Back Before My Parents Went Bankrupt [1990s]

Collecting favorites for my next novel, A Commoner, but the Most Popular Girl at the Noble Academy. Blurb at the very bottom.

Blurb:

"If only I could do it all over again..." As Zhang Jiayao was about to lose consciousness, countless regrets flashed through her mind.

Who could have guessed that when she opened her eyes again, she would see her parents looking so much younger than before?

Their family hadn't gone bankrupt and fallen into debt yet. Her parents hadn't ruined their health trying to pay it all back. And she hadn't become timid and insecure, with her grades plummeting after the upheaval in her family. She was just a newborn baby.

Stuck in an infant's body, Zhang Jiayao spent a year eating, drinking, and lying flat. Then, during an unexpected encounter, she was shocked to discover she could read other people's memories from their past lives.

See? If you're reborn, you've got to get some kind of golden finger!

With this ability, Zhang Jiayao uncovered the truth behind her family's bankruptcy and debt in her previous life. Now that she knew what was coming, how could she just sit by and do nothing?

She gave it everything she had. Without exposing how unusual she was, she sent the villains who had plotted to steal their money and take their lives to prison, and saved the uncle she had never met in her previous life. Little by little, she helped her softhearted father see his relatives for who they really were and stay away from those who leeched off the family. She guided her mother toward something she was good at, helping her build a career of her own. And she worked hard at school instead of running from reality and drifting through her school years like she had before.

Gradually, they had a car, a house, and a shop. Their wallets grew fuller, and she got into a university she had never dared dream of attending in her previous life. Their lives kept getting better, hardship fell away, and happiness was all that lay ahead!

So why did she have a little shadow following her around this time?

Reader Notes:

1. A slow-paced slice-of-life story set in a past era, with a gradual pace, everyday family matters, and an ensemble cast. Mainly, it's about a family working hard to build a better life.

2. There is a golden finger, but it appears only briefly.

3. The male lead is a scheming puppy, her childhood friend. Their romance mainly begins after they enter high school, with no angst.

4. Set in a fictional world.

Upcoming Novel:

Jiang Chutao became famous throughout Hongya Academy with one meal.

As the school's only student from a poor family, she was sallow-skinned and painfully thin, completely out of place in this world. Even the cheapest dishes in the cafeteria made her heart ache over the money.

So when someone deliberately knocked her lunch to the ground, Jiang Chutao could almost hear her money slipping away. She flew into a rage and beat them up.

Jiang Chutao: That feels better.

The next second, she turned around and saw the student council president standing behind her. Smiling, he said, "Fighting on school grounds means everyone involved has to write a three-thousand-word reflection and submit it to the Academic Affairs Office."

Jiang Chutao: "..."

Jiang Chutao's only goal at Hongya Academy was to graduate without a hitch and get into a decent university. She also hoped to earn a little money from the rich kids, by doing things like cleaning for them, signing them in, or picking up and buying things on their behalf. No matter how little she earned, it would help ease the burden on her family.

But ever since she taught those people a lesson in the cafeteria, her moneymaking business had taken a strange turn.

Among other things, she became a bodyguard for classmates who were being bullied, stopped a classmate's boyfriend from fighting someone, and stepped in to save the day at an important competition.

Yet whenever she flew into a rage, she would hear Li Shuyan's faint voice behind her: "Everyone, write a three-thousand-word reflection."

Jiang Chutao: "..."

She'd only gotten angry. She hadn't even hit anyone yet. Was he blind?

Jiang Chutao couldn't help feeling that this so-called saint, whom everyone praised as fair and impartial, was picking on her.

He was gentle and courteous with everyone else, but nitpicked everything she did and handed out three-thousand-word reflections at the drop of a hat.

Fortunately, the president had recently taken to behaving strangely. He invited her to meals every day and even wrote her reflections for her.

Watching Li Shuyan suffer the consequences of his own actions, Jiang Chutao felt wonderfully at ease.

As student council president at Hongya Academy, it was Li Shuyan's duty to maintain order. Everyone said he was gentle, courteous, fair, and impartial, but no one knew how much he hated the facade he wore.

He had hidden his true nature well. No one at school had ever seen through him, except... the new student from a poor family.

When he saw her being bullied, he remembered the principal's instructions and was just about to step in when the poor student suddenly slammed the bully's head onto a desk, utterly unafraid.

Interesting.

Li Shuyan hated anything or anyone that slipped out of his control. Yet, faced with Jiang Chutao, this rule-breaker, he found himself paying more and more attention to her.

He watched her stand firmly in front of her friends even when surrounded by a crowd. He watched her practice day and night to take first place. He watched her get worked up over the smallest things and chase people down for an apology. He watched her, despite valuing money so much, remain unmoved by temptation...

He had never met anyone so full of life. Everyone else quietly followed the unspoken rules of the so-called upper class. She treated them all like crap. An unfamiliar flutter seized his heart.

Before Li Shuyan could figure out what he was feeling, he noticed more and more people gathering around Jiang Chutao: students from every grade, boys and girls alike. Even the school's stray cat followed her around for food.

Li Shuyan: "...What?"

For some reason, it bothered him.

Whatever. He'd make the first move.

Theme: Work hard and change your fate.