C1 To be Reborn

Smack—

A heavy slap landed on Xue Ning's face.

The woman staggered, her fair skin instantly marked with a red blotch.

"How can you be so useless, you ungrateful brat?"

"We've taken care of you for twenty years, providing everything you needed. Have we ever treated you poorly?"

"We even found you a great family to marry into, and now you can't even do us a small favor without making excuses? Do you really think you're a sparrow turned into a phoenix?"

Zhou Shuhui yanked Xue Ning's arm with one hand, while the other hand came down hard on her again.

Xue Ning held her cheek, gritting her teeth, her eyes downcast, silently enduring the blows.

[Ding~ Miracle Hand System activated, current points: 0, item store unavailable]

[Welcome, Host 1183. Miracle Hand System 021 at your service]

[Current status: Shaky Hands]

A mechanical voice suddenly echoed in her mind, startling Xue Ning so much she nearly cried out.

Then, a gray interface appeared before her eyes, divided into eight categories: [Shaky Hands], [Featherweight], [Just a Tickle], [Dainty Prodigy], [Crimson Soft Hands], [Walnut-Cracking Palm], [Ten-Finger Heartbreaker], [Mountain-Lifter].

Aside from the "Shaky Hands" button being pink, everything else was gray. Xue Ning stood there, stunned for a moment, noticing that Zhou Shuhui seemed oblivious. Realizing she was the only one who could see it, she discreetly pressed the pink button.

Nothing happened...

[User 1183, your current stats are too low for access.]

The panel disappeared. What on earth was that? Xue Ning's face was expressionless, suspecting she was hallucinating from the stress.

"Why the long face? Are you upset?" Zhou Shuhui, seeing her looking like a dead fish, grew even angrier and pinched her pale arm hard.

The sharp pain snapped Xue Ning back to reality. She thought things would be different this time around, but...

Yeah, right.

As soon as she stepped through the door, she was grabbed and questioned about how things went. When she couldn't give the desired answer, she was met with a barrage of insults and blows. When did her status at home become like this?

Just then, a soft, remorseful voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Mom, don't blame my sister. It's my fault. I've been away for so many years, struggling to get by. All I know is to study hard, foolishly believing that knowledge changes fate. I didn't think things through and shouldn't have tried to take on the Lu family's project..."

Behind Zhou Shuhui, Xue Ya's eyes were brimming with tears, her voice growing more choked as she spoke.

"Sweetheart, it's not your fault..." Shuhui gently pushed Ning aside and embraced Ya, soothing her with a soft voice, "It's us, your parents, who owe you an apology for all the hardships you've endured. You've always been exceptional and have made us so proud."

After speaking, Shuhui shot Ning a sharp glance, "This is your debt to Baoer, and you should spend your life making it up to her. This is just one project; it's only the beginning."

Ning looked at the mother and daughter wrapped in an embrace. Despite her reluctance to face the truth, she had to admit that Ya's arrival had changed everything.

Shuhui noticed Ning's silence, interpreting it as silent defiance, and her anger flared. She raised her hand and slapped Ning across the face, "Did you hear me?"

Ning's head buzzed from the blow, her eyes stinging, but she held back her tears.

"If you hadn't lost your sister when you were young, would Baoer have suffered all these years? As her older sister, you must take responsibility."

Shuhui jabbed her finger at Ning's forehead, while Ya cried and pretended to intervene.

Ning watched the mother-daughter duo put on their act, feeling a cold laugh rise within her. They were quite the performers. She had been fooled by their routine before.

Actually, she isn't the Xue family's daughter; Xue Ya is.