Chapter 1 — Rebirth
Anger. Reluctance. Regret.
A distant voice, gradually fading away.
The moment of death!
Darkness. Struggle. Consciousness.
A pair of eyes, suddenly flying open.
The moment of rebirth!
…..
It was a cold pair of eyes, touched by murderous intent. A trace of doubt flickered across those lustrous orbs—remarkably fierce, dark, detached, and incomparably profound.
"I didn't die?" The woman's aloof voice was tinged with obvious disbelief, but the emotion that showed, for the most part, was unrepressed surprise. Unrepressed, pleasant surprise.
This was especially so when she discovered that she was actually able to move her body, which made the look of pleasant surprise blossomed further.
What was going on? Didn't she die? Killed by that woman, whose face had been hideously contorted by jealousy? The expression that had been on that woman's face was still fresh in her mind, and it elicited sympathy from her.
Sympathy for that woman, who'd poured in her heart and soul in a vain attempt to attain her desires. Why? Because the man that woman loved had only ever wanted one woman, and the woman he wanted was her—Su Yanyi!
The thought of that man caused a drastic change to come over Su Yanyi; her icy-cold and indifferent expression warmed and softened by a visible degree.
However, there was no time to consider those things now. She'd noticed something strange about her situation. When she slowly moved her four limbs, she realized that they were no longer stiff and uncontrollable.
Due to a car accident, Su Yanyi had been confined to bed for two whole years. Her current new discovery left her delighted, and the delight didn't just end there. When she planted her feet on the floor and stood up, steady and firm, she almost felt like crying.
Cold, arrogant, strong, and merciless—Su Yanyi was often described as that type of woman. She stood at the pinnacle of the entertainment world as its queen, and if anyone were to claim that Su Yanyi was capable of crying, no one would believe it.
Unfortunately, the car accident had reduced her to a vegetative state. Apart from her family, friends, and that man, everyone else had mocked her and treated her as though she were unconscious, or that she would never even wake up again.
At the foot of her hospital bed, she'd witnessed the reveal of countless ugly expressions, and she'd been subjected to all kinds of vicious insults.
It had been as if the entire world hated her; whether it was something she'd done or something that had nothing to do with her, she was blamed for it.
Everyone's discontent was due to her mistakes, and everyone's grudges were hers to pay. It was utterly loathsome and at the same time laughable!
At the time, she'd swore that if she were to one day wake up, she would let all of them pay the consequences—especially those who'd colluded together to harm her. She would not let any of them go!
Since she was awake now, did that mean she had regained her consciousness? In the last moment, had that woman decided not to kill her? Su Yanyi was confused and uncertain, but then she immediately started to notice several strange inconsistencies.
Her surroundings were extremely familiar to her. She was in her house and bedroom—or rather, her former house and bedroom. Before she divorced that man, this was the place she'd lived in for three years. Afterward, she'd never returned again.
Qin Jiran. In name, he was her ex-husband, but their marriage had been nothing more than a business transaction. Or at least, she'd assumed it was nothing more than a business transaction. It wasn't until she fell into a vegetative state that she realized just how much the man had loved her.
During those two years as a human vegetable, aside from her family and servants, the only person who'd stayed by her side and tirelessly took care of her was that man.
He'd persisted, regardless of their divorced status and the muddled state of her consciousness. His figure was now embedded deeply in her heart.
At the time, she'd made another vow. She'd vowed that, if possible, she would repay the man's affections. If she couldn't love him back, then she would still do her best to make him happy and grant him a good life.
Now then. Since she was here, what about that man? How did she return to this place? Su Yanyi carried her doubts with her as she cautiously walked around the room. Her keen eyes surveyed her surroundings until suddenly, she froze.
An all-too-familiar figure was reflected in the clear surface of a nearby mirror. It was herself, but at the same time, there was something indescribably odd about her reflection.
Twenty-three was her age when she secretly married Qin Jiran. Twenty-six was when they secretly divorced, and a short year later, the car accident happened. Afterward, for two years, she was a human vegetable.
In the year of her divorce, her image had undergone a drastic change. She'd even chopped off her waist-length hair. Whether it was the style of her pajamas or the length of her glossy black hair, she felt that the current her looked… off.
As if she had gone back in time.
With some uncertainty, she looked around and found her phone in a very familiar spot. Her phone was on, and after using it to check the date, Su Yanyi's entire person faltered.
"Is someone playing a joke on me? Or…" She paused briefly, and then in a trembling yet pleasantly surprised voice, "I went back to three years ago?"
Su Yanyi had always been an expressionless person. Anger and happiness never showed on her face, but this time, her face was brimming with jubilation. It didn't matter if it was her consciousness that had been regained or a rebirth that had occurred.
To her, both were great news!
She quickly steadied her slightly erratic breathing and tapped on her phone screen, dialing a number she'd memorized a long time ago. The call was answered almost immediately, and Su Yanyi's sharp ears also happened to pick up the familiar ringtone coming from another part of the house.
Qin Jiran's ringtone.
She opened the door. With some haste, she walked out, and then she heard the man's familiar voice through both her phone and reality, at the same time.
"Yanyi?" There was a touch of bitterness in Qin Jiran's voice, as though he was trying his best to sound more gentle, but it sounded dry and unwelcoming nonetheless.
Su Yanyi stared at the man in front of her. Countless memories played in her mind, and every one of them lined up perfectly with the present. Back then, she'd also walked out of her bedroom to see Qin Jiran sitting there.
Detached, expressionless, and indifferent.
This was one of the reasons why the previous Su Yanyi never realized how the man felt about her. He always had a cold and alienating aura about him, so how could she possibly have sensed any tenderness from him at all?
And yet, perhaps it was because this time she knew about his feelings for her, his expression now gave off a different impression. The warmth and nervousness that were hidden behind his chilly facade suddenly made her think: Cute.
After she finished organizing all of her thoughts together, she finally opened her mouth and said the same words she did in her past life.
"Why are you here?"
Qin Jiran felt a bit awkward, but he hid it very well and asked as casually as possible, "Are you hungry? I'll go make breakfast, let's eat together."
There was a time when Su Yanyi was ignorant of the changes in this man's expression. She'd always assumed that their relationship was built on business and mutual cooperation, so she'd never cared to figure out what the man was really thinking.
They'd interacted with such indifference that there had been absolutely no need for her to consider his mood.
However, she was surprised to discover that she could no longer ignore the changes in his expressions. It was suddenly very easy to notice the loss and exhaustion on his face. Again, maybe it was because she knew of his feelings now.
Su Yanyi opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, she remained silent.
When her lack of expression and silence fell into Qin Jiran's eyes, he misunderstood and took it for silent refusal. It seemed that she didn't even want to eat breakfast with him anymore.
He contemplated for a moment, and then with some difficulty, he forced down his sad mood. He used an extremely complicated tone of voice to say, "Yanyi, do we have to divorce?"
His words made the look in Su Yanyi's eyes become similarly complicated. So, she really had traveled back to three years ago. Not only that but to a very special day too. It was the day the previous her decided to go through the divorce procedures with Qin Jiran.
When she was in a vegetative state, she'd once considered something: If she could go back in time, would she still be able to divorce Qin Jiran so heartlessly? Treat him so coldly?
Her attitude toward him had never been good. When they first met, she was the president of her own entertainment company, and he was just a newcomer.
If it weren't for the sake of satisfying her family's requirements, she wouldn't have married, and she never would've gotten together with Qin Jiran. The marriage contract had been her own idea. Using a business-like transaction method, she'd married him not for love, but for the sake of accomplishing the mission her family had set for her. In return, she was his great support pillar and aided in making his road to stardom a smooth one.
Thus, the relationship between Su Yanyi and Qin Jiran was like one between a superior and her subordinate. Even though they lived in the same house, they would often not see each other for months at a time, and when they did, they would only exchange a few meaningless words, at most.
Su Yanyi had believed that Qin Jiran agreed to the contract because he wanted fame and success. Therefore, when she chose to get a divorce, she hadn't felt any remorse or guilt. It had never occurred to her that the reason he entered the entertainment circle and agreed to marry her was all because he liked her.
Only when she was lying in a vegetative state did she realize that. The innumerable nights he'd spent by her bedside, using an emotional voice to talk to her, his feelings so heavy that even she had felt depressed for him.
On many occasions, she had thought that if given the chance, she would treat this man better, as to not squander his deep love for her.
And now, she was reborn and sent back to three years ago. There was no way for her to not look at him with a complicated gaze. He fully occupied her mind.
The way he looked when he was attentively taking care of her.
The way he looked on those countless late nights when his eyes brimmed with tears, and he whispered that he loved her.
The way he looked when he spoke his oath-like hopes, word by word, to her.
…..
"Yanyi, you'll definitely get better. When you do, you'll be able to go wherever you want to go. You'll be able to see the sun rise and fall. You'll be able to do whatever you want to do."
"Yanyi, please. I'm begging you, please. Get better soon. Even though you'll leave my side after you get better, you have to get better…"
"Yanyi, is it because I'm not good enough? Is it because you hate me too much, is that why you refuse to wake up?"
"Yanyi, I don't want anything else. I just want you to wake up…"
"Yanyi, wake up. Wake up…"
Sometimes gentle and tender; sometimes weak and low; sometimes sad and mournful. Those emotions of his were all kept deep in her heart.
Hearing the man say the exact same words he had spoken in her past life, Su Yanyi instantly felt her eyes redden.
Divorce? Whoever dared to say that word in front of her again, she would let them have a taste of what being a human vegetable was like!
VIN: Welcome aboard~
RELEASE SCHEDULE: 5x a week. Why? Because chapter 65 begins the 8k (in raws) chapters, so I'll need time to stockpile those.