"Darling, darling, what's wrong? Don't scare Mommy!"
A kind, female voice called out anxiously by her ear. Ye Yunyun couldn't help but frown. 'Don't be so loud, I'm trying to sleep in.'
"That's enough, Bai Xi! Yanyan just gave Yunyun a little push while they were playing. It's not a big deal. The child falls down and acts like she's dying. You've spoiled her rotten!" an accusatory male voice sounded from a distance.
'Wait, Bai Xi... Yunyun... Yanyan? Isn't this from the novel *Apocalypse Coming: I'm Playing Plants vs. Zombies* that Black and White Impermanence told me about last night?'
She had even mumbled at the time about how the cannon fodder character inside had the exact same name as her.
It was a "strong female lead, no-CP" story. After the apocalypse arrived, the protagonist awakened a special Wood Ability. The plants she grew would mutate 100% of the time. Some would proactively attack zombies without harming humans, just like in Plants vs. Zombies.
As a developing protagonist, she transformed from an innocent, carefree college student into a rational and ruthless female leader, a journey paved with hardships, obstacles, and bloodshed. One of her earliest, harsh awakenings came when her own older sister was murdered by her scumbag brother-in-law and his mistress after the apocalypse.
That's right. She was the baby girl born to the protagonist's older sister, Ye Yunyun. A pitiful three-year-old girl who died even before her own mother, played to death by that brat, Yanyan.
As the Underworld's number one holdout, Ye Yunyun had been squatting there for three hundred years. Yesterday, Black and White Impermanence had forced a bowl of soup down her throat, and she'd carelessly returned to the human world.
'Being human is too hard. Why can't they just let me keep ghosting around!'
"Alright, stop fussing. This is your next life. Because you stubbornly refused to reincarnate, your body has been living as a fool for three years. Hurry up and get back on the right path," a mysterious voice echoed in her ear from the void.
'What next life? I don't want to be reincarnated! Aren't there any benefits? If there are no benefits, I'm going to throw a fit.'
"Fine, there's no dealing with you. I've transferred the original plot into your mind, the kind you can never forget. As long as you conscientiously live out your fate in this life, I'll let you laze around in the Underworld for a thousand years without bothering you."
'…Fine. A few years of misery in exchange for a thousand years of peace.'
Ye Yunyun finally deigned to open her eyes.
A great beauty with long hair, enchanting peach-blossom eyes, and skin whiter than snow came into view.
'Oh my god, is this my mom in this life? She's so, so, so beautiful! If I'd known my mom was this pretty, I would've reincarnated three years earlier. WAH! I lost three years with my mom, what a massive loss! According to the plot, I only live to be three in this life, so I have less than a year left with her. Sigh.'
As for having the script in hand, crushing villains, and defying fate—that wasn't something a lazy slacker who just wanted to lie flat should be doing.
'Whatever. As long as I diligently follow the plot, one of my next N lives is bound to be long, healthy, wealthy, and beautiful. There are thousands upon thousands of beautiful moms waiting for me in future lives anyway.'
'What was that sound?' Bai Xi frowned and listened intently. It was her daughter's voice, but her precious daughter was just a little fool who couldn't speak.
"Sweetheart, did you just talk to Mommy?" Bai Xi asked gently.
Ye Yunyun shook her head.
'I didn't say anything. Oh no, my beautiful mom's ears aren't broken, are they? No, no, this must be an auditory hallucination. Has my scumbag dad driven her crazy with anger?'
'That's not right either. Before the apocalypse, my silly mom always thought her scumbag dad was a "saintly" doctor who was kind to outsiders but neglected his own family. It wasn't until after the apocalypse that she found out he wasn't taking care of some poor widow and orphan, but rather his beloved mistress and their illegitimate child.'
Bai Xi froze. She looked around, but no one else seemed to have heard Ye Yunyun's voice. She glanced suspiciously at Ye Yunyun.
'Am I... hearing things?'
But had her baby's condition gotten better? She had only asked casually, not expecting to get a response from her darling.
Ye Jun stepped forward impatiently and said, "Yunyun's opened her eyes, so she must be fine. You're just making a mountain out of a molehill and scaring poor Yanyan. Hurry up and apologize to him!"
Ye Yunyun crawled out of her mother's arms. That little monster, Su Yan, was sticking his tongue out at her smugly.
'Pah! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree with this little bastard. Mommy, whatever you do, don't give in. He smashed my head against the wall, and I'm still dizzy. I have a huge bump on my head! Too bad Mom doesn't know Scumbag Dad's true colors yet. She was raised to be kind-hearted and does everything he says.'
'That scumbag dad... he's a classic case of a country boy who married up and sponges off his wife shamelessly. And on top of that, he wants to get me and my beautiful mom killed. He's a real animal.'
Before she could process the rest of the words, Bai Xi heard the unknown voice mention a blow to the head. She picked Ye Yunyun up again and gently felt the top of her head. Sure enough, there was a large bump. "I should take my baby to the hospital first," she said.
"Sister Bai, it's inevitable for kids to get some bumps and scrapes when they're playing around. I have some red potion here. Let me get it for you to put on the child. Heavens, look at Yunyun's little face, all teary. The poor thing," said Su Mian, who had hurried over.
Ye Jun chimed in, "That's right. You really are raising Yunyun too delicately. I grew up in the countryside and was always covered in bruises. Kids need to move around more and get hurt a little; it builds character and makes them stronger. Give her to me. I'll put some potion on it and rub it in. It'll be fine."
Bai Xi was stunned. Ye Jun's tone toward her and their child was still so gentle, but—her daughter was lying weakly in her arms. Why wasn't her husband worried at all? Why was he siding with others and acting like she was overreacting?
Before Bai Xi could refuse, Su Yan immediately lunged forward. "Mommy, how can you give my stuff to that little bitch!"
Bai Xi frowned. Just as she was about to politely decline Su Mian's kind offer, she heard her darling baby's voice again.
'If only the red potion would fall on the ground during the struggle. Sigh. Even though I can accept my fate of dying early, I don't want to go through the plot with a disfigured head, wah! Too bad Mom doesn't know there's a corrosive liquid mixed into the red potion. After Auntie Su Mian coaxes her a bit, Mom will put it on me, and my head injury will just get worse, wah wah.'
'Maybe I should pretend to flail around and knock the red potion over later? By the way, is that allowed? Impermanence only told me to live out my fate in this life; he didn't say whether I had to follow the plot exactly or if I could just wing it.'
Although she was skeptical of this voice, the consequences it described terrified Bai Xi. Her precious baby, whom she had carried for ten months and cared for so meticulously despite her intellectual disabilities, was fated to die a cruel, early death.
She swallowed the words of refusal and reached out to take the red potion.
A look of pleasant surprise had just appeared on Su Mian's face when Bai Xi turned and handed the red potion to Su Yan, coaxing him softly, "It's alright. My baby is willing to let Yanyan have the red potion. I'm still going to take her to the hospital to get checked out."
Su Yan snatched it smugly, opened it, and was about to dab it on his hand.