Chapter 1

The boyfriend my cousin brought home was my ex.

After living together for two years, I knew him very well—handsome looks, rotten morals.

In my past life, after I exposed his true nature, my uncle and aunt were against them being together, and my cousin took her own life because she couldn't handle it.

From then on, I became the family's sinner.

My parents said I meddled too much.

My uncle called me a murderer.

In vengeance for her daughter, my aunt drove a car and killed me.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my cousin brought her boyfriend home.

This time, I decided to keep my mouth tightly shut.

01

Ever since my cousin died, I became the family's sinner.

My parents said I meddled too much.

My uncle looked at me with hatred in his eyes, calling me a murderer.

And my aunt drove over me with her car as I was leaving, and ultimately, I died from my severe injuries.

When I woke up again, I found I was back on the day my cousin brought her boyfriend home.

"Our Sophie's boyfriend is excellent, graduated from the top three, he's now a programmer at an internet company, and I heard his annual salary is this much."

My aunt raised five fingers, looking proud.

"The most remarkable thing is, young Woods is a talented and handsome man, and for our Sophie, he's a match made in heaven."

After saying this, my aunt shot me a meaningful glance.

In our family, if my cousin was the beautiful swan, then I was the plain, ugly duckling.

Not only were my uncle and aunt proud of her, but even my parents valued her more.

So after hearing my aunt's words, my dad glared at me.

Complimenting her, he said,

"Sophie really has what it takes, unlike Ruby who's almost thirty and still single..."

"Haha, our Sophie has been excellent since she was young."

As my aunt was speaking, the door opened.

My cousin, dressed in a white dress, walked in, holding Ethan Woods' arm.

My uncle and aunt quickly went to greet them.

In my past life, I was shocked when I saw Ethan Woods at home. We had met at a corporate social event.

I was not good with words, but he was very enthusiastic, not only chatting me up but also asking me out for meals.

He said our personalities complemented each other and that we were the perfect couple.

As our relationship grew, we moved in together.

This living together revealed many hidden truths to me; Ethan Woods, the model gentleman, drove his girlfriend to death back in college, and during our relationship, had unethical connections with over ten female friends.

When I confronted him, he even tried to blame me for everything.

In short, the breakup was ugly.

So even though my relationship with my cousin wasn't great, considering we were family, I still exposed Ethan Woods' true colors to her.

Who knew the outcome would be so tragic.

And I paid with my life because of it.

In this new life, I just want to live my own small life well.

So I pretended not to know him.

Yet, I never thought Ethan Woods would walk straight toward me.

"Coco, long time no see."

Me: ...

Cousin: ...

My aunt looked somewhat suspicious.

"You know each other?"

Seeing Ethan Woods had no intention of speaking, I had to speak up.

"We used to date."

Unexpectedly, as soon as I said this, my cousin covered her mouth and ran out crying.

Ethan Woods followed her immediately.

Then came my uncle and aunt.

The living room was left with just the three of us.

My father sounded slightly accusatory.

"When did Ethan Woods become your ex? When did you date?"

"How could you say that?"

"Look how upset you've made your cousin."

Hearing my father's words filled me with a sense of helplessness. It had always been this way since I was young. Whenever there was a conflict between my cousin and me, regardless of who was right or wrong, they always blamed me. In my past life, after my cousin's suicide, my uncle and aunt put all the blame on me, stormed into my house, and slapped me more than ten times, leaving my entire head swollen.

Not only did my parents not defend me, but they also made sarcastic remarks from the side.

Even though I had long been disappointed in them.

But in my heart, the truth was that I did date Ethan Woods. Was it wrong to state the facts?

As I was about to get up and leave, my cousin and her family returned.

My cousin's eyes were still red, but seeing her and Ethan Woods' intimate posture, it wasn't hard to tell that he had already comforted her.

"Coco Grant, even though Ethan Woods was once your ex, he's mine now. I hope you understand your position,"

"And, back then, you were the one who cheated and got caught by Ethan Woods, leading to the breakup. You were at fault. Ethan Woods was lenient and didn't say anything to save your face. I know you've said a lot of bad things about Ethan Woods to clear your name before, but from now on, I hope you'll have a conscience and stop smearing Ethan Woods."

"Otherwise, I won't let you off."

My aunt chimed in supportively.

"Brother, Sister-in-law, if I may say, the child is grown now, you need to educate her. Having a boyfriend and messing around with other men, that would have gotten you drowned in a pig cage back in the day."

"Girls, it's better to be reserved. Look at our Sophie, I never let her stay out overnight."

"Only girls who preserve their integrity deserve a man's affection."

"Don't you agree, Sister-in-law?"

After listening to Sophie and Auntie's words, my parents really believed I was fooling around outside. They always cared about their reputation, and now that people were talking about it to this extent, they didn't dare to fall out with Uncle and Auntie, so they just vented their anger on me.

"How could you be so indiscreet?"

Dad slapped me across the face.

It burned like fire.

I held back tears and glared at Ethan Woods.

"I had an affair?"

"I had inappropriate relations with someone?"

"Ethan Woods, do you dare to swear to the heavens that the person who lied will meet a terrible fate?"

Ethan didn't speak, avoiding my gaze, visibly guilty.

It was obvious he pushed all the blame onto me, painting me as a morally corrupt person.

Although I didn't intend to get involved in their affairs, I also didn't want to be falsely accused.

Sophie couldn't see this, though. She stood in front of Ethan.

"Coco Grant, stop bullying Ethan Woods."

"You've already done something so disgraceful, and you're still afraid of what people say?"

Looking at Sophie, my emotions were complicated. We were the only two girls in our family, so we grew up being compared to each other. She was smarter and more lively, more talented, and more favored by the elders than I ever was.

Except for grades, there was almost nothing I could surpass her in.

Though I once considered her a rival in my heart, we were cousins, and I didn't want her to be deceived. That's why I laid out the evidence plainly in front of Uncle and Auntie. But I hadn't expected Sophie to feel so deeply for Ethan that she'd jump off a building to gain Uncle and Auntie's approval.

I really didn't know what to say to her, so I just threw out one sentence:

"You'd better get the facts straight" before storming out.

02

Once I got home, I felt utterly exhausted.

The slap mark on my face was very obvious, so I soaked a towel in cold water and pressed it against my face.

Thinking about those things from a past life, I fell asleep without realizing it.

When I woke up, it was already dark outside, and just as I was about to turn on the light, I heard rustling noises coming from my parents' room.

"Why is Coco so preoccupied? She had a boyfriend and didn't tell us, and we only found out after they broke up. What a good kid Woods is. How wonderful it would be if he were our son-in-law."

"Wasn't she always like that since she was little? Like a block of wood. Look how close Sophie is with her parents. Didn't you hear Auntie say that Coco fell for the temptations outside and found a wild man, that's why Woods broke up with her. Who's to blame for that, if not her own shortcomings and inability to keep Woods?"

"We need to quickly find her a match, to prevent her from doing anything else that might embarrass us. Once she's married, whether life is good or bad will depend on her."

"Didn't Auntie Miller introduce someone last time? Let's set up a meeting tomorrow."

"But, that boy only has a high school education, and Coco has a college degree. There's such a big difference, will Coco agree?"

"Since ancient times, marriages are arranged by parents and matchmakers. If we think it's good, it's good. What say does she have?"

"Alright, I'll have that kid come to our house for dinner tomorrow."

The voices in the room didn't stop, but I couldn't hold back my tears any longer.

It was the same in the past life. Even though they agreed with exposing Ethan Woods' true nature, maybe even took some schadenfreude, the moment something happened to my cousin, they immediately piled all the blame onto me, claiming I fabricated the evidence out of jealousy. They said they tried to advice me, but I wouldn't listen.

As if this would make it easier on their conscience.

I've truly had enough.

All my life, they never praised me, always looked down on me. They said I wasn't as talented as my cousin, but her talents were molded by the money Uncle and Auntie spent. They said I wasn't as fashionable, but Uncle and Auntie would always buy her all sorts of beautiful clothes, while they sent me only leftover hand-me-downs.

Wasn't it your creation that caused my inferiority?

Once, I finally had the courage to ask for a floral dress, but they said an ugly duckling like me didn't deserve to wear it.

The look of disdain and indifference in their eyes, I remembered for many years.

Only after entering university and expanding my horizons did I realize that it was a distorted parent-child relationship.

In the past life, I always remembered that they were my parents and raising me wasn't easy, so I endured the grievances. But after what happened in the past life and today, I finally see I need to distance myself from here.

I returned to my room and began packing.

It wasn't until the middle of the night that I finished packing and fell back into a hazy sleep. When I woke again, it was already day, and when I stepped out, I saw a stranger in the living room.

He was 1.55 meters tall, with thinning hair, wearing a white shirt though the collar was already yellowed.

I immediately understood this was the blind date my parents arranged for me.

Upon seeing me, the man quickly looked me up and down with a sleazy smile.

"You must be Coco. I'm your match, Jason Carter."

"Do you always sleep in this late?"

He glanced at his watch, showing disdain.

"Waking up this late is a bit much, you know. As my family's daughter-in-law, the most important thing is to be diligent. Everyone morning you need to cook for my parents and me. I'll forgive you since it's our first meeting but from now on, I'll properly train you."

Looking at the oddball in front of me, I felt furious.

Just as I was about to snap, my mom walked over.

She quickly placed the fruits on the coffee table.

"Oh dear, Jason, why are you standing? Please, come sit on the sofa, rest a bit."

"Coco, look at yourself, you should groom yourself more."

She threw me a blaming glance.

Jason suddenly spoke.

"It's alright, it's alright, I like Coco's straightforward nature. Girls should be simple, I don't like those who dress gaudy and be restless."

Mom's expression turned a bit awkward after hearing that.

"Rest assured, our Coco is very proper, very proper."

As if afraid Jason wouldn't believe her, my mom repeated herself.

Jason went on with many disgusting remarks, like saying a man is the sky and a woman is the earth, and women should obey men, go into the living room and the kitchen, and be filial, among others.

I couldn't listen any longer.

I just wanted to get up and leave.

But my mom stopped me.

"You'd better behave, Jason was introduced by Auntie Miller."

"If you leave, what will Auntie Miller think?"

I frowned.

"Did you hear what he just said?"

"So what? Let me tell you, you're almost thirty, not young anymore, as long as he's not stupid or crazy, why are you asking for so much?"