raised my voice. "Dad, keep your voice down. If Vivian heard you say that, she'd be sad."

My dad was shaking with anger. "What does this have to do with Vivian? Stop dragging her into this."

"Of course, it does," I replied, leisurely cutting myself a slice of cake. "Dad, you treat Vivian better than your own daughter. She probably already sees you as her dad.

"Oh, and Mr. Sloan even said that I treat them so well that they basically see me as their own daughter, better than their son.

"Actually, maybe I should just start calling him dad instead."

My dad was pissed.

I added, "Come on, don't get all worked up. By the way, your birthday gift has arrived. Don't forget to open it."

Hearing that, my dad forced himself to calm down. "Guess you're not completely heartless."