My mother's face turned dark.

"Did you buy this for her?"

Jeremy, trying to stay calm, quickly explained, "Susan needed a phone. I was worried about her."

Is this a regular mobile phone?!

My mother slammed her chopsticks down.

"And you rented her an apartment? Do you know how dangerous it is for a girl to live alone off-campus?!"

She stormed out, and Jeremy stumbled after her.

An hour later, they both returned, looking furious.

She had brought back all the items from the rental and questioned him one by one.

"Susan is about to start her final year of high school. Why did you buy her all this? What were you thinking?"

"The child is under a lot of academic pressure. I just wanted to help her relax. I'm sorry, Monica. I should have discussed it with you first."

"Jeremy, this isn't helping—it's spoiling her!" my mom snapped back.

"Monica, don't be upset. Your heart isn't in the best shape..."

"I'm Susan's stepfather. I don't know how to make her happy, but I was afraid that discussing it with you would just worry you more. Monica, I was foolish. I chose the wrong approach."

My mom softened a bit.

Over the years, she had been busy with her business, leaving most of the household matters to my stepfather.

He had been good to her even before they got married, pursuing her with genuine care. They didn't get together at the time only because my grandmother objected.

Now, with their past history and his attentiveness to the family, my mom was starting to let go of her anger.

Seeing that my mom was about to calm down, I decided to intervene.

"Mom, don't smash the computer—it's not worth it. Uncle Jeremy just helped me load 300 dollars into a game."

"Jeremy! You told me that 300 dollars was for Susan's tutoring classes!"

Another round of chaos in the living room.

Jeremy's face turned beet red, unable to find an excuse.

I gracefully made my exit.

There's no way Jeremy would have enrolled me in tutoring classes.

Thanks to him in my past life, I barely studied at all.

Whenever important exams were approaching, he'd take me out for fun—whether it was an amusement park or an arcade, he didn't hesitate.

The next day.

Jeremy brought out breakfast, forcing a bitter smile.

"I just wanted to make you happy, Susan, but now I'm the bad guy in everyone's eyes."

I joined in the act: "Sorry, Uncle Jeremy. I didn't expect Mom to be so upset."

"As long as you understand, Susan, that's enough. It's okay—we're family."

"Oh, by the way, Uncle Jeremy, is Emma coming to stay with us?"

"How did you know..."

"Even though I'm moving back home, Emma can't stay in my room. But we do have that storage room—she can squeeze in there, right?"

Jeremy's smile visibly twitched.

In my previous life, after Jeremy deliberately led me astray, his daughter Emma, who was a year older than me, moved into our home.

She enjoyed my bedroom, took my place in the household, and lived my life.

A few days later.

Through a door, I overheard an argument between father and daughter.

"Dad, didn't you say I could stay in the master bedroom? How am I supposed to sleep in that crummy storage room?"

"Don't worry, sweetheart. Her mom and she are always fighting—they won't last long. Once she leaves, the master bedroom will be yours."

Emma grumbled a bit more, but Jeremy managed to pacify her.

Leave?

This was my home. Why should I leave?

In my past life, I was brainwashed by that yellow-haired boy and Jeremy, missed the college entrance exams, borrowed money, and went on the run, only to end up being sold to a scam syndicate.

Meanwhile, Emma, with my mom's financial support, polished her resume, studied abroad, and returned to join forces with Jeremy to drain my mom's assets.

Now that I was back home, their plans had already been derailed.

This was just the beginning.

I would shatter all their schemes from here on out.

In the days that followed, no matter how harshly my mom spoke, I calmly nodded and agreed.

Whatever she said, I responded with "yes, yes, yes," "right, right, right."

"Stop playing games all day! Have you done your homework?"

"I finished my homework, uninstalled the games, and sold all the in-game items. I transferred the money to your account."

My mom looked at me skeptically. "... I don't believe you."

But she soon found out I was telling the truth.

After a few rounds of this, my mom's attitude toward me softened noticeably.

This, of course, worried Jeremy.

He was expecting a fight between my mom and me, not a peaceful resolution. How could that be allowed to happen?

He decided to make a move.

"I heard there's a pilot recruitment team visiting Susan's school."

My mom immediately perked up. "That's a great opportunity—you must take it seriously."

In my previous life, I passed the initial pilot selection but was eliminated during the final interview because of my emotional instability.

The real reason was that Jeremy manipulated me into thinking my mom didn't love me or my late father.

My emotional turmoil during the final interview led to my failure in the psychological assessment.

My mom thought I deliberately messed up, and I responded to her with sarcasm. From then on, our relationship was irreparably damaged.

"Susan probably isn't interested in this. We should let her decide," Jeremy interjected.

"Who says I'm not interested? I've already signed up."

I pulled out the registration materials I had prepared.

"The initial screening is mainly a physical exam. The teacher said I have a good aptitude, so as long as I maintain my health, I should be fine."

For the first time, I saw a look of satisfaction on my mother's face. "It's rare to see you being so sensible—I'm not used to it."

I nodded obediently.

"Get used to it. I'll only become more sensible."

Emma grew anxious and tugged at my stepfather's sleeve, but he kept his head down, quietly eating.

This time, I was determined to succeed.

My breakfasts started getting more elaborate.

In fact, they became overly indulgent.

"Here, Susan, today's breakfast is braised pork rice, sweet and sour pork, and fried ice cream. It's important to have a good breakfast."

He then placed a plate of boiled vegetables in front of his daughter. "Make do with this."

Emma looked longingly at my plate, her mouth watering. "Dad, I want the braised pork rice too."

My stepfather scowled at her. "Don't be foolish. You and Susan are not the same."

Indeed, we weren't the same.

The breakfast he made for his daughter was carefully balanced and nutritious.

Although my dish looked delicious, it was all about excessive oil content.

I immediately saw through his little scheme.

He was hoping I'd fail the initial medical exam by feeding me into high blood pressure and cholesterol.

"Let's switch. I'm getting tired of eating this every day."

Emma happily took my plate, ignoring her father's glare, and dug in with relish.

As she stuffed her mouth, barely pausing to wipe the grease from her lips, she asked, "Did you say you eat this every day?"

I raised my voice deliberately. "Yeah, Uncle Jeremy's cooking is amazing. He makes me a four-course meal with soup every day. Hasn't he ever cooked for you?"

Emma's hand paused mid-air, and she lowered her gaze without a word.

Of course, he hadn't.

Ever since my mom remarried, my stepfather had been busy currying favor with her, only visiting Emma back in the village once a year.

He was heartless enough to play the long game to catch the big fish.

But Emma didn't have the same cunning and began to feel wronged.

Seizing the opportunity, I twisted the knife further. "This is nothing. You should see the computer, phone, and makeup Uncle Jeremy bought me—they're all the latest models."

My stepfather cleared his throat and quickly urged us to get ready for school.

A few days ago, Emma would have said an enthusiastic goodbye to him, but today she left the house with her head down, not looking back.

One month later.

Just like in my previous life, I passed the initial pilot selection with flying colors.

Emma, however, failed the blood pressure test and was eliminated.

On my way home from school, eager to share the good news with my mom, I was suddenly stopped by someone.

"Hey, you're pretty cute. What's your name?"

I knew this person all too well.

Tobias.

He was the biggest scum in my previous life, the scum among scums.

Before selling me off to a scam syndicate, he didn't forget to assault me one last time, smirking as he zipped up his pants.

"Your stepfather paid me to elope with you, and now he's paid me again. Susan, you really are my lucky charm."

The same face was now right in front of me again.

"I've opened an internet café. Why don't you drop by? No charge for you," Tobias said.

I accepted the internet cafe flyer with a meaningful smile.