Chapter 1

Su Louzhi was reborn.

Her previous life had been far from pleasant. Family misfortunes, kindness, and malice alike had truly ground through her existence. At one point, she thought life wasn't worth living, yet she lacked the courage to end it all, so she simply endured.

Until death came suddenly.

In that instant—like the regret a bungee jumper feels as they leap from the platform, or the instinctive struggle of a hanged person's throat against the noose—it turned out that every living being harbors such a fierce will to survive. Death was not the end of consciousness, but the beginning of boundless solitude. She floated in the void, unable to touch anything, unable to communicate, unseen by anyone. The world became a lengthy, silent, black-and-white silent film.

She didn't know how long passed—perhaps a moment, perhaps an eternity. Just as she felt she was about to be driven mad by the silence, a force abruptly yanked her into a pure white space.

Su Louzhi stared blankly at the change in scenery, too drained to even feel surprise, until a voice sounded.

[Hello. We've detected a strong desire to live in you. We now offer you an opportunity: a second chance at life. Do you accept?]

The words hit her like a switch, and Su Louzhi nearly trembled, answering urgently, "I accept!"

[Very well.] The voice was calm and level. [I am the Book-Rescue System. At present, a slot for a background character in a book has opened, and after assessment, you meet the recruitment criteria. I must inform you in advance that this character has few appearances and simple tasks, but reshaping a life requires energy, so you must bear part of the cost yourself.]

"What's the price?" Su Louzhi didn't hesitate.

[Among hearing, sight, and speech, you will permanently lose one. In exchange, your task is simple: the background character appears only five times in the whole book, and each time you just need to be at a specific place at a specific time and do a specific thing. Please confirm again: do you choose to be reborn?]

"Yes!" Su Louzhi grabbed at the lifeline without a second thought, then quickly weighed her options.

Sight? Absolutely not. Without light, the world would be truly barren.

So it came down to hearing or speech... She had never been talkative; words weren't a necessity for her. But if she couldn't hear, and people called out without response, her situation would likely be even more awkward and isolating. After a moment's thought, Su Louzhi raised her eyes and said firmly, "I choose to lose the ability to speak."

[Binding successful. The Book-Rescue System is at your service.]

As the words faded, the white space began to crumble. Su Louzhi's vision went dark, and her consciousness sank into the abyss.

After an unknown stretch of time, warmth and softness returned first.

Su Louzhi almost wept; it had been so long since she'd felt anything. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was an unfamiliar ceiling. Turning her head slightly, she took in a small room of about twenty square meters. A huge floor-to-ceiling window was open wide, and bright sunlight streamed in, bathing everything in vivid, vibrant color. Warm-toned walls, a soft bed with a pink quilt, a light-colored wardrobe...

Color! Gorgeous, vivid color!

Su Louzhi drank it all in greedily, tears rolling down her cheeks. After enduring that long, colorless, silent black-and-white existence, even this ordinary girl's cozy bedroom seemed as beautiful as a miracle.

It was good to be alive.

Once the surging emotions slowly settled, Su Louzhi composed herself and called out silently in her mind: System, are you there?

[I'm here, host.]

She curved her lips, feeling cheerful, and asked: I've pulled myself together. Can you send me the task?

[No rush. First, let me transfer the basic info on the background character.]

Su Louzhi nodded. "Alright, go ahead."

As soon as she finished speaking, a gentle stream of information flowed into her mind. It didn't hurt, just felt a bit tingly. Su Louzhi waited quietly until the odd sensation fully dissipated, then slowly opened her eyes.

The identity information had been successfully transmitted, and she carefully reviewed the details of this background character. The character was also named Su Louzhi. Her parents were loving and ran their own business, but tragically died in a car accident when the character was fifteen, leaving her a small apartment and a sum of compensation.

Su Louzhi slowly flipped through the summary of this identity, and gradually smiled. The background character had already finished her college entrance exam, and she'd been admitted to the best university in the capital. In twenty days, the semester would begin. In her previous life, she'd also had an accident after the exams—she'd never even set foot on the university campus she'd dreamed of before she was gone.

Now, she had another chance.

Su Louzhi slowly sat up on the bed, slipped into her slippers, and pushed open the bathroom door in her room. The mirror glowed with warm light. She looked up and met the eyes of the person in the mirror—and froze.

That face.

The eyes were her eyes, the nose her nose, even the curve of the lips was her own arc. Instinctively, she leaned closer, turned slightly, and pulled at her collar.

Just inside her collarbone, a small mole rested quietly.

Exactly the same.

She stared at the equally stunned eyes in the mirror and took a silent breath in her mind: System.

[Yes.]

Su Louzhi asked, confused, "Isn't this me?"

[Of course it's you.] The system stated matter-of-factly. [Rebirth means living your own body again. Going into someone else's body—that's transmigration.]

Su Louzhi stood blankly, staring at the mirror, slowly processing these words.

So that's how it was.

She'd assumed that starting over meant wearing a different face, a different identity, being someone else. She'd already mentally prepared herself for that. But the person in the mirror was quietly looking back at her, with the same features, the same mole.

She prodded the system: System.

[Yes?]

Still puzzled, Su Louzhi asked, "I have a question."

[Go ahead, host.]

Su Louzhi formed her thoughts and slowly asked: I already died once. From the moment I died until now, it's been a long time—well, I can't feel the passage of time, but it must have been a long while, right? My original body should have turned to ashes by now, shouldn't it?

[Host,] the system's tone remained steady, [since the System can bring you to a new world for rebirth, it can naturally freeze your body from when you were alive and bring it along.]

Su Louzhi blinked.

[Frozen,] the system repeated. [Time is stopped at the instant before your death. It won't decay, won't vanish; it only waits for you to use it.]

Su Louzhi opened her mouth, not knowing what to say. So the body she was using now—was it still the same self from before?

Not someone else's shell, not a stranger's skin; it was her own, inside and out, from top to bottom, every inch of skin and every strand of hair—her own.

She looked down at her hands, curled her fingers. They were her hands.

They always had been.

Su Louzhi slowly curved her lips and said softly in her mind: Thank you.

[You're welcome.] The system paused. [Do you have any other questions?]

Su Louzhi thought for a moment, then shook her head.

It was fine, too.

Using her own body was great—no need to get used to an unfamiliar face, no standing in front of the mirror in a daze, no pretending to be someone else. Otherwise, if she spaced out one day and glanced in the mirror, she'd startle: Who's that?

Su Louzhi winked at the mirror, and the reflection obediently winked back. She nodded with satisfaction and murmured to herself: My own self is the best.

Su Louzhi lowered her head, opened her mouth gently, and no sound came from her throat. She paused, then raised a hand to touch her lips, her fingertips pressing against the warm, soft skin.

She could see light, feel the wind, stand in the world once more.

She just couldn't speak.

Worth it.

She took a deep breath, swallowed the last bit of bitterness, and spoke in her mind again, her tone already lighter: System, can you send the task now?

[Alright.]

A translucent screen unfolded in front of Su Louzhi. She leaned in curiously. The page was simple to a fault—just two options: "Tasks" and "Rewards." She froze. "There are rewards? I thought my rebirth was the whole reward."

[Rebirth is the payment for the task, not an extra reward.] The system's voice remained flat. [Right now, you've only used the partial life energy you pre-paid with your speech, and the remaining energy must be locked in by completing tasks. Otherwise, your energy will be unstable, and you'll quickly dissipate in this world.]

Thoughtfully, Su Louzhi tapped on "Rewards," and the screen jumped to show a solitary progress bar: [Rebirth Progress: 50%]

Huh? She blinked. How am I at 50% right away?

[20% comes from character binding. By taking over this background character's identity, you've already resolved the core gap in this task. Another 30% is from the price you paid—your speech.]

Su Louzhi was speechless. Fine, fair trade.

She didn't press further. She reached for the task option, and the screen flashed once, showing just a single line:

[At 15:00 on September 30, 2026, go to the alley between Qinghe Bar and Super Delicious Milk Tea, next to the school, and stay for half an hour.]