Chapter 1

“Mandy, Dad is drunk. Leave now!

“I saved up all my pocket money for you. Head south. Dad won’t be able to catch you there.”

Under the dim light, I could not see her face clearly.

I shook my head and squinted in the dark. It took a while before I finally recognized the person standing before me. It was the same younger sister who had once pushed me down the stairs and tried to kill me.

Before I died, I had dragged her down with me.

In the cornfield outside the village, Fiona anxiously stuffed something into my hand.

I froze. This was supposed to have happened five years ago!

“Mandy, what’s wrong? Please don’t tell me you actually want to marry that cripple!”

That cripple was the village chief’s son. He was ugly, hot-tempered, and lecherous.

All the decent girls avoided him as if he were the plague.

I returned to my senses. I sized up Fiona. She was exactly how she had been five years ago. She avoided my eyes.

I reluctantly took the things she had given me. Just as I was about to open it to look at it, Fiona quickly grabbed my hand. “Mandy, there’s no time. You need to go now! Head south.”

She pushed me toward the perimeter of the village.

In my previous life, I had gone north, and I met her future boyfriend’s elder brother. She had not told me which way to go.

It looked like I was not the only one who had returned to the past.

Fiona and I were twin sisters. We came from a middle-class family. Unfortunately, we had a father who loved drinking and gambling.

Our mother worked herself to the bone. She passed away three years ago.

The SAT was our only chance to change our lives.

I thought I did pretty well. But I never received an acceptance letter.

My father gambled again and ended up deep in debt. Fiona told me that our father wanted to sell me. She dragged me to the window to eavesdrop on their conversation.

It was true.

I believed Fiona. I took the things she had prepared for me and fled in a hurry.

I refused to waste my life in this village.

After I left the village, I realized Fiona had mistakenly taken her own ID and given it to me.

But I did not dare to return to the village. I had to assume her identity, and I never contacted anyone at home again.

Five years later, my boyfriend’s younger brother was engaged. I went to their engagement banquet. It was only then that I realized the bride-to-be was none other than my sister.

She had used my name and identity to attend university.

I finally realized what had happened. She had tricked me back then.

We tore into each other and screamed at one another. Their engagement banquet fell apart.

Fortunately, I was given a second chance.

‘Fiona, I won’t let you get what you want this time,’ I thought.

Under Fiona’s watchful gaze, I fled the village in a panic.

Before dawn broke, I returned to the village.

The village chief’s son had a penchant for stealing.

At first light, he would wander from house to house to steal eggs from everyone’s coops.

The village chief was rich. It was not like they had a shortage of eggs. His son stole just because it gave him pleasure to watch the villagers fume in helplessness.

He limped home with a pocket full of stolen eggs. I lowered my head and bumped into him.

He was caught off guard and fell flat on the ground.

I covered my forehead to hide my face. Then, I said in a soft voice, “Watch where you’re going! That really hurts!’

I heard his chuckle. “Who are you? Come here, let me give you a good rub. I’ll make the pain go away.”

“Go away! I’d never let you touch me even in a nightmare!”

I revealed half my face. Then, I slapped him hard across the cheek and bolted.

I left an ID on the ground.

The cripple picked it up.

The class teacher lived somewhere near the village.

Since not many villagers were out and about so early, I easily found my way to the teacher’s house.

The moment I entered through the door, I broke down and cried. I poured out all the humiliation that I had faced in my family and begged her to check my examination results.

Very few households in the village had access to the internet. Only the village chief had a computer.

Back then, I never imagined Fiona would betray me, her own sister, for her own selfish interest.

But I was grateful that I had broadened my perspectives in the city after leaving the village.

The teacher finally confirmed the results. I was accepted to a prestigious university in the capital city.

I bit my bottom lip. Tears streamed down my face.