How Could I Possibly Have a Daughter After Reincarnating?

Staring at the big “Victory” displayed in the center of the computer screen, Ling Ning finally let out a sigh of relief. When she used to play against weaker opponents, she didn’t notice it, but facing Zhao Jue’s classmates made her realize there was still a difference between her current body and her previous life. Though her mind could keep up, her hands simply couldn’t match the speed, and often she’d end up attempting flashy moves only to get outplayed. Luckily, Zhao Jue and his teammates were skilled and coordinated; otherwise, this experienced driver would have crashed the car.

“Sigh~ I guess I’m getting old. It’s truly the young people’s world now,” Ling Ning murmured to herself with a weathered expression.

“Huh!?”

Sitting beside Ling Ning, Zhao Jue was utterly bewildered by what he just heard. Did he just catch something totally unexpected?

“I mean, it’s great that we won,” Ling Ning said with a smile.

“Oh. Oh!” 

With Ling Ning’s radiant smile in front of him, Zhao Jue couldn’t care less about what she had said earlier—he was simply enchanted.

Before long, the café owner brought over the prize for the competition, which turned out to be a beautifully crafted card—a pass for three months of free internet access here.

But who would travel over an hour on the subway just to come all the way here for internet? That sounded like trouble, pure and simple. Why didn’t the café near her home have activities like this?

It felt wasteful to just throw the card away, and now Ling Ning found herself in a bit of a dilemma.

She noticed the “forever-alone” guy sitting next to her, staring longingly at the card in her hand. Ling Ning smiled. She had just thought of a perfect way to handle the card.

“Hey~ Want this?” she asked, offering the card to him.

The “forever-alone” guy initially didn’t want to respond to Ling Ning, but his attention was immediately drawn to the card she was holding. For someone whose computer could barely run study programs, this was a dream come true. Even though he found Ling Ning annoying, he nodded, indicating that he wanted it.

Seeing the fish had taken the bait, Ling Ning’s smile became even brighter, and in a cheerful tone, she said, “Let me do the math here. The cost of using the internet here is six yuan an hour. Let’s say you play for six hours a day—that’s thirty-six yuan. Now, a month has thirty days, and over three months… that comes out to three thousand two hundred and forty yuan. And that’s without counting holidays.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t sell it to you at that price. I’ll give you a thirty percent discount, and then knock off a little more. How about two thousand yuan?”

“Um…”

The “forever-alone” guy frowned, contemplating. Though Ling Ning’s calculation made sense, if he bought it, he’d be left eating instant noodles for the rest of the month. Besides, he felt like the card should have been his in the first place—it was only abandoned by his teammates.

“Oh, it looks like I miscalculated. We’re still on summer vacation, which means you could play for at least twelve hours a day. And that’s being conservative. I feel like I might actually be at a loss here. But hey, a deal’s a deal. If you don’t want it, I’ll find someone else.” Ling Ning pretended to look like she was taking a big loss.

“Alright, I’ll buy it. Wait here while I get the money.” With that, the “forever-alone” guy rushed out. Ling Ning watched him leave, her smile nearly cracking her face. Who would’ve thought that coming out to study for a bit today would end up covering the cost of the phone she had bought?

Before long, the “forever-alone” guy returned, pulled twenty crisp bills out of his wallet, and handed them to Ling Ning. In return, he received the precious card. His wallet might be empty, but his heart was full of satisfaction.

After putting the money in her pocket, Ling Ning turned and asked, “By the way, what’s your name?”

“My name’s Zhu Gusheng. Don’t talk to me while I’m playing games,” he replied without looking up.

Next to her, Zhao Jue had been growing increasingly anxious watching Ling Ning chat with Zhu Gusheng. Why was she talking to this “forever-alone” guy so much? Zhao Jue had wanted to strike up a conversation with her, to keep the momentum going from inviting her earlier. He thought, “What’s so great about Zhu Gusheng? Why is she chatting with him so warmly? It was me who started all this—initiating the invite and everything. If I keep going on about this, someone might just smack me.”

But then, something even more shocking happened. Zhao Jue watched as Zhu Gusheng dashed out and then returned, handing a stack of cash to the girl. He was stunned. Could this girl be…? Upon closer inspection, he found that Ling Ning really did exude a certain “sponsorship energy.”

“Why would she choose Zhu Gusheng for that?” This was the biggest question in Zhao Jue’s heart. However, before he could voice his thoughts, Ling Ning said it was getting late and that she should leave.

Zhao Jue glanced at Zhu Gusheng, who remained firmly planted in front of his computer. It seemed that their arranged time wasn’t over yet. But that was alright—he figured if he stuck close to Zhu Gusheng, he could probably track down the girl again. Who knows, maybe he could even propose something exciting—a “sandwich” of sorts. Just the thought made him a little giddy.

Ling Ning walked out of the café, feeling the bulging weight of her wallet in her pocket, and warmth spread through her heart.

To celebrate, Ling Ning decided to head home early today and buy some of Ling Ye’s favorite ingredients for a special dinner.

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“Phew~”

Ling Ye rubbed her tired eyes, having just finished watching another video, bringing her one step closer to mastering “Justice.” She looked at the time and figured she might be able to finish one more movie before Ling Ning returned.

Just as she was about to open the next video, the door suddenly opened. Ling Ning came in, holding bags and bags of groceries. Ling Ye blinked, then moved as quickly as she could to close all the open windows on the computer. Thankfully, this high-performance machine could handle her tendency to leave every window open—an ordinary computer would have surely frozen by now.

“Why are you back so early, Mom?” Ling Ye asked casually while slipping the USB drive into her pocket. Ling Ning, carrying all the bags into the kitchen, hadn’t noticed the sneaky move.

“Because I missed Ye Ye~ Didn’t you want me to come back sooner?”

“No.”

“Look what I got you!” Ling Ning said, pulling out the phone she had bought for Ling Ye and waving it in front of her.

Ling Ye’s eyes lit up as she eagerly grabbed the phone, then threw herself into Ling Ning’s arms, giving her a big kiss on the cheek. She had wanted a phone for a long time—not for any frivolous reason, but so she could finally transfer some “study materials” onto it and learn wherever she went.

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Author’s Note:

Bury this salted fish in clicks, favorites, recommendations, monthly votes, rewards, and even razor blades!