Chapter 1: Rebirth
Shanghai, heavy snow falling.
Xu Youyou, wearing an old cotton coat, endured wave after wave of dizziness as she walked back and forth in the snow. When she saw a black Maybach slowly approaching, she rushed forward.
The driver, startled, slammed on the brakes and rolled down the window, ready to curse, but upon seeing the familiar face, he turned to the man in the back seat and said, “Young Master, it’s Miss Xu Youyou.”
Xu Youyou ran to the window and knocked. “Big Brother, the doctor said I need surgery immediately, but I really don’t have a single penny left!”
She urgently handed the payment notice to Gu Fengchuan, but he didn’t take it. Instead, he gazed at her with cold, deep eyes.
“Xu Youyou, you no longer have any connection with the Gu family.”
Xu Youyou’s heart tightened. “Big Brother, I donated my bone marrow and gave Gu Xueying a kidney. Now my body is full of complications—if I don’t get treatment, I will die…”
Gu Fengchuan’s gaze was colder than the wind and snow. “No one forced you to donate. If your health is ruined, it’s because of your own evil deeds. After everything you did to harm Yingying, even if you die, you deserve it.”
Xu Youyou stared at him in disbelief. When they asked her to donate, they had said that as long as she did, she would truly be part of the family.
The car window slowly rolled up, and the vehicle drove into the Gu family villa.
Xu Youyou tried to chase after it but stumbled and fell to the ground. The cold seeped into her bones. After a long time, she struggled to her feet and staggered toward the villa.
“Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~”
The song drifted to her ears, and she suddenly remembered—it was her birthday too.
From a distance, she saw the brightly lit villa. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, piles of presents surrounded Gu Xueying as the entire Gu family smiled and watched her open them.
Xu Youyou wanted to leave, but her feet wouldn’t move. She had nowhere else to go. She was dying, while her so-called family was celebrating her enemy’s birthday.
“Young Master Gu, I see the beggar you mentioned. I’ll drive her away now.”
The patrolling security guard hung up the phone, swung a baton, and struck Xu Youyou. “This is a private area—get lost if you want to die!”
After being thrown out of the villa district, Xu Youyou barely opened her eyes. Snow fell endlessly, and the streets were deserted. Pain wracked her body as she coughed up mouthfuls of blood. Darkness overwhelmed her as she lost consciousness.
The sound of an alarm woke her. Xu Youyou grabbed her battered second-hand phone to check the time—and froze.
Five years ago!
She had been reborn—before the Gu family reunion. At this moment, all she had was 20 yuan, and she had no idea how to pay next month’s rent.
Her body was full of energy, unlike in her past life, where the bone marrow and kidney donations left her weak and sickly. Tears welled up in her eyes—after all she had suffered, nothing mattered more than having a healthy body.
Xu Youyou had originally been the daughter of the wealthy Gu family but was accidentally switched at birth and raised in an orphanage. In her previous life, she was taken back by the Gu family the next day. Out of a desire for familial love, she gave them everything.
But due to the fake daughter Gu Xueying’s schemes, everyone believed she was after the Gu family’s wealth. In the end, she died alone in the snow.
[Ding! Detecting the host’s overwhelming hatred—system binding in progress!]
[The Treasure-Hunting System is activated! Our goal: Find treasures! Make money! Become a tycoon!]
Hearing the sudden voice and seeing a floating screen in front of her, Xu Youyou wondered if the heavens had finally taken pity on her suffering and gifted her a cheat code.
[Host, your first treasure-hunting mission is now active. Follow the system’s direction to complete the task. No penalty for failure—success earns you a random reward.]
Without hesitation, Xu Youyou followed the system’s guidance out the door.
She crossed an overpass and walked about a kilometer to an upscale residential area—where she stumbled upon some drama.
“Yaoyao, I like you!”
But the pretty girl being confessed to clearly wasn’t interested. She took the bouquet the man handed her and tossed it into a nearby trash can. “I’ve told you many times—I hate you. Stop bothering me!”
After speaking, the girl turned and walked into the residential complex, leaving the rejected man dejected and blocked by security.
When he finally left, the system’s indicator pointed directly at the bouquet.
Xu Youyou’s spirits lifted. She had no issue with picking up trash—years in the orphanage had made her an expert at scavenging. This was just business as usual.
The bouquet was a mix of roses and baby’s breath, with several rolled-up slips of paper tucked inside.
A card attached to the bouquet read:
“Song Yao, I love you. Your birthday is December 21st, and mine is May 1st. I bought nine lottery tickets using our birthdays—may our happiness last forever. Please accept my love!”
Xu Youyou nearly gagged at the cheesiness. The guy was so stingy—just 18 yuan for nine lottery tickets and a basic bouquet? No wonder the girl rejected him.
Following the system’s prompt, she collected the lottery tickets and tossed the flowers back into the trash can.
That evening, lying in her tiny apartment, Xu Youyou refreshed the lottery results page with bated breath.
To her shock, the bizarre combination of numbers actually hit the jackpot—880,000 yuan!
And with nine tickets, her total winnings amounted to 7.92 million yuan!
After tax deductions, she would still receive over 6 million yuan.
Having never seen this much money in both lifetimes, Xu Youyou was so excited she didn’t sleep a wink. The next morning, she disguised herself with a wig and cashed in her winnings.
As she stared at the balance in her bank account, the reality of her windfall still felt like a dream.
[Congratulations, Host! For successfully completing your first treasure-hunting mission, you’ve earned an additional reward: A luxury apartment in Tomson Riviera.]
Xu Youyou: !!!
Who needs a rundown apartment when you own a luxury penthouse? She immediately began packing.
Meanwhile, Gu Fengchuan, frowning, stepped into the shabby urban village. Someone of his status would never come to such a place without a good reason.
He knocked on Xu Youyou’s door.
No response.
He knocked again.
Inside, Xu Youyou hummed a tune as she packed. When she finally opened the door, she didn’t hesitate—she swung a broom straight at him.
“Drunken idiot! Stop harassing me!”
(End of Chapter 1)
