Damn it! These death-calling footsteps once again jolted me awake from my daze.
No need to guess, it must be the Wang family’s precious fat—no, my cousin, Wang Linghua, passing by!
Her 258-pound weight made every step feel like a small earthquake in the house.
I quickly pulled the large towel on my head tighter.
This towel wasn't for wiping sweat; it was my “air-raid shelter,” specifically to guard against those two scoundrels upstairs.
After the “tank” rolled by, a series of light “pat-pat-pat…” footsteps came from the stairs again.
“Puff-puff-puff… Wang Allen, you good-for-nothing, get up! If you dawdle any longer, you’ll miss out! Pat-pat-pat…”
Wang Sheng, that scoundrel, just had to jump a few times directly above my head to feel satisfied. Wood chips and plaster rained down like confetti, fortunately, I had foresight.
This “Symphony of the Advancing” that played precisely every day was my “alarm clock” for rebirth.
That’s right, I, Wang Allen, had been reborn.
“This time, I must retrieve my ID card and bank card and forge a different life. Even if it means completely falling out with my uncle’s family, I won’t hesitate!”
I took a deep breath, suppressing the irritation in my heart.
Eight years ago, my uncle, Wang Dali, suddenly appeared in Clayton City, holding my father’s will and guardianship certificate, making him my legal guardian and estate administrator. He announced that I would leave Clayton City with him and go far away to Sunset Country.
As the departure approached, my heart was filled with reluctance and confusion.
I was still a child then, having grown up with my nanny, Nancy, so I naturally cried my eyes out, begging Nancy to help delay for two days so I could say goodbye to my friends.
I ignored Wang Dali’s impatience, which he showed daily as he rushed between the hotel and our residence, urging me. For two consecutive days, I stubbornly went to see someone very important to me—the “Stone Skipping Girl.”
That was the first stir of emotion in my life, a vague yet beautiful shadow. In that small park, we made a small but incredibly solemn promise.
I bid farewell to Nancy and her family of three with endless regret, beginning a life dependent on others.
This promise would be like a seed, buried deep in my heart, taking root and sprouting in the years to come, only to be cruelly destroyed by harsh reality.
I was like a small tree battered by a storm, struggling desperately but gradually losing my way. The promise, along with her face, became blurred in the daily torment.
I attributed all of this to the tricks of fate, the punishment from heaven.
I thought self-deprecatingly, perhaps this was the retribution for my easy forgetfulness back then. I learned to cherish, learned to be brave, but was then thrown into a new abyss.
This abyss was called confession.
I pulled out my well-maintained old smartphone, a birthday gift from my best friends, who had pooled their money.
Because I had set up my scholarship account with Nancy, no matter how Wang Dali, that old man, threatened or cajoled me, I never gave in!
From the age of 9 to 17, my bank card and ID card were held by that old man. My uncle’s family guarded me like a thief, treating me like a grandson!
“Eat? Ha, did Wang Sheng just call me to eat? Don’t dream, there’s no place for me at the dining table!”
Ever since I transferred to the aristocratic high school my cousins attended in my second year of high school, my living expenses? That old man had long since vanished like a kite with a broken string, completely gone.
I took out my phone, lit up the screen, and several unread messages popped up in the communication bar.
My gaze swept across the top of the screen, settling on the date—June 28th!
Five days later would be the darkest seven days of my life! This time, I absolutely couldn’t sit back and do nothing!
I had always struggled to express my inner emotions. During those seven days, all my friends lost contact, and I, being too proud, stubbornly endured in front of the “three” girls who habitually bullied me, refusing to humble myself and state my actual situation, even though I knew my relationship with them was different from the people who were genuinely looking for trouble.
At that time, I was still a stubborn person who couldn’t adapt. Starving to the point of dizziness, I actually succumbed and bowed to the person I least should have—my uncle, Wang Dali! How foolish of me!
My uncle, that old fox, took the opportunity to set conditions: delete all contacts, give up my inheritance, in exchange for a small “waste allowance” each month, and then let me go back to China to fend for myself.
A penny can defeat a hero. When you’re starving, you lose your mind, let alone your dignity and self-confidence!
My usual composed demeanor was like a sandcastle on the beach, washed away by a single wave.
Dignity? Self-confidence? In the face of hunger, they were nothing!
My meticulously planned exchange student program, just two months away from escaping my uncle’s clutches, years of hard work, and precious friendships, all burst like bubbles…
I usually lived off prize money from evening races, but the prize money was unfortunately embezzled by local criminal forces! Gwen usually handled these matters for me, but that week Gwen had other important things to do.
But at that time, I hadn’t calculated my days well, I had no money on me, and could only drink water to fill my stomach.
I tried to reach out to my close friends Chen Chang and Annie, and Nancy, for help, but that week, they seemed to have vanished into thin air! Not a single person responded to me…
I starved for over seven days, and I thought the whole world had abandoned me, just as I had once forgotten the “Stone Skipping Girl.” In despair, I signed that humiliating agreement!
My uncle watched as I personally deleted everyone… At that moment, I felt like a walking corpse.
This scene became my eternal nightmare!
This time, I will never repeat the same mistakes! I will make that old fox pay for his blood debt!
First, I will retrieve my personal ID card and bank card from my uncle.
Second, I will leave this boarding place and find a place to settle down. I only need to stay in Nottingham City for two more months to use the exchange student program to go to my hometown, Clayton City.
Third, within these two months, I will try to unravel the mysteries between the “three” people and me that I didn’t even know in my previous life.
After rebirth, I activated the Eternal Capture System, and it came with an Empathy Level Illustration that only takes effect when she and I have enough mutual affection.
I quickly pulled out my backpack and swiftly stuffed my most important belongings—two notebooks covered in notes and patches, my passport, and that old phone—inside.
I knew that after today, regardless of the outcome, this would be the last time I set foot in this dark, cramped storage room under the stairs.
It was time, as one of the three pieces of advice the System gave me said, “Cutting off requires immense courage.”
I pushed open the creaking door, my gaze sweeping over the corner, and resolutely walked towards the living room.
Around an old wooden table sat four people, my uncle’s family. They were engrossed in their breakfast, silent, as if I were a wisp of air in the house, unnoticed, uncared for.
Normally, I would, as usual, walk around them and quietly leave this place that didn’t belong to me, neither interfering with nor caring about each other, like a transparent person.
But today, I wouldn’t.
I straightened my body; the long-term lack of sufficient food had made my complexion somewhat pale, and my figure seemed thin, but each step I took was exceptionally steady, carrying a sense of power that contradicted my appearance. I walked step by step to my uncle, Wang Dali.
Four gazes simultaneously fell on me, filled with doubt and confusion. I ignored these and spoke, “Give me back my ID card and bank card.”
This wasn’t the first time Wang Dali had heard this.
“You’re not an adult yet, it’s safer with me.” He didn’t even lift his head, his tone perfunctory, as always.
Heh, does he still think I’m the three-year-old child he could easily fool before! This time, no way!
I clenched my fists, my nails almost digging into my flesh, barely suppressing the surging anger in my heart.
I raised my eyes and said in a cold, calm voice, yet with an unquestionable determination, “If you don’t give them to me, I’ll go to the Social Welfare Bureau right now.”
I paused, took a deep breath, making sure every word that followed would hit him like a nail: “I’ll tell them how you and my aunt have year after year embezzled my living expenses, how you’ve abused your guardian status, trapping me here like a prisoner, stripping me of everything.”
“Evidence? I think my ‘health condition,’ saved up from ‘frugality’ these past years, is the best evidence.” As I spoke, I slightly raised my chin, my sharp gaze fixed on him, without a hint of evasion.