Chapter 2: She is Back

She opened her eyes abruptly. There were some muffled sounds in her ears, and before her eyes was a hazy, whitish scene. Someone was saying something angrily, and there was the sound of many people breathing, as well as the scent of many people around her.

Suddenly, something struck her forehead, bringing with it a sharp, solid pain.

She reached out to touch her forehead, her lowered eyelashes falling upon the half-stick of white chalk lying in front of her. This was what had just hit her.

She stared blankly at the half-stick of chalk, still not knowing where she was or what had happened. Only the clear, lingering pain above her forehead told her that she was not dreaming.

*Slap!* A hand slammed onto the desk. She raised her face to meet the wide-open mouth of a woman. As the woman’s mouth opened and closed, bits of spit sprayed onto her face from time to time, accompanied by a heavy, pungent odor—had she eaten garlic or something? It was suffocating.

"Liu Liang, with grades like yours, how do you have the face to stay in my class? Look at what you’ve scored; even a pig is smarter than you. If it weren't for your mother kneeling down to beg me, do you think you could still be here, sitting in such a brand-new classroom, listening to lectures from famous teachers, and surrounded by such excellent classmates?"

"Someone like you is only fit to be a rat that everyone detests, crawling on the ground, never able to stand tall."

The woman’s mouth continued to open and close, the insults becoming increasingly ugly. Just how much deep-seated hatred could there be to curse someone’s ancestors back eight generations?

*Slap!* Another sound, as the hand reached under the desk, pulled out a schoolbag, and slammed it onto the floor. The books inside spilled everywhere.

"Get out! Get out right now! I don't want to see you ever again!"

Liu Liang, who had been poked in the forehead, kept her eyes wide open. Those eyes went from confusion to clarity, and finally, all the light gathered into a single point before everything was extinguished.

She slowly crouched down, picked up the books that had fallen on the floor one by one, and put them back into her schoolbag.

"Get out!"

The word "get out" was spat out by the teacher again. Following it, there seemed to be the muffled laughter of others.

Liu Liang picked up her schoolbag, patted it, hugged it tightly to her chest, and walked out. The moment she stepped out, the classroom door slammed shut with a *bang*.

Her footsteps faltered only slightly before she continued walking forward, step by step, clutching her bag.

Turn right, there are stairs.

Go down the stairs, walk straight ahead, and there is the school gate.

But when she reached the school gate, she stopped. She turned around and looked at this school, which was both strange and familiar.

She reached out and gently touched her face.

So, she had returned.

Returned to the time when she was sent back by the Xu family.

Suddenly, she felt her eyes grow cold and her nose ache unbearably. With force, she wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand and walked toward the home in her memories.

In this world, the only place she could call home was there, and the only person she could call family was that one person.

In this world, the one who loved her most was also her.

"Liangliang, you're home from school?"

An old woman saw Liu Liang returning and couldn't help but ask. Hadn't she just gone to school? Why was she back already?

Liu Liang blinked. Perhaps too much time had passed in her memories; for a moment, she couldn't remember who this woman was or what her name was. In her memory, she was a very kind person who would often send things to their home when she had something good.

"I..."

She opened her mouth, but she wasn't used to being able to speak. It felt as if something was stuck in her throat; she had words but couldn't speak them.

"Mom, why are you talking to her?"

A woman pulled the old woman away, her voice tinged with bitterness.

"She’s a young lady from a wealthy family. She’s not used to living here, and she’s not used to eating our food."

The old woman quickly pulled the woman, telling her not to say any more.

When the two had walked away, Liu Liang, still standing where she was, could vaguely hear their voices.

"Don't say that again in the future. No child is inherently bad; she’s just not used to it."

"I think she’ll never be used to it. She wants to eat well and wear nice clothes every day. Does she really think she’s still from a rich family?"

The old woman sighed again. "I just feel sorry for Lanping. Her life hasn't been easy. She finally raised a daughter, only for her to become someone else's. That heartless man divorced her, and now she only has this one. If this one doesn't want Lanping anymore, how can she go on living?"

"Mom, I think this one is ungrateful too. Sister Ping’s whole life has been ruined by this child."

What else the two said, Liu Liang could no longer hear clearly.

She turned and walked to a door. This was an old-fashioned tenement building where several families lived on each floor, sharing the same restroom. Most families set up stoves at their doorways to cook. At mealtime, all sorts of smells would drift out, especially for those living near the restroom—someone might be stir-frying vegetables on one side while someone else was flushing the toilet on the other.

Liu Liang fumbled in her schoolbag for a long time before she found a key.

So, she hadn't forgotten.

She muttered to herself at the key, her voice raspy. Her heart felt the same; it had been a long time since she had spoken aloud.

She opened the door and walked in with her schoolbag.

The tenement apartment wasn't large, totaling about fifty square meters. It had only two small rooms and a small living room. Because it was on the end, they were able to partition off a small kitchen by the window, so they didn't have to cook outside like the others.

In the living room sat a set of old chairs covered with cloth. Although old, they were cozy and clean.

She walked to the table and sat down. She sat there for an hour until she moved her fingers again, then clenched them into a tight fist.

A kettle sat on the table. She reached out and weighed it; it was full of water. She poured herself a cup. The water must have been boiled in the morning; it was still hot enough to burn her lips.

She held the cup, blowing on the water. Her eyelashes seemed to be misted with a layer of dew from the steam. With a blink, she didn't know where the droplets vanished.

She continued to hold the cup, and before she knew it, her face was covered in tears. Finally, she raised her face and saw the old-fashioned calendar hanging on the wall.

September 30, 1996.

This year, she was twelve, and she had returned from the Xu family...

The first year.

Even though she had been reincarnated twice, she still clearly remembered that this was the year she changed from Xu Liang to Liu Liang.