Lia Stuart stirred slightly, her eyelids fluttering open. She blinked a few times and realized—wait, she was in a car?

Her head felt foggy, like her brain hadn’t caught up yet. The last thing she remembered was binge-watching a drama.

Nathaniel Bright’s latest show had just dropped a dozen episodes at once. After closing up her pet shop that night, she’d been glued to her phone, watching until the early hours.

She’d felt kinda dizzy, and then… nothing. Next thing she knew, she was here.

"You’re awake?" came a gentle, familiar voice.

She turned, confused, and was instantly stunned.

"Mom?!"

Her voice cracked, and her face froze in disbelief. Up front, hands on the wheel… it was Dad.

But that—no—they were supposed to be dead. There’s no way...

[Ding—Emotion Collection System has detected a compatible host. System binding in progress…]

Lia jolted like someone just whispered in her ear. What the hell was that? Emotion Collection System?

Before she could wrap her head around it, a translucent digital screen popped up in her mind, showing a loading bar at 1%.

What the—

Her wide cat-like eyes filled with shock—and a little bit of existential crisis. What was going on? Was she dreaming?

She tried calling out to the system a few times, but it stayed silent. The progress bar inched forward painfully slow.

Emma Stuart glanced back and saw her daughter staring blankly, mistaking it for exhaustion.

"You silly girl, I told you not to come along. Your dad and I could’ve just grabbed the deed from your grandma ourselves. Why make yourself suffer with this long ride?"

The word "deed” broke through the fog in Lia’s brain, snapping her fully awake.

Forget the weird system. She fumbled for her phone and checked the date—May 1st, 2015.

No way… She was reborn?!

She remembered this trip vividly. They were heading back to the old house in Su City to sell that property, trying to scrape together enough to buy the storefront they’d been renting in the capital.

Her parents had opened a pet shop in Beijing back in 2014, just a short walk from their home. They thought they’d give it a year, get the shop running smoothly, then when she graduated, she could take over.

They didn’t want her working for others, getting scolded over nonsense. And besides, animals practically flocked to her—dogs and cats alike were obsessed with her.

Running a pet shop? Made perfect sense.

Recently, the landlord mentioned he wanted to sell the space. Luckily, their lease had a clause giving them first dibs.

That’s why her parents were hell-bent on selling the property back home—to make one solid investment and be done with it.Their house in Sushir had a prime location, nice neighborhood, and wasn’t exactly cheap. After the family moved to Beijing, they handed the place over to Edith Stuart to manage and rent out.

Later, Peter Stuart’s family opened a shop nearby and said they needed a place to stay, so Edith went ahead and let them rent the house.

And that rent? It stretched on for four years.

They were family, so at first Jason Stuart just charged a symbolic amount. Later on, he didn’t even bother raising it.

Edith said since she cut Peter’s rent, Jason’s family didn’t need to keep sending her money every year.

But Jason had always been a dutiful son—he still brought her gifts on holidays.

Lia Stuart, though, remembered how this whole thing played out in her last life: they didn’t manage to get the house deed the first time around, had to come back for it a second time, and that second trip? That’s when the accident happened on the highway to Beijing. Her parents died on the spot.

Just thinking about it made her hands and feet go cold.

The drive took over ten hours. The three of them switched off at the wheel and barely made it through.

They’d called ahead two weeks before, and Peter had already moved out by then.

When they arrived, the place was spotless. Clearly, Peter’s family had taken good care of it.

That eased some of the tension on Jason and Emma Stuart’s faces.

The next morning, the three of them drove to Edith’s place in the town.

The moment Edith saw Jason, her eyes lit up—until she remembered why he had come. The smile faded quick.

"Jason, have you eaten?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

Jason quickly replied, "Mom, don’t bother. We’ve already eaten. Can you give me the house deed? Lia’s graduating next month, we need to move fast to buy the store."

Edith’s face darkened a bit. "You're only just back and already asking for the deed? What, you think I’d keep it from you or something?"

Emma jumped in to smooth things over, "Mom, that’s not what he means. It’s just... things are moving fast in Beijing, and there’s a bunch of paperwork here before we can sell."

Jason wasn’t one to beat around the bush. He wanted that deed.

Edith, clearly annoyed, blurted out, "Why not just sell the house to Peter’s family? They’ve been living there for years, already settled in. Saves you the trouble of finding another buyer."

Jason frowned. "Peter wants to buy it? He never said a word to me."

Lia shook her head slightly.

Exactly. Talking face to face is hard, so he pushed their mom to bring it up for him.

Edith didn’t even hide it anymore. "You know what their situation’s like. All their money’s tied up in that store. You think maybe you guys could knock a bit off the price? They can’t cough up that much all at once."

Jason’s voice went firm. "Mom, we’re all grown now. When it comes to money, even among brothers, everything should be clear. If Peter were really struggling to survive, I’d step in without question—but this isn’t life or death. We need that money to buy Lia’s store."“We’ve been renting that shop for a whole year. All our regular customers are there, we’re not just gonna pack up and leave. There’s not much time left, I need you to hand over the property deed, now.”

Edith Stuart gave him a slap on the back.

“Watch your mouth, kid. That’s your own brother we’re talking about. And come on, Lia’s a girl—she’s gonna get married eventually. We’ve got to count on Ryan to carry on the Stuart name.”

Jason Stuart wasn’t having it.

“Ryan’s your grandson, sure. But so is Lia your granddaughter. She’s gonna be the one taking care of me and Emma when we’re old. How is that not our own family?”

Then he added, “I’m Ryan’s uncle, not his father. I’m not about to sacrifice my own daughter’s future for my nephew. Ryan’s got two working parents, and he’s perfectly able-bodied. He can save up on his own—don’t tell me he can’t buy a place or find a wife.”

Emma Stuart listened and nodded. Her mother-in-law usually stayed quiet, but deep down, the favoritism toward boys was always there. Thankfully, her husband had his priorities straight.

“Are you trying to send me to my grave with anger?” Edith burst out, unusually forceful this time.

Jason frowned. “Where’s Peter? If he’s the one trying to buy the house, why isn’t he here talking to me directly? What’s with hiding behind you?”

As the eldest in the family, Jason’s words carried weight.

Seeing that, Edith didn’t argue any further. One thing was clear—the deed wasn’t coming out today.

Lia stepped forward, about to say something, but Emma gently held her back.

“Let us grown-ups deal with this. You stay out of it,” she said quietly.

Lia glanced at her dad. What had he done last time?

Right. Last time, he’d searched grandma’s room top to bottom trying to find the deed. But it had been locked away in her dowry chest, and she kept the key close. They didn’t get it.

Then they spent another two days going back and forth with Edith. In the end, not wanting to lose out on the pet business back in Beijing, Jason took the family back.

It was on that return trip when the accident happened.

When Edith found out her eldest son and daughter-in-law had crashed on their way back, she fainted cold.

She later woke up full of regret and gave Lia the deed, but within a couple years, she passed too.

Peter’s whole family kept their distance from that point on, like keeping away would make them blameless.

Lost in those thoughts, Lia barely noticed her dad heading into Edith’s room.

Edith just watched calmly, smug even.

She was confident Jason wouldn’t find it.

And sure enough, after searching the room thoroughly, Jason turned toward the redwood trunk and realized that’s where it had to be.

This time, Lia wasn’t going to let it go. She’d get that deed—no second trip, no repeat of the past.