Leaving the hospital, Hua Yan's mind still felt foggy, her body and spirit exhausted, longing for a place to rest. The problem was, she had no idea where her home was. All she remembered was a voice saying just before she woke up: "Here's a surprise rebirth gift for you. Wishing you discover it soon."
Just three hours ago, she was still Xiao Min, an orphan. Who would have known that after a trip to the hospital, a sudden heartache would leave her fainting and waking up as Hua Yan? And her original body lay in the morgue due to an unsuccessful resuscitation attempt from a heart condition.
After digesting this fact of rebirth, she searched high and low, but couldn't find the mentioned surprise. Eventually, she dismissed it as her own mistake. Opening her bag, she found a divorce certificate dated today, which left her stunned.
Scanning her phone, she found only a couple of reliable contacts. While browsing through, Hua Yan stumbled upon two numbers in her blacklist: "Dad" and "Husband."
She couldn't fathom what unpleasant events might have occurred between the former Hua Yan and these two individuals. After hesitating for a few seconds, she dialed her dad's number. Shortly, a middle-aged woman answered, informing her that Mr. Hua was undergoing a medical examination and advised her to call back later.
Later on, Hua Yan learned about the company's bankruptcy, her family members' disgrace leading to suicide, and her father's improved health after three months of hospitalization. Since the incident at the Hua family, Hua Yan hadn't visited her father even once, let alone called.
"Okay, thank you. I have nothing urgent," she replied.
After much hesitation, Hua Yan dialed her ex-husband's number.
"Hello, may I ask who's calling?" a magnetic yet cold voice came from the phone.
"Oh, I'm Hua Yan, I..." It seemed her ex-husband didn't even remember her phone number right after their divorce. How desolate.
As soon as he heard her name, the politeness vanished, and he interrupted her, mockingly chuckling, "Hua Yan, you don't need to find excuses to approach me, Cheng Jie. I've been waiting for this day since the moment I married you. I warn you not to bother me anymore, or I'll make the remaining two people in your family disappear from this world."
*Click.*
Cheng Jie ended the call, his eyes filled with endless scorn. How foolish of Hua Yan to still miss him. Did she not know he had been acting throughout their four-year marriage? Did she not realize how disgusted he felt when she looked at him lovingly? Did she not know he played a role in their family company's bankruptcy? Did she not know he framed her brother, leading to his imprisonment and subsequent suicide of their mother?
Cheng Jie shook his head, no longer thinking about irrelevant people and focused on his work.
"What a conceited person he is. Who would still be interested in him? He's no good! If I get the chance, I'll definitely teach him a lesson!" Hua Yan cursed angrily, then headed towards the nearby police station with a grim expression.
Entering the police station smoothly, Hua Yan grabbed a young officer and asked, "Officer, could you help me with something?"
"What's the matter?" The young policeman thought it might be a big case, and asked earnestly.
"I don't know where my home is. Can you help me find out?" Hua Yan barely finished her sentence before the young policeman leaped away from her, looking utterly surprised, as if he'd seen a ghost.
"Can you at least say something?" Hua Yan asked as the young policeman continued to flee.
As he fled, he muttered incessantly, "On such a beautiful day, how did I end up encountering a crazy woman at the police station? Bad luck, bad luck, ugh..." As it happened, the young policeman had gone to a psychiatric hospital earlier today for a major case. The people there were so terrifying that he was still jumpy, and Hua Yan was merely an affected bystander.
Frustrated, Hua Yan sat on a chair in the corridor, muttering under her breath, "What kind of police are these? They don't even help people with their daily problems."
"Miss, do you need any assistance?" The dark-skinned policeman approached her.
Hua Yan stared at the dark-skinned policeman for a while before speaking, "Do you handle any kind of issue?"
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"You tell me what you need help with," he replied.
"Really? Then can I say it now? No, you have to promise to help me first, and then I'll tell you." Hua Yan didn't want to be called crazy again. Besides, she had always dreamed of having a place of her own, but the money she had scrimped and saved was only enough for a damp, dark basement. Now, she was anxious and prayed silently that she belonged to the property-owning class.
"Okay, except for illegal or unethical matters, I will definitely help you." The dark-skinned policeman couldn't bear to refuse the beautiful woman in front of him, especially with her clever, mischievous eyes, even though he was quite busy.
"I... can't find where my home is?" Suddenly, Hua Yan lost her boldness, her voice growing quieter as she spoke. But when she saw the dark-skinned policeman's expression, as if he had seen a Martian, her suppressed anger resurfaced.
"I'm not a Martian, nor did I escape from a psychiatric hospital. Don't give me that look, or else I'll bite you!"
"You're going to bite me? It seems I need to check if someone did indeed escape from the psychiatric hospital." The dark-skinned policeman teased with a smile.
Hua Yan told him about what she had learned about this body from the hospital—that it had been sent there after getting drunk and falling down, and now she couldn't remember anything from before. Although Officer Cheng doubted her, he still took Hua Yan to find out where her home was. Coincidentally, they encountered the young policeman again.
"Captain... do you know this person?" The young policeman looked cautiously at Hua Yan, then glanced strangely at the dark-skinned policeman.
"Yeah, just met her. What's up?" The dark-skinned policeman didn't know what had just happened between Hua Yan and the young policeman, looking puzzled. He wondered if the boy had misunderstood something.
"Oh, let me tell you..." The young policeman whispered something into the dark-skinned policeman's ear. This prompted a burst of laughter and scolding from the dark-skinned policeman. "What are you thinking, kid? How could she come from that place? Just look into her eyes, and you'll know." Nevertheless, he couldn't help laughing, because the young policeman had reminded him that Hua Yan might have mental issues, possibly escaped from a psychiatric hospital?
"Hurry up and check, I'm still waiting to go home and sleep!" Hua Yan shot the young policeman a glare.
As the dignified leader of the Serious Crime Unit, Cheng found himself reduced to helping people find their own addresses. But considering Hua Yan's recent memory loss, he swallowed his pride and swiftly located her home. Meanwhile, Hua Yan's lingering anxiety dissipated as she confirmed she indeed owned a villa.
As she bid farewell to the dark-skinned policeman, Hua Yan unexpectedly said something that left him both shocked and embarrassed.
"Thank you for your help today, but may I ask if you're wearing black and blue striped underwear?" Hua Yan seemed to have seen something she shouldn't have, which startled her into blurting out the question.
"Huh? How did you know?" The dark-skinned policeman stepped back, puzzled. Then he realized what he had just revealed and hastily backtracked, "No, I mean... no."
Blushing furiously, Hua Yan cursed herself for speaking out of turn. "I'm sorry, it was just a joke. What's your name? I'd like to treat you to a meal sometime," she said, embarrassed.
The dark-skinned policeman took another step back, declining firmly, "No need for a meal, I have things to attend to." With that, he hurried into the police station, leaving Hua Yan sighing in resignation. "Now he probably thinks I escaped from a psychiatric hospital too. But I really did see the color of his underwear just now. Could it be that my soul hasn't fully returned to my body yet, and what I saw was my soul's vision?"
The following morning, in a luxurious villa in a pristine, upscale neighborhood:
"Miss, breakfast is ready. Are you ready to eat now?" A plump, middle-aged woman with a clean face stood outside the master bedroom on the second floor, inquiring through the door.
"Chang Ma, you can go down first. I'll be down shortly," Hua Yan replied crisply. Chang Ma was the housekeeper in Hua Yan's residence, and upon first meeting her, Hua Yan felt a maternal aura from her.
Chang Ma suddenly felt overjoyed and concerned at the same time. "Alright, Miss. I'll prepare your favorite vinegar-glazed enoki mushrooms as an additional dish."
Dragging her plump body downstairs, Chang Ma muttered softly, "Heaven has finally opened its eyes. After leaving her marital home, this is the first time Miss has come downstairs to eat. Actually, it's quite difficult for her. She was careful for four years after getting married, only to be forced to divorce by her husband; her family's company went bankrupt, and her loved ones passed away. But as the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens. Meeting that playboy, Cheng Jie, again may not be a bad thing after all."
In the bedroom, Hua Yan gazed at the sunlight outside the window, took a deep breath, and silently declared to herself, "If I've been reborn, I must live this life without regrets!"
During breakfast, Hua Yan asked Chang Ma, who was standing nearby, "Did I used to love eating such sour dishes?"
"Miss, is the vinegar I used too much?" Chang Ma looked worried.
"Try it yourself. I'm not sure either," Hua Yan said.
"Hmm, it's just the right amount of sourness, just like before?" Chang Ma tasted it a couple more times, furrowing her brows as she reached this conclusion.
Seeing Chang Ma's earnest and puzzled expression, Hua Yan couldn't help but suggest, "Chang Ma, next time, make this vinegar-glazed enoki mushrooms into a spicy dish." She privately wondered how the previous Hua Yan could tolerate such sour food.
But now, she couldn't stand it. Compared to sourness, she preferred spiciness. As she chewed, her tongue immediately felt the heat. Enduring it, when she swallowed, her throat burned, as if a fireball had exploded in her mouth. The fiery sensation spread throughout her body, boiling her blood and stirring every part of her being. It was stimulating yet refreshing.
"Miss, is the dish I made today not to your liking?" Chang Ma was honest and kind, demanding perfection from her culinary skills.
"Oh no, Chang Ma, you're overthinking it. Your cooking is delicious. It's just that yesterday, I accidentally hit my head. Combined with recent events, I suddenly don't want to eat such sour things anymore. I wanted to change my taste and mood," Hua Yan explained.