Did I steal someone’s life?

 The thought arrives not at ten years old, not at five — but the moment she opens her eyes as a newborn in a Haicheng hospital.

 She remembers who she was: Anya, a quiet dreamer from Country B, with her nose buried in novels and her heart tied to the idea of freedom. She longed to be unbound — to drift like the characters in her stories, free of expectations, free of rules. But reality clipped her wings. Strict parents. Financial limits. A life of quiet resignation.

 Then came the end she never saw coming — and a beginning she never asked for.

Now, she is Li Anqi, born into a world of lantern festivals, lullabies in a language she couldn’t name, and quiet luxury. Her new parents are kind. Her new life is peaceful. And yet, she carries within her the ache of a caged bird that once longed to fly.

 Every step forward as Li Anqi feels like a betrayal of Anya.

 But what does it mean to be “someone” when your soul has lived more than one life?

Fragments of a Stolen Life