Starting her career at 3

[THREE YEARS LATER]

Being reincarnated and starting life all over again as a different person was something Penny quickly came to terms with. But reliving her nightmare of a life? It took her quite some time to accept the phenomena that struck her. 

Chewing on her pacifier, the three-year-old Penny watched two of her auntie's children grab each other's hair. These twin little devils were only a few months older than her. It was why these two had always ganged up on her in her first life. Their bonding was to make Penny take the fall or blame her for everything to avoid their mother's wrath. 

She used to cry about it, feel bitter about it, and be deeply jealous of the love they received. But not in this lifetime. The good thing about this phenomenon was that Penny understood her place. She shouldn't feel bitter because, in the beginning, Penny was a kid her auntie didn't want to take care of. Her auntie simply had no choice since Penny's mother died during childbirth. 

In other words, not receiving any love from them should be no surprise. Not that she was craving for their love or affection or attention anymore. 

If anything…

The corner of the three-year-old child hooked up as her eyes landed on the snack on the table. 

"Yugi," she called, her voice adorable with a pacifier still stuck in between her teeth. 

Yugi, the three-year-old boy, looked at her after pushing his evil twin sister away. The latter started making noises as her eyes welled up. 

"What is this?" she raised her little finger. "The first to answer me will become stronger."

"One!" Yugi yelled eagerly. "That's one!" 

"How about this?" this time, Penny raised her five fingers and then another two on her left. 

Yugi's round face looked solemn as he stared at her fingers eagerly. 

"Seven!" this time, Yuri answered. "It's seven — one, two, three… seven!" 

"Wow!" Penny clapped in awe, watching Yugi glare daggers at his sister while Yuri meekly looked away from him. "Yugi, why are you glaring at Yuri like that? You got it right first, but she didn't look at you like that."

Yuri hiccuped and quickly ran behind Penny. "Penny, Yugi is very bad. He's a bully!"

"So what!?" Yugi jumped and stood up, hands on his little hips. "So what if I am bad? Yuri is too weak and is younger than me! I should be the first to answer in everything!"

Penny blinked innocently, folding her arms underneath her chest. "But I am younger too. Does that mean you should be my master?"

"What?"

"Yugi, it seems you already forgot your place." Penny frowned at the haughty look on Yugi's face faded. "Fine. I'll make you remember who the boss here is."

Penny pushed herself up, almost tumbling down at her weight. Unlike the two, Penny had gained a lot of weight, unlike her first life. Back then, she would barely eat anything — most of which were the family's leftovers. But now, Penny was no longer the whiny little kid who would depend on what her auntie gave her. 

"Yugi, here I —"

"I'm sorry!" Yugi suddenly collapsed on his knees, rubbing his hands together. "I was wrong! Yuri, I'm sorry too! I was wrong! Please don't beat me up!"

Penny's smile stretched even more as she nodded approvingly. She cast Yuri a haughty look while the latter offered a meek smile.

"Penny, do you want my snacks?" Yuri asked adorably. "I'll get it for you."

"No! I'll do it!" Yugi volunteered. "I'll get you snacks! Wait for me here!"

With that being said, Yugi ran as fast as he could to offer Penny something to eat. Penny was the scariest when she was hungry. Yuri, on the other hand, faced Penny with a grateful smile. 

"Penny… is the best!" Yuri blushed adorably. "I'll give you half of my snacks tomorrow forever. Just make sure Yugi doesn't hurt me."

Penny nodded at her reassuringly, patting her shoulders. "Don't worry, Yuri. As long as I am here, no one will bully the two of you again." Her reassuring smile stretched into a grin. "Now, get that for me while we're waiting for Yugi."

Yuri tilted her head to the side, following where Penny was pointing with her gaze. Her eyes then landed on the leftover snacks on the table.

"Oh… those are your favorites!" Yuri quickly went to get the food on the table, knowing this would make Penny happy.

This had been Penny's life for the past three years. Instead of wanting to be accepted or treated by her auntie, Penny had been training the twins to be her loyal servants. Her auntie might be heartless and unsympathetic towards her, but she genuinely cares about her children. 

That day, Penny ate to her heart's content, offered by her loyal servants as her protection fee. However, deep in her heart, she knew this wasn't enough to survive the first thirteen years of her life here. 

*

*

*

Weeks later…

"What the hell are you doing?!" 

Penny turned her head, only to see her auntie stormed to her. Like a doll, her auntie grabbed her arm and pulled her up from the table in the living room. 

Seeing that she was playing with some mahjong tiles, the woman's eyes blazed with anger. 

"I told you these aren't toys and you shouldn't touch them!" she yelled. "That's it! You're not having dinner tonight!"

"But Auntie, I'm just about to win!" 

"Huh!?" the woman scrunched up her nose in dismay. "You're playing alone! What do you mean —"

She halted when she heard the television. Looking at it, deep lines appeared between her brows because it was broadcasting a mahjong game.

"You are…" she trailed off as she gazed down at Penny, letting the kid go. She quickly sat down and checked Penny's tiles, darting her eyes to the television before her lips stretched from ear to ear. When she set her eyes on Penny, the initial anger she felt disappeared. "I knew you were a smartypants, but who would have thought you might become more useful than I thought?"

If this was a kid's movie, this moment would be scary or concerning, a turning point in the child's life. It was still a turning point for Penny, though. 

At three years old, Penny started her career as a mahjong analyst.

***

A/N: This is an entry for Webnovel's Cupid Quill. Support this novel by sending powerstones, leaving comments, and reviews. Thank you :)