It Turns Out My Daughter Is a Reborn Person

September 15, 2015, Magic City (Shanghai)Chen Chen sat in the living room, a cigarette clamped between his fingers. He stared gloomily at the computer screen in front of him, taking a puff now and then and coughing occasionally—clear signs that this was his first time smoking.And indeed it was. Chen Chen was not a smoker, but today was an exception.As the saying goes, A man should be established by the age of thirty.Chen Chen was already twenty-six. His parents were still alive; he had a mischievous little daughter and a gentle, kind wife. Their family was not wealthy, but they got by well enough. Yet an incident that happened yesterday had cast a shadow over this happy, contented household.Chen Chen was a graduate of Magic City University with a bachelor's degree in Finance. In the four years after graduation, he had hopped from one job to another, slogging away but managing to save some money.Later, a senior from his university recommended him to a private investment firm. After nearly a year of training, Chen Chen had finally gotten the chance to lead an investment project on his own just a while back.Everything had been going smoothly—until now. That morning, he had suddenly been told that the project had been snatched by a rival company.All his hard work over the past weeks had gone down the drain. What was worse, he had stepped on a lot of toes to land this opportunity in the first place. Now that he had messed up the project, those people would never let go of this chance to kick him while he was down.The odds of him getting fired were high—after all, this project was extremely important to the company.Even if he managed to keep his job, this blunder would make it far harder for him to get his hands on future projects. No projects meant no salary raises.His salary would stay stagnant, but prices in Magic City were skyrocketing—housing prices, in particular, were soaring like a rocket. On top of that, his daughter would be starting kindergarten soon, and that would mean even more expenses.Just a few weeks ago, buoyed by landing the project, he and his wife had planned to take out all their savings from the past few years to put a down payment on an apartment. With both their salaries combined, they could handle the mortgage pressure just fine. After all, if they didn't buy a house now, they would never be able to afford one later.But now, all those plans were in tatters. Chen Chen couldn't afford to pin his hopes on the company showing him leniency.He had no idea how to face his wife, Jiang Ya.Jiang Ya had been his classmate in university, though she had majored in Accounting. She was stunningly beautiful—not exactly the campus belle, but definitely a class beauty. They had started dating in college and stayed together until graduation and marriage.Jiang Ya's parents had been against their relationship at first, but she had insisted on being with Chen Chen. In the end, they had had no choice but to give their consent.Chen Chen had married Jiang Ya with a mere 50,000 yuan in betrothal gifts and a simple, low-key wedding.Their early married life had been tight and unassuming, but Jiang Ya had never complained. She had stood by him through thick and thin. One time, when Chen Chen had quit his job to switch to a new one only to be ghosted by the employer, he had been unemployed for nearly two months—and they had survived solely on Jiang Ya's salary.After years of grinding, they had finally scraped together enough money for a down payment on a house, on the cusp of taking a step up in life. But now, this sudden turn of events had shattered everything.Chen Chen's heart was heavy with frustration. If he got fired, he had no clue what he would do next—or what he could do. He couldn't count on the company; capital was ruthless, after all."Sigh… I'll stop overthinking for now. It's almost three o'clock. Xinxin will be waking up soon. I should open the doors and windows to air out the room—secondhand smoke is not good for kids."Chen Chen shook his head, stubbed out the cigarette, and checked his phone. Then he stood up, opened the front door and the windows, and turned on the electric fan. Once the cigarette smell had faded a little, he sprayed some air freshener around.After that, he headed to his daughter's room to check if she was awake yet.It was Saturday. His wife had had to work overtime because her company had some last-minute business to attend to, while he had the day off. He had been crushed when he got the news that morning, then chewed out by his boss during his report—making for a thoroughly miserable morning. Sigh.Chen Chen walked over to his daughter's bed and looked down at her chubby little face. Memories of her usual playful, mischievous antics flooded his mind, and suddenly, he felt a flicker of comfort. What do I have to fear? Just keep pushing forward. At worst, I'll just work a little harder.A moment later, his daughter Chen Xin blinked her eyes open dazedly. When she saw Chen Chen, she rubbed her eyes and glanced around the room. A look of utter shock flashed across her face, and the grogginess vanished from her eyes in an instant.Dad? What's going on? Why is Dad here? And why does he look so young? Could I still be dreaming? Am I in a dream?