Qiu Yingying is reborn and bound to a learning system.

On the evening of the second day after Fan Shengmei's parents brought their grandson Leilei to Shanghai, a dull thud suddenly came from the stairwell, as if someone had tumbled down the stairs. Andy had just arrived at the door of apartment 2202 after get off work when she saw Fan's father huddled at the corner of the stairs, his face pale, his lips purple, and his breathing rapid and labored. Without thinking, she immediately dialed 120 and asked the property management to contact Fan Shengmei. She then accompanied the ambulance to the hospital.

After the emergency room doors closed, time seemed to stretch on endlessly. Three hours later, the doctor emerged and told Fan Shengmei in a somber tone that her father had suffered an acute brainstem hemorrhage and needed immediate surgery, which would cost at least 100,000 yuan. Fan's mother collapsed to the floor, clutching Fan Shengmei's legs and wailing, "Shengmei, your father can't die! We can't count on your brother, you have to save him!"

Fan Shengmei felt a buzzing in her head, and she was completely stunned. Mechanically, she took out her phone and called her usual "friends," but they either gave her evasive answers or simply didn't answer. Qu Lianjie was even worse; he only had his secretary transfer a thousand yuan to him and then pretended to be drunk on the phone, saying he was on a business trip out of town and couldn't help at all.

Fan Shengmei crouched in the corner of the corridor, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. Guan Juer and Qiu Yingying rushed over after receiving the news, supporting her on either side to prevent her from collapsing. Andy had already paid 8,000 yuan for hospital fees, and seeing Fan Shengmei's helpless state, she knew she had to find a way, so she contacted Qu Xiaoxiao.

Wang Baichuan also arrived. He stood at the end of the corridor, looking at Fan Shengmei, who was surrounded by her mother and relatives and was almost suffocating from the pressure. For the first time, he felt a strong sense of powerlessness.

He wasn't unaware of Fan Shengmei's complicated family situation, but he always believed that as long as he worked hard and earned more money, he could help her get through it. But now he realized that Fan Shengmei wasn't facing a temporary difficulty, but a bottomless pit that could never be filled.

Her good-for-nothing brother, her mother who favored sons over daughters and treated her like an ATM, and her father who could collapse at any moment... all of this combined was enough to break any ordinary man.

Wang Baichuan looked down at his hands, hands that were still calloused from hard work. He wasn't some domineering CEO, nor did he come from a prominent family. His parents were honest and hardworking ordinary people, and he himself had built his small company up through sheer hard work.

He suddenly realized that perhaps he shouldn't have gotten close to Fan Shengmei in the first place.

Marrying her means marrying her entire family. Can he handle that? Can he really handle it?

Once the thought popped into his head, it clung to his heart like a vine, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

Looking at Fan Shengmei's pale face, he was filled with conflict and pain. He truly loved her, and had even thought about marrying her, but reality was like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing all his fantasies.

He knew he might have to make a difficult decision.

When Qu Xiaoxiao arrived at the hospital, she saw Fan's mother clinging tightly to her arm, even trying to kneel down before her, muttering, "You said you'd lend me the money if I wrote an IOU, please save this old man!" Qu Xiaoxiao was startled and quickly shook off her hand, putting her hands on her hips, looking like she wasn't buying it.

"I'll lend you money," Qu Xiaoxiao said decisively, "but you have to offer something that can be converted into cash immediately as collateral. Interest is 30%, not a penny less. Your whole family is coming to Shanghai, you must have the property certificate with you, right? Doesn't your brother own a house? Selling it to pay for your dad's medical treatment is perfectly reasonable. Don't always think about making Fan Shengmei shoulder the burden alone. She's thirty years old, we can't let her carry debts for your entire life, can we?"

Upon hearing that her son's house was to be sold, Fan's mother immediately panicked: "That house can't be sold! If it's sold, my son will be finished! Shengmei, quickly agree to lend the money; you can save up!"

Looking at her mother's matter-of-fact attitude, Fan Shengmei felt a surge of pent-up resentment and anger. She took a deep breath, her eyes hardening with determination: "Mom, there are only two options. Either sell my brother's house to save Dad, or we sign the papers to forgo the surgery. I won't borrow the money myself again; if we need to borrow, we'll use the house as collateral."

Fan's mother was stunned for a moment, then jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, pointing her finger at Fan Shengmei's nose and yelling, "You heartless ingrate! How could I have raised a daughter like you? Your father is almost dead, and you're still thinking about fighting with your brother for the house? Your brother is the root of our Fan family! If you don't save your father, you can expect divine retribution!"

These words were like poisoned knives, piercing deep into Fan Shengmei's heart. Looking at the woman before her, her face contorted with rage, she suddenly felt utterly estranged.

Is this the mother she has been trying so hard to please all along?

In her mother's eyes, what was she? A daughter, or a tool that could be sacrificed at any time?

Fan Shengmei's body trembled slightly, not from fear, but from despair.

She always believed that as long as she worked hard enough and was filial enough, she would one day earn a little bit of her parents' love. But now she realizes that some things are simply unattainable for her.

Her parents didn't love her.

This realization struck her like a thunderbolt, shattering the illusions she had been deceiving herself about.

She suddenly laughed, a laugh more painful than tears: "Mom, you say I'm heartless? And what about you? All these years, I've been working myself to the bone in Shanghai, while you've been living the high life at home. I paid for my brother's wedding and house, I paid for his baby, and now that you've come to Shanghai, I'm still paying for your rent and living expenses. What am I to you?"

Startled by her question, Fan's mother replied matter-of-factly, "You're a daughter, this is what you should do! Your brother is a man, he has to support the family, how much pressure does he have? You're a girl, you can earn some money outside, isn't it only right that you help out at home?"

"Is that what I should do?" Fan Shengmei's voice suddenly rose, and tears finally streamed down her face. "So I deserve to spend my whole life working for you? Deserving to sacrifice for you? Deserving to have no life of my own?"

Mother Fan curled her lip: "What do you, a girl, need a life of your own? Just find someone to marry and let them support you, isn't that enough? We raised you all these years, it's only right that you repay us. Besides, isn't everything you have today thanks to us? If we hadn't raised you, would you be working in Shanghai? Would you be living in such a nice house?"

Looking at her mother's self-righteous face, Fan Shengmei felt all the warmth in her heart vanish.

She finally came to terms with reality.

This home is a quagmire. If she doesn't save herself, she'll only sink deeper and deeper, and she'll never be able to climb out.

She wiped away her tears, her eyes becoming unusually calm: "Mom, I've made myself very clear. Either sell my brother's house to save Dad, or give up the surgery. The choice is yours."

After saying that, she didn't look at Fan's mother again, turned around and walked to the end of the corridor, leaned against the wall, and slowly slid down to sit on the ground.

Her body was cold, but her heart was even colder.

Yet, within this coldness, she felt an unprecedented clarity.

Wang Baichuan stood not far away, taking in everything. As he watched Fan Shengmei's lonely figure, the hesitation and reluctance in his heart slowly dissipated.

He knew that his decision was right.

He really can't handle a family like Fan Shengmei's.

Rather than being dragged into a quagmire together in the future, it's better to let go now.

He sighed softly, turned and left the hospital.

The lights in the corridor were a bit glaring. Fan Shengmei looked up at the incandescent light on the ceiling, her eyes filled with confusion.

She didn't know what her future would hold, but she knew that from this moment on, she could no longer sacrifice herself for that so-called "family".

She needs to save herself.

Even if the road ahead is difficult, even if she is criticized for being "unfilial," she must continue on it.

Because she finally understood that a person who doesn't even love themselves will not be truly loved by anyone else.

At the very moment she made up her mind, she seemed to hear a voice softly echoing from the depths of her heart—

"Heaven will always help those who help themselves."

This encouragement was more like a lamp she lit for herself in the depths of despair.

It was her promise to herself, and also her declaration of war against fate.

She slowly clenched her fist, and a faint but determined light rekindled in her eyes.

Perhaps, her life hasn't reached a point of complete despair yet.

Perhaps, this time, she can truly escape the abyss that has trapped her for so many years.

Those who help themselves will always be helped by Heaven.

She remembered those words.

On the day of the surgery, Fan's mother finally signed the IOU.

She cried and her hands trembled as she muttered, "Shengmei, don't you dare regret this. If anything happens to your father, it will all be your fault."

Fan Shengmei didn't argue anymore; she just calmly watched the doctor push her father into the operating room.

She has done everything she could.

The rest is up to fate.

The surgery went smoothly, and Mr. Fan survived, but was left with the aftereffect of total paralysis. Apart from being able to move his eyes slightly, he had no sensation in any other part of his body.

In the days that followed, Fan Shengmei worked almost non-stop. She went to work during the day, took care of her father at the hospital at night, and also had to deal with her mother's endless complaints and accusations.

"Shengmei, why are you so late? Your dad's been starving!"

"Shengmei, can't you hire a caregiver? How can you manage all this by yourself?"

"Shengmei, your brother is having some difficulties lately, could you send him some more money?"

Every word was like a needle, piercing Fan Shengmei's already wounded heart.

She finally understood that some people will never be satisfied.

The more you give, the more they take it for granted.

If you back down, they will take advantage of you.

On the day they were discharged from the hospital, Wang Baichuan drove to pick them up as agreed.

He looked at Fan Shengmei's bare face and sunken eyes, and felt a little sorry for her, but he didn't say anything.

He has decided to let go.

Some paths she has to walk alone.

The car bumped along the way, finally returning to the small town that Fan Shengmei both knew and loathed.

As soon as Fan's mother arrived home, she began directing Fan Shengmei to tidy up the room and buy things, as if nothing had happened in Shanghai.

"Shengmei, with your father like this, he'll be counting on you from now on."

"Shengmei, you can't just abandon us."

"Shengmei, you earn a lot in Shanghai, it shouldn't be difficult for you to send us 5,000 yuan every month, right?"

Fan Shengmei stood in the courtyard, looking at everything familiar before her, and suddenly felt incredibly tired.

She once thought that as long as she left this place, she could get rid of all of this.

But now she understands that as long as she still feels "guilt" and "responsibility" in her heart, she will never be able to move on.

She took a deep breath, turned around, looked at her mother, and for the first time spoke in a calm yet firm tone:

"Mom, I will send you living expenses."

Mother Fan immediately smiled: "I knew you were a filial son..."

"But," Fan Shengmei interrupted her, "it's only two thousand a month, not a penny more."

Mother Fan's smile froze on her face: "Two thousand? Shengmei, are you trying to fob me off like a beggar? With your father in this condition, what can two thousand yuan even buy?"

"That's enough for you to eat and buy medicine." Fan Shengmei looked at her, her eyes devoid of any emotion. "I also have my own life to live. I will send money on time, but it won't be like before, where I would give you whatever you asked for."

"You...you're trying to drive us to our deaths!" Mother Fan started throwing a tantrum again, sitting on the ground and wailing, "How could I have raised such an ungrateful wretch!"

Fan Shengmei no longer frantically tried to coax her as she had before.

She just watched quietly until her mother cried until she was tired and her voice gradually subsided.

Then, she turned and went inside to pack her luggage.

"Mom, I'm going back to Shanghai tomorrow."

"Your father is like this, and you still want to leave?" Mother Fan suddenly stood up. "Are you really that heartless?"

"I have fulfilled my responsibilities as a daughter." Fan Shengmei looked at her and said, word by word, "From now on, I will send money on time, but I will no longer let you lead me by the nose."

She paused, then added:

"I want to live for myself for once too."

After saying that, she stopped looking at her mother's distorted face, picked up her luggage, and walked out of the home where she had lived for more than 20 years.

The sunlight outside was a bit too bright, and Fan Shengmei squinted slightly.

She didn't know what her future would hold.

It may be difficult, it may be lonely.

But she knew that from this moment on, she was no longer Fan Shengmei, who sacrificed everything for her family.

She is herself.

A self-rescuer struggling to climb out of the mire.

Those who help themselves will always be helped by Heaven.

She silently repeated the sentence to herself.

Then, she looked up and walked towards the station.

Their steps were slow, yet exceptionally firm.