The System wanted me to redeem the villain. So, I set the time travel coordinates to a year before the villain was even an embryo. The System was dumbfounded, then had a realization: "Oh, you're planning to adopt the villain later and give him a wholesome childhood, right?" I shook my head, my gaze softening as I looked at the little girl shivering on the ground. "No. I'm here to redeem the villain's mom." 1 "Makes sense. Instead of trying to fix the villain with romance later, it's better to influence him with motherly love from the start. That way, he won't grow up twisted... Wait, what did you just say? You want to redeem the villain's MOM?!" The System was shook. It immediately tried to talk me out of it. "Host, are you confused? If the villain isn't successfully redeemed, you get wiped out, remember?" I chuckled lightly. "System, use your brain. What's the main reason the villain grows up twisted? Being abandoned by his mother." "And why was he abandoned? Because his mother's life was a mess, right?" "So, if I save the villain's mom and she raises him with decent values, he won't turn out evil, will he?" My rapid-fire logic fried the System's circuits. After a long pause, its laggy processor finally caught up. "What you're saying... actually makes sense." I wagged a finger at the System. "So, don't question a girl boss next time, okay?" The System nodded blankly. I turned my attention back to the little girl in front of me. It was December, freezing cold. She was huddled outside the door in thin clothes, looking like a scared quail. The exposed skin on her arms was mottled with red marks. Sensing my gaze, she looked up, shooting me a cold, dark glare. Then she quickly lowered her head, avoiding my eyes. That look—that's exactly why her biological parents didn't like her. Well, that and the fact she wasn't a boy. I stepped past her, grabbed the brass knocker on the wooden door, and banged on it hard. "Who is it? What's with all the racket this early in the morning!" A middle-aged woman in a red padded jacket came out, cursing under her breath. She looked me up and down, her eyes full of disdain and hidden jealousy. "Who are you?" I cut to the chase, tossing an IOU at her. "You're Hank's wife, right? Hank owes me two hundred bucks. I can't find him, so you're paying it back. If not, I'm telling everyone in town your husband owes money for hookers and won't pay up." The woman picked up the paper, read it, and panicked. "Liar! My man isn't like that! You must have seduced him! I knew it from your slutty face..." She didn't finish her sentence. I casually picked up a wrist-thick wooden stick from the side and snapped it in half right in front of her face. Snap. "Debts get paid. It's the law of the universe. Your call." I flashed a smile, showing eight perfect teeth. The woman was terrified. Her arrogance vanished instantly. She laughed nervously, trying to appease me. "It's not that I don't want to pay, we just don't have that kind of money right now. Maybe when my man gets back..." I frowned. The woman shut up immediately. My eyes scanned their small yard, finally landing on the little girl squatting by the door, peeking at me. "Then give me the girl as collateral. She's young, but she's not bad looking." The woman froze. She looked at me, then at the broken stick at my feet. Ten minutes later, the little girl was trudging behind me, one shallow footprint after another. 2 It wasn't until we were in the taxi heading to the city that the little girl spoke, her voice muffled. "You're a trafficker, aren't you? Where are you selling me?" I was surprised. "Why would you think that? I'm your family's creditor." The little girl shook her head. "My mom can't read, but I can. The paper you threw at her was a supermarket receipt." I mentally pinged the System. "Didn't the villain's mom not go to school?" The System confirmed it and gave me a quick recap of the girl's life. "She helped with farm work until she was sixteen, then ran away to the city to avoid marrying a rich old man. She worked odd jobs, schemed to sleep with a wealthy CEO for one night, and got pregnant with the villain. Later, the CEO's 'white moonlight'—his first love—came back. The villain's mom couldn't compete, got destroyed by the CEO, and died. Basically, she was cannon fodder, a malicious supporting female character." I tutted and shook my head. "Always the malicious supporting characters. Why do system missions only redeem the evil male leads but never the female ones? Swap the gender, and this backstory becomes a tragic, brooding anti-hero everyone loves. Plain and simple, it's just sexism." Seeing I wasn't talking, the little girl tugged at my sleeve. I looked over, and she immediately pulled her hand back, as if afraid of dirtying my coat. "Can you sell me to the city? I look okay. I'm sure I'd fetch a good price there." The driver in the front seat was already glancing nervously in the rearview mirror. I face-palmed and quickly explained. "I'm not a trafficker. I'm just a poor mother who recently lost her daughter. I want to adopt you." Well, in my last mission world, I was a mom to someone else. Since I left that world, technically, I did lose a daughter. So, it counts. The little girl didn't speak again. She lowered her head, looking like a scruffy kitten. Seemingly defenseless, but tense all over, ready to hiss and scratch. I recalled my parenting experience and reached out, enveloping her red, freezing little hand in my palm. Only then did I realize how shockingly rough her hand was—covered in calluses. Meeting her guarded gaze, I took off my coat and draped it over her. She instinctively tried to shrug it off. I stopped her. "If you freeze, you won't sell for a good price." She stiffened and stopped moving, wrapping herself tight in the down jacket until only her fuzzy head poked out. My heart softened instantly. "Don't worry. I don't have a son. I won't sell you later for a dowry." 3 My identity in this world is a "fake heiress" who just found out the truth and supposedly jumped into a river in despair. She died, so I borrowed her identity. When I walked through the villa doors dragging the little girl, a voice was still trying to comfort the "real heiress." "Even though she's not blood-related, the years of affection are real. And although Jason was supposed to be your fiancé, he and Ann have been together for years. We can't just give him to you." "I don't care! If not for her, I wouldn't have suffered for so many years! Now you're taking her side? I hate you! I hate you all!" The arguing stopped abruptly when I stepped inside with Destiny. That's the name I gave the little girl on the way here. Her last name follows mine, Sterling. Her full name is Destiny Sterling. Bella, the real heiress, turned her head away, refusing to look at me. Mrs. Sterling (Mom) asked gently: "Ann, who is this?" "My adopted daughter, Destiny. Desi, say hi to Grandma and Auntie." Thanks to the System, Destiny's paperwork was already filed, so she finally stopped suspecting I was a trafficker. Now, she just obediently greeted the two people frozen in place. "Hello Grandma. Hello Auntie." Mom reacted first. "Wait, Ann, what did you say? Adopted daughter? You registered her? How could you not discuss something this big with the family? And your fiancé, Jason... how could he accept this?" Bella's focus was different: "Why are you making her call me Auntie? I don't want you as my sister!" Before I could speak, Destiny instinctively stepped in front of me. She crouched slightly, arms tense, like a mother leopard protecting her cub. I paused, then reached out and held her small hand. "It's complicated. I'll explain once Desi is settled. As for Jason, I'm breaking off the engagement." Mom panicked. "Are you worried your dad and I won't want you now that Bella is back? Don't worry, you'll always be our daughter." Bella rolled her eyes. "Here we go again. Playing the victim to get ahead. What a green tea bitch." I shook my head and led Destiny toward the second floor. Dropping a bombshell as I went. "I got sterilized. I plan to stay single and focus on raising Desi. Tell Jason to give up." I walked away, leaving them in the wind, trying to process the word "sterilized." 4 Back in my room, I collapsed on the bed. The System was yammering away. "Host, when did you get sterilized? I didn't know about this! Aren't we together 24/7?!" I rolled my eyes. "System, are you dumb? If I didn't say that, would the real heiress ever let her guard down around me?" "Instead of playing 'happy sisters,' giving up my inheritance rights is way more practical for her." System: "Oh, right." Suddenly remembering something, I turned my head. Sure enough, a small dumpling was still standing stiffly at the door. On the way here, I bought her new clothes and took her to a salon for a wash and cut. The stylist gave her two little pigtails. She looked like a doll from a New Year's painting. I waved at her. Destiny slowly shuffled over. "Are you getting kicked out?" I pulled her onto the bed to sit. "Why do you think that?" She whispered, "Because you're not their real daughter." I looked at Destiny's sharp little chin. Good, the kid is smart. No need to help her with homework. I didn't explain immediately. Instead, I played along. "So, if we get kicked out and end up penniless, what do we do?" She said seriously, "Then I'll farm to support you. I'm really good at farming. I can make compost, plant seeds, and weed. The cornfield behind my old house was all mine." Her head drooped lower. "As long as you don't send me back." I finally understood where all the calluses on her hands came from. My heart ached sharply. I pulled her into a hug, letting her sharp little chin rest on my shoulder. "Don't worry. I won't send you away. Not in this lifetime."
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