In that instant, her ordinary sense of hearing expanded a thousandfold.
The rustling of earthworms burrowing beneath the soil, the muffled whimper of a stray cat in a distant corner, and the shouts of teenagers on a basketball court three kilometers away—along with the dull thud of the ball hitting the ground—all became so clear it felt as if they were right beside her ears.
Thank you, little cat.
After paying her respects to the cat, she took her son Li Yang’s hand and turned to leave. Suddenly, her phone in her bag vibrated. The name “Lin Tianrou” on the screen made her frown slightly.
In her previous life, it was Lin Tianrou who stole her achievements, her friends, and everything she had.
She slowly answered the call. Her cat hearing instantly locked onto every sound on the other end.
“Su Su, where are you? The company celebration banquet is waiting for you alone. If you don’t come soon, you’ll have to drink as punishment!”
In the background, clinking glasses, deafening music, and noisy laughter mixed together. Then, when a heavy figure sat down beside Lin Tianrou, Li Su caught a whispered sentence buried under the music.
Without the cat hearing ability, she might not have heard it at all—but now it was crystal clear. It was Shen Jianchen’s voice, carrying undisguised malice:
“Lure her over. Tonight we’ll find a reason to kick her out. When the apocalypse comes in a month, we absolutely cannot bring that burden with us.”
Li Su’s heart tightened violently.
They… were also reborn?
The refusal already on her lips was forcibly swallowed back.
“Okay, I’ll come right over.”
She hung up and crouched down in front of Li Yang.
“Yangyang, Mommy will send you to Auntie first. After I finish my work, we’ll go to Grandpa and Grandma’s house. From now on, we won’t deal with bad people anymore, okay?”
In her family, only her sister-in-law had ever understood her. She often helped her secretly, taking care of the child while running back and forth between homes. Unfortunately, she had died such a tragic death in her previous life, along with her unborn child.
But this time would be different.
She took a taxi to the company and left Li Yang with Ning Zhenzhen. Then she immediately headed to the club.
The moment she pushed open the private room door, all eyes turned toward her.
Lin Tianrou and the others exchanged assessing looks—eyes sharp and probing, like poisoned needles used by fellow reborn ones testing each other.
“Li Su, you’re late. Punishment drink, punishment drink!”
Chen Miao rushed over, grabbing her arm and pulling her toward the table.
This best friend of hers since high school—the only one who tried to protect her in her previous life—had eventually died in a horde of zombies while helping her escape.
Seeing that familiar lively face again, Li Su’s eyes warmed slightly. Without a word, she held her hand tightly and sat down with her.
A cup of strong liquor was shoved into her hand. Li Su tilted her head back and drank it in one go. Her throat burned like fire, but her ears stayed fully alert.
With the cat hearing ability fully activated, she captured every whisper from Lin Tianrou’s group.
“She doesn’t look abnormal. Doesn’t seem like she’s reborn.” Wu Xiaomei’s voice was very low, uncertain.
“So what if she is? Without her supply channels, she’s useless anyway.”
“Let’s play Truth or Dare later and test her. If she really is reborn, we’ll kill her tonight to avoid future trouble in the apocalypse.” Li Dadong’s voice was cold and ruthless, with no trace of cousinly affection.
They thought she couldn’t hear them.
In reality, she heard every word clearly.
Li Su’s fingers around the glass slowly turned pale. She knew it now—
This game was either life or death.
Soon, the bottle in Truth or Dare stopped, pointing at Li Dadong and Shen Jianchen. They exchanged a glance and chose “Truth.”
Chen Miao teased, “Shen Jianchen! Do you still like our Su Su?”
Everyone looked at him. Li Su also raised her head, wearing a properly shy and expectant expression—but inside, her emotions were already churning with disgust.
Shen Jianchen frowned.
“Then let me make this clear. Li Su, I’ve never liked you. Seeing your bastard son makes me sick. Don’t ever bother me again. We’d better never see each other again.”
Chen Miao’s face turned pale with anger. She stood up abruptly.
“How can you say something like that?!”
Shen Jianchen shrugged indifferently.
“She asked. I just answered honestly.”
Li Su pretended to be deeply hurt, her voice trembling.
“Good. I also have something to say.”
Her gaze swept across everyone in the room, word by word.
“This company—I’m leaving. From today on, we go our separate ways. We have nothing to do with each other anymore.”
She had founded this company. They had all built it together. But now, she didn’t want it anymore.
In this life, she would no longer be entangled with these people.
What extreme cold, extreme heat, zombie tides—go play with them yourselves. She wasn’t participating anymore.
Yet surprisingly, no one reacted much.
Only Chen Miao panicked.
“Don’t—Jianchen was just angry! Su Su, think about it again?”
“No need. I’d rather leave early than keep dealing with disgusting people!”
She turned to leave immediately.
But—
“Wait!”
Li Dadong suddenly stood up and blocked her way.
He glanced at Lin Tianrou and, after receiving silent approval, curled his lips into a cold smile.
“My Truth hasn’t been said yet.”
Li Su raised a brow.
So the test was finally coming.
She took a deep breath and steadied her emotions.
“Li Su, your son is dead!”
Those words struck like a poisoned dagger straight into her heart.
Memories from her previous life surged—screams, zombie hordes, the cold eyes of her so-called friends…
Her body trembled violently. She wanted nothing more than to rip their throats out.
But she couldn’t.
This was a deliberate probe—a trap. Only a fool would fall for it.
“SLAP!”
She suddenly raised her hand and slapped Li Dadong hard across the face.
The crisp sound echoed through the room. Everyone froze.
“You bastard!”
Li Su’s eyes were red.
“Li Dadong, don’t think just because you’re my cousin you can spout nonsense! Yangyang is my life! Anyone who dares curse him to death—I don’t care if I end up in jail, I’ll tear them to pieces!”
Her outburst perfectly portrayed a mother pushed past her breaking point.
No one doubted her. Because this was exactly how she had reacted in her previous life.
She glared at everyone in the room.
“You all disgust me!”
She slammed the door and left in anger, leaving the room in silence.
Chen Miao completely broke down.
“What the hell are you all doing?! Why treat Su Su like this? She was the one who founded this company! She helped every single one of you!”
But no one paid attention to her.
Lin Tianrou, Shen Jianchen, Li Dadong, and Wu Xiaomei gathered together, their expressions certain.
“Looks like she didn’t reincarnate. Her reaction is exactly the same as before.” Wu Xiaomei finally relaxed.
“A useless woman who only knows how to cry—good thing we’re rid of her.”
“One less person to split resources with. Our chances are better now.”
“In the apocalypse, we don’t need good people.”