"Li Ziqing? What are you doing here?" a loud and sharp voice, filled with condescension and disdain, cut through the air of the high-end store like a knife.
Li Ziqing's brows furrowed slightly, her fingers still resting elegantly on the edge of the glass display. She turned her head slowly, almost unwillingly, and the moment her gaze landed on the two people standing just a few steps behind her, her mood visibly dimmed.
It was her eldest uncle, Li Jianguo, and his second son, Li Weimin.
In the Li family, Li Jianfang—her mother—is the third child, while Li Jianping, is the youngest. Li Jianguo, however, is the eldest son—the one born with every ounce of favor their parents had to offer. And he knew it. Treated like a treasure since birth, pampered and praised, he strutted through life like royalty. Even though his position in the Wuhan municipality wasn't high, the mere fact that he held an "iron rice bowl" job made him arrogant beyond words. He looked down on his siblings, especially the daughters of the family, as if they were dirt beneath his shoes.
Ever since she was old enough to understand, Li Ziqing had watched her mother and Uncle Jianping being trampled on by the eldest branch. In her previous life, they were the very ones who kept harassing her mother after Uncle Jianping's and Li Zian's deaths, pressuring her into remarrying. Their daily visits, loud arguments, and manipulations were relentless. Eventually, her mother broke, agreeing to a marriage that led to the ultimate tragedy.
So now, seeing their faces again, Li Ziqing felt nothing but cold disgust.
She didn't greet them. Didn't flinch. Didn't even blink.
Instead, she simply turned her face away, her long lashes falling slightly to shield her indifference. As if they were air.
Li Weimin, who was only thirteen—just a year younger than her and her twin brother Li Zian—was immediately enraged. Being raised with the idea that he was superior to the "fatherless bastards," as their grandmother liked to call them, he had never seen either of the twins as equals. He often bullied them back at family gatherings.
Seeing Li Ziqing now, so cold, so uncaring, and—worst of all—ignoring him, made his blood boil.
"You dirty little bastard! How dare you ignore us?!" he roared.
Before the store staff could react or customers could fully register what was happening, he lunged at her and raised his hand to slap her across the face—something he had done many times before in the past.
But this time—this wasn't the same Li Ziqing.
With a sharp movement that seemed to defy her age and build, Li Ziqing caught his wrist in midair. Her grip was firm, ice-cold, and unyielding.
She slowly turned her gaze toward Li Weimin, her eyes no longer soft and subdued as they once were in her past life. Now, they gleamed with a calm, dangerous light, like still water with hidden depths.
She leaned in slightly and said, "Li Weimin, I suggest you put that hand down. You're not in grandma's backyard anymore. Out here in the real world, slapping people can cost you more than just a bruised ego."
Then she added with a mocking tilt of her head, her voice still low but biting:
"Oh wait—how would you know? Your brain's still under construction, and your mouth's clearly working overtime to make up for it."
The words struck like lightning.
Li Weimin's face flushed red in an instant. He tried to yank his hand back, but Li Ziqing didn't release it right away. She squeezed slightly, just enough to make him wince in pain, and then let go.
He stumbled back a step, clearly shaken, clutching his wrist and glaring at her. Then, like a switch had been flipped, his face crumpled into a mask of dramatic pain as he pointed at Li Ziqing and wailed loudly,
"Dad! Look at her! She's bullying me!"
Fat tears began rolling down his pudgy cheeks, and he plopped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, sobbing as if he'd been gravely wronged.
Li Jianguo, stunned for a moment, blinked rapidly. His brows twitched, and he instinctively reached forward to help his son up, glancing at Li Ziqing with obvious disbelief.
This… niece?
In his memory, Li Ziqing had always been the silent, timid girl who let others push her around, never once raising her voice, let alone her hand. His own son and daughter had frequently taunted her like a family pastime. He had never stepped in. After all, he believed scolding his children would hurt their delicate hearts. So what if a little fatherless girl took the hits? She'd grow out of it. She should be grateful they even acknowledged her.
But this… today's Li Ziqing—her sharp eyes and steady gaze—was nothing like before.
Still, when he saw his son sobbing and shrieking like a piglet, his paternal instincts overrode reason.
His voice rose sharply:
"Li Ziqing! Is this how you treat your younger cousin?! He's just a child!"
Li Ziqing crossed her arms and sneered, not bothering to conceal the sarcasm in her voice. "A child?" Her eyes flicked down at Li Weimin who was still crying like a wounded duck. "Which child? That oversized brat whose body mass is triple mine? If he's a child, then what am I—a fetus?"
She leaned forward slightly, her tone turning icy. "And listen to his mouth. Vicious enough to cut through steel. If this is how you raise your kids, maybe you should teach him that actions have consequences."
Li Weimin's sobs grew louder, his voice echoing through the high-end store like a siren, drawing curious glances and judgmental whispers from nearby shoppers.
Li Jianguo's head pounded from the noise, and with rising fury, he snapped,
"You ungrateful little brat! Do you even know who you're speaking to? I'm your elder! Get out! This place isn't for someone like you. Look at your clothes! Do you even know how expensive those things are?!"
He pointed toward the shiny displays of the Fruit Brand store, puffing up like a toad trying to assert dominance.
But Li Ziqing didn't budge an inch.
Instead, she tilted her head, smiling coolly, and said in a clear voice for everyone to hear,
"Oh? This place isn't for someone like me? Ok, so let's be clear—this place isn't for someone like me but, for someone who only earns a few thousand yuan a month as a pitiful section chief in the Environmental Department of the municipality right uncle?." Her eyes sparkled as she delivered the next blow with surgical precision.
"You're barking so loudly—do you own this mall? Is your name on the title deed? No? Then why are you acting like a watchdog at the gate?"
Her voice rang out crisply. A few people who had been eavesdropping chuckled quietly, glancing at Li Jianguo with thinly veiled amusement.
Li Jianguo's face flushed a deep red.
He hadn't expected this niece of his—whom he always considered a silent shadow—to be so sharp-tongued and fearless. Her words had publicly called out his position, his earnings, and even his authority. And worse, she'd said it all in such a calm, clear tone that he had no way to counter. He felt the sting of humiliation like a slap across the face, and he was just about to explode with anger—
But at that moment, the glass doors of the store opened.
Xiao Yun returned, pulling a cart behind her and walking with a bright, oblivious smile. "Ms. Li," she said cheerfully, unaware of the tension lingering in the air, "I've brought the items you requested."
Behind her followed a middle-aged woman in a fitted gray suit. With her tidy bun and professional poise, she exuded the air of someone who had handled hundreds of wealthy clients.
Xiao Yun turned with a slight bow. "Ms. Li, allow me to introduce our store manager, Manager Su."
Manager Su extended a hand with a pleasant smile. "Ms. Li, it's a pleasure to meet you. Xiao Yun has already told me about your order—four iPhones and four of our latest MacBooks, correct?"
Li Ziqing gave a slight nod. "Yes. I'd like to take them immediately if that's alright."
"Of course!" Manager Su gestured toward the cart. "We've prepared everything. I must mention, though, that the phones are currently only available in gray. However, we've included four limited-edition colored phone cases. They're quite trendy this season. As for the MacBooks, we have both silver gray and black. We've prepared two of each—will that work for you?"
"That's fine," Li Ziqing said lightly, as if she were just buying some pastries.
"Great," Manager Su beamed, nodding at Xiao Yun.
Xiao Yun happily produced the POS machine from the counter, like a magician revealing a prized trick.
"The iPhone 8GB models are 8,000 yuan each," she began enthusiastically. "And the 2.0GHz MacBooks are 12,000 yuan each. So the total comes to... 80,000 yuan, Ms. Li."
"80,000 yuan?"
"80,000 yuan?!"
Two shocked voices rang out in perfect unison—one from the stunned Li Jianguo, and the other from the floor, where Li Weimin had frozen mid-sob, his mouth hanging open like a stranded fish.
Around them, gasps and murmurs rippled through the crowd. Several sales staff who had previously sneered at Li Ziqing now stared at her in disbelief, their envy thick enough to slice through.
"Did she say eighty-thousand?"
"That Xiao Yun girl's getting a huge commission—more than our monthly pay!"
"She's not some country bumpkin... she's rich!"
Li Ziqing didn't even blink. She simply reached into her bag and pulled out a regular-looking China Construction Bank card, sky blue with silver lettering.
Manager Su respectfully took it and inserted it into the machine. But Li Jianguo's sharp eyes caught the name on it.
Li Jianping?
His brows furrowed. That's... that useless younger brother of mine? That broke loafer who lived off our sister for years? Since when did he have money? Since when could he afford something like this?
Li Ziqing, using that same man's card?
His mind spun, grasping for answers.
But before he could say anything, the payment notification pinged softly—Transaction Successful.
A hush fell over the store.
Everyone looked at Li Ziqing with new eyes.
Manager Su bowed slightly, her smile even wider than before. "Ms. Li, everything's ready. The phones are activated, sim cards are inserted, and your accessories—cases, styluses, chargers—are all packed in this bag."
Xiao Yun stepped forward and handed her the sleek white-and-black bag with a reverent expression, as though handing over a trophy.
"As for the MacBooks," Manager Su continued, "they're a bit heavy. If you don't mind, we can have them delivered to your home within the hour. Just leave your address here."
Li Ziqing took the offered pen and smoothly jotted down the address.
Then, without sparing a glance at her stunned uncle or his crying son, she turned.
With one hand holding the elegant bag and the other gripping her brand-new iPhone, she walked away—back straight, chin high, her presence commanding the entire floor like a queen departing her court.
Only when she had disappeared down the escalator did someone finally whisper:
"…She just spent eighty-thousand like it was nothing…"
Only then did Li Weimin get up from the floor, wiping his snot and tears with the sleeve of his expensive-looking but ill-fitting jacket. He stared at the now-closed glass door through which Li Ziqing had just walked out, holding two bags that easily cost more than anything he had ever owned.
He looked at his stunned father, still too dazed to move, and burst out, his chubby face twisted in anger.
"Dad! You must buy me an iPhone today! If that fatherless bastard can have one, why can't I? I'm your real son!"
His voice rang out loud and sharp in the luxury showroom, drawing a few lingering glances from nearby customers. But Li Jainguo, who had been lost in his thoughts, snapped out of it and glared at his son for the first time in a long while.
"I told you already! It's 8,000 yuan! I only make 3,000 a month. Do you think money grows on trees?" he snapped, irritation finally leaking through.
"But she—she swiped her card like it was nothing!" Li Weimin retorted, stamping his foot.
Li Jainguo yanked him by the arm, dragging him away. "Stop crying, you're embarrassing me."
Li Weimin sobbed loudly as he was pulled out of the Central Shopping Plaza, but Li Jianguo barely heard him. His mind was swirling.
"That card..." he muttered under his breath.
It clearly had the name Li Jianping printed on it. That useless younger brother of his? The one who never amounted to anything and sponged off their third sister for years? How did he suddenly have 80,000 yuan to throw away like it's spare change?
Greed began to cloud his thoughts. In his mind, Li Jianping was still the bottom-feeder of the Li family. So if he had money now, that money... surely it had to belong to the family.
"I must talk to Mom and Dad," he muttered to himself. "He's the youngest son, after all. That money shouldn't be his alone…"
He had conveniently forgotten how he'd humiliated his younger brother over the years, how he turned a blind eye to his kids bullying Li Ziqing, and how he dismissed his third sister like she was invisible.
But fate had a funny way of turning tables.
But Li Ziqing didn't know anything and even if she knew she would have laughed out loud. She was now sitting in the taxi and looking at the System task interface that showed new daily task.
____
Thank you so much Patricia_East for the power stone ☺️
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