◎The Day of Rebirth.◎
if arc
001
-The Day of Rebirth-
Chen Yi never expected something like this to happen.
She looked down at her shrunken little paws, then at her surroundings. After processing for three seconds, the first thing Chen Yi did was lift her hand and pinch her thigh hard—putting all her strength into it, without a shred of mercy.
The pain hit instantly, enveloping her entire body in moments.
This electric-like sensation, traveling from under her skin to her brain nerves, made Chen Yi face the harsh truth: this wasn’t a dream.
She had really gone back to her childhood.
But why had this happened?
She had clearly been on a plane to the United States.
She and Xu Yan had been dating for two years. A lot had happened in those two years.
Xu Yan’s MBA application had been fully approved, and she had begun her master’s program. To handle enrollment matters, Xu Yan had gone to America first.
After finishing up a pile of esports club business in China, Chen Yi had been preparing to depart.
When they’d planned for Chen Yi to accompany her studies, Xu Yan’s last-minute idea of using their cohabitation proof to apply for a spouse visa had actually worked.
Today, Chen Yi had passed through customs with that visa and boarded the plane.
Su Dai had originally said she’d come to see her off, but not long before, she’d had another fight with Zhouyu.
The two of them had been dragging things out for two years without any resolution. Su Dai had said she was tired, grabbed her bag, and gone abroad to clear her head. Soon after, Zhouyu had shown up asking if Chen Yi knew where she’d gone.
Chen Yi had promised Su Dai she wouldn’t breathe a word, so she’d told Zhouyu she had no idea.
Zhouyu had refused to leave.
It had taken Xu Yan coming home from work to finally shoo her away.
“If you want to chase your wife, go find her yourself,” Xu Yan had said without a hint of politeness, her face cold as she told Zhouyu, “What are you doing hanging around my house, bothering my wife?”
It was the first time Chen Yi had seen Xu Yan like this in their daily life.
Ever since quitting her job, Chen Yi had rarely seen this side of Xu Yan. Sure, Yu You’an—her top intel source at the company—had become a full editor and would occasionally message her with updates on Xu Yan’s work life, but that was all secondhand info.
Seeing Xu Yan angry out of the blue gave Chen Yi a strange sense of déjà vu from another lifetime.
Once Zhouyu was gone, Xu Yan noticed Chen Yi’s dazed expression. Her eyes, which had been stormy just moments ago, instantly melted into pools of spring water.
“Scared?” she asked.
Chen Yi shook her head.
Xu Yan explained, “Their issue is entirely their own mess. Zhouyu keeps hounding you for answers—that’s no way to handle it. Better to send her packing early so she can sort herself out.”
“Hug—” Xu Yan reached out to her, murmuring, “I’m so tired today.”
Chen Yi nestled into her arms. Even though she was a bit taller than Xu Yan, she still felt like a kid. She adjusted her position, resting her jaw on Xu Yan’s shoulder.
“Sister…” she called softly all of a sudden.
“Hm?”
“Sister, sister, sister—”
Xu Yan sensed something off in her clinginess. Her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly as she pulled back a little, lifting Chen Yi’s chin with her fingertip so she could look at her face.
Chen Yi’s cheeks were a little flushed.
Xu Yan’s fingertip brushed over the nape of her neck.
“What’s up?” She already had half a guess.
Sure enough, after she asked, Chen Yi’s face turned even redder.
“What’re you thinking about?” Xu Yan coaxed. “Tell your sister?”
Chen Yi squirmed for a moment before whispering in the tiniest voice imaginable, “I want… that—”
She pecked Xu Yan’s lips. “Wearing this outfit… okay?”
Xu Yan’s brows arched.
“Little troublemaker.” She pinched Chen Yi’s chin, pressing her thumb just a bit harder. “You want to do naughty things.”
Of course Chen Yi wanted to do naughty things.
It was all because Xu Yan’s tone with Zhouyu earlier had reminded her of when they first met.
Memories of the office suddenly flooded back, and then she remembered something crucial: she and Xu Yan had actually done it in the office once!
It must have been her own moral standards holding her back.
Chen Yi would never admit she was just too shy.
They couldn’t fool around in the office anymore, but they could still get creative at home.
Chen Yi’s hand slid onto Xu Yan’s pencil skirt.
There was a small slit at the hem—perfect tempting access for her to slip right in.
After that, Zhouyu and Su Dai were completely forgotten.
All Chen Yi’s heart had room for was Xu Yan.
Some time later, she heard from Su Dai that Zhouyu had tracked her down. But their relationship still showed no real progress. They were like two people trapped in a muddy whirlpool, unable to break free.
Chen Yi sometimes felt anxious for them; other times, she thought maybe this was just Su Dai and Zhouyu’s fate.
Her own feelings about fate came and went—sometimes she believed in it, sometimes she didn’t care.
But Chen Yi never imagined fate would play such a massive joke on her one day.
She stared at the thick, cake-like princess dress on her body and the pretty custom crystal shoes on her feet. Holding back the urge to complain, Chen Yi walked to the mirror. The spotlessly clean surface reflected her image.
She looked like a little pudding—only three or four years old, soft and squishy, easy to pinch, a total dumpling. At this age, Chen Yi was still under her mom’s control, dressed up like a doll for Chen Nanyun to play fashion show with.
……
Chen Yi was speechless inside, lost in a daze, when the door opened. Chen Nanyun walked in holding a little princess hat she’d made herself.
“Baby, come put this on.”
Chen Yi’s face was full of resistance.
She darted away from Chen Nanyun, skirt hiked up as she dodged around the room, her mind racing. Her first thought: Where’s Xu Yan right now? Did she get reborn too?
If not, what would happen to Xu Yan?
Why had she been reborn? Did the plane crash? If so, Xu Yan… She’d probably be waiting in the arrivals hall. If Chen Yi never landed, never showed up—Xu Yan would worry, panic.
[What are you thinking?] A voice suddenly popped into Chen Yi’s head. [Forgot the wish you made before?]
Chen Yi, mid-cat-and-mouse chase with her mom, froze in her tracks.
[Ah?]
Wait—
[Who are you?]
[Sometimes I really can’t stand you mortals. You cry out to Bodhisattva to save you when you’re begging and praying, but now that your wish comes true, you ask who I am?] The perky female voice huffed, clearly annoyed. [That day at Snow Mountain Old Temple, in front of the Buddha statue—did you forget what you said?]
Chen Yi recalled it instantly.
[Sorry.] She said honestly. [I wished for too many things at once back then, Bodhisattva. Which one specifically—]
[Something to do with Xu Yan.]
Chen Yi remembered.
She’d wished for Xu Yan to be happy.
[And?]
[And—?]
Chen Yi racked her brain.
[You said that even if you weren’t around, you hoped she could still be happy.] The voice added helplessly. [I checked, and in this world line, there’s no sign of you two ever meeting. So, to fulfill your wish, I moved your soul here. Think of it like copy-paste. No need to worry about the other world—everything’s running normally there.]
[Or you could see it as: you’re still you in this world, just with the memories of your adult self from another world.]
[That’s all from me. What happens next is up to you.]
The eerie voice vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Chen Yi stood there stunned, replaying the conversation over and over in her mind.
Meanwhile, in the midst of their cat-and-mouse game, Chen Nanyun emerged victorious. She pinned Chen Yi down and smugly placed the little hat on her head.
“Our Yi Yi is so cute,” Chen Nanyun cooed, hugging her and planting a barrage of kisses.
Chen Yi didn’t react.
She’d finally pieced together her current situation when she turned her head and stared at the calendar on the wall—her thoughts grinding to a halt once more.
Why was the year this?
By all logic, she hadn’t even been born yet.
Was this timeline discrepancy the reason she and this world’s Xu Yan had never crossed paths?
Seeing her fixated on the calendar, Chen Nanyun assumed she was hinting at something.
“Today’s Yi Yi’s birthday!” Chen Nanyun beamed at her, eyes full of love. “Does our Yi Yi want any special birthday gift?”
Chen Yi clutched the edge of her skirt tightly.
“Mom—” Chen Yi started, then switched to a childish tone. “Mama, I wanna go out and play.”
“Where to?”
Chen Nanyun was in high spirits. No matter how she looked at her daughter, she was just too adorable. Who was so talented at making babies? Producing such a perfect little angel. Oh, right—it was her.
“Where does Yi Yi want to go? The amusement park?”
“No!” Chen Yi shook her head vigorously. “Somewhere else! Yi Yi wants to go somewhere else!”
“Where then?”
“X City, Y County!”
Chen Nanyun froze.
She’d never even heard of that place.
She frowned and turned to ask her husband if it existed. He stepped into the study, fired up the colorful desktop iMac, searched online, and confirmed it did.
Chen Nanyun was shocked. “Yi Yi, how do you know about that place?”
Chen Yi casually spun a tale, claiming that one of the kids in her kindergarten class was from around here and that their teacher had mentioned this place was the hometown of some great figure.
Thank goodness Chen Yi had been a prodigy since childhood, blessed with language skills far beyond the average child. Otherwise, with the childish way she was talking today, she surely would have given herself away in front of Chen Nanyun.
Chen Nanyun reluctantly bought her daughter’s excuse, though hesitation lingered in her expression.
Chen Yi had pulled out her ultimate move back then: planting her little bottom firmly on the ground so that the skirt of her princess dress fanned out around her, blooming like a flower across the floor.
“Waa! I wanna go! I wanna gooo!”
“It’s Yi Yi’s birthday! Yi Yi’s the boss!”
A twenty-year-old adult suddenly regressing into full-blown toddler tantrum mode… Chen Yi had to admit, the sensation was profoundly strange.
But it didn’t matter.
If bawling her eyes out and throwing every ounce of shamelessness into the act could convince Chen Nanyun to let her go there, then Chen Yi would count it as a win.
She knew exactly what her top priority was right now.
She was going to find Xu Yan.
