Chapter 1 Reborn

“Mmm…”

Vivian Ryder let out a faint groan, her head pounding like someone had split it open.

“Vivian, hey, Vivian! You okay?” A man’s anxious voice pushed into her ears.

That voice—she knew it too well. Wasn’t that her husband?

She forced her eyes open, vision a little blurry at first.

And right there in front of her was Marcus Allen.

Only… he looked a lot younger than the Marcus in her memories.

What on earth was going on? Wasn’t she already dead? Where was she now?

A sudden rush of memories hit her, and everything scattered in her mind fell back into place. She remembered falling into the water… remembered watching someone fish out her own body, villagers crowding around it—yet Marcus was nowhere in sight.

Then somehow, a giant screen showed up out of nowhere, replaying her whole life like a movie.

That was when she finally understood: the world she lived in was actually a novel.

And the novel’s male lead wasn’t her husband at all—it was his fifth brother, Vincent Allen. The female lead was his wife, Yvonne Adams.

And her death? Well, that was tied to this “good sister-in-law” Yvonne, no doubt about it.

Yvonne, being the heroine, was sharp as a tack, practically blessed by the heavens.

Not long after marrying into the Allen family, she’d once asked to borrow a necklace Vivian rarely wore—said she’d return it in a couple of days.

But of course, it never came back. She only claimed she’d lost it “by accident.”

Yet that necklace was no ordinary trinket. It held an actual storage space.

And not just that—the space had another frightening ability: it could show a person’s luck, whether it was good or bad, and how much of it they had left.

With that space in their hands, those two just kept riding a lucky wave. Decades later, they were big shots in Hua Nation, the kind of people others could only look up to.

And she, the one who practically handed them the golden ticket? Her grave grass had grown taller than a person.

Thinking about it made a cold hatred burn in her eyes.

Everything Yvonne Adams had today came straight from that space.

By any logic, she should’ve been grateful. But instead, she bit the hand that fed her.

What kind of person could even pull something like that?

They never had any real conflict before, never had a grudge. Was it really necessary to be that vicious?

Not to mention—they were family.

Looked like whether it was Yvonne or Marcus Allen’s younger brother Vincent Allen, neither of them were decent people.

The two of them were nothing special to begin with. Without her space propping them up, how could they possibly have climbed so high?

Honestly, neither of them had much ability on their own.

Thinking that far, Vivian Ryder felt her heartbeat steady a little. She muttered inwardly, With that space giving them a boost, even a pig could’ve taken off.

Through that screen, she had watched everything that happened over the next few decades, clear as day.

Then somehow, she woke up again—reborn—and returned to this moment.

She turned her head, looking around. The room was small: a plain bed, a standing wardrobe, nothing else.

Then she remembered. This was the fifth year of her marriage—the time she fainted at the clinic.

Suddenly, she clutched her stomach.

Right. This was when they found out she was pregnant.

In her last life, after the diagnosis, she thought her mother-in-law would finally let her rest a bit.

Who would’ve guessed—nothing changed at all.

She still had to work the fields, still had to do all the chores. Not a single task was taken off her shoulders.

This was why, after Yvonne Adams got her hands on that necklace, it didn’t take long at all for her to start plotting against her. Everything became so much easier for her. Vivian Ryder had been pregnant, naturally weaker than usual, worn out to the bone, barely eating. No wonder Yvonne and Vincent Allen managed to pull their tricks off without breaking a sweat.

Vivian didn’t say a word for a long while. The man standing in front of her was already looking anxious enough to choke.

He had that honest, upright look—sharp features, skin tanned from long days outside—plain at first glance, but the more you looked, the more he felt steady and reliable. Yet the moment she thought of how miserable he ended up in her last life, a dull ache tightened in her chest.

Someone as solid as Marcus Allen, working himself half to death for the family, never once complaining, earning the most—yet who had ever cared?

Just because he wasn’t smooth‑tongued, didn’t know how to say the sweet things others did.

No matter how much he did, he could never compete with those younger ones who were good at flattering. One soft word and her mother‑in‑law would be smiling from ear to ear, completely dismissing him.

Good things never landed on him. Hard work, heavy chores—those were always tossed his way.

And he never argued. Just took it all in quietly.

But toward her? He was genuinely good. Anything nice he got, she was always the first person he thought of.

"Vivian, what’s wrong? Why’re you staring at me like that? Are you still feeling sick?" Marcus blurted out, panicked.

Seriously, what was going on? His wife was just staring at him, not saying a thing. Was her head okay? She didn’t hit it, right? Nobody mentioned she did. Then what on earth was happening? It was enough to drive him crazy.

"I’m not sick. I just woke up and felt a little fuzzy. Besides, I fainted because I’m pregnant," Vivian snapped at him, shooting him a glare. Couldn’t he say something that sounded nicer?

Just as she finished speaking, a doctor in his fifties walked in—Dr. Meng—who had clearly heard every word before even stepping through the door.

“Since you know you’re pregnant, you really need to be careful. Not even two months yet—this is the tricky stage. If you’re not careful, you’ll be the one suffering later.”

The old doctor in her previous life had said almost the exact same thing. She didn’t take it to heart back then, and that was how everything went wrong.

She immediately nodded.

“Yes, yes, Dr. Meng, we got it. We’ll remember everything you said.”

Dr. Meng stared at the usually stubborn second daughter‑in‑law of the Allen family suddenly acting this obedient, a bit thrown off. Still, she nodded, looking slightly relieved as she walked out.

Only then did Marcus Allen finally react. His face practically bloomed with joy as he blurted out, voice full of excitement,

“For real, Vivian, you’re pregnant? I’m gonna be a dad again? That’s amazing!”

But her mind was spinning with memories of the last life. Sure, Marcus had told her several times to take it easy, but with her mother‑in‑law refusing to let up, and her own stubborn pride not wanting others to look down on her, she kept pushing herself—big belly and all—still going out to the fields to work.

The moment she thought about it, she wanted to slap her past self a few times. What on earth was she trying to prove back then? Waddling around with a belly and still forcing herself to work like a fool.

Honestly, what happened later… she couldn’t pretend she held no responsibility.

But this time? Not a chance she would repeat that stupidity.

Whatever comfort she was supposed to enjoy, she’d enjoy every bit of it. Even if the sky fell, she wouldn’t budge.

And that whole Allen family living off her and Marcus like leeches? They could forget it.

“Vivian, how’re you feeling? Can you still walk? If you can’t, I’ll carry you home.”

Marcus looked at her, worry written all over his face.

His wife was carrying his baby. After fainting like that, she needed proper rest. He could tire himself out, no problem, but she couldn’t suffer anymore.

“I’m fine. I can walk. Just help me a little.”

Vivian tugged on his hand, urging him along.

Even though she’d been carried to the clinic after fainting, she wasn’t injured. She’d passed out purely from exhaustion.

The old doctor didn’t even prescribe medicine—just told her to go home, rest properly, and eat something nourishing.

As for what comes after, that’s really out of his hands.

These days, most families are already lucky if they can keep everyone fed. Talking about nourishing the body? Yeah, that’s a luxury hardly anyone can afford.

Vivian didn’t feel especially upset about it either.

She and Marcus didn’t have a single coin on them right now. Even if they wanted to get medicine, they couldn’t scrape together the money.

The thought alone made her chest tighten uncomfortably.

Her man wasn’t some regular farmhand—Marcus had always been good at making money.

But whatever he earned never stayed with the two of them. Every last bit went straight into his mother’s hands.

And once the money reached his mother, it might as well have vanished. It had nothing to do with them anymore—especially with how blatantly biased that old woman was.

On their way back, Marcus kept slowing his steps, afraid she might not be able to handle the walk.

By the time they were almost home, the sun was already high, nearly lunchtime.