Chapter 7

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Chapter 7: The Doorbell At Night

“Whew… finally home.”

After locking the door behind her, Su Li let out a long breath of relief. Just in case, she had taken a long detour on her way back.

Now, standing at her own front door, she felt pretty sure that no one was following her anymore. Especially during the second half of the walk, she hadn’t sensed anyone behind her at all.

She turned on the air conditioner and immediately pulled out her laptop, plugging in the charger. It was time to find out what differences, if any, existed between this world and the one she knew before.

But just as Su Li settled into her chair and prepared to browse. Downstairs, Shen Qingxia stood silently in the shadows. Her head was tilted slightly upward, eyes fixed directly on Su Li’s apartment.

“So it really is you…” she whispered softly.

A breeze passed, blowing through her hair. If anyone had been there to witness it, they would’ve noticed that the icy coldness on her face had completely vanished, replaced by something far more intense—a devout, burning obsession, like a fervent believer.

Meanwhile, back in her room, Su Li shivered. She glanced at the air conditioner’s temperature. It had just been turned on, so the room shouldn’t be cold yet.

What’s with this sudden chill?

She stood and walked over to the window, peeking out.

Nothing unusual. In fact, there wasn’t even a single soul visible on the street below.

Still, Su Li quietly drew the curtains shut.

Returning to her laptop, she was soon engrossed in the browser window. There were a few news headlines visible. Though her memory of the news from back then was hazy, major events would still stand out.

So far, nothing seemed out of place.

She browsed a few articles, then pulled up some maps and historical data. Even though she only skimmed through them, everything appeared just as she remembered. Events that were supposed to happen had happened, things that weren’t supposed to didn’t exist.

In other words, this world was identical to her original one.

That was… a relief.

If she’d been reborn into a world she didn’t understand at all, how was she supposed to survive? Adapting to a completely foreign world would take an enormous amount of time and effort.

The thought made Su Li chuckle at herself. Why do I sound like a reincarnation veteran? This was only her first time being reborn. As for whether there would be a second time—she didn’t want to find out.

Dying, especially a non-natural death, was an experience she never wanted to repeat.

Although she seemed calm on the outside during her rebirth, deep down, she had been filled with anxiety—whether it was the strange information that had suddenly appeared in her mind, or the fear of how to cope if this world was drastically different from the one she knew.

She’d considered all kinds of scenarios. But based on what she’d seen so far, surviving here shouldn’t be a problem.

There was just one major issue left:

What if all the girls she had “conquered” also got reborn?

The sudden appearance of Shen Qingxia today had already sounded the alarm. If the other girls had also been reborn… Su Li realized she’d have to tread very carefully if she wanted to live a peaceful life.

Once her identity as a reborn person was exposed, she might not be met with just emotional drama—but sharp blades or even firearms.

Oh, and there was also the matter of her new gender. After living thirty years as a man, waking up in a girl’s body was… well, it was more than just mentally exhausting.

It was physically egg-crushing—though now, she had no eggs left to crush, so maybe it didn’t apply anymore.

She’d just have to adapt—one step at a time.

With a faint sigh of melancholy, Su Li turned her search focus to anime and novels. She was mostly just curious. Even if she could copy stories from memory and become famous, she had no intention of doing so.

Fame would bring attention, and once someone started digging into her past, her rebirth would surely be exposed. And then? She didn’t even want to imagine it.

Weren’t reincarnators supposed to build their empires using knowledge from their past life? Yeah, in theory.

But even if this world was missing some of the novels and anime she remembered, Su Li didn’t have the ability to perfectly reproduce them. She didn’t have a photographic memory. The plots she once enjoyed were vague at best—forget the details, she couldn’t even remember key scenes.

So, even trying to write them again?

Totally unrealistic.

The thought made Su Li sigh. Guess I’ve let down the reincarnator community, huh.

Still, she searched for some of the novels she remembered. Some existed, some didn’t.

Probably a matter of timing. After all, she was now five years in the past. It wasn’t surprising that some works hadn’t been released yet.

Same thing with anime. What was airing now might be considered brand new by people in this world, but for Su Li, they were nostalgic relics.

Even games—she already knew every upcoming update, patch note, and meta shift. Maybe she could be a merchant in one of those online games or something?

It sounded like a workable plan, but she’d figure that out when the time came.

Overall, this world was nearly identical to the one she remembered before her death. As for the future… things might start to shift. Especially if there were more reincarnators.

Celebrities, idols—all of those still existed here. But chasing an idol career? Absolutely off the table. With her current appearance, stepping into that industry felt like a lamb walking into a den of wolves.

She probably wouldn’t even know how she ended up on certain kinds of websites.

Closing the browser, Su Li stretched lazily. She walked to the window and pulled open the curtains—somehow, it had already gotten dark outside. At the same time, her stomach rumbled, sending a very clear message.

Time for dinner.

She glanced toward the kitchen. She hadn’t known how to cook at all at first. But living alone for five years, even the most clueless person would pick up a few survival skills.

Though truth be told, her cooking was barely passable.

So tonight, she had zero desire to step into the kitchen. Thankfully, food delivery had evolved. With a few taps on her phone, dinner could be summoned right to her door.

Dinner, then a nice shower, then maybe reminisce about her old life and prep for tomorrow’s opening ceremony. After that? A good night’s sleep.

Perfect plan.

Speaking of showers, Su Li did feel a little curious. She’d seen countless girls’ naked bodies in her past life. Now that she had her own…

Well, maybe it was time to get a better understanding of this new body.

What exactly did it feel like to be a girl… during that?

Maybe it was worth exploring a little—

“Ahem.”

She shook her head quickly, shooing those weird thoughts away. No time for that. She grabbed her phone and opened the food delivery app.

As she scrolled through the menu, an old memory surfaced—of a former neighbor. A young working woman, just starting out. Back in her past life, Su Li had often mooched meals at her place… and occasionally even shared her bed.

Unfortunately, that neighbor wasn’t supposed to move in until about a year later.

“Ding dong.”

Suddenly, the sound of the doorbell rang through the apartment.

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