The choking smell of expensive, sterilized hotel carpet and the metallic tang of her own blood vanished, replaced by the faint, comforting scent of sandalwood and old books.
Lin Yue gasped, her eyes snapping open. She stared at the ceiling—it was white, plaster, and perfectly familiar. A delicate floral wallpaper lined the walls of a small, sun-drenched room. She was lying in her childhood four-poster bed, the silk quilt tucked neatly around her.
How?
She was supposed to be dead. Disposed of in the mountains. She felt her stomach—no crippling pain, no gushing wound. She was whole.
She scrambled upright, her hands reach to her face, then her neck. The skin was smooth, unblemished, and young.
In a flash of realization, she grabbed the mobile phone charging on the nightstand. The lock screen flashed: Wednesday, August 20th. The date was before her high school's fall semester began.
She had been reborn back when she was eighteen years old.
A surge of anger seethed beneath her skin. The memory of the hotel room—Chen Hao's vicious kicks, Bai Lian's gloating whisper, the blood staining the floor—was not a nightmare, but a sharp, burning reality carved into her soul.
Her husband, her stepsister, her father... they had killed her and her mothet. And now, she was back.
She rushed to the full-length mirror and sawher reflection. Clear, wide eyes untouched by exhaustion, supple skin, and a figure that hadn't yet been consumed by the drudgery of marriage.
She was the Lin Yue that Chen Hao had dismissed as a "showpiece," but now she saw her own potential, her sharp edges hidden by youthful softness.
Her eyes, however, were no longer soft. They turned sharp, cold, and utterly resolute.
"Chen Hao, Bai Lian," she whispered to the flawless reflection, a chilling promise hanging in the air. "The games are over. I will pay you back a hundred times over."
A gentle knock interrupted her dark vow.
"Miss Lin, are you awake? Dinner will be served soon."
The voice was that of Nanny Wang. Lin Yue's gaze flickered, cold and sharp. In her previous life, Nanny Wang had been Bai Mei Ling's willing lackey, always finding ways to make Lin Yue's life miserable to curry favor with the stepmother.
Lin Yue took a deep breath, normalizing her expression into one of polite detachment. "I'm coming, Nanny Wang."
Nanny Wang paused outside the door. Lin Yue's voice sounded different, somehow colder, more mature.
Perhaps she is just excited about school...
The nanny dismissed the thought, shaking her head.
A few minutes later, Lin Yue descended the main staircase of the Lin family villa. The sound of happy, carefree chatter drifted up from the dining room.
In the brightly lit space, her father, Lin Aiguo, sat at the head of the table, smiling as he listened to Bai Mei Ling, her stepmother, discuss floral arrangements. Next to them, Bai Lian, radiant and poised, was telling a story, her every gesture designed to appear sweet and innocent.
Lin Yue sneered internally. In her past life, she had believed she was part of this loving family portrait. Now, she saw the performance for what it was—a cozy circle of predators, with her as the outsider prey.
Bai Lian was the first to spot her. Her face instantly brightened with a practiced, dazzling smile. "Big Sister! You're finally down!"
Bai Lian rushed forward, her hands outstretched in a familiar gesture of fake affection. She grabbed Lin Yue's arm. "We were waiting for you! Hurry, Father's favorite fish is getting cold."
Lin Yue felt the sickening touch of the hand that had later beat her to death. Her eyes remained glacial. She simply and cleanly shook Bai Lian's hand off her arm.
Bai Lian froze, rooted to the spot, her smile dissolving into genuine shock. Lin Yue walked past her, the sudden coldness a stark rejection.
A moment later, Bai Lian's eyes brimmed with manufactured tears. She sniffled dramatically and walked back to the table, her head bowed like a wronged saint enduring an injustice.
Lin Aiguo, whose attention was always tuned to Bai Lian's distress, immediately noticed.
"Lin Yue! What was that behavior? Look how you've upset your sister!"
Lin Aiguo's face darkened instantly, the warmth he showed Bai Lian replaced by his habitual impatience with his own daughter.
Bai Lian immediately played her part, clutching Lin Aiguo's arm with teary eyes "No, Father, please don't scold Big Sister! She must be angry because she fainted earlier. It's all my fault."
Lin Aiguo's fury intensified. "See? Even your sister defends you! She is too pure for this family! You are spoiled, Lin Yue! Always making trouble!"
Bai Mei Ling placed a reassuring hand on Lin Aiguo's arm, feigning deep concern. "Aiguo, calm down." Then she turned to Lin Yue and said with fake worry "Lin Yue, apologize to your father. He only worries about you."
Lin Yue watched the entire sickening drama unfold—the perfect, coordinated attack.
Why did I ever endure this?
Instead of crying or apologizing, Lin Yue calmly pulled out her chair and sat down. She met Lin Aiguo's furious glare with a detached coldness.
Lin Yue said in cold and calm tone "Father, I did nothing to warrant an apology. Bai Lian grabbed my arm. I simply removed it. Your constant biased scolding is the real issue. You should save some of that energy for managing the company."
The table fell silent. Lin Aiguo, Bai Mei Ling, and Bai Lian stared in stunned shock. Lin Yue had never, ever spoken back.
Lin Aiguo's face went purple. He slammed his hand on the table, making the silverware jump. "How dare you speak to me like that, you unfilial child!"
Bai Mei Ling immediately jumped up, playing the good wife. "Aiguo, please! Lin Yue, apologize now! Look what you've done!"
Bai Lian, seeing her mother's efforts, joined in with tearful concern. "Big Sister, please just say sorry! Father is so angry!"
"No," Lin Yue stated calmly, reaching for the chopsticks. "I have nothing to apologize for. You are all adults. Let's eat."
In a fit of blinding rage, Lin Aiguo grabbed the nearest object—a crystal glass—and hurled it at her. Lin Yue's senses, sharpened by the memories of her death, reacted instantly.
She jerked her head back, but the heavy glass grazed the back of her left hand, leaving a stinging gash.
"You are confined to your room until the new semester starts!" Lin Aiguo roared, his voice shaking. "Don't come out unless I call for you!"
Lin Yue didn't argue. With a cold, contemptuous expression, she rose and walked back upstairs.
From the landing, she looked back down. Within minutes, the sound of spoons clinking and light chatter resumed.
The family of three had simply moved on, continuing their dinner as if she were already an inconvenient ghost.
Back in her room, Lin Yue's first priority was the small wound on her hand. As she searched for the first-aid kit, She suddenly remember something and her fingers instinctively went to her neck.
Relief washed over her. Still there.
The jade pendant—her mother's last relic, the piece Bai Lian had coveted and stolen in her past life. In that dreadful hotel room, her final moments had been spent staining the jade with her own blood.
She looked in the mirror. Her blood was actively welling up from the superficial cut. As she watched, a bead of crimson rolled down her wrist, touched the surface of the pendant, and was instantly absorbed.
The jade, cold moments before, grew intensely hot. A brilliant, ethereal green light flared, blinding her. Her head swam, and before she could gasp, Lin Yue pitched forward into darkness.
Lin Yue opened her eyes to the sound of flowing water and the smell of rich, fertile earth.
She was no longer in her bedroom. She stood on soft, emerald-green grass that stretched out to meet a vast, sparkling river. The air was pure and invigorating.
In the distance stood a traditional, elegant Chinese-style mansion with tiled roofs and carved wooden eaves. This place was breathtakingly real.
Is this a dream?
She thought to herself and pinched her arm hard. The sharp, immediate pain confirmed it was not.
As she frantically processed the impossible reality, a tiny, luminous creature, no bigger than her thumb, fluttered into existence before her face. It had delicate wings and glowed with a soft, green light.
"Welcome, Master! We have been waiting for your return!" the creature chirped, its voice like the gentle ring of wind chimes.
Lin Yue stumbled back. "Who… what are you? And what is this place?"
"This is Master's spatial domain! And I am the Space Guardian, here to serve you!" the fairy-like creature declared, bowing in mid-air.
The creature explained that the space was bound to the jade pendant. Anything Lin Yue cultivated here would be of supreme quality.
The river was filled with Spiritual Water that could enhance plant growth exponentially, but also contained powerful properties for detoxification, rapid injury healing, and profound beautification.
Most astonishingly, the time flow within the space was a lot faster than the outside world.
The space also possessed a Preservation Function, ensuring anything stored within the space would never spoil.
"How do I truly control this?" Lin Yue asked, marvelling at the endless potential for health and wealth, and, more importantly, power.
"To fully operate the functions, Master must bind completely with the space's core control system," the Guardian explained, floating towards the mansion. "There is a Jade Tablet inside the main hall. A drop of Master's blood is required."
Lin Yue followed the creature into the mansion, which was decorated with exquisite ancient simplicity. She found the Jade Tablet resting on a pedestal in the main hall.
She bit her fingertip until it bled and pressed the wound onto the tablet. The tablet glowed with a blinding jade light.
When the light subsided, the ancient tablet had transformed, displaying a clean, futuristic interface panel before her eyes.
"Points are now available, Master!" the Guardian announced happily.
"Points?" Lin Yue asked in confusion.
"Yes! Points are needed to unlock advanced features, like bigger farming areas or new functions. Master can earn them by either selling the goods cultivated here to the Space Mall, or by exchanging real-world money at a 1:1 ratio."
Lin Yue looked from the futuristic panel to the vast, magical domain stretching before her. A cold, determined smile touched her lips. She had been given a second chance, armed with a hidden weapon.
Chen Hao and Bai Lian would soon regret their crimes.