Chapter 2: Don’t let her find out

“Come in, no need to change shoes.”

Chen Xinya flicked on the light, slipped off her shoes, and headed straight to the bathroom. “I’m gonna take a quick shower. Sit for a bit, and I’ll cook for us after.”

Meng Zhi was left alone, staring blankly at the familiar house.

Chen Xinya’s home was just as he remembered—clean, simple, almost bare.

Her parents were rarely in the country, and as an only child, she lived alone. The house had no clutter. Tables and chairs were neatly arranged, dishes and cups tucked away in cabinets. From the coffee table to the TV stand, the only decoration was a single family photo.

The photo was taken when Chen Xinya was twelve. In it, a sweet, innocent girl stood between her parents, smiling brightly at the camera.

Meng Zhi picked up the photo, gazing at it. The angelic smile slowly morphed in his mind into a desperate, haunting one in the rain.

‘…Meng Zhi, I want to hear you say it. Even if it’s a lie.’

‘…You still love me, don’t you?’

The memory ended with a sharp blade piercing the woman’s neck, blood spraying onto Meng Zhi as he held Chen Xinya’s body in the rain, retching and roaring.

Even now, recalling that scene made Meng Zhi tremble uncontrollably.

That was his first rebirth, his first attempt to save a girl under the system’s guidance.

That girl was Chen Xinya, his childhood friend from the same courtyard.

Back then, he didn’t know what was wrong with her. The system only told him she’d take her own life in her twenties if he didn’t intervene.

So, for seven years, Meng Zhi placed her at the center of his world. He asked about her worries, learned her secrets, cared for her in every way.

He even fell in love with her, married her.

On their wedding day, when Chen Xinya kissed him with tears of joy, Meng Zhi naively thought he’d saved her.

She was so gentle, obedient, sensible—nothing like someone who’d end her life.

But he failed.

There wasn’t even a dramatic reason. After marriage, Chen Xinya sensed his exhaustion with daily life.

She thought he’d grown tired of her, that he no longer loved her.

That was it.

No cheating, no irreconcilable differences, no abuse—just the tiny, mundane frictions of life.

Like Meng Zhi, drained from work, refusing to watch a boring art film with her. Or Chen Xinya, with her obsession for cleanliness, annoyed when he forgot to wash his socks.

Or her splurging on cosmetics and dresses. Or her occasional complaints about him being too rough in bed.

Petty, insignificant things, too small to withstand scrutiny.

But dust piles up, and one day, it buries the light.

Meng Zhi couldn’t figure out where he’d gone wrong.

He’d tried to be a good husband, always accommodating, always compliant. But he wasn’t a saint. No one could be perfect every second of seven years.

Some things you let go of and move on. No marriage or love is flawless.

But perhaps in moments he didn’t notice, in subtle emotions, Chen Xinya spiraled into a corner.

The worst part? When she asked, tears streaming, if he still loved her, Meng Zhi couldn’t answer.

He wasn’t sure himself if those years of marriage were love.

Or just duty to the system’s task.

The sound of running water from the bathroom snapped him out of it.

Meng Zhi sat at the dining table, took a deep breath, and began sorting his thoughts.

‘Forget the past.’

He couldn’t give Chen Xinya the perfect love or marriage she wanted.

This life, he’d keep his distance as just a childhood friend.

But the system’s task…

This time was different from any life before.

For the first time, it revealed that one of the girls was a reborn person like him.

Even the system’s rules had changed.

Before, the rules were standard: “Don’t reveal the system’s existence,” “Don’t let others know your task,” “Don’t harm the targets.”

But now, a new rule was added.

[Warning: Supreme rule—never let the targets know the host’s reborn identity.]

[Consequences will be severe.]

Meng Zhi had never heard the system use words like “severe consequences.”

He didn’t know what that meant.

So, among the girls he’d tried to save, one might carry memories of past lives, just like him.

Could it be Chen Xinya?

His thoughts swirled as the bathroom door opened.

Chen Xinya stepped out, wearing only a loose, oversized T-shirt, her dark hair steaming with damp heat. She toweled it off as she walked.

“Wait a sec, I’ll start cooking.” She winked, wrapping her hair in the towel.

Maybe on purpose.

The T-shirt’s loose neckline hinted at things not meant to be seen.

Water droplets slid from her pale neck to her collarbone, tracing the gentle curve of her chest, the milky skin almost too tempting.

The thin T-shirt clung lightly to her, outlining the soft shape of her breasts.

Meng Zhi hadn’t noticed before, but Chen Xinya’s figure was already striking at this age.

His memories of her body were from their married life.

“…What? Pervert, staring at me like that.”

Catching his gaze, Chen Xinya’s cheeks flushed faintly. “My pajamas aren’t dry yet, so I grabbed my dad’s shirt.”

Meng Zhi looked away silently. “Wasn’t staring.”

“Tch, you totally were. Eyes all wide, and you won’t even admit it.”

Chen Xinya huffed, shaking the loose T-shirt as she trotted into the kitchen.

“I’m making stir-fried green pepper pork noodles. Want a fried egg?”

“Sure—” Meng Zhi’s voice cut off, as if choked.

If he remembered right…

Before their marriage, Chen Xinya could only cook sour soup noodles and egg-fried rice.

Stir-fried green pepper pork noodles?

That was his favorite dish after they married.