I died.

I died on my birthday, crushed to pieces by a truck.

My soul floated back home and saw my little brother making a mess with my birthday cake, while my parents laughed happily beside him.

My little brother innocently asked, "Will Julia be angry?"

My mother indulgently replied, "As long as you're happy."

Huh, they had always been like this, indulging my little brother to freely control everything of mine, treating me as a burden.

At this moment, hatred grew wildly in my heart.

But later, when I was reborn, the situation changed...

***

Dazzling lights illuminated my vision as bright as daylight. After a moment of distraction, a runaway truck occupied my entire field of view.

Without time to dodge, I was sent flying by the crash.

Blood splattered in the air, and it was dazzling.

In an instant, the piercing pain penetrated my whole body.

At this moment, my only thought was to go home, because my mom said she bought me a birthday cake. Today was my birthday.

She asked me to go back early, which was also the first time she said she would celebrate for me.

In the past, my parents' attention was always on my younger brother. I was always insignificant to them.

No one knew how happy I was when I received the call. It was as if I came alive because my mom finally cared about me.

But now, it seemed that I can't go back.

The pain in my body gradually occupied all my thoughts.

This was a pain I had never experienced before.

It hurt so much!

I screamed desperately, but couldn't make a sound. Tears flowed down my cheeks, mixed with blood in my mouth.

I wanted to move my body, but my lower half had no sensation.

The cry of the truck driver reached my ears. He said the ambulance would be here soon and begged me not to move.

But... if I couldn't go back, I wouldn't be able to see my birthday cake. I wanted to hear my parents say happy birthday to me...

I didn't know how long it had been, but suddenly, I couldn't hear or see anything, not even the excruciating pain.

I felt light all over and realized that I was floating.

I looked at my translucent self and realized that I was already dead. This was my soul.

But my body was still on the ground, being desperately rescued.

Several medical staff inserted various instruments into my body, but they didn't know that I was already dead and couldn't be saved no matter what.

I felt immense sadness in my heart, but couldn't shed a tear.

It took me a long time to accept the fact that I was dead.

I controlled my soul and flew unsteadily towards home. I wanted to take one last look at my birthday cake and see if my mother was anxious because I hadn't come back yet.

But when I got back, I realized that I was wrong, and I was very wrong.

The cake was smeared everywhere, and I could hear my brother's cheers from outside.

Innocently, he asked my parents, "Will Julia be angry when she comes back?"

My mother shook her head indulgently and then said disdainfully, "They why does she not to come back sooner? She's not sensible and made us wait for so long."

But I had already rushed back as soon as I got off work.

My brother cheered again, and I clearly saw the triumphant look on his face when he turned around.

This was his usual style, pretending to be obedient in front of our parents, but taking everything of mine and destroying it.

A wave of hatred flashed through my heart, and I wanted to fly over and slap him, but I passed straight through his body.

He sneezed and said to his mother that he felt a chill.

Our mother quickly brought him a coat to put on.

He pretended to care and said, "Will my sister be okay?"

Our mother sneered, "She's a jinx, it's better if she's dead."

Our father smiled and touched my brother's head, "Bob, remember, you are my pride, not Julia."

In that moment, all my hopes shattered.

But I forgot that they had always been like this, I shouldn't have had any illusions.

In my memory, since I could remember, my father often complained that I wasn't a boy, and my mother said I was a burden, only my grandma truly cared about me.

Every time I ate the spaghetti she made for me, her eyes full of love and concern were something I would never forget.

But the good times didn't last long, my grandma fell seriously ill and then passed away.

At that moment, I felt like the sky was falling.

Later on, whether it was my toys or school supplies, as long as my little brother wanted them, I had to give them to him unconditionally.

Mom always said that I was the older sister, so I had to be considerate of my little brother.

If I didn't want to, I would just be told that I was not sensible.

Fine, I was not sensible, but I gave him everything.

But that wasn't enough.

Later, I finally graduated and started working, thinking that I could finally buy things I wanted for myself.

But Dad said that they raised me with difficulty, and now my little brother needed to go to school. I needed to contribute a portion of my salary to support Bob's hobbies and classes.

They said I needed to give a portion of my salary, but in reality, they only left me enough money to eat.

Their money was saved for my brother's future, to buy a house, a car, and get married. As for me, they only thought about finding a rich man for me in the future, so they could ask for more money from him.

But they forgot that when I was in school, many times I couldn't even eat enough, and when I just started working, I often got sick because I couldn't adapt.

When I was tortured by illness and couldn't live a normal life, I called my mother and she would say, "You are already an adult, can't you take care of yourself?"

Well, I survived alone again.

They didn't care about my health or my life. They only cared about my salary. If I was a little unwilling, they would threaten to cut off our relationship.

And I was always constrained by this, never able to break free from this vicious cycle.

Over time, I had become more and more withdrawn, not getting along with my colleagues, going to and from work alone every day, and hardly communicating with anyone except for necessary work arrangements. When I went back home, I would just huddle alone in that small, cheap rental flat, using the internet to fantasize about the exciting world outside.

Once I secretly took a psychological test and was diagnosed with severe depression.

Looking at the test results, endless pain surged in my heart. I wanted to confide in someone about my grievances, but who could I turn to?

I had no friends, and my parents wouldn't pay attention to me.

They would only say, "You are already so old, why are you so sensitive?"

Maybe I was really being melodramatic, so I tried to adjust myself and make myself more lively, whether it was the love for my younger brother or the enthusiasm for work, I tried to make myself look like a "normal person".

But this only made the depression in my heart heavier.

I even thought about suicide, to end it all.

But I didn't have the courage for that.

However, now all of this was over.

At this moment, I felt a sense of unprecedented relief.

Now there was only one thought in my mind, if there was a next life, I must be true to myself, and no one could manipulate my life again.

But... I was already dead.

It was not possible anymore.

My soul gradually became unreal, and my consciousness slowly became blurred.

I didn't know how long it had been, but it seemed like I had a long dream.

In a daze, I heard someone calling my name.

"Julia, the teacher is here, wake up quickly."

Suddenly, I woke up abruptly and opened my eyes to see a familiar yet unfamiliar face.

I looked around the surroundings.

Was this... a classroom in my university?

A trace of doubt flashed through my mind. Wasn't I dead?

Maybe... I had been reborn?

Then, my head started to ache. I couldn't help but rub it a few times, and scenes from before my death rushed into my mind, accompanied by the hatred towards my parents and younger brother.

"Buzz... Buzz..."

The phone vibrated and I glanced at the caller ID, the note was...

Mom.

In an instant, the pent-up resentment in my heart was almost uncontrollable.

First, I pinched my face hard to confirm that I really came back to life, and then without any hesitation, I put the phone on silent mode and let it light up in the drawer.

According to the past, I would definitely answer without hesitation, and then accept my mother's instructions like a robot.

But at the moment of death, something in my heart opened up.

Since the heavens gave me a chance to start over, no one can manipulate me this time.

I didn't answer the call for a long time, and the phone kept ringing.

I sneered in my heart, she must be in a hurry for something, after all, according to her attitude towards me, if she wanted to find me, she wouldn't care if I'm busy or not.

She had been like this since high school, she bought me a cheap second-hand phone that could only make and receive calls just to make it easier for her to boss me around.

Uninformed classmates would think I'm brave.

Unfortunately, they were wrong.

After the teacher found my phone, he even went to my mom, but she didn't care.

She even threatened that if the school expelled me, it would mean that I was not suitable for studying, and she would be happy about it. This way, she could save a lot of money, and I could start working earlier.

After all, if she voluntarily let her child drop out of school, she would be criticized.

The teachers didn't understand this, but they took care of me more, which made me feel a little warmth in school, and finally I was able to get into college as I wished.

But later on, I became more and more like a puppet.

But not this time.

I looked at the calendar and according to my past life's memory, I remembered that there is a parent meeting at my brother's school tomorrow, and my parents are too busy to attend, so they asked me to go on their behalf.

But at the parent meeting, my brother deliberately made me embarrassed in public.

I smirked, it was time to fight back.

After finishing the last class, I took the bus home as usual.

It used to take only one command for me to rush back, which would take nearly two hours.

When I opened the door, I was mentally prepared for resistance, but it was unexpectedly quiet.

My parents were not home, and even my younger brother was nowhere to be seen.

At this moment, my phone showed more than 20 missed calls.

I ignored them and searched for something to eat in the refrigerator. There was a bowl of braised pork, which I remembered was my brother's favorite. I sneered in my heart and immediately took it out. It didn't take long for me to finish it.

This was not enough. With a retaliatory mentality, I rummaged through everything my brother loved to eat and play with.

He used to take my things, but now it's my turn.

But it was almost 8 o'clock, and they still hadn't come home. I remembered that in my previous life, they had already had dinner at home at this time, while I came home to find only leftovers.

"Buzz... Buzz..."

My phone rang again, this time it was my dad calling.

I wanted to refuse, but now I was already at home, they always had to come back, we always had to meet.

I pressed the answer button, and my dad's urgent voice came from the other end.

"Julia, where are you!?"

I remained silent for a moment, then calmly replied, "I'm at home."

"Good, wait at home, we'll be back soon!"

I didn't say anything and hung up the phone directly.

But thinking back to my dad's tone just now, I always felt something was strange. Normally, if I didn't answer the phone, he should be angry. But in the end, I heard a hint of joy in my dad's voice, as if a burden had been lifted after worrying.

Not long after, the door opened and my parents came back with my little brother.

"Where were you? Your mom called you more than 20 times and you didn't answer."

Dad's tone was reproachful, and my little brother, who was hiding behind him, stuck his tongue out at me.

I ate my little brother's snacks without any joy or sorrow, and casually said, "I just didn't feel like picking you up."