Chapter 1 — The Scholar's Return: Saving My Sister, Crushing Foes, and Carrying the School

I am the long-lost biological daughter of a filthy-rich tycoon family. By the time my real parents finally tracked me down, I was wielding the upper half of a bamboo stick, yelling so fiercely at a gang of bleached-blonde delinquents that none of them dared to lift their heads. My parents were still awkwardly hesitating, unsure of how to break the ice, when right at that exact moment, a string of glowing subtitles materialized in midair right before my eyes:

【Sigh, the vicious female supporting character is about to be welcomed back home; get ready for her to fight for favor against the fake female protagonist.】

【This villainess is genuinely ruthless; I heard she even fights in underground boxing matches just for money. Meanwhile, our sweet female protagonist has been frail since childhood—how on earth is she supposed to stand a chance against someone like her?】

【Just endure it! Once the female protagonist scores 630 on the college entrance exams, the wealthy family will finally look at her in a whole new light. That is when her life will truly enter a golden era where she is cherished by the entire world!】

The corners of my mouth twitched uncontrollably until I finally snapped. Shoving the wealthy couple out of my way, I turned with utmost sincerity toward the girl who was standing nearby, nervously lowering her head—the very same "fake female protagonist"—and asked, "Do you want to become as strong as an ox so you can ace the top national universities? It only costs 3,999 yuan, and I will personally take on this gig!"

Frail and sickly? Scoring 630 points? I am the kind of big sister who excels equally in brutal street brawls and top-tier academics; there is simply no room for such weaklings in my inner circle!

1

I gripped the half-section of the bamboo stick in my hand, so infuriated that I slammed it fiercely against the concrete ground. "How on earth are your brains even wired? You guys would manage to crash the system even if you were just playing beginner Minesweeper!"

"How many times do I have to explain this exact math problem?!"

"Even a pig would have understood it by now!"

Seven or eight blonde-haired punks clamped their textbooks tightly between their teeth, obediently extending their left hands just like elementary school kids waiting for a disciplinary punishment.

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!

Each of them received a stinging lash, and I executed the punishment with absolute fairness, showing no partiality whatsoever.

"Ouch... Big Sister, your hand is way too heavy..."

I was just about to retort when the blonde punk who had been so docile a moment ago suddenly jerked his head up and sprang to his feet. "What are you three staring at?!"

The other six delinquents immediately scrambled up as well. I instinctively shifted into a combat stance, pivoting sharply on my heel. But the moment I turned around, my eyes locked onto an impeccably dressed, middle-aged couple standing right before me, accompanied by a girl of roughly my own age who was watching us timidly.

"What on earth are you guys doing?" I demanded, frowning deeply.

The leading man faltered for a second before stammering, "Are you... truly Cheng Shenyi?"

My immediate reflex was to wonder if some old enemy from my past life had finally hunted me down. But to my utter astonishment, the man continued with a deeply complicated expression on his face, "We are your biological parents."

Biological parents?

"Big Sister, are these people actually your real parents?"

"They look all fancy and dressed up, but they don't have an ounce of Big Sister's aura. They've definitely gotta be impostors!"

"Hey, Sis, last week after we beat up that punk surnamed Wang, he swore he was gonna get revenge. Could this be his dirty trick? That's seriously sinister!"

"Shut your traps, all of you!" I barked in a booming voice, instantly cutting off my parents just as they were about to speak.

While I stood there completely dazed, those glowing subtitles materialized in the air once again:

【Sigh, the vicious female supporting character is about to be welcomed back home; get ready for her to fight for favor against the fake female protagonist.】

The woman claiming to be my mother took a tentative step forward. "Shenyi, this is your younger sister—her name is Cheng Shu."

While I was still deeply distracted by the bizarre subtitles floating around, I subconsciously glanced over at Cheng Shu. However, my newly found parents simultaneously stepped forward, each blocking her from view as if shielding a precious and fragile treasure.

"Shenyi... your younger sister is nothing like you..."

2

They were desperate to whisk me away to their lavish estate, but the blonde delinquents standing behind me all had reddened eyes as they glared fiercely in my direction.

"Big Sister, once you go back there, you better not forget about us!"

"If anyone bullies you at that fancy house, just give us a word and we will roll up in full force to bring you back home!"

I helplessly waved a hand at them in dismissal. "Got it, got it. I still have to go fight in the underground ring over the weekend to make some cash anyway, so I'll definitely be coming back."

I had been preparing for this particular boxing match for quite a long time. The moment those words left my mouth, my parents' brows furrowed deeply, and they demanded in stern, disapproving tones, "You actually make money by fighting? What kind of fighting are you doing?"

I answered with absolute candor, hiding nothing at all: "Underground cage fighting."

That girl, Cheng Shu, shrank back as if startled, while my father let out something very close to a horrified shriek: "You're still doing underground cage fighting?!"

"Shenyi, the moment I saw you hanging out with that bleached-blonde hoodlum earlier, I had a terrible feeling in my gut. Now that you are coming home with us, you are strictly forbidden from associating with those kinds of people ever again."

I couldn't help it; I let out a sharp, cynical laugh before tossing out a blunt truth: "If it hadn't been for them, I would've been beaten to death by my foster parents years ago. If I didn't fight in underground rings, where on earth do you think I would've gotten the money for my tuition?"

Hearing this, my parents choked instantly, completely robbed of any further retort. They simply fell silent and quietly shoved a bank card into my hand, which supposedly contained a cool three hundred thousand yuan. I didn't miss the flicker of utter disgust in their eyes, but I pocketed the card anyway. After all, nobody in their right mind turns down free money—that sum was equivalent to how many grueling victories I would have to sweat and bleed for in the ring.

"That wretched underground fighting den—you are never stepping foot in there again! If the press ever gets a hold of this, it will bring absolute shame to the Cheng family name!"

The floating subtitles immediately chimed in to echo their sentiments:

【It’s totally normal for them to look down on the villainess; after all, they are the wealthiest family in the entire country. Having a daughter like this female supporting character is nothing short of a massive stain on their reputation.】

【Haha, making such a terrible first impression works out wonderfully for our sweet female protagonist!】

Only then did I truly process those two words—"wealthiest family"? Well, well, well... if I managed to scrape even a tiny sliver of grease from the overflowing fingertips of this wealthiest family, my loyal gang of delinquent friends wouldn't have to suffer beatings anymore due to unpaid school fees.

After arriving at the mansion, I finally realized that palaces truly existed in the real world. Even though they harbored plenty of hidden grievances toward me, they certainly didn't skimp on material luxuries. My bedroom was easily seven or eight times larger than the cramped place I used to live in, and the subtle fragrance drifting through the room alone was enough to soothe the senses.

Before I even had a chance to sit down and catch my breath, five or six attendants swarmed around me, meticulously fussing over my appearance from head to toe. Yet, no matter how many expensive skincare products and luxury creams they slathered onto my skin, my naturally sun-kissed, rugged complexion refused to be masked.

"Shenyi, you will be living here from now on, but you must remember one thing: now that you have returned to the Cheng family, you can no longer live like some street delinquent."

"We are going to enroll you in the same elite private school as Shu Shu; from now on, you will be mingling with a completely different social stratum."

I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt, too lazy to even argue back. Instead, I turned my gaze toward Cheng Shu, who was standing quietly with her head bowed in a posture of utmost contrition. Unable to resist, I pushed past my parents and stared at Cheng Shu with glowing, eager eyes.

"I heard your academic scores are just mediocre, and on top of that, you're weak and sickly?"

【What kind of offensive way is that to talk?! Cheng Shenyi, you are so utterly tactless!! As expected, the vicious female supporting character truly deserves zero sympathy; she's the textbook definition of someone who makes everyone's blood boil!】

【I knew it! On the car ride back here, she didn't harbor a single good intention! Oh god, how is our sweet, delicate female protagonist supposed to survive against this ruffian of a villainess?!】

Those subtitles were getting genuinely annoying. Still, Cheng Shu's physical constitution was undeniably fragile; the hand of hers that I was currently holding was trembling ever so slightly.

"Sis... is it true..."

I slung an arm casually around her shoulder. "So, how about it? Do you want to become as strong as an ox so you can easily get accepted into the top universities? It only costs 3,999 yuan, and I will personally act as your private physical and mental trainer!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught my parents' complexions turning pitch black. Just as they opened their mouths to erupt in fury, Cheng Shu nodded her head vigorously and without a moment's hesitation, whispering, "Everything I have right now rightfully belonged to you in the first place, Big Sister. Now that you're finally back, you can have whatever you want."

"Really?"

【... Does the villainess even own a mirror? That naked greed on her face is visible to everyone!】

【What a textbook contrast: the female protagonist is a pure, untainted white lotus, while the female supporting character is a vicious, man-eating flesh flower!】

I frowned deeply. Fine, maybe my coaching fee was a tiny bit on the expensive side, but I earned every single cent through sheer blood, sweat, and tears! How on earth did that translate into being a man-eating flower?

3

The very next morning, right on the dot at five o'clock, I briskly knocked on Cheng Shu's bedroom door without missing a single second.

【No way, absolutely not?? She is totally doing this on purpose! Our sweet female protagonist is delicate and fragile; she needs adequate sleep to have the brainpower to study!】

【Exactly! Who in their right mind drags someone out of bed at five in the morning with zero regard for their health?】

Five in the morning is considered early? Back when I was running a high-intensity cram school for those unruly boys, waking them up at three in the morning felt like I was letting them sleep in!

"Cheng Shu, time to wake up right now!!"

A moment later, Cheng Shu sleepily cracked open her bedroom door, her eyelids heavy with exhaustion. "Big Sister... why are you up so absurdly early..."

Without a word of explanation, I grabbed her wrist, dragged her out into the sprawling courtyard, and immediately began guiding her through a rigorous routine of Baduanjin qigong exercises right there on the grass.

"If your physical constitution is weak, you need to cultivate your vital energy and nourish your vitality. How do you expect to excel in your studies if you're walking around in a daze every single day?"