Rebirth: The Comeback of the Girl-Chapter 1 - Rebirth After Death

[Obituary------The well-known online novelist and literary icon Ye Yueming passed away unexpectedly in the early hours of this morning. May there be no pain in heaven and time eternal.]

Zhen Yu stared at the push notification on her phone screen, her footsteps unwittingly halting on the sidewalk.

That brief line of text, she read over and over three times, but in the end, she could only let her hand fall powerlessly. After the phone slipped from her grasp and hit the ground, its screen fractured like a spiderweb, Zhen Yu felt as if she could hear the sound of her own heart shattering.

Her eyes moistened slightly as she gently tilted her head back.

The warm sun of winter shone through the shadows of the trees, casting streaks of golden light, while flecks of dust danced merrily in the morning rays, coming and going as they pleased.

It had been at least a decade since she had shed a tear.

But now the depths of her eye sockets could no longer contain her sorrow, and a hot tear spread from the corner of her eye and fell to the ground. Her last thread of connection to this world had parted from her so abruptly, without any forewarning!

They were childhood sweethearts, two innocent kids, she and he should have grown up together. But reality took them on diverging paths, their intersections grew sparse. He rose to the pinnacle of life while she lost herself at the bottom of the valley, henceforth existing in two different worlds.

Love began without cause and deepened with every moment.

Though Zhen Yu was always alone, she had nothing but a true heart. Therefore, she had to suppress these feelings, never! Nor could she reveal them to anyone.

----

Reflecting on her life, all her closest relatives had died abruptly. No wonder then that at her father's funeral, her stepmother pointed at her nose and told her to die, saying she had a hard fate that jinxed her kin!

Zhen Yu profoundly agreed with this.

But perhaps her stepmother's words made Han Mingyue sense something; as soon as the funeral ended, he clung to her incessantly, forcing her into a heart-to-heart!

Eventually, Zhen Yu dismissed the thought of taking her own life.

Han Mingyue might have thought that it was his persuasion that had changed her mind.

But in reality, not at all! Zhen Yu knew very well inside! She did not take in any of the grand principles he had spoken about. She only knew that Han Mingyue wanted her to live! There was still someone in this world who cared about her existence!

The world was filled with darkness, yet Han Mingyue gave her a beam of light.

He was her only thought in this world, the hope of her life.

Years went by after that farewell, and as Zhen Yu wandered alone in the outside world, Han Mingyue remained her only point of contact.

Multiple times, when she found herself in desperate straits and had no choice but to ask Han Mingyue for help, his answer was always—wait for me!

This world wasn't worth it, but he was.

Because he asked her to stay, she did not leave.

----

The cold wind was biting, blowing Zhen Yu's loose forehead hairs all back, revealing grey roots that should not belong to her age group.

She seemed to return to the last time she saw Han Mingyue.

He stood tall and dignified, exuding grace, a top graduate student of the Chinese department at Beijing University, and also a celebrated author of the online literary world—Ye Yueming. His scholarly demeanor and humility overflowed, a gentleman, gentle and refined like jade.

Zhen Yu originally thought that she could silently wait for him for a lifetime.

But now...

"Beep~ Beep Beep~~~" Startled by the honking of the truck, Zhen Yu turned her head, and it was already too late.

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Unbeknownst to her, the traffic light had changed...

Barely having time to sigh, Zhen Yu was lifted towards the sun! The intense sunlight compelled her to close her eyes, and her face seemed to carry a hint of relief in that moment of oblivion.

----

1995, a summer afternoon.

The glistening sunrays covered the earth, and the fruit trees of varying heights cast patches of shade on the ground.

"Ah! Give me a cup of Forget Love Water, let me have a night free of sorrow;

Even if I get drunk, even if my heart breaks, you won't see me cry..."

The boy sitting under the sand pear tree kept repeating these lyrics, his tone-deaf voice drifting across the farmhouse courtyard.

The girl lay on the ground, moving slowly, covering her ears with her hands, trying to shut out the annoying noise.

Annoying.

So annoying.

The girl on the ground suddenly opened her eyes.

She sat expressionlessly on the cool mat, looking around the yard that felt both familiar and foreign, subconsciously feeling that she was dreaming.

Seeing her sit up, the boy asked, "Awake?"

Awake? What's going on?

Aren't I dreaming? Waking up in a dream?

Seeing the girl still sitting there dumbfounded, the boy walked over and pinched her cheeks with his hands.

"Are you having a nightmare?"

Zhen Yu raised her hand and twisted the boy's arm.

The boy cried out and drew back his hand, "Ow! That hurts!"

Even if she had just thought everything was an illusion, Zhen Yu now knew she wasn't dreaming.

Dreams are not painful.

But how could she have returned here? Could it be a rebirth?

Zhen Yu's gaze shifted back and forth between her own matching vest and shorts and those her brother, Zhen Yan, was wearing.

"Xiao Yu, what's wrong?" After crying out in pain, Zhen Yan, worried, saw that his sister was still sitting there, dazed.

Hearing the voice she could only hear in dreams in her previous life, Zhen Yu's nose couldn't help but feel sour.

"Brother!" Suddenly lunging over, Zhen Yu tightly embraced her very much alive brother who was squatting in front of her, crying her heart out.

"What's wrong, what's wrong?" Zhen Yan hugged his sister back, flustered, listening to her sobs, suddenly feeling panicked.

Just after breakfast, his sister had been fine; how could she have woken up from a nap and started crying like this.

"I had a nightmare!" Zhen Yu cried for a while before she calmed down, somewhat embarrassed she made up an excuse.

"Don't be afraid, dreams are the opposite of reality!" Zhen Yan gently patted his sister's back, consoling her.

Zhen Yu's expression turned serious, and she nodded vigorously.

Let the past life be a nightmare! She was not afraid of death, and naturally, she was even less afraid of living!

Now that fate has given her a chance to start over, she must strive hard in this life! To make a comeback!

"I want to keep my brother and mother alive and well! I also want to become a web novel deity! And I want to confess my love! I want Han Mingyue to fall into my lap!"

——

Zhen Yu silently made her resolution, slowly calming her emotions.

After taking a deep breath, Zhen Yu wiped her tears and asked her brother calmly and naturally, "Where are Dad and Mom?"

"Dad's at the shop, and Mom's gone to Grandpa Fu's house."

Zhen Yu didn't rush to see her mother, afraid her brother might notice something was amiss with her.

So she made small talk, asking randomly, "What are we supposed to be doing now?"

"Doing summer homework, of course!" Zhen Yan blurted out.

"Summer vacation?" Zhen Yu was stunned for a moment but quickly recovered and called Zhen Yan, "It's too hot outside, let's go inside!"

"Okay!" Zhen Yan stood up, helped his sister up, made sure she put on her slippers, and then turned around to lead the way into the house.

Upon entering, Zhen Yan said, "It's cooler inside the house!"

Zhen Yu nodded in agreement.

Indeed, the house was much cooler than the yard.

Passing through the kitchen and the living room, they went straight into the small bedroom and settled down on their respective desks to the left and right.

Each desk had a booklet spread open on it, and as Zhen Yu reached out to pick it up, a voice suddenly rang in her mind, [Ding! Book detected, system initialization!]

Hearing this, Zhen Yu was momentarily startled, then she came to a realization.

Having encountered rebirth, it's not at all strange to have a golden finger.

[Ding! System startup successful! Within books, there are Golden Houses; within books, there are beauties like Yan Ruyu!]