Three years ago, I died in place of my one and only best friend.
Three years later, not only was I reincarnated — I was reincarnated straight into her belly.
I hadn’t even been conscious for long before I realized something was seriously wrong.
The baby that had originally been growing inside my best friend’s womb had just been attacked so badly its heart had stopped.
And my best friend, after losing her baby, had been driven to the edge by her husband and her adoptive sister working together — and right now, she was standing barefoot on a twenty-eighth-floor balcony.
Half her body was already leaning over the railing.
I was so terrified I thrashed around inside her.
【Summer! Stop right there! Do you have any idea how much karma I burned through to squeeze back into this life? If you jump now, where am I supposed to go reincarnate next?!】
Summer Yale’s body went rigid.
I immediately shouted again:
【It’s me! It’s Mia! I’m back!】
【Give birth to me! This time I’ll help you take down that garbage husband and his little homewrecker!】
Summer slowly looked down at her stomach.
Her eyes, already swollen red from crying, flickered with confusion.
“Am I hallucinating?”
She laughed bitterly.
“I must miss Mia so much I’m losing it…”
Then she lifted her foot again, about to step up onto the windowsill.
I panicked so hard I did a full flip inside her.
【Hallucinating my ass! Summer, two birthdays ago you burned me a red Ferrari as an offering — I sold it for cash!】
【You also burned down a whole penthouse with eight ripped, gorgeous men in it. I kept the penthouse, but I sent all eight of those guys back! The afterlife pays wages too, you know — I couldn’t afford to keep them!】
Summer’s foot froze in midair.
She stood there, stunned, for several seconds.
This was a secret only the two of us knew — no third person could possibly know it.
The day I died, Summer had nearly fallen apart.
She’d burned every strange offering imaginable — luxury cars, mansions, even a black credit card — sobbing the whole time, telling me not to suffer down there.
After a long moment, her voice finally trembled.
“Mia?”
“Is that really you?”
I immediately gave a light kick against the inside of her belly.
【Who else would it be!】
【I spent three whole years down there pulling every connection I had just to get a slot back. I even borrowed a mountain of karma-credit to make sure the timing lined up exactly right!】
【If you die now, this whole investment goes to waste!】
Summer clapped a hand over her mouth.
Her tears came harder.
“Hu… Mia…”
“I can’t take it anymore…”
“Nina Song is pregnant with Ethan Cole’s baby.”
“My baby is gone.”
“The Cole family needs an heir. They’re saying the baby in Nina’s belly is a boy…”
“Nobody needs me anymore.”
I went quiet for two seconds.
Then burst into a wickedly gleeful laugh.
【Who said your baby’s gone?】
Summer froze.
I planted my hands on my hips inside her, smug.
【The old one really didn’t make it, but I squeezed my way in to take its place, didn’t I?】
【And before I came here, I gritted my teeth and paid extra for the upgrade fee.】
【Congratulations — you are officially carrying one hundred percent authentic baby boy!】
Summer: “…”
I kept going:
【The Coles like boys, don’t they?】
【Even better.】
【Just wait till I pop out — we’ll see who’s the real legitimate heir!】
Summer stood by the window for a long time.
Finally, she burst into tears — and then into laughter.
She slowly stepped back down.
Looking at how thin she’d gotten, I felt a rage so sharp it almost drove me insane.
Three years ago, Summer Yale had been a girl I’d spoiled so thoroughly she barely knew what sadness felt like.
She loved bright dresses, loved getting her hair done, loved dragging me out for midnight desserts.
And now, her hair was a tangled mess, her lips bloodless, faint needle marks scarring her wrist.
She’d just turned twenty-six, but she looked like life had wrung every last bit of spirit out of her.
【Summer.】
【Trust me one more time.】
【Keep me.】
【The debt from three years ago — you and I are going to collect it, item by item.】
Summer wiped her tears.
“Okay.”
“Now that you’re back, I’m not dying.”
I lit up immediately:
【That’s more like it!】
【First thing on the agenda: food. I just got reincarnated and I’m already starving!】
Summer finally laughed for real.
“What do you want to eat?”
I thought it over.
She answered for me before I could.
“Sweet-and-sour ribs, ginger-scallion steamed fish, salt-and-pepper shrimp, and egg tarts?”
I kicked her belly twice, delighted.
【My soulmate!】
【Dying for you was so worth it!】
Summer’s smile suddenly froze.
Her eyes reddened again.
Three years ago, right before the Yale family found and reclaimed her as their long-lost daughter, someone had quietly hired kidnappers to grab her.
I found out first.
That day, I put on her jacket and deliberately drove off in her car, leaving the house.
The kidnappers grabbed the wrong person.
I was the one taken.
After that, I never made it back.
While I was alive, I always assumed it had just been a botched kidnapping-for-ransom.
It wasn’t until after I died that I found out the person behind it all was Nina Song.
And Ethan Cole — who was pursuing Summer at the time — had known too.
He hadn’t done anything directly.
But he’d deliberately buried part of the evidence.
All because Nina cried and begged him to.
And the Yale family, upon learning I’d been taken in Summer’s place, chose to stay silent — afraid that news of their real long-lost heiress being involved in a kidnapping scandal would damage the company’s reputation.
The result: I died.
And every single one of them went on living just fine.
Thinking about it, I curled up inside her, ice-cold with fury.
It didn’t matter now.
I was back.
Old debts, new debts — we’d settle them one by one.
After dragging Summer out for a full, proper meal, I made her buy a whole car’s worth of offerings and take them to the cemetery.
As she burned the paper money, she asked:
“Does this stuff actually work down there?”
【It works.】
“What about this stack of paper diamonds?”
【Also worth something.】
“Phone?”
【No signal.】
“Laptop?”
【No wifi.】
Summer went quiet.
“So what was the point of everything I burned for you these past three years?”
I answered, wounded:
【Mainly so I could show it off to the neighbors.】
Summer: “…”
Just as she was about to burn another stack of bills, rapid footsteps sounded behind her.
“Summer Yale!”
A cold male voice rang out.
The second Summer turned, I recognized him.
Ethan Cole.
Three years apart, and this piece of garbage still had that face that made people fall for him against their better judgment.
Black button-down shirt, sharp features, that icy composed air.
Too bad he was rotten straight through underneath.
He walked over, expression dark.
“You ran out of the hospital just to come here?”
“The doctors and your family are looking everywhere for you.”
“Get back and have the procedure.”
Summer looked at him coldly.
“What procedure?”
Ethan frowned.
“The doctor already confirmed the fetus has no heartbeat. Keeping it is dangerous for you.”
“Stop being impulsive.”
His gaze suddenly dropped to the gravestone in front of them.
My photo was on it.
The corner of his mouth curled slightly.
“Visiting her again?”
“It’s been three years. You still haven’t gotten over it?”
I flared with rage instantly.
Then he gave a cold little laugh.
“I guess it makes sense.”
“Back then she ran off on her own and got herself into trouble. You blaming yourself forever isn’t going to fix anything.”
“Or are you planning to torment everyone still living, all for the sake of someone already dead?”
Me: 【???】
I was so angry I nearly kicked a hole straight through Summer’s stomach.
【Summer!】
【Go with him!】
【Today I want to see exactly who needs a “procedure” done!】
Summer set down the stack of paper money.
She stood up and brushed the ash off her hands.
“Fine.”
Ethan looked mildly surprised she’d agreed so quickly.
But he didn’t think much of it.
Before leaving, Summer turned back to look at my gravestone.
The corner of her mouth curved gently.
“Wait for me.”
I answered happily:
【I’m literally inside you right now — what am I waiting for!】
Summer nearly laughed out loud.
The moment they got back to the hospital, a figure in a white dress rushed toward them.
Nina Song, cradling her belly, eyes red.
“Sis!”
“You’re finally back!”
“I was worried sick…”
She reached out to grab Summer’s hand.
Summer sidestepped her without hesitation.
Nina froze.
Then instantly slipped into her fragile, wounded act.
“Are you still mad at me?”
“What happened that day really was an accident.”
“If you hadn’t pushed me, I wouldn’t have hit the edge of the table.”
“But I don’t blame you.”
“I know you saw me pregnant with Ethan’s baby and just lost control for a moment…”
【Gag.】
I genuinely felt nauseous.
【Summer, this one’s acting skills really leveled up in three years.】
【Slap her.】
Summer didn’t hesitate for a second.
Smack!
A crisp slap rang out down the entire hallway.
Nina’s head snapped to the side.
Her whole body went rigid.
Summer said coldly:
“I pushed you?”
“The hallway cameras are still there.”
“Want me to pull the footage and show everyone who actually threw herself into that table?”
Nina’s face went pale for a split second.
But right after, she burst into tears.
“Sis…”
“I just didn’t want to fight, because I didn’t want you to hurt more.”
“Your baby is already gone — take it out on me if you’re angry…”
“Just please stop hurting yourself…”
Then she went limp, collapsing into Ethan’s arms.
He caught her instantly.
The look he shot Summer was terrifyingly cold.
“Summer Yale!”
“Haven’t you done enough?”
“Nina’s pregnant, and you’d still hit her?”
Summer’s hands clenched.
Ethan’s voice grew even more merciless.
“If you hadn’t gotten jealous and shoved Nina, you wouldn’t have lost your own baby either.”
“What happened to your baby is a consequence of your own actions.”
“Karma works fast.”
“You should take responsibility instead of dumping it all on other people!”
Then he raised his hand.
Smack!
A slap landed square across Summer’s face.
My head buzzed white-hot instantly.
【The hell—!】
【Ethan Cole, you dare hit MY Summer?!】
I was furious out of my mind.
But my arms and legs were still too short to crawl out and deal with him myself.
So I gathered every ounce of strength.
Aimed carefully.
And kicked, hard, straight into Summer’s stomach.
Her whole body convulsed.
“Ughhh!”
The very next second—
The sweet-and-sour ribs, steamed fish, and salt-and-pepper shrimp she’d barely finished eating came right back up.
All of it, sprayed straight onto Ethan and Nina.
From their hair.
Down their faces.
Onto their clothes.
Not a single spot spared.
The hospital hallway went dead silent.
Nina’s eyes went wide.
Ethan stood frozen in place.
Even Summer looked stunned.
Only I, tucked away in her belly, was thrilled, kicking my legs nonstop.
【Sorry about that.】
【Your son’s morning sickness is a little intense.】
【He’s probably going to throw up on garbage people plenty more times in the future!】
Ethan stood dead still in the middle of the hallway.
The sweet-and-sour mix, soup and all, soaked into what had been a perfectly pressed black shirt.
A piece of ginger sat neatly on his shoulder, like it had been placed there on purpose.
Nina looked even worse.
Moments ago she’d been leaning weakly against Ethan’s chest — now there wasn’t a clean inch left on her, from her hair to her white dress.
Both their faces cycled through shades of green and white.
A few nearby nurses turned away, trying not to laugh.
Their shoulders were shaking regardless.
I lay in Summer’s belly, thoroughly satisfied.
【What a perfect match.】
【A matching set of garbage — even their smell matches now.】
Summer ducked her head, the corner of her mouth twitching.
Nina was the first to lose her composure.
She shrieked:
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
Summer looked up.
“Sorry, what did you just say?”
Nina’s mouth snapped shut.
She’d wanted to keep yelling, but with Ethan right there, she instantly switched back to wounded-and-pitiful mode.
“I just think…”
“If you don’t like me, you can just say so.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
I jumped in immediately.
【Oh?】
【You stand right in front of a pregnant woman, force her to hear about her husband’s baby with her own adopted sister, and then blame her for throwing up on you?】
【Is your skin made of reinforced concrete?】
Summer coughed lightly.
It looked like she was fighting not to laugh.
Ethan wiped his face, expression darkening.
“Summer Yale.”
“That’s enough.”
“Back to your room.”
“The doctor’s waiting.”
Summer didn’t move.
“Waiting for what?”
“To clear the uterus.”
He said it as casually as if he were mentioning dinner plans.
Summer’s eyes went cold instantly.
I went silent too.
Three years ago, when I was still alive, I used to watch Ethan take care of Summer.
Back then he’d pursued her for almost two years.
The day she caught a cold, he stood outside her dorm from morning to night just to bring her medicine.
The day she ran a fever, he canceled an important meeting to stay with her at the hospital.
I even teased her once:
“If you two ever get married, I’m absolutely being your maid of honor.”
Summer blushed and threw a pillow at me.
Back then, I genuinely believed he loved her.
It wasn’t until after I died that I found out how cheap his so-called love really was.
One tear from Nina was enough for him to bury evidence that cost me my life.
An unconfirmed baby in her belly was enough for him to pressure his own wife into giving up hers.
A man like that didn’t deserve to use the word “love.”
Summer asked:
“Who told you my baby was dead?”
Ethan frowned.
“The doctor.”
“Which doctor?”
“Dr. Zhang.”
Summer looked him dead in the eye.
“Then get it checked again.”
Nina’s expression shifted instantly.
Just for a flash.
Very quick.
But I caught it.
【Summer.】
【She’s scared.】
Summer caught it too.
She said immediately:
“I want to switch hospitals.”
Ethan said coldly:
“That’s not necessary.”
“I said it is.”
“Summer.”
“Ethan Cole.”
She cut him off.
“I don’t need your permission.”
“I’m the patient.”
“That baby is in my body.”
“From start to finish, I’m the only one with the right to decide anything.”
The whole hallway went quiet.
This was probably the first time in three years Summer had spoken to him like that.
Ethan looked at her for a long moment.
“You’re not in a stable state of mind right now.”
“I’m perfectly fine.”
“You just tried to jump off a balcony.”
“You saw that?”
He froze.
Summer smiled.
“If you didn’t see it, don’t open your mouth about it.”
“And another thing.”
“You just slapped me in front of a hallway full of people.”
“I’m sure the hospital cameras got all of it.”
“Want to guess how interesting this gets if I file a police report?”
Ethan’s face turned distinctly unpleasant.
Nina quickly cut in.
“Sis, Ethan’s just really worried about you…”
“Quiet.”
Summer looked at her.
“I’m talking to my husband.”
“What exactly are you?”
Nina went pale.
I clapped inside Summer’s belly.
【Yes!】
【Right where it hurts!】
Summer added:
“Oh, actually, that’s not quite right either.”
“Considering you two already have a baby together.”
“Should I just call you the mistress instead?”
Nina’s eyes reddened instantly.
“Don’t say it like that.”
“I never meant to break up your family.”
Summer laughed.
“Didn’t mean to?”
“Then did that baby in your belly grow itself?”
A few people down the hall actually laughed out loud.
Nina trembled.
“I…”
“That’s enough.” Ethan’s voice dropped low. “Summer, are you done?”
Summer looked at him.
“Not even close.”
“Nowhere near done.”
I curled my legs in slightly.
For some reason, in that moment, I suddenly felt like the girl in front of me wasn’t the Summer Yale who used to hide behind my back anymore.
Three years had ground her down.
But it had also grown her thorns.
She just never used to have anyone standing beside her, so she never dared show them.
Now I was back.
She didn’t have to be afraid anymore.
Summer picked up her phone.
“Mingan Hospital, right?”
Ethan grabbed her wrist immediately.
“What are you doing?”
“Booking an appointment.”
“Not necessary.”
“Let go.”
“Summer.”
“Ethan Cole, I’ll say this once.”
“If you don’t let go, I’m going to scream that you’re trying to force a pregnant woman into a procedure against her will.”
His hand froze instantly.
People nearby had already started looking over.
Finally, he let go.
Summer booked the appointment right in front of him.
I reminded her:
【Pick a different doctor.】
【Don’t use anyone the Cole family recommends.】
She did exactly that.
An hour later.
We arrived at Mingan Hospital.
Ethan and Nina followed along.
Nina had changed clothes on the way, but her face was still bloodless.
I lay in Summer’s belly, thoroughly enjoying myself.
The more scared she looked, the more it proved something was off.
The new doctor was a woman in her forties.
After reviewing the old file, she frowned.
“The previous report says the fetal heartbeat had stopped?”
Summer nodded.
“Yes.”
“How long ago?”
“About twelve hours.”
The doctor looked up.
“But you don’t have any obvious abnormal symptoms.”
Nina cut in immediately:
“Doctor, the previous hospital checked very thoroughly.”
The doctor looked at her.
“Are you the patient?”
“No.”
“Then please step outside.”
Nina: “…”
I nearly did a full flip laughing.
【I like this doctor.】
【I’m being born here from now on.】
Summer pressed her lips together.
The doctor began the ultrasound.
The moment the cold gel touched her stomach, I felt a little uncomfortable.
So I kicked.
The doctor suddenly stopped.
“Huh?”
Summer tensed. “Is something wrong?”
The doctor looked at the screen.
Then back at her stomach.
“The fetus…”
Nina, standing just outside the curtain, blurted out immediately:
“There’s no heartbeat, right?”
The doctor turned.
“There is one.”
The air froze.
Summer trembled.
“There is?”
“Yes.”
The doctor adjusted the machine.
And then—
A strong, steady sound rang out.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Summer burst into tears instantly.
I was stunned too.
This was…
my heartbeat?
I was really alive.
Not a wandering spirit down below anymore.
Not sitting by some door every day waiting for someone to burn paper money for me.
Not watching Summer from a distance, unable to say a single word to her.
I was alive.
Really, truly alive, inside her.
The doctor smiled.
“The heartbeat is very clear.”
“The fetus is currently fine.”
“But the mother’s body is quite weak — she needs rest.”
Summer was crying and laughing at the same time.
“Thank you, doctor.”
I gave a light kick.
【What are you crying for.】
【I told you I was here.】
She placed a hand on her belly.
“Mia…”
The doctor looked puzzled.
“Sorry, what was that?”
“Nothing.”
Outside the door, something clattered.
Nina had dropped her phone.
Every drop of color had drained from her face.
Ethan stood frozen too.
“That’s impossible,” he said.
The doctor frowned.
“Excuse me?”
“I…”
“The previous hospital confirmed—”
“Then the previous hospital may have gotten it wrong,” the doctor cut in.
“Medicine isn’t fortune-telling.”
“The current result is that the fetus has a heartbeat. Full stop.”
I added mentally:
【It wasn’t a misdiagnosis.】
【I was just running a few hours late.】
Of course, only Summer could hear that.
She wiped her tears.
Then turned to look at Nina.
“Why do you look so disappointed?”
Nina flinched.
“I’m not—”
“You should be thrilled.”
“You saved the baby, that’s amazing news.”
“Amazing?”
Summer’s lips curved.
“Then why is your hand shaking?”
Nina immediately hid her hand behind her back.
Ethan spoke up.
“That’s enough.”
He looked at the new report, his expression oddly complicated.
“It’s good that it’s alright.”
I laughed coldly.
【Oh.】
【When you thought it was gone, it was “karma works fast.”】
【Now that it’s alive, suddenly it’s “good that it’s alright.”】
【That mouth of yours flips faster than the stock market.】
Summer asked him:
“Aren’t you happy?”
“Summer.”
“This is my baby too.”
“Of course I’m happy.”
“Here I thought you only cared about Nina’s baby.”
Ethan’s face went cold.
Nina immediately clutched her belly.
“Sis…”
“I’m not trying to compete with you.”
“If you don’t want me around…”
“After I give birth, I can just take the baby and leave.”
Summer smiled.
“Leave for where?”
“Overseas?”
“Or back to the Song family?”
“Did you forget?”
“You’re only the Songs’ adopted daughter.”
“Three years ago, once the Yale family found me, your blood relation to them stopped meaning anything at all.”
Nina’s nails dug into her palms.
“The Songs raised me for twenty years.”
“In our parents’ hearts, I’m still their daughter.”
Summer studied her for a moment.
“Right.”
“Which is exactly what makes this so interesting.”
“Their birth daughter nearly loses her baby because someone attacked her.”
“Their adopted daughter is carrying their birth daughter’s husband’s baby.”
“I’m genuinely curious who they’ll choose to stand behind this time.”
I froze at that.
【You’re planning to go back to the Songs?】
Summer gently stroked her belly.
I understood immediately.
She wasn’t going back to beg.
She was going back to settle accounts.
Two days later.
Summer was discharged.
The first thing she did wasn’t go back to Ethan’s mansion.
It was hire a lawyer.
I was a little caught off guard.
【When did you get so sharp?】
Summer was signing the authorization papers when her pen paused.
“Three years without you.”
“If I hadn’t gotten sharp, I’d have been picked clean a long time ago.”
I went quiet.
My nose suddenly stung.
Three years ago, Summer really hadn’t known anything.
When we shared that tiny rented apartment, I was the one who paid the utility bills.
She couldn’t even check expiration dates at the grocery store.
If a coworker picked on her, all she knew how to do was come home and cry on my shoulder.
After I died, she walked into a wealthy family alone, got married alone, fought Nina Song alone.
I asked:
【Why did you even marry Ethan Cole?】
Summer was quiet for a long time.
“I thought he really loved me.”
“After you died, I could barely function.”
“He was there every single day.”
“He said he’d help me find whoever did it.”
“And then…”
She lowered her head.
“Maybe when you’re at your weakest, it’s easy to cling to the one person who reaches out a hand.”
I didn’t blame her.
I just asked:
【When did you find out about him and Nina?】
“A year ago.”
【A year?】
