In the suburbs of S City, where influential figures and the truly wealthy reside, the entire block was aware that the Lu's residence had been in turmoil for the past three days because the princess of the house had refused to accept a severance of engagement from the Si Group.
'Urgg... shit! My head hurts! Why is death so painful?' She groaned.
'Eh! Pain!? Pain!' The pain she felt brought a moment of mental clarity upon realization, and she tried to recall what had happened before she lost consciousness. Is she still alive after a series of freak accidents? Lu Jingfei felt a heavy pressure on her chest and wondered how long it had been since she lay undead. Since she still felt pain, the fact that she is still alive is conclusive.
Full of positive expectation, she tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids were too heavy, as if someone had placed a boulder there for the sole purpose of making her suffer. Was she in a coma? Her head hurt so much she wished she were dead instead of suffering from this kind of immense discomfort.
Now, she didn't reckon that ethereal stranger to survive this ordeal. Even when her body was battered, she died looking like an otherworldly being. What a cruel world. Death does not favor the rich or poor, the pretty or ugly, nor the good or evil. If she isn't dead, she would never escape her fate of being cripple.
Crippled? Disabled!?
'Holy shit! I don't want to be a cripple!"
She dared not entertain the thought of other people's misery; although she herself was not a saint, she could indeed still claim to be a good person. Heaven does not favor a flawed soul; that's why 'good people' are left to roam on earth, tested by fate for a myriad of lifetimes to be worthy of eternal perception.
If fate threw her turbulent tests to be qualified as a good person, then she doesn't want to be one to accommodate such unfairness. She would be a villain, the kind that does not concede to fate but instead to one's own actions. That's who she intended to be. Even if the future is unknown, she will lead her life with a resolute and decisive manner. The choices she makes will be entirely her own.
Before she could further delude herself into scenarios of endless uncertainties, a horde of scurrying footsteps approached her.
"Lu Jingfei! Open the door now! Do you think you could get your way by trying to starve yourself?! Open the door now!!!!" She heard the howling of a man.
'Enh~! Lu Jingfei? I haven't heard this name in a long time. It sounds familiar.' She thought in a trance.
Thinking she could block unwanted thoughts from her mind, she tried to dissociate her inner self by chanting the peace sutra. Unbeknownst to her, the one who was banging on the door was so agonized by the fury caused by his daughter's rebellious act.
The constant banging got Lu Jingfei so annoyed that she didn't register what the other person was saying. If only she could get up, she'd give whoever was shouting a piece of her mind. Should she try cursing at whoever lacks manners, even to bother a cripple patient like her? She can't even open her eyes, can she even open her mouth to shout? Eh! Not likely. As the deafening sound of the banging door persisted, Lu Jingfei, in annoyance, attempted to yell at whoever was at the door with flying insults.
"Goddammit! Which bastard son has become a doctor to let some son of a bitch harass a cripple patient like me!?"
'!!' Lu Jingfei gasped! She could move! She could also speak!
She scanned the familiar surroundings, but everything was swirling because she had gotten up suddenly. She held up her hand to massage her temple amidst the chaos. She then heard the door unlock and saw a few people enter the room, each with a different reaction. Some look worried, some look uneasy, and one looks particularly furious!
She blinked. Hn? 'He looks familiar?' She blinked again.
"Did you just call me, your father, a bastard!? Which animal's gallbladder did you eat to get the nerve!" Lu ZhaoCai lashed out.
"Huh!? F..father? When did I have a father!?" Lu Jingfei tilted her head and asked in confusion.
"Y..you!" Lu ZhaoCai felt blood rush to his brain when he heard Lu Jingfei's rebellious response.
"L-Lu Jingfei!!" He howled again in exasperation.
Unable to control his anger, he clutched his chest as his body swayed. Bai Ling tried to steady him while helplessly looking at her daughter and hinting at her with her eyes not to cause any more trouble.
'Lu Jingfei!? Eeehhhh? That's my name!' The realization hit her like a bombshell.
"Bao bao, your father meant well! Let's cancel the engagement. There are better men than Si HuiLi."
Still feeling somewhat unsure, she scratched inside her ear when she thought she didn't hear it clearly! What!? What is happening? Father? Not knowing that her careless action had made Lu ZhaoCai even more furious, she looked at the people in the room with a perplexed expression.
After a few seconds, her eyes shone like a galaxy by the second as she once again scrutinized each person in the room. She stared at the worrisome woman's face and saw an older version of herself. Then she saw a middle-aged man fuming with anger, yet still filled with caring love underneath his fox-like eyes. Her eyes kept moving to the elderly man beside the enraged middle-aged man.
'Mother... Father... Grandpa Su.... So, I'm really dead after all?' She marveled, her eyes brimmed with tears.
Oh, how she hoped to see the faces of her loved ones, but fate had tormented her with countless dreamless nights. It was worth it to undergo physical and emotional pain to see their faces again at this moment. So, she is 'dead' dead and now in heaven. How else would she see them otherwise?
The room was quiet after everyone noticed her scrutinizing look. There was a loud growl coming from Lu Jingfei's gut. Her face flushed with embarrassment as she tried to cover her abdomen with a pillow. She died starving, okay!?
Bai Ling approached Lu Jingfei with caution and gestured for a housemaid to pass her a bowl of porridge. The maid was trembling because she had been the victim of Lu Jingfei's anger. Last night, she mispoke and got scalded by the spoiled princess of the Lu's residence. Lu Jingfei paid no heed to the maid's reaction and only felt the excruciating hunger upon smelling the aromatic porridge. As she reached out to get the porridge, the maid flinched and dropped the hot bowl. With quick reflexes, Lu Jingfei stretched out her arm and caught the falling bowl.
"Bao bao!"
Everyone gasped in panic as they saw Lu Jingfei get scalded trying to save a falling bowl.
'Did she do that on purpose!?' Lu Jingfei frowned and scowled at the maid, saying nothing.
Pain, again. Didn't she die? Why did she feel pain in heaven? And hunger. Servent? And the existence of social hierarchy. She pinched the bridge of her brows to ease her growing headache.
"..." Lu Jingfei pondered as she stared at her scalded hand.
The old butler was swift in action despite his age. Just when he was about to tend to Lu Jingfei's injury, she spoke in a horse voice.
"No need...." The room got quiet again.
She slowly scooped up the hot porridge and ate it one spoonful at a time. This taste.... It's indeed her mother's cooking. Her eyes brimmed with tears again.... one drop after another, she sobbed quietly. She continued to feed herself the hot porridge until the last drop.
"M...more..." She requested.
She died hungry, but it was worth it for this moment since she got to meet her loved one and taste her mother's cooking again in heaven. Bai Ling added more porridge to her bowl and finished it quickly. She continued to ask for more, but Bai Ling stopped her.
"M..mother..." Lu Jingfei sobbed as she stared into her mother's eyes.
Not able to refuse, Bai Ling poured some more porridge into the bowl. It's been three days since her daughter last ate. The old butler tried to stop his madam, but his master held him back and shook his head. Because the young lady kept eating large amounts of food after she had starved herself for days, the old butler was worried she might develop gastrointestinal issues.
Lu Jingfei felt overwhelmed with emotion and couldn't stop sobbing as she had her last bowl of porridge. She placed the spoon on the tray and wiped her tears and mouth in silence. After it felt like a century, she slowly faced her mom with profound courage. She reached out her hand and traced Bai Ling's face with gentle care. She bit her lower lip to prevent another burst of sobbing, but failed miserably.
"M..Mom... I will be good from now on. Don't leave me alone, okay?" She conceded as she burrowed herself into Bai Ling's embrace.
"Okay...okay... good, good.." Bai Ling sighed in relief as she patted Lu Jingfei to calm her down.
Bai Ling paused her action when she felt Lu Jingfei tremble and clutched her abdomen.
"What's wrong, Bao Bao?" She asked worriedly. Then she noticed Lu Jingfei heaved with a pale face.
Unable to control her gag reflex any longer, Lu Jingfei suddenly threw up all of the food she had eaten and passed out from physical and emotional exhaustion.
Everyone panicked at the sudden change in circumstances, and the room descended into chaos.
Lu ZhaoCai frowned and glared at the jittery servant walking back and forth.
"What are you doing?! Call the ambulance right away! What am I paying you a high salary for?!" He shouted at the servant.
His frown deepened when he observed these confused servants. He hired them from a reputable agency, but the way they handle conflicts seems questionable. For the first time, he lost his composure toward those who work for him. The ambulance arrived shortly after the servant left the room. He didn't pay any heed to how quickly the ambulance arrived at the Lu's residence as long as his daughter promptly received medical attention.
.....
At the hospital....
Lu Jingfei slowly opened her eyes, trying to adjust her eyesight to the bright light on the ceiling. Her hand felt sweaty, and she wanted to sit up, but couldn't. Was she cursed to be bedridden or something? Why did she feel weak all the time? As she tried her best to get up again, she heard a familiar gentle voice.
"Bao Bao? Take it easy... Mother is here!" Bai Ling reassured Lu Jingfei when she heard her stir and whimper in pain.
Feeling confused, Lu Jingfei sat up, leaning on soft pillows with her mother's support. She saw an IV drip on her skinny hand and frowned. Was she in the hospital? Didn't she die and already arrive in heaven? She even got the chance to see her loved ones and enjoy the food they had prepared for her. She looked around the room and realized she was indeed in the hospital room. It wasn't just any normal hospital room, but a luxurious one instead. When did her health insurance qualify her to stay in vip ward? She pondered in confusion.
She stared down at her skinny hand again when she felt a soft and gentle caress. She traced her gaze from the hand to the face, and her emotion was visibly evident as tears welled up in her eyes once again. On the wall behind the lovely lady was a large digital patient chart with date and time visible in large font. At approximately 7:00 something in the morning on October 6, xxxx. Did she transmigrate into a parallel world or reborn into her past life? If her past life were a book, does that mean she had actually transmigrated back into it?
Her gaze lingered on Bai Ling's face once again, and she called out in a whisper.
"Mother?" Lu Jingfei gently sobbed.
"Yes... Yes.... Mommy's good girl. Everything will be fine, alright?" She reassured Lu Jingfei in a gentle tone.
"Father?" She called out again to the man sitting on the couch behind Bai Ling.
Lu ZhaoCai looked up and snorted. He refused to acknowledge the presence of this stubborn daughter of his. He cleared his throat and went back to reading something on his tablet again. Lu Jingfei noticed that his shoulder relaxed, and his tablet was upside down. Reflecting his glass was the blank screen of the tablet.
Nevertheless, Lu Jingfei didn't expose his pretense. She chuckled in amusement. Why did she fail to notice her father was this eccentric? Now that she is back, she'd indulge her parents and be the good, obedient daughter her parents wanted her to be.
On the wall facing the hospital bed, a TV screen displayed a beautiful young lady broadcasting the phenomenal events that don't happen very often. A total lunar eclipse, even after sunrise, remains bright red after the color has changed from green to purple, followed by a glistening blue over the eastern horizon.