3

But there was one thing I was curious about.

Normally, since the System was now bound to me and wanted me to win over Rhys Hawthorne, my sister shouldn't have known about its existence. So why was the System the first thing she mentioned?

"Host, in your last life, the resentment from your soul was so profound that it forced my mission to an abrupt end. The Main System had no other choice but to rewind time and start over."

"I have since switched Hosts. But because she was my Host at the end of the last timeline, her memories couldn't be erased. You could say she was reborn, too."

After hearing what the System said, I finally understood.

I pressed my lips together and didn't reply to the System.

"Elara, why are you spacing out here so late at night instead of sleeping?" My parents were a little surprised to see me and hurried over.

Seeing that my parents were still okay, my eyes grew hot, and I almost burst into tears.

My parents were still okay.

My father hadn't become a scruffy, reeking alcoholic yet.

Right now, he was still a clean-cut, middle-aged man.

My mother hadn't yet developed dark circles under her eyes and a smoking habit from spending all her years at the mahjong table.

Right now, my mother still looked like a classic Hong Kong film star.

"Silly child, your parents were just a little concerned about you. What's wrong? Are you upset?" My mother noticed something was off and came over to check on me.

As she came closer, I threw my arms around her and held her tight.

'I will protect my mom and dad this time. What happened in my past life will absolutely never happen again!'

"No, I just wanted to hug you and Dad," I said, my voice muffled.

'Of course, I could never tell my parents about my past life. I'd have to protect them on my own.'

"You're such a big girl now, why are you still acting like a child?" Dad teased, but he had already walked over and let me hug him too.

Feeling their arms around me, my heart felt warm.

My parents weren't rich or powerful, but before the System's influence, they had been incredibly good to me. They were the kind of parents who truly understood children and were willing to listen to what they had to say.

On my end, I steeled my resolve, determined to do whatever it took to protect my parents.

Meanwhile, my sister was racking her brain, calling out to the System and plotting how to win over Rhys Hawthorne.

I couldn't care less about any of that.

I was only a sophomore in high school now. Since my sister no longer had the System, I probably wouldn't have a sudden breakdown and lose my mind.

Before I started on my mission to win over Rhys Hawthorne, I had to focus on my studies.

Only with good grades would any future be possible.

I threw myself into my studies with a sense of urgency, working hard to recall my high school knowledge from my past life.

Even though I'd spent the last few years of my previous life with a mental illness, my brain now was healthy and young. As long as I put in a little effort, I could get back to my former academic level.

But my happiness didn't last long before I discovered something that made me furious.

4

It happened on a Friday.

When I got home from school, I saw her standing in front of Dad, holding a bottle of hard liquor.

"Dad, I heard from some people at school that drinking a little hard liquor can help you live longer. I even asked the shop owner, and he said this is the best kind, perfect for you. So I used all my allowance money to buy it for you."

My sister put on a very innocent act. Her words made her sound like a naive and filial daughter.

She heard it was good for his health, so she spent all her allowance on it.

As she spoke, she opened the bottle, handed Dad a glass, and urged him to drink.

Mom and Dad looked completely baffled, probably wondering how alcohol could possibly be linked to good health.

They looked at my sister, taking her words as a misguided but well-intentioned act of filial piety. But I, living this life a second time, saw right through her scheme.

'She's trying to defy fate,' I thought. 'Even without the System, she still wants to follow the same path, using this method to present herself to Rhys Hawthorne as that tenacious, innocent girl who's had a hard life.'

I strode forward and knocked the glass right out of his hand.

"Sister, what are you doing?" My interruption of Rosalie Shepherd's little performance immediately earned her displeasure.

I ignored her expression and spoke bluntly. "Rosalie Shepherd, don't you know how bad drinking is for you? Long-term drinking can lead to alcoholism. If you don't even know that basic fact, then I don't see the point of you even going to school. Your education is clearly being wasted."

My words were sharp.

My sister's face changed in an instant, a mix of anger and grievance.

But because my words had been so harsh and final, she couldn't find anything to say in rebuttal. All she could do was start crying pitifully.

Mom, completely unaware of my sister's true intentions, saw this and immediately gave me a disapproving look. "Elara, even if Rosalie's way of showing affection was misguided, she only did it because she loves her father. You can reason with your sister properly. You shouldn't be so harsh with her."

The earnest way Mom tried to reason with me made my nose tingle, and I felt a pang of sadness.

'This is my mother, so reasonable and fair,' I thought. 'But in my past life, under the System's manipulation at my sister's direction, she was turned into a gambling addict who cared about nothing else.'

"Don't cry, Elara. Your mom has a point. You're both young adults now. You need to be mindful of how you speak to each other." Dad saw what was happening and quickly got up to comfort me.

Their kindness only made the bitter feeling in my heart grow, a sour ache spreading through my chest.

At the same time, I couldn't help the resentment I felt toward my sister.

Mom and Dad had always been perfectly fair, treating us sisters with no difference. I couldn't understand why she felt no gratitude at all, why she would treat us all as pawns in her game.

Not only that, but when she succeeded in her "conquest" and was preparing to get married, she had the System simply erase us, leaving us with no way to survive.

All because our ruined lives served as her pitiful, tragic backstory before the wedding, but would cause people to look down on her after she was married.

But she was the one who had driven her own family into such a complete mess.

'What right did she have to despise us?'

My sister ran outside, crying, and Mom immediately followed to comfort her.

My dad took my arm, looking a bit helpless. "Elara, let's just eat out tonight, alright? Next time, just be more mindful of how you say things."

And just like that, the four of us went out for a walk and had dinner.