Shi Qi sat frozen in the stiff leather chair, her boss's words still echoing in her mind.
"I'm sorry, but you have to leave."
Across from her, Mr. Lin, a man in his late fifties, avoided her gaze.
"The business is struggling…We have no choice but to, well, rightsize." His eyes darted away for a moment before meeting hers again.
Shi Qi clenched her fists beneath the table. "And I was chosen because…?"
"You're young, and one of the smartest. Finding a job should be easier for you than for the rest…" His smile was faint, almost apologetic, as if he were trying to justify himself.
Young?
That word felt like a slap.
She is already forty.
Her gaze shifted past the glass wall behind him, where she saw them—the ones who were allowed to stay.
Young, fresh-faced girls with dewy skin and effortless beauty. Their youth is an unspoken asset. They didn't need to push for sales, their presence alone was enough.
And there she was, her own reflection staring back at her. The lights were cruel, revealing every fine line, every shadow under her eyes, and every trace of exhaustion.
She isn't glowing.
She isn't fresh.
She is old.
As she stepped out of the office building, the words echoed in her head.
"You're young, and one of the smartest. Finding a job should be easier for you…"
Bullshit.
She had spent years proving herself, working late nights, hitting targets and sacrificing weekends. She didn't even had time for love.
And all for what?
To be tossed aside just because she wasn't young enough?
I gave them everything.
Her grip tightened around the box of her belongings, the sharp corners digging into her palms. Tears gathered in her eyes, not from anger, but from sheer rage. The world around her blurred into the background, the noise of passing cars and murmurs of people fading as her thoughts drowned out everything else.
She didn't even notice when the traffic light turned red.
As she stepped onto the road..
A blaring horn..
A rush of light…
The screech of tires tears through the silence. A sudden, powerful force slammed into her, lifting her off the ground, leaving her weightless for a brief moment. Then, gravity reclaimed her, crashing her back down onto the pavement with a brutal, unforgiving force.
…..
No, no, no.
This can't be happening.
Shi Qi tried to move, but her body was heavy and refused to respond. As she lay on the cold pavement, numbness spread through her, dulling all sensations and she could no longer feel anything. Her vision began to blur, but she could still make out the faces of pedestrians, frozen in shock.
I can't end like this.
The street lights above flickered weakly, their glow like dying stars. Her vision began to fade and everything around her dissolved, slipping away, fading into the darkness.
No sound.
No pain.
Just…nothing.
....
....
And then—
A sharp breath.
Shi Qi opened her eyes.
Her body trembled as a wave of dizziness and nausea hit her. The first thing she saw was the ceiling above, it was wooden, aged, with deep cracks running through the beams. The air around her felt dense, filled with strong scent of damp earth and old fabric.
She blinked.
Where am I? Wasthataccident…a dream?
Slowly, she pushes herself up, but something felt off.
Her body felt light.
Her fingers curled into the rough, scratchy blanket covering her and she stared at them.
Why are my hands so tiny?
They were small, delicate, nothing like the aged hands that she had known as her own. Her fingers trembled as she raised them in front of her, turning them over in a daze, as though reassessing.
Soft and chubby.
This is a child's hand.
She pinched her own cheeks hard and the sharp sting spread across her skin, making her wince.
Okay, that hurt.
Shi Qi stiffened, her heart racing as a form of realization settled in. It felt almost certain, too real to deny.
She had been reborn.
Her throat felt dry and sore, as though she hasn't spoken in days. She tried to swallow, but it did little to ease the hoarseness. Her eyes swept across the small, worn-down room, taking in every detail. The walls had cracks, the furnitures were old and there was a faint scent of medicinal herbs lingering in the air.
Whoever is living here, she realised, clearly isn't wealthy.
Just then, the door creaked open and a young woman stepped in. She is beautiful, her features delicate, yet her gaze is firm. Her hair, a mix of brown and red, flowed past her shoulders. Her brown eyes sparkled with warmth, and her fair skin emitted a natural glow.
"Are you feeling better now?" she asked gently.
The woman reached out, her slender fingers brushing against her forehead.
"The fever seems to have gone down," she murmured. "Yao Yao, you really scared me."
Yao Yao looked dazed as her mind is still struggling to keep up with everything.
"Yao Yao?"
Is that… my name now?
Shi Qi opened her mouth to speak, but only a weak rasp came out. Her throat felt too dry and her voice too hoarse to form words. Before she could stop it, she was already coughing.
"Don't force yourself, Yao Yao. I'll bring you some water," the woman's expression softened.
As Shi Qi drank the icy water, it eased the dryness in her throat, calming the ache. She glanced at the woman, and a rush of emotion stirred within her.
Was it the tenderness of her touch, or was it everything she had suffered before waking up that made her feel so vulnerable?
The unfairness...
The accident...
Or the fact that she had been reborn, waking up in a strange body, in a strange world…
Before she knew it, tears were already slipping down her face.
Her soul needed to cry, but it felt as though her small, fragile body couldn't handle the strong emotions inside her. Her grief surged, amplifying in ways she couldn't understand.
It began with soft sobs, but soon it grew into a wail that she couldn't control, as if she was trying to release everything.
At that instant, she felt a small force inside her, as if like an invisible pulse rippling through the air. Before she could even comprehend what was happening, the force swelled, bursting out of her like an unleashed wave.
CRASH!
The room shuddered as the window beside her shattered, sending glass shards bursting outward and scattering across the wooden floor. The woman stared at her, stunned, her hair blown back by the sudden force.
Shi Qi froze mid-sob, her breath hitched and her teary eyes widened in shock.
Oh crap.
We're already poor as it is, and now I went and broke our window too...