The True Daughter Got Rich with the System Before She Even Returned Home

Jiang Lai is a high school student whose life is upended on the final day of her freshman year. Her best friend Zhang Yue announces she is transferring to an expensive international division due to her family's sudden wealth from a demolition payout. Shortly after, Jiang Lai returns home to find her mother in tears; her father has abandoned them for a wealthy woman. A fortune teller had previously told Jiang Lai she was born with a destiny of great wealth, a claim that seems ironic given her family's ordinary status. That night, a System activates, revealing that Jiang Lai is not the biological daughter of her parents and granting her adult-level intelligence. The System enters a Compensation Mode, awarding her random sums of money whenever others mention or allude to her biological family or her difficult circumstances.

As news of her father's departure spreads, relatives and neighbors visit to offer condolences and criticize the absent father. Each sympathetic or critical remark triggers a financial reward from the System, rapidly accumulating tens of thousands of yuan in Jiang Lai's WeChat account. She calmly manages the household, changes her surname to her mother's to sever ties with her father, and opens a bank account. Realizing her financial situation has improved, she decides to transfer to Mingde High School, a prestigious institution where her friend Zhang Yue is now enrolled. To avoid suspicion from her mother regarding the source of funds, Jiang Lai hires an actress to pose as a school director and stage a fake home visit, claiming she received a substantial scholarship for her academic excellence.

Jiang Lai secures a spot in the regular division of Mingde High School and takes a part-time job at a local bookstore to create a plausible income source. She also begins writing articles for a magazine, using the manuscript fees as another channel to legitimize her System earnings. At school, she adapts quickly to the new environment, utilizing her enhanced intelligence to top her physics exam and gain recognition from teachers and peers. Her relationships with classmates, including a boy named Ye Chao who confesses his feelings, develop naturally. She maintains a close bond with Zhang Yue, and they enjoy a comfortable high school life together, with Jiang Lai living in a single dormitory room.

During the National Day holiday, Jiang Wei's parents arrive to demand the return of the marital home, claiming Jiang Shan has no right to stay. Jiang Lai negotiates firmly, securing forty thousand yuan in compensation for the couple to move out. She uses the money to rent a better apartment near her school, lying to her mother about the low rent to prevent worry. Back at school, Jiang Lai discovers that posting on the school's anonymous forum about her transfer and family situation triggers even larger rewards. She exploits this loophole, engaging in discussions to accumulate over two hundred thousand yuan. The System upgrades, increasing the reward limits and introducing the possibility of physical item prizes. With her financial security established, Jiang Lai begins hiring a swimming coach and continues to navigate her new life at Mingde, balancing her studies, friendships, and the secret source of her wealth.