I drowned alongside my sister. Our parents chose to save her, leaving me to die. When I woke up again, I had been reborn into the body of Jane Johnson, another girl who had nearly drowned. I thought our paths would never cross again, but on the first day of college, I saw my sister once more. She bragged about how her parents loved her so much they abandoned her sister. Her sister’s existence was merely to make her look better in comparison. She knew how to swim all along, and her parents were aware of it too. Since that’s how it is, I have nothing left to hold onto from my past life. So this is what drowning feels like. The water gradually rises over your mouth and nose, flooding your nasal cavity. Your right to breathe is taken away, yet your consciousness remains painfully clear. Survival instinct makes you struggle desperately. But the lack of oxygen renders all your movements futile. My consciousness slowly faded in this extreme agony. In the final moment before death, I felt an odd sense of relief. It was finally over. The suffering would end at last. The water blurred my last remnants of vision. On the nearby shore, my parents and sister were hugging each other, crying and laughing with joy at having survived the ordeal. … I died. And then I lived again. When consciousness returned from the darkness, I saw the excited faces of unfamiliar people around me. “Jane, you’re finally awake! Don’t scare Mommy like that again, okay?” “Are you feeling alright anywhere? Don’t do this again in the future. Mom will be here to help you through anything.” The woman rushed over to hug me, sobbing these words over and over in my ear. I was dazed, allowing the woman to embrace me stiffly, unsure what was happening. Who was Jane? Where was I? Hadn’t I died? My gaze swept across the hospital room, landing on the man standing to the side, restraining his emotions. I was certain I didn’t know these two people. They claimed to be my parents, but my real parents would never shed tears of joy over my rescue. An absurd thought began to form in my mind. The woman calling herself my mother finally released me. She looked rather haggard, though her demeanor and attire suggested she was normally an elegant and refined person. At the moment, her appearance was a bit disheveled. I looked at her silently, keeping my mouth shut. Fortunately, the couple assumed my silence was due to my physical condition, and didn’t press me to respond. Adhering to the principle of saying less to avoid mistakes, I only gave brief “okay” responses or smiled throughout the day. I took advantage of a bathroom break to quickly look in the mirror. Sure enough, I had been reborn. But not into my own body – I was in the body of a complete stranger. I raised my hand to touch this unfamiliar face, my heart pounding with a mix of anxiety and excitement. That night as I lay in bed, I stayed awake thinking about my current situation. The next day when I met the Johnsons again, I decisively said with a smile: “Um… I seem to have lost my memory.” The Johnsons were quite surprised when they heard I had amnesia. They seemed unwilling to believe it, asking me several questions to which I responded with a blank expression. They called in a doctor, who after examination could only say it was an aftereffect that might improve with time. I cooperated obediently throughout the process. I answered everything I knew and admitted what I didn’t know. After all, I truly didn’t know anything, so even if they were suspicious, they couldn’t imagine that the core inside this body had been replaced. After various tests and probing, they finally believed I had truly “lost my memory”. This couple seemed to harbor deep guilt towards their daughter. Although I didn’t know exactly what had happened between them, I could clearly sense their kindness and desire to make amends in how they treated me. And so, under the guise of amnesia, I gradually came to understand this family anew. The Johnsons were quite wealthy, running a multinational trading company and holding high status in their social circles. Fortunately, my previous family hadn’t been too badly off either, otherwise I might have taken years to fully adapt to this sudden change in social class. After being discharged from the hospital, I went straight home with the Johnsons. They gradually introduced me to things over this period, and I came to understand the environment I would be living in from now on. The girl I had replaced was named Jane Johnson, still a high school student of the same age as me. It wasn’t until after I left the hospital that I realized there wasn’t much time left before college applications were due. After discussing it with the Johnsons, we decided I wouldn’t return to school, but would study at home instead. Not taking a gap year was my insistence. In my original body, if I hadn’t drowned, I would have also been at the age to start college. Under the Johnsons’ arrangements, I picked up my textbooks again. That unchanging knowledge finally gave me the feeling of truly living in this world again. I threw all my energy into studying. This time, with no one to hinder me, I could finally do what I wanted. After the interviews, I successfully received an offer from my ideal university for my desired major. Just when I thought everything was starting to get better and I would truly begin a brand new life, I encountered the person I never wanted to see again in this lifetime at university. My sister, Penny Parker. As luck would have it, Penny and I were assigned to the same dorm room. At my insistence, I didn’t let my parents bring a maid to help set up the dorm. I did all the bed-making and organizing myself. My parents watched me arrange everything neatly, their faces full of pride and relief. The other two girls in our quad also did everything themselves. They seemed quite friendly, and we quickly got acquainted, chatting and laughing as we made plans to get our student IDs together and explore campus later. That’s when Penny arrived. She entered with a mountain of luggage that clogged up the hallway. Since she came late, the only bed left was the one by the door. “You, give me your bed,” she demanded, pointing at me. I had already sent my parents home and was still organizing things on my bed when Penny singled me out. Seeing her bossy attitude, just like in the past, I gave a slight smirk. Did she think I was still Amy? “No,” I replied coolly, glancing at her briefly. I didn’t miss the slight frowns that crossed my roommates’ faces. No one would be happy to see a troublemaker join the dorm. “You won’t give it to me?” Penny looked taken aback. Of course, she had never been refused when bullying me before. But the Amy she used to bully had died in the water. Now, I was Jane. Penny didn’t argue with me. She turned and threw herself into her parents’ arms, starting to cry softly. “Dad, Mom, I just wanted that bed…” “It’s okay, sweetie. Daddy and Mommy will take care of it for you.” The Parkers hadn’t changed a bit – as soon as Penny cried, they rushed to back her up. It was the same now. After comforting Penny, Mr. Parker turned to me with a stern face. “Young lady, my daughter likes that bed. Hurry up and give it to her.” “Am I your daughter’s mother? Why should I give in to her?” Anger that had long been suppressed in my heart rose uncontrollably at Mr. Parker’s entitled attitude. “I like your daughter’s eyeballs – should she gouge them out and give them to me?” “How dare you speak that way!” Mrs. Parker scolded me fiercely. “My daughter has taken a liking to your bed. That’s your good fortune. Hurry up and give it to her!” “I’m sorry, but I don’t want that kind of good fortune.” I glanced coldly at the Parkers, not even interested in saying another word to them. If I had known Penny would be attending this university, I would have switched schools without hesitation to avoid the Parkers. They had already made me sick enough in my previous life. I didn’t want them anywhere near me in this one. “What an unreasonable little brat!” Mrs. Parker was like an amplified version of Penny’s personality. Instead of reflecting on the Parkers’ bullying, she turned it around and insulted me. One of my roommates frowned and said, “First come, first served. How can you bully someone like this?” “What business is it of yours?” Mrs. Parker snapped back at her, making my roommate laugh in disbelief. Mrs. Parker then turned back to me with her nose in the air. “You just want money, don’t you? How much will it take for you to switch?” “Well, in that case, I won’t give it up for anything less than $10,000.” I cut in before Mrs. Parker could start scolding again. “It’s your choice whether you want to pay up for this unsolicited deal.” “Mom, forget it,” Penny finally spoke up in a pitiful tone. “It’s just a bed after all. I won’t switch. It’s not worth that much money.” Mrs. Parker looked utterly heartbroken, hugging Penny while glaring daggers at me. “My daughter is so understanding,” Mr. Parker said, his face full of pride. I glanced at my two roommates’ expressions – they looked like they had swallowed flies and were about to be sick. I couldn’t be bothered to deal with that bizarre family anymore. As long as they stayed away from me, I’d be fine. Penny settled into the bed by the door. The maids did all the bed-making and unpacking for her, while she said a tearful goodbye to her parents. I watched the warm, harmonious family scene with cold eyes, unable to keep a hint of bitterness from showing. Though the Parkers had given birth to me, they had never been so gentle towards me. What I heard most often in the Parker household was that no matter right or wrong, I always had to give in to my younger sister Penny. Sometimes I even wondered if I was really their biological daughter. Since they chose to give birth to me, and I had never been unfilial to them, why did they treat me so harshly? Just because I was the older sister? The maids took care of everything perfectly before the Parkers finally left. My two roommates hesitated before calling out to Penny, “We’re all going for a walk around campus. Do you want to come?” “No,” Penny rolled her eyes, all traces of the sweet obedient daughter gone. The two roommates didn’t press further. They called me to join them and we set off together. The main topic of discussion along the way was our new roommate Penny. I listened quietly without commenting. After living with Penny for 18 years, I knew her two-faced nature all too well. But I didn’t expect that when we returned to the dorm after our walk, my bed would look like it had been ransacked by thieves. Everything I had neatly organized was strewn about messily. Meanwhile, my roommates’ beds were untouched, with no signs of disturbance. Such obvious targeting made me laugh in anger. I yanked open Penny’s bed curtain. She was lying there playing on her phone. Our eyes met and she suddenly sat up. “What are you doing?!” “I should be asking you that. Why did you mess with my things?” I dug my nails into my palms, afraid I wouldn’t be able to resist slapping her if I didn’t. “Penny, don’t go too far!” “Do you have proof?” She stared at me challengingly for a few seconds before suddenly putting on a hurt expression. “Jane, I really didn’t do anything. We just met, why are you being so mean to me…” “You were the only one in the room,” I said coldly, watching her act. “If a thief came in, everyone’s stuff would be messed up. You wouldn’t be spared either. Do I need to spell it out for you?” “But I really don’t know anything about it.” She started to sniffle as she spoke. “Jane, why are you bullying me?” “Jane, stop,” my roommates said softly, giving me meaningful looks. I knew what they wanted to say. There were no cameras in the dorm, so no matter what I said, Penny could deny it. But it was crystal clear who had done this. I gritted my teeth and turned away, starting to clean up my things. In my mind, I was already thinking about installing cameras in the room. But Penny kept crying persistently. “Jane, how can you falsely accuse me like this?” “I didn’t do anything, but you came over yelling at me. We’re roommates, how can you bully me like this?” “How can you bully people with a clear conscience?!” “Waaah, I’m going to report this to the RA!” She cried harder and harder. My temples throbbed in irritation and I couldn’t help but turn back and shout, “Oh shut up already!” It was exactly like her old behavior – so annoying! But she cried even harder, slapping another label on me. “Jane, this is campus bullying. I can report you for this!” “Then go ahead and report me!” I was beyond frustrated, slamming things down loudly. Perhaps I should consider changing rooms? At this rate, I wouldn’t be able to focus on studying at all – fighting with Penny would consume all my energy and enthusiasm. “Both of you, calm down,” my roommates quickly tried to mediate, helping me clean up. I glanced at Penny in annoyance and saw that despite her teary eyes, she was smirking at me challengingly. I narrowed my eyes. So she was holding a grudge over the bed incident, huh? Setting aside the Penny situation, I was quite looking forward to college life. My new classmates seemed friendly too. However, the campus rumor mill was incredibly efficient. Soon, details about everyone’s family background and looks in our business school were circulating on the university forums. As it happened, the Parker family wasn’t as well-known as the Johnsons, and Penny’s looks paled in comparison to Jane’s. I became the beauty queen of the business school, leaving Penny in the dust. Within days of starting classes, I had a group of followers, even though I kept a cold expression. They just couldn’t be driven away. But privately, I got along well with my two roommates. They enjoyed hanging out with me. The three of us went everywhere together. With the crowd that always surrounded me, we were a lively group wherever we went. In contrast, Penny’s circle was much quieter. Every time she looked at me, her eyes flashed with jealousy. But I couldn’t be bothered to pay her any attention. Why should I care about a clown who was inferior to me in every way? “Just a peacock, that’s all she is.” We were all eating dinner in the dorm and chatting when Penny suddenly threw out this comment. She glanced at me sideways after speaking, her meaning clear. I nodded towards the new security camera in the corner. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” With such a troublemaker around, I had asked my roommates’ opinions about installing a camera. They had enthusiastically agreed, with no objections. If we couldn’t handle her, we’d find a way to protect ourselves. “Hmph, I’m going to report you all for invading my privacy by not getting my consent,” she stabbed angrily at her food, glaring at me maliciously. I ignored her and said to my roommates, “Weren’t you just talking about your sisters? Let’s continue that conversation.” “My sister can be pretty fierce. When I was little, if I didn’t do my homework properly, she’d yell at me.” “Mine too. I got smacked by my sister plenty of times.” Though my roommates were complaining, their faces were full of smiles. The deep familial affection was clear as day. I was stunned for a moment. Was my bad relationship with Penny because I had never hit her? But if I had dared to be harsh with her, I would have been beaten half to death by our biased parents before Penny could do anything. “Don’t your parents tell your sisters to let you have your way?” I asked curiously. My roommates exchanged a glance and laughed. “No way. Whoever is wrong gets punished. And even though my sister hits me, she always saves the best food and toys for me first. I love my sister the most.” “Same here.” My roommates were smiling sweetly, but my heart was filled with bitterness. All the good food and toys went to Penny first. Why would she need me to care for her? In the end, it was favoritism that created the Amy who swallowed her pride, and the domineering yet fake-sweet Penny. I guess I just never had that familial bond with the Parkers. “Jane, are you an only child?” my roommates asked curiously. I glanced at Penny’s resentful face and nodded. “Yes, I don’t have any siblings.” I used to, but they disappeared along with Amy’s death. “Then we’ll be your sisters from now on.” My roommates smiled kindly, giving me their favorite dishes from their plates. I was touched, but before I could respond, Penny snorted coldly. “As if they’re worthy of being your sisters. You think Jane would want nobodies like you?” My roommates’ smiles froze, looking embarrassed. They were both from ordinary families who had worked hard to get into this good university. They didn’t have impressive family backgrounds to boast about. But I didn’t care about any of that. I put some food on their plates and said sincerely, “I do want you as my sisters.” They smiled at me gratefully. Penny scoffed from the side. “Oh please, Jane. Stop being such a hypocrite. You just want them to run errands for you.” “I don’t have any sisters. I like having sisters – it’s lively,” I replied blandly. But Penny laughed so hard tears came to her eyes. “You think I don’t have an older sister? Let me tell you, older sisters are just there to be ordered around!” “You-!” My roommates were furious. I nodded. “Then your sister must be truly miserable.” In Penny’s heart, what was Amy worth? Nothing at all. “Exactly! With a sister like you, your poor sister must have the worst luck in the world!” my usually mild-mannered roommates couldn’t help but lash out. “Sisters are supposed to support each other, share joys and sorrows. Only you would think of the relationship in such a despicable way!” “Your sister is so pitiful. You should just cut ties with her already.” “Hurry up and stop tormenting her!” As they ranted indignantly, I dug my nails into my palms, listening silently. After all these years, someone was finally standing up for me. The feeling of being truly cared for was wonderful indeed. “Oh, her? She’s already dead.” But Penny just giggled coquettishly, looking quite pleased with herself. “We both fell into the water at the same time, but my parents love me so much they chose to save me and let her drown.” Me: “…” I wanted to ask – could I curse this beast to death? My two roommates were shocked, staring at Penny dumbfounded. “Are you even human?” “Hmph, she was never likable anyway. It’s good that she’s dead,” Penny stabbed at her food distastefully. The shiny fork was like a knife, seemingly stabbing into my soul with each jab, causing unbearable pain. How could she speak so casually about my death? Was she even human?! “Wash my bowl for me. I’m going to order takeout,” Penny commanded one of my roommates matter-of-factly. But my roommate, who had previously been somewhat wary of her, directly refused with a cold face. No one paid her any attention anymore. However, Penny directed her resentment towards me. My things started going missing again, or would end up with strange smells on them. And whenever I lost something, the security camera would mysteriously go black. Everyone knew who was behind it, but there was no concrete evidence. My two roommates privately urged me to change dorms, worried I would end up like Penny’s sister. Little did they know, I was that abandoned sister. But I didn’t want to back down again. Penny’s grades were as terrible as ever. We’d been in classes for a while, but her textbooks still looked brand new. However, between the three of us roommates combined, we didn’t have as wide a social circle as she did. Every day she would dress up glamorously, either going to meet “big brothers” or hang out with “little brothers”. And ever since that day we discussed sisters, rumors about me suddenly started spreading around the department. They said I had loose morals, secretly hooking up with guys by using my looks. They said I had a haughty temper and liked to bully others. They even said my background was fake, that my family was actually dirt poor with my parents working odd jobs, while I bought luxury goods every day. Suddenly, my classmates started looking at me strangely. My roommates tried to explain on my behalf, but ended up being labeled as my lapdogs, getting pointed at and whispered about wherever they went. They were furious, but I remained quite calm. I didn’t interact much with people in our department, and the only person I had any grudge against was Penny. If she wanted to use these petty tricks to slander me, I wasn’t going to take it seriously at all. What kind of person I was couldn’t be destroyed by a few words from her. But photos started appearing on the campus forums. Some anonymous account had somehow taken pictures of me chatting with the campus heartthrob under a tree and posted them online. I thought the guy would clarify things, so I didn’t bother with it. But he ended up writing a long post under the photos condemning the original poster, without actually clarifying our relationship. Penny’s looks towards me became increasingly strange. Many girls started probing me, asking if I was dating the campus heartthrob. Heaven knows, I barely even knew the guy. However, every chance encounter between us would be magnified and discussed on the school forums, causing hordes of girls to attack me online. I was dumbfounded. What was even more outrageous was that while I was mired in these rumors, Penny suddenly released so-called evidence of me bullying her. In the photos, her eyes were red from crying, looking pitiful. The post also included an audio clip of me yelling at her in anger after discovering my things had been messed with on move-in day. I had been furious at the time, and my words “Go ahead and report me then!” became a heavily criticized point. The sound of me slamming things was interpreted as me violently beating Penny. My roommates had already been labeled as accomplices and couldn’t show their faces. Every day, girls would curiously peek into our dorm to watch the drama unfold. Some would comfort Penny, saying I would get my comeuppance. Penny played the innocent victim, finding new ways to torment me and my roommates every day. And then I saw the campus heartthrob hugging Penny.
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “294856”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #现实主义Realistic #励志Inspiring #重生Reborn #校园School
Leave a Reply