Fates Exchanged

When I saw my best friend tending to the elderly man upstairs with such diligence in washing his clothes, cooking his meals, feeding him medicine, and giving him massages, I immediately knew that she had been reborn, too.

In my previous life, my best friend and I shared an apartment. We were often awakened in the middle of the night by the old man’s cough from upstairs.

When I went up to check on him, I learned that his legs were paralyzed, and he had no children or family.

Out of sympathy, I decided to care for him. I brought him his daily meals and gave him massages.

A month later, out of the blue, the old man mysteriously handed me a bank card and said, “There’s eight million here. It’s my reward to you.”

With that money, I immediately went and paid off my father’s medical bills.

Later, the old man went even further and transferred the ownership of the apartment that we were renting to me. He told me, “When your father is discharged, move in together. That way, I’ll have someone to keep me company, too!”

When my best friend learned of this, however, she went ballistic. During the few days I was having trouble sleeping, she had secretly spiked my water with a lethal dose of sleeping pills. She watched as I died in agony.

After my death, my boyfriend, posing as my fiancé, cut off my father’s medical bills and took away the old man’s bank card.

Meanwhile, my best friend spread slanderous rumors among the neighbors, claiming the old man gave me money because I had sold myself to him.

Half a year later, the two got married and paid in full for a luxury apartment in the city centre.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on that very day when the old man upstairs was coughing uncontrollably.

The soundproofing in our high-rise apartment was awful. The old man’s coughing and wailing occasionally drifted straight into the room where I shared with my roommate, Quinn Lott.

I pushed myself up slightly, but Quinn pushed me back down onto the bed the next second.

She shot me a sharp, wary glare. “What are you doing? Don’t move!”

Right after, she swiftly slipped on her shoes, threw on a coat, and walked out the door without looking back.

The heavy slam of the door jolted me awake.

Watching Quinn move with such fluid precision, I was certain she had been reborn, too.

Half an hour later, Quinn returned, looking disheveled. Pinching her nose, she stuffed a reeking bundle of clothes into the washing machine.

She then pulled out disinfectant wipes and scrubbed her fingers vigorously.

As if sensing my gaze, she slowly lifted her head, her eyes brimming with undisguised hatred toward me.

“You were woken up by the coughing, too, weren’t you?”

She casually tossed the used wipes into the trash and added, “Too bad you were a step too late.

“In this lifetime, all the riches and luxury belong to me!”

I blinked at her in confusion. “Quinny, what are you talking about?”

She swallowed awkwardly and tentatively asked, “The old man upstairs was coughing so badly. Did you not hear it?”

“I heard him.”

She snorted, full of contempt. “You’re such a saint. Have you already decided to take care of him?”

I shook my head. “I can barely manage my own life. Where would I find the energy to take care of someone else?”

With those words, Quinn exhaled in relief.

When she spoke again, her tone had softened considerably. “You’d better keep your word!

“Anyway, I’m the one taking care of this old man now. Don’t you dare think about stealing my credit!”

She practically snarled the last sentence through clenched teeth.

I smiled calmly. “Don’t worry. I absolutely won’t.”

As the saying went, “There is no greater deed than saving a life.” This old man, however, was no ordinary person!

The fool that Quinn was only saw the money the elderly man gave me, completely overlooking my sacrifices!

In my last life, moved by compassion at the sight of the old man’s lonely plight, I’d immediately decided to carve out time to take care of him.

When Quinn found out, she had taunted me every day. “Who knew I had a saint among my friends!

“What can you even gain from all your running around? I bet it’s just the old man’s pair of urine-soaked pants!”

Though her disdainful glances embarrassed me, I had never regretted caring for the old man.

Of course, it was of my own volition, and not because I wanted anything from him in return.

Unexpectedly, a month later, the old man whose legs were paralyzed suddenly regained the ability to stand.

He was overjoyed, laughing and saying it was all thanks to me.

I was happy for him from the bottom of my heart, though I never imagined the devastating news that would follow.

My father had been in a car accident and was hospitalized.

As if sensing my distress, the old man handed me a bank card. “I’m just an old man on my own. I’m broke as a joke, and all I have is money.

“You’ve taken care of me for so long. I have nothing to repay you with. You definitely must take the money!”

That wasn’t all. That evening, the old man knocked on my door and placed a key in my palm.

He pointed at the apartment my best friend and I were renting. “You’re a good kid. This place is mine too, but soon, it will be yours!

“I had someone prepare the transfer papers this afternoon. All you need to do is sign!

“From now on, this is your home! When your father gets discharged, just bring him over to live here!”

I was so overwhelmed with emotions that I forgot to refuse. By the time I came back to my senses, the old man had already left.

Upon hearing this, Quinn turned beet-red with rage. “How could that old man be so generous with you?

“Did you sleep with him?

“Heather Hepburn, you disgust me!”

No matter how good my temper was, faced with such blatant slander, I couldn’t help but argue with her.

I never imagined from then on, she would hold a grudge against me; one so deadly that she would eventually poison me to death.

Only after my death did I learn that Quinn and my boyfriend, Hansen Lecter, were high school classmates who had always been involved in some ambiguous relationship.

A notification chimed in, yanking me back to the present.

I unlocked my phone to see a payment request from my boyfriend.

“Hurry up and pay! I’m starving!

“Or we’re breaking up!”