Chapter 1

"We've supported her until she graduated from college, and what does she do? Instead of working in the city, she moves back to the village!" Tatiana Lloyd snapped.

"So what if Lucy moves back to the village? Living in the city is so stressful—rent alone costs at least 2,000 dollars!" Gordon Sandywell countered. "It's great to have her back home."

"What's so great about that? She's not even making any money!"

"Mom, keep your voice down. Lucy was on the train all night. Let her rest."

Meanwhile, Lucy Sandywell sat in her room, feeling confused.

A few years ago, she was granted the ability of spatial manipulation—she could create a pocket space of just a few square feet.

At first, she thought her power would make her invincible, but it didn't bring her any further convenience over the years apart from storing things.

When she returned to the village, she only brought a small suitcase. The rest of her stuff from her rental was all stored inside her pocket space. At least, it did save her a fair amount of delivery charges.

But now, Lucy realized some of the items in her pocket space had disappeared. Her clothes and daily necessities were still there, but her snacks, gourmet souvenirs, yogurt, and soda had vanished.

She had never encountered anything like this before. Could these things possibly disappear into thin air?

Lucy also discovered something bizarre in her pocket space.

What on earth were these? Tattered men's clothes and a rusty knife—these weren't hers!

She pulled out a box of chocolate cookies, only to find half of them had already been eaten. Even her soda bottle was half-empty!

Clearly, someone had eaten her snacks. Who ate them and even put them back half-finished?

The dirty clothes were such an eyesore that Lucy immediately threw them into the trash. She began to suspect that someone had broken into her space.

But who could have done that?

…

Hans Sorrell had gone nearly four or five days without food. If it weren't for his exceptional physique, he would've starved to death by now. His lips were cracked, and he was severely dehydrated.

Yet, even his grim expression couldn't hide his chiseled features and piercing gaze.

Hans lived in Pluteon, a world devastated by the apocalypse a year ago. Many food supplies had already expired and were no longer safe to eat.

He had gotten injured while scavenging for supplies. Just when he thought he was about to die, he was unexpectedly granted a power—a pocket space.

But the power he had gained felt like a cruel joke. Where could he collect supplies now?

But miraculously, the space actually contained things.

Shampoo, conditioner, shoes, clothes, and toilet paper—though most of them seemed to belong to a woman.

However, Hans caught sight of a large stash of snacks and bottles of water. He tried taking some out, and to his surprise, it actually worked!

He stared at the somewhat familiar packaging, noticing that the food was clean with no sign of mold. But having been starved for too long, he couldn't stuff his face at once. He only ate a few packets and put the remaining snacks back in the space, along with his few remaining belongings.

Though he had no idea how he had acquired this space, he felt like this was a sign that he wasn't meant to die. He could survive now.

Just then, he almost thought he heard a woman's angry voice. It sounded sweet and melodious.

"Who stole my stuff?" Lucy fumed.

Realization dawned on Hans—was the space he'd acquired somehow connected to someone else's space?

Amused, he replied, "I'm sorry. I have no idea how I ended up being connected to your space. I've been starving for days, so I ate some of your snacks. I can give you some Plutings in return."

"Plutings? What are those?" Lucy wondered, still frowning.

As Hans' voice echoed through the space, she noticed how pleasant he sounded despite his hoarse tone. This somewhat placated her since she had a voice fetish.

They couldn't see each other, but they could hear each other. Both also had access to this space.

"You're starving? Don't you have any money?" Lucy asked.

She wasn't wealthy herself, but at least she didn't have to worry about going hungry in the village.

She had finally been accepted into a university and could study in the capital. However, while other students had living expenses of 2000 to 3000 dollars a month, she only had 500 dollars. She had to work part-time to support herself.

As a graphic design major, she struggled to find a job after graduating. The cost of living in the city was so expensive that she had no choice but to return to her hometown.

"Money?" Hans replied, seemingly amused. "Money is useless here. A gold bar is worth less than a loaf of bread. If you can give me food, I can get you all the gold, silver, and jewels you want."

Despite his playful tone, what he said was a fact. Gold and jewelry were everywhere, but food was the rarest commodity.

He could even give her Plutings in exchange for food.

"Really? That's great! What kind of food do you want?" Lucy squealed.

Just where did this man come from? He had money but no food to buy!

Realizing that Lucy wasn't joking, he began tentatively, "Anything, as long as it's food. What would you like? Gold? Diamonds? Plutings?"

Lucy wondered what Plutings were, though she felt too embarrassed to ask. Were they some kind of crystal?

"I'm fine with anything!" she replied. "What do you want to eat, though? Pasta? Spicy stew? Roasted turkey? Bouillabaisse? Or maybe roasted chicken?"

Hans swallowed hard as Lucy listed the food. It had been ages since he had eaten such dishes, some of which he had never even heard of.

"Oh, we have fruits too!" Lucy exclaimed. "We plant apples, strawberries, and also peaches!"

A pang of anxiety shot through Hans. How could those fruits possibly exist?

After the apocalypse, all plants in his world had mutated. Not only were they inedible, but they were also poisonous. Yet for the sake of survival, some people still chose to eat the poisonous fruits.

Hans couldn't help but start salivating. Did the woman really have all those fruits?

At this point, he was fairly certain that she wasn't from his dimension. Perhaps she was from another dimension, and he happened to connect to her space after gaining the power of spatial manipulation.

Being able to communicate across dimensions gave him some hope.

"I'd like to drink some water," Hans said. "Do you have any medicine? I can give you some Plutings in return."

Some of his friends back at the sanctuary had been infected and were feverish.

"Medicine? What kind of medicine do you need?" Lucy asked, clearly bewildered. "Can't you even buy some when you're this rich?"

"We're not in the same dimension," Hans explained grimly, his voice turning more hoarse. "An apocalypse has struck my world, so the place I'm living in is overrun with zombies and viruses. The temperatures here are either extremely hot or extremely cold.

He added, "Gold is available in any city, yet none of us want it. In fact, expired bread is more valuable than gold."

Lucy was flabbergasted, to say the least. How could gold have lesser value than expired bread?

Chapter 2

"I accept gold, diamonds, or anything valuable in return!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Do you have water?" Hans rasped.

"Would you like mineral water or purified water? We also have coffee, soda, and beer! Which one do you prefer?"

"Just water, please," Hans replied, his cracked lips in desperate need of clean water. All the bottled water on his planet had been infected by parasites.

While Lucy could enter the space, Hans could only retrieve or store things in it.

Lucy darted into the kitchen, quickly brewing a cup of herbal tea for Hans. She even put a few sugar cubes in it.

"Look at the time now! Aren't you going to help with the chores? You're supposed to feed the cattle!" Tatiana screeched when she saw Lucy running around in her pajamas at 9:00 am.

Disdain flickered in her eyes—she despised Lucy. She was a misogynist, so she resented Lucy's parents for only having a daughter.

In fact, she favored the children of her eldest son more.

"Women are absolutely useless!" Tatiana hollered. "They can't earn money, and once they get married, they'll belong to another family.

"Supporting you in college was a complete waste! I told your dad it was pointless. He might as well save it for his nephew's wedding instead!"

Watching Lucy leave, Tatiana thought she was slacking off again, likely going back to bed.

…

Lucy put the cup of tea in her pocket space, yet Hans didn't take it.

"Hey!" she called out to him, but there was no response.

Remembering that Hans had said that he was surviving in a post-apocalyptic world, she couldn't help but wonder if he had been killed by zombies the moment he connected with her space.

Lucy began to lament the fact that he didn't even bother to pick up the gold and diamonds scattered on the ground.

…

In the torn-down city, the screeches of zombies reverberated through the air.

Hans' shoulder was injured, and the blood soaking his clothes had dried into a stiff, caked mess.

He eyed the ruins of the city warily. A thick fog obscured his view, and he couldn't see his surroundings clearly.

What was once a lively city was now a desolate wasteland—a paradise for zombies.

At the moment, Hans was in a city overrun by zombies; their disgusting stench filled the air. He had to constantly keep his guard up in case the zombies showed up.

Suddenly, a zombie appeared and lunged at him. The wound on his back throbbed in pain as he sliced its head off promptly.

Hans regained a good deal of his strength after replenishing himself with some food and water. Passing through a street strewn with rubble and cracks where weeds had begun to sprout, he found himself surrounded by scrapped vehicles.

Dusk was approaching. The zombies became more active at night, so Hans and his teammate needed to find shelter—and fast.

"Hans, I can't hold on any longer," Leo Wright gasped. "If I die, take care of my family for me. My son… he's still so young."

Due to severe dehydration, his lips were parched and cracked to the point of bleeding.

"Stop talking nonsense! Since I found you, I won't let you die here!" Hans snapped, his brow furrowing.

He reached into his pocket space to retrieve half a bottle of water for Leo. But to his surprise, there was now a steaming cup of herbal tea in there instead. That woman must have prepared it.

Hans made up his mind—he had to save Leo now, and then he would go to the store and scavenge some gold for the woman.

After some contemplation, he tossed the Pluting he had just extracted into the space pocket. It was an energy orb, something she should also be able to absorb. Metahumans, who were granted spatial manipulation powers, could naturally use these orbs.

"Here, have some water." Hans was reluctant to share the herbal tea and handed over the soda he'd previously drunk instead.

Parched beyond measure, Leo didn't question where the bottle came from despite his confusion. He cautiously took a sip.

"It's delicious."

The soda had indeed tasted great. It was something that Lucy had purchased; the brand was unavailable in Hans' dimension.

"Where did you find this drink?" Leo asked in surprise after snapping back to his senses.

"It's a long story," Hans replied. "But there will be more food in the future."

Leo's eyes lit up. If Hans said there'd be food, he would believe him!

Remembering that Lucy said that she accepted gold, diamonds, and even Plutings in return, Hans wondered if she had received the Pluting he'd just placed into the space.

…

Indeed, Lucy had received it. The moment she saw the bottle of soda disappear into thin air, she immediately knew Hans had taken it.

But what was this green, quail-egg-sized sphere? It even smelled terrible.

"What is this?" she asked, frowning.

"That's a Pluting, extracted from a zombie's brain," Hans explained, his voice now steadier. "Since you're also a metahuman, absorbing it will enhance your energy."

"Extracted from a zombie's brain?" Lucy recoiled, dropping the Pluting in shock.

A zombie's brain—that meant it was practically dug out of someone's head.

As someone who lived in a peaceful world, she couldn't wrap her head around scraping out someone's brain.

"I-I think I'll pass," she sputtered. "Just gold would suffice."

"This space is too small. The Pluting might help upgrade and expand it," Hans insisted. "That way, I can bring you even more gold and diamonds. I could even haul in artifacts from museums for you. I can get anything you want from this world for you—except food and water."

In their post-apocalyptic world, food was scarce. Plants mutated, soil became toxic, and water was heavily polluted. They desperately needed food.

"Okay. How do I absorb the Pluting?" Lucy asked nervously.

Recalling Hans' advice about expanding her space for more gold, she steeled herself and picked up the green orb on the ground. She thought it needed a good rinse with tap water before absorbing it.

"The best way is to swallow it," Hans said. "But if you can't handle that, you can also crush it to absorb its energy."

"Okay!"

Lucy exited her space and rinsed the Pluting under tap water, though the strange odor lingered on her hands.

Crushing it? The man wasn't joking, was he?

Yet, the texture did feel a bit like gummy candy. If she hadn't been told that it came from a zombie's brain, she might have found it tolerable.

After some hesitation, Lucy crushed the orb. Green mist wafted out from it, allowing her to absorb only a small portion of its energy. Most of it had dissipated.

However, the smell was quite overwhelming.

"It'll enhance your physique and make you stronger."

Chapter 3

"The space didn't get any larger!" Lucy exclaimed, slightly disappointed.

"That means you don't have enough energy. You need to absorb more Plutings," Hans explained. "I'll get them for you."

Though Lucy's space didn't expand, she felt her energy had replenished despite not having breakfast. Glancing at her reflection in the mirror, she noticed that her dark circles seemed to have faded.

She wondered if the Pluting could enhance her complexion. But its smell was just too awful!

Feeling grateful to Hans, Lucy decided that she'd better make him some breakfast. She hurried downstairs and went to the kitchen.

At this hour, her parents were already out working in the fields. They had left her some breakfast—a few meat pies that were still warm. Made with home-raised pork, the pies smelled amazing.

She kept one for herself and stored two pies in her pocket space.

As for grains, flour, and oil, she figured taking them all at once would make her parents think that the house had been robbed.

…

Hans intended to head into the city to find a shop. But since it was already dark out, he had to hurry up and find shelter. He decided to scavenge in a residential area, knowing most homes would have at least some gold jewelry.

It seemed there was a time difference between his dimension and Lucy's—they were in opposing cycles of day and night.

Hans and Leo found an old apartment building. After taking down two zombies, the wound on Hans' back was getting worse.

They took refuge in a dingy unit. Dust coated every surface, and cobwebs draped the walls. A rotting zombie corpse lay inside, but neither man was fazed—they were already used to it.

As night fell, the zombies outside grew restless. While their growls and howls echoed in the distance, Hans stepped over a corpse and retrieved a gold necklace from its body.

"Hans, what's the point of taking that useless necklace?" Leo asked, clearly bewildered.

He wouldn't even bother with it if it were in his way!

Ignoring him, Hans strode toward the bedroom, searching for something.

"Leo, where do people usually keep their valuables?"

"Valuables? What's the use of money now?" Leo rolled his eyes.

Money couldn't even fill his stomach. He thought Hans must've gone mad. Asking him where food might be hidden would at least make sense.

With this thought in mind, he rushed to the kitchen. But as expected, everything had rotted. A putrid stench hit him as soon as he opened the fridge. Inside were several mutated dead rats.

Leo frowned, disappointed that there was no canned food inside this household. Such items could at least last longer.

Meanwhile, Hans retrieved a steaming, freshly baked meat pie out of the pocket space—the one Lucy had just stored.

The enticing aroma immediately drew Leo's attention. His mouth watered as his eyes widened with disbelief.

"Where do you think valuables would be hidden?" Hans asked, biting into his meat pie.

Flabbergasted, Leo sputtered, "Where did you get that?"

"I bought it with some Plutings," Hans replied casually.

"Where did you buy it? I want to buy some too!" Leo exclaimed, growing excited.

In this era, no one in their right mind would accept something invaluable like money in exchange for food. Was this person out of their mind?

Leo was quick to catch on, and he remembered that most people usually hid their money in cabinets. He sprang into action, tearing through every cabinet until he found a jewelry box containing gold bracelets, gold rings, gold necklaces—likely someone's wedding jewelry.

"Hans, here you go! Can I have a meat pie now? I'm starving!" Leo pleaded. "I'll kill to have a bite, please!"

He could barely remember the taste of real food, as even grass was out of reach when he was starving. It was normal to go for days without food.

Hans was willing to share with Leo. Leo had been his comrade back in the day, and the apocalypse only strengthened their bond.

He took out another pie from the pocket space—Lucy had only given him two. Then, he stored all the gold they collected in the space, fairly certain that she'd be able to receive them right away.

Leo grabbed the pie, although his hands were still dirty. Taking in the mesmerizing aroma, he almost teared up.

"This is actually a real meat pie! I'm not hallucinating, am I?" he said, voice thick with emotion. It had been ages since he last ate a decent meal.

Just as he was about to take a bite of it, he was reminded of his family back at the base. His son had been eating moldy leftovers, while his wife had filled her stomach with tree bark.

Leo swallowed hard, holding back his hunger. "I have to save this for my son."

He truly cherished it, even beginning to look for something to wrap it in. Holding it close to his nose, he was already feeling satisfied just from its smell.

"Eat it. We'll find more food." Hans encouraged him and added firmly, "As long as we find enough gold, there'll be plenty more food."

Lucy lacked money in her dimension, but she could still buy food. On the other hand, money was literally everywhere in Hans' dimension, but there was no food or water.

As long as he could get her something in return, he would have an endless supply of food. He wondered if she had heeded his advice and absorbed the Pluting's energy.

"Alright! Let's raid the malls and gold shops tomorrow and get all the gold!" Leo exclaimed, visibly excited.

Hans shook his head. Lucy's space wasn't big enough to store all those things.

"Just eat the pie," he said. "There'll be more food."

"Will we really have more of this?" Leo was reluctant.

He still couldn't get over the fact that he was, in fact, holding a meat pie. He couldn't even remember the last time he had meat since all the animals had mutated. Their meat was of a greenish hue, and it was also poisonous.

"We'll also have spicy stew, roasted turkey, and pasta," Hans replied, recalling what Lucy said.

"Stop it! You're making my mouth water," Leo groaned. "I can't wait to go out and scavenge for gold."

Though he wondered if Hans had gained some mysterious power, he didn't ask any questions. Why should he bother when he no longer had to worry about food?

Many people had gained superpowers after the apocalypse except for Hans. Yet, he was the commando because his strength was unmatched.

Even gaining superpowers was pointless in their dimension. After all, they couldn't conjure food.

"The zombies are extremely active at night," Hans said. "Even the slightest sound might blow our cover. Venturing out now would be suicide."

At his words, Leo suppressed his urge to go out and scavenge for gold. The meat pie seemed to have reawakened his appetite, and he could barely resist the desire to have another one.

It wasn't enough. Men naturally had larger appetites, and with the mutations their bodies underwent in the apocalypse, they needed even more energy.

But food was scarce. The longer they starved, the worse their physical condition became.

"Do you think we have hope now? With food and water, all of us can survive this, right?"

Chapter 4

Lucy gawked at the jewelry box that had just appeared in her space. Inside were gold bracelets, gold necklaces, and gold rings, weighing around 1.6 ounces.

She wondered what the current price of gold was. Eagerly searching it up on her phone, she realized the price of gold was 15,600 dollars per troy ounce. Indeed, the price had been rising.

Now that Lucy thought about it, she really needed a new phone. Her current phone lagged so much that it was barely usable. However, she couldn't afford an expensive phone since her parents had already paid a lot for her college tuition.

Her parents were both farmers, and every penny they earned came from hard, backbreaking labor.

After graduating, Lucy had worked tirelessly every day, but her salary had only been enough to cover her rent and daily expenses. In the end, she couldn't bear the stress and came back home.

She still remembered choking on her words during the phone call, telling her mother that she wanted to return to her hometown. But in contrast to her anxiety, her mother had been thrilled.

"Come back, then," Sharon Yates had exclaimed. "This will always be your home!"

…

Staring at the gold jewelry in her hands now, Lucy figured they weighed over 1.6 ounces. She got changed and went downstairs.

Her parents had gone out to work, leaving only her grandmother, Tatiana, at home.

With her back hunched, Tatiana watched Lucy zoom off on her bike. While she remained at the street corner, a few old ladies approached her.

"Isn't your granddaughter working in the city? Why has she returned?" one of them asked.

"I was thinking of introducing someone to her!" an old lady in a red floral dress chimed in. "The guy works in Kentsville. He pays his insurance, has good looks, and even has his own house!"

The entire village knew the Sandywells only had one daughter. Given the family's vast homestead, marrying Lucy would be a great deal. Still, the family was often ridiculed by other villagers for having no male heirs.

"Getting her into college was hard enough, but she hadn't even worked in the city for half a year before she came back!" Tatiana fumed.

"Women just aren't cut out for city life," one of the old ladies agreed. "Why not marry her off as soon as possible?"

If Lucy got married, Tatiana wouldn't allow their homestead to be passed down to her grandson-in-law. She'd rather give it to her grandsons.

"Once Lucy comes back, I'll tell her to go on a blind date," she said.

"Women of her age in the village are already having kids. You'd better hurry and find someone for your granddaughter."

In fact, Lucy didn't want to come back because the other villagers were prone to gossip. Yet, her parents gave her the greatest sense of support.

Though people in the village often mocked them, Gordon and Sharon had always defended their daughter.

…

It took Lucy nearly 40 minutes to ride her bike to town. She headed straight to the gold shop and sold the entire box of gold jewelry.

"The price will be a bit lower here if you're selling second-hand gold jewelry," the saleswoman at the counter explained. "But this design is quite unique. Why are you selling it?"

This design was from another dimension, so it was rare here. It suddenly dawned on Lucy that it might fetch a higher price if she sold it online.

But right now, she was short on cash and desperately needed some money to refurbish her place. She had to at least buy a new phone and a computer.

"I'm a bit tight on cash right now," Lucy replied smoothly. "I bought this at a high price in the city."

The saleswoman smiled and began calculating on her calculator. "The current gold price is 15,600 dollars per troy ounce. The buyback price is 15,500 dollars, but since this design looks great, I'll offer you 15,550 dollars per troy ounce."

Lucy was already aware that the buyback price would be lower.

"Sure." She nodded, planning to buy more food in exchange for more gold from Hans.

The saleswoman showed her the calculator and said, "You have 1.94 ounces here. With 15,550 dollars per troy ounce, the total will be 30,070 dollars. Would you like to receive the payment via bank transfer or Venmo?"

"The bank, please," Lucy replied. Saving her money in the bank would at least earn her some interest.

Seeing the notification of 30,070 dollars being credited to her bank account, Lucy felt her heart race. Her balance had jumped from just a few hundred dollars to over a few thousand.

She was thrilled, to say the least.

But Lucy didn't forget her priority—stashing up supplies for Hans, who was from another dimension. She bought some instant noodles, self-heating meals, compressed biscuits, mineral water from the supermarket, and also some medicine from the pharmacy.

Once done, she scurried to an isolated area and stored everything she'd just bought into the pocket space.

Having already spent a third of her earnings, she dashed to the local mall and bought three smartphones—one for herself and one each for her parents. Her parents had been using old phones with poor signal, so she'd decided to upgrade them to new smartphones.

She also bought clothes and shoes for her parents and grandparents, and got a computer for work and to do some drawing.

The computer was going to be delivered to her house. After all, she wouldn't have been able to carry so much stuff on her bike.

It was past 1:00 pm when she finally finished shopping. After finishing her pasta and fried chicken, her phone rang.

She glanced at the screen, realizing it was her mother calling.

"Lucy, where are you? Why haven't you come back for lunch? I've made some roasted beef for you," Sharon Yates said.

"I'm in town. I'll be back soon!"

With that, Lucy hung up. Glancing at her purchase that day, she was overjoyed. Having money to spend felt so good.

By the time she returned home, it was nearly 4:00 pm. The old ladies in the village loved gathering in groups, gossiping about everyone else's lives.

"Isn't that Gordon's daughter? Why did she buy so many things?" one of them said.

"She's wasting so much money! No one can afford to marry her," another chimed in.

"She used to live in the city, after all. She's different."

The old ladies chattered away. Before long, they saw the daughter of the Sandywells' neighbor returning in a small car. They began gossiping again.

"Isn't that Jonathan's daughter? She actually owns a car now!"

"She married a man in the city and even opened a small restaurant. She's making good money!"

The battery of Lucy's electric bike was almost drained after the trip, even though she had charged it once earlier in town.

She would also buy a car when she had enough money. But first, she needed to get a driver's license. She would get her parents to take the test too.

When she entered the yard with her shopping bags, her mother was feeding the chickens, and her father was sawing wood.

"Lucy, why are you so late? We've saved lunch for you!" Sharon said enthusiastically.

Noticing all the bags Lucy had in her hands, she hurried over to help her and asked, "Where did you buy all these things?"

Chapter 5

"Mom, I bought this smartphone for you in town," Lucy said. "There's also one for Dad. You guys don't have to use your old phones anymore."

"And here are some clothes and shoes for you two," she added and urged them. "Try them on!"

"A smartphone? Aren't they expensive?" Gordon asked, quickly setting aside his tools and wiping his hands.

Very few people had smartphones in the village. They would watch short videos on their phones, and sometimes he would sneak a look. He'd heard that someone's son bought them for them as a Christmas present.

Now, Gordon also had one himself. Thrilled, he took the packaging and unwrapped it.

"How do I use this?" he asked, clearly at a loss. "Wait, I'll go ask Jonathan! He knows how to use it!"

With that, he immediately dashed out with his new phone.

"I'm right here! Why don't you let me teach you?" Lucy called out to her father, though he had already run off with a wide grin.

"Your dad is going to show off to Jonathan."

Their neighbor, Jonathan Shaw, had gotten a smartphone during Christmas and had been showing it off ever since. Many old folks in the village envied him.

Lucy sighed, glancing at the new clothes and shoes she had bought for her father. "But he still hasn't tried on the clothes and shoes!"

"He'll try them on when he gets back," Sharon said. "Lucy, feed the chickens while I go try these on!"

Touching the clothes, she exclaimed, "This fabric feels so comfortable!"

While Sharon went inside to try on her clothes and shoes, Gordon had gone off to show off his new smartphone.

Lucy had no choice but to feed the chicks.

"Grow up quickly so we can roast you and trade you for gold!" She snickered, staring at the fluffy little chicks as if they were gold.

Buying so many things for her parents had caused quite a stir in the village, and Tatiana was no exception. She had just returned from her eldest son's place when she heard from the other villagers that her granddaughter had splurged on a lot of things.

She hurried home and ran into Sharon, who was dressed in new clothes and shoes.

"Lucy, these clothes are really nice. These shoes are amazing too!" Sharon exclaimed. "I've never worn shoes this comfortable!"

She always wore cheap canvas shoes she bought from the marketplace.

Seeing how delighted her mother was, Lucy felt satisfied. She would make more money in the future and make sure her parents live a comfortable life.

Tatiana scoffed loudly, trying to draw their attention. "How can you work wearing this?"

"I bought these for my mom. She can wear whatever she likes!" Lucy fired back, clearly displeased.

Since she was young, her grandmother never liked her mother and often insulted her.

A pang of jealousy shot through Tatiana. She could tell that Sharon's clothes weren't cheap, yet Lucy had bought an entire set for her. The worst part was that Lucy hadn't bought anything for her!

"I heard you bought your mom a smartphone," Tatiana began. "But she never went to school and barely knows how to read. Why don't you give it to your cousin, who's in high school this year?"

"What does that have to do with my mom? If he wants one, get Uncle Oscar to buy one for him! No one else is allowed to take what I bought for my mom," Lucy retorted with a sneer.

She used to not have the confidence to go against her grandmother. But not anymore.

"I'm doing this for your good!" Tatiana hollered. "You'll get married in a few years, and there will be no one left to manage this household!"

"In a few years?" Lucy shot back. "Does my opinion not matter at all?"

"He's your cousin! What's wrong with buying him something?"

Seeing that Lucy was about to get into a heated argument with Tatiana, Sharon quickly intervened. She didn't want Tatiana to run her mouth and ruin Lucy's reputation.

"I bought it anyway, so I have the right to decide who I want to give it to!" Lucy said firmly, ending the conversation.

Just then, her phone rang. It was the delivery.

She hurried to the door to grab the large package.

"Look at you, wasting more money again! You've just come back, yet you've already splurged so much!" Tatiana shrieked.

She was annoyed at the fact that Lucy bought things for everyone in the family except for her. She was still wearing patched clothes and worn-out shoes.

"Mom, those clothes are for Gran and Grandad," Lucy said as she carried the computer upstairs to her room.

"Oh, alright! I'll take them to your grandparents right now. They'll be over the moon!"

Sharon's parents lived in the neighboring village, just a ten-minute bike ride away.

Tatiana stood frozen in the empty yard, finally realizing that everyone had gifts but not her.

"Grandma, I was worried that you'd scold me for wasting money, so I didn't buy anything for you," Lucy explained. "You're so frugal, after all."

Tatiana's face turned red with anger. She wasn't worried about wasting money—she just didn't want to use her own.

Lucy was just using this as an excuse. How could she claim to be worried about wasting money when she'd already bought so many things for her maternal grandparents?

Knowing that her granddaughter had deliberately not bought her anything, Tatiana became angrier.

…

"Jonathan, can you help me turn on this new smartphone?" Gordon had gone to his neighbor with his new phone.

"Wow, you got a new phone," Jonathan exclaimed, noticing the luxurious iPhone in Gordon's hands. It had to cost at least 2,000 dollars.

Jonathan's son had only bought him a 1,000-dollar off-brand smartphone on Christmas.

"Well, my daughter bought it for me. I didn't want it, but she insisted. She even cried when I refused to accept it! So, I had no choice but to take it. That girl just doesn't listen—she always splurges!" Gordon said, his wide grin belying his reprimand.

Jonathan's expression darkened. Seeing how smug Gordon was, he grew irritated and forced a smile. "I don't know how to use this new model either. You should find someone else to teach you."

He didn't believe that Lucy, who had just graduated, could earn that much money. Maybe she bought it on a loan.

"Really? Then I'll just ask my daughter to teach me!" Gordon beamed.

Infuriated, Jonathan stormed back home. He had been thrilled when his son bought him a new phone and had shown it off around the village. But before long, Gordon's daughter had bought him an even better one.

He was seething with anger.

While Gordon continued showing off his new phone, Sharon grabbed the things Lucy bought for her parents and zoomed on her bike to their place.

The moment she arrived, she beamed and said, "Mom, Lucy bought you these clothes from town! Try them on and see if they fit!"