01 That Thing Called Karma

[Chapters 1-3 are more of a pre-rebirth. Aug. 16, 2024. A/N: Hi, I decided to make some revisions. So, if you see changes from chapter 4 had you read this before the said date, please give it another go to avoid confusion. Thanks.]

Chapter 1: That Thing Called Karma

They say that if you wrong someone in a past life, karma will catch up with you in the next.

You would have to come back with them in a future life so that you can experience the negativity that you put them through in the past.

Normally, Bai Feiyin would scoff at such notions.

"Meh, that's a total bull!" she exclaimed, her high-pitched voice echoing through the empty corridors of her opulent mansion.

Yet, now, just a few days after she had wryly uttered that with conviction after reading a random blog, here she was—back in the past, inexplicably demoted and paying a price for a crime she hadn't committed.

From the lavish interior of her million-dollar mansion, she was now stuck in this nostalgic but strangely distant wooden room she once called home which she hadn't seen for more than a century.

With holes in its walls and creepy creaks at the gust of winds slamming through the broken roof and windows, Bai Feiyin was left dumbfounded and couldn't believe her eyes.

Upon her was a reflection of her old self from a period she had once cast. In there, was a ten-year-old girl in a threadbare garment and messy twin ponytail eyeing directly at her on a round blurry plate-sized mirror with a red plastic handle and floral print behind.

"W-what on earth is this nonsense?" she muttered in airy breath, pacing the cold, hard ground with scruffy straw sandals. "A long nightmare—yes! That should be it! I should be awakened soon. Right, I'm just having a bad dream because I just had a bad day," she said in a desperate attempt to convince herself but the croaking frogs and stings of mosquito bites which were pestering her all night said otherwise.

Pak!

As she thought of that, the crisp sound of her slap left a red handprint on her face.

'Damn reflex!! Waah it hurts, darn it stings!' she groaned and tears inevitably escaped her eyes.

She didn't know what felt worse, making her unable to sleep at all, her slapping and hitting those stupid malaria carriers but having to bear the burden and pain, or the mosquito bite in itself.

"Fuck, it's both! Gah, it's soooo itchyyyy! Itchy itchy aaargh!" She frantically complained and started tapping her cheeks vehemently.

Suppressing the urge to scratch the itch and ruining her face.

"No! I refuse to be here at all! Not in this timeline!" She cried in protest and slammed the brick-like pillow, punching it as though it would get her back to her supposed regal life.

***

Bai Feiyin had been on the cusp of conquering the entire stock market and food industry. She was poised to surpass Bernard Astro and Elon Must in the Forge World's Billionaire Ranking!

Yet, it seems like fate had other plans.

An old woman, claiming to be a distant relative, had emerged from the shadows, demanding a share of Bai Feiyin's wealth.

And all of a sudden, she found herself thrust back into this backwater existence after refusing her, painting herself as a bad woman.

What the hell?

How can she accept this?

In her fourth life, born as an orphan, Bai Feiyin had no family—no cat, no dog, no husband!

Yet, this alleged relative insisted on her rightful piece of the pie.

Talk about an absurd and thick-faced liar!

"You heartless, vile woman!" the old crone had spat. "It's just a couple hundred thousand bucks I need for my son's dowry! So what if we're not related by blood? We were neighbors once!" the raging aunty glowered and pointed at her rudely.

"I've fed you in my house a couple of times. I gave you good food and warm clothes, you ingrate! How can you be so cold and selfish towards your own people?"

Bai Feiyin's face fell with eyes bulging incredulously seeing the cynical woman's anger flared. She knew people could be utterly nonsensical and ridiculous but she had never seen such a crass and revolting act right in front of her very own face.

Going as low as using a guilt trip for all it's worth, at least drop something meticulous and convincing if you want to scam people!

Ha…

Food? Warm clothes? That's rich coming from her!

More like moldy bread and rag that couldn't be patched up because of the huge deliberate holes!

How can she not remember this so-called philanthropist who donated a lot of "good" stuff almost causing her to say bye-bye in this lifetime prematurely?

'I almost died after she made me eat spoiled cereal!' The foolish child in her thought the flavor was naturally sour, eating it for the first time in all of her lifetimes. 'I want to strangle her, ah this old rogue! And what did she just say?!'

"O-Own people?! Ha! This is so freaking hilarious," she snorted and stared at the other person who had been blocked by the guard caustically, "Ma'am, why don't you apply as a comedian instead of making a scene here? I'm sure you'll earn a lot. Haha! It's amazing how someone can be so utterly ridiculous and desperate as they age."

The older, the wiser? More like more senile and muddled! 

So what if they were neighbors once? So what if they had interacted before? How can she shamelessly ask for money as if she was indebted to her more than to her own ancestor?

Just a couple hundred grand? Just?! This old crone was talking like it was some penny she, fortunately, picked up on the street! And so she must share it with others like a dutiful citizen of this fucked up world.

For fuck's sake!

Seriously, such extreme audacity is making her insides churn.

Bai Feiyin lived in an orphanage for the first ten years of her life! The nearest house near that place was one kilometer away!

"I've seen many con artists in all of my lives but not someone with this much guts. Unbelievable!" She gasped both incredulous and amused.

"You still dare to laugh? Now my son's future is destroyed," the woman seethed. " My husband is sick and paralyzed from the waist down! Now my son can't marry into a good family, our family will be doomed! It's all because of you, you selfish bitch! I curse you to lose all that you hold dear in this lifetime!" she glowered with murderous eyes.

For a minute, Bai Feiyin felt a cold shiver down her spine.

'What's her problem got to do with me?!' she held her tongue and rolled her eyes.

"Right, sick. Everyone in your family is a sicko!" she mumbled.

Just then, the unthinkable happened. The old woman slammed her head against a marble pillar, blood spattering across the pristine floor.

The company lobby stood witness to this macabre scene and left everyone struck to their wits and scared shitless.

***