She had been saved after all.
When she woke, the sharp scent of disinfectant filled her nostrils—the unmistakable smell of a hospital. She wasn’t sure whether to feel joy or sorrow.
“You’ve got some nerve! Daring to attempt suicide?” A sharp voice rang out once more.
Liang Sheng turned her head away, inwardly wishing she had cut deeper. That way, she wouldn’t have to endure this grating sound anymore.
Suddenly, Zhao Xin burst into tears and began slapping her own face. “How did I end up with a daughter like you, always causing me so much worry…”
Liang Sheng felt a pang of discomfort too. After all, this was the woman who had given birth to her and raised her. Watching her mother beat herself like this was naturally upsetting.
“Promise me, won’t you? No more of this nonsense, okay? Just follow the path I’ve laid out for you—go to school safely, get married, and you’ll be happy. I’ll be happy too.” For the first time, Zhao Xin softened her tone. She grasped Liang Sheng’s hand, sobbing.
Liang Sheng felt utterly exhausted. She had no idea what meaning there was in all the things she’d done from childhood onward. Everything felt so strange: striving to please others, saying whatever people wanted to hear, keeping her distance from men because of her father—which led her to prefer women; her mother’s unpredictable moods that left her in constant anxiety; even walking down the street, she was always terrified of being suddenly murdered or dying in some freak accident.
It was all so bizarre, yet it had all happened to her. She wanted to escape this ridiculous, tragic fate, but she was trapped in her dysfunctional family.
If her actions only brought pain to everyone around her, then she simply wouldn’t do it anymore. After all, wasn’t she living for others?
So, let this memory be sealed away.
I am a normal person. I will obey the arrangements—go to university, get a job, get married, have children.
Liang Sheng jolted awake. She had returned to her dorm room. Several girls sat beside her bed, watching her with concern. The moment they saw her stir, Song An’an lost control of her tears again. She wailed as if the person on the bed had come back from the dead. Her crying made Liang Sheng’s head throb.
“You girls… can you let me rest for a bit?” Liang Sheng massaged her temples, fatigue weighing on her.
Song An’an opened her mouth as if to speak, but Gu Yuqi grabbed her by the hat and dragged her toward the door. “Let Liang Sheng rest properly. Don’t disturb her.”
Gu Yuqi cast a worried glance at the girl on the bed before leaving as well.
Liang Sheng collapsed onto the mattress. She had finally managed to forget that most humiliating memory, and now it had resurfaced. Who would believe she no longer cared?
Well, she had transmigrated anyway. No one else knew except her. Pitiful her—barely into her twenties, in the prime of youth—and here she was, transmigrated into a book without achieving any great feats. Alas, alas!
“Were you… really transmigrated at twenty?” A voice sounded without warning.
The words sent goosebumps racing across Liang Sheng’s skin. She shook her head and scanned the room. It was empty.
No one. Had she imagined it?
“Or rather, did you really transmigrate after reading that weird novel and falling asleep?”
“Who’s there?” Liang Sheng fished a knife from under her pillow.
“Pfft. Have you forgotten? Or do you not want to remember?” The voice carried a hint of mockery.
“Who!” Liang Sheng’s head spun, her voice rising to a shrill pitch.
Suddenly, a chill breeze swept through. “Come on. Let me show you everything you’ve forgotten.”
The scene shifted. In an upscale restaurant, Liang Sheng saw herself dressed in mature attire, her makeup heavy and deliberately so.
Beside this mature version of herself sat Zhao Xin, who was lecturing her on something.
“You’re twenty-eight now. Mom’s doing this for your own good. That young man’s a corporate executive—rich, owns property, and handsome to boot.” Zhao Xin had aged, and with it, her nagging had intensified.
Twenty-eight? Why twenty-eight? Liang Sheng stared in shock. Hadn’t she transmigrated at twenty-three?
“See? I didn’t lie. You’ve just forgotten.” The voice returned, and Liang Sheng felt a weight settle on her shoulder, as if something had pressed down on it.
“Keep watching,” the voice commanded.
Liang Sheng hated being ordered around. She started to turn and retort, but an invisible force wrenched her head back, forcing her gaze toward her mature self.
A distinguished-looking man strode in through the restaurant door. He carried himself with elegant poise and had handsome features, but… his hair looked oily, gleaming unnaturally.
The sight made Liang Sheng’s eyes water. She rubbed them before peering closer.
The man sat across from mature Liang Sheng, crossing his hands as he introduced himself. “I’m Jin Fugui, thirty years old, a high-level executive at a major corporation.”
Fine, whatever. Besides the greasy hair, the name was pretty tacky too. How had Zhao Xin been willing to set her precious only daughter up with this guy?
“Order,” the man said with a eyebrow waggle at mature Liang Sheng as he waved for the menu.
This Liang Sheng nearly gagged at that eyebrow waggle. She was sure her mature self wanted to hurl right then.
The server approached and accidentally brushed against Jin Fugui’s hair. Both Liang Shengs watched in disbelief as the man’s hairpiece shifted—sliding entirely to one side!
Liang Sheng observed as the man across the table calmly adjusted his crooked wig with deliberate care. Mature Liang Sheng’s face froze in a standard professional smile, even as a herd of alpacas stampeded through her mind.
“Um… sir,” mature Liang Sheng began.
“Hm?” Jin Fugui flashed a smarmy grin. Goosebumps erupted across both Liang Shengs. Holy shit, so greasy!
“I—I’m going to the restroom.” Mature Liang Sheng rose with an awkward chuckle.
“Heh~” The man smirked crookedly, exuding the cheesy aura of an overbearing CEO with his “woman, you’ve caught my attention” vibe. “Go ahead, Miss Liang. You’re so cute!” Liang Sheng felt bile rise in her throat.
Mature Liang Sheng circled behind Jin Fugui, steeling herself. With determination, she “brushed past” the man’s hair. The wig toppled like a scammer playing dead, hitting the floor and staying down.
Mature Liang Sheng covered her mouth in feigned shock. She pointed at the fallen hairpiece, then at Jin Fugui’s gleaming bald pate.
Jin Fugui remained utterly unflustered. He calmly picked up the wig, repositioned it on his head, and turned back to flash mature Liang Sheng a grin that bared all eight of his teeth—a smile straight out of those blinding “super white toothpaste” commercials.
The spectating Liang Sheng couldn’t help but burst out laughing with a “pfft.” That flustered woman was her past self, but she still mocked her mercilessly.
“Remember now?” The voice returned, lighter this time, laced with pleasure—as if Liang Sheng’s laughter delighted it too.
Liang Sheng thought for a moment and shook her head. “No, I have zero recollection of this.”
“Sigh… Then let’s keep watching.”
