The hotel room was a bland, anonymous sanctuary. For the first time in two lifetimes, Ye Xia was truly alone, answerable to no one. The freedom was intoxicating. She ordered room service—a healthy, balanced meal—and sat down to plan her next moves with a clear head.
The confrontation with Wang Yan had been a necessary risk. She had established a boundary, however fragile. They would not bother her again for a short while, too afraid of the lawyer and the mysterious card. It bought her time.
Her immediate goals were clear:
1. Level up the system to increase her daily quota and conversion rate.
2. Accumulate enough personal capital to invest in Sohu stock.
3. Find a way to bypass the minor issue for investing.
The system was at Level 2 (80/200). She needed 120 more Experience Points, which meant twelve more days of wasting at the current rate. But she had an idea. The rules stated she had to waste the daily quota. It didn't say she couldn't waste more.
The next day, she decided to test the limits. She went to a luxury car dealership. She had no intention of buying a car—she couldn't drive, and it was far too conspicuous—but she needed a single, massive transaction.
She walked into the showroom, ignoring the skeptical looks, and pointed to the most expensive sedan on the floor. "I'd like to buy that one. Full payment, today."
The salesman laughed until he realized she was serious. The car cost 1.2 million RMB. She presented the system's card.
[Error: Transaction exceeds daily quota. Maximum expenditure for today is 50,000 RMB.]
So there was a hard cap. She couldn't pre-spend future quotas. She settled for buying the most expensive accessories she could find—custom floor mats, a premium sound system upgrade—totaling exactly 50,000 RMB. It was a pointless expense, perfect for wasting.
As the days turned into another week, she refined her strategy. She spent more on services, hiring a private nutritionist and a doctor for a full health check-up. The results were sobering. Her body was a mess, thanks to years of hormonal sabotage and poor diet. The doctor prescribed a strict regimen of diet and exercise. Ye Xia committed to it utterly. Revenge required a strong vessel.
She also used the system's funds to pay for online courses from international universities on finance and programming. Knowledge was an intangible asset that couldn't be taken away.
Finally, after a total of three weeks since her rebirth, the moment arrived.
[Ding! Daily task completed. Experience Points have reached 200/200. Congratulations, Host. The Money Wasting System is now Level 3!]
The blue screen shimmered before her.
System: Money Wasting System (Level 3)
Host: Ye Xia
Todays Wasting Quota: 200,000 RMB
Conversion Rate: 5%
New Function Unlocked: Basic Intelligence (Local).
Ye Xia's breath hitched. Two hundred thousand RMB! And a 5% conversion rate! That meant for every day she wasted the quota, she would receive 10,000 RMB for herself! In ten days, she would have 100,000 RMB. The offshore account or legal trust was now within reach.
And the new function—Basic Intelligence. She focused on it.
[Basic Intelligence (Local): Provides host with one piece of verifiable information pertaining to individuals or events within the host's immediate city. Cooldown: 7 days. Cost: 50 EXP per use.]
This was a spy tool. This was power. She could uncover secrets, verify threats, gain leverage. It was expensive—50 EXP was five days of wasting—but potentially invaluable.
Her first priority was the money. She needed to waste 200,000 RMB today. The legal trust Attorney Li had mentioned cost around 200,000 RMB. It was a service, a way to waste money that would also solve her investment problem.
She called Attorney Li immediately. "I've decided to proceed with the trust-owned company," Ye Xia said, her voice confident. "Please draw up the necessary papers. I will transfer the funds today."
The lawyer was surprised by the swift decision but agreed. Ye Xia paid the 200,000 RMB retainer using the system's card.
[Ding! Daily task completed. 200,000 RMB successfully wasted. 10,000 RMB has been converted to your Personal Funds. 10 Experience Points awarded. Current Level: 3 (10/500).]
Her personal account now held over 15,000 RMB. It was happening. The engine of her vengeance was finally turning over.
While Attorney Li worked on the complex legal setup, Ye Xia turned her attention to the intelligence function. She needed to use it wisely. Her first target was obvious: Wang Yan. What was her stepmother's deepest secret?
She activated the function, focusing her mind on Wang Yan. The 50 EXP was deducted.
[Basic Intelligence (Local) activated. Processing…]
A flood of information, like a downloaded file, appeared in her mind. It was an address—a luxury apartment in a trendy part of the city—and a name: Zhao Hai. And attached to it was a transaction record: a monthly transfer of 20,000 RMB from a bank account under Wang Yan's name to an account under Zhao Hai's name, dating back three years.
Ye Xia's eyes widened. Zhao Hai. She knew that name. He was a handsome, much younger man who sometimes did odd jobs around the villa—a "handyman" Wang Yan had hired. So that was the nature of their relationship. Wang Yan was embezzling from the household funds to keep a lover.
This was dynamite. This was the leverage she needed to secure her position at home permanently.
She didn't confront Wang Yan immediately. She bided her time, continuing her routine of school, study, and wasting money. Her personal wealth grew rapidly. 25,000 RMB. 35,000 RMB. She used some of it to rent a small, secure studio apartment under the name of the trust that Attorney Li was creating. It was her true sanctuary, a place no one knew about.
A month after her rebirth, the legal framework was complete. Through a series of complex maneuvers, a shell company called "Xing Guang Capital" (Starlight Capital) was created, owned by a trust for which Ye Xia was the ultimate beneficiary. The court-appointed guardian for the company was a respectable, retired judge that Attorney Li knew—a man of integrity who, for a fee, would sign off on Ye Xia's investment decisions without interference. It was perfect.
The moment the company's brokerage account was active, Ye Xia transferred all her personal funds—now 105,000 RMB (approximately $15,000 USD)—into it. With trembling fingers, guided by her financial knowledge and the certainty of memory, she placed an order to buy Sohu stock. The price was $41.50 per share. She bought every share she could.
It was done. Her first real investment, based on foreknowledge, was in the market.
Now, it was time to deal with Wang Yan.
She chose a Sunday evening, when the whole family was home. She walked into the living room where Ye Zhentao was watching TV, and Wang Yan and Ye Meng were gossiping.
"Father, Auntie Wang," Ye Xia said, her voice cutting through the domestic chatter. "We need to talk."
Ye Zhentao muted the TV, annoyed. "What is it now, Xiaxia?"
"It's about the household accounts," Ye Xia said, looking directly at Wang Yan, who immediately looked wary. "I've noticed some… discrepancies."
Wang Yan forced a laugh. "What are you talking about? You know nothing about the accounts!"
"I know that every month, 20,000 RMB is transferred from the household account to an individual named Zhao Hai," Ye Xia said calmly. "I know that Mr. Zhao lives in apartment 1203 at the Skyview Residences. I wonder what services he provides that are worth such a substantial monthly fee?"
The color drained from Wang Yan's face. Ye Zhentao sat up straight, his expression turning from annoyance to thunderous anger.
"What is this?" he demanded, turning to Wang Yan. "Zhao Hai? The handyman?"
"She's lying!" Wang Yan shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at Ye Xia. "She's making it up to cause trouble!"
"I have the bank statements," Ye Xia lied smoothly, bluffing with the confidence the intelligence had given her. "And photos of the two of you together at the apartment. Would you like me to show Father?"
It was a gamble, but a calculated one. Wang Yan's guilty reaction confirmed everything.
Ye Zhentao stood up, his face purple with rage. "You… you've been stealing from me? To keep a… a boy toy?" He grabbed Wang Yan by the arm. "Is it true?"
Wang Yan crumpled, sobbing, offering weak denials that only cemented her guilt.
Ye Xia watched the scene dispassionately. "I suggest you both come to a new arrangement," she said. "From now on, I will manage my own affairs without interference. You will stay out of my room and out of my life. In return, I will keep this… unpleasantness… to myself."
She wasn't asking; she was stating terms.
Ye Zhentao, humiliated and furious, could only glare at his wife. He had lost all moral authority. He nodded curtly at Ye Xia. "Do as you please."
Ye Xia turned and walked away, leaving the crumbling remains of her so-called family behind. She had won her freedom. The first battle in the war was over. The real war—against Liang Rui and Lin Wanwan—was just beginning. And now, she had the resources and the ruthlessness to fight it.