Chapter 2

Ella stared at me provocatively and silently waited for the system to take control and force me to mock her with cutting remarks. She waited and waited, but I never said anything as she expected.

She was feeling puzzled when a mechanical voice echoed in her mind. "Congratulations! You have successfully bound to the Control System. To complete tasks, this system will temporarily control your mind and body."

Ella was shocked. Wasn't that the system she had obtained after ten lifetimes of hard work? How could it have bound itself to her instead of Phoebe?

Before she could think it over, the system issued its first task. "Within three minutes, adopt a haughty demeanor and say, 'Who do you think you are? How dare you stay in the Reynolds family?' Countdown: 2 minutes and 58 seconds. Warning! The system will temporarily control your body!"

Ella's anger boiled over inside, but her body betrayed her. It moved as if under the system's command and struck a proud pose.

I smiled and watched her standing there with her hands on her hips. Her domineering tone rang out, though her eyes darted. "Phoebe Reynolds! Who do you think you are? You have occupied my identity for so many years. How do you still have the nerve to stay here?"

Her words hit like a bolt of lightning, leaving everyone stunned.

Rebecca was the first to react. She looked at me.

I discreetly pinched myself hard and forced tears to well up in my eyes. The tears hovered on the brink of falling, and I looked pitiful. But inwardly, I was overjoyed.

Ella's situation mirrored my experience when I had been controlled by a system in my previous life. It seemed that the system she had desperately sought had now bound itself to her.

Austin furrowed his eyebrows and instinctively glanced at Ella. Then he snapped, "She's not my sister!"

The system finally relinquished control of Ella's body. She trembled slightly and turned toward Albert, who had remained silent since he entered the room. As expected, his expression was icy and piercing.

Ella's body shuddered, and she collapsed to the floor in panic. "It's not like that... I didn't mean to..."

Albert had always thought that Ella was merely insecure and a little greedy and that he could tolerate those traits. But he hadn't anticipated her stirring up such trouble the moment she entered the house.

Rebecca gently held Albert's hand, which was clenched in tension. She shook her head slightly, and her gaze was soft. She whispered to him, "Albert... Ella might have been poorly influenced by her upbringing outside. We... we can find someone to discipline her properly. After all, she's still our daughter..."

Albert sighed, waved her off, and headed to the study.

Rebecca knew that he tacitly agreed with her.

After all, Ella had suffered for twenty years. It was only natural for her to harbor some resentment when she had just returned. With that on her mind, Rebecca cast a guilty glance at me.

I shook my head and didn't mind it. With the system bound to Ella, no matter how much guilt Rebecca felt toward Ella, it would eventually wear thin.

Sure enough, Ella began stirring up trouble again that evening. She didn't even maintain quiet for a single afternoon.

After dinner, I returned to my room to prepare materials for school the next day. Although I had already finished all my university coursework, I still occasionally joined campus activities to earn additional credits.

I carefully put the stuff into my backpack. My laptop, the lecture notes, the flash drive...

In my previous life, my mentor had contacted me to help organize the school's sports festival. But under the system's control, I had blacklisted her number. It ultimately prevented me from graduating. It had always been a lingering regret in my mind.

I unlocked my phone and replied to my mentor's message. After that, another message popped up. It was from Toby Payne, my friend who had grown up with me. "Are you coming to the sports festival to cheer me on?"