While my family was preparing for the banquet, I received a call from my classmate, Denise Trevino.

She sounded really urgent, saying there was a family urgency. Thus, she needed a few tens of thousands of dollars to cover it and asked me to return the portion of the startup fund she'd contributed.

The startup fund was money we'd all contributed, so I immediately transferred it to her using the private savings I'd taken from Dad a few days earlier.

To my surprise, Denise called me again two days later.

There was a commotion in the background, and I could faintly hear several familiar voices.

The next moment, Denise said, "Mabel, your parents are here at my company."

As soon as she finished speaking, Mom's screeching voice came through the phone.

"You cow, who are you calling? How dare you borrow money from Mabel? Give it back right now! Since you borrowed it for two days, you need to pay interest! Otherwise, don't blame me for making your life difficult!"

I hung up the phone.

When I got to Denise's company, my parents and Grandma were pulling at her clothes, demanding an explanation.

Looking at me as if I were a savior, Denise said in a voice choked with tears, "Mabel, hurry up and talk some sense into your parents! I told them it's true that I borrowed money from you, but that money was originally mine."

"How dare you still lie?" Grandma said, moving forward again to grab Denise's hair.

I stopped Grandma and turned to my parents.

"How did you find out I transferred money to her?" I asked in confusion.

Chad, standing nearby, replied smugly, "It was all thanks to me. How else would I know if I hadn't installed a hidden camera in your room?"

When I heard that, my mind went blank, and my whole body began to tremble. I swept my gaze over my parents, and they lowered their heads guiltily.

Even in my previous life, I never imagined Chad would install a hidden camera in my room, and that the whole family knew about it!

Only Grandma scolded me matter-of-factly, "You little brat! You still owe us money, yet you dare hide your own savings to lend to your friends? Don't tell me you think they're more important than us?"

After she said that, Mom and Dad puffed up with confidence as well.

"That's right. You still owe us 300 thousand dollars! Either your friend pays back the money, or you give the 300 thousand dollars today. Otherwise, we'll continue to harass you.

"I haven't even bought the jewelry I need for the party, and you're telling me you have no money? Yet, you still lend money to outsiders? Oh, how did I end up with such a disloyal daughter?"

Even though I explained that the money was originally Denise's and that her family was in trouble, they refused to believe me.

Mom glanced at Denise contemptuously. "Someone in your family died, yet you still came to work? Why aren't you at their funeral service? The way I see it, you're just a liar. Next thing you'll do is trick Mabel out of her money, delete your contacts, and run far away."

Denise was so furious at Mom's words that she shook all over. "Mrs. Livingston, if you speak like that again, I'll call the police."

"Even if you call them, we're still in the right," Mom retorted confidently.

They were locked in a fierce dispute.

Nearby, some nosy bystander had already taken out their phone to record everything.

To keep Denise from being further inconvenienced at work, I had no choice but to say to my parents, "Alright, alright, I'll give you the 300 thousand dollars! Just stop this!"

Hearing this, my parents stopped what they were doing and eyed me suspiciously.

I used the transfer system to move Dad's private savings and then transferred the money to them.

"See this? Here's 80 thousand dollars. I'll give you the remaining 220 thousand dollars when we get home. Are you satisfied now?"

My parents nodded in satisfaction. "That's more like it."

After receiving the money, my parents were over the moon.

For several days in a row, Dad wined and dined his friends and relished every moment of showing off before them.

Mom, on the other hand, went shopping at the mall with her best friend. She bought whatever caught her eye. In fact, she was practically ready to buy up the entire mall.

Even Chad took Gale out for some high-end fun—dinner in the sky, a 500-dollar-per-person massage, and a stay in a hot spring resort. In one day, they blew through tens of thousands of dollars.

They brought back the bills and had the whole family split them. Everyone agreed except me.

"Everyone agreed to split the cost, so why do you have to be the exception?" Mom asked coldly. "The minority must yield to the majority. This is a family activity—if you don't have the money, you need to take out a loan to come up with it!"

In the end, I transferred their private savings and then sent them the money.

Every time they asked me for money, I'd transfer the balance from the system and give it to them. Since they thought it was my money, they spent it very happily.

Not only that, but after getting a taste of wealth and luxury, they became increasingly greedy.

Mom received an invitation from the mall to an auction and took the whole family along.

At the auction, Dad took a liking to an antique painting, Gale fell in love with a medieval necklace, and Mom set her sights on a sapphire ring.

The antique painting and the medieval necklace cost five million dollars.

The sapphire ring was the final item to be auctioned.

"And now for our final piece—this sapphire ring. It's truly one in a million. In the last hundred years, only one flawless sapphire ring like this has ever been produced. Bidding starts at three million dollars, with minimum raises of 500 thousand dollars."

Mom's eyes lit up at this.

As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, Mom eagerly raised her paddle.

"3.5 million dollars!"

A wealthy woman immediately raised her paddle. "Four million dollars!"

"4.5 million dollars!" Mom shouted, refusing to back down.

"Five million dollars!"

Hearing this price, Mom hesitated. After all, bidding further would mean spending more on this ring than on everything else we'd bought that day.

As if noticing Mom's hesitation, the wealthy woman gave us a side-eye.

Then, she looked contemptuously at Mom's outfit and sneered. "You broke losers shouldn't even bother bidding on the grand finale. I doubt you could afford it even if you sold everything you have.

"You could work your whole life and still never afford this sapphire ring. Don't ruin your future just to try to prove something."

When Mom heard that, her face went red. "What did you just say to me? Just you wait!"

The next moment, Mom raised her paddle and said, "I'll bid whatever it takes. No one is outbidding me on this."

The whole audience erupted in shock.

However, I noticed a glint of triumph in the wealthy woman's eyes and immediately realized that this was all a setup by the mall. They had deliberately bid against Mom.

Seeing me just standing there watching, Mom kicked me in the ribs and questioned angrily, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and transfer me the money!"

Under her gaze, I once again transferred their private savings. After receiving the money, Mom finally broke into a smile.

At the same time, an auction staff member walked toward her with a smile.

"Ma'am, I'm afraid we require proof of funds for that kind of bid."

Mom scoffed and said, "Be my guest! I own an apartment, and my daughter just transferred me 300 thousand dollars."

The staff member had already guessed as much. After all, invitations to this auction were only given to those who had spent a certain amount at the mall.

However, when he checked Mom's account and the property deed she handed over, his expression froze.

"Ma'am, your account balance is zero, and the name on the property deed isn't yours either."

"What?" Mom quickly snatched the property deed back and took a look at it.