chapter 2 Truth Settling In

Li Wei lay quietly on the hospital bed.

The ceiling above her was unfamiliar—white, clean, too bright. The faint smell of disinfectant lingered in the air, mixing with the soft beeping of medical equipment beside her.

She didn’t move.

She didn’t dare to.

Because the memories inside her head were not fading.

They were still there—clear, heavy, real.

The white space.

The girl with pink eyes.

The words “You are the one who will live for me.”

Li Wei slowly closed her eyes.

That wasn’t a dream.

If it were a dream, she wouldn’t remember it so clearly. If it were a dream, her heart wouldn’t feel this tight, as if something precious had been placed into her hands without warning.

She was not the original Li Wei.

That fact settled heavily in her chest.

She was someone who had died at twenty-three, reborn into the body of a nine-year-old girl—into the life of another Li Wei.

And she knew everything now.

The original Li Wei’s past.

Her birth.

Her kidnapping.

Her family.

Her place.

A soft rustling sound came from beside the bed.

Li Wei opened her eyes slightly and saw a familiar figure sitting near her.

Li Chenyan.

He looked much younger than the man she remembered from the memories—still a boy, but already tall for his age. His face was calm, but his eyes were fixed on her, sharp and unblinking.

“You’re awake,” he said quietly.

Li Wei’s fingers tightened under the blanket.

She looked at him.

The brother who had never stopped searching.

The brother who had never accepted a replacement.

The brother who loved the original Li Wei more than anyone else.

Her heart trembled.

“Yes…” she replied softly.

Her voice was weak, hoarse from crying—or from screaming in the past she could no longer tell apart.

Li Chenyan stood up immediately and pressed the call button.

“I’ll get the doctor.”

He didn’t ask unnecessary questions.

He didn’t leave her side for long.

That alone made Li Wei’s chest ache.

This love… was never meant for me.

After the doctor left and the room quieted again, Li Wei stared at her small hands.

Nine years old.

The memories showed her clearly—how the original Li Wei had grown up kind, gentle, always smiling. How she had never complained even when bullied. How she had loved Xu Yuran sincerely, calling her “sister” without hesitation.

And how that kindness had been repaid.

Li Wei swallowed.

She finally understood something important.

The original Li Wei didn’t disappear by accident.

Her death—her fall into the lake—had been the breaking point.

That was why she had appeared in the white space.

That was why she had met her.

Li Wei closed her eyes again.

In the darkness, she could still see the girl with pink eyes smiling at her.

“Are you angry?” Li Wei whispered in her heart.

No answer came.

But somehow, she felt a calm warmth spread through her chest.

I’ll live well, Li Wei promised silently.

I won’t let your life be wasted.

Fragments Returning

The next few days passed in a blur.

Doctors said she had inhaled water and fainted from shock. They called it an accident.

No one suspected anything else.

Xu Yuran cried by the bedside, holding Li Wei’s hand tightly.

“I was so scared,” she sobbed. “I thought you wouldn’t wake up…”

Li Wei looked at her quietly.

Her crying was real.

But Li Wei now knows better.

In the memories, she had seen everything.

The push.

The hesitation.

The moment Xu Yuran turned away.

Li Wei didn’t pull her hand back.

She simply smiled faintly.

“It’s okay,” she said softly.

Those words made Xu Yuran relax—but also confused her.

Because Li Wei’s eyes were different now.

They were calmer.

Clearer.

As if she had suddenly grown up overnight.

That night, after everyone had left, Li Wei lay awake alone.

She replayed the memories again and again.

The Li family’s joy when they find their daughter.

The way Shen Meilin cried while holding her.

Li Junhao’s shaking hands.

Li Chenyan’s silent promise.

All of it belonged to the original Li Wei.

And now—it belonged to her too.

That thought scared her.

She wasn’t afraid of living as Li Wei.

She was afraid of betraying her.

“I won’t tell,” Li Wei whispered to the empty room.

“I won’t tell anyone that I’m not you.”

She knew what would happen if she did.

This family had already lost their daughter once.

She wouldn’t destroy them again

A few days later, Li Wei was discharged.

As the car drove through the gates of the Li mansion, she felt her chest tighten.

This place felt familiar.

Too familiar.

She stepped inside and saw the same staircase, the same living room, the same warmth.

Shen Meilin hugged her tightly.

“Don’t scare Mama like that again,” she said softly.

Li Wei froze for half a second.

Then she hugged her back.

“…I won’t.”

Those words weren’t just reassurance.

They were a vow.

A Quiet Resolve

That night, lying in her childhood bed, Li Wei stared at the ceiling.

She finally understood her role.

She wasn’t here to replace the original Li Wei.

She was here to continue her life.

To protect herself.

To protect this family.

And to never let the past repeat itself.

Outside the room, faint laughter echoed—Xu Yuran talked sweetly to Shen Meilin.

Li Wei closed her eyes slowly.

Her lips curved into a calm, unreadable smile.

From now on, she thought,

this life will be different.

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