The Afternoon of a Rebirth

Years later, as her five elder sisters and two younger sisters took turns pinning her to the bed and unbuttoning her clothes, Qing Zixi would undoubtedly recall that distant afternoon when she had witnessed her own funeral.

Qing Yun was dead.

As the sole male heir of the Qing family, Qing Yun had been surrounded by five elder sisters and two younger sisters.

However, the Qing family’s fortunes had long since dwindled, and his parents had vanished without a trace, fleeing their debts.

Naturally, none of the seven were his biological siblings. What’s more, these sisters largely ignored Qing Yun, constantly tripped him up, and devised every conceivable method to bully and torment him.

Then, one day, Qing Yun died.

Moreover, his world had been reduced to only red, orange, yellow, green, and cyan. Where were blue and purple? They were simply gone.

In the moments before his death, he had only perceived a burst of fire erupting from beneath his feet. The very next instant, his consciousness had vanished.

“Hahaha, you insignificant lot! You trashy sisters! Weren’t you always ignoring me, always bullying me before? Now that I’m dead, why are you all weeping like pear blossoms drenched in rain?”

Qing Yun, hovering in mid-air, extended a spectral finger to point at the seven individuals who were now weeping and wailing at his funeral.

Another figure, enveloped in a radiant halo, also floated in the air nearby.

“To be laughing so joyfully at your own birthday and funeral… I wonder if that speaks well or poorly of your mental state.”

“Ah… that’s right, isn’t it? I’m dead! And you seemed to imply earlier that you were responsible for it!?”

Indeed, that very flame had originated from this individual, a person known only as the ‘Manager’.

“Who could have known there’d be a slight glitch when you awakened your ability? To be precise, you accidentally offed yourself.”

The Manager rolled their eyes, though they knew they did bear a certain degree of responsibility for the incident.

It seemed the time for humanity to awaken their abilities would have to be postponed further.

It was then that the Manager suddenly raised a forefinger, a whimsical idea seemingly striking them.

“Hey, how about I arrange a resurrection for you?”

“Er…?”

In Qing Yun’s experience, this world simply didn’t align with the concept of rising from the dead. Yet, after witnessing that mysterious flame, the very foundations of common sense in his mind had been thoroughly shaken.

Furthermore, he himself had already experienced resurrection and transmigration. Just that day, a fortune teller had even informed him, “You’re about to strike it rich!”

Then, while excitedly en route to buy a lottery ticket, he had been struck and transported to this place, eerily similar to Earth.

He had transmigrated into a prestigious family, where, since childhood, he was surrounded by maids who addressed him as ‘Young Master’, along with five elder sisters and two younger sisters, despite their rather strained relationship.

He had envisioned a life of luxury, prosperity, and success. Instead, his parents had suddenly fled, burdened by debt, and shortly thereafter, he had inexplicably perished.

Yet, if given the genuine chance to continue living, he would unquestionably accept.

After all, he had only just turned eighteen!

“Indeed, as I bear some responsibility, I shall grant you resurrection. However, consider this resurrection a reward, and for now, I can only offer it to you as a loan.”

“A loan for resurrection?!”

“Yes. If, within two ‘kun’ years, you can honestly and honorably, without any slacking, achieve the status of the absolute top individual in any chosen field for a single year, then this resurrection will be unequivocally granted to you as a reward. Of course, failure to do so will incur a penalty.”

“W-what kind of penalty…?”

“Naturally, I’ll reclaim your loan resurrection. Furthermore, each failure on your part will be met with a penalty, whether minor or severe. So, do consider your actions carefully~”

As the Manager spoke, the floating halo beside them began to gradually dim. Qing Yun, meanwhile, had yet to fully grasp the profound implications of their words.

“How exactly is ‘being the top in a field’ defined?!”

“In any field that holds an annual competition, securing the championship title will suffice. And by the way, you are not to disclose this arrangement to anyone.”

“What about… the penalty, then!?”

“The penalty won’t be imposed by me. Instead, you will be punished by whomever you are defeated by…”

The voice faded into an almost inaudible whisper, and Qing Yun’s vision blurred to black before he succumbed to unconsciousness.

****

An unknown amount of time passed. When she next awoke, it was to the startling sensation of something soft yet undeniably pressing against her chest.

‘W-what is this…?’

Slowly, she opened her eyes. The first thing to greet her gaze was a cascade of beautiful blue hair, accompanied by the distinct, crisp ringing of bells echoing throughout the room.

She recognized the owner of that striking hair, and even more so, the unmistakable sound of those bells.

If a hazy blue suggested maturity and composure, then this particular shade, ‘mermaid blue’, evoked a sense of ethereal lightness and elegance, perfectly embodying its owner’s style.

At this very moment, the owner of the blue hair was buried against her collarbone. For some inexplicable reason, her body seemed to be trembling ever so slightly.

“M-M-Mengyao-jie~?”

‘What is that sound!?’

She had undeniably spoken, yet the voice that reached her ears was distinctly not masculine. Instead, it was delicate, sweet, and soft…

“You’re awake!?”

Lan Mengyao abruptly lifted her head, her light blue eyes wide with surprise. Yet, they seemed veiled by a mist, and the corners were noticeably red-rimmed.

As their gazes locked, being held by those pale blue irises for any length of time evoked the distinct sensation of meeting a mermaid’s eyes.

‘What, what’s happening…? If this is Lan Mengyao, wasn’t she absolutely notorious for teasing me? She always had a blue tassel wind chime hanging from her waist, which would clink merrily outside my door. And every night, after I’d finally drifted off, she would deliberately play the piano just to wake me.’

Her gaze subtly shifted, moving away from the pale blue eyes. She noticed Lan Mengyao’s hand resting on the bedspread, fingers delicately curled, slender and elongated. Her nails were neatly trimmed short, displaying healthy, pink-and-white nail beds devoid of any ostentatious polish.

It was the first time she had ever observed her sister’s hand with such intimate closeness. A faint blush crept across her cheeks, prompting her to quickly avert her gaze.

‘Wait, why? Why am I feeling shy just by looking at her hand?!’

“W-what happened to me…?”

‘What happened? You obviously died.’

In truth, however, she wanted to ask, ‘What happened to *you*?’ And also—

“How did I end up here…?”

“You… you passed away due to an accident. When I returned home, I suddenly found you lying right at my doorstep, and… and…”

She understood the former part of the explanation. The latter, she presumed, involved the Manager sending her here; all of that was clear. What truly puzzled her, however, was Lan Mengyao’s hesitant, stammering tone at the end.

“And what…?”

“See for yourself.”

Lan Mengyao swiftly grabbed the small mirror from the bedside table and offered it to her, her arm trembling slightly.

With excitement.

“E-yahhhhhh?!”

Reflected in the mirror was a face sculpted as if from jade, with delicate, flawless skin, small, adorable lips, and ruby-like eyes. Cascading down past her shoulders to her thighs was a shimmering expanse of silver-white hair, fine as silken threads.

‘Wait, what? Who is this beautiful, adorable creature, like an elf? Is that… me?’

The white-haired loli instinctively pinched her own small cheek.

It stung!

‘It’s me. I’ve been reborn… as a frail, white-haired little loli.’

‘Give me back the suave, dashing me, the one who stood a full one-point-eight meters tall (or, well, actually one-point-six)!’

The white-haired loli still couldn’t believe the person in the mirror was her. Given Lan Mengyao’s obvious recognition, she had expected to be reborn with her original appearance.

‘But then again, my original body was apparently incinerated, wasn’t it? It seems I got the full-service package.’

A moment later, confusion clouded her small mind.

Since she had undergone such a drastic, earth-shattering transformation, how could Lan Mengyao still recognize her?

“Mengyao-jie, how did you recognize me?”

“While your appearance and physique have changed, your aura remains the same. I’d recognize you even if you turned to ash.”

‘…

Thanks. I literally *did* turn to ash.’

“Should I call you Yun-meimei?”

Hearing Lan Mengyao’s question, the white-haired loli decided that since she had become a girl, her previous name should probably be altered slightly.

Yun Xi, Yun Xi… purple mist.

“Call me Qing Zixi.”

“Xixi~”

“Mengyao-jie, you…”

Qing Zixi hesitated, her voice trailing off. She had known Lan Mengyao for several years, yet the total words they had exchanged over all that time barely amounted to the few short minutes they had just spent together today.

“You used to dislike me, didn’t you?”

*Gulp!*

Who could possibly remain calm when a small, white-haired loli, with teary eyes and puffed-out cheeks, asks in a wronged tone, “You used to dislike me, didn’t you?”

Even Lan Mengyao, who was habitually praised by adults for her composure and quick thinking in any situation, found herself flustered. Her hands hovered mid-air, wanting to grasp Qing Zixi’s shoulders, yet fearing the little one’s aversion. Her words, too, began to stumble.

“H-h-how could I ever dislike you?”

“But you always used to tease me, and you’d play the piano in the middle of the night just to wake me up…”

What Qing Zixi didn’t realize was that even as a girl, she would still be teased. And in the middle of the night, Lan Mengyao would still ‘play the piano’ on her, waking her up.