Chapter 3 — The Morning That Should Not Exist

Shen Xie tried opening her eyes and all she could hear is the chirping of the morning birds , a ray of sunlight shone upon her delicate face.

For some reason, that was the first thing she noticed.

Birds.

Not hospital monitors.

Not nurses.

Not the light rain hitting against the glass.

But singing of Birds.

She frowned.

Her head throbbed.

Slowly, she closed and again opened her eyes, this time with more clarity in the eyes.

A familiar ceiling appeared above her.

She stared at it.

For several seconds, she didn't understand.

Then she slowly sat up as if the hear from the bed scared her.

Her breathing stopped, her body froze.

Then the reality came back slowly.

This wasn't the hospital.

This was her old bedroom.

The bedroom she hadn't slept in for years.

The pale curtains.

The antique cabinet beside the window.

The framed photograph of her family on the bedside table.

She reached for it with trembling fingers.

Her family.

Her grandfather.

Her father.

Her mother.

Her brother.

All of them were smiling.

Alive.

Shen Xie stared at the photograph.

Her fingers began shaking.

“No…”

She looked around.

Her phone was lying beside the pillow.

She grabbed it.

The screen lit up.

The date appeared.

Shen Xie's face went completely pale.

She checked again.

Then again.

The date hadn't changed.

She knew this date.

She remembered it.

She remembered exactly what had happened on this day.

She had turned twenty-one.

She had been newly engaged to Hao Zeyu, the heir of Hao Family.

And she had not yet begun distancing herself from her family.

Her phone suddenly rang.

Shen Xie flinched.

The caller's name appeared on the screen.

Brother.

She stared.

Her hand covered her mouth.

Shen Yichen.

Alive.

She answered with her voice trembling lacking the strength of the vigorous women she had been in her previous life.

“Hello?”

There was silence on the other end.

Then a familiar voice.

“Why do you sound like you've seen a ghost?”

Shen Xie's eyes filled with tears.

She couldn't speak.

“Xie?”

“I…”

Her voice broke.

“I'm fine.”

“Are you crying?”

“No.”

“You're definitely crying.”

Despite herself, Shen Xie laughed.

A small, broken sound.

Her brother went quiet.

Then his voice softened.

“Did something happen?”

Shen Xie closed her eyes.

For one moment, she wanted to tell him everything.

She wanted to tell him that she had died.

That Hao Zeyu had betrayed her.

That Su Wanqing had betrayed her.

That someone had arranged her death.

That she had heard them talking beside her hospital bed.

But she couldn't.

Not yet.

“I just missed you.”

There was another silence.

Then Shen Yichen sighed.

“You're strange today.”

“Maybe I am.”

“Come home for dinner tonight.”

Shen Xie's throat tightened.

“Okay.”

“Grandfather will be happy.”

The call ended.

Shen Xie lowered the phone.

Her tears finally fell.

She had forgotten how much she missed hearing his voice.

She had forgotten what it felt like to have her family alive.

She wiped her tears from her face.

Then her expression slowly changed.

The grief remained.

But beneath it was something colder.

She remembered everything.

The apartment.

Hao Zeyu.

Su Wanqing.

The accident.

The hospital.

The words.

And the man in the black coat.

The silver-black orchid.

Shen Xie looked toward the window.

She had been given another life.

She didn't know why.

She didn't know who had given it to her.

But she knew one thing.

She would not waste it.

Her phone vibrated again.

A message from Hao Zeyu.

“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

Shen Xie stared at it.

In her previous life, she would have smiled.

Today, she simply deleted the message.

Then she whispered,

“Let's see how long your perfect life lasts.”

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