I was diagnosed with cancer, and my son’s materialistic girlfriend immediately seized all our family’s assets. She then declared that it was all her wedding fund, and I, even if I died on the streets, shouldn't dare to spend a single penny of "her" money. This ultimately caused me to miss the optimal treatment window, my condition worsening, leaving me with little time left. In a surge of rage and despair, I dragged her with me, leaping to our deaths. When I opened my eyes again, I was back in time, to the very first meeting with that materialistic girlfriend. And I could hear her thoughts. It was then I realized: the materialistic one wasn't her at all. 1 "David said Auntie wouldn't even glance at a bracelet under five thousand, but the one I bought was only eight hundred. Still, it was all the money I saved from working hard and living frugally for an entire semester. I gave it to her a few days ago, but why isn't she wearing it? She really must look down on my gifts." Emily's voice, broken and hesitant, drifted into my ears. I opened my eyes to the familiar scene of my home, a jolt of recognition telling me I had been reborn. I had returned to the day my son, David Brown, first brought his girlfriend, Emily Taylor, to meet me. In my past life, this supposedly "gold-digging" girl, even before marrying David, had firmly controlled his entire salary. She'd used her supposed family custom of a two-million-dollar wedding fund as leverage, forcing us to sell everything we owned to gather the money for her. This left me with absolutely nothing when I was diagnosed with cancer. I tried to negotiate with her, asking her to return a portion of the money for my treatment, promising to repay her later. But she flatly refused. Worse, she told David, "All the money in your family is my wedding fund. Your mother’s old life isn't worth saving. Even if she dies on the street, she won't touch a single penny of my money." Her unwavering refusal to contribute meant I missed my chance at treatment, my early-stage cancer dragging on to its terminal phase. Staring at the few days I had left, I was consumed by grief and rage. The next time she came to visit, I dragged her with me, leaping from the building. But I never imagined I’d be reborn. Lost in a daze, I heard her speaking in my mind. Something about a gold bracelet… what did it mean? I looked up, staring at Emily, who sat awkwardly before me. That voice, her internal monologue, resonated again: "Auntie is staring at me so seriously. Is she unhappy with me? I shouldn't have listened to David. He said it would be embarrassing to give it to Auntie in person, that I should give it to him beforehand. If I'd known, I would have asked Mom and Dad for more money and bought a bigger one. Auntie definitely wouldn't think I didn't care about her now." Emily's lips didn't move, yet the voice flowed continuously. Was it her thoughts? But when had she ever given me a gold bracelet? In my past life, from a month before our first meeting, she had been asserting her dominance. She’d claimed she wouldn't eat fruit under fifty dollars a pound, or dine anywhere less than a five-star restaurant. Even the slippers she wore into our home had to be limited-edition, celebrity-endorsed brands. And when she left, she demanded a large cash gift. Yet, she herself never spent a single penny, and her gifts to me were always cheap supermarket giveaways. As I wondered, Emily glanced at David, then suddenly stood up, excusing herself to the restroom. Once she was gone, David anxiously pulled at my arm. "Mom, why are you just sitting there? Why aren't you giving her a welcome gift? Emily looks upset. And your fruit, your food… it's not what Emily asked for, is it? Aren't you clearly trying to assert your dominance?" I froze. David had said the exact same thing to me in my past life. Back then, I'd immediately thought Emily was terribly materialistic and a bad girl, which fueled my strong prejudice against her later on. But judging by Emily's thoughts just now, she didn't seem to have that intention at all. 2 I eyed David suspiciously, a seed of doubt sprouting about him too. In my previous life, this boy had been so weak, his world revolving solely around his girlfriend. When I desperately needed money and considered suing for it, he stopped me repeatedly, pleading with me not to make things ugly, saying they still had to live together and he could handle it. But when I lay on my sickbed, my condition worsening, his "solution" never materialized. In this life, I couldn't trust this ungrateful wolf entirely. My face hardened, and I retorted, "What do you mean, 'asserting dominance'? Just because I didn't treat her like royalty, that's asserting dominance? I prepared gifts and a welcome envelope, and she gave me a free toothbrush from the supermarket. Looks like she doesn't think much of our family either." I stared him down. "Let me tell you now: even if you marry her, I won't acknowledge it." David hadn't expected my sudden outburst. He flinched, quickly pulling me closer and whispering, "Mom, I told you, Emily's family isn't well-off. She's been through a lot. Now, we should let her enjoy life. Just humor her, please don't say those things. What if she hears you?" The words had barely left his mouth when Emily returned. She looked at the heavy atmosphere between David and me, startled. Her inner voice echoed again: "Didn't I just give David a look to tell him to soothe Auntie? How did things get even worse?" Watching her awkwardly sit down, my suspicion grew. I cleared my throat and spoke. "Emily, dear, you're still a student. I don't need you to buy me anything. Just coming to visit makes me very happy." Emily's expression was puzzled. Her inner voice resonated: "What does she mean, 'didn't buy a gift'? Didn't I tell David to give her the gold bracelet? Even if she looks down on it, she can't say I didn't buy anything, can she?" I subtly glanced at David, then pulled out a few toothbrushes from under the coffee table, placing them on top. "David told me you always think of Auntie, and specifically got these free samples from the supermarket for me." Emily jumped, quickly turning to David. "When did I give Auntie toothbrushes? What about the gold bracelet? Didn't you give it to Auntie?" 3 David’s face stiffened, but he quickly recovered his composure. He calmly pulled a gold bracelet from his bag, grinning sheepishly. "Oh, I forgot to give it to her. It's better this way, you can personally give it to my mom, it's more formal." Emily breathed a sigh of relief. As she busied herself putting the bracelet on my wrist, her inner voice chimed in again: "David is so careless, he forgot something like this. Good thing Auntie asked, otherwise what would she have thought of me?" I frowned. Emily's actions didn't match my past life's memory either. Could it be that in my past life, she had also prepared a gold bracelet, but because David forgot, and I, not wanting to ask for a gift on our first meeting, never brought it up, it led to a misunderstanding? And why didn't David ever give me the gold bracelet later? There must be more to this. And then, she held onto our family's assets, which led to my tragic death. I absolutely had to investigate this. Once the bracelet was on, Emily held my hand, smiling. "Auntie, gold looks so beautiful on you. It really suits your elegance." I looked down at the bracelet, a strange emotion stirring within me. In my previous life, our first meeting had been so disastrous that our impressions of each other were terrible, leading to very little interaction afterward. I never knew she could say such pleasant things. Emily then turned to David, chiding him gently. "When are you going to start taking my things seriously? Last time, I bought a set of skincare products for Auntie and asked you to deliver them. You completely forgot, and ended up using them yourself. Now you even forget something as important as this?" I remembered the skincare products very clearly. A month ago, I accidentally appeared in a video call between Emily and David. At the time, I was using a face cream. Emily saw the brand of my cream and chatted with me about it. But as soon as David hung up, he told me Emily was furious. Because the brand of face cream I used was even more expensive than hers. David had said, "Emily thinks you're too old to be using such expensive brands. You should save that money for your future grandchild. Just use basic drugstore cream, that's fine for you." At the time, I was so enraged I felt my lungs would burst. I immediately told David that this girlfriend wouldn't do. Now, it seemed, many things were not as I had understood them. David cast a guilty glance at me, then pulled Emily into a hug, still grinning. "I know I messed up, darling. Next time, I'll put you and Mom at the top of my priority list." My heart sank deeper and deeper. Everything I had once believed Emily had done to me, she seemed completely unaware of. And what about seizing all our family's assets? Could that also have nothing to do with her? Filled with questions, I finished the meal. David left to take Emily back to university. I immediately scheduled a full physical examination at the clinic. The doctor, pointing at the lab report, told me they had found a tiny lesion in my stomach. A biopsy confirmed it was gastric cancer. Fortunately, I had caught it very early; the cure rate was extremely high. They just needed to surgically remove the affected tissue and scheduled my operation. I breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, I had made it in time in this life. On the way home, my steps felt lighter than air. When I arrived, David was already back, slouched on the sofa, head drooping, looking utterly dejected. The moment he saw me, he put on a mournful face. "Mom, Emily said she wants a two-million-dollar wedding fund. What are we going to do?" 4 David wiped away a tear. "Emily said that in her family, a multi-million-dollar wedding fund is absolutely essential. Two million is already the bare minimum. If I can't come up with it, she'll break up with me." He grabbed my hand, his words earnest. "Mom, I really love her and want to marry her. Please help me figure something out. When I make a lot of money in the future, I'll take good care of you. Forget two million, I'll give you even more!" I looked at him silently. "First, explain what happened with the skincare products Emily mentioned." David's eyes darted nervously. "You hadn't even finished your own skincare products yet, so I figured you wouldn't need Emily's right away. And you used to always give me your extras, didn't you? So, this time I took the liberty of using them myself. I just forgot to tell you, that's all." David looked at me, annoyed. "Why are you so petty with your own son?" "Then why did you tell me she thought I only deserved to use basic, cheap cream?" David began to throw a tantrum. "That was just me misunderstanding her meaning! I'll be more careful in the future. Just let it go this once. Right now, the urgent matter is Emily's two-million-dollar wedding fund. Mom, I'm your only son, you have to help me figure this out." I wasn't satisfied with David's explanation. He had been sharp as a tack since he was little. How could he possibly misunderstand something so simple? Was he secretly playing some trick behind my back? And did Emily know? So, I played along with his words. "How about you invite Emily over for dinner again soon? I want to get a better sense of her character. If she passes my test, forget two million, I'll even sell everything we own to get you three million for her wedding fund." David's eyes lit up, but then he worriedly cautioned me. "When Emily comes, you absolutely cannot mention the wedding fund. She's already unhappy, and I'm afraid she'll get even angrier and the wedding will be off." I gave him a faint glance. It was probably less about him not wanting Emily to worry, and more about him being afraid of me questioning Emily. David acted quickly. The very next day, he brought Emily back. But her expression didn't look good. She was even a little aloof in her interactions with me.
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