My Days as the Heiress's Punching Bag in the Rich Family

I'm the vicious female foil a rich young heir uses to needle his first love.

The system gave me two paths:

The first was to drive out the first love and take her place as lady of the house.

The second was to absorb one hundred percent of the harm the male lead meant for his first love, and claim the entire jackpot.

I looked at the male lead's handsome face, then at the hundred million piling up in the prize pool, and muttered under my breath:

Next time just skip straight to option two.

The economy's this bad. Only a fool turns down money.

Besides, once I have lots and lots of money, I can have lots and lots of love too.

So when the male lead raised his hand to slap his first love, I calmly offered up my face instead.

Slap!

The moment I hit the floor, I stared at the two hundred dollars that had just landed in my phone and fell into deep thought.

After a long moment, I looked up and snapped:

That was so weak. Did you skip lunch or something?

Melvin Sanchez cupped my swollen cheek, stunned.

Cicely Cooley, I was trying to teach Cecilia Perez a lesson for you. Why did you throw yourself in front of it...

My brain crashed, but my mouth moved faster than my head:

My cheek was a little itchy just now. I wanted you to scratch it for me.

The second it was out, I regretted it. Everyone in the club was staring at me like I was an idiot.

But when I got a clear look at the damage value on my system panel, I was even more dumbfounded.

That slap only pushed the progress to 0.0002 percent.

At this rate, Melvin Sanchez would have to beat me to death before I could become a rich woman?!

Still, a mosquito's leg is meat too.

The most important thing now was to hurry up and take more of Cecilia Perez's suffering for her.

While Melvin Sanchez was still riding his anger, I threw myself into his arms and poured on more fuel:

Melvin, it's all my fault. I couldn't hold it in and complained on your behalf.

I just think it's not easy for you, out there wining and dining every day to make money. But Cecilia always leans on you as her safety net, and the second she's short on cash she comes running to you. I'm afraid she'll get used to getting everything for free.

Melvin took the ladder and climbed right up. He gathered me against him like something precious and said flatly:

Cicely's right. I've spoiled you so much you've got the nerve to hold your hand out and demand money like you're owed it.

Cecilia Perez's voice shook as she defended herself:

I never touched her. She fell on her own.

Melvin Sanchez didn't hear a word of it, as if I filled his whole heart and every inch of his sight.

Cecilia stood in front of him, hurt enough to press him:

You think I'm lying?

Melvin didn't let me down. Scum to the core as ever, he sneered without changing his expression:

Haven't you told enough lies over all these years?

Back then, if it hadn't been for my money, would you have stayed by my side so willingly?

But when he saw the tears she was holding back swimming in her eyes, Melvin softened fast.

He handed her a way out.

Cicely just said it, and she was right. You've been living off other people for far too long.

Why don't you perform a little talent for us right now, and I'll give you a hundred thousand.

Everyone there knew Cecilia needed that money to keep her father alive in the hospital.

She had no choice but to swallow the humiliation.

Melvin's pack of drinking buddies immediately shoved a microphone into her hand, jeering for her to sing the song that had made him fall for her at first sight all those years ago.

Cecilia kept her head down, her face burning with shame.

The other women around her cast her sympathetic looks. Only inside my chest, fireworks were going off.

Because the next second, I cut in with a different song.

I shot up like a bolt of lightning, snatched the microphone, planted myself in the middle, and belted out with feeling:

Money come, money come, money come to me~

The rich boys round our way love a jade pendant on the neck~

By the time I finished the song, ten thousand dollars had finally landed in my phone.

At least it was enough to coast for two months.

I'd figured Melvin would give Cecilia at least a little money, since I'd worked the mood up this far.

Turns out I underestimated just how rotten Melvin could be.

He lifted his head and said to her:

Looks like your father isn't sick enough. An opportunity's right in front of you, and you don't even know to treasure it.

Cicely was kind enough to save you from all this, and you never even offered so much as an apology.

In that case, you don't deserve this money either.

In the end, Cecilia didn't get a single cent. She was forced to stand off to the side and watch me and him put on a lovey-dovey show, then was ushered out in disgrace.

When I slipped away with the excuse of going to the restroom, I found her crouched at the curb, sobbing her heart out, and something in me twisted uncomfortably.

After all, only the person who's wronged you knows just how wronged you really are.

She really hadn't pushed me tonight.

My heels were too high and I lost my balance on my own, then just pinned it on her.

People in these circles had long said Melvin was a real piece of work: whoever helped him stomp on his own fiance, Cecilia Perez, was the one he'd treat well.

My conscience just wouldn't let it go, so I quietly made my way to the hospital where her father was, ready to cover part of his surgery costs.

In the dead of night, I nearly lost my footing at the payment window.

How much did you say the surgery is? Four hundred thousand?!

The doctor at the counter nodded, glanced again at the patient's name, and added:

There's also the outstanding medical bills from before, over a hundred thousand. Do you want to settle it all today?

I could feel my wallet bleeding out. I wanted to turn on my heel and bolt, pretend I'd never come.

Over five hundred thousand. How many slaps would I have to take for her to earn that back?

Even putting on a whole concert for her at the Sanchez family's would barely break even...

But then I pictured that heartbroken, devastated look on Cecilia's face.

What if her father died because there was no money for surgery, and in a fit of grief she dumped Melvin?

Wouldn't my hundred million go up in smoke right along with it?!

You can't catch the wolf if you can't part with the bait. So I gritted my teeth and hardened my heart.

Every dollar I'd squeezed out of Melvin these past two years, I shoved all of it in at once.

The moment I finished paying and turned around, Cecilia Perez was standing right behind me. She hesitated a long while, then forced out a thank you.

An idea struck me. I pressed the payment receipt into her hand, rubbed my palms together, and grinned sheepishly:

Sis, since you've already seen everything, I won't put on an act.

I just did you this huge favor, so how about you agree to one teeny-tiny little request of mine?

My request was simple.

The next morning, be someone's date for me.

No matter what happens, don't explain, don't argue, just do it.

Cecilia agreed without a second's hesitation.

The next day, she showed up right on time, wearing the gown Melvin had bought her.

By the time she walked into the ballroom on the arm of Melvin's worst rival, it was far too late to back out.

I turned to the side and put on my best surprised face.

"Oh no, Melvin, isn't that your rival over there? Why is Cecilia on his arm as his date?"

Melvin's face went terrifyingly dark. He strode over and seized Cecilia's wrist, demanding an explanation.

Cecilia lifted her eyes to me, remembered yesterday's promise, and in the end lowered her head, saying nothing.

That pushed Melvin over the edge. He wrenched her wrist hard enough to hurt and bit out through clenched teeth,

"So this is what you meant by helping a friend?"

"And when it's over, are you going to help him into bed too?"

Even I froze for a second at that.

I couldn't help thinking, privately, that Cecilia must have done every terrible thing imaginable in a past life to be reincarnated as Melvin's fiance in this one

The rival smiled, thoroughly pleased with himself, and planted himself in front of Cecilia like some knight guarding a flower, all just to get in a couple of jabs at this exact moment.

"Mr. Sanchez, now that's just not fair of you."

"It doesn't look like you're short on female company yourself. Fine, be greedy in business, but why so petty about your personal life too?"

"I only borrowed your fiance for a day. That shouldn't be too much of a hardship for you."

Watching Melvin's face twist like he'd swallowed a fly, I knew my wallet was about to get a lot heavier.

His rival had promised earlier that as long as I made Melvin lose face in public, money was no object.

And once they got home, Melvin was sure to punish Cecilia, and punish her hard.

The thought of it nearly cracked my composure.

Sure enough, Melvin wore a cold face for the entire party.

Afterward he pulled me into the passenger seat, turned to Cecilia as she hurried over to apologize, and delivered his verdict.

"Since you've suddenly gotten so capable, you can just walk yourself home."

Cecilia lived frugally, and to save the bus fare she really did walk the whole way back, step by step.

By the time she finally arrived, after all that waiting, Melvin started up again, unwilling to act like a decent human being.

He kept me tucked against him like some accessory and looked down at her.

"Cicely's staying over tonight, so your punishment is this: no rest all night. You'll stand by the bed and wait on us"

Guessing where he was headed, I clapped a hand over his mouth.

I hadn't schemed this long just so he could dream up some cheap little punishment like that.

I switched straight into shy-and-flustered mode.

"She only made the kind of mistake any woman might make. Don't be like this."

"And with someone right here watching, I'd be too embarrassed."

Melvin cupped my face, kissed me on purpose, and changed his mind.

"Then by the Sanchez family rules, she'll kneel in the gazebo and copy out the book of wifely virtues. How's that?"

This time Cecilia said nothing at all. Even her eyes went calm, so calm it left me uneasy.

Once Melvin was fast asleep, a light rain started up outside.

I slipped out to the gazebo and leaned close to her ear, murmuring instructions.

"The hot bath's run, dinner's on the table. Eat and then get some rest, quick."

Cecilia, probably afraid I was pulling some new trick, knelt there without moving, not even setting down the brush.

I dropped to my knees beside her and pressed my palms together, begging.

"Please, I'm asking you. Just let me kneel here and copy it in your place."

"I'll transfer you three thousand. Deal?"

Cecilia stared at me for a long time, her look complicated, as if she were studying some rare specimen.

But in the end she handed me the brush and, giving in to the lure of three thousand dollars, left.

The rain came down harder and harder. I was soaked to the bone, and the more I copied, the more excited I got.

After all, every single character was money jumping straight into my account.

By the time the sky was just beginning to lighten, I pulled out my phone and nearly lost my mind laughing.

Three point six million had landed in my account!

I stared at the damage value creeping upward on the system panel, glanced at the time, and it all clicked.

"No wonder a slap only pays two hundred it's billed by the second!"

My plan had been to take that copied-out book of wifely virtues straight to Melvin Sanchez and tattle.

I'd say Cecilia had bullied me into copying it for her all night, and I'd angle for some fresh punishment.

But the moment I placed the booklet in his hands, someone started pounding on the door outside.

Cecilia seemed to know exactly who it was. She hurried over to open it.

The door hadn't even swung all the way open before a slap landed square across her face.

"You little tramp, mooching food and shelter in my son's home, and you've got the nerve to change the lock without telling me?"

A red handprint bloomed across Cecilia's cheek.

She looked like she'd long grown used to it, lowering her eyes and explaining meekly, "I didn't change the lock."

Only then did Melvin come strolling down the stairs, his tone flat, as if the whole thing had nothing to do with him.

"Mom, I changed the lock a couple of days ago. A keypad's more convenient."

Brenda Sanchez wasn't listening. She shoved Cecilia to the floor and let loose.

"Even if my son changed it, you should have cleared it with me first!"

"My son has thrown away a fortune on that dying father of yours, and you can't even manage a little thing like this?!"

I stood in the corner, and my fists went hard just listening to it.

Forget the old woman. Cecilia didn't even know her own front-door code.

When she came back yesterday, I was the one who opened the door for her!

And more than that, it had been Melvin who'd chased her relentlessly in the first place, promising that if she stayed by his side, he'd hold this whole family up for her.

And now? Her father was practically at death's door, and he dragged his feet over even the surgery money.

When Cecilia tried to go out and earn her own money delivering food, he wouldn't allow it, insisting it would make him lose face.

Hilarious. A big-shot tycoon like him, and he wouldn't part with a cent.

This time, for once, Melvin acted like a decent person and stepped in to hold Brenda back, coaxing her.

"Mom, calm down. Your sixtieth birthday's coming up in a few days. I'll have her handle the whole thing herself to make it up to you."

But Cecilia shook her head, her voice very soft.

"My father's having his surgery in a couple of days. He needs a guardian there beside him..."

Melvin frowned and looked at her with an expression that said she really didn't know how to behave.

Then he laid into her, not caring for reason or fact.

"My mom only turns sixty once. Can't the surgery be moved a day? Don't be so pigheaded."

Cecilia clenched her fingers and still refused.

"It took forever to get on the lead surgeon's schedule... and my father's illness really can't be put off any longer."

Melvin was losing patience now, demanding with open displeasure,

"So which matters more? Winning over your future mother-in-law so you can marry me, or that surgery of your father's?"

"Don't you have a younger brother? Send him."

At the mention of her brother.

A flash of pain crossed Cecilia's eyes. Her lips parted, and in the end she said nothing.

Brenda shot me a vicious glare as she passed, spitting out, "Another little seductress."

Then she swept into the front parlor, head held high.

Certain she wouldn't bring herself to leave him, not for the money's sake, Melvin patted her head, his tone like he was training a dog.

"The birthday banquet is yours to arrange."

"My mom never thought much of you to begin with. But if you make her happy at her sixtieth, I'll talk her into it. I'll get her to agree to marry you in as the next Mrs. Sanchez."

I'd assumed Cecilia would try to cover both ends, running back and forth between the two.

So I meant to step in and take the birthday banquet off her hands myself.

Of course, I had a selfish motive too.

It was the perfect chance to rig something at the banquet, get Melvin to hand her another little punishment, and let me turn a tidy profit.

But days passed, and Cecilia didn't touch the banquet at all. Instead she spent every single day at the hospital, sitting there in a daze.

I couldn't hold back any longer, and asked her outright when she planned to start getting ready.

She didn't answer the question. She just looked at me, in earnest.

"Cicely Cooley, whatever it is you're doing, and whether or not you believe me."

"In all these years, the only one who's ever been this good to me seems to be you."

Then she went on to say a whole string of strange, grateful things to me.

The tone of it was like a goodbye.

I had a bad feeling, terrified my walking cash cow was about to break things off with Melvin.

That night I made up an excuse about having lost something, got the code out of Melvin, and went back to the Sanchez house.

I circled around to her room to see whether she was packing her bags to run.

But nothing in the room was missing. There was only one thing extra on the desk: a letter.

On the envelope were just two words. Suicide note.

My stomach dropped.

I didn't even stop to unfold it and read the details. I just turned and raced for the hospital.

Her father's surgery had gone well tonight. But Cecilia was nowhere to be found.

I searched every corner of the hospital, and finally found her at the edge of the rooftop.

She sat there, drunk, the hem of her clothes whipping in the night wind.

When she saw me arrive out of breath, she turned her head and gave me a smile, her face streaked with tears.

Cicely Cooley. You came.

I reached out my hand, crying as I apologized.

I'm sorry. I'll never accuse you falsely again, and I won't try to take Melvin Sanchez from you either. Just come down!

She didn't move. She only shook her head, still crying.

I don't blame you. I just really can't hold on anymore.

You paid my father's surgery fee. I thought the hard times were finally over.

But my brother went gambling to scrape the surgery money together, and in two days he racked up a million in debt.

She paused, then, with hollow eyes, confessed a secret to me.

That rainy night, a system awakened inside me. It gave me two choices...

My heart jumped. That familiar setupwasn't that exactly the same system as mine?

So I pressed her, thrilled.

Did you pick the second one? The take-the-harm, get-a-reward one?

Cecilia looked at me, startled, and nodded.

How did you know?

I couldn't be bothered with anything else and just spilled it all out.

Isn't that the best news imaginable! Because I have a system too!

All these days I've been framing you and then taking your punishment for you, just to earn the rewards!

I thought this could be solved. But Cecilia's expression didn't improve at all.

Her tears struck the ground as she shook her head and told me we weren't the same.

It's this reward that ruined me.

That day, when Mrs. Sanchez slapped me, the system gave me a random inflation voucher. It said it could inflate anything.

I thought I'd give it a try. I figured if I inflated my assets, I could pay off the debt.

But I forgot my assets were all negative.

That one million in debt got inflated into thirty million...

Cicely, even if I sold myself to you in my next life, I could never pay it back.

I stared, wide-eyed, in disbelief. Your reward... is a randomly dropped inflation voucher?

Cecilia nodded hard.

My heart pounded. I summoned my system at once and pressed it.

System, Cecilia's inflation vouchercan it inflate my bonus?

The system interface flickered, then quickly a cold reply popped up.

Yes.