139: Chapter 139 I will never suffer the same bitterness as in my past life again.

In a rental house in the old district of Jiangcheng, the morning light filtered through the old glass windows, casting a slanted patch of light on the floor. Lin Wanyi sat at the wooden table by the window, her fingertips lightly brushing over the scratches on her guitar—this was the first guitar she had bought with the money she saved from working. The lacquer on the neck was worn, but she had polished it until it was spotless. A schedule for Chinas Good Voice was spread out on the table, with the date of the next elimination round circled in red, and a small line of text written beside it: "Rely on yourself, win."

She picked up the photo frame on the table, which held a yellowed old photograph: her fifteen-year-old self wearing a faded school uniform, standing in front of the iron gates of the orphanage, with mottled walls and withered sycamore trees behind her. The girl in the photo had a timid look in her eyes, and her knuckles were white from clutching the hem of her shirt—that was her first day leaving the orphanage, and also the starting point of her washing dishes in restaurants and singing in night markets.

"In my previous life, it was here that I received a call from my eldest brother," Wanyi whispered, her fingertips brushing the edge of the photo as her eyes slowly reddened. She remembered today in her past life, when Lu Qingping had found the rental house with his bodyguards. His custom-made suit made him look high and mighty as he handed over a paternity test report like a cold stone: "Come back to the Lu family with me. From now on, you are a member of the Lu family, and you won't have to live a bitter life anymore."

At that time, she thought she had grabbed a lifeline. She followed Lu Qingping back to the Lu family, only to find that what awaited her was not warmth—the adopted daughter, Lu Xiaoxiao, pretended to care for her on the surface but secretly changed her original songs into her own works; her eldest brother, Lu Qingping, was busy with company affairs and never asked if she was being bullied; her second brother, Lu Qingan (the Movie King of the entertainment industry), thought she was "uncouth" and was unwilling to introduce her to his friends; and her third brother, Lu Qingyan (a Tech Mogul), treated her as a "sudden nuisance" and didn't even bother to speak to her.

To fit into the Lu family, she foolishly trusted Lu Xiaoxiao's words, voluntarily withdrew from Chinas Good Voice, and gave all her original songs to her. As a result, Lu Xiaoxiao became famous overnight with those songs, while she became a "burden who lived off the Lu family." She tried to explain, but her brothers dismissed her as "insane with jealousy." Finally, the Lu family went bankrupt, and Lu Xiaoxiao immediately turned to the media to cry about being "abused by the Lu family," while she, in order to save Lu Qingan from a car accident, remained forever in that cold, rainy night.

"Those bitters, I will never eat them again." Lin Wanyi placed the photo frame face down on the table, took a deep breath, and reached for her guitar. Her fingertips plucked the strings, and a familiar melody flowed out—it was "Rebirth," the song she hadn't had the chance to sing in her previous life. The lyrics, "Tear apart the shackles of the past, I will take the helm myself," were sung now with unprecedented determination.

Just then, a hurried knock sounded from outside the door, accompanied by a man's deep voice: "Miss Lin Wanyi, I am Lu Qingping. Can we open the door and talk?"

Lin Wanyi's fingers stopped abruptly, and the guitar string emitted a harsh vibrato. She walked to the door and looked through the peephole to see the man outside—a black suit, polished leather shoes, followed by two bodyguards in black suits. It was exactly Lu Qingping. The exact same scene as in her previous life, the exact same person.

She took a deep breath and opened the door, her face showing no surprise at all, only a calm detachment: "Mr. Lu, what is the matter?"

Lu Qingping was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting her to react this way. He was used to people being respectful to him, especially after knowing his identity, they would inevitably try to curry favor. The Lin Wanyi before him was wearing a simple gray T-shirt and jeans, her hair tied casually behind her head, and her eyes lacked the "longing" he had anticipated; instead, they were like a layer of ice.

"I am your eldest brother, Lu Qingping." He handed over a paternity test report, his tone carrying a hint of entitlement. "This is a paternity test. You are the daughter my parents lost many years ago. Come back to the Lu family with me. There is a room for you at home, and the Lu family will support your life and your music dreams from now on."

Lin Wanyi did not take the report, but simply shook her head slightly: "Mr. Lu, you have the wrong person. My name is Lin Wanyi. My parents died young, and I grew up in an orphanage. I am not the person you are looking for."

"The wrong person?" Lu Qingping frowned, his tone deepening. "The DNA data on the report cannot be wrong. You have a butterfly birthmark on your left hand, which is the mark my mother made for you back then. How could I be mistaken?"

"Many people have birthmarks, and DNA reports can also be wrong." Lin Wanyi took a step back, her hand on the doorknob. "I have a competition to prepare for. If Mr. Lu has nothing else, please leave and do not disturb me again."

After saying that, she didn't wait for Lu Qingping's reaction and gently closed the door. Inside, she leaned against the cold door, and tears finally couldn't help but fall—it wasn't that she didn't want a home, but the wounds from her previous life were too deep, so deep that she didn't dare to believe in the words "Lu family" again.

Outside the door, Lu Qingping looked at the closed door, his face so dark it looked like it could drip water. He had lived for over thirty years and no one had dared to speak to him like that, let alone this younger sister who "should" have relied on him. "Ungrateful," he cursed under his breath and turned to leave with his bodyguards, but he felt an inexplicable irritation in his heart—he felt something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

He got into the car and told the driver to head to the company. Just as the car turned a corner, a truck running a red light suddenly rushed out from the side. The driver reacted quickly and jerked the steering wheel, causing the car to crash into the roadside guardrail, and the airbags deployed instantly. Lu Qingping's head slammed heavily against the back of the front seat, a sharp pain flared up, and his vision instantly went black.

When he opened his eyes again, he was lying in a hospital bed with gauze wrapped around his head. The doctor was saying nearby, "Mr. Lu, it's just a mild concussion. It's not a big deal. You can recover after a few days of rest."

Lu Qingping nodded, and just as he was about to ask his assistant to handle company matters, a flood of unfamiliar memories suddenly poured into his mind—those were scenes he had never experienced, yet were incredibly real: Lin Wanyi sitting in the Lu family living room, clutching lyrics that had been tampered with by Lu Xiaoxiao, crying as she explained to him, while he impatiently told her "not to make a scene"; after the Lu family went bankrupt, Lin Wanyi worked multiple jobs to help him pay back bank loans, while he drunkenly said to her, "It's all your fault"; in that final rainy night, Lin Wanyi pushed him away, only to be struck by an out-of-control truck herself, still shouting, "Eldest brother, watch out!"...

"Wanyi!" Lu Qingping sat up abruptly, his head throbbing again, but tears fell uncontrollably. He finally understood why Lin Wanyi's gaze was so cold just now—it was the defensiveness that comes from a broken heart; he also finally knew what kind of malicious heart was hidden under Lu Xiaoxiao's "kind and gentle" mask.

"I was wrong... I was really wrong..." Lu Qingping gripped the sheets, his knuckles turning white. In his previous life, he had been blind and deaf, pushing away his biological sister who was truly good to him, while treating an ungrateful adopted daughter like a treasure; it wasn't until his family was destroyed that he realized Lin Wanyi's worth, but by then, it was all too late.

"Assistant!" Lu Qingping roared, his voice hoarse. "Quick, take me to the rental house in the old district! Wanyi, I need to find Wanyi!"

The assistant hurried in and said with difficulty, "President Lu, you just had a car accident. The doctor said you need bed rest..."

"I don't care!" Lu Qingping pulled back the covers, ignored the doctor's attempts to stop him, and stumbled out. "If Wanyi leaves, I will never forgive myself in this life! Drive the car, go to the rental house!"

The car sped toward the old district. Lu Qingping sat in the back seat, his hands tightly clenched, with only one thought in his mind: "Wanyi, wait for me. In this life, I will definitely not let you suffer any more grievances, and I will definitely make it up to you!"

But when the car stopped below the rental house, he saw a familiar figure—Lin Wanyi was carrying a small suitcase and walking toward a black sedan. The car window rolled down, and the man in the driver's seat turned his face. Lu Qingping's pupils instantly contracted—it was Zhang Fan! The founder of Singularity Technology, the man who had recently exploded in popularity in both the tech and gaming circles!

Lin Wanyi bent over and sat in the passenger seat, and the car quickly drove away, disappearing at the end of the street. Lu Qingping stared in the direction the car had gone, his heart filled with urgency and anger: "Zhang Fan? How does he know Wanyi? What does he want to do to Wanyi?"

He immediately took out his phone and dialed Lu Qingan's number, his tone as urgent as if he were on fire: "Qingan, check someone for me immediately—Zhang Fan, from Singularity Technology! He just picked up Wanyi, and I suspect he's up to no good! Also, contact Qingyan quickly. We must find Wanyi as soon as possible; we can't let her be deceived by someone else!"

Lu Qingan on the other end of the phone hadn't woken up yet and mumbled while rubbing his eyes, "Brother, what kind of madness are you having so early in the morning? Who is Zhang Fan? And who is Wanyi?"

"Wanyi is our biological sister!" Lu Qingping's voice carried a sob. "In our previous life, we failed her. In this life, we absolutely cannot let anything happen to her again! Get up and check now, or it'll be too late!"

Hanging up the phone, Lu Qingping looked at the empty street, his heart filled with remorse and anxiety. He didn't know that Lin Wanyi getting into Zhang Fan's car was only to discuss a cooperation for the endorsement of star path: reboot; even more, he didn't know that his "remedy" in this life would trigger a series of unexpected storms. And at this moment in the rental house, the photo frame that Lin Wanyi had placed face down on the table lay quietly, as if witnessing the fate that was about to be rewritten in this life.