"What are you staring at, kid? Hurry up and play your move."
Li Yiyang's head buzzed incessantly, his gaze was baffled as he looked at the incredibly familiar but strange people around him.
What's happening?
Didn't he die already? How come he's alive again?
As the memories of the past surfaced in his mind, until a particular image caused him an intense headache,
He knew, he has been reincarnated.
"I have an emergency at home, I quit the game." Saying so, he flipped the mahjong on the table forcefully, snatching the remaining five hundred bucks of his, and then dashed out of the mahjong parlor like a madman.
Curses and complaints echoed in the mahjong parlor, but Li Yiyang seemed deaf to them.
At this moment, he didn't feel elated due to being reborn, instead, an overwhelming fear engulfed him.
Because today is the day when his wife and child left him forever.
In his memory, his wife was so gentle and virtuous, silently bearing the hardships of their home life.
His daughter, too, was far more sensible than other children of her age.
Only he was a scumbag, worse than a brute.
......
Now that he has been given a chance to start over, he would not let the tragedy repeat itself. Otherwise, what's the point of living again?
He had no idea how long he had been running, but he stopped, panting heavily in front of his own red-painted wooden door. This once seemingly light door now felt unbearably heavy.
Shakily, he lifted his hand. But he did not find the courage to open that door.
He feared facing his wife and child, the encounter would only bring him unbearable shame, and he dreaded the possibility of history repeating itself.
Finally, he gathered his courage and opened the door that had once separated him from his wife and child, as if they were in two different worlds.
Upon opening the door, he saw their tidy little home of just over thirty square meters. Everything was neatly arranged, many of the items were incredibly old-fashioned, but the cleanliness and orderliness were pleasing to the eye.
His wife, Wen Xiaohui, had been the one managing all these, juggling work, childcare, and house chores. It is said that having a virtuous and good wife is a man's most valuable treasure in life. Yet, he didn't cherish it, and it costs him his wife and child.
He cursed himself. He was less than a human.
In the living room, their child, An'an, quietly sat on the sofa reading a picture book. The sound of cooking came from the kitchen.
Lee Yiyang closed the door behind him without making a sound, and heaved a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, he arrived in time to prevent whatever was about to happen.
Upon hearing the sound, An'an turned over. Spotting her father coming towards her, her tiny body trembled, and her big round eyes revealed fear she could not hide.
"Daddy, I'm not sick anymore. I've been discharged. Could you promise not to fight with mommy?" An'an mumbled in her childlike voice.
Lee Yiyang looked down at his tiny daughter. Even clothes meant for a three-year-old looked oversized on her four-year-old frame. Despite her cherubic chubby cheeks, her skin was as white as a sheet. Her normally rosy lips were dry and chapped, her frailness gives off a wobbly impression when seen from afar.
How could he not know that his daughter was kicked out of the hospital because she had no money for her treatment?
Being poor in this world isn't the scary part; the scary part is being both poor and sick. Poverty and sickness are the hardest to cure.
As these thoughts ran through Li Yiyang's mind, his heart was seized with a deep, unshakeable pain. Tears welled up in his eyes. He walked over, sat down on the sofa, and lifted his daughter onto his lap.
Only then did he realize how frighteningly light his daughter was. A normal four-year-old should weigh somewhere between 55 and 88 pounds.
But his little An-An, she feared didn't even weigh 44 pounds.
The tears that had been hovering in his eyes, now began to flow. People say that real men don't cry easily. But this was the second time in Li Yiyang's life that he had shed tears.
The first time was when he saw the corpses of his wife and An-An. The second time was now, looking at his flesh and blood, at his daughter who was still alive.
Feeling her real, tangible body made him realize that this was all real. He had truly been reborn. The heavens had given him a second chance to make up for the regrets of his past life.
"An-An, I'm sorry. I promise I won't ever fight with your mom again," he said, feeling the little figure in his arms trembling anxiously.
Li Yiyang did his best to make his voice sound extremely gentle.
But just yesterday, he had used vicious words to curse his own daughter to death.
A little girl suffering from high fever, not only did not receive love from her father, but was also cursed by him, asking why she hadn't died yet.
He truly wasn't human!
Last night, while he was playing cards, he received a call from Wen Xiaohui. She said An-An was suffering from a high fever that wouldn't subside and the hospital demanded her to be admitted. However, she didn't have enough money and asked if he had any.
Pissed off because he lost money, he snapped at her: "Call me only when she's dead."
Over the phone, Wen Xiaohui had a big argument with him.
And their daughter was eventually discharged from the hospital because she ran out of money.
He couldn't imagine how desperate Wen Xiaohui must have been when she had no money to treat her daughter and had no choice but to leave the hospital. It must have been terribly hard for her!
Sure enough, gradually, An'an was no longer as scared as before. She hesitantly stretched out her tiny hand, seeing that her father did not hit her.
She gently wiped her father's tears and comforted him, "Daddy, don't cry. An'an promises she'll never get sick again. Then you and mommy can make up!"
Although she didn't understand why her father had suddenly changed, she liked this version of him.
Only a four-year-old child, a tender age suitable to be spoiled in her parents' arms, yet she was so understanding. How could anyone not feel heartache for her?
Looking at his daughter in his arms, Li Yiyang laughed and cried, blaming himself for how careless he was in his past life, neglecting such an understanding daughter, and indulging himself in playing cards.
"Daddy, why are you crying again? Did An'an say something wrong?" An'an asked nervously.
Li Yiyang forcefully wiped the tears from his face and said seriously: "Daddy is fine. It was all daddy's fault before. Daddy will never hit you and mommy again, and will never quarrel anymore.
"But now you are sick and need to go to the hospital." Her body was burning hot. Although Li Yiyang hasn't taken care of a child before, he knew An'an must be running a fever.
As soon as he finished speaking, An'an became scared immediately. She shook her head vigorously and said, "Daddy, I'm not sick, see, I'm fine, right?"
Afterwards, she showed a pale smile, trying to look like she was in good health.
"No, you have a fever. How can you get better without going to the hospital?" Li Yiyang picked up An'an and was about to call Wen Xiaohui to take her to the hospital.
"I won't go to the hospital, I don't want to go to the hospital." An'an resists vehemently. In her mind, once she goes to the hospital, her parents will definitely argue again.
She doesn't want her parents to argue, and she definitely doesn't want her father to revert to how he was before.
Seeing how much his daughter dislikes going to the hospital, Li Yiyang was about to say something.
Suddenly, Wen Xiaohui emerged from the kitchen.
With a "smack," she slapped Li Yiyang and forcefully took An'an away from him without saying a word.