Chapter 2

Song Chunzhi hid the bamboo basket in the haystack at the edge of the village. Her bone-sucking, marrow-scraping family didn’t deserve to eat the mushrooms she had worked so hard to pick.

As soon as she stepped through the front door, she was met with Zhao Wanmiao’s familiar stream of curses.

She thought of her previous life… how she had worked tirelessly without complaint, endured abuse from her mother, and suffered beatings from her father. In the end, all her efforts only led to a tragic death. Maternal love and family affection were things she was destined never to receive, and she no longer hoped for them.

Without stopping her pace, Song Chunzhi glanced at Zhao Wanmiao and mocked her with a cold expression. “Why should I cook? Is everyone else in this family dead?”

“I’m a papaya. What are you, a papaya seedling or a rotten vine?” she added, then turned and entered the west wing. She needed to check her injuries. Although she had only taken a hard fall this time and hadn’t tumbled down a cliff like before, since she had been given a second life, she now cherished it.^[1]In this context, Song Chunzhi compares herself to the whole papaya, which is valuable and mature, while mocking Zhao Wanmiao as merely a seed or sprout, implying she is small and insignificant. This … Continue reading

Zhao Wanmiao, standing in the courtyard, was stunned. That dead girl Song Chunzhi hadn’t obediently gone to the kitchen to cook. When she finally registered what Song Chunzhi had said, she flew into a rage and charged to the door of the wing. With a loud bang, the door shook on its hinges as she shouted furiously, “You damn wretch! How dare you curse the whole family? How dare you insult me? Get out here! I’ll beat you to death!”

Inside, Song Chunzhi had just checked the wound on her arm. It was the size of an adult’s palm, with raw red flesh mixed with dirt. It stung fiercely. She was just about to check her knee when she heard Zhao Wanmiao yelling outside. Walking over, she suddenly flung open the door. Zhao Wanmiao lost her balance and fell backward to the ground.

Standing above her, Song Chunzhi looked down with wide almond eyes filled with hatred. She thought of the college admission letter from her previous life and felt a surge of cold resentment.

“You don’t need to hit me. I already died in the mountains. Didn’t you realize I’m a ghost?” she said coldly.

Zhao Wanmiao had been ready to get up and continue berating Song Chunzhi, but upon hearing those words, she froze. Recalling how strange the girl had looked when she came home, she hesitantly looked up at her again. Her bulging eyes, her bloodless pale face… it sent chills down Zhao Wanmiao’s spine. The room felt eerily cold, as if filled with ghostly energy.

“You… you…”

Zhao Wanmiao trembled, scrambling to crawl out of the room. She only felt slightly better once she stood under the bright sun in the courtyard. She tried to convince herself that the girl was just trying to scare her, but she didn’t dare go back in to check.

Song Chunzhi’s face had looked just like a corpse, and her personality had completely changed. Noting how late it was getting, she quickly headed for the kitchen to cook. If her husband came home and there was no food, it would be a disaster.

Song Chunzhi felt that Zhao Wanmiao had overreacted a bit. All she had done was glare and speak a little coldly, and she’d scared her that badly. Apparently, Zhao Wanmiao was just a paper tiger. It was pathetic to think she had let herself be bullied like that in her past life. She resumed examining her injuries. Though they looked frightening, they weren’t actually serious, just incredibly painful. What she hadn’t noticed, however, was that her face had gone deathly pale, with a hint of bluish-purple.

“What’s going on?”

Song Chunzhi noticed her hand becoming transparent again. Turning her head, she saw her own body lying crooked on the bed. Her heart sank. Had she died again? She sighed with helpless regret. Heaven really was toying with her. Just when she thought she had a second chance, it was snatched away again. She thought her fate had changed when the wild boar was killed, but it had all been for nothing.

Full of despair, Song Chunzhi slowly left the room and headed straight for the kitchen. Since Zhao Wanmiao was afraid of ghosts, she decided to scare her a little. Consider it revenge for her past self. After all, there was an old saying: those haunted by ghosts would have a lifetime of misfortune. Even if modern society no longer believed in superstitions, she was a ghost now, wasn’t she?

“Why is it so cold?”

Muttering curses under her breath while cooking, Zhao Wanmiao rubbed her ears. She kept feeling cold drafts. Remembering how Song Chunzhi had looked earlier, her fear intensified. It was already May; feeling cold now was terrifying.

Right next to her, Song Chunzhi kept blowing air onto her ears. Seeing how frightened Zhao Wanmiao looked, the sorrow and despair in her eyes faded a little. Her mood lifted. With a ghost blowing on her, of course it would feel cold.

Clang.

Zhao Wanmiao, who hated cooking the most, slammed the ladle hard onto the cutting board. But the ladle shook and then fell to the ground, which made her even angrier. She started cursing Song Chunzhi again. If that damned girl hadn’t shirked her duties, would she have to cook? Ever since Song Chunzhi could reach the stove, Zhao Wanmiao had hardly cooked except during the New Year.

She could still touch things?

Song Chunzhi didn’t care at all about the insults. When the ladle fell, it had hit her knee, and she had actually felt pain. Even more surprisingly, she had touched the ladle. The sensation was real. That shocked her. After being a ghost for over ten years, she knew well that ghosts couldn’t touch real-world objects.

She looked up at the still-cursing Zhao Wanmiao. Clearly, the scare earlier hadn’t been enough. Song Chunzhi smiled slightly. If she could touch things, she definitely wouldn’t go easy on Zhao Wanmiao. After all, one of the main reasons for her tragic end in her past life was this woman stealing her college letter and urging her father, Song Xingguo, to marry her off to a scoundrel.

Thinking of her past life filled Song Chunzhi with rage. She grabbed a fire poker and swung it toward Zhao Wanmiao. When Zhao Wanmiao saw the fire poker floating in mid-air, she was completely stunned. Song Chunzhi understood this perfectly and began waving the fire poker wildly around the kitchen. Using someone’s deepest fear was the best way to strike.

“There really is a ghost…”

Watching the fire poker move through the kitchen, Zhao Wanmiao was filled with terror. Her face turned pale, her body trembled, and she stared at the floating stick in horror, mumbling to herself.

“Ah… there’s…”

Song Chunzhi threw down the fire poker and yanked on Zhao Wanmiao’s hair. Zhao Wanmiao looked around and saw no one. There wasn’t even a breeze. Yet despite the sun blazing in the courtyard, her body felt like it was deep in winter. Everything around her felt dark and eerie. She let out a scream but quickly covered her mouth. In this new society, belief in superstitions could get one arrested. If someone heard her shouting about ghosts, she might get dragged out and paraded through the streets.

“Spare me… please spare me…”

Zhao Wanmiao was so frightened that her belly tensed up, and she nearly lost control of her bladder. She immediately dropped to her knees and kowtowed, begging for mercy in a panic. There really was a ghost in the house. She didn’t dare scream, so she kept her voice low, tears and snot streaming down her face in a pitiful mess.

Just as Song Chunzhi was about to keep teasing Zhao Wanmiao, she suddenly felt her transparent body slipping out of her control. An invisible force began pulling her away. She lost consciousness.

“Why the hell are you wailing like that!”

Song Xingguo, who had worked all morning, came home to find Zhao Wanmiao kneeling and crying in the kitchen. He was instantly irritated and punched her without warning.

“Bringing bad luck into my house at noon! Have you cooked or not? I’m starving.”

“There’s a ghost in the house! There’s really a ghost!” Zhao Wanmiao cried as she looked up, face full of tears. “It pulled my hair, and the fire poker was flying around…” She kept her voice low, afraid the neighbors would hear.

“You look more like a ghost to me!”

Song Xingguo was fuming. He began punching and kicking Zhao Wanmiao with rage. He had worked himself to the bone all morning, and this useless woman had the nerve to stir up nonsense the moment he returned. Superstition was being heavily cracked down on these days, and he didn’t want to be labeled a believer and face punishment.

“Ow! Ow, it hurts…”

He dragged Zhao Wanmiao into the courtyard and kicked her in the stomach. Her body rolled a meter away. Then he strode over and slapped her across the face several times. Finger marks bloomed across her cheeks, and her already thin face swelled instantly like a pig’s head.

Having vented his anger, Song Xingguo rubbed his hands and asked gruffly,

“Where’s the food? Where did all the good-for-nothings go?”

Zhao Wanmiao cried out in pain but didn’t dare bring up the ghost again. Her body still trembled in fear, though. Forcing herself to speak, she replied shakily, “The food’s almost ready… Chunhua went to the supply store to exchange eggs. It’s far, so she probably won’t be back for a while.” She didn’t mention at all that she had told Song Chunhua to wander around the county town.

With a face swollen like a pig’s head, Zhao Wanmiao dragged her bruised and aching body into the kitchen. She didn’t want another beating. Gritting her teeth, she quickly prepared the meal. There were still some coarse buns left from yesterday. She made a simple soup and sliced some pickled vegetables, then hurriedly served it to Song Xingguo.

“Chunzhi fell in the mountains. She’s lying in her room…”

Zhao Wanmiao hesitated for a moment before deciding to mention that Song Chunzhi was still at home. She was scared. After all, the girl had just said she was a ghost, and then Zhao Wanmiao really did experience something supernatural. Nervously, she hoped Song Xingguo would go take a look. If it turned out to be a lie, he’d know how to deal with her.

“Falling down won’t kill anyone.”

Song Xingguo glanced at Zhao Wanmiao and dismissed it casually, still eating. The rain yesterday had washed out the irrigation canal, and the production team was organizing repairs. He had been one of the first to go down into the canal to dig. By noon, he was so exhausted he nearly passed out.

“In the afternoon, you’re coming with me to work. If Chunzhi didn’t break her arms or legs, she’s coming too. With all those mouths to feed at home, are we just going to sit around waiting to starve without earning labor points?”

“Whatever you say.”

Zhao Wanmiao’s little schemes had backfired, so she could only nod and agree. She didn’t have a choice. If she didn’t agree, he’d beat her until she did. Still, she couldn’t shake the thought of what had happened in the kitchen. Even during the meal, her hands trembled so much she nearly dropped the bowl. Song Xingguo cursed at her, calling her useless.

In the west wing, Song Chunzhi slowly regained consciousness. Her eyes blinked rapidly as she scanned the room. A run-down mud-brick house, crude furnishings… she was confused. How did she end up back here?

She raised her hand and saw slender, fair fingers. Startled, she sat up from the bed and realized she had returned to her body. Joy surged through her. So she hadn’t died after all? Her soul had only temporarily left her body?

Overjoyed, Song Chunzhi got out of bed. As she passed the broken piece of mirror on the worn-out table, she quickly looked into it. She had almost forgotten what she looked like. In the reflection, a girl with rosy cheeks and delicate features smiled back at her. Her face lit up with a radiant smile. It felt good.

She really had been reborn. Though she still didn’t fully understand what had happened, heaven probably wasn’t so cruel as to joke with her again and again.

That morning, all she had eaten was half a bowl of watery porridge. Now, she was dizzy with hunger. She went to the kitchen to find food. There, she saw Zhao Wanmiao tidying up while muttering to herself. With a smile on her fresh, lovely face, she walked over.

“I want to eat.”

“Eat my foot…”

Zhao Wanmiao hadn’t even finished cursing before she realized the one speaking was Song Chunzhi. A chill ran down her spine. Cautiously, she looked up and saw that familiar face, now rosy instead of pale. Relief filled her heart, and she regained her courage. She scowled.

“People who don’t work don’t get to eat. You’ve slept until now, and you still have the nerve to show your face? You’re coming to the fields with me this afternoon.”

Song Chunzhi glanced at Zhao Wanmiao. Her head was swollen like a pig’s, and slap marks were clearly visible on both cheeks. She moved stiffly. It was obvious she’d been beaten by Song Xingguo. Chunzhi remembered vaguely hearing his voice before she lost consciousness. A sense of satisfaction washed over her. It was a pity she didn’t get to see it herself.

“Aren’t your ears cold?”

Seeing that Zhao Wanmiao had returned to her usual behavior, clearly no longer believing the ghost story, Song Chunzhi smiled. With her healthy, lively appearance, she looked like a sweet and innocent girl.

“I saw a ghost blowing into your ear.”