"Li Zhiyan, Aunt Shen… she took her own life."
"Since that accident with Mengchen, she's been in constant pain. Her husband betrayed her, and she missed her daughter terribly."
"She couldn't hold on anymore and just…"
On the other end of the line, as these words echoed in Li Zhiyan's tiny rented room, the wine glass slipped from his hand, shattering on the floor.
The news hit him like a thunderclap, spreading pain through his heart with unbearable speed.
Aunt Shen… was gone too.
"Li Zhiyan…"
"Li Zhiyan…"
The voice on the phone became faint. Li Zhiyan couldn't hear it anymore.
The only person in this world who ever truly cared for him had died. What was left for him in this world now?
As his consciousness slipped, memories flashed through his mind like a flickering movie reel.
At 32 years old, he had nothing to show for himself.
His grandparents had passed long ago, and he had never even seen his father's face. His mother had died in an accident when he was nineteen.
Misfortune seemed to haunt those born with hard lives.
Now, he was all alone, scraping by in this world, barely hanging on.
Even when he fell ill, there was no one by his side in the hospital.
Every time he saw others cared for and loved, envy welled up inside him.
Average height, and a face that could only be called decent at best.
All these years, it felt like no one had ever shown him true kindness.
Except, perhaps, for that girl he met after graduation—a girl with a limp who wore pigtails, Su Mengchen.
Su Mengchen was truly beautiful. But due to her insecurity, she avoided people and rarely spoke.
Wherever she went, she kept her head down, embarrassed by how her limp looked.
By pure chance, he'd managed to break through her shell.
She became his girlfriend, his first love. Though people pointed and whispered wherever they went, Li Zhiyan, an ordinary man, felt blessed. Being with such a beautiful girl felt like a gift.
Su Mengchen gave him her whole heart, her entire soul.
And so did her mother, the stunning Aunt Shen Rongfei, whose allure was similar to actress Zeng Li, though she boasted a D-cup figure. She treated him like a son, showering him with warmth.
Back then, he thought, "If I could marry Mengchen and spend my life like this, I'd be happy."
But the pressures of life kept piling on.
After losing his job, he was evicted by his landlord. It was then he realized that in this world, without money, you were truly powerless. Waves of shame and despair crashed over him.
Luckily, that foolish, devoted girl stayed by his side.
But he never got to marry Mengchen. Instead, he got the news of her death—ten years ago, while he was at work.
She, like his mother, was lost to an accident, leaving him forever.
He wasn't even sure how he'd managed to survive all these years.
In these bitter years, Li Zhiyan had fought relentlessly against fate, hoping to make enough money to someday give Aunt Shen a good life.
But life in Shanghai was merciless. Despite working overtime day in and day out, he could barely survive.
Now, after another late-night bender, he had just heard the dreadful news of Shen Rongfei's suicide.
His consciousness faded, drowned in the overwhelming agony.
Was this… the end of everything?
If there's a next life, I want to be born as a rich heir, a young master with endless wealth!
Then, I could be free from the troubles of this world, without any regrets.
…
When Li Zhiyan opened his eyes again, he saw a rose in his hand.
A card was attached to it, written in his own embarrassingly cheesy handwriting.
"Yu Sisi."
He began to read, but then stopped awkwardly.
"Is this… an illusion?"
He pinched himself hard, the pain jolting him awake.
Looking around at the familiar school surroundings, he pulled out the flip phone from his pocket.
He checked the date.
"July 21, 2010!"
"2010!"
The voice of his buddy, Li Shiyu, snapped him out of his daze and back to 2010!
"Bro! You've got guts, man! Confessing to Yu Sisi in front of everyone like that!"
Embarrassing memories rushed back to him. During his teenage years, two things stood out.
One was how he always boasted about becoming a millionaire someday.
The other was Yu Sisi, the school goddess he'd been smitten with his entire youth.
For two years, he'd pursued her, and she'd happily accepted his gifts and kindness, but never his confessions.
Her family was rich, yet she always accepted the gifts he'd bought with every penny of his allowance, with no hesitation.
And she had a set response:
"Accepting your gift ≠ agreeing to be your girlfriend."
She even encouraged him to keep trying, saying that with enough sincerity, she'd consider dating him in the future.
After years of rejection, he'd finally decided to go all out today.
In the class group chat, he announced he'd confess to his goddess at the class reunion tonight.
When he did confess in front of everyone, Yu Sisi had turned him down, cold as ice.
To top it off, one of the wealthy heirs in class, who was also after Yu Sisi, ridiculed him to his face.
For years, this incident became a joke that his classmates would bring up over tea and laughter.
He could never forget that night, his 18-year-old self, a fool at the reunion.
"Those are some pretty roses," Li Shiyu said, eyeing the bouquet.
"I bet the campus queen's going to love them."
By now, the two of them had reached the hotel entrance.
Seeing the flowers in Li Zhiyan's hand, Yu Sisi raised her head proudly.
At eighteen, she thrived on vanity.
Although she looked down on someone as average as Li Zhiyan, having a guy publicly profess his love for her with a bouquet of flowers was a testament to her charm.
Looking at Yu Sisi standing before him now, Li Zhiyan felt nothing.
Instead, his attention was entirely on her mother, Gu Wanzhou.
With a daughter as beautiful as Yu Sisi, it was no surprise that Gu Wanzhou was just as stunning, made even more graceful with age.
Tonight, she wore a black buttoned blouse paired with a black pencil skirt, flesh-toned stockings, and high heels.
The allure of a mature woman radiated from her effortlessly.
Only a sophisticated woman could pull off this kind of elegance.
There was a unique charm about her.
Perhaps it was her age.
Li Zhiyan felt himself appreciating the beauty of older women more and more.
As he looked, Gu Wanzhou reminded him of Lady K2 from a famous drama. His hormones were stirring wildly.
The allure of a senior woman to a young man?
At that moment, a voice sounded in his mind.
"System activated."
"Random task issued."
"Yu Sisi is planning to embarrass you when you confess to her."
[Confess to her mother, Gu Wanzhou, instead.]
[Task reward: 50,000 yuan]
The voice stunned Li Zhiyan.
A system?
﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌
Support the Translation! 🌐✨
20 Advanced Chapters are currently available in Patreon, make sure to visit and support our team.
patreon.com/Immortal_author
https://ko-fi.com/immortalauthor
https://discord.gg/KscfBegBPT