Chapter 2: Rebirth

The woman was drenched in the torrential downpour. Like a mindless walking corpse, she then exited the cemetery through its side gate.

The strong winds swayed the branches in the vicinity, causing numerous leaves to flutter to the ground.

Her thin, weak figure was already teetering in the rain, as unsteady as the dead leaves that clung hopelessly on the branches in the trees nearby.

“My love for you will carry on, for more lives to come.” The man had spent his entire life loving her, truly and deeply. How could she not know it before!?

She was misled by her own stupidity and lack of trust, which was further spurred on by Li Yun’s malicious statements. The lady was her best friend in the past. Blinded by her feelings for Shen Xichuan, her estrangement with Lu Beixiao, which originated from a misunderstanding, began to grow over time.

Unaware of her surroundings, she did not see a fast-approaching dump truck that was driving too speedily to stop and unavoidably hit her! The massive collision caused her body to tumble down the road in the blink of an eye. In a panic, the truck was brought to a screeching halt.

Passively, she looked up at the sky with a big smile on her face. “Perhaps death would be a better ending”, she thought to herself as she lay on the damp road helplessly in her own pool of blood. No one even seemed to approach her.

In possibly what would appear to be one of her last gasps, she caught the sight of a stranger with a mask over his face who came checking on her. “Boss, there’s nothing to worry about. She is going to die for sure,” the stranger’s voice rang in her ears.

It was a homicide by a faceless stranger with shades. But more importantly, who was the boss behind this act of murder?

...

Her frail and hurt body continued to bleed, making her look as if she was lying on a mass of blooming red roses from afar. She looked up at the sky again and Lu Beixiao’s handsome face came to her sight this time.

She had one more question for him. “I am a stupid woman who is unworthy of your love. Why did you love me at all?” However, there was no chance for her to say it because soon, the face had faded away. All she could feel now was the cold.

“Meng Po, please don’t let me drink the waters of Lethe. I must not, and I wish not to forget him,” she pleaded. She wanted to see him again in her next life and find her way back in love. She must.

...

“Thank you for tuning in to J City Radio, FM94.6. The time now is 2 o’clock in the afternoon.”

The girl slowly opened her eyes and a ceiling that she did not quite recognize came into view. A hint of alcohol floated in the dry air as she took in a conscious breath. Tears were still present at the corner of her eyes, indicating to any onlooker that she was clearly hurting.

“Hey, giddy girl. Stop crying or we can never sort this out!” On a hot, sunny day, there was a boy and a girl in a room together, alone.

The boy by the bed had a buzz cut, with a smirk on his charming face. He was wearing a sleeveless top with camouflage army prints to show off his well-toned, bronze-colored arms. That was how Lu Beixiao looked when he was 21 years old.

She wondered if she was in heaven. Maybe they finally got to meet again. However, she was too weak to say anything or swing her arms around to hug him. She could only weep bitter tears in an attempt to show her desperation.

“Hey, giddy girl. Is it too hot? Why aren’t you talking?” Lu Beixiao merely raised his eyebrows at her due to her prolonged silence.

Suddenly, the girl smiled back at him, which was confusing, for he had no clue what she was thinking or trying to do. He thought that the girl must have been having a heat stroke and thus, became unable to think straight.

The temperature was as high as 39 degrees Celsius that day, and yet, she was fully dressed in an attire that was meant for spring or autumn. In fact, she should be thankful that the heatwave did not kill her right away under her thick layers of clothes.

“Good afternoon, fellow listeners. Today is the 20th of July 1995, Thursday, which is also the 23rd of June of the lunar calendar. Thank you for tuning in to FM94.6.”

The sound from the radio slowly faded, as he turned the volume down to mute it. “1995? That was 20 years ago.” Utterly confused, Ye Qiao looked around and saw the NBA posters that were pasted all over the walls. Those were mostly of Michael Jordan at the very height of his career. Back in those days, he was the idol of most boys.

Didn’t she just die in a car accident? How did she end up in 1995?

“Hey, bro. This is where you’ve kept the pretty girl hidden, I see!” As soon as Lu Beichi walked through the door, a pretty, little girl on the tiny bed immediately caught his attention, but he could not see her face. He thought the girl was a stranger.