Fatal Record

When I graduated from university, my cousin Laura gave me a gramophone and told me to put it in my bedroom. She also specifically asked me to position the horn in the direction of my bed.

I did not understand what she meant by that, but I did it anyway. Then, one night, I heard my boyfriend Adam’s labored breathing, along with shameful moans.

But no one was beside me.

In the previous cycle, after I received the gramophone and the record from Laura, I had happily played it for my entire family.

Yet, when half a month passed, my brother got into an accident and died.

My father lost his mind and jumped off from the eighteenth floor. His entire body was smashed to pieces.

As for me, not only did the university forfeit my graduate certificate, but I was also expelled and no longer had the chance to attempt graduating from the university.

I aged by decades overnight. My entire body was covered in sores that gave off a foul stench. Everyone avoided me like the plague.

Adam thought I was disgusting. He said that I was misfortune incarnate, and that was why my entire family died. He then broke up with me.

I complained about it to Laura, only to find that she got an acceptance letter to an Ivy League university, even though she could not even get into a proper high school because her grades were too horrible. Her deadbeat parents also got money from somewhere and became the richest people in their region.

Due to these shocks, I broke down. When I took the elevator to go downstairs, I made a misstep and fell. My body, too, was crushed.

After I died, I learned that the source of all of my problems came from the gramophone. As for Adam, he had already gotten together with Laura a long time ago.

When I opened my eyes again, I returned to the day I graduated.

…

“Anya, I’m so jealous of you for being able to graduate from such a good university. Here’s your graduation gift.”

The dim lights in the room of the restaurant swayed so much that I felt dizzy and could not open my eyes. Laura sat beside me and brought out a beautifully wrapped box.

In it was a really expensive gramophone.

As I saw this familiar scene, I realized that I had returned to the past.

“Anya, Laura went to a lot of shops before she managed to buy this.”

Adam nudged my elbow.

In the previous cycle, after I received the gift, my life took a 180-degree turn, and misfortunes kept coming at me one after another.

When Laura saw that I was not moving, she asked timidly, “Don’t you like it?”

She instantly looked sad, as if she was going to start crying the next second. “I saved up for a long time to buy this, though…”

Adam immediately answered on my behalf, “Of course Anya loves it.”

Under the table, he kicked my leg and hissed a warning at me. “She’s giving you a gift out of the goodness of her heart. You’re crossing the line here.”

I turned to see the righteous look on Adam’s face, and I sneered in my heart. ‘These pieces of trash sure hid their true colors really well…’

“I love the gift, Laura.” I paused intentionally, and I immediately saw Laura and Adam’s faces stiffen. “But your family has a huge debt to repay, right? I can’t accept such an expensive gift.”

With that said, I pushed the gramophone back into Laura’s arms.

Laura instantly acted as if she had just touched a cursed item. She screamed and pulled her hands back. The gramophone fell on the floor with a loud thud.

An awkward look appeared on Laura’s face. “Anya, I bought this with my own money. Just take it.”

In the next second, she took out a record from her backpack. “This is the singer you like. I bought it specifically for you.”

“Oh!” I smiled and said, “Why don’t we listen to it now? Let’s see whether it survived the fall.”

Laura and Adam’s faces turned pale. Right away, they rejected the offer. “No!”

Adam laughed dryly. “This isn’t the right place to listen to this. Why don’t you go home and listen to it with your family?”

Laura nodded rapidly.

They were pale and looked as if they had just seen a ghost. That sight made me raise my eyebrows and smile. “Alright. I’ll do as you said.”