In the pitch-black room, a pair of siblings huddled for warmth. The howling wind outside and the creaking sound of the shed's door were magnified on this stormy night. Peals of muffled thunder keeping the two in the shed awake.
Suddenly, the woman lying on the mattress springs open her eyes, rubbing her brows after taking in the surroundings.
"These dreams again."
An Yinan sighed, a dream she’d been having for a decade.
She, An Yinan, the pioneer of the style 'Yi Nan Ancient Style', skyrocketed to fame, her design sketches getting auctioned for a colossal amount. Displaying a unique flair that merged elements of ancient Chinese culture into her designs, she attracted countless foreign friends to explore Chinese culture.
However, she has a secret.
Her reality spanned two worlds; the present during the day, and in her dreams, she watched others grow in a virtual world.
She was an orphan, abandoned at an orphanage just months after her birth. Besides a blanket, the only other object with her was a Peace Charm.
A decade ago, her finger was deeply cut by a broken vase, the blood spilled onto the Peace Charm. Since then, she possessed a 'Peace Charm space', an enormous space that seemed endless.
From the day she acquired this space, every time she fell asleep, she would dream of another girl experiencing happiness initially, and then thrusted into misery later on.
"Warning: Reincarnation countdown 10 days."
"Warning: Reincarnation countdown 10 days."
"Warning: Reincarnation countdown 10 days."
The warning repeated itself three times. This was already the third occurrence, the first was at 30 days and the second at 15 days.
Reincarnation? Could this really happen?
She previously never touched novels, but since she got a portal, she read a lot of portal-type novels.
Science ends with metaphysics? No one knows.
The first warning went ignored, but the second one had her heart knotting up as if already certain that something was going to happen.
Over five days, she ordered a large amount of supplies online, but it wasn't enough.
At the crack of dawn, An Yinan drove to the wholesale market and promptly ordered all sorts of grain, oil, and seasoning. Thirty percent of the deposit alone set her back 170 million yuan, and she left the owners with the delivery address.
She also went shopping at a fruit wholesale market and seafood market, buying without limits.
Grains, oils, seasonings, sugar, milk powder, daily necessities, hygiene products, stationery, fruits, seafood, and important various types of medicines. On the purchase list, she went down the list, crossing out the things she had bought.
“Granny,” An Yinan arrived at a deli in her car.
“Little An is here, have a look at what you want to eat, Granny'll bag it up for you,” greeted Granny enthusiastically. She'd had the shop for over two decades, and the young girl made her visit just as long, watching the girl grow up.
“I would like to order these cooked foods, and could you also help me find some tasty steamed buns and bread?” An Yinan handed a previously prepared order to Granny.
Looking at the quantities..., she's ordering at least five thousand jin...
“Little An, why are you buying so much? It'll go bad if you can't finish it,” Granny, anxious for her, expressed her worries.
An Yinan, smiling, replied, “It's for someone else. I'll also need to bother you to get it done as soon as possible, Granny.”
“Alright, Granny will prepare it for you,” laughed Granny, obviously pleased about the big order.
An Yinan paid in full for the cooked foods and buns, different from her other orders. As a child, she didn't have much money, but Granny frequently sneaked cooked food to her. The gratitude in her heart never let her forget and upon growing up and earning money, she never held back from patronizing Granny's business.
Weary, she finally got back home. Seeing a string of deductions on her bank records, her restless heart suddenly settled.
Items purchased online began to be delivered one after another, the delivery guy arrived drenched in sweat.
"Miss An, you have new stock coming in again," the delivery guy said as he moved everything into the storage room.
Every month, An Yinan would place orders for various fabrics and materials in preparation for her design drawings, something the delivery guy had gotten used to.
An Yinan nodded with a smile and handed the delivery guy a bottle of water, "Sorry for the trouble again."
The delivery guy wiped away his sweat, "Don't mention it. It's part of my job."
Box after box filled the storage room, until there were more than ten boxes left, which An Yinan instructed him to place in the yard.
Her yard was in an isolated location on the outskirts of the town and against the background of Spring Mountain. You'd have to drive out for half an hour before you'd see other houses.
She liked quiet places and enjoyed the degree of humidity in the air here. She had specifically bought this piece of land and built this yard.
As night fell, An Yinan stared at her yard, "Hmm, can it be taken away?"
As soon as the thought occurred to her, she realized with astonishment that the yard in front of her had disappeared.
Stunned, she immediately looked into her own dimension space; the yard was tucked away in a corner.
"That can happen?" An Yinan released her yard again, and it was back at its original location, everything was as before.
"Flashlights, mosquito repellents, medication, furniture, and most importantly, hygiene products..."
She contacted a few more fabric factories and opted for liquidation directly. The people in charge were somewhat dumbfounded. They thought this traditional-styled designer, was maybe going for innovative designs - but there was a heck of a lot of demand!.
After An Yinan packed up the goods, she feared missing out on something, so she made a special trip to raid a large supermarket. On that day, all chain supermarkets in the city and neighboring cities encountered a situation of being sold out, causing panic for a day.
In five days, all the things purchased have already arrived and have been transferred into the space. An Yinan even bought numerous power banks and charged them all to be on the safe side.
In the recent two days, the system alerts have become more frequent.
"Warning: Countdown to Rebirth in 3 days."
"Warning: Countdown to Rebirth in 2 days."
"Warning: Countdown to Rebirth in 1 day."
That night, she withdrew her courtyard into the space. She has exhausted 90% of her assets through these crazy purchases. If this space is playing with me, I'm afraid I will have to work harder to make more illustrations.
There was a thunderous roar from the sky, An Yinan felt dizzy and lost consciousness.
"Sis, don't die, Sis, Beibei is obedient, don't die."
An Yinan heard the crying of a little boy intermittently. She really wanted to raise her hand and rub his head, but she was powerless. Her arm could not be lifted, and her eyelids were far heavier. She could not open them at all.
Flashbacks came rushing into her head, some familiar, some unfamiliar.
These memories all belong to the girl who shared her name, An Yinan.
Those days, while she was busy purchasing day and night, An Yinan had left.
An Xiangbei was injured by Chen Jingu from his uncle's family. He got a high fever the same afternoon, while his grandmother acted as if she saw nothing. An Yinan kneeled in the yard pleading for a little food, but they remained indifferent.
Little Yinan, in order to make Xiangbei recover quickly, stole half a piece of black bread from the kitchen. After being discovered, she was beaten to death by her grandmother.
An Yinan sat upright and opened her eyes abruptly. The pain all over her body, like being run over by a truck, made her frown involuntarily.