The Ning family lived in Building Four. By the time she found it, the stairwell was echoing with a lively commotion.
"You old coot, are you handing over the cash or what? If your money isn't meant for your eldest grandson, do you plan on giving it away to outsiders?"
"I don't have any money left."
SMASH!
Something shattered against the floor. The middle-aged woman's voice immediately shrilled again, "Who are you trying to fool? Your pension came in on the third. The month just started and you've already spent it all? If you don't give me the money, I'll beat you to death!"
The old man mumbled something in response, which was quickly followed by his wails of pain from inside the apartment.
009 chimed in, "This old man is quite pitiful. Host, why don't we help him?"
Ning Yue thought, "Well, it turns out this is a kindhearted system after all."
"Have you ever heard the saying, 'Mind your own business'?" she replied.
The building had six floors with three apartments on each. Out of over a dozen households, not a single neighbor had stepped out to see what was going on. This meant the situation was a regular occurrence. What could she, an outsider, possibly do?
009 thought to itself, "Wow, this Host is a bit cold-blooded."
However, Ning Yue had already taken out her phone and dialed the police. After reporting the address, she held the phone up so the operator could hear the old man's desperate pleas for mercy. Then, with a calm expression, she hung up.
009 went completely radio silent.
Call finished, Ning Yue resumed climbing the stairs. The Ning family was on the fourth floor, so she still had two more to go.
At this moment, the Ning family's apartment was pitch black. The couple hadn't even made dinner; they just sat on the sofa in a daze. Their adopted daughter had been taken away by her biological parents, yet they hadn't even caught a glimpse of their own biological daughter. The couple felt completely lost about their future.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
The sudden knocking startled the couple. Ning's mother got up, walked to the door, turned on the light, and opened it. Outside stood a young girl with an elegant short haircut, wearing a school uniform and carrying a backpack.
For some reason, Ning's mother's eyes suddenly stung with unshed tears. Ning Yue's features were about sixty percent identical to hers. Standing face to face, their blood relation was unmistakable. "Are... are you..."
"I'm Ning Yue. Barring any surprises, I should be your daughter."
Tears instantly streamed down Ning's mother's face. She stepped aside and reached out, wanting to pull Ning Yue inside, but fearing her daughter might reject the contact, she quickly withdrew her hand. "Old Ning! Old Ning, look! Our daughter is back!"
Mr. Ning looked entirely overwhelmed, his eyes growing misty despite being a grown man in his forties. He had heard her. He didn't need his wife to repeat it—he had heard her loud and clear. This was his biological daughter.
"Quick, come in! You haven't eaten yet, have you? Hurry up and cook something for our girl," he urged his wife.
A myriad of thoughts swirled in Ning's mother's mind. Terrified of scaring her daughter away, she asked carefully, "Is there anything you'd like to eat?"
It was a probe, yet not quite a probe. When her daughter wasn't here, she had yearned for her return. Now that she was standing right in front of them, she feared the girl wouldn't be able to accept how incredibly ordinary she and her husband were. She was terrified that at any second, her daughter might turn around, open the door, and walk away from this overly mundane household forever.
"Anything is fine. I'm just hungry."
Ning's mother's eyes lit up instantly. Her voice filled with joy as she replied, "Okay, okay, I'll go make something right now. Just wait a little bit."
A hearty, honest smile spread across Mr. Ning's face. Without waiting for Ning's mother to instruct him, he headed straight for the fridge, took out all the meat to thaw, and began washing rice for the cooker. Ning's mother found some fruit, washed it, and set it on the coffee table. "Yuanyuan, have a seat first. You can watch TV if you'd like. Dinner will be ready soon."
Ning Yue could see the couple's unease. "Go ahead with what you're doing. I'll just watch TV."
Ning's mother turned on the television for her before finally retreating to the kitchen. Only after both of them left did Ning Yue take a good look around the small apartment.
It was a two-bedroom, one-living-room unit, roughly seventy or eighty square meters. The decor and furnishings were simple but kept very clean. The walls seemed to have been freshly repainted, still looking quite bright. One wall in the living room was covered in Ning Qingqing's merit certificates. The TV and sofa were older models, and a foldable dining table sat beside the couch, neatly tucked away to save space until it was time to eat.
WEE-WOO-WEE-WOO!
Police sirens wailed from downstairs. Not long after, a sharp knock landed on the door of the west apartment on the second floor. The system immediately paid attention to the commotion below. It had wanted Ning Yue to go down and watch the drama unfold, but she remained completely unmoved.
Soon, a loud argument broke out downstairs.
"Which rotten-hearted busybody called the cops over nothing?
"You can't even manage your own damn business, but you dare to stick your nose into mine!
"Once I find out who it was, I'll tear their mouth right off.
"Go on, ask the old coot yourself—did I hit him?"
The old man's cowardly voice answered, "N-no, you didn't."
In these kinds of domestic disputes, if the victims themselves claimed everything was fine, the police couldn't force the issue and accuse the daughter-in-law of abuse. Left with no other choice, the officers eventually drove away.
Having anticipated this outcome from the start, Ning Yue mocked, "Still want me to mind other people's business next time?"
The system immediately shut down in defeat.
Dinner consisted of four dishes and a soup. Ning's mother had specially braised a bowl of pork belly for Ning Yue, though she regretted it the moment she set it on the table. Growing up in the Yan family, her daughter must have eaten every delicacy imaginable. The braised pork was far too greasy; there was no way she would like it.
Ning Yue waited until Mr. Ning and Ning's mother picked up their chopsticks before she began eating. She tasted all four dishes. The culinary skill wasn't anything extraordinary—it was standard home-cooked fare—but she had never been a picky eater. She ate with genuine relish.
Seeing Ning Yue pick up and eat her third piece of braised pork, Ning's mother finally felt her anxiety ebb. When Qingqing lived at home, she had always refused to eat such greasy dishes. She'd insisted on maintaining her figure to look beautiful on camera, and she even forbade the couple from eating them, claiming it would lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar.
The reason Ning Qingqing had studied both piano and dance was because she wanted to become an Actor. In short, she was someone who had nurtured a dream since childhood, her goal crystal clear and unwavering.
In her previous life, she had been admitted to the Beijing Film Academy during her senior year of high school. As soon as the semester started, she landed the role of the third female lead in a drama. Of course, since it was a show invested in by Young Master Gong, she was essentially bringing capital into the production. Thanks to that drama, she officially entered the entertainment industry and shot to instant fame. Within three years, she became an A-list female star, basking in unparalleled glory.
After dinner, Ning's mother went into the room Yan Qingqing used to occupy and put on fresh bedsheets and a duvet cover. Deeply worried that her daughter wouldn't be satisfied, she resolved to go on a massive shopping spree the next day to give the bedroom a complete makeover.
Out in the living room, Ning Yue had intended to help wash the dishes, but Mr. Ning vehemently refused and insisted she rest. Ning Yue didn't press the issue and sat down on the sofa to watch television.
The sports lottery results were about to be announced.
Mr. Ning didn't understand why his daughter was watching the lottery drawing, but it reminded him of something. For the past seventeen years, living in a household like the Yan family, she had surely never lacked for money. Now that she had returned to the Ning family, she shouldn't lack for money either.