Chapter 1: Grease Blinded the Heart

“Father, stop!”

In the depths of a narrow alley, a girl curled in the corner suddenly shouted.

Cheng Yuan found herself back in that endless alley from her dreams. Her father stood protectively before her, a stick raised to strike the thugs who had been bullying her.

Stop him.

“Father!”

She screamed with all her might. A cold glint flashed before her eyes. Without thinking—whether this was a dream or reality—she threw herself forward to shield him.

The icy blade pierced her abdomen.

Pain exploded through her.

“Yuan Yuan!”

Cheng Huaien caught his daughter with one arm, rage boiling inside him. He swung his stick fiercely at the stunned attackers. Realizing they’d gone too far, the bullies scattered like rats.

“She’s going to be fine. My Yuan Yuan will be fine,” Cheng Huaien murmured, unsure if the words were meant for her or for himself.

“Dad…” Cheng Yuan clung to his clothes, his familiar face a blur through her tears.

“Don’t be afraid, Yuan Yuan. The doctors will save you.”

Cradling her close, Cheng Huaien bolted toward the hospital, as if possessed.

Blood loss made Cheng Yuan weak and dizzy. Each step jarred her, sending waves of nausea through her body, but through the haze, her father’s face grounded her. If this was a dream… she never wanted to wake up.

When Cheng Yuan opened her eyes again, daylight flooded the room. She stared at the towering tree outside the window as last night’s memories came rushing back. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. That dream felt so real.

Doctor, how’s my daughter’s condition? Will there be any lasting effects?”

“She’ll recover well. She’ll be lively again soon.”

“Thank you, Doctor. Thank you…”

Her father’s voice.

Cheng Yuan sat up abruptly, startled. Pain shot through her side and she gasped

“Yuan Yuan? Are you okay? Does it hurt?” Cheng Huaien rushed to her side, panic rising in his voice. He called the doctor in a frenzy, only relaxing once reassured the wound was stable. After seeing the doctor out, he turned back to her with concern etched deep in his face.

“Are you hungry? I’ll go buy your favorite—century egg and lean meat congee.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

At the door, he paused. “I’ll be right back.”

“Dad…” she called softly. “I’m sorry.”

She turned her head. Her striped pillow gradually soaked up her tears

Thank goodness it had been her who got injured. Now her father wouldn’t be imprisoned for injuring Li Liang. She couldn’t let him work himself to death supporting her rebellious mistakes, only to end up with stomach cancer. Never again.

Clenching the quilt, Cheng Yuan made a silent vow: I’ll become his pride. Not his burden.

If she remembered right, it was 1996. She was eighteen. A third-year high school student.

Meng Yue was always picking on her, afraid she’d surpass her in grades.

Whenever her scores improved, Meng Yue would send Li Liang to bully her. At first, she resisted. But the physical strength gap between boys and girls made it impossible.

Beat Li Liang!

She’d reported him before, but after a scolding, Li Liang had beaten her even worse. Eventually, she stopped speaking up.

Then came her father’s arrest.

That shattered her spirit. She started believing all her classmates were judging her. Her grades plummeted. She flunked the college entrance exam and ended up at a vocational school.

If only she hadn’t gone there, she wouldn’t have met that man.

He’d pretended to be gentle and loving. Then turned around and slept with other women. Just thinking about holding his hand made her stomach turn.

Looking back, she couldn’t believe how stupid she’d been. The more Meng Yue tried to stop her, the harder she should have worked.

Regret was useless. But now… she had a second chance. She would excel. She’d crush Meng Yue under her academic success.

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The congee packaging was familiar. The taste—unmistakable. Century egg and lean meat. Cheng Yuan’s eyes welled up. Her father had crossed the entire city—hospital in the north, school in the south—just so she could eat something she liked.

You really let pig fat blind your heart.

She looked up at his sweaty forehead and empty hands. “Dad, have you eaten?”

“I’ve eaten.”

Liar.

She divided the congee in half. “I can’t finish it all.”

“I really have—”

“If you don’t eat, I won’t either.”

After a pause, Cheng Huaien sighed and gulped down the rest.

“Oh, I called the police yesterday. Do you recognize those people?”

It’s my fault,” he said bitterly. “I should’ve picked you up.”

Cheng Yuan stirred her congee. “I don’t recognize them.”

That alley had no cameras or witnesses. Even if she accused Li Liang, he’d never admit it.

But she wouldn’t let this go.

After her medication, Cheng Yuan slept most of the day. But come nightfall, she couldn’t sleep at all.

She turned her head toward the neighboring bed. Her father’s snoring, once annoying, now comforted her deeply.

She touched the jade pendant around her neck. She remembered the accident—the blood, the glow—and then waking in that alley.

She lifted the pendant toward the moonlight. The stone shimmered with renewed brilliance.

Thank you, she whispered. Thank you for this second chance.

Her lips curved slightly. Now that she’d made it through the first round, she wouldn’t give up. She wouldn’t pretend to be weak anymore.

That night, clutching the jade pendant, Cheng Yuan drifted into a hazy sleep—or rather, she felt as if she were being pulled elsewhere.

Another dimension?

Her eyelids fluttered. She found herself in a vast void, pitch-black and silent. A single point of light shimmered ahead. She staggered toward it.

Could this be a golden finger? Is heaven really spoiling me this much?

But something was wrong. The light never got closer.

No matter how far she walked, the darkness stretched endlessly.

Finally, the blackness began to shift. In the middle of that nothingness stood a bed—pure white, almost icy.

And on it…

Lay a sleeping beauty.