Qiu Yingying is reborn and bound to a learning system.

When Qu Xiaoxiao returned to Shanghai, she only wanted to go back to the villa to see her mother and pick up some things.

She had just finished three days of non-stop work at the Suzhou factory, her mind still crammed with sample testing data and emails from European clients. It was the twenty-second day since she broke up with Dr. Zhao; he hadn't contacted her, and she didn't want to look for him anymore. She was working tirelessly, solely to accumulate more wealth—wasn't that her purpose in returning to China?

At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

The car entered the familiar villa area, the streetlights casting long shadows of the trees, like menacing hands. Qu Xiaoxiao looked out the window, a strange unease creeping into her heart. She shook her head, suppressing the unease.

I'm just going home to pick up some things and visit my mom.

That's what she thought.

But the moment the villa door was pushed open, an unusual atmosphere filled the air; it was eerily quiet.

The living room lights were off, with only a faint glow from the window. Aunt Qu sat in the center of the sofa, her back to her, clutching a thick kraft paper envelope, her fingertips white, as if she had been waiting for a long time.

"Mom?" Qu Xiaoxiao called out tentatively.

Qu's mother didn't turn around, but just gave a soft "hmm," her voice unusually calm and devoid of emotion.

Qu Xiaoxiao walked over and noticed that her mother's eyes were red, as if she had just cried or had stayed up for several nights. She was wearing a plain silk shirt, her hair was casually tied up, and she had removed her usual exquisite makeup. She looked tired and fragile, completely lacking the strong aura of Mrs. Qu she usually had.

"Why are you back?" Aunt Qu finally turned around, forcing a smile. "Weren't you busy with a project?"

"I came back to get something." Qu Xiaoxiao placed her bag on the coffee table and turned on the crystal chandelier in the living room. The warm yellow light illuminated the fine lines around her mother's eyes and the loneliness in them. "Why didn't you turn on the light? What are you doing sitting here alone?"

Aunt Qu didn't answer, but simply handed over a pile of things in her hands, her movements slow and solemn: "Here, take this."

Qu Xiaoxiao paused for a moment, then subconsciously took it. It felt heavy, and a sense of unease rose within her. "What is this?"

"Open it and you'll see." Aunt Qu's voice remained calm, yet it carried a resolute air of certainty.

A stack of red notebooks slid out and piled up on the coffee table, like a small red mountain.

Property ownership certificate.

She picked up a book at random and opened it. In the property owner's column, the three words "Qu Xiaoxiao" were clearly written. She flipped to another book, and it was still her name. The addresses ranged from a large river-view apartment in the city center to an old villa on the Bund, to several street-front shops in Pudong, and even a vacation villa whose name she had only heard of... More than a dozen property certificates, and in every single one of them, the property owner was her.

"Mom, what... what's going on?" Qu Xiaoxiao's voice trembled slightly, the property certificate in her hand feeling as heavy as a thousand pounds. "Why is it all in my name? Where did this come from?"

"I saved these up for you." Aunt Qu sighed softly, her gaze falling on the red certificates, a complex emotion in her eyes. "Now, they're all yours."

"Mine?" Qu Xiaoxiao almost thought she had misheard. She quickly pushed the property certificate back to her mother. "I've struck it rich! So much! Mom, keep it for yourself. Why are you giving it to me?"

Aunt Qu didn't take it, but shook her head, her tone firm and unwavering: "Xiaoxiao, take it. This is your backup plan."

"A backup plan?" Qu Xiaoxiao frowned, her unease growing stronger. "Our family is doing just fine, why would we need a backup plan? Is there something wrong with the company? Or did Dad... give Qu Lianjie money again?"

"The company is fine," Aunt Qu interrupted her, her tone finally showing a hint of change. "Your father is fine too, at least for now."

"Then what exactly are you talking about?" Qu Xiaoxiao's voice rose a few decibels. "Mom, explain yourself clearly! Why did you suddenly transfer all this to me?"

Looking at her, Qu's mother's eyes reddened again, but she stubbornly refused to let the tears fall: "You'll find out some things sooner or later. Mom doesn't want you to end up with nothing."

"What do you mean by having nothing?" Qu Xiaoxiao grabbed a stack of property deeds, her chest heaving. "Mom, did you and Dad have a fight? Did he side with Qu Lianjie again, making you suffer? Tell me, I'll go talk to him!"

"It's no use." Aunt Qu shook her head gently, her eyes brimming with years of suppressed grievances. "Xiaoxiao, there are some roads I've walked for over a decade. From the first time your father secretly sent money to his ex-wife and his son behind my back, I knew this family was destined to fall apart sooner or later."

"Break up?" Qu Xiaoxiao jumped up as if pricked by a needle. "Mom, what did you say? What do you mean by break up? Our family is doing just fine, why do we have to break up?!"

Her voice carried a hint of panic and fear.

She always knew her father was biased, knew her mother was wronged, and knew that the family wasn't as glamorous as it seemed on the surface. But she never imagined her mother would utter the word "break up."

"Mom, don't overthink it!" Qu Xiaoxiao shoved the property certificate back into her mother's arms. "Keep the house yourself, I don't want it! I just want our family to be okay, I just want you and Dad not to get divorced!"

Her voice was choked with sobs, yet tinged with an almost stubborn insistence: "I've never had a complete family growing up, and I don't want to never have one again! Mom, please don't leave Dad, okay? Please don't let this family fall apart, okay?"

Seeing her daughter's flustered state, Qu's mother felt a sharp pain in her heart. She reached out to touch her daughter's head, but Qu Xiaoxiao dodged her hand.

"Xiaoxiao," Qu's mother choked back tears, "Do you think I don't want to give you a complete family? Do you think I've endured all this suffering for whom?"

"But I don't want you to suffer!" Qu Xiaoxiao shouted, her eyes red. "I don't want you to force a smile every day! I don't want you to cry in secret! I just want you to be happy! I just want our family to be together!"

She thought that as long as she worked hard, became good enough, and earned enough money, she could make her father turn back and make the family whole again.

She always thought so.

It wasn't until this moment that she realized how ridiculous her insistence had been.

Looking at her daughter, tears finally streamed down her face: "Silly child, some homes are not ones you can protect just because you want to."

Qu Xiaoxiao was stunned. Looking at her mother's tear-streaked face, she felt a sense of powerlessness for the first time.

She always thought she was the glue that held this family together.

But now it seems she is nothing.

She was just a child desperately trying to cling to the illusion of "home".

Just then, with a loud "bang," the villa's door was kicked open.

Qu Guoqiang stormed in, exuding an aura of coldness. He clutched several crumpled asset statements, his face ashen, veins throbbing on his forehead. His gaze instantly locked onto the red property certificate on the coffee table, then fell upon the property deed in Qu Xiaoxiao's hand. He erupted in fury, his roar shaking the living room: "How dare you!"

Qu's mother suddenly stood up, the vulnerability on her face vanishing instantly, replaced by a coldness and resolve born of years of forbearance. She stood in front of Qu Xiaoxiao like an unbreakable wall: "You're back."

"If I hadn't come back, you would have emptied our coffers!" Qu Guoqiang slammed the asset inventory list to the ground, scattering papers everywhere. "You dared to transfer assets behind my back? You converted all the company's cash flow into houses for your daughter, do you want me to starve?!"

"Live off the northwest wind?" Aunt Qu sneered, her voice not loud, but every word piercing. "Back then, you left with nothing. I brought our family's resources and worked day and night with you in that small workshop in Zhejiang, eating chaff and wild vegetables, until we built the family we have today. Now that you're successful, have you forgotten who helped you climb out of the mud?"

"I haven't forgotten!" Qu Guoqiang retorted, his face flushed red, his neck stiff. "When Xiaoxiao returned to China to start her own business, I gave her the start-up capital; when you wanted to buy bags and jewelry, when did I ever frown? Why do you have to be so ruthless?"

"Absolutely?" Qu's mother's voice suddenly rose, and the grievances that had been building up for more than a decade finally erupted at this moment. "How could I possibly be more resolute than you, Qu Guoqiang? Before we got married, you said you would never have anything to do with your ex-wife again, but what happened? Every year during the Spring Festival, you still run back to your hometown, enjoying yourself with your ex-wife and son, leaving us, mother and son, alone in the empty house to celebrate the New Year!"

She pointed at Qu Guoqiang's nose, tears streaming down her face, yet with a fierce, reckless intensity: "You brought that good-for-nothing to Shanghai, bought him a townhouse, a luxury car worth millions, and gave him a high-level management position in the company. He lost millions, and you said, 'Young people have to pay their tuition'; he embezzled public funds to gamble and owed a hundred million, and you wanted to sell the company to cover his losses! Qu Guoqiang, put your hand on your heart and tell me, whose hard work is this company all about?!"

Qu Guoqiang was speechless after being confronted, and it took him a long time to manage to stammer out, "He's my son! He's the root of the Qu family! My mother left a will before she passed away, asking me to leave half of the family property to him. I can't be an unfilial son!"

"Unfilial son?" Qu's mother laughed until tears streamed down her face. "Your mother has never acknowledged me, never acknowledged Xiaoxiao! In her eyes, only her first daughter-in-law and her own grandson are members of the Qu family! You use filial piety as a pretense, but in reality, you're just sexist and have long wanted to kick us out! Do you think I don't know that you've been secretly hiring an auditing firm to inventory your assets, just so you can transfer all the core assets to your son's name while I'm not looking?"

She bent down, picked up a property certificate, and slammed it down in front of Qu Guoqiang: "Let me tell you, it's too late! All these houses are under Xiaoxiao's name! I've already gradually withdrawn the company's cash flow and converted it into these properties. Every single transaction is legal and compliant! What you have now is just an empty shell company, not even enough to pay the interest for your son!"

Qu Guoqiang stared at the property deed bearing Qu Xiaoxiao's name, his legs buckling so badly he nearly collapsed to the ground. He staggered back two steps, pointing at Qu's mother, his voice trembling: "You, you actually plotted against me? You dared to do something so drastic all by yourself?!"

"You schemed against me?" Aunt Qu stared coldly at him. "You forced me into this! I've given you countless chances, but you've repeatedly driven my daughter and me to the brink of despair! I've endured this for over a decade not because I'm afraid of you, but because I still want to give Xiaoxiao a complete family! But now, you won't even give me that last bit of hope!"

Qu Xiaoxiao, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke, her voice trembling with panic and a hint of tears. She stepped between her parents, trying to separate them: "Dad! Mom! Stop arguing! Can't you talk things out?"

She looked at Qu Guoqiang, her eyes pleading, "Dad, I know you love Qu Lianjie, but he did something wrong, and he should bear the consequences! You can't use the company's money, or our family's money, to fill his hole! Can you, can you think about this family?"

She turned to look at her mother, her voice choked with emotion, "Mom, I know you've been wronged, I know you've had a tough time all these years, but can we not get a divorce? I don't want you to get a divorce! I've always wanted a complete family since I was little. I work hard and try to earn money, just so you and Dad can be happy, just so this family won't fall apart."

Tears streamed down her face, her voice tinged with a desperate insistence: "Mom, take the house back, I don't want it! I just want you two not to get divorced! As long as our family is still together."

Seeing her daughter crying uncontrollably, Qu's mother felt a sharp pain in her heart. She reached out to hug her daughter, but Qu Xiaoxiao dodged her.

"Xiaoxiao, listen to what your mother has to say."

"I won't listen!" Qu Xiaoxiao shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "I don't want you to get a divorce! I don't want it!"

Seeing his daughter step forward, Qu Guoqiang assumed she was helping him and immediately seized the opportunity, softening his tone: "Xiaoxiao, you're right! Harmony in the family brings prosperity! Your mother was just confused for a moment. Talk to her and get her to hand over the house so we can live a good life, okay?"

Qu Xiaoxiao turned her head sharply, looking at Qu Guoqiang with eyes full of disappointment: "Dad, can you please stop pressuring Mom? Can you think about me for once? What I want isn't money, it's a real home!"

Qu Guoqiang's face stiffened; he hadn't expected his daughter to say that.

Qu's mother took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, walked to Qu Xiaoxiao's side, and gently held her hand: "Xiaoxiao, Mom knows you want a complete family, and Mom wants to give it to you. But some things, you can't keep just because you want to."

She looked at Qu Guoqiang with icy eyes: "Qu Guoqiang, let's get a divorce. These houses belong to Xiaoxiao, they are not considered marital property, you won't get a single penny."

"Don't even think about it!" Qu Guoqiang snapped, lunging forward to grab the property deeds from the coffee table. "Those houses belong to me, half of them! I'm going to sue you!"

"Go ahead and sue." Qu Xiaoxiao instinctively stood in front of her mother, her voice still trembling with tears, yet filled with determination. "All the transfer records and property transfer documents are here. Every single one was handled by my mother herself; it's all legal and compliant. If you're not afraid of losing face, go ahead and sue. Let all of Shanghai know that you, Qu Guoqiang, are biased, keep a mistress, and cover up your spendthrift son's debts. I don't care."

Although she was still crying and didn't want a divorce, at that moment, she instinctively stood on her mother's side.

Looking into his daughter's resolute eyes and then at his mother's cold expression, Qu Guoqiang suddenly felt deflated. He knew that he had truly lost this time, and lost utterly.

"You, you mother and daughter, are truly heartless!" He trembled with anger, but could no longer utter a powerful rebuttal.

Aunt Qu, pulling Qu Xiaoxiao along, turned and walked towards the door: "We may be venomous, but we're still better than you, ungrateful and heartless. Qu Guoqiang, from this day forward, our marriage is over. You and your son will never get a single penny from us!"

As she reached the door, Qu Xiaoxiao stopped, glanced back at her disheveled father, and said in a tearful but unusually calm voice, "Dad, I'll visit you during holidays, and I'll take care of you when you're old and sick. But don't even think about asking me to help Qu Lianjie or return these houses. These are the guarantees my mother gave me, and they're what she deserves. No one can take them away from me."

After saying that, she didn't look back and followed Aunt Qu out of the villa gate.

Behind him, Qu Guoqiang slumped on the sofa, staring at the scattered asset inventory list, and let out a desperate wail.