Sarah Lin.
The heroine of a rebirth novel.
A novel set in the industrious, unvarnished 1980s, thick with scheming relatives who never seemed to run out of malice.
The story opened with a cousin who had lived a disappointing life and been reborn. Armed with foreknowledge, she used underhanded methods to ruin the heroine's reputation, steal her opportunities, seize the family's affection, and even snatch away the brilliant future husband who had originally belonged to the heroine.
The heroine's father—spineless and muddleheaded—didn't seek justice for his daughter. Instead, he forced her to apologize to the cousin and allowed the rest of the family to trample all over her.
It was at that lowest point that the heroine transmigrated into the story.
After arriving, she cut through the chaos like a blade through silk. She took her long-suffering, ox-like mother and moved into her uncle's home, beginning a life of juggling private business ventures while continuing her studies. Whenever those wretched relatives came sniffing around, she dealt with them without mercy.
Later, she became the top scorer in the college entrance examination and was admitted to a prestigious university in the capital.
There, she clashed relentlessly with that reborn cousin—who had entered the capital a year earlier—fighting battle after battle in a dramatic, exhausting saga.
Even as a mere reader, Lily Parker had felt worn out watching them tear at each other.
She herself had been one of countless flowers raised in a greenhouse—spending her days lounging in air-conditioning, playing games, binge-watching shows.
Starting a business? Battling vicious relatives?
She absolutely could not.
Thankfully, she hadn't transmigrated into the heroine's sister or cousin. With her temperament, if she'd taken on any of those roles, she would've been dead by chapter one.
While the crowd lingered to watch the commotion after school, Lily lowered her head, hugged her backpack to her chest, and slipped through the gaps between people. She walked toward the direction her borrowed memories called home.
With each step, relief flooded her.
At the next intersection, she turned and walked another five hundred meters, when suddenly––
"Mommy!"
A sudden impact hit her legs. She staggered, nearly losing her balance.
When she steadied herself and looked down, there was now an extra attachment clinging to her.
A pair of grape-like, luminous eyes gazed up at her.
A tiny, exquisitely adorable child was hugging her thigh with absolute determination.
The little one barely reached above her knee. His fair, tender cheeks were plump and rosy; his small cherry-red lips were vivid and glossy; his nose delicately upturned. Beneath thick, raven-feather lashes blinked a pair of clear, crystalline eyes that stared at her—only at her.
His head tilted slightly, round eyes shimmering.
Lily's heart melted into a puddle.
The child had naturally curly hair, gathered into a short one-inch ponytail atop his head. A few cute hair clips decorated it—purely ornamental. He wore brightly colored overalls and tiny sneakers.
He looked like a perfectly sculpted, limited-edition collectible figurine.
I want one…
The thought flashed through her mind—but only for a second. Lily still had her rationality.
In the original owner's memories, most people wore blue factory uniforms. Children in the residential compound were dressed either in dull, washed-out colors or exaggerated plaid trousers with coarse cotton tops.
Resources in this small county town were scarce. Though ration tickets weren't as strictly controlled as a few years prior, no family—no matter how well-off—would lavish this level of effort on a toddler's wardrobe.
Most children inherited hand-me-downs from older siblings. Some wore altered versions of their parents' old clothes.
But this child's outfit—refined, fashionable, ahead of its time... He must have come from the capital.
"Little one…" Lily crouched down gently. When she did, the child released her leg—only to switch to gripping her pant leg tightly instead. "What's your name? Did you get separated from your family? Don't be scared. Big sister can help you find your parents, okay?"
The child's small head seemed filled with enormous confusion.
Mommy looks so much younger.
Is Mommy playing a game with me?
"Mommy, it's me, I'm Robin!" he said in a soft, milky voice.
The sweetness of it made Lily's heart itch, and her own voice involuntarily softened.
"Oh? You're Robin? Then do you know where your home is? Big sister can take you to find your daddy and mommy, okay?"
The little boy tilted his head, blinking at her. He patted his own chest with a chubby hand.
Then he broke into a radiant smile, revealing neat little pearly teeth, and pointed at her.
"Mommy!"
Lily pressed a hand to her forehead.
Maintaining a professional smile, she took another careful look at his advanced little outfit and asked patiently, "Robin, do you know your home phone number? Or your parents' names?"
Judging by his appearance, his family was either wealthy or influential. Surely they had a landline installed. Children his age might already be taught to memorize contact numbers, right?
She hoped so.
Though…
This child didn't exactly look easy to reason with.
"Daddy's name is Christopher Hale. Mommy's name is Lily Parker. Baby's name is Robin Hale!"
"…Huh?"
Lily froze for several seconds before forcing out an incredulous laugh.
"What a coincidence…"
His mother's name was the same as hers.
Yeah, it was just a coincidence. It had to be.
Yet an ominous premonition began creeping up her spine. She examined the boy's beautiful face again, along with his distinctly androgynous styling.
Robin Hale.
Robin was a unisex name, but...
His features were softer and prettier than many girls'. And that head of natural curls...
She had naturally curly hair too. Slightly chestnut in color.
And this child's hair was the exact same shade.
Oh no.
Reading too many novels had warped her imagination. Her thoughts leapt wildly to absurd conclusions.
For a fleeting moment, she had the overwhelming urge to drop the child and run.
"There's more!" the boy exclaimed excitedly, cheeks flushed pink as he clutched her sleeve tighter. "Mommy's phone number is 13X XXXX XXXX!"
Boom!
It felt as though mountains were collapsing inside her skull.
Lily went numb, staring at the child who seemed to have fallen straight out of the future.
It was 1985.
Forget basic mobile phones—cell phones wouldn't even enter the country for another several years.
And yet he had just fluently recited a mobile number. Her mobile number.
"Mommy, am I amazing?" he asked, shaking her sleeve and looking up at her expectantly, waiting for praise.
"Ha… amazing… haha…"
Lily swallowed. She was only a newly admitted university student. She could not be someone's mother.
Especially not in the conservative, gossip-heavy 1980s.
If she dared bring this child back to the residential compound, she would be drowned in spit by the neighbors before sunset.
She thought of her socially anxious father and her gentle mother. They might be driven out of the compound entirely.
Seeing her pale expression, Robin reached up with a small, chubby hand and pressed it to her forehead, checking her temperature.
"Mommy, do you miss Daddy?"
That single word—Mommy—felt like a hammer blow.
Miss Daddy?
Miss who?!
She was only eighteen!
Before transmigrating and after transmigrating, she hadn't even turned twenty.
And now a four-year-old had appeared out of nowhere?
Lily stared blankly and asked hollowly, "How old are you?"
Without hesitation, the boy held up four fingers.
Four.
She couldn't even force a smile.
Four years old.
Four years ago, the original Lily had only been fourteen.
Was she supposed to believe she'd given birth to a toddler at fourteen?
"…Should I take you to find your daddy instead?"