The impoverished student I sponsored took advantage of my business trip to have my villa demolished and donated three truckloads of bricks to an elderly lady to rebuild her house.

When I confronted her, she tugged at my fiancé's sleeve, crying, "George, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I just heard that Mrs. White needed bricks to repair her house, so I had no choice but to tear down Sister's villa, which she never even lived in. What's wrong with helping others?"

Hearing this, my head felt like it was about to explode. I yelled, "The White House is empty too, why don't you go tear it down?"

My fiancé slapped me across the face, "Shut up! I begged her to tear down my villa, and she wouldn't even consider it. It's an honor she tore down yours!"

My mom tried to persuade me to be magnanimous, saying it wasn't worth losing face over a mere villa.

My brother said I was too vicious and grabbed a piece of rubble from the demolished villa and smashed it on my head, killing me.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day the sponsored student demolished my villa and donated the bricks.

***

"I'm sorry, George. I just felt so bad for Mrs. White. Her house was leaking, and I just wanted to help her. Sister is always on business trips, and the villa just sits there unused. I thought it could be donated to someone in need. I didn't think Sister would get so mad. In this world, can you even get scolded for doing good deeds?"

This time, instead of getting angry like last time, I broke out in a cold sweat.

The one speaking was the impoverished student I sponsored, Tina Best, with tears hanging from the corners of her eyes. She was carefully tugging at my fiancé, George Fox's sleeve, looking both pitiful and pretentious.

George pulled her close, shielding her behind him as if I were some sort of beast.

"It's okay, you're just being kind. You did a good deed by tearing down her villa. If she resents you for it, that just means she's ungrateful."

Then he yelled at me, "Why are you so agitated? You scared Tina! She's doing this for your own good. Isn't it better to donate it to someone in need than to let it go to waste?"

In my previous life, this would have enraged me immediately, and I would have hastily argued with them.

"I worked hard to earn the money to buy that villa! Why does she get to decide to tear it down and donate the bricks? Is there something wrong with her?"

Tina immediately burst into tears. "But Mrs. White is really pitiful. She's so old and still has to scavenge for a living. I just couldn't stand it..."

My blood pressure shot up as I responded, "Mrs. White's son is a successful tech entrepreneur. They're not short on money. She's just out getting some exercise, collecting a few recyclables. She just wanted to fix up her storage for those recyclables, and you thought it was worth tearing down my villa to donate bricks, didn't you?"

Tina looked even more aggrieved and cried even harder. "I didn't know. I really didn't know. Sister, I donated it in your name. I had no ill intentions..."

George was furious, "Enough! How dare you speak to Tina like that? She's doing this for you. So what if she tore down a villa? I must have been blind to fall for someone like you!"

With that, he grabbed Tina and stormed off.

In my previous life, I was on the verge of marrying George. I was desperate to clear up the misunderstanding, so I rushed to stop him and explain, but he pushed me away, leaving me standing there in shock.

I felt so wronged at the time that I said in anger, "Fine, you can leave, but I won't sponsor Tina anymore!"

George was even angrier. "Fine! Who needs your filthy money anyway? You can just live with your money from now on!"

Not long after, my mom and brother arrived. My mom immediately scolded me, "You need to be more generous. You're already 28 years old. Why do you have to argue with a 22-year-old girl? Tina is still a college student, not like you, who didn't even finish high school!"

I couldn't understand why my mom was also siding with Tina. "I dropped out of high school for whom? Wasn't it for you and my brother? And that villa was bought with my hard-earned money! I didn't even report her to the police, and now you're blaming me, aren't you?"

My brother chimed in too, "All you ever talk about is your money, your money. Just because you make money, you think you're so great! You're always guilt-tripping us about dropping out of high school. And now you even want to control Tina. I'm telling you, if you hurt Tina, I won't consider you my sister anymore!"

This world had gone mad. My fiancé, my mom, and my brother were all siding with this outsider.

"Fine! Since you think my money isn't so great, the villa where you and mom live was also bought by me. Get out!"

I turned to leave, but my brother caught up with me and hit me with a brick, killing me.

I couldn't believe it. Even in death, my eyes were wide open, not at peace.

My brother was pleased when he saw me dead and called Tina. "Tina, I avenged you. I killed my sister. Come and see!"

Tina really came. She was shocked by my terrifying death, "Look at her eyes, still wide open even in death. She's going to scare me to death!"

George, hearing this, picked up the same brick my brother had used to kill me and smashed it repeatedly into my eyes until they were a bloody mess. "Hmph! Even in death, she still tries to scare Tina!"

I thought my mom would be different, but she helped them destroy the evidence and threw me into a vat of acid until nothing was left.

Since the heavens couldn't stand it and gave me another chance, I'm going to make sure they pay!

When I saw George again, I felt nothing but disgust. It wasn't until after I died that I learned that even if my brother hadn't killed me, George was planning to do it.

He and Tina had already had a relationship, and George planned to marry me, then kill me, so he could inherit my fortune and live happily ever after with Tina.

As it turned out, my mom and brother had the same plan.

My dad had died young, and I dropped out of high school to work and support my mom and brother.

I was afraid they would suffer, so I worked tirelessly to provide them with the best life possible. But all they did was plot how to get their hands on all my money.

And that Tina, now a junior in college, had come to work at my company during the summer, supposedly to gain experience, but really to act cute and incompetent. In just seven days, she managed to break eight printers.

When I confronted her, she held a grudge and vowed never to work again, only to be the boss's wife. So she played both my brother and my fiancé.

To vent her anger, she had my villa demolished and then played the innocent and pitiful act in front of George and my brother to see who would stand up for her.

Having returned to the past, I didn't bother with those two scumbags. I turned and walked away.

But even so, George wouldn't let me go. He wanted to defend his beloved. "Tammy Smith! Tina apologized to you, and you just walk away. Don't you have any manners?"

Hmph! Men like him, I wish him many children, all fathered by his brothers.

After leaving those lunatics, I immediately called the police. I was afraid if I did it in front of them, George would knock the phone out of my hand and stop me.

The police arrived quickly, giving me the confidence I needed.

When George saw me arriving with the police, he frowned, "Tammy, when will this end? Tina already apologized. What more do you want?"

The police officer next to me flashed a bright smile, "If apologies were enough, why would we need the police?"

Tina looked both wronged and defiant, "I get it. Tammy wants me to pay for the damages. Fine, I'll pay. Each brick is worth 40 cents, right? I donated three truckloads. How about I return six truckloads? You can even play with them in your free time."

I fought the urge to scratch her face and said, "Each brick is 40 cents, but the villa is worth over a billion."

George, feeling sorry for her, stood in front of Tina, "Tammy, how can you be so petty? Tina demolished your villa to accumulate virtue for you!"

With the police present, I felt emboldened and crossed my arms, "Just tell me, are you going to pay or not? If not, you're going to jail!"

Tina started crying again, George's heart softened as Tina broke down in tears. "Fine, I'll compensate you. I'll give you my family's villa to you!"

"Great! I'll go collect the keys today. Please make sure to inform your parents to move out immediately!"

"You! How can you be so heartless? We're about to get married, and my parents are your parents. How can you bear to make them homeless?"

"You can marry whoever you like, but I'm done with you!"

As I turned to leave, Tina had already informed my mom and brother. They rushed over to block my way.

My mom grabbed my hand and spoke to the police officer, "I'm sorry, Officer, this is a family matter. It's all just a misunderstanding. We don't need to involve the police."

I coldly shook off her hand. "It's not a misunderstanding, and I'm not letting this go until they pay for the damages!"

My brother charged at me, shouting, "You're so evil, but all this belongs to our Smith family! Tina can tear down whatever she likes, and there's nothing you can do about it!"

I slapped him across the face, and the police officer looked away, pretending not to see.

My mom screamed at me, "How dare you hit your brother!"

I slapped her too. "If I can hit him, I can certainly hit you!"

My mom was stunned. When she finally came to her senses, she started shouting at the police officer, "What kind of cop are you? Didn't you see her hit someone?"

The officer calmly replied, "That's a family matter, not my concern."

“Thank you, officer. I insist that they compensate for the villa. Whether they mortgage George's villa or something else, I'm fine with it. I'm not picky!”

George glared at me, pointing his finger, “You! You!”

I brushed his hand away and flipped him the finger.

Then I continued talking to my mom, “All the villas at home were bought by me. You and my brother should move out quickly. I'm going on a trip soon, and when I return, I want to see the villa returned spotless.”

With that, I left. From the day I started working until now, I hadn't taken a single day off. But having lived another life, I've realized that if I don't spend the money I've earned, I'm doing myself a disservice.

After sorting out everything at the company, I immediately booked a trip to Europe.

Just as I arrived in Paris, ready to watch the Olympic Games opening ceremony, my secretary called.

“Tammy, something bad has happened! Your mother brought your brother and Tina over. They're demanding that finance transfer all the money in the account to your brother's name, and they're even trying to steal the company seal.”

“Of course not! Why should all the money I worked so hard to earn go to my brother?”

“Your mother produced an IOU, claiming that she lent you money in the early days of your business. She said without her loan, the company wouldn't exist today. She also brought out a will, saying that before your father passed, he instructed that everything in the family should go to your brother.”

“And your fiancé is going around telling people that you're heartless, trying to grab the family villa even before getting married. Everyone in the circle is talking about it, and many don't want to renew contracts with us.”

“Tammy, you must come back quickly. Your mother has been bringing your brother and Tina to the company for several days now, scaring away several clients. Some ongoing clients are demanding money. We didn't want to disturb you, but we can't hold on any longer...”

I was absolutely livid. Before my dad died, he pale-faced told me that I was the eldest, and since my mom had never worked, the family would be my responsibility. Only now do I realize that this meant all the hardship was mine to bear, while all the enjoyment was reserved for my mom and brother.

So much for watching the Olympics opening ceremony—I caught the next flight home.

As soon as I got to the office, I saw my mom and brother standing by the finance office door, directing a locksmith to open it.

After the secretary's call, I had given the finance team paid leave, but I didn't expect them to try and break into the finance office. They must be money-mad.

Looking further inside, I saw George reassuring my employees, “Everyone, keep working. Europe is very chaotic right now, and Tammy unfortunately passed away there. When the company eventually passes to her brother, I'll be his loyal client, and I guarantee that your salaries and benefits won't be any worse than they are now.”

Several long-time clients I'd worked with for years were also there, clearly spooked by the rumors and eager to demand their money.

Some junior employees were whispering, [“Oh my god! Tammy actually passed away. Is that true?”]

[“It seems likely. Why else would her mother and brother take over, and why would these clients be here demanding money?”]

[“Then why don't they go through the legal system? They're legitimate heirs, aren't they? Why hire a locksmith?”]

[“Why do you care? Just do your job. After all, they're family!”]

...

Tina was weakly wiping her tears, “It's all my fault. It's my fault for suggesting her go to Paris to watch the Olympics. Now Tammy will never come back.”

I stormed into the office, “Who the hell said I was dead?”