Who Would Fall in Love After Being Reborn?

TL: Etude Translations

After a night of revelry, a gentleman could only feel the emptiness and loneliness that followed a hangover.

Until July 4th, Jiang Qin had decided not to continue socializing and began packing his bags to return home. Despite continuous invitations to more gatherings, he deflected them all.

“Sorry, Mr. X, I’m on summer vacation, remember? I’m only nineteen and still a university student.”

The executives who received this call were all left pondering after hanging up, thinking about what they were doing at the age of nineteen.

Thus, he packed until after ten o’clock, then drove off on his journey home.

“Mom and Dad, I’m back, your beloved dog son is home!”

“?”

At noon, Jiang Qin stood at the door calling for a while, but there was no response from inside, as if no one was home.

Checking the time on his phone, he wondered where his parents could have gone on the weekend. Why weren’t they home waiting for their precious son’s return?

Jiang Qin retrieved the spare key from under the doormat and opened the door.

The house was unchanged, with the familiar small coffee table, sofa, and TV, evoking a sense of nostalgia.

He placed his bag on the shoe cabinet and squatted to change into slippers. That’s when he noticed an unfamiliar pair of pink slippers with cartoon ears in the cabinet, clearly belonging to a girl.

“Huh?” Jiang Qin was puzzled.

There were only three people in his family: a mother nearing menopause, a robust father, and a charming elder son. Who would wear these slippers?

Could it be a cousin from his uncle’s or aunt’s family?

Jiang Qin didn’t ponder much and headed to the bathroom to freshen up before taking a nap.

However, he found a new white rabbit-shaped toothbrush cup with a pink toothbrush in the bathroom. It seemed recently used.

He felt bewildered. It was as if someone had suddenly joined the household during his six-month absence.

“…”

After brushing his teeth, Jiang Qin went to check the house number to confirm it was indeed his home.

Confused, he felt tired from the drive and decided to sleep without delving further.

Upon entering his room, he was shocked by the pink bedding and teddy bears. It looked like a room in a house with a daughter.

“Damn, I must have entered the wrong house. This clearly looks like a family with a daughter!”

He remembered a sketch where the number on a door plate got flipped due to renovation upstairs, causing confusion.

Why were the furniture and appliances identical? In an era without online shopping, popular items in department stores were limited, leading to many households owning similar things.

But the family photo on the TV made him pause. The parents looked just like his, and the person in the middle resembled him.

“I must be confused from sleep. Everything will be normal when I wake up.”

He covered himself with the blanket and fell asleep.

Waking up later, he heard voices coming from the kitchen.

“Drinking tea, Dad?”

“You finally remember to come home? It’s been three days since the holidays started,” Jiang’s father chided him.

Jiang Qin yawned and asked about the guest at home.

“Smart boy, you realize you’re a guest now?”

Confused, Jiang Qin asked, “What do you mean, Dad? I’ve only been away for half a year. Did you replace your son?”

His father pondered and replied, “Well, you’re not wrong.”

Jiang Qin headed to the kitchen, curious about the intruder. There, he saw his mother, Yuan Youqin, cooking with a tall, slender girl with long black hair, delicate features, and an aloof expression. She was wearing the pink slippers he saw earlier.

The girl tasted the soup, expressing satisfaction.

“This is delicious, Auntie.”

Jiang Qin was stunned. The scene of familial bliss was overwhelming.

He was the only child. How could his family be so joyous without him? How could a new person integrate so seamlessly into his home?

Jiang Qin was lost in thought when he noticed the girl in front of him turn around. She looked at him coolly, like a little rich lady, yet her eyes were clearly filled with joy.

“Why are you in my house, little rich lady?”

“You weren’t coming back, so I came over to play,” Feng Nanshu replied confidently.

“But when I came home, there was no one here. Where did you all go?”

“Aunt took me to the market to buy groceries.”

Yuan Youqin finished preparing the pot: “Nanshu came over on the first day of her vacation to ask if you were back. Since you weren’t, and your room was empty, I let her stay for a couple of days.”

“Mom, it’s impolite to forcibly keep a female classmate at our home,” Jiang Qin frowned slightly.

“She said she would be eating alone at home. As a mother, how could I not feel sorry for her? Even if she were a stranger, I couldn’t bear to see her leave in such a pitiable state, right, Nanshu?”

Nanshu nodded seriously: “I am pitiful eating alone.”

Jiang Qin curiously stared into her beautiful eyes: “Where did you learn all this? Even I don’t know these things!”

“I don’t know.”

Yuan Youqin handed him chopsticks: “You just got back and you’re full of questions. Come on, help bring out the dishes, it’s time to eat.”

Jiang Qin took the dishes to the table and then returned: “Mom, have you watched the news lately?”

“What news?”

“The morning news and life channels from Linchuan local station. Have you seen them?”

Yuan covered the pot: “I used to watch them, but now I can’t find the channel. Maybe ask your dad.”

Jiang Qin asked his father in the living room: “Dad, have you seen any news from Linchuan? Morning news or life channels?”

“Linchuan? We used to get it with the satellite dish, but after the crackdown, the city switched to closed-circuit TV. Besides the major satellite channels and CCTV, those local stations are no longer accessible. Why do you ask?”

Jiang Qin felt frustrated, realizing that his televised appearance went unnoticed and uncelebrated by his parents.

“If only I had studied at Jizhou Vocational College. Their local news spreads quickly across Jizhou.”

It seemed local channels lacked reach. Aside from some elderly people, few cared to watch.

“No matter, by next year at the latest, my parents will surely see me on the news.”

“Jiang Qin, call your dad for dinner!”

Jiang Qin mumbled about the small size of the house and then noticed Feng Nanshu sitting beside him: “Jiang Qin, I like your house.”

“Damn, are you trying to show off? I like your garden villa. Let’s swap. This two-bedroom is all yours.”

“I like the people in your house.” Nanshu looked at him earnestly.

Jiang Qin, seeing his parents were not around, playfully fed her a piece of food: “We’re alike. I like the money in your family.”

Yuan Youqin came with a dish: “Time to eat. Did you two wash your hands?”

“I did,” Nanshu showed her clean hands.

“I didn’t, but I’m brave.”

Jiang Qin reached for chopsticks but got his hand slapped. He reluctantly went to wash his hands.

During dinner, Yuan Youqin announced: “Tomorrow afternoon, when it’s cooler, our whole family will go to Seagull Photo Studio for a family portrait.”

“Don’t we already have a family photo?”

“That one is old. Your father and I have aged, and you’ve grown up. Let’s take a new one.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Jiang Qin looked at the photo on the TV: “Isn’t that one just from last year?”

Yuan Youqin put meat in Nanshu’s bowl: “I aged the most this year because you’ve been the most troublesome, going to school like you’ve been kidnapped, not calling home for weeks.”

“I agree,” Jiang’s father chimed in.

“Then… let’s take the photo.”

Jiang Qin decided not to argue further, knowing any discussion could turn problematic with his mother.

Yuan Youqin added: “Nanshu, remember to wear that white dress tomorrow. You look beautiful in it.”

Nanshu, flattered by Yuan, nodded seriously: “I will.”

Jiang Qin looked at his mother and then at Nanshu: “Including Feng Nanshu? A four-person family photo?”

“Why not?”

“It’s a bit absurd, Mom. Who includes friends in a family photo? I’ve never heard of that.”

“Just eat now. If anyone has objections to the family photo plan, we can discuss it after the photo is taken.”