Chapter 1: 001 Second chance at life
"Li Zhiyan, Aunt Shen has committed suicide."
"Ever since Mengchen's accident, she has always been unhappy. Her husband also betrayed her. Recently, she missed her daughter too much."
"Unable to endure any longer, she…"
Listening to the voice on the other end, inside the rental room, Li Zhiyan's hand let go of the wine glass, and it shattered on the ground.
This news struck him like lightning out of the blue, spreading pain rapidly through his heart.
Aunt Shen, too, has left this world.
"Li Zhiyan..."
"Li Zhiyan..."
Li Zhiyan could no longer hear the voice on the phone.
The only person in this world who had been kind to him was now dead. What meaning did this world have for him anymore?
His consciousness was continuously dissolving, and the memories of his life flashed by like a moving panorama in his mind.
At 32, he had still achieved nothing in society.
His grandparents had passed away long ago, and he had never seen his father since childhood.
His mother died in an accident when he was 19.
Misfortune, it seemed, enjoyed singling out the hapless.
Now, he struggled alone in society, living a hard life.
Even when he got sick, he had to endure bitterly alone in the hospital.
Whenever he saw others cared for and cherished by someone, Li Zhiyan's heart felt uncontrollable envy.
With average height and a face that could only be considered pretty, it seemed as though no one had ever truly cared for him over the years.
Except for the girl with the limp he met after graduation, Su Mengchen, who liked to wear her hair in twin ponytails.
Su Mengchen was truly beautiful, but because of her inner insecurities, she was reluctant to interact or communicate with others.
She always walked with her head down, hating the ugly way she walked due to her limp.
On a few fortunate occasions, he had opened her heart.
Becoming her boyfriend was the first time Li Zhiyan had ever been in a relationship, even though they were always pointed at wherever they went.
But Li Zhiyan, just an ordinary person among the masses, felt blessed to have found such a beautiful woman; it was his good fortune.
Su Mengchen had truly given him all her sincere love and emotions.
And her mother, the glamorous Shen Rongfei, the woman with a chest size of a D+ that resembled Zeng Li, had also been really good to him, treating him like her own son.
Back then, he thought, if he could marry Su Mengchen, he would be satisfied to live his life like that.
But with the pressures of life forcing its way in,
After losing his job, he had been evicted by the landlord, and only then did he realize that without money, nothing worked in society. Feelings of inferiority and repression constantly besieged him.
Thankfully, that silly girl remained by his side throughout.
But he didn't wait for a wedding with Chenchen; instead, he received the devastating news of Chenchen's death ten years ago while he was working.
Due to an accident, Su Mengchen had lost her life, leaving him forever, just like his mother.
Li Zhiyan didn't know how he had managed to survive these years.
Throughout these years, Li Zhiyan, immersed in pain, fought desperately against fate.
He wanted to earn more money, to one day give Aunt Shen a better life.
But the pressures of life were too great. In the Magic Capital, Li Zhiyan worked overtime diligently, yet he could barely make ends meet.
Another night of drunken stupor.
Li Zhiyan then heard the terrible news of Shen Rongfei's suicide.
As his consciousness gradually disintegrated, Li Zhiyan's heart was filled with pain.
Is this the end…
If there is a next life, I want to be a rich second-generation, a super wealthy person!
That way, I can forget all the troubles of this world and have no more regrets.
…
When Li Zhiyan opened his eyes again, he saw a rose in his hand.
There was a card on it that had embarrassing, foot-itching love talk that he had written.
"Yu Sisi."
Li Zhiyan wanted to continue reading but was too embarrassed to go on.
"Is this a hallucination?"
He pinched his own flesh hard, a surge of pain hitting him.
It snapped Li Zhiyan back to his senses, taking in the familiar surroundings of his school as he pulled out the flip phone from his pocket.
Li Zhiyan glanced at the time.
"2010, July 21st!"
"2010!"
The voice of his best buddy, Li Shiyu, completely drew Li Zhiyan's thoughts back to the year 2010!
"Brother Yan, you're really bold! To actually make a public confession to Yu Sisi!"
An embarrassing memory flooded his mind, one of two embarrassing events in his adolescence.
One was the constant rants about wanting to become a millionaire.
The other was his goddess throughout his youth, Yu Sisi.
He had pursued her for a full two years, but although she accepted his gifts and kindness, she never accepted his confessions.
Even though she came from a wealthy family, the gifts Li Zhiyan exchanged for all his living expenses were indiscriminately accepted by her.
And she had a set of professional responses.
Accepting gifts ≠ agreeing.
And she encouraged him to keep pursuing her, telling him that she would consider being his girlfriend in the future if he was sincere enough.
Because he was repeatedly rejected, today he got carried away.
He announced in the class group chat that he would confess to his goddess at the graduation party today.
Afterward, he made his public confession, only to be ruthlessly rejected by Yu Sisi.
He was also mockingly slapped in the face by rich second-generation classmates who were also pursuing Yu Sisi.
For many years to come, this event became a topic of casual conversation and ridicule among his classmates.
He could never forget the 18-year-old he was at the graduation party, a clownish version of himself.
"That's a pretty flower you have."
"I think the school beauty will definitely like it."
As they spoke, the two had arrived in front of the hotel.
Seeing the flowers in Li Zhiyan's hand, Yu Sisi proudly lifted her head.
At 18, she was in an age of vanity.
Although she didn't care for the ordinary Li Zhiyan, being the center of such a public confession from him was a way to prove her charm.
Looking at Yu Sisi in front of him, Li Zhiyan felt nothing anymore.
Instead, his attention was completely on Yu Sisi's mother, Gu Wanzhou.
Giving birth to a school beauty like Yu Sisi, Gu Wanzhou's looks were naturally exquisite, and with the refinement of time.
Today, she was dressed in a black button-up shirt with a black pencil skirt, flesh-colored stockings, and a pair of high heels.
The charm of a mature woman was released to its fullest.
Only a mature woman could carry such an outfit so well.
There was a special allure about her.
Perhaps it was because she was of a certain age.
Li Zhiyan felt he was becoming increasingly appreciative of the beauty of mature women.
And at this moment, the more he looked at Yu Sisi's mother, the more she resembled the madam from K2 (A Korean TV series, in which there is a character who is a very sexy and beautiful Milf, Song Yoon-ah 송윤아), causing his hormones to race.
The madam is also very beautiful!
A mature woman's unique attraction to a young man?
Then a voice rang out.
"System awakening successful."
"Random task issued."
"Yu Sisi will refuse and embarrass you in the upcoming confession."
"Please confess to Yu Sisi's mother, Gu Wanzhou."
"Task reward, fifty thousand yuan in cash."
This voice made Li Zhiyan pause.
A system?!