After traveling through time and space. Following the system's instructions, I reclaimed my identity as the true heiress of a wealthy family, serving as the foil to the fake heiress. In this lonely world, I constantly tried to integrate into this family, but every step was a struggle, and I hit a wall at every turn. She was smothered in love and affection by our parents, while I suffered endless cold stares and grievances, even enduring her bullying and humiliation. Until I received the diagnosis of terminal leukemia, and the system still hadn't given me any further instructions. Completely disillusioned and heartbroken, I decided to use my own death to buy a glimmer of hope to return to my original world. Dragging my failing body, I personally found a mortician for myself and pre-booked a luxurious burial at sea. But when they realized I was truly determined to die. The family members who had once bullied and neglected me turned back, kneeling at my feet, weeping and repenting bitterly. But what they didn't know was... I had given up on them a long time ago. 1. Standing on the roof of the City Zenith building. I adjusted my breathing, making my final preparations to jump. Having gathered enough courage, I took a step toward the railing. I had barely taken two steps when my phone rang. It was the funeral home. "Ms. Vance, I am so incredibly sorry, but all our transport vehicles have flat tires. Could we... possibly reschedule the pickup time?" No! I'm about to jump off a building, and you're telling me to reschedule now?! Anger shot straight to my head, but having grown accustomed to acting like a startled bird, I had become timid and cautious. My anger was instinctively suppressed. "I paid the money, and the agreement clearly stated the time." "Yes, yes... but... how about this? You could switch to a different funeral home? I can recommend one. I have a friend who works there, and I guarantee their service will satisfy you!" "I want your place." Having traveled to this alternate world years ago, I had endured endless cold stares and grievances. I'm in the terminal stages of leukemia and about to die, and the system still hasn't given me any new instructions. I want to go back to my original world. I've tried every possible method; death is the only option left. To increase my chances of going home. The exact time to die, the best funeral home, the exact time for the funeral, the best burial method... I took my birth chart to a master fortune-teller to calculate all of this. It cannot be changed! "Then there's really nothing we can do. If you're really in a hurry, you'll just have to bring it over yourself." I forced a wry smile. "I'm sorry, I really can't deliver it myself." I couldn't win my parents' and brothers' love from the fake heiress, but I was determined to get the auspicious time I picked for jumping off this building. "I am currently jumping off a building. The body you need to pick up is mine." Silence fell on the other end of the line. "Um, look, how about you borrow a car from a friend and drive over here first?" 2. After a long pause without him saying anything else, I took it as him agreeing to my proposal. "Thank you. Sorry for the trouble." I hung up, but the more I thought about it, the more uncertain I felt. There were too many unpredictable variables. I had calculated an auspicious time; I absolutely could not afford any mistakes. It would be much safer to find someone to supervise them while they worked. After giving myself three pep talks, I braced myself and sent a message to the pinned family group chat. [Sorry to bother everyone, but I'm jumping off a building tonight. Could someone please find the time to collect my body?] [It won't be too much trouble. I've already arranged all the afterlife affairs. I just need someone to go and supervise them while they work.] [@everyone] Just as I sent the summarized schedule of my afterlife affairs to the group, I was kicked out of the chat by my second brother, Ethan Vance. I've lost count of how many times I've been kicked out. Every time, I was the one begging Ethan to pull me back in. Bitterness spread infinitely within me. Swallowing my pride, I created a new group chat. To increase credibility. I quickly snapped a picture of the rooftop and sent it to the group along with the afterlife schedule. [I promise, this is the last time.] [Time waits for no one. Please, I just need a little help.] After three minutes of dead silence, there was finally a reply. Eldest Brother: [Fine.] 3. A simple Fine. [Thank you. Sorry for the trouble.] With that weight off my mind, I prepared to focus on jumping. But my phone started buzzing incessantly. Mia Vance: [Sister, I'm sorry... Eldest Brother has a surgery tonight. Let's not bother him.] Mia Vance: [I'm sorry, it's all my fault... Please don't do anything impulsive. Mom, Dad, the brothers, and I are rushing home right now.] Reading Mia's two messages, every sentence dripping with apologies. I knew I had become the target of public criticism once again. Ethan was the first to explode. Ethan: [Mia, why are you apologizing? What did you do wrong to her?] Ethan: [She's just throwing a tantrum because the whole family went camping with you instead of staying to celebrate her 18th birthday!] Ethan: [Chloe Vance, didn't you say yourself that you didn't want to celebrate your birthday? Now you're threatening suicide? Do you think this is funny?] Tears fell uncontrollably. [It's not funny. I'm going to die soon.] Mia Vance was a stray child my parents adopted after accidentally losing me. To make up for their guilt toward me, the Vance family poured everything they had into treating Mia well. Including the love that should have been mine—they gave it all to Mia. Even after I found my way back to the Vance family and tried desperately to please them, nothing changed. Instead, because of my efforts to please them, the Vance family worried Mia would misunderstand, overthink things, or feel hurt. They spoiled her even more and even started complaining about why I ever came back. Mia was no saint either. Afraid I would steal the Vance family's affection, she never stopped framing me and would always play the victim first. Whenever that happened, the Vance family would pull her into their arms with pity and point their fingers at me from the moral high ground. "Can't you just be a little more generous? Do you really have to pick fights with Mia?" I was heartbroken and couldn't defend myself. I used to be the precious treasure my parents held in the palms of their hands in my original world, too. Having traveled through time and space, the system forcefully bound me to the memories and emotional system of this alternate world. While missing my parents in my original world, I was also uncontrollably tormented by the various injustices of this one. These two extreme emotions intertwined, leaving me living in absolute agony every single day. But it's fine now. I have terminal leukemia. I'm going to die soon. 4. I suddenly remembered that the master fortune-teller only calculated an auspicious time; he didn't specify a location for jumping. The Vance family was unreliable, so I might as well take a taxi to the funeral home and just jump off the building there. On the way, my phone kept buzzing non-stop. Dad: [Chloe, my daughter, how did things get to this point...] Dad: [Don't blame Mia. It was Dad who insisted on bringing Mia camping.] Dad: [Dad is coming back right now to celebrate your birthday, okay? Chloe... stop messing around.] Ethan: [Let her throw her tantrum! I want to see what other tricks she can pull!] Ethan: [Jumping off a building, huh?! Why not just go jump in the ocean?! Saves money and effort!] Ethan: [Sometimes I really hate it. I hate that the Vance family produced such an ungrateful thing like you! Why didn't you just die out there all those years ago?!] Looking at those words, my nose stung, and tears slipped down my face uncontrollably. Misfortunes never come singly. Just as I arrived at the funeral home, the sea burial agent called me. He told me the sea burial had to be postponed. The boat I had booked was mistaken for firewood by a family camping on a nearby island and chopped up for a barbecue. The whole "jumping off a building" plan, having progressed to this point, was forced to a halt. Standing on the roof of the funeral home, my body swaying unsteadily, I held onto the wall and sat down. My illness was flaring up more and more frequently. I was exhausted, and could only curl up into a ball and fall into a hazy sleep. And just like that, on the roof of a funeral home, I spent my lonely 18th birthday in this alternate world. The next morning, bathed in the morning light, I dragged my exhausted body toward the beach. This time, I decided to fulfill Ethan's wish and jump into the ocean. 5. The sea breeze blew gently, and the waves crashed. The endless ocean sparkled with light. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful. "This really is a good place to end a life." Bathed in the warm sun, I walked resolutely into the sea. It was early autumn; the seawater was freezing, chilling me to the bone. With my parents from my original world in my heart, I firmly walked toward the deep ocean. "Mom, Dad, Chloe misses you so much. She wants to go home so badly." "Chloe is coming to find you." 6. I still didn't manage to die. I was rescued by a fisherman and taken to the nearest hospital. The exact hospital where my eldest brother, Liam Vance, worked. "Miss, you're awake! Doctor, come quick!" The fisherman guarding my bed yelled excitedly for the doctor. "Chloe Vance, that's enough acting." As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Liam standing in front of me, his voice carrying a distant reprimand. "Did you know I was on shift today and purposely came here for attention?" I smirked, nodding. "Whatever you say is right." Seeing my dismissive attitude, he grew even colder. "There needs to be a limit to your tantrums. Going too far just makes people disgusted!" There are two sons in the Vance family. My eldest brother is always busy with work and used to ignoring me. His sudden cold words stung me deeply. The fisherman who saved me couldn't stand listening to it anymore. He pulled the attending doctor right up to my bed. "Are all doctors this unprofessional nowadays?! A patient wakes up, and instead of examining her, you just stand there running your mouth?! Your actions are slow, but your tongue sure is sharp! "Believe me, I will report this hospital!" Liam was speechless, his eyes wide as he glared viciously at me. After a moment of silence, he suddenly smirked and scoffed, "You're always crying wolf. Only someone as kind as Mia would still believe you. "She took Mom and Dad home last night, while you disappeared for the entire night. "You really don't deserve Mia's kindness towards you, and you certainly don't deserve the effort she put into cooking for you!" After saying that, he pointedly addressed the doctor examining me: "There are plenty of critically ill patients. Yet someone who's just here causing trouble is taking up a bed, and as the attending doctor, you don't know how to advise her to leave?" The doctor looked incredibly awkward. I propped myself up and got off the bed. "Thank you, Doctor. I'm fine. No need to examine me." As I was about to leave, the fisherman quickly grabbed my arm. "Miss, don't get angry at a doctor with no morals. "Your face is terrifyingly pale. It's better to let the doctor check you out to be safe. Don't fight against your own body." I really was too sensitive; a few kind words from a stranger actually brought tears to my eyes. Not wanting to cry in front of Liam, I turned back toward the consultation desk. "Sigh, you're right, sir. I'll get examined." 7. Having been repeatedly rebuffed, Liam's face was dark as he turned to leave. After the doctor inputted my information, he suddenly raised his voice: "Terminal leukemia? "You were diagnosed three weeks ago. Why aren't you on the waiting list for a match?" The clinic fell into absolute silence. The fisherman looked at me in shock. I calmly shook my head, breaking the silence. "No need. I don't want treatment anymore." Liam stopped in his tracks. Unlike the fisherman, his face clearly showed disdain. "Chloe Vance, you really are an expert at getting attention. "First jumping off a building, then jumping into the ocean, and now you've concocted 'terminal leukemia'. "You definitely picked the perfect time to jump into the ocean, going right to where people were. "Everyone knows you learned to swim with Mia, taught by the exact same instructor. Mia won a gold medal in the campus tournament; how bad could your technique possibly be?" He glanced at the fisherman as he spoke. "Without some serious skills, how could you hold out until someone came to save you, and still be completely uninjured?" It's true that I learned to swim with Mia, but I am a genuine, 100% landlubber. Back then, Mia played plenty of dirty tricks. Once, when the instructor wasn't looking, she actually stepped on me at the bottom of the pool, trying to drown me. If the instructor hadn't noticed in time, I would have drowned. When I went home and complained, what did the Vance family say? "You're just being paranoid. Mia wouldn't bother trying to kill you." Right. In the eyes of the Vance family, Mia was doted on by everyone. Why would she want a worthless life like mine? From that day on, I never went to another swimming lesson, and I developed a bone-deep fear of water. Seeing my silence, Liam thought he had figured out my little scheme. "Stop trying to jump into the ocean. Let me give you an idea. Go find an old-growth forest and lie down inside. I guarantee nothing will go wrong." I lowered my head and smiled bitterly, nodding in self-mockery. "Okay." My attitude completely enraged Liam. He pinched the bridge of his nose, radiating coldness. "I've been working non-stop all day, I'm exhausted. I don't have the patience to stand here and watch you act." "If you're tired, go home and rest early." Catching a glimpse of my eyes, which were as calm as a pool of dead water, a trace of confusion flashed in Liam's eyes. I knew why he was looking at me like that. In the past, whenever he said he was tired, I would eagerly rush over, carefully trying to please him, offering warm comfort. But this time, I sat completely still. "Stop using death as an excuse. If you have the guts, don't ever come home again!" Having grown accustomed to his vicious words, my heart was surprisingly calm right now. "Okay. I won't go back." "Bullshit! Chloe's last name is Vance, why shouldn't she go back?!" My best friend, Sarah, burst through the door, standing protectively in front of me, blocking Liam's view. "The Vance family truly lives up to its reputation as a prestigious household. Your family's upbringing is truly un-complimentary!" "...You." Liam dared to arrogantly scold me, but facing the Tang family—whose social standing was far above the Vance family's—he didn't dare say a word to Sarah. Sarah's attitude was hostile. "You what? Get lost!"
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