Chapter 2: Rebirth

“Forgot there’s still someone outside?”

Jia Chunhua smacked her forehead and exchanged a glance with her daughter-in-law. She yelled toward the door with a teasing scold:

“Xiao Sanzi, it’s a day of joy and you’re out there talking about death—are you looking for a beating? And what do you mean by ‘what did she have’? Such nonsense. Be careful, your grandpa might whack you with his pipe bowl!”

Even though she scolded him, she still gave him an answer.

“Hey, just like you hoped—your aunt gave birth to a baby girl! Happy now? Wash your hands and come have a look.”

Lin Feng, hearing his grandma threaten him with his grandpa’s smoking pipe again, panicked. “Grandma, if you didn’t say anything, how would Grandpa even know—”

Suddenly, he froze.

Wait, what? A sister?

His aunt had a baby girl!

“Woohoo!” Lin Feng howled with glee and leapt three feet into the air in excitement.

Seeing the baby girl in her mother-in-law’s arms shiver from the noise, Cai Honglian’s heart ached. She opened the door and scolded softly:

“Xiao Sanzi, are you asking for a beating? What are you screaming for? You scared your little sister!”

Lin Feng quickly covered his mouth—he had almost laughed himself into trouble.

But he was truly overjoyed.

Everyone in the family had said his aunt was carrying a boy. Only he had insisted it would be a girl.

Because he had a dream—a little fairy-like girl had called him “brother” in it.

But everyone in the family, even the youngest kid Xiao Si, had mocked him and put on a show analyzing all the signs, ridiculing him for being ignorant.

Hmph! And now, who was right?

With a smug grin on his face, Lin Feng thought: Xiao Si, that slingshot is mine now, fair and square.

Though normally a bit unruly, Lin Feng knew when to behave. He tiptoed softly into the room, careful not to make noise.

Granny Zhou was in high spirits. Seeing her grandson enter, she didn’t fuss about his antics.

“Xiao Sanzi, why didn’t you stay to help carry your uncle down the mountain? Came home early just to slack off, huh?”

Lin Feng couldn’t stand having his story twisted like that and forgot all about seeing the baby.

“Grandma! Don’t go spreading nonsense and slandering me! Grandpa picked me to come home and deliver the news because I’m the fastest runner. Hmph! If I’d known, I’d have slowed down and let you all stew in suspense!”

He turned his head and pouted, clearly aggrieved.

Granny Zhou laughed and scolded him, “Alright, you little rascal. Can’t even joke with you a little. Now come look at your little sister.”

Saying that, she nudged the baby’s swaddled form closer so he could see better.

Lin Feng was just about to start bargaining for some sweets—at least a couple of pieces of candied fruit for his “efforts.”

But the moment his eyes landed on the pudgy little baby face in front of him, he froze.

This red and wrinkled little lump… was his sister?

So ugly!

He blurted out his thoughts before he could stop himself: “Grandma, why’s my sister so ugly?!”

Jia Chunhua’s smile vanished. She had been waiting for her third grandson to praise the baby, and now he came out with that?

Before she could erupt, Lin Feng’s mother beat her to it.

Smack! A firm slap landed on his backside.

Cai Honglian glared at him and snapped, “You’re the ugly one! When you were born, you were all skinny and dark, looked just like a little monkey! How dare you call your sister ugly? A newborn this clean and pretty is rare in all of Jiachun County!”

Lin Feng shrank his neck and didn’t dare talk back, though inside he was full of resentment.

This was blatant favoritism! His sister really was ugly…

…

Nestled in a warm, comforting embrace, Chu Linyu slowly recovered from the confusion she’d just experienced as she listened to the voices around her.

After all, being born was not something she’d ever gone through before—well, at least not something she remembered so vividly.

Strange accents, a strange body—had she traveled through time? Or reincarnated without drinking the forgetfulness brew from the underworld?

Whichever it was, this was her new life.

Chu Linyu thought back to her previous one.

She had been born in the year 2265 of the Chinese calendar. On Blue Water Star, the environment had severely deteriorated. Human living conditions were harsh. Global population had plummeted. Countless humans and animals had died from pollution, cosmic radiation, or food poisoning.

Aside from the absence of zombies, it was no different from the apocalyptic worlds written in novels.

Humanity poured its efforts into developing technology—spacecraft, warships—constantly venturing into outer space, hoping to find a new home.

But hopes were slim.

Her parents had died from radiation exposure at work when she was only three. She became an orphan.

After entering the social welfare system, she was tested by the Human Crisis Response Center’s population survey department at age ten and found to have an IQ of 170. She was then admitted to the genius training facility, beginning a life of relentless research—no childhood, no family.

She didn’t disappoint. Relying on her talent, she became one of the youngest and most promising scientific researchers in the base and even successfully developed a lightspeed spacecraft.

Yet, on her way to another base for academic exchange, she was assassinated by a faction of rebel extremists among humanity—those who believed in natural extinction.

And when she opened her eyes again, she was just about to be born.

After a brief moment of panic, she realized she had to push hard to avoid suffocating inside her mother. With teamwork from her grandma, her mom, and herself, she was born smoothly!

She now understood that this world was clearly different from her past life.

Fresh air. Clean, plentiful water. No trace of the mutated, deteriorated plant smells she’d grown used to…

It was the kind of beautiful life that people on Blue Water Star could only read about in historical archives and long for.

Looks like her luck wasn’t too bad after all.

Having just been born, her eyes couldn’t quite open yet, so she couldn’t see the people around her clearly.

But judging from the voices earlier, her parents seemed to be quite loving—and her mom, a total romantic!

The rest of the family seemed decent too. She felt both anticipation and anxiety.

Would she get to live a happier life this time?

Suddenly, her cousin’s annoying duck-like voice echoed—he had just called her ugly, and the words went straight into her tiny ears.

She hadn’t even complained about how awful his voice sounded, yet he dared call her ugly?

She wasn’t sure if it was because she was now a newborn and more sensitive, or because the affection around her was starting to make her soft.

But Chu Linyu suddenly realized—she couldn’t handle even the slightest grievance anymore.

Having never known warmth in her last life, she now wanted to be cherished.

She furrowed her tiny baby brows and started whimpering in protest.

“Oh no, baby isn’t ugly. Our baby’s the prettiest of all,” Jia Chunhua quickly picked her up and gently rocked her, cooing comfortingly.

Feeling her grandmother’s gentle reassurance, Chu Linyu pouted a little, then stopped whining with a proud little huff.

Hmph, just a little test of the waters.

Suddenly, a warm breath wafted softly across her face.

It was an indescribably refreshing and pleasant sensation. Not the chemically synthesized scent of her past life, but a pure, natural smell that brought peace.

She wiggled her tiny nose, trying hard to sniff more of it.

But alas, she was still just a baby. Her energy soon faded, and after a milky little yawn, she drifted into a deep sleep.

To the others watching her, she couldn’t have looked cuter.

Though Lin Feng still thought his aunt’s baby girl looked kind of ugly, the innate sense of kinship and blood ties made him instantly fond of the little bundle.

Especially after he got closer and saw her sniffing around eagerly—it melted his heart.

She liked him! She was smelling his scent! He felt incredibly proud.

Sure, she might not be pretty, but this little one was pretty darn adorable. The more he looked, the more he couldn’t stop looking.

If only Lin Feng knew that Chu Linyu was simply enjoying the scent of his soap after he’d washed his face, he’d probably burst into tears on the spot.

He was already fantasizing about the future—when his little sister got older, he’d carry her on his shoulders to play. With him as her backing, no one would dare bully her. She’d definitely love him the most out of all her brothers.

So caught up in his thoughts, Lin Feng completely forgot he was supposed to go back and report to his uncle.

Jia Chunhua and Cai Honglian didn’t bother reminding him. Seeing that he was calm and reliable for once, they just told him to keep an eye on his sister.

Then the two of them rushed off to the kitchen to start preparing. The rest of the family would be back soon, and their son-in-law had caught a chill—they needed to boil extra water to warm everyone up.

Time to cook a good meal and celebrate as a family.