The iron gate of the Li family apartment complex groaned—a rusted, screeching sound that echoed through the quiet 1995 night. Li Hua climbed the concrete stairs, her breath visible in the chilly air. Every step felt different. The 2kg she had lost wasn't just fat; it felt like she had shed a layer of leaden despair.
She reached the third floor and paused before the heavy wooden door. Inside, she could hear the clatter of porcelain and the shrill, artificial laughter of her half-sister, Li Lulu.
"Mama, if Li Hua really marries into the Gu family, can I have her room for my sewing studio?" Lulu's voice drifted through the cracks. "Her room has the best light, and honestly, she's so big she barely fits in there anyway. It's a waste."
"Don't worry, my heart," her step-mother, Auntie Mei, replied with a smug honey-tone. "Once she's out of this house, everything she owns belongs to us. I've already talked to the scrap collector. He's coming tomorrow to take that old, clunky sewing machine of her mother's. We can use the money to buy you that leather jacket from the Friendship Store."
Li Hua's blood turned to ice. That sewing machine was the last thing her biological mother had touched before she died—a heavy, cast-iron Singer that represented her mother's skill and dignity.
In my last life, I let them sell it. I cried, but I didn't fight. Not this time.
Li Hua kicked the door open.
The bang was so loud the soup spoons in the dining room rattled. Auntie Mei and Li Lulu jumped, their faces frozen in shock. The apartment was small and cramped, filled with the scent of fried salt pork a luxury they were clearly enjoying without her.
"Oh! You... you scared me to death!" Auntie Mei clutched her chest, her eyes narrowing as she saw Li Hua's disheveled state. "What are you doing back so early? Where is Gu Yan? And why are you covered in grease? You look like a beggar!"
Li Hua walked into the room, her presence suddenly filling the small space. She didn't head for the kitchen to beg for leftovers. She walked straight to the dining table and pulled out a chair, the wood scraping harshly against the linoleum.
"The engagement is off," Li Hua said, her voice dropping like a heavy stone into a still pond. "Gu Yan and Lin Meimei were caught together. I dumped him."
"You... you what?!" Auntie Mei's face turned a sickly shade of purple. She slammed her chopsticks down. "Do you have any idea how much face we've lost? The dowry! The connections! You useless, bloated girl! If you aren't marrying into the Gu family, you're nothing but a mouth to feed!"
Lulu smirked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Sister, you're so impulsive. Even if Gu Yan played around a little, a girl like you should be grateful anyone wants her at all. Now what? You've ruined Mama's plans."
[Ding! Side-Quest Triggered: Defend the Mother's Legacy!]
[Task: Silence the 'White Lotus' and the 'Greedy Stepmom'. Reward: +10 Agility, 'Stitch Mastery' Level 1. Penalty: Loss of the System for 24 hours.]
Li Hua looked at the salt pork on the table. In the 90s, this was a king's meal.
"My mother's sewing machine," Li Hua said, her voice deathly quiet. "I heard you talking. If a single person touches it, I'll go to the Textile Bureau and report how you've been skimming the 'waste' fabric from the factory to sell on the black market."
Auntie Mei's jaw dropped. Her secret side-hustle was her lifeline. "You... how do you know about that? You've been spying on me?"
"I don't need to spy to see a thief," Li Hua stood up, looming over her step-mother. The 2kg loss made her look taller, more imposing. "From now on, I don't eat your starch-heavy leftovers. I don't do Lulu's laundry. And if I hear one more word about selling my mother's things, I'll make sure the Neighborhood Committee knows exactly why our household budget doesn't match your spending."
Lulu turned to her mother, her lip trembling. "Mama, look at her! She's gone crazy!"
"I'm not crazy, Lulu. I'm awake," Li Hua reached out and grabbed the plate of salt pork. She didn't eat it. She walked to the window and tossed the entire plate out into the alley for the stray dogs.
"From today, if I don't eat, no one in this house eats well," Li Hua hissed.
Auntie Mei lunged forward, her hand raised to deliver a stinging slap. But Li Hua didn't flinch. Thanks to the System's synchronization, her reflexes were sharpened. She caught Auntie Mei's wrist in mid-air, squeezing just hard enough to make the older woman gasp.
"Don't," Li Hua warned. "I'm not the punching bag you raised anymore. I am the daughter of this house, and I'm taking back what belongs to me."
She shoved the hand away and marched into her small, dark bedroom, slamming the door and sliding the bolt home.
[Task Complete! Rewards Issued: +10 Agility, 'Stitch Mastery' Level 1!]
As the reward surged through her making her fingers feel nimble and her mind fill with thousands of intricate embroidery patterns.
Li Hua sat on her bed. She looked at the old, dusty sewing machine in the corner.
Suddenly, her Business Insight (the power she got from Ye Feng) flared to life. The sewing machine didn't just look like old iron anymore. It was glowing with a faint, golden aura.