Chapter 1

On a cold, windy, unfamiliar street, several cleaners in orange uniforms were tidying up the road.

Not far from the school gate, there was a small cart selling triangular rice cakes, with a sweet, sticky aroma wafting through the air.

Lu Yan sniffed the glutinous scent drifting in and couldn’t help but swallow. She felt as though there was a little kitten in her stomach, scratching her whenever it was hungry, making her feel restless.

She pressed her hand to her stomach and walked up to the triangular rice cake cart, looking pitiful as she said to the vendor, “I’ll have one, please.”

“Okay! Fifty cents.”

The vendor gave her a steaming hot triangular rice cake.

Lu Yan hesitated for a moment, then pulled out the only hundred yuan bill she had from her bag and handed it to the vendor.

The vendor stared at the red bill, flipping it over several times, and asked in confusion, “What kind of money is this? I’ve never seen it before. Is it fake?”

“It’s not fake.” Lu Yan quickly explained, “Just… if you keep this bill for twenty years—oh no, ten years at most—it’ll be usable.”

The vendor looked at her as if she were crazy, but seeing her fair, smooth skin and her delicate, refined appearance, it was clear she was a pampered young lady raised in a wealthy family. She didn’t seem like a scammer.

In the end, the vendor still didn’t take her money.

“Running away from home isn’t a good thing. Go back to your parents. They must be so worried about you.”

“Mm, thank you!”

Lu Yan took the warm rice cake and stood by the wall, taking large bites.

This was her third day since her rebirth. It wasn’t as glamorous and extraordinary as it’s portrayed in novels. Right now, she was starving and struggling to survive.

The accident had caused Lu Yan to be reborn, returning to when she was 15. She had thought she could start over, study hard, shed the pampered image of a rich second-generation, and learn some real skills so she wouldn’t be useless when her father went bankrupt due to being framed by enemies.

What she didn’t expect was that she hadn’t returned to her own 15-year-old self, but to her father’s 15-year-old self!

Beicheng was still the familiar Beicheng, and the streets were the same as before, but no one here recognized Lu Yan because…

She hadn’t been born yet.

As a “nonexistent” person who hadn’t been born yet, Lu Yan had wandered the streets of Beicheng in the early 2000s for three days, truly experiencing what it was like to beg for food.

When her father went bankrupt and she became poor overnight, she had never felt so miserable .

If she didn’t find her young father, Lu Zhen, she might really starve to death on the street.

Lu Yan asked around and finally arrived at the high school where her father, Lu Zhen, had attended—Beicheng No. 3 High School.

Beicheng No. 3 High School was the oldest high school in Beicheng. Even after Lu Yan was born, the school continued to admit students and was later recognized as a national key school.

Lu Yan also attended Beicheng No. 3 High School. She often heard her father mention how this place held his reckless and shameful past.

Lu Yan had felt disgusted by that phrase for a long time.

Now, standing at the school gate, she looked at the old green-painted doors with a sense of excitement.

How many of her father’s “shameful and reckless” memories were hidden inside this school?

Lu Yan had waited at the school gate for three days but hadn’t even caught a glimpse of her father.

“Excuse me, do you know Lu Zhen?”

“Young Master Lu? He doesn’t come to school often.”

“Where can I find him?”

“Maybe on Entertainment Street, but I advise you not to go there. It’s a mess.”

“…”

Despite the warning, Lu Yan decided to stay at the school gate and wait for Lu Zhen. Given her current sensitive identity, she wasn’t in a position to wander around.

She waited at the gate for three more days but still hadn’t seen Lu Zhen. She heard that the young master of the Lu family didn’t come to school every day and that skipping class was a regular habit for him.

Lu Yan thought about her once stern and cold CEO father and felt that the “Young Master Lu” they were talking about wasn’t the same person at all.

Squatting on the street, Lu Yan waited listlessly for her father, unaware that there were girls around her who were staring at her.

She was beautiful, especially with her slim waist, delicate and slender. In her previous life, when she entered university, she had been called the “campus goddess” and captivated countless otaku.

Even though Lu Yan was only fifteen now, her stunning beauty was enough to make the girls around her feel jealous, which naturally bred a sense of hostility.

“I heard she comes to the school gate every day.”

“She asks everyone about Lu Zhen.”

“Tsk, how shameless, even coming to the school gate.”

—

Lu Yan knew that in her father’s time, boys and girls were innocent and conservative. They drew a clear line between them, and even a gaze would make them blush and their hearts race.

Her bold behavior of squatting outside the school to wait for Lu Zhen was seen as extremely daring and inappropriate by the girls. Moreover, Lu Zhen was very… popular at school!

As a result, Lu Yan’s actions were drawing a lot of attention.

But what could she do? She was a “nonexistent” person who hadn’t even been born yet—she needed to find a way to eat!

Aside from her father, she didn’t know who to turn to. The police station was definitely not an option, or she’d either end up in an orphanage or a mental hospital.

The girls kept gossiping, their voices endless, and unfortunately, Lu Yan overheard them.

“She’s really persistent, waiting here every day. Little does she know, Lu Zhen already has a girlfriend, and she’s the school goddess.”

Lu Yan immediately perked up, her ears attentive as she listened to their gossip.

Lu Zhen already had a girlfriend? Could it be her mother?

“Hey, I heard that Shu Mengfei and Lu Zhen broke up.”

“Why? Didn’t they have a great relationship? Shu Mengfei is so pretty, and she looks perfect with Lu Zhen!”

“I heard… just heard that recently, Shu Mengfei has been… getting really close to someone else.”

“Someone else?”

“Shen Kuo.”

“……”

The girls fell silent for a moment.

“Has Shu Mengfei lost her mind? She’s actually getting involved with that guy.”

“He’s such a gloomy guy, just thinking about it sends chills down my spine.”

“The key is, Shen Kuo is poor. How can he afford to support Shu Mengfei?”

—

When Lu Yan heard the name Shen Kuo, she instinctively shuddered, a cold sweat breaking out on her back.

Shen Kuo—years later, he would become one of Beicheng’s most powerful new business tycoons. After lying low for several years, carefully plotting, he pushed Lu Zhen’s thriving company to the brink of bankruptcy and crushed him beneath his feet.

Lu Yan was terrified of him!

Who would have thought that Shen Kuo and Lu Zhen, these two bitter enemies, would actually be high school classmates!

From the gossip of the girls, it seemed like Lu Zhen’s school goddess girlfriend had started to waver… and had developed feelings for Shen Kuo?

“Shh, don’t say anymore, Lu Zhen’s coming out!”

Lu Yan suddenly looked up and saw Lu Zhen riding a motorcycle, followed by several boys dressed in a carefree, rebellious style, leaving the school gate.

He was wearing a white shirt with the collar slightly open, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his handsome, sun-kissed skin.

Lu Zhen’s features were exquisitely handsome, but what was most captivating were his sharp, alluring eyes—slightly upturned, flirtatious, and wild.

Lu Yan’s eyes were very similar to his father’s.

In the past, some family members would joke that with those eyes, both father and daughter could be seen as “beauties who bring trouble.”

But as Lu Yan watched from a distance, she felt that her father when young was definitely more of a “troublemaker” than she ever was!

Lu Zhen was recognized as the campus heartthrob at Beicheng No. 1 High School. With the natural aura of a rich heir, he knew how to dress and charm people. He was carefree, rebellious, and loved his freedom. Walking on the streets of the early 2000s, he was guaranteed to turn heads.

Lu Yan couldn’t believe that her usually serious and composed father had been this wild when he was young!

As she watched, Lu Zhen’s motorcycle was about to pass right by her, and Lu Yan quickly moved forward, blocking his way.

Lu Zhen slammed on the brakes, and the tires screeched to a halt just half a meter from her.

“Fuck! Are you tired of living?!”

Seeing her dear father, remembering the grievances and hardships she’d endured these past three days, Lu Yan’s eyes immediately welled up with tears.

The words “Dad” stuck in her throat, trembling with emotion, almost bursting out.

“You’re faking an accident and crying? What the hell are you crying for?! If I had actually hit you, I’d be the one crying! Move out of the way!”

Lu Yan refused to budge, firmly holding onto the handlebars of his motorcycle.

“Not moving, huh?” Lu Zhen reached into his wallet and began counting out stacks of cash. “I’m in a hurry, so tell me, how much for medical expenses before you move?”

Lu Zhen’s tone was sharp, unapologetic, and oozing with the aura of a spoiled, reckless rich kid.

One of his friends, Liang Ting, patted him on the shoulder, urging him to calm down. “She’s just a little girl, you scared her. Be a bit gentler, it’s not about money.”

After speaking, he handed Lu Yan a dark-colored handkerchief. “Here, wipe your face.”

“Thank you, Uncle Liang Ting, but I’m fine.”

Liang Ting: …

Uncle?

Lu Yan skillfully took the two bills her father handed her, grabbed his hand, and started crying loudly, “Dad, Yanyan is so hungry, I haven’t eaten in two days. Wuu, please, could you give me a little more since you’re here?”

Lu Zhen: …

What the hell?

The two of them stared at each other for a while, and Lu Zhen, helpless, handed over four or five more bills. After Lu Yan accepted the money, she tearfully said to him, “It’s not about the money, I really have something important to tell you.”

Lu Zhen’s mouth twitched. You’re scamming me for this much money, and then saying it’s not about money?

Lu Yan suggested, “Let’s go to a restaurant and sit down to talk, okay?”

“Scammed me for money and now you want a free meal? You’ve got some nerve!” Lu Zhen replied impatiently.

Lu Yan looked to her father’s close friend, Liang Ting, for help, “Uncle Liang Ting, please say something for me!”

Liang Ting, confused, scratched his head and said to Lu Zhen, “Well, Brother Lu, she looks really anxious. How about we just listen to what she has to say?”

Lu Zhen straightened his motorcycle handlebar and said impatiently, “If every woman chasing me needed money and a free meal, I’d be bankrupt by now!”

Lu Yan thought to herself, ‘you’ll go bankrupt eventually, but if you listen to me patiently, maybe there’s a chance to turn things around in the future.’

She didn’t dare say that out loud.

She looked at Lu Zhen pitifully, “Dad…”

Liang Ting sized up Lu Yan. She was around fourteen or fifteen, with a soft and obedient oval face. Her lightly arched brows curved naturally, and her long, delicate lashes were like tiny brushes, with water droplets at the tips, giving her an innocent, lovable look.

It was true that the expression in her eyes and between her brows closely resembled Lu Zhen’s.

Liang Ting glanced between Lu Yan and Lu Zhen.

Lu Zhen irritably asked, “What are you looking at?”

Liang Ting stunnedly said, “Lu Zhen, she really looks like you!”

Finally, Lu Zhen gave Lu Yan a proper look. Lu Yan tilted her head back, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, hoping her dad could see clearly. Ts was definitely his real daughter!

She revealed her fair, egg-shaped face, and her obedient earlobes had turned slightly pink from the anxiety.

Lu Zhen, being hot-tempered, always had red earlobes when he was upset.