Chapter 1

When a person is on the brink of death, they always begin to look back on their life.

Blood bloomed across the bathwater like flowers of the other shore. Gu Nianxi closed her eyes, sinking half her body beneath the surface, feeling her life drain away along with her fading warmth.

Her life had been as absurd as a novel.

Gu Nianxi was born into the most prominent family in the capital, the little princess envied by everyone in the city's upper circle. But at seventeen, her father brought the Gu family's true daughter home, and only then did she learn that the seventeen years she'd lived had been someone else's life.

Seventeen years ago, the Gu family had mixed up their daughters, confusing her—an abandoned infant—with their real daughter. The true Gu daughter, Bai Jin, had been sent to an orphanage at birth and later adopted by an ordinary family, her life far worse than it would have been with the Gus.

From the day Bai Jin was brought back, Gu Nianxi's life changed beyond recognition.

Overnight, everything that had once been hers returned to its proper place—Bai Jin's.

Everyone's attention turned to Bai Jin. Everyone put Bai Jin's feelings first. Everyone sang her praises... while Gu Nianxi became like a forgotten flower, withering in a vase with no one sparing her a second glance.

Gu Nianxi envied Bai Jin. Envied her to the point of madness.

She begged her parents tearfully not to announce Bai Jin's identity, spread rumors that Bai Jin was a bastard, deliberately made her wear out-of-date dresses, snatched company projects from her hands, and even stole her engagement.

But every time, Bai Jin handled it with ease, turning danger into safety, and in the end, it was Gu Nianxi who suffered.

Even though Gu Nianxi's malice toward her was overwhelming, Bai Jin never once retaliated. Even when Gu Nianxi was cast out of the family and became the laughingstock of the capital, Bai Jin remained calm and composed. She told Gu Nianxi she could stay in the capital to recover, that Bai Jin wouldn't hold her past actions against her.

It was as if all the evil Gu Nianxi had fought so desperately to do left not a single mark on Bai Jin.

Gu Nianxi closed her eyes.

Blood loss was starving her brain of oxygen, and strange, shifting images flickered before her eyes.

She suddenly felt so tired. Not the physical kind of tired, but the mental kind—like working a whole day only to realize everything she'd done was pointless.

A hint of grievance rose in her, like the water climbing her neck.

Gu Nianxi regretted it.

If she were given another chance, she would never provoke Bai Jin again.

She would stay far away, earn enough money on her own, leave that cold house behind, and live a life that was truly hers.

...

"Miss? Miss?"

A familiar voice sounded by Gu Nianxi's ear.

She frowned.

Was this a hallucination, or did heaven also have meddlesome servants?

"Miss seems to have fallen asleep... Where's the Second Miss? Didn't she come back with you?"

"Ah, miss said the Second Miss went ahead on her own. Hasn't she arrived home yet?"

Gu Nianxi opened her eyes.

This was definitely not heaven, because the heaven of Gu Nianxi would not contain the Second Miss Bai Jin.

Before her was a Bentley, and she was sitting in the backseat, leaning against the upholstery. A round-faced maid was about to wake her, holding a blanket for Gu Nianxi against the cool night air.

"Xiao An?" she said, staring at the maid in surprise.

This was the maid who had grown up with her. The Gu family's affection was thin, and to Gu Nianxi, Xiao An was like an older sister.

Shortly after Gu Nianxi was kicked out, Xiao An had been dismissed too, supposedly for speaking rudely to the Second Miss. After that, Xiao An had come looking for her.

"You're awake, miss!" Two lovely dimples appeared on the maid's face, but soon she looked troubled. "Miss, do you know where the Second Miss went? The madam and master came home today and asked about her. You..."

Gu Nianxi's heart pounded violently.

Everything before her was so clear, so real that she couldn't dismiss it as a dream.

"Xiao An, what's today's date?"

Her voice trembled slightly.

"Today... it's May 12th."

"What year?"

"Twenty-three, of course. Miss, what's wrong?"

Xiao An looked at Gu Nianxi, whose face was shifting between pale and flushed, utterly confused.

Gu Nianxi held out her hands and studied them.

—Unblemished, without a single scar.

Her fingers were slender and pale, the knuckles clearly defined, not the twisted, ugly shapes they'd been after being broken and regrown.

There were no ghastly wounds on her wrists from repeated slicing either...

Gu Nianxi clenched her fists hard.

It was only May 12, 2023, and Bai Jin had just returned a month ago.

Heaven really seemed to have heard her plea and given her a second chance.

"Miss!" Xiao An saw the corners of Gu Nianxi's eyes turning red and cupped her face in panic. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm fine." Gu Nianxi turned her head slightly, shaking off her hands. "Just wind in my eyes."

Xiao An quickly draped the blanket over Gu Nianxi's shoulders.

"Miss, let's go home first! As for the Second Miss, just say you don't know anything. She's the one who didn't get in the car, so if anyone's to blame, it's her..."

Gu Nianxi remembered what this was about.

Today, the young people of the capital's elite had a fairly informal gathering. Her parents had told her to bring Bai Jin, who'd been home a month, to meet the people her age. She'd agreed on the surface, taken Bai Jin along, but deliberately had people gossip about her to humiliate her, then left her alone at the party.

But that day, her parents happened to come home and asked about Bai Jin. When they learned she'd left Bai Jin there alone, her furious father slapped her and planned to confine her for a week.

In the end, Bai Jin spoke up for her, and the week was reduced to three days.

Those three days... every meal was delivered by Bai Jin herself. Gu Nianxi could never forget the way she'd looked down at her with that faint, detached gaze. Under such a gaze, she felt utterly exposed, every despicable part of her laid bare before Bai Jin.

Gu Nianxi closed her eyes again.

"Miss?" Xiao An called softly.

"I'm not going back yet." She opened her eyes and shoved the blanket back into Xiao An's hands. "Xiao An, go back and tell Gu... tell my parents that Bai Jin and I haven't returned yet."

"Huh?"

"I'm going back to pick her up."

Gu Nianxi said, glanced at Xiao An, then took the blanket back.

"Oh. Very well, miss."

Xiao An was a little bewildered but obediently agreed.

The car drove back to the upscale club "Drifting Emerald." Gu Nianxi got out and headed straight for the private room on the top floor.

Along the way, she figured things out.

She was never meant to be a rich young lady anyway. If Bai Jin wanted the identity, she could have it. Gu Nianxi owed her nothing—the ones who owed her were Gu Hongzhuo and Jiang Man, the people who'd been her parents for seventeen years.

Living this life anew, she wouldn't tangle with Bai Jin anymore. They'd go their separate ways, coexist peacefully for a year, and once she came of age, she'd go far away and never come back.

Gu Nianxi let out a breath and pushed the door open with force.

The bullying in the room was just reaching its peak. A girl sat on the floor, hair loose, her white shirt soaked with liquor across a large patch, the ends of her black hair dripping wet, strands clinging to her cheeks.

Her features were cool and clear, her pupils a lighter shade, her face well-proportioned. Though not as stunning as Gu Nianxi, she was like a bright moon—radiant and striking.

The one who'd poured the drink gave an exaggerated "Oh," and said, "So sorry, my hand slipped and accidentally splashed you. But you shouldn't mind, right?

"After all, you're just a bastard brought into the Gu family. Being able to attend our party is already a blessing earned over eight lifetimes!"

The people around burst into laughter. The one being mocked remained unmoved, her expression indifferent, until the door opened and she looked toward Gu Nianxi.

Their gazes crossed through the crowd, and Bai Jin visibly froze.

Gu Nianxi was panting.

Bai Jin had excellent eyesight, and from this angle, she could see the faint flush on Gu Nianxi's face, the moist corners of her eyes, even the beads of sweat gathered on her nose.

Their eyes met for a moment before Bai Jin looked away on her own.

Gu Nianxi leaned on the doorframe, steadying her breath. She'd run all the way here and had even tripped over her long skirt midway, bruising her knee. She'd always been frail and couldn't stand pain; normally, a slight bump would make her cry. It was a physical reaction she couldn't control.

"Drifting Emerald" was too large, and the party's private room was at the very back. She'd been afraid that if she came late, Bai Jin would suffer humiliation as she had in her last life, forced to kneel.

Though in the end she hadn't knelt, how could being forced toward kneeling ever feel good? Since she'd decided to draw a line with Bai Jin in this life, she didn't want to owe her any favors or have anyone think she was bullying her.

Besides, looking back now at all the obstacles she'd put in Bai Jin's way in her previous life, she found them almost laughably childish.

The people in the room noticed her grim expression and dared not make a sound. Only the one who'd poured the drink, back to the door and unaware of her arrival, kept taunting Bai Jin:

"What are you looking at? Don't tell me you're hoping Miss Gu will come back for you? Dream on. To Miss Gu, you're just mud stuck to the bottom of her shoe—one look and she's disgusted, desperate to shake you off.

"A bastard's best choice is to crawl back to wherever you came from. Don't stay here and block the real one's view—"

"—She's not a bastard." Gu Nianxi finally caught her breath and shouted.

The soft music still flowed through the room, but the laughter and murmurs gradually died away with her words.

"Listen carefully." Gu Nianxi took a deep breath, tossed her hair, and wore a proud, haughty expression as she walked up to Bai Jin under everyone's gaze:

"She's my sister, a daughter of the Gu family—Gu Baijin. If I catch anyone gossiping behind her back again, hmph..."

That "hmph" was laden with meaning, its warning unmistakable.

Bai Jin didn't raise her head.

She caught the fragrance that wafted over as Gu Nianxi turned. It was Gu Nianxi's favorite scent—rose mixed with a soft champagne note, fresh, mellow, and intoxicating.

Then came the hair.

Her long locks hung loose, the ends brushing against Bai Jin's arm. The touch lasted only an instant before the hair pulled away, yet it sent a subtle shiver through Bai Jin.

Gu Nianxi tossed her blanket onto Bai Jin, covering her liquor-stained clothes.

"Get up, won't you? Or do I have to ask you—"

She paused, then said heavily, "—Second Miss Gu?"