"Lilian Hayes, you're just a person with an inferiority complex, yet you dare to question me about this?"
"Since you're so confident, why hide the truth? Who knows, maybe one day when he finds out your secret, he'll leave you without hesitation!"
Those words stabbed into Lilian's heart like a sharp knife.
Lilian Hayes, the daughter of the wealthy Hayes family in New Bay City, was an unexpected and unloved child. Her father, Monroe Hayes, was a womanizer and a drunkard, and her mother abandoned her when she was five, never to be heard from again.
A few weeks ago, Lilian's father died in a car accident, and his inheritance was left to her and her step-siblings, with whom she had a strained relationship. However, no one dared to bully her openly because, even without her father's inheritance, she was the wife of Ethan Forrest, the Master Chef son of the Forrest family.
But today, this particular person's comment about her being "inferior" shattered Lilian's composure.
"Fine! You want to tell him my secret? You think Ethan will believe you?" Lilian Hayes clutched her skirt tightly, her fingertips turning white. A flash of determination flickered in her eyes, "Let's see if he gets the chance to find out!"
Lilian was afraid. She had a secret that she couldn't reveal. If it was exposed, everything would be destroyed.
No, she couldn't allow it! Since someone wanted to expose her disguise, she would destroy herself first!
"I'll never forgive you!" Lilian shouted, her eyes revealing madness.
The next moment, she suddenly turned and rushed towards the center of the road.
"Lilian Hayes, no!"
Bang——!
Blood stained the street.
...….
In the dim atmosphere, accompanied by the smell of medicine and food, Lilian Hayes—or rather, Adrian Cross—slowly opened his eyes.
"He's awake! He's awake!"
A young man beside the bed exclaimed with surprise and joy, "Ethan, he's woken up!"
When Lilian Hayes rushed into the traffic, her body was severely injured after she was crushed by a truck. And now, her physical form was occupied by Adrian's soul and sent back in time where it all began for her!
He looked around, taking in the simple dormitory with only two sets of bunk beds.
From the lower bunk opposite, a tall and slender youth snorted coldly and walked over, his tone indifferent yet tinged with sarcasm, "Hmph, forget about him. Why bother with someone who doesn't even cherish themselves? Didn't he want to die anyway?"
"You knew you were allergic to peanuts, yet you ate them anyway. Serves you right."
Adrian was stunned. This person... was Ethan Forrest! But he was much younger than he remembered.
"I'm not allergic to peanuts!" Adrian instinctively retorted, immediately throwing off the blanket and sitting up.
There was a mirror on the table, and he couldn't help but pick it up and gaze at his reflection.
His eyebrows were like swords, his nose bridge was straight, and his lips were pink with a few light freckles... This wasn't Adrian Cross, this was Lilian Hayes but a male version!
Even with heavy makeup, false eyelashes, and earrings, making him look like a woman, the face was unmistakably male!
"This... this is Lilian Hayes? Or..." Adrian's heart skipped a beat, his fingers trembling. Memories flooded back, and a severe headache made him groan.
He suddenly grabbed the nearby syringe and aimed it at his wrist where there was no visible vein.
"What are you doing?!" The person beside him was shocked, shouting.
But Ethan remained calm, stepping forward to take the syringe and injecting its contents directly into Adrian's arm vein. Adrian gasped as the needle pierced his skin.
"Want to die? Not on my turf!" Ethan said coldly. Who injects himself where there is no vein?
"Don't worry, I won't die." Adrian smiled wryly, removing the needle.
Blood seeped out from the needle mark, and the person beside him turned pale, "He's bleeding! Oh my god, something's going to happen!"
"Go back to the Hayes family to die! Don't cause trouble in my restaurant!" Ethan shouted. "In fact, I will call your butler right now."
Adrian looked up, his eyes fixed on Ethan's phone – it was an old 2015 model.
His heart skipped a beat. Hayes family... 2015... Could it be... he really had traveled back in time?
He stared at the man in front of him, his eyes locked on Ethan, and asked, "You... are you really Ethan Forrest? The future famous chef Ethan Forrest?"
Ethan glanced at him coldly, "How about this - did eating peanuts make you lose your memory? If it weren't for me, you'd be dead by now."
He leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs, his demeanor imposing, "What about the money for the earrings? Paying off debts isn't just about gratitude, you know."
"I don't have money," Adrian said calmly.
"Liam Hayes, how can you say you don't have money?"
Adrian froze. "…Who's Liam Hayes?"
The room went still.
"You, of course!" Ralph said quickly.
Here's the translation:
"I'm Ad—Lilian Hayes, not Liam..." Adrian muttered, his hand holding the mirror trembling uncontrollably. The unfamiliar yet familiar face, combined with the fragmented memories of Lilian Hayes, was driving him mad.
"Lilian?" The young man beside him frowned, "You're talking nonsense again! You're Liam Hayes, or rather, Young Master Hayes, the sole heir of the Hayes family. At least, we three knows that. Aren't you tired of playing woman?"
Adrian's brows furrowed deeply. Young Master Hayes? But this body... was clearly dressed as a woman!
He suddenly remembered the last memory of Lilian Hayes - Lilian's secret in her past life. Outsiders only knew that the Hayes family had a young miss amongst other unimportant step children, but they didn't know that she was actually a man! To keep this secret, Lilian Hayes lived a cautious life. Until the end, she was exposed and was threatened by someone who was going to expose her, and in shame and anger, she threw herself into the traffic...
Adrian's heart skipped a beat at the thought.
No wonder... no wonder she wouldn't let Ethan Forrest know!
"Hmph, pretending to be crazy won't help," Ethan sneered, his eyes cold and sharp, yet with a hint of suppressed irritation. "Liam Hayes, if you want to die, go ahead but don't drag me down. My restaurant can't afford to keep someone who's prone to seeking death."
Adrian looked up, gazing at the man in front of him, who was much younger than he remembered.
In his past life, Ethan Forrest was already a world-renowned chef, cold and detached, never putting him in his eyes. But now... this Ethan Forrest, who had yet to rise to fame, had fire in his eyes, sharpness, and edge. He was such a tantrum thrower. Cute!
Adrian's lips curled into a smile.
It seemed that fate had given him a chance.
Since he had a second life, he wouldn't follow the same hopeless path. Since fate had brought him and Ethan Forrest together again, this time... he would do things differently!
"Ethan Forrest." Gu Chen spoke up, his voice calm and steady. "I'll pay back the debt I owe you. I'll stand by your side and witness your success."
Ethan was taken aback, then sneered, "Don't just talk big. If you really have the ability, stop talking about death and stop trying to transition into a woman!"
"I won't die again and I love being a man." Adrian said firmly, his eyes burning with determination.
He used to be a bystander, an obsessive, a follower in the past life. Ethan never gave him a glance because he was busy loving his insecure and secret maddened wife. But this life, Adrian would stand with him shoulder to shoulder!
As night fell, Ethan tossed out a parting remark, "Go back to the Hayes family tomorrow," before turning to leave.
Adrian sat alone on the bed, his palm tightly gripping the small mirror.
"Lilian Hayes..." he whispered, "I'll snatch your life for mine this time, pardon me."
Outside the window, the city lights twinkled brightly.