The mechanical voice woke her at dawn.
[Ding! New daily task generated. Todays Wasting Quota: 10,000 RMB. Countdown: 23:59:59.]
Ye Xia opened her eyes, the remnants of a nightmare about drowning fading as the reality of her second chance solidified. The system was real. The task was real. She had 10,000 RMB to waste again today.
She spent the early morning hours hidden in her room, devouring one of the books on stock market fundamentals. The language was dense, but her mind, sharpened by a lifetime of regret and a burning purpose, grasped the concepts with surprising ease. It was as if the vengeance-fueled clarity of her soul was unlocking a latent intellect she never knew she possessed.
At school, the whispers started immediately. Her new haircut was like a beacon. She was still the "fatty," but now she was the fatty with surprisingly stylish hair. The blatant taunts were tinged with a new curiosity. She ignored them all, her focus entirely on her new mission.
Lin Wanwan attached herself to her at lunchtime, her curiosity a palpable force. "Xiaxia, your hair really does look great! So, have you thought about what I said? About Liang Rui's project?"
Ye Xia took a bite of the apple she had brought from home—a conscious choice away from the greasy canteen food Wanwan always encouraged her to eat. "A little. What exactly is the project?"
Lin Wanwan's eyes lit up. "It's so brilliant! He's planning to start a high-end tutoring service for students aiming for top universities. He's already got some of the best students in school signed on as tutors. He just needs capital for marketing and to rent a space. He's offering a share of the profits to investors."
Ye Xia almost laughed. It was a decent enough idea for a teenager, but Lin Wanwan made it sound like the next billion-dollar startup. In her past life, she had given Liang Rui 50,000 RMB—a huge sum she'd begged from her father—for this very project. She never saw a penny of return, and Liang Rui had coldly informed her that the venture had "failed," though he himself had gained valuable management experience and connections from it. The memory was another ember in the fire of her hatred.
"It sounds… ambitious," Ye Xia said neutrally. "But I'm not sure it's the right fit for my funds."
Lin Wanwan's face fell. "What? Why not? It's a guaranteed success with Liang Rui leading it!"
"I believe in diversifying," Ye Xia said, using a term she had just read that morning. "Putting all your eggs in one basket is risky."
Lin Wanwan stared at her as if she'd grown a second head. Since when did Fatty Ye talk about diversification?
The opportunity to waste her daily quota presented itself in an unexpected way during economics class. The teacher, Mr. Gao, was a young, passionate man who often tried to make lessons practical. Today, he was explaining basic market trends.
"For example," he said, "look at the tech sector. A company like Sohu, its stock has been quite volatile. It requires a keen eye to understand these movements."
A jolt went through Ye Xia. Sohu. The name triggered a flood of memory. It wasn't a specific memory of stock prices—she had paid no attention to such things in her first life—but a memory of Liang Rui, years later, bragging at a party. He'd been lamenting a missed opportunity. "If only I'd had some capital back in the spring of 2012," he'd said, laughing. "I would have thrown it all into Sohu. The stock was in the gutter, but anyone with half a brain could see their mobile news platform was about to take off. It tripled in value by the end of the year."
Her heart began to race. This was it. This was the advantage of her foreknowledge. She couldn't invest the system's money directly—that was against the rules. But the 1% conversion was hers to do with as she pleased. If she could amass enough personal capital…
She needed to waste 10,000 RMB today on something that wouldn't raise suspicion. An idea came to her. After school, instead of going straight home, she took a bus to a different part of the city, far from where anyone who knew her would go.
She found a large, anonymous electronics wholesaler. She walked in and went straight to the counter.
"I need ten basic MP3 players," she said to the bored-looking clerk.
The clerk raised an eyebrow. "MP3 players? Everyone uses their phones now."
"They're for a school project," Ye Xia lied smoothly. "The cheapest ones you have."
The clerk shrugged and brought out a box of clunky, no-name brand players. They were 150 RMB each. She bought ten, spending 1,500 RMB. Then she went to a stationery store and bought ten of the most expensive scientific calculators she could find, another 3,000 RMB. Then, on a whim, she went to a sporting goods store and bought a high-quality, unisex racing bicycle for 5,500 RMB. It was a random collection of goods, impossible to connect to any single purpose. Perfect for wasting money.
She rented a cheap, short-term storage locker for a month, stashing everything inside. It was an expense, but a necessary one to conceal her activities.
[Ding! Daily task completed. 10,000 RMB successfully wasted. 100 RMB has been converted to your Personal Funds. 10 Experience Points awarded. Current Level: 1 (20/100).]
Her personal account now held 252.8 RMB. It was a start, but nowhere near enough to buy a meaningful amount of stock.
She needed to level up the system. A higher conversion rate was critical. She had to keep wasting money, efficiently and discreetly.
The next day, her wasting quota remained 10,000 RMB. She repeated the process, buying random electronics and stashing them. Another 100 RMB converted. Experience Points: 30/100.
Day after day, she followed the same routine. Go to school, endure the taunts, fend off Lin Wanwan's probes, study ferociously, and then embark on her secret spending sprees. She bought cheap tablets, bulk school supplies, and even overpaid for a year's membership at a library across town, simply because it was a large, one-time expense. Her storage locker was filling up with useless, new-in-box merchandise.
A week passed. Her personal funds grew to 952.8 RMB. Her experience points reached 80/100. She was close to leveling up.
At home, the tension was mounting. Wang Yan was clearly agitated by Ye Xia's newfound confidence and her cryptic mention of an inheritance. Ye Xia's improved diet—she now used her personal funds to buy better food which she consumed outside the house—was subtly changing her. She wasn't losing weight dramatically, but the sickly pallor was gone, replaced by a healthier glow.
One evening, Ye Zhentao unexpectedly summoned her to his study.
He sat behind his large, mahogany desk, a symbol of an authority he never truly wielded outside this house. "Xiaxia," he began, steepling his fingers. "Your stepmother is concerned. She says you've been… different lately. Spending money. Being secretive."
Ye Xia stood quietly, saying nothing.
"This story about your mother's inheritance," he continued, his eyes boring into her. "It's nonsense. I managed all her affairs. There was no separate fund. So, I'll ask you once. Where is the money coming from?"
This was the confrontation she had been expecting. She met his gaze, her own calm. "The money is from Mother. It was held in a trust, accessible only to me when I turned seventeen. A lawyer contacted me."
It was a bold, complete lie. But lies, when delivered with conviction, could be powerful weapons.
Ye Zhentao's face went pale. "A lawyer? What lawyer? What's his name?"
"That's confidential," Ye Xia said. "The terms of the trust are very clear. The funds are for my personal use and education. I am not required to disclose them to anyone."
She saw the doubt and fear in his eyes. The possibility that his first wife had outmaneuvered him from beyond the grave was clearly eating at him. Wang Yan, who had been listening at the door, could no longer contain herself. She burst into the room.
"Nonsense! This is a lie! You're probably stealing, or worse!" she shrieked, her carefully constructed composure shattered.
"Auntie Wang," Ye Xia said, turning a cold gaze on her. "Are you accusing me of being a criminal? Should we call the police and have them investigate? I'm sure my mother's lawyer would be very interested in speaking with them as well."
The threat, vague but potent, hung in the air. Wang Yan shut her mouth, her face a mottled red. They were bullies, and bullies retreated when faced with unexpected resistance.
Ye Xia didn't wait for a dismissal. She turned and walked out of the study, her heart thumping with a mixture of fear and triumph. She had drawn a line in the sand.
That night, as she calculated her funds, the system's voice echoed in her mind.
[Ding! Daily task completed. Experience Points have reached 100/100. Congratulations, Host. The Money Wasting System is now Level 2!]
A new screen appeared before her.
System: Money Wasting System (Level 2)
Host: Ye Xia
Todays Wasting Quota: 50,000 RMB
Conversion Rate: 2%
New Function Unlocked: Basic Skill Shop.
Ye Xia's breath caught in her throat. Fifty thousand RMB. The quota had quintupled. And the conversion rate had doubled. If she wasted 50,000 RMB today, she would get 1,000 RMB for herself. It was a game-changer.
And the Skill Shop… She focused on it mentally. A new menu unfolded, listing various abilities with price tags in Experience Points.
[Basic Financial Analysis: 50 EXP]
[Basic Self-Defense (Theory): 30 EXP]
[Advanced Etiquette & Composure: 40 EXP]
[Language Primer (English): 20 EXP]
She had 100 EXP from leveling up. This was another key. She could buy skills directly, accelerating her growth exponentially.
She didn't hesitate. She selected [Basic Financial Analysis] and [Advanced Etiquette & Composure]. A warm, tingling sensation flowed through her brain. It wasn't like reading a book; it was as if the knowledge had always been there, suddenly unlocked. Concepts of P/E ratios, market capitalization, and technical analysis became clear and intuitive. Simultaneously, she felt a shift in her posture, a new awareness of how to carry herself, how to control her expressions, how to speak with measured grace.
She looked at her reflection in the dark window. The girl looking back was still overweight, still dressed in shabby clothes. But her eyes held a terrifying wisdom, and her stance had a new, unshakable poise.
The ugly heiress was reborn. And she was ready to play for keeps.