Reborn

Xia Xiu stroked He Mei's hair and face lovingly. It felt so warm that He Mei couldn't describe it adequately. It was the feeling that she had yearned for in the last few years. He Mei couldn't help herself and started sobbing.

"Mom… can you pinch me?" He Mei choked as she uttered these words with difficulty.

Xia Xiu was surprised when she heard her daughter's absurd request.

"Huh? Why?" She asked with confusion written all over her face.

Seeing her mother's confused face, He Mei understood that it was not a dream and she was not in heaven. She hugged her mother again and didn't want to let go.

Seeing her daughter's reaction, Xia Xiu grew even more worried. She asked again, "Mei Mei, tell me what's wrong. Mother is very worried for you!"

He Mei saw the worry in her mother's eyes and calmed down. She said, "Mom, it's nothing. I had a horrible nightmare and I'm glad that you woke me up from it."

Xia Xiu sighed when she heard her daughter. She then gently pulled He Mei into her arms and patted her back, "It's okay Mei Mei. The nightmare is over now."

He Mei nodded with tears in her eyes. Yes, her nightmare was over!

Xia Xiu cupped He Mei's face in her palms and said gently, "Okay Mei Mei, now freshen up and come down for breakfast."

He Mei nodded as she watched her mother go out of her room.

She then closed the door and leaned against it. It was then she saw her old room in front of her eyes. It was the room in her family house and not her villa in which she had lived with the Gu family. She however still couldn't believe it. She hurried to her dressing room and saw her reflection in the mirror. When she saw her youthful appearance, her heart finally started settling down. She still checked her phone for the date. It was 2020. She was now sure that she was reborn. She was reborn five years ago!

He Mei pinched herself multiple times, but all she could feel was pain. She had really gone back in time. She had gotten another chance.

"I'm really grateful for the chance you have given me, God, and I promise that I will make good use of my second life and will never make the same mistake ever again."

He Mei took a bath before getting dressed up. She then walked downstairs to have breakfast with her mother. She wanted to spend time with her mother now that she had gotten her back. It was like this most of the time. When a person is there in your life, you take her for granted. You only understand the true importance of a person only when she disappears from your life. And this is mostly the case for parents. We take them for granted when they're alive and miss their presence when they're gone. We wish that we would have spent some more time with them.

As He Mei reached downstairs, she saw no one in the living room. She was about to call her mother when the housekeeper informed her that Xia Xiu was waiting for her in the back garden.

He Mei nodded and went to the back of the mansion.

Xia Xiu was seated on the garden chair with a table in front of her. The table stood beneath a flowering magnolia, laid with porcelain dishes, fresh fruits, and steaming tea. The chair beside Xia Xiu's chair was empty, seemingly for He Mei.

He Mei walked through the grass calmly. She even removed her footwear to feel the grass beneath her feet. This feeling gave her a sense of peacefulness.

He Mei walked towards her mother and sat down beside her. "Mom," she greeted Xia Xiu.

Xia Xiu smiled gently at her daughter. She then handed over a plate of fruits to her daughter.

He Mei took the plate from her mother's hand and took a bite of a grape. She ate elegantly just as Xia Xiu sipped her tea gracefully.

"Mei Mei, was your nightmare too horrible?" Xia Xiu didn't want her daughter to remember the nightmare but she was worried sick, and so she wanted He Mei to vent it out.

"Mom, it's all in the past!" He Mei smiled.

Xia Xiu looked into He Mei's eyes and saw that she didn't have a trace of fear or sadness in her almond-shaped eyes. It was just peace. This made her feel relieved.

She looked at He Mei and said, "Mei Mei, I wanted to say something to you from a long time. So now that we're free, I might as well tell you what's on my mind. I know that you've never suffered a bit since childhood and you have a kind heart, but not everyone is like you. Don't easily trust people in your life. I know that you don't have a lot of friends, but still, you need to be careful because you never know when they might betray you."

Xia Xiu knew who He Mei was close to and didn't like either of them. Thus, she told her daughter what was on her mind in a roundabout way.

Xia Xiu had said the same thing multiple times in He Mei's past life but she had ignored her mother's words and that had cost her everything.