Chapter 9 – So What If You’ve Been Reborn? Your Sis Ain’t Afraid of You

The two sisters first went to the bank to deposit their money, then to the post office, and finally to the department store to buy supplies for their upcoming trip to the countryside—clothes, food, daily necessities—everything practical and good quality.

After all, many things available in the big city simply couldn’t be bought in rural areas. If you didn’t bring them along, you’d have no way of getting them later.

But Xia Wanwan didn’t care much for these things. After looting two houses into her space, she already had plenty of useful goods.

In fact, she had so much stockpiled from before that she could never finish it all. She only went along to avoid arousing her sister’s suspicion.

Thinking of the many items she still hadn’t “processed,” Xia Wanwan found an excuse to separate from her sister for a while, telling her they’d meet back at the guesthouse. Xia Yuwei didn’t think much of it and continued shopping.

Xia Wanwan ducked into a quiet spot and casually disguised herself, wrapping her head in a scarf so only her eyes showed. She pulled a big burlap sack from her space.

Inside was a mess of clothes. Guided by memory, she found a certain alley.

As soon as she stepped in, someone blocked her way and whispered, “What’s your business?”

“Selling a few things!” she replied quickly, pulling out half a pack of Da Qianmen cigarettes from her pocket and offering him one.

“Smart girl. Two cents entry fee. Go straight in, second-to-last door, pick any spot.”

The man had a crafty, sharp look—obviously a lookout. Spotting his type, Xia Wanwan started buttering him up.

“Hey, brother, who here buys ration coupons?”

“You got some?”

“Take a look…” Xia Wanwan opened a tiny gap in her small shoulder bag, showing what was inside.

The man’s expression changed immediately, and he led her straight to the boss.

She had no interest in forming ties with these people—just wanted to trade and go. Black markets had their own rules: no one asked where goods came from, and deals went smoothly.

She swapped some coupons for nationwide-use ones, the rest for cash. That little bag alone fetched 600 yuan.

But she wasn’t done. She opened the big sack, revealing the clothes inside.

The black market boss blinked—these were all perfectly good clothes, some quite expensive-looking. But since she wanted to sell, he just gave a quick estimate and bought the lot for 100 yuan.

Not bad—if she’d tossed them, she wouldn’t have gotten a single cent.

Xia Wanwan hadn’t expected things to go this smoothly. With the junk gone, all that was left in her loot were cash and genuinely useful items: unopened tea, tobacco, alcohol, gift tins of malted milk powder, red sugar, white sugar, a small pile of cured meat… Added to her own supplies, her trip to the countryside would be downright luxurious.

She took several turns down different alleys to avoid being followed, changed her disguise again, and headed for the guesthouse—only to unexpectedly spot a certain white lotus.

Bai Huanxi spotted her too and came trotting over. “Wanwan, I’ve been so worried about you these past two days. Your uncle’s family already left. Are you okay?”

But Xia Wanwan was no longer the fool she used to be. She’d clawed her way out of piles of corpses—she could read a person’s nature in one glance. Those shifty eyes? Yeah, right.

“I’m fine.”

Mind-reading mode: ON.

“Wanwan, where have you been staying? Why don’t you come to my place?”

She looked warm and friendly enough, but her gaze was glued to Xia Wanwan’s clothes. With mind-reading, Wanwan caught her true intent instantly.

And—wait—who was this “Lu Tingxiao” she was thinking about? She didn’t know him.

So, this woman thought Wanwan had to marry Liu Wenwu, to follow the “path” of her previous life? Was she… reborn?

Well, Bai Huanxi might know what happened then, but Wanwan was from a different world—she had no idea about that so-called “previous life.”

Still, it was obvious her presence had changed a lot of things. Now this woman was trying to “reset” everything? Ha! Not happening.

Why should Wanwan live by her script? She’d do whatever made her happy.

“Not going.”

Bai Huanxi froze. This brat’s wings had gotten hard? In the past, she’d chased after her calling her “sister.” When did she stop listening?

“Wanwan, do you not like your sister anymore? If you don’t want to come to my house, you can stay at my uncle’s. My cousin’s been thinking of you these past two days!”

“Wanwan, you know I care about you. I’ve just been late because your second uncle’s been in the hospital these past two days. Don’t be angry.”

Her voice was soft, her head lowered—making it look like Wanwan was bullying her. Inside, though, she was cursing her eighteen times over.

Why is this brat wearing such nice clothes while I’m stuck in hand-me-downs? That dress should be mine—Tingxiao-ge would notice me immediately.

Hearing that ridiculous inner monologue, Wanwan was stunned—How can someone be this shameless?!

“Bai Huanxi, aren’t you tired? I can put up with hunger and thirst, but I can’t put up with you. We have nothing to do with each other now, and never will. I only have one sister—you’re nothing.”

Bai Huanxi gaped.

How dare she talk to her like that?

What was wrong with this world? Why was everything different from last time?

She was supposed to marry her cousin around now… and then Wanwan was supposed to die miserably a year later. Where did it all go wrong?

Staring at her stunned face, Wanwan picked up more details about her own “death” in that previous life.

If she hadn’t transmigrated, maybe the original Xia Wanwan would have married that pig. But now? Everything was flipped. This time, who died wasn’t set in stone.

“Wanwan, you must be misunderstanding me. Why are you so angry?”

And now the fake tears came, drawing attention from passersby. Sure, she had the clean, innocent look that earned sympathy—classic white lotus packaging.

She might be slightly prettier than average, but compared to Wanwan and her sister, she wasn’t even in the same league. Wanwan had no intention of letting her act play out.

“Last month you borrowed 30 yuan from me. Add the debts from past years, and it’s exactly 400. Plus, the clothes, shoes, and jewelry you’ve borrowed all these years—it’s time to give them back.

You know my family’s situation. I can barely afford to eat—are you really not going to pay me back?”

“I’m not mad. I’m just asking you to hurry up and return my stuff. Why are you acting all aggrieved?”

Now the onlookers understood the situation. Their eyes on Bai Huanxi were a mix of suspicion and contempt, making her so flustered she wanted to run.

It was like meeting a completely different Xia Wanwan—one she didn’t know at all.

And so, she ran…

Wanwan shouted after her, “Bai Huanxi, remember to return my things!”

Not far away, Lu Tingxiao had come out to buy something for a younger comrade—and ended up spotting her in the busy street.

Seeing her smug, I-won-this little expression, the corner of his mouth curved upward despite himself.

What a sly little fox.

Wanwan suddenly turned, sensing something, but saw nothing unusual. Yet just a moment ago, she’d clearly felt an intense gaze from that direction…

Maybe she was imagining it?