章 4: 13 years of her life
Ever since the day that Jessa, Penny's auntie, learned her little genius niece had a knack for gambling, she kept taking her on her mahjong nights. Since she was just a three-year-old, her mahjong buddies didn't mind having her sitting on her lap. For months, her auntie was on a lucky streak. There were days they would purposely lose a bit of money just not to raise suspicions.
Ever since that day too, her auntie treated her like a golden cat. She listened to Penny to the point she was starting to worship her. However, Penny's charm in the mahjong table only lasted till she was four.
Penny needed to keep her auntie wrapped around her little pink. Hence, she came up with another plan. A plan where she would spend her next two years as a fortune teller with her auntie as her manager and her children as Penny's assistant.
Somehow, it worked!
One of the perks of going back in time was that Penny remembered most events not just in her life but also people in the community. Her auntie used to have a big mouth. Therefore, many people quickly believed in her gift because of her accuracy.
At the age of seven, Penny now had full control over the family.
Her cousins followed her like their leader, her auntie took care of her money tree, and her uncle approved of everything. On top of that, Penny was able to save up with the allowance given to her by her auntie. Although all the earnings should be hers, she didn't mind.
By the age of eight, she already accumulated enough money to get herself a place to live.
"Auntie, I don't want to read people's fortune anymore!" said the nine-year-old Penny. "I've used up my gift so much so I feel like I'm going blind!"
"Oh, no, little master! Should we get you some dumplings so you feel better?" her auntie asked with deep worry, making the face of the nine-year-old contort.
In her first life, Penny was malnourished. Even when she was a teen, her old clothes when she was six still almost fit. But in this life, at the age of nine, Penny was as healthy as a horse with the weight of a piglet.
"Aha!" she exclaimed, watching the entire family stop eating melons while they looked up at her with shock and confusion. "I know now!"
The family she had been living with blinked curiously.
"Auntie, I have an idea on how we can make money aside from telling people fortunes!" she grinned, her plump cheeks bouncing as they blushed. "I will win all challenges in life and make us a fortune!"
The family couldn't help but tilt their heads to the side, wondering what sort of plan their healthy money tree had come up with this time.
At the age of nine, Penny started her journey in academic competitions.
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Time went by in a blur and before Penny knew it, her 13th birthday was coming up.
"Penny, what do you want on your birthday?" Yuri asked excitedly, seated across from Penny at the dining table. "Should we throw a huge party and invite everyone?"
"That's not bad!" Yugi chimed in. "Or we can just celebrate it together! Let's go to the amusement park!"
Penny rubbed her chin, making her second chin bounce a little. Looking at the pair of eager eyes across from her, a smile turned up on her chubby face.
"I don't know!" she exclaimed. "I never thought of it." — if she added her past life and this life, this birthday would be her 42nd birthday.
"Well, you children doesn't need to think of anything for her birthday because I already had a plan!" Her auntie casually came into the dining area with a pot of warm soup. "We're going on a vacation!"
Penny looked up at her glamorous auntie which was a lot different than how she remembered it in her previous life. Back then, her auntie always had her curlers stuck on her hair while wearing a worn out dress. She used to be grumpy, but since Penny had been bringing money into the household, their lives were just as better as Penny's.
Thirteen years of her memories in her previous life, they managed to earn quite a lot. Their house was bigger than it used to be as it now had a few extra rooms — Penny got her own. Even though they maltreated her in her first life, Penny didn't hold a grudge against them just as much as the resentment she felt toward her real brothers.
Moreover, these people managed to redeem themselves by being the fools they were. Penny was able to control them with her pinky. Now, instead of watching them warm themself in preparation for the incoming winter, she had the leisure to enjoy a warm bowl of soup with them. Although she wasn't interested in hearing about the resort her auntie booked where they would spend her birthday, it still made her delighted.
'This life isn't as bad!' Penny smiled brightly, her eyes squinting into mere slits.
"By the way, Penny." Her auntie cleared her throat as she cast the chubby Penny a look. "I got a call from your school. They told me you got an invitation from this prestigious school in the city."
"Huh?" Penny and her cousins looked at the woman with confusion.
"I forgot the name, but they said it's a school for geniuses like you!" her auntie exclaimed with excitement. "They will give you a full scholarship. Not only that, but the best of all is that they send their students to a national competition! Some of them were even sent abroad for international academic contests!"
Her auntie didn't have to say it, but Penny could already see the money signs in her auntie's eyes.
'Back in my previous life, my grades were always okay until I had to attend to that school,' she pondered while staring at her Auntie's sparkling eyes while the latter talked about the prestige of raising a genius. 'I could still remember how I spent countless nights studying.'
Unlike now, Penny studied really hard in her first life. She studied so hard she could still remember all the lessons in this lifetime. Therefore, winning an academic competition was as easy as breathing.
'Though I don't want to study in a different school, I guess it's expected that I garner the attention of a prestigious school.' A shallow frown turned up on her face, glancing at her cousin who shared equal delight and sadness in their eyes. 'They used to be so annoying, but they somehow grew on me now.'
"Auntie, I don't —" Penny halted when she heard the doorbell ring. Everyone in the dining furrowed their brows because they weren't expecting any guests right now.
"You kids finish your soup so we can have dinner. I'll go check who it is."
With that being said, Jessa pushed herself up and marched to their gates to see who was ringing their doorbell. Yuri and Yugi simply shrugged as they resumed their food while Penny couldn't help but gaze at the living area.
'For some reason, I feel like something's wrong,' she told herself. 'When my gut feeling tells me something, I learned that I should listen to it.'
This was the greatest lesson she learned from her previous life. If only Penny listened to her gut feeling that time, she wouldn't have ended up in prison. Hence, following her gut instinct, Penny jumped from her chair and went to the front door.
As soon as she reached their front door, she peeked her head out. The first thing she saw was her auntie's back and then the man standing outside the gates. Her eyes slowly dilated as soon as she recognized the person.
'You are safe now.'
Suddenly, the man's remarks in her previous life rang in her ears.
"What?" Penny blurted out under her breath, staring blankly at the people by the gates. 'Why are they here so soon? It's not winter yet.'
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