The sensation of suffocation, like icy seawater, flooded in from all sides, extinguishing Sofia's last shred of consciousness. The champagne tower at the engagement party shattered into countless cold sparks before her eyes. The sound of Lillian's exclamation, tinged with faux panic—"Sister, what's wrong!"—distorted in her ears into a viper's hiss. The face of her fiancé, Liam Chen, filled with 'concern,' blurred and morphed in her vision, finally freezing into a cold, hypocritical mask. Her lungs burned, her throat clamped shut by an invisible hand. Before the darkness swallowed everything, she remembered only the blinding glare of the crystal chandelier and the fleeting, triumphant look that passed between the two figures standing over her gradually cooling body.
So, this was death.
Resentment, bitterness, bone-chilling cold... Countless violent emotions exploded at the moment her consciousness vanished, only to abruptly subside into absolute silence.
...
"Sofia! Sofia! What are you spacing out for? It's our turn!"
A crisp,slightly petulant voice urgently dragged Sofia back from the boundless darkness and cold.
Blinding light flooded her vision again, but it wasn't the cold chandelier light; it was the brilliant, almost scorching sunshine of a June summer. Sweltering heat enveloped her skin. The air smelled of fresh-cut grass and gardenias, mixed with... the noisy, joyous chatter of young graduates.
Sofia's eyes snapped open, her pupils constricting.
Before her was the familiar yet strange entrance to her university auditorium. A crowd in black graduation gowns excitedly tossed their caps into the air. And she stood on the steps, wearing the same slightly oversized gown. The phone in her hand lit up, displaying the date: June 25th. The day of her graduation ceremony.
Four years earlier.
"Gosh, did you get heatstroke?" A hand adorned with delicate cherry blossom pink nail polish waved in front of her face, then intimately looped through her arm. Sofia's body stiffened imperceptibly. Slowly, very slowly, she turned her head.
Lillian's sweet, adorable face, etched with 'concern,' was alarmingly close. Her chestnut curls shone with carefully styled gloss under the sun, her eyes curved into crescents, her smile flawless.
In an instant, intense physical revulsion, coupled with the terror of her past-life suffocating death, crashed over her like a tidal wave. Sofia's stomach lurched violently. Her face paled instantly, a cold sweat breaking out on her back. It took immense willpower to suppress the urge to shove the other girl away, or even to vomit.
This wasn't a dream. The heat on her skin, the smells in the air, the real noise around her... and the slightly cool, sticky feel of Lillian's fingertips.
She had been reborn.
Reborn at the starting line,before the tragedy began. When everything could still be changed.
"I... I'm fine." Sofia heard her own hoarse voice, tinged with a barely perceptible tremor. She forced a smile identical to her past self's—one carrying a hint of dependency and vulnerability. "Maybe... I got too much sun."
"You see, you never take good care of yourself," Lillian chided, pinching her arm, her tone familiar and intimate. "The ceremony's finally over! Time to celebrate! Sofia, have you thought about what I mentioned before? I've already checked out an apartment, right downtown, super convenient! We can share the rent and look out for each other!"
Share an apartment.
Sofia's heart sank like a stone.In her previous life, swept up by Lillian's enthusiastic and persistent persuasion on this very day, she had been touched by this 'display of sisterly love' and agreed immediately. That so-called shared apartment became the first prison cell—where Lillian monitored her, gradually lured her into the web meticulously woven by Liam Chen, and ultimately helped him siphon away her family's assets.
The cold feeling crept up her spine again, but this time, it was accompanied by a clear, resolute determination.
"Lillian," Sofia gently extracted her arm from Lillian's grasp, the movement natural, as if she were just wiping non-existent sweat from her brow. "Thanks, that's really sweet of you. But..." She paused, meeting Lillian's slightly startled gaze. Her voice was soft yet carried a newfound distance. "Dad wants me to live at home for a while after graduation. Also, the old house has been empty for so long... I want to go back. To spend some time with the things Mom left behind."
The smile on Lillian's face stiffened for a split second. Surprise and displeasure flashed deep in her eyes, but were instantly replaced by even deeper 'consideration.' "Oh... I see. Of course, Mr. Su must miss you a lot. Well... alright then. But you have to come visit me often!"
"Of course." Sofia smiled and nodded, saying no more. Her gaze drifted over Lillian's shoulder, into the distance. The sunlight was harsh, but it filled her with a cold clarity.
Refusal was just the first step.
The game had only just begun.