Jiang You never dreamed she would survive the claws of zombies only to be betrayed by the very family she protected.

Years later, she destroyed the experimental facility that imprisoned her.

Those who sold her out? Dead!

The base that betrayed her? Obliterated!

Who waits for the next life to settle their scores?

With her revenge complete, Jiang You exhausted her powers and self-detonated, but unexpectedly, she was reborn—half a month before the apocalypse broke out!

This time, she vowed to take back everything that was hers...

Stock up on food first, guns later—when the apocalypse comes, stay calm.

But just as she was ready to live quietly and hoard supplies forever, a tiny bottle cap fell from the sky. That’s when she learned her world was actually a book, and she was the villain who tragically died in the story?

If that’s the case, don’t blame her for being ruthless!

Sacrifice the heroine, unleash unlimited power!

...

When zombies erupted, other survivors were frantically fleeing.

Jiang You: “Hey, zombie up front, wait a second. Is that brain of yours ripe yet?”

While other survivors fought tooth and nail over scraps of food:

Jiang You: “Hotpot, BBQ, river snail rice noodles, roast duck, fried chicken, or Buddha Jumps Over the Wall… What should I eat today?”

When other survivors tried to use moral blackmail:

Jiang You: “Sorry, I don’t have morals. You can’t blackmail me.”

Chapter 1: Rebirth

"Boss, heh, heh, you know, girls just feel different to the touch. After you’ve had your fun, how about letting me, uh, try too?”

“What kind of talk is that? We’re brothers in the game—brothers are limbs, women are just clothes. Once I’m done, every one of you here will get a taste! Haha, share the good times, share the bad! Hahaha!”

“Hey, girl! Why are you looking down? Lift your head and look at me!”

A pair of rough hands grabbed Jiang You’s hair, yanking her head up in a humiliating posture.

As her head was forcibly raised, the terror in the young girl’s eyes was momentarily replaced by confusion.

“Heh, this little dark-skinned girl’s complexion is a bit rough, but her looks aren’t bad,” sneered the leader, a man with yellow-dyed hair. His lecherous smile curled further as he licked his lips.

His breath, hot and nauseating, sprayed onto Jiang You’s face.

Jiang You stared in disbelief at the scene before her. The yellow-haired man and the few scrawny street punks behind him were her worst nightmare, come back to life.

She was sprawled on the cement floor of an abandoned chemical plant, her body covered in footprints and bruises.

This place...

What’s going on?

Wasn’t she dead?

She distinctly remembered joining the other experimental subjects to destroy Forbidden Island, massacring the entire base. She had depleted her powers and perished in a final, self-destructive explosion.

How could she be here now?

Being dragged to the chemical plant by these thugs had happened half a month before the apocalypse began.

The sharp pain from her scalp where the yellow-haired man gripped her hair was a stark reminder—this was neither a dream nor an illusion.

This was real.

She had been reborn.

Reborn to half a month before the apocalypse.

Back to when everything had yet to begin.

She was alive again. She had survived!

A grin involuntarily crept onto Jiang You’s lips, one she couldn’t suppress no matter how hard she tried.

The yellow-haired man frowned, pausing as his hand stroked her delicate cheek. He suddenly noticed that her eyes didn’t show fear but rather a peculiar excitement.

His gut tightened.

Damn it, is this chick some kind of masochist?

But a second later, he dismissed the thought. What did it matter? Masochist or not, as long as he enjoyed himself.

He patted Jiang You’s cheek and puckered his lips, moving closer.

The gang members behind him burst into cheers and jeers.

“Go for it, boss! Make it count!”

“Boss, you’re the man!”

As his chicken-lipped mouth moved closer, Jiang You felt her stomach churn.

In the apocalyptic world, someone like him would be child’s play—she could take out three of him single-handedly. But this was before the apocalypse.

Her rebirth brought back only her soul, not her powers. She was still the malnourished girl she had been.

Keeping her expression neutral, Jiang You discreetly grabbed a handful of dust from the ground. Her lips curved into a dazzling smile, and for a brief moment, the man hesitated.

The next second, Jiang You flung the dust into his eyes with lightning speed.

“Ah! My eyes!”

As he let go of her hair, Jiang You lunged forward, tackling him to the ground.

Her body, weakened from years of malnutrition, didn’t have the strength to overpower a grown man. She had to rely on cunning and precision.

Caught off guard, the man recovered quickly, reaching to choke her throat.

The other gang members rushed to surround them.

“Little b***h…” The man’s grip tightened, and he raised his hand to strike her.

But Jiang You, catching a glimpse of something nearby, acted swiftly. While struggling, she snatched a small keychain from his belt, flipped open the attached nail clipper, and extended the nail file.

In a fluid motion, she stabbed the nail file into his neck with all her strength and tore it sideways.

The file wasn’t sharp, but Jiang You used every ounce of her strength to carve a deep gash.

Blood spurted out as the man collapsed to the ground, clutching his neck in disbelief.

The warmth of his blood splattered across her face, staining her vision red.

The other gang members froze, stunned.

“Damn it, what’s with this chick? She’s insane!”

“Should we call the cops? Someone’s dead!”

“Are you stupid? Calling the cops would land us in jail too!”

“Get her! Avenge the boss!”

The three men charged at her.

Jiang You quickly assessed the situation. With her current physique, she couldn’t win in a direct fight against three of them.

No matter. Killing didn’t require brute force—it was about skill and strategy.

She turned and bolted without hesitation.

“Don’t let her get away!”

The gang chased her into a pitch-black warehouse. At the end of the room, there was no exit.

“Haha, little b***h, you’re trapped now!”

Holding makeshift weapons, they entered cautiously, only to find the space cluttered with discarded metal barrels.

“She’s hiding. Let’s split up and find her!”

“Once we do, I’ll strip her and string her up! Stupid girl!”

Before they could fan out, the warehouse door slammed shut, plunging the space into darkness.

The men panicked.

“Who closed the door? I can’t see a thing!”

“Not me! It wasn’t me!”

“Bull****! You were the last one in! Unless…?”

Suddenly, a gurgling sound echoed in the dark.

“Who touched my back?! What the hell!”

“Aaaah!”

Panic-stricken screams pierced the silence as one by one, they fell.

By the time the door reopened, Jiang You stood silhouetted in the light, holding an iron bar. Her eyes burned with cold disdain as she gazed at the last man standing.

Dragging the bar on the ground with a nerve-wracking screech, she approached slowly.

He crumbled to his knees, trembling.

“Who sent you?” she demanded icily.

“It—it was Li Wei! She paid us to ruin you, to record it and send it to her!”

The man spilled everything.

Jiang You’s eyes turned even colder.

Without hesitation, she silenced him and disposed of the bodies in the chemical pool.

Revenge was only beginning. She had plans. Half a month before the apocalypse was plenty of time.

Secrets are safest when kept by the dead.

The warehouse door behind them suddenly slammed shut.

With the only source of light gone, the entire space was swallowed by darkness.

Panic set in.

"F***! Lao Er, why the hell did you close the door? I can’t see s***!"

"Bro, it wasn’t me!"

"Bull****! You were the last one in! If not you, then who… shhk!"

"F***! Who just touched my back?!"

"AHHHHHH!!"

"San Ge? San Ge, why aren’t you saying anything?!"

The last thug standing, the one they called Xiao Er, collapsed to the ground, his legs giving out beneath him. His hands landed in something warm and wet.

"W-what is this?! What the hell is this?! AHHHHH!!"

He shrieked and tried to get up, but the floor was slick. He slipped twice before finally managing to stand.

And then—he felt something creeping up behind him.

THWACK!

A heavy blow struck his kneecap, bending his legs backward unnaturally.

"AAAHHHHH!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream tore from his throat.

At that moment, the warehouse doors creaked open again.

Against the blinding light, a thin girl stood at the threshold, gripping a square iron rod.

She stepped forward, the rod dragging against the concrete floor with a screech that sent shivers down his spine.

Her gaze—cold, filled with disgust—was like looking at a rat crawling in the gutter.

Terrified, the thug frantically looked around. That’s when he finally realized what he had touched earlier.

Blood.

A thick pool of it.

His two companions lay lifeless. One had a gaping wound across his throat, blood still gurgling out as his mouth formed silent gasps.

The other had the back of his skull caved in, his dead, venomous eyes locked onto him.

This woman…

She wasn’t bluffing. She was really going to kill him.

Terror gripped his body, sending violent tremors through his limbs. His bladder failed, and warm urine trickled down his leg.

Jiang You frowned. "Who told you to do this?"

She recognized this man. He was in her class, always playing tough, hanging out with street punks.

But they had no personal grudges.

"You—you can’t kill me! I-I’m not even nineteen yet!"

"I-I…"

Chen Ren shook his head frantically, but when he saw Jiang You raise the rod to smash his skull, he panicked and blurted out,

"It was Li Wei! She made me do it!"

"Li Wei gave me twenty thousand yuan to round up some guys to ruin you and record the whole thing for her. She wanted to destroy you!"

"It’s true! I can show you the transaction records if you don’t believe me!"

"She said once she had the video, you’d be her dog. That you’d have to do whatever she told you!"

"She planned to use it to force you into applying to the same university as her—so she could keep you as her servant!"

Chen Ren sold Li Wei out in an instant.

Li Wei…

Of course, this was exactly the kind of thing she would do.

She had always used the dirtiest tricks to torment other girls.

Disgusting.

"I-I told you everything! Please let me go!"

"I know I was wrong! I’ll never do anything like this again! We know each other, right? Let me go just this once!"

"I swear on my life, I won’t say a word about any of this!"

This b****!

The moment I get a chance, I’ll kill her myself!

But a wise man knows when to back down.

He had to endure for now.

Jiang You, however, didn’t respond. She simply brought the rod down on the back of his skull.

Crack!

She searched his body, took his phone, and opened his social media.

Sure enough, there were transaction records and chat logs with Li Wei.

She also found a private group chat filled with sickening videos—Chen Ren and his crew appeared in many of them.

In her past life, Jiang You had fought desperately to escape.

She had broken Yellow Hair’s nose with a kick when he tried to pull her pants down, then ran with everything she had.

But there was nowhere to run.

In the end, she had chosen to dive into a chemical pool, willing to die rather than let them defile her.

She could swim. She held her breath and stayed underwater until they assumed she was dead and left.

By the time she climbed out, her skin was raw and burning from the corrosive chemicals.

She had reported the attack to the police, but it was already too late.

The thugs had fled the city.

Chen Ren, being underage, had only received a slap on the wrist and was made to pay compensation.

At the police station, he had cried like a baby, claiming he was "forced" by older gangsters.

But the moment he walked out, he had laughed in her face.

"Hahaha! I’m not even nineteen! The law can’t touch me! What can you do, b****?"

"If I ever catch you alone again, I’ll make sure you can’t walk afterward!"

…

This scum.

The lowest of the low.

Thinking of this, Jiang You raised the rod and swung again. And again.

Then, one by one, she dragged their bodies to the chemical pool and dumped them in.

She overturned barrels of corrosive waste, letting them spill over the bloodstains.

And then—

She set the entire warehouse ablaze.

An abandoned chemical plant catching fire?

Even if the police investigated, the ground would be soaked with chemicals, making it impossible to distinguish blood from the residue.

And no one would be foolish enough to drain the chemical pool to check.

That pool was deep.

Only someone who had fallen in would know just how deep.

There were still two weeks left until the apocalypse.

Everything needed to be handled cleanly.

The world hadn’t collapsed yet—she couldn’t afford to leave any loose ends.

She had too much to do in the next fourteen days.

And secrets?

A secret is only a secret if no one else knows it.

Not a single one of those four scumbags could be allowed to walk out alive.

She had spent years imprisoned in the Forbidden Tower, lying on an operating table as they skinned her alive and tore her body apart piece by piece.

That hell had turned her into a demon, too.

After handling everything, Jiang You quickly left the abandoned chemical plant.

She returned home, changed her clothes, and burned the bloodstained ones in secret.

That evening, as she sat at home, the local news reported a sudden fire at an old, abandoned chemical plant. Not a single word about anything else.

But that chemical pool was deep—who in their right mind would go fishing for bodies?

Meanwhile, her uncle and aunt, after finishing dinner, sat her down—not to discuss which university she should apply to, but to persuade her to get married.

…

"What are you doing? Are you even listening when I talk to you? I’m your uncle! Do you really think I’d harm you?"

"Jiang You! Your uncle is speaking to you! Why are you zoning out? Do you have any manners at all? Did all that schooling go straight to a dog’s stomach?!"

Jiang You held an old enamel cup in her hands.

The ceiling fan in the cramped living room hummed noisily, rattling as if it might fall at any moment.

She looked down at her bony hands, fingers wrapped around the cup.

Thin. Like sticks.

She rubbed her fingertips over the faint calluses, her thoughts surging uncontrollably.

The middle-aged man and woman sitting in front of her—her uncle and aunt.

In her past life, the first thing she did after escaping the Forbidden Tower was hunt them down and tear them apart, limb by limb.

She had sent their entire family straight to hell.

Looking at them now—the seemingly honest, simple-minded man and the overweight, shrewd-faced woman—Jiang You found it laughable.

Her parents had died in a factory explosion when she was five.

After their deaths, the factory paid compensation—30,000 yuan a month—meant to support her until she turned eighteen.

Normally, they wouldn’t have paid so much.

But since both her parents died at once, leaving her an orphan, the factory used her as a PR tool, even inviting reporters to cover the story.

They paid a high settlement, turning the tragedy into a publicity stunt to repair their image.

And that was when her uncle and aunt swooped in, becoming her legal guardians.

They collected the monthly compensation and moved into her house.

Jiang You had been too young to understand any of it.

No one even told her about the compensation money.

Instead, her uncle and aunt constantly reminded her that they had "raised" her, that she was nothing but a parasite in their home, that she owed them an unimaginable debt of gratitude.

And she believed them.

She had been just a little girl—suddenly orphaned, clinging desperately to the only family she had left.

Overnight, the framed photos in the living room changed.

Her parents' pictures disappeared, replaced by those of her uncle and aunt.

Her parents' bedroom? Taken by her uncle and aunt.

Her own bedroom? Given to her cousin.

The study? Now her cousin brother’s room.

And Jiang You?

She had stood at the doorway of the storage room, clutching her blanket.

After all, they were taking care of her—it was only right that they got the bigger rooms.

The adults all told her the same thing: she should be grateful.

She shouldn’t be an ungrateful little brat.

She had started helping with housework, terrified they would abandon her if she didn’t.

Over time, cooking, cleaning, and laundry all became her responsibilities.

Her aunt’s hands, once rough, grew soft and plump.

And her uncle?

Whenever she cried alone, he would bring her a small cake, comforting her in his gentle voice.

"A-You, you must be grateful. Your aunt and cousins may have bad tempers, but their hearts aren’t bad. We’re family. I’m raising you, so you must be obedient, alright?"

At the time, Jiang You had believed him completely.

She had no idea that the money supporting the entire family was hers.

That they were the real parasites.

And now, this scene unfolding before her was all too familiar.

The same one from her past life—when she had gotten accepted into a top-tier university, and her uncle and aunt had ganged up on her, trying to pressure her into marrying their boss’s son.

But in the end, their plans had fallen apart.

Because in just over two weeks…

The apocalypse would begin.

On July 3rd, the entire world would be turned upside down.

A bit of spit landed on Jiang You’s eyelid.

Her eyelid twitched as she snapped out of her thoughts.

"Jiang You, your parents died young. As your uncle, I’ve always treated you like my own daughter. I have to think about your future!

Tell me, do you have any real skills? Do you think just going to college guarantees you a good job? There are more university graduates than stray dogs these days!"

"Jiang, think about it carefully. Even if you graduate, you’ll end up slaving away at a 996 or 007 corporate job. What kind of future is that?

Wouldn’t it be better to marry Boss Wang’s son? Their family is worth over a hundred million! You’d be a rich wife overnight!"

Her aunt’s plump body jiggled with excitement, her face flushed red.

She looked so thrilled—almost as if she wanted to marry in herself.

Jiang You took a sip from her cup and raised an eyebrow.

"Auntie, you seem to admire Boss Wang’s wealth a lot. Why don’t you marry into their family instead?

You might be too old for his son, but you should still have a shot with the father."

Her aunt’s face turned beet red, her chins trembling in fury.

"You little brat! Is this how you talk to your elders?!"

"Yeah? And is this how an elder tries to marry off her niece to an idiot?"

Jiang You’s gaze turned cold, a dangerous glint flashing in her eyes before she suppressed it.

She had already taken care of those thugs; there was no way the police would trace it back to her.

But if her uncle’s entire family suddenly disappeared, suspicion would fall on her immediately. People would start watching her.

That would be far too inconvenient.

Besides, if they died now, who would negotiate her bride price?

She had come back empty-handed—she couldn’t afford to start over with nothing.

This house could be sold, but it wouldn’t be enough to stockpile supplies.

She remembered—Boss Wang had offered a high sum for her marriage.

No, to be precise, it was blood money.

Jiang You lowered her head, watching the ceiling fan’s reflection swirl in her water.

A subtle, unreadable smile curled at the corners of her lips.

Her aunt huffed, "You’re a girl—what’s the point of studying so much? You’ll just get married in the end! Might as well do it sooner!"

Jiang You sneered, "You’re going to die eventually—why not do it now?"

"If education is useless for girls, why don’t you pull Cousin Yingyue out of school?

Marry her off early and have her popping out kids like a string of sausages!"

Her aunt’s face twisted in rage. "Your cousin isn’t the same as you!"

"Of course, she isn’t. Beasts and humans aren’t comparable."

"Who are you calling a beast?!"

"Whoever it applies to."

"Enough!"

Li Tianming roared, cutting off Ge Chunhua’s screeching.

"This little b**** just insulted me! Didn’t you hear?!"

Ge Chunhua’s face was red, her neck thick with anger.

Li Tianming’s chest heaved violently, nostrils flaring with suppressed fury.

He wanted nothing more than to slap Jiang You across the face.

But instead, he forced himself to put on a look of benevolent concern, turning to his wife with a scowl.

"I said enough! Stop pressuring Xiao You!

If she wants to study, let her study!

I might not be a capable uncle, but even if I have to sell everything, even my own blood, I will make sure she gets an education!

Jiang You is my sister’s daughter—my own niece!

If worse comes to worst, we’ll pull Yingyue out of college and send her to work in a factory.

No matter what, I cannot let down my sister!"

Li Tianming’s eyes turned red as he looked at Jiang You, his face filled with unwavering determination.

The perfect image of a self-sacrificing, devoted uncle.

"Xiao You, don’t worry. Your uncle will find a way to send you to university!

I’ll get the money, no matter what!"

Then, as if overwhelmed with guilt, he reached for Ge Chunhua’s hand.

"Chunhua, I know I’ve let you down.

But Xiao You is my sister’s child—I can’t turn my back on her.

I know I’ve also failed Yingyue and Haochen.

It’s all my fault. If only I were more capable, the three kids wouldn’t have to struggle so much!"

They said real men don’t cry, but at that moment, Li Tianming trembled as he choked back sobs.

Ge Chunhua hugged him, her face twisted with righteous fury as she screamed at Jiang You.

"Jiang You! Do you even have a conscience?!

Look what you’ve done to your uncle!

Are you trying to push him to his death?!

He’s just your uncle, not your parents!

He’s already done more than enough, raising you!

We even moved the whole family to the city so you wouldn’t have to suffer in the countryside!

And this is how you repay us?!

Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?!"

One played the good cop, the other played the bad cop.

Their acting was so convincing, they could’ve competed for an Oscar.

If this had been the old Jiang You, she would have felt guilty and probably told Li Tianming that she would give up on going to university.

But now?

Jiang You calmly watched their performance, thinking—

These two were born actors.

And at the same time, she pityingly looked back on the more than ten years of her life that she had been fooled by these very same tricks.

"They’ve pulled the same stunts so many times, and I actually fell for them every time."

She smirked and cut through their nonsense.

"Moving from the countryside to the city—that wasn’t your dream? Why are you acting like you got the short end of the stick?"

"Back then, I wasn’t short of relatives willing to take me in. Aunts, uncles, distant cousins—they all fought for the chance to be my guardian, hoping to move into the city. You two just happened to be the most shameless, so you won."

"So now, Auntie, you’re reaping the benefits but acting like a victim? You’re like a wh** trying to set up a memorial arch for yourself. And you still think I’m a three-year-old child?"*

Her casual words completely overturned the carefully built-up narrative that Li Tianming and Ge Chunhua had crafted for years.

Ge Chunhua’s expression stiffened.

She realized something—

Her once soft-hearted little niece had grown up.

Maybe she had heard something from someone recently.

The biggest weapon they had against Jiang You was that she was too soft.

She had been brainwashed since childhood to believe in their so-called kindness and repay their sacrifices.

But now—

Jiang You was no longer easy to control.

Ge Chunhua’s tone immediately softened.

"Xiao You, your uncle raised you. Can’t you help him out just this once?"

"Your useless cousin got into debt with loan sharks. We have no choice!"

"Boss Wang’s son is a little slow, but he can take care of himself. You wouldn’t even have to serve him—you’d be married into wealth!"

Ge Chunhua dramatically fell to her knees, pleading:

"Auntie is begging you! If you don’t help, the loan sharks will kill your cousin! If he dies, your uncle won’t survive either!"

"You don’t want to see your uncle suffer, do you?"

"I really didn’t want to drag you into this, but your cousin Yingyue is too stupid, and they didn’t want her!"

"But you—you got such high scores on the college entrance exam. That’s exactly the kind of smart wife they’re looking for!"

Li Tianming didn’t say a word—

He just sat there, red-eyed and teary, gazing at Jiang You with guilt and sadness.

Ge Chunhua, still kneeling, wept as if her life depended on it.

She made it seem like Jiang You was the villain—as if refusing would make her the most heartless, cruel person alive.

If this were the past, Jiang You wouldn’t have dared to let her kneel, would have been consumed with guilt, maybe even cried herself.

But now?

She laughed.

"Elders kneeling before their juniors is a curse for early death. Auntie, you must really hate me, huh? Can’t wait for me to drop dead?"

Ge Chunhua’s face changed instantly.

She waved her hands frantically.

"No, no, no! Xiao You, how could you say that? I—"

Jiang You cut her off, her voice as calm as ever.

"How much did Boss Wang offer you for me?"

A flash of panic crossed Ge Chunhua’s face.

Jiang You was curious.

In her past life, after she refused the arranged marriage, Li Tianming and Ge Chunhua had pretended to give up.

They had begged for a few more days, then acted disappointed but never mentioned it again.

She thought the matter was over.

Until two days later—

They drugged her dinner and let Boss Wang’s son into her room, hoping to force things into reality.

They had failed.

But the disgust of it all had stayed with her forever.

At the hospital, her uncle had knelt before her, crying:

"I’m so sorry! I had no idea that idiot Wang’s son could climb through a window!"

He pinned all the blame on Boss Wang’s foolish son.

Never once did he admit to drugging her himself.

And then?

To prove his so-called innocence, he had killed himself.

Jiang You, seeing the man who had raised her cry and beg, had believed him once more.

She wouldn’t be fooled again.

Ge Chunhua hesitated before answering,

"One million."

Jiang You raised an eyebrow.

"Swear it."

"Swear that if you’re lying—tomorrow, you and your husband will get hit by a car and die."

"Swear that Yingyue will marry a violent, perverted man and be beaten to death."

"Swear that Haochen will have his hands and feet chopped off by the loan sharks, and that his sons will be born without a—"

"Swear that Haoxuan will waste his life on gambling, drugs, and crime, then die from a bullet to the head."

"Swear that your entire family will meet tragic ends, and that your ancestors' graves will be dug up by stray dogs."

Ge Chunhua sucked in a sharp breath.

Her eyes widened in rage and shock.

"Y-You—!!"

"You little b***! This isn’t swearing—you’re cursing me!"*

Some people, when they commit too many sins, develop a guilty conscience—

And those people tend to believe in karma and superstition the most.

Ge Chunhua was one of those people.

She gritted her teeth and admitted through clenched jaws—

"Six million."

Li Tianming shot her a sharp look, but quickly turned back to Jiang You with a trembling voice.

"Xiao You… it’s all my fault… I failed you…"

Ge Chunhua’s eyes lit up with excitement.

Since Jiang You was asking about the price, she must be considering it!

"Ha! In the end, she’s still just a naive little girl. Easy to manipulate!"

Ge Chunhua immediately pressed forward.

"If you agree to marry Boss Wang’s son, everything is negotiable! I swear, it’s really just six million—I wouldn’t lie to you!"

"As long as you help your cousin, Auntie will owe you forever! I’ll treat you like my real daughter!"

Jiang You nodded, as if considering it seriously.

Then she chuckled.

"Huh. I guess I’m worth quite a lot—six million, huh?"

Jiang You smiled faintly.

"I can marry—but I have conditions."

"First, you return all of my father’s belongings to me. Especially the jade bracelet. It’s worthless, but it was my parents’ keepsake, and it has special meaning."

"Second, you and your family must move out of my house by sundown tomorrow."

"Third, I want four million yuan from the bride price. The remaining two million can go toward paying off your son’s debt."

"Agree to these terms, and I’ll marry him in a month."

At the mention of her father’s belongings, Jiang You’s gaze darkened.

Ge Chunhua sneered.

"Four million? You’re just a little girl, but your appetite sure is big!"

She curled her lips in disdain.

"What does a girl like you need all that money for? Aren’t you afraid of getting robbed?"

"Why not give it to your uncle for safekeeping? You know how much he loves you—he’d never harm you!"

She shot Li Tianming a meaningful glance.

Jiang You snorted internally.

At this point, her eldest cousin, Li Haochen, had probably already been caught by the loan sharks.

That was why Li Tianming and Ge Chunhua were so desperate.

They had even tried marrying off Li Yingyue, but Boss Wang had rejected her.

His conditions were clear—

He wanted a smart girl, but not too pretty—because pretty girls were disobedient.

Li Yingyue was decent-looking, but her grades were terrible, and she had paid her way into a third-rate university.

After an investigation, Boss Wang had dismissed her.

As for Boss Wang’s son?

The man was a brainless brute who had already beaten two wives to death.

That’s why the bride price was so high—this was blatantly blood money.

Even in a patriarchal society, no sane parent would willingly send their daughter into a death trap.

And on top of that—

Boss Wang was hoping to use a smart woman to improve his grandson’s genetics, praying the next generation wouldn’t be another idiot.

He also insisted on a virgin.

To him, good grades equaled intelligence.

Jiang You, however, knew she had never been truly smart.

If she had, she wouldn’t have spent over a decade failing to see the wolves in her own home—

Treating them as family instead.

She leaned back lazily, eyes half-lidded.

"Then I won’t marry."

"It’s not like you can physically force me, right? This is a modern society."

"But if you do manage to force me into marrying that brute, I’ll just spend every day torturing him."

"After all, as his wife, I’d have plenty of opportunities."

Jiang You glanced at Li Tianming, her tone mocking.

"Uncle, are you trying to marry me off or start a blood feud?"

"Take a guess—if Boss Wang’s son mysteriously dies in my hands, do you think he’ll let you off?"

Li Tianming opened his mouth, ready to act like the “good guy” and say they wouldn’t force her anymore.

But before he could utter a word, Jiang You narrowed her eyes and added coldly—

"If you dare say ‘fine, don’t marry,’ then I’ll really never marry. So don’t even try pretending."

Li Tianming froze, then lowered his head in an act of guilty silence.

Ge Chunhua panicked.

"You dare?!" she screeched.

If they lost this money, what would happen to her son?!

The loan sharks had already said that if they couldn’t repay the debt, they’d sell Li Haochen’s organs!

Jiang You stared at her.

"Try me."

The sharp, unyielding look in her pitch-black eyes sent a chill through Li Tianming’s heart.

Something about this Jiang You felt… different.

The old Jiang You had always been quiet and obedient, never talking back, only hiding away to cry in secret.

But now?

She was like a porcupine, bristling with spikes in every direction.

Li Tianming’s expression darkened.

Then, suddenly—

"SLAP!"

He struck Ge Chunhua across the face.

Her head snapped to the side, a red handprint blooming on her cheek.

"Enough!" Li Tianming roared.

"Xiao You agreeing to help us is already more than we deserve! What more do you want from her?!"

"That six million yuan is hers to begin with! I’m already ashamed that I can’t even provide her with a proper dowry—yet we’re still using part of her bride price to pay off our son’s debt! Isn’t that shameful enough?!"

"If you keep pushing her, I’ll divorce you!!"

His face flushed red as he shouted.

If Jiang You hadn’t been reborn, she might’ve actually believed that her uncle was truly powerless and remorseful.

What a performance.

Such brilliant acting.

Too bad…

The audience was already awake.