After checking out of the hotel, Pei Xi grabbed a quick lunch and hurried to her best friend’s place. It was close to the subway—very convenient.
Her best friend had said the place was in high demand. If she went too late, someone else might snatch it first.
It was graduation season. Plenty of new graduates were looking for housing.
As a poor girl, the rent there suited her perfectly. If she missed this chance, she had no idea where else she would find something affordable.
She had to hurry.
Right now, Pei Xi’s entire focus was on finding a place to live. Nothing else mattered more than having a roof over her head.
In both of her lives, she had grown up in an orphanage.
In her previous life, she had been abandoned shortly after birth because she had a congenital heart disease. She had lived cautiously and fearfully until the age of seventeen—never even reaching adulthood before she died.
In this life, the moment she became conscious, she was in a hospital delivery room. A doctor had just smacked her tiny bottom, making her cry loudly from the pain.
Perhaps she had cried herself tired. Before long, she fell asleep—without even seeing whether her biological mother was tall or short, round or thin.
When she woke up again, she found herself at the entrance of an orphanage.
She figured her parents in this life must have preferred sons over daughters.
The moment they knew she was a girl, they couldn’t wait to abandon her. She had just been born! At least let her drink some milk before throwing her away!
She had almost starved to death. If the orphanage director hadn’t found her, she probably wouldn’t have survived until dawn.
With two lifetimes tied to orphanages, Pei Xi no longer longed for fatherly love, motherly love, or family warmth. Even when prospective adoptive parents came, she refused.
Being an orphan wasn’t so bad. Feed one person, and you didn’t have to worry about feeding a whole family.
The director of the orphanage treated them well. Kind-hearted people and government support helped with their schooling, and she could also apply for scholarships.
As long as she didn’t compare herself to others, life was manageable.
Pei Xi felt content. At least in this life, she had a healthy body. She no longer had to worry about falling asleep one day and never waking up again.
Because of her poor health in her previous life, she couldn’t run, jump, or even let her emotions fluctuate too much. So she had often sat alone in a corner reading books.
Now, with a healthy body, she could do so much more. She studied hard—partly from effort, partly for scholarships—and eventually got into university as she had wished.
She wasn’t the top scorer, but she ranked second, which still came with a reward. Her tuition was covered.
After turning eighteen, she had to earn her own living expenses. So she became an online novelist. She couldn’t afford to buy a house, but at least she could support herself.
Fortunately, luck was on her side. Because she arrived early, she met the landlord and paid three months’ rent upfront.
She would have liked to pay more—but her bank card balance wouldn’t allow it. She still had to live.
After securing the apartment, Pei Xi was exhausted. She said goodbye to her best friend, put on a mask, and returned to her school dormitory to sleep like the dead.
She was the only one left in the dorm. With no one to disturb her, she slept especially well—so well that she even missed dinner and didn’t wake up until five the next morning.
Starving, she sat up and checked the time, shocked at how long she had slept.
She quickly made herself a cup of instant noodles to fill her stomach. It was barely dawn outside; she didn’t feel like going out yet.
While waiting for the noodles, she realized her body felt much better. The soreness had eased.
She picked up her phone and scrolled through short videos. One showed siblings fighting in a funny clip. She couldn’t help but smile—
Then suddenly she nearly jumped out of her seat.
Oh no!
She hadn’t bought the medicine yet!
That night, the man hadn’t used protection.
And she still hadn’t taken emergency contraception! She had completely forgotten.
Panicking, she quickly searched on her phone whether it was still effective after more than twenty-four hours.
Seeing that it was still effective within seventy-two hours, she didn’t even finish her noodles. She changed clothes and rushed to the pharmacy.
Only after swallowing the pill did she finally feel somewhat at ease.
She was dirt poor. Raising a child would cost far too much money—she absolutely couldn’t afford that.
After settling into her new rental place, Pei Xi began preparing to look for a job. But it was graduation season; so many people were job hunting. How could she possibly find the perfect job immediately?
After squeezing through crowds at the talent market for two days, she decided to temporarily give up.
She still had her side career as a writer. She wouldn’t starve anytime soon. Instead of competing desperately for jobs, she might as well focus on planning her next novel.
As for a full-time job, she would wait until the rush died down before sending out resumes.
With her major and limited work experience, she simply couldn’t compete right now.
And so, Pei Xi became a homebody. Aside from grocery shopping and buying necessities, she spent all her time at home typing away.
On the other side of the globe, Si Ruohan had just finished a video conference. After it ended, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.
Inevitably, his thoughts drifted back to that night.
That morning, after receiving a call from his assistant, he had immediately boarded a flight.
Seeing the girl still sleeping peacefully on the bed, exhausted, he hadn’t had the heart to wake her. He could only hurriedly write down his private phone number and leave it on the table.
He knew it was her first time. If she wanted him to take responsibility after waking up, he hoped she would contact him.
But so much time had passed. Why hadn’t she called?
He had considered investigating, but that felt disrespectful.
Since she hadn’t reached out, perhaps she had chosen to let it go.
If she, a girl, didn’t treat it as a big deal, what would it look like if he, a grown man, chased after her about it?
Still… how could he simply let it go? It had been his first time too. And she was such a beautiful girl. It was hard not to care.
In the end, he shook his head.
Forget it. Better to wash up and sleep.
When Pei Xi was at home, she didn’t bother disguising herself or wearing makeup. She was bare-faced every day.
Her best friend Peng Jiao, who lived downstairs, came up whenever she had free time.
Tilting her head as she watched Pei Xi type, Peng Jiao said, “Xiao Xi, if our classmates saw what you really look like, do you think Li Shiya would still be the campus belle?”
Back in school, Pei Xi had always worn thick black-framed glasses, heavy bangs, oversized plain clothes, and dull-looking skin. She was completely unremarkable.
To her classmates, she was just a bookworm and a country bumpkin.
After they learned she was an orphan, even fewer people paid attention to her.
In four years of university, aside from her three roommates, she had no other friends.
No one knew her true appearance.
If people discovered that Pei Xi was actually a stunning beauty—with both figure and face top-tier—her peaceful life would certainly vanish.
Her disguise had been extremely successful.
Eventually, though, her roommates had discovered the truth. One time, she came out of the shower without her glasses, and her pajama buttons weren’t fully done up. The exposed skin tone didn’t match her usual appearance.
Under their careful observation, they realized she had deliberately made herself look plain.
After being questioned, she confessed. As an orphan, being too beautiful could attract trouble. At her current stage in life, she had no ability to protect herself.
To study peacefully and graduate safely, she had to hide her appearance.
Fortunately, her roommates were kind and promised to keep her secret.
After graduation, when she went out with Peng Jiao, she stopped disguising herself—just wore a mask outside.
At Peng Jiao’s teasing, Pei Xi paused her typing.
“We’ve already graduated. What’s the point of talking about that? Why don’t you think about what you’re going to do? Are you really not going to work at your brother’s company?”
Peng Jiao pouted. “I don’t want to. I’m afraid I’ll lose my freedom.”
“You’re not afraid of losing freedom,” Pei Xi laughed. “You’re worried your relationship will be exposed.”
Peng Jiao’s family was well-off. They hoped she would join the family company.
Her apartment had originally been bought by her older brother when he was studying here.
From freshman year, she had pursued Xu Haoyang and won him over within a month. They had been together for four years.
But her family didn’t know about him.
Now that they had graduated, she had assumed they would break up like many couples did.
Who would have thought Xu Haoyang was actually a local from Jing City?
Her breakup plan had fallen apart.
“I kind of regret not investigating properly,” Peng Jiao sighed. “Should I continue with him? What if my parents find out? They might break my legs.”
Pei Xi thought for a moment. “Why break up? He’s good-looking, from a decent family, and treats you well.”
Peng Jiao sighed again. “I’m just scared my parents won’t agree.”
Pei Xi, who had never been in love herself, could offer no useful advice.
Time passed. Pei Xi finished her manuscript and set it to auto-update. With her workload lighter, she stopped staying up late and began waking early.
One morning, she woke up feeling a tightness in her chest and nausea. She rushed to the bathroom but vomited nothing.
Confused, she frowned. She hadn’t even eaten yet—why did she feel sick?
Worried that her heart condition from her previous life had somehow returned, she went to the hospital for a checkup.
After asking about her symptoms, the experienced doctor told her to register at the gynecology department.
After a series of examinations, the doctor dropped a bombshell.
“Miss Pei, you’re pregnant.”
Pei Xi: “???”
“Doctor, are you sure? I took the pill!”