It was a pretty great day at the Ye family home.
Their daughter, Ye Yehua, had just won the title of Businesswoman of the Year.
In her twenties, she had already built a business empire big enough that she was seriously thinking about retiring.
She'd made more than enough money to spend the rest of her life doing absolutely nothing.
Which was exactly what she wanted.
In a nicely furnished bathroom, Yehua stood in front of the mirror, happily drying her wet hair.
"Finally."
She smiled.
"After all these years, I can finally retire."
Her younger brother had grown into a capable man, and she'd already arranged to hand most of her businesses over to him.
She could travel.
Sleep.
Read.
Eat.
Do whatever she wanted.
No missions.
No villains.
No saving idiots who somehow managed to get themselves into trouble every three days.
Most importantly...
No more transmigrations.
Yehua had lost count of how many lives she'd lived.
Actually, that was a lie.
She hadn't lost count.
She'd counted every single one.
This was her 999th completed life.
Just one more.
After this one, surely she could finally rest.
Yehua walked out of the bathroom while still drying her hair.
Then—
Her foot slipped.
"Ah—!"
Bang!
Her head hit the marble floor.
Yehua's eyes widened.
Not again!
Darkness swallowed her vision.
---
When Yehua opened her eyes again, she was floating.
She looked down.
A woman was lying on the bathroom floor.
She stared at the woman's face.
"...That's me."
Before she could figure out what was going on, she noticed another translucent figure floating nearby.
The woman looked at Yehua with tears in her eyes.
"Thank you so much for helping me."
Yehua blinked.
"Helping you?"
The woman nodded.
"I'll remember your kindness."
Before Yehua could ask what she meant, the woman's spirit rushed toward the body on the floor.
The moment she entered, the body twitched.
Yehua's vision suddenly went blurry.
A familiar voice sounded inside her head.
[Mission Completed.]
Yehua froze.
No.
No, no, no.
[Congratulations, Host.]
The mechanical voice continued cheerfully.
[The book "CEO Ye Is a Big Shot" has been added to your library.]
Yehua's face darkened.
"Wait."
[Next mission: Complete the book "Husband, Mother-in-law Keeps Doting on Me."]
Yehua stared blankly into the distance.
"Wait."
[Mission begins in...]
"WAIT!"
[3.]
"System!"
[2.]
"I just finished my nine hundred and ninety-ninth life!"
[1.]
"I'M RETIRING!"
[Mission Start.]
"..."
Yehua disappeared.
---
When she opened her eyes again, she was standing in her space.
The familiar landscape stretched out before her.
To the east stood an elegant three-story bamboo house.
To the west was a modern duplex.
Above the northern section floated a magnificent pavilion surrounded by a faint magical aura.
To the south stood the library.
The library contained 999 books.
Each book represented one life.
One world.
One story.
One happy ending Yehua had worked her butt off to achieve.
She stared at the library bitterly.
"One thousand."
She'd really done this a thousand times.
Other people's systems gave them money.
Power.
Beauty.
Golden fingers.
Some systems even gave their hosts handsome husbands.
Her system?
Congratulations! You have been transmigrated into another unfortunate person. Please work hard to make their life better.
Yehua wanted to cry.
But she was too tired.
She walked toward the library.
A huge white tiger was already waiting for her.
The tiger was several times larger than an ordinary tiger, with beautiful white fur and an aura that made ordinary beasts tremble.
His name was Da Bai.
Her spatial spirit.
Her system companion.
And unfortunately...
Her oldest companion.
"Welcome back, Host."
Da Bai's voice was cheerful.
Yehua glared at him.
"I don't want to talk to you."
"Then I won't talk."
"Good."
Da Bai followed her.
"Host."
"I said I don't want to talk."
"Host."
"What?"
"You're walking toward the library."
"..."
Yehua kept walking.
Da Bai followed.
"You know, for someone who doesn't want to talk, you're walking pretty loudly."
"Da Bai."
"Yes?"
"Do you want to become tiger soup?"
Da Bai immediately shut up.
Yehua entered the library.
A book floated in the air.
She reached out and caught it.
The title appeared on the cover.
Husband, Mother-in-law Keeps Doting on Me
Yehua opened it.
There was only a synopsis.
The rest of the pages were completely blank.
She read it.
The original story was about a young woman who was sold to an old woman and married off to her son.
The girl was kind.
Virtuous.
Hardworking.
She quickly won over her mother-in-law.
Later, when her husband was discovered to still be alive, the mother-in-law became even more doting toward her daughter-in-law.
Yehua stared at the synopsis.
Then she laughed.
"Heh."
Da Bai looked at her.
"Host?"
"Mother-in-law likes kind and virtuous daughters-in-law?"
She closed the book.
"Then I'll be the exact opposite."
Da Bai's ears twitched.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course."
Yehua smiled.
"For once, I'm not giving anyone a happy ending."
She'd spent hundreds of lives solving other people's problems.
She'd eliminated villains.
Saved families.
Built businesses.
Changed kingdoms.
Saved worlds.
And every single time she finished, someone else would show up and enjoy the fruits of her labor.
She'd form relationships.
Get attached.
Love people.
Then—
Poof.
Another transmigration.
Another body.
Another life.
Another group of people to care about.
She was starting to hate it.
"I've made the bed for other people to lie in long enough."
Yehua turned around.
"This time, I'm going to do whatever I want."
Da Bai's expression grew complicated.
There was a faint sadness in his eyes.
He wanted to tell her something.
But he couldn't.
Not yet.
Instead, he simply said,
"Host, you should look around your space before leaving."
Yehua glanced around.
Her space was enormous, roughly the size of a small village.
The land was divided into sections for livestock, vegetables, grain, staple crops, medicinal plants, tea and ornamental plants.
All of them were empty.
As usual.
The bamboo house contained things from ancient worlds—fabrics, seeds, jewelry, medicinal materials and countless other items.
The modern house contained generators, laptops and modern equipment.
The floating pavilion contained potions, magical artifacts and treasures she'd collected throughout her previous lives.
She had enough resources to live comfortably for thousands of years.
And yet every new world started with an empty field.
Yehua sighed.
"Fine."
She walked through the space.
"What era is this?"
Da Bai gave her the information.
"It's a fictional historical world."
"No actual dynasty?"
"None."
"Good."
She hated dealing with historical restrictions.
Da Bai continued.
"The original owner was sold to an old woman in the county town."
Yehua's eyebrows rose.
"Sold?"
"Yes."
"Then married off to her son."
"Yes."
Yehua's expression turned strange.
"So I'm a bought daughter-in-law?"
"Correct."
She laughed.
"Interesting."
She'd been a princess.
A general.
A businesswoman.
A doctor.
A cultivator.
A scientist.
A survivor.
A villain.
She'd even transmigrated into a cat once.
And now...
A bought daughter-in-law.
"Fine."
Yehua tossed the book back into the air.
"I'll play along."
Da Bai looked at her.
"Host, you begin your new life in thirty seconds."
Yehua's expression immediately darkened.
"Already?"
"You just complained that you wanted to finish quickly."
"I changed my mind."
"Too late."
"Da Bai!"
"Twenty seconds."
"I haven't even eaten!"
"Fifteen."
"I want meat!"
"Twelve."
"I want to sleep!"
"Ten."
"I hate this system!"
"Eight."
"I hate you!"
"Seven."
"Da Bai!"
"Five."
Yehua clenched her fists.
"One day, I'll find a way to beat this system."
Da Bai smiled sadly.
"Perhaps."
The space blurred.
Yehua's figure slowly disappeared.
Before everything went dark, she heard Da Bai's voice.
"Good luck, Host."
Then—
Everything went black.
---
Yehua woke up.
Her first thought was:
This bed is awful.
Her second thought was:
This room is awful.
Her third thought was:
I'm hungry.
She opened her eyes.
The room was small and moldy.
There was a wooden bed.
An old three-legged table.
And a worn-out cloth bag containing three patched pieces of clothing.
Yehua sat up.
She looked around the room.
"...Seriously?"
She got out of bed.
Her stomach growled loudly.
"Fine."
She walked toward the kitchen.
The stove was cold.
The rice jar was empty.
There was no oil.
No vegetables.
No meat.
Nothing.
Yehua opened another container.
Empty.
Another.
Empty.
She stood in the middle of the kitchen.
"..."
This family is even poorer than I expected.
She turned around and went back to the room.
The original owner's memories slowly surfaced.
Her name was Yehua.
She'd been kidnapped by traffickers and sold to an old woman in the county town.
The old woman had originally been frightened by a fortune teller who claimed Yehua would bring disaster to everyone around her.
Rather than keep someone like that, the woman decided to marry her off.
And the person willing to take her?
Mother Su from Xiao family village.
A widow.
Her husband had died years ago.
Her only son had gone to war three years ago and never returned.
His family had already split off from Mother Su, leaving her to survive on her own.
Yehua rubbed her forehead.
"What a miserable background."
Her stomach growled again.
"First things first."
She was about to enter her space when—
Creak.
The courtyard door opened.
Yehua stopped.
Footsteps approached.
A woman's voice could be heard outside.
"That girl is still sleeping?"
Yehua turned toward the doorway.
Her new mother-in-law had arrived.
And somehow, Yehua had a feeling...
This life was going to be a real headache.