Chapter 1
I was the factory owner’s daughter. When I was ten, my dad handpicked four bright, promising boys from his scholarship program to be my…well, future husbands, I guess you could call them that.
Now, here he was, on his deathbed, asking me which one I wanted to choose as my husband.
After agonizing over it, I picked Adam Cooper, the one I got along with best. I thought we’d spend the rest of our lives together.
But only six months into being with Adam, I was constantly sick, always catching something.
Meanwhile, my cousin, Lily Davis, who was staying with us, just kept looking healthier and healthier.
Then everything started going wrong. I failed the first national college entrance exam, even though I’d spent a year preparing.
Lily, who always got terrible grades, somehow got into the best university in the state with Adam.
I was stuck at the factory, miserable. A year later, I was hit by a car and died instantly.
My soul just wouldn’t fade away.
I watched Lily and Adam pull a creepy doll tied with red string out from under my pillow.
They were laughing like lunatics next to my bed.
“Lily, you’re a genius! Finding that destiny-swapping doll worked perfectly, swapping your life with mine. Now that short-lived bitch is finally dead, and all the Lin family’s wealth is ours!”
I couldn’t believe it. My sweet, gentle cousin and childhood sweetheart had teamed up to kill me.
Then I woke up.
I was back to the day my dad asked me to choose my husband.
I grabbed the doll from under the pillow and chucked it right into the chicken coop.
If Lily loved swapping fates so much, I’d let her have her fill this time.
…
“Stella, I don’t think I have much longer. Pick one of these boys to be your husband. That way, I can rest in peace when I close my eyes.”
I stared blankly at my dad, finally snapping back to reality.
I’d been given a second chance. I’d been reborn on the day I chose my future husband.
Seeing my dad’s frail face, I almost burst into tears.
In my past life, my dad started getting better after I got engaged to Adam.
But soon after we were together, I started getting sick all the time, even though I’d always been healthy.
Dad traveled to every city, desperately trying to find a cure. He ended up dying in a car accident from being overworked.
I bit my lip, tasting blood.
I looked up at Dad:
“Dad, I choose Charles Foster.”
Charles was the poorest of the four, but he was also the only one who genuinely cared about me.
After I died in my last life, he was the only one who investigated my death.
The night he found out the truth, Adam and Lily burned him alive in his house.
Since fate had given me a second chance, I wouldn’t let the people I loved and who loved me be harmed again.
Dad hesitated.
“Stella, are you sure? Weren’t you always stuck to Adam like glue? Didn’t you fill your notebooks with his name?”
“Marriage isn’t a game. If you don’t think Adam is as good as Charles, I can use some of my assets to help Adam start a business.”
My eyes welled up with tears.
Whether in my past or present life, Dad always treated these boys, who weren’t even related to him, as his own sons.
But in the end, he got such a tragic ending.
“I was so stupid before, mistaking dependency for love. Now I understand that Charles is the one who truly makes my heart flutter.”
Dad sighed.
“As long as you’re happy. Charles is down-to-earth and hard-working. I can rest assured if you’re with him.”
I wiped away my tears.
As soon as I left Dad’s office, I saw Charles and the other three future husbands walking towards me.
Cole Davis leered at me.
“Stella, did the factory owner make you pick your future husband from the four of us today? Who did you end up choosing?”
I glanced at Adam. He frowned almost imperceptibly.
Sean Wilson chuckled, looking down at me.
“Who else would she choose? Stella is always chasing Adam. She’s definitely going to seize this opportunity to tie him to her forever.”
Adam’s face was cold, his gaze filled with resentment.
I turned to look at Charles, who was standing at the edge. I swallowed back what I wanted to say.
I couldn’t let Adam off so easily.
I cleared my throat, glancing at Charles.
“We’re having an engagement party after the college entrance exams. You’ll find out then.”
I started walking toward the workshop. I turned and bumped into someone rushing by.
Lily stumbled back, her knee hitting the rusty iron shelf with a whimper.
Before I could react, Lily was apologizing to me non-stop.
“I’m sorry, Stella. It was an accident. Please don’t kick me out of the house.”
I frowned. Lily was the same as she was in my past life.
Always so pitiful, always apologizing with tears in her voice. Every time, she managed to make Adam’s eyes burn with anger.
I never blamed her for these little things, but she always created the impression that I couldn’t stand her.
I used to think that Lily was insecure because she’d lost her parents. So I tried my best to give her the best of everything.
Looking back, I don’t think Lily ever considered me her sister.
Adam gently helped her up, whispering words of comfort.
“It’s okay, Stella isn’t hurt. Why are you begging her like that?”
“Besides, even if she kicks you out, you still have me. I’ve saved up a lot of money over the years. It’s enough to support both of us.”
Adam glanced at me with disgust.
“Stella, do you really think you can do whatever you want just because this is your factory? The more you act like this, the more I hate you.”
Before he finished, I slapped him twice across the face.
Lily’s pearl hair clip fell to the ground, her hair falling, revealing her swollen cheeks.
“Adam, take a good look. This is what it means to do whatever you want.”
Adam was caught off guard. He stared at me in disbelief.
If this had happened before, I would have already been trying to please him.
He clenched his fists, his eyes blazing.
“Stella, how dare you hit me?”
I shrugged nonchalantly.
“This is my house. If you don’t like it, you can leave now.”
Adam helped Lily up and took her hand.
“Fine…fine, Stella. You have guts.”
“Remember what you said today. Don’t come crying to me later, begging for me back.”
I didn’t even look at them. I turned and went back to the workshop.
That night, I went for a walk and heard noises coming from my bedroom.
Through the crack in the window, I saw Lily putting the exact same voodoo doll from my past life under my pillow.
I could barely contain my anger.
In my previous life, Lily’s parents died in a famine.
Dad felt sorry for her and took her in.
When most people couldn’t afford to go to school, Dad sent her and me to a school in the county.
He took good care of us, treating Lily almost like his own daughter.
Everything I had, Lily had too.
But even so, Lily didn’t hesitate to harm me.
I bit my lip and pushed the door open.
Lily looked flustered and started fixing my bedding.
“What are you doing in my room?”
I asked coldly.
Lily looked at me obsequiously.
“Stella, I’m sorry about what happened with Adam during the day. I came to apologize and saw that your sheets were a bit messy. I just helped you tidy them up.”
I nodded, not immediately calling her out.
“Thank you.”
I forced a smile, watching her flee as if she’d been pardoned.
When her footsteps faded away, I lifted the bedding. The doll tied with red string was under the pillow.
The doll looked creepy, with a pale face and eyes like bloody holes.
I looked at it in the moonlight and saw my birthday written on its back.
I clenched my fist, biting my tongue.
Lily, you’re just as vicious as you were in my past life.
The next morning, I took the doll to my aunt’s house in the next village.
My aunt was the most skilled shaman in the county. After Mom died, she and Dad were the only ones who truly loved me.
As soon as I walked in, my aunt’s face changed.
“Stella, there’s something evil attached to you.”
Her calloused hands quickly tore off a talisman from the altar behind her.
As soon as she put it on my heart, the bag started making sounds like a baby crying.
The doll jumped out of the bag and thrashed wildly on the brick floor.
My aunt’s face changed. She grabbed a copper bell and slammed it on the ground, instantly drawing a complex spell.
The doll was trapped in golden light. It let out a shrill wail and finally collapsed.
After dealing with the evil thing, my aunt pulled me into the back room.
“Stella, what’s going on? How did you get involved with something like this?”
I told my aunt everything, without hiding the fact that I was reborn.
My aunt couldn’t help but tear up when she heard about my tragic death in my past life.
“This evil thing was brought back by your grandfather when he was doing business in Southeast Asia. I felt something was wrong at the time. After investigating, I found out that if you take the hair of the target and tie it to the doll, and then let her sleep with the doll for seven days, the fates of the two people will be completely swapped.”
I broke out in a cold sweat.
That’s why Lily, who had always been weak, gradually became lively after coming to my house.
And I, who was in my prime, became exhausted.
No wonder my college exam scores were a mess, even though I was studying hard day and night.
Lily got into the best university in the state with excellent grades.
My aunt patted my back, trying to calm me down.
“Good child, it’s a good thing you came in time. The most insidious part of this doll is that once the swap is successful, it can never be reversed. You have to live with the other person’s fate for the rest of your life. If Lily gets hurt outside, it will be reflected on you in different ways.”
I took a deep breath, gripping my aunt’s hand.
“What if you put the hair of an animal in and swap it with a person’s fate?”
My aunt paused for a moment, then understood.
“As long as it’s a living thing, it can be swapped. If a person swaps with an animal, they will develop the habits of that animal for the rest of their life.”
I smiled and put the doll away. After chatting with my aunt for a while, I went back home.
Looking at the chickens I had just bought in the corner, I inconspicuously pulled out one of their feathers.
Then I quietly went to Lily’s room, dug a hollow under her pillow, and carefully put the voodoo doll inside.
After doing all this, I quietly left the room.
Next, I had to focus on preparing for the college entrance exams.
This was the first exam after the restoration of the college entrance exam in China. I valued this exam very much in my previous life.
I spent a year studying hard at home, hoping to get into my dream university.
But in the end, my score was only good enough for a vocational school.
Adam wasn’t surprised when he heard my score in my past life.
He held my hand and said earnestly, “Stella, girls’ brains aren’t suited for studying anyway. All you need to do is know how to write your name. Just stay at home. I’ll give you a baby before I go to college.”
At the time, I didn’t feel good. My scores had always been better than Adam’s, although I couldn’t compare with Charles.
But I was only focused on Adam. So I listened to him and managed the factory at home, only to make things easier for them in the end.
Thinking of this, I pulled myself together and studied late into the night.
This time, I would take control of my own destiny.
Lily didn’t try to cause trouble for me during this time.
But she didn’t even realize that she was waking up much earlier than usual now.
I sneered. Soon, Lily’s habits would be exactly like a chicken’s.
But this was just the beginning. I would make Lily’s life hell.
I frantically absorbed knowledge, but I couldn’t remember many things after so long.
After thinking about it for a long time, I decided to ask Charles to tutor me.
Charles got into the top university in the country in my past life. He should be able to tutor me.
When I got to the yard where Charles and the others lived, Adam was sitting in the pavilion, whispering to Lily.
Lily’s face was flushed, and she glanced at Adam reproachfully.
I felt sick to my stomach when I saw them acting like that.
Adam’s smile disappeared when he heard me.
Cole and Sean looked at me.
“What’s going on, Stella? Cole and I bet on how long you could resist coming to find Adam.”
“It’s only been a few days. You couldn’t help but come to apologize.”
Adam glanced at me. His eyes turned colder when he saw that I only had a few books in my hand.
Every time we fought before, I would bring bags of gifts to apologize to Adam.
Although Adam seemed to hate my behavior of insulting him with money, he would always take the gifts without showing it after I left.
Seeing that I didn’t bring anything this time, he frowned even harder.
“Stella, if you want me to forgive you, go over there and apologize to Lily now.”
Lily stood timidly next to Adam, tugging on his sleeve.
“Adam, let it go. It’s all my fault. Stella didn’t mean to. I’ll move out after the college entrance exams. I won’t cause you any more trouble.”
“Lily, don’t say that. You’re still a child of the Davis family. Why can Stella treat you like this?”
Adam looked at me.
“Stella, I’m giving you one last chance. Apologize to Lily now and give her half of the factory’s profits this year. Otherwise, I won’t forgive you.”
I glanced at them indifferently and walked straight into the yard.
Adam roared and grabbed my arm.
“Stella, are you deaf? I told you to apologize!”
Before I could break free, Adam’s arm was pinned down by another strong figure.
Charles looked down at him and spat out two words coldly:
“Let go.”
Adam stared at Charles.
“Who do you think you are? How dare you lay a hand on me?”
I didn’t give Adam time to react. I slapped him hard across the face.
Then I walked slowly to Charles’s side and looked coldly at Adam, who was stunned.
“Who said I came to find you?”
After saying that, I took Charles’s hand and walked towards his room.
Adam and the others were silent for a long time before they started yelling at me.
I closed the door, blocking out the noise.
I opened the book and looked at Charles seriously.
“Charles, can you help me with my homework before the college entrance exams?”
Charles nodded gently and agreed without hesitation.
Charles was a genius. He gave me a few pointers, and I immediately understood.
Over the next few weeks, I studied hard, and my grades improved steadily.
Adam didn’t bother me again. He knew that he wouldn’t get any benefits from the Davis family if he offended me at this time.
The college entrance exams ended quickly. I felt relieved after the exam.
Before the results were released, Lily kept looking at me with a strange look.
She was still dreaming of swapping her scores with me.
I wasn’t in a hurry to tell her the truth. It was more satisfying to slap her in public.
Before the results were even released, Lily started bragging to the neighbors that she was going to college in the provincial capital.
She even bought train tickets to the provincial capital with Adam.
The neighbors didn’t want to talk to her. Lily had a special stench on her body.
She also had crossed eyes when she spoke, but she was completely unaware.
Finally, the day of the results arrived.
Lily got up early and put on a new outfit. She knocked on my door.
“Stella, let’s go to the school today to see the results. Come on, let’s go together.”
I smiled slightly and left the house with the five of them.
There were many people in front of the bulletin board. Cole joked.
“Stella, you’re so lucky. Even if you don’t get into college, you still have Adam to support you. It’s great to be a woman. You don’t have to do anything and you can just lay back forever.”
Lily glared at Cole reproachfully.
“Cole, what are you talking about? Stella is working so hard. She’ll definitely get into college this time.”
Before she could finish, Lily’s smile froze on her face.
She saw my name at the second position on the bulletin board.
“Stella Davis, six hundred and fifty-three points…”
Lily stared at my name on the list, her nails digging deeply into her palm.
She staggered back, squeezing out a sentence after a long time.
“Impossible. We already swapped fates…”