A Phone Call Across Ten Years

After I died in the study room fire, I opened my eyes again and found myself ten years in the future.

I dug out my phone from my backpack and carefully called my brother Ethan:

Ethan, can you come pick me up?

He didn't answer.

On the other end of the line, I could only hear heavy, labored breathing.

I couldn't help but feel afraid:

"If you can't, could you lend me some money?

"Ethan?"

Ethan, who was in the middle of attempting suicide, stumbled out of the blood-stained bathtub.

Through gritted teeth, he said: "I don't care who you are. Wait for me."

Cold raindrops fell.

I held my backpack over my head, waiting anxiously for Ethan.

He had always been exceptionally talented since childhood---noble and cold.

He was the carefully groomed heir of the Ashford family.

But toward me, Ethan never showed a kind face.

In his heart, I was the Ashford family's adopted daughter of unknown origin.

Stupid, malicious, and very restless.

Not only did I frame the scholarship student he liked, but I also deliberately barged into his room wearing thin pajamas while he was showering.

Eighteen-year-old Ethan wrapped himself in a towel, his face terribly dark:

"Iris, you're so shameless!"

"Get out!"

These were the last two sentences he said to me in my previous life.

So when the study room caught fire and I was nearly suffocating from the smoke, using my last breath to call him and apologize, he didn't answer.

Reborn into this life, I wanted to live with a new identity and originally had no intention of contacting him.

It's just that...

I didn't have a single dollar in my backpack.

My ID had also been canceled.

The person most capable of helping me, and most likely to want me to stay away from the Ashford family, was definitely Ethan.

As long as he could lend me some money and help me solve my identity problem, I would definitely turn over a new leaf in this life and be a good person.

I promised to stay far away from him.

Before long, a Mercedes came speeding through the night.

The window rolled down, revealing a mature, handsome face.

Twenty-eight-year-old Ethan wore a well-fitted black suit.

Compared to his eighteen-year-old self, he had gained a bit more composure and restraint.

Only his expression was as indifferent as before.

When his gaze casually swept over me, I lowered the backpack that had been covering my face.

He suddenly froze.

Until I ran over and greeted him through the car window: "Ethan."

He remained in a daze for a long time.

Ten years.

For Ethan, I had been dead for ten years.

During those ten years, countless women dressed themselves up to look like me, trying to climb into his bed.

Every single one was verbally humiliated by him.

And now, I stood right in front of him.

Just as young as the photo on the tombstone.

My eyes were clear, and when I looked at him, they carried a familiar timidity.

The white pleated skirt and bear backpack I wore were identical to what I had been wearing when he identified my body at the morgue all those years ago.

Even the phone I clutched in my hand still bore the cracks from when he had smashed it.

"Get in."

His voice trembled slightly.

"Ethan, can you lend me some money?

"My ID has been canceled too. Can you help me deal with it?

"Ethan?"

Ethan was distracted.

The car drove very fast, and the streetlights rapidly flickered across his hard profile.

I tried to remind him.

I was worried he would take me back to the Ashford family.

Or do something else, like send me to a research facility or something.

"Did it hurt?"

Ethan suddenly asked me.

"What?

"A little..."

I tried hard to recall.

There were only some blurry fragments in my memory.

When I was suffocating from the smoke, I actually felt somewhat relieved.

Having grown up in an orphanage, I was used to freedom.

After being adopted by Mrs. Ashford, everyone said I was lucky.

The Ashford family was the wealthiest in the city, and Mrs. Ashford treated me like her own daughter.

Only I knew how suffocating those days were.

Mrs. Ashford's demands on me were extremely high.

Learning music, horseback riding, endless tutoring sessions...

If I showed the slightest dissatisfaction, what awaited me was the strictest family discipline.

Being locked in the basement and made to kneel.

Cane strikes on my body left bruises that wouldn't fade for days.

Once, when Ethan discovered the injuries on my arm, he asked me what happened.

I quietly told him: "I was punished with family discipline."

Ethan sneered: "Iris, you're getting better and better at lying.

"What family discipline does the Ashford family have?

"Mrs. Ashford has always wanted a daughter. She treasures you like a precious gem, and you're doing well for yourself, completely unmotivated every day!"

Ethan didn't know the Ashford family had such discipline.

He also didn't know that Mrs. Ashford required me to make Ethan fall in love with me.

When she learned that the scholarship student Olivia had stolen Ethan's first kiss, Mrs. Ashford slapped me hard across the face.

"Useless!

"You can't even handle a scholarship student. What a waste raising you!

"Iris, I'm warning you, the person who marries Ethan must be you!"

I looked at Mrs. Ashford in confusion.

Until my death, I never understood.

Why was I the only one punished with family discipline?

Why did I have to be the one to marry Ethan?

Ethan was so outstanding that even if it wasn't Olivia, countless prestigious families would be lining up to arrange marriages with him.

Why did it have to be me, an orphan with mediocre qualifications?

But I had no choice but to listen to Mrs. Ashford and break up Ethan and Olivia.

In the school library, I gave Olivia two million dollars.

This was all the money I could access.

I handed over the bank card and tried to persuade her gently: "Take the money and study abroad.

"The Ashford family will never agree to you being with Ethan."

Olivia took the money, her eyes full of smugness and mockery.

"Iris, so you're in love with your adoptive brother!

"Ugh, how disgusting."

My heart ached.

She wasn't wrong.

If I were Ethan, I would find myself disgusting too.

Olivia immediately turned around and gave the card I had given her to Ethan, crying pitifully:

"Ethan, your sister is forcing me to leave.

"My mother is seriously ill at home. I can't be as selfish and cold-blooded as Iris, who doesn't even look for her biological parents just for money.

"Please, stay away from me from now on. I'm really scared..."

That day, I naively thought the matter was settled and called Mrs. Ashford, who was on a business trip, from my room.

"Mrs. Ashford, can I not marry Ethan?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end, then came Mrs. Ashford's cold voice:

"Yes.

"But you must bear him a child."

I couldn't help but question her: "Why?

"Did you adopt me to make me a child bride for Ethan?

"But I don't want to..."

I didn't want to force someone.

I didn't want to make him hate me.

Mrs. Ashford angrily interrupted me: "Shut up!

"Do you want to leave the Ashford family and go back to that rundown orphanage?"

I fell silent.

The Ashford family was very wealthy, but it wasn't my home.

I felt very uncomfortable there.

She laughed coldly: "You can leave the Ashford family if you want. After the child is born, you can get lost."

This was the condition.

It was also how I would repay the Ashford family's kindness.

I held the phone and thought for a long time.

Until Ethan suddenly burst in and smashed my phone.

He warned: "Iris, stay away from Olivia!"

I pulled myself out of the memories.

Ethan hadn't immediately agreed to my request.

I didn't know if he was too distracted to hear clearly, or if he was thinking about something else.

It was very quiet in the car.

Until I heard the sound of dripping water.

Strange, why would such a nice car be leaking rain?

My gaze swept around questioningly.

Finally settling on Ethan's wrist.

On his pale, strong wrist was wrapped a dark-colored tie.

At this moment, blood was winding down along the tie, dripping into the car drop by drop.

I cried out in shock: "Ethan, you're hurt?"

His expression was too calm.

It was also very dark in the car.

So much so that I hadn't noticed until now that his face was pale and he had lost so much blood.

"Let's go to the hospital first, okay?

"Ethan! Go to the hospital!"

The twenty-eight-year-old man was even more stubborn and difficult to read than his eighteen-year-old self.

I couldn't help but raise my voice a bit.

Only then did Ethan slowly lift his eyelids.

"Let's go home first."

I blurted out: "I don't want to go back to the Ashford family."

He paused for a moment, then quickly said: "To my private residence. Iris, don't be afraid."

Perhaps I had been dead too long, and all the past barriers and disgust had faded.

He actually called me by name in a rare moment, as if trying to comfort me.

I thought of something and asked Ethan: "Are you married now?

"Is your wife... Olivia?"

His expression suddenly darkened.

I immediately fell silent.

I assumed that Mrs. Ashford didn't approve of Olivia, so he ultimately couldn't have his wish.

I said nothing more.

Ethan took me back to his private residence.

It was far from the city center, a very remote old building.

There wasn't even an elevator.

The apartment was on the top floor.

I climbed up out of breath and discovered there wasn't even a fingerprint lock.

I stood in the dim hallway, very puzzled.

After hesitating for a few seconds, I couldn't help but ask: "Ethan, did you go bankrupt?"

He took out his keys and suddenly smiled: "No."

The door opened.

The furnishings inside were very ordinary.

There were drops of blood on the floor, winding all the way to the bathroom.

I walked into the bathroom and saw that the bathtub water had been stained red with blood.

On the floor was a blood-stained razor blade.

My mind went completely blank.

Ethan wasn't injured.

He was attempting suicide.

I couldn't help but recall the heavy breathing when I called Ethan.

At that moment, Ethan was lying in the bathtub with his eyes closed.

Just as the blade was about to cut the skin on his hand, his phone suddenly rang.

He glanced at it casually and actually forgot to breathe for a moment.

The caller ID showed: Iris.

Iris, who had been dead for ten years.

The only number saved on this phone.

The blade slipped away.

He hesitantly pressed the answer button.

He heard a familiar voice, tinged with timidity: "Ethan."

...

I closed my eyes.

I couldn't quite understand.

Why would twenty-eight-year-old Ethan, the sole heir of the Ashford family, heaven's favored son, choose to commit suicide?

"Iris, you sleep in my room tonight."

Along with Ethan's voice came the sound of the second bedroom door being locked.

I snapped out of my shock.

I turned around and stared at Ethan without saying a word.

"Were you just trying to kill yourself?

"Why?"

I tried to stay calm, but my voice still trembled uncontrollably.

Ethan had already treated his wound.

His wrist was covered with hemostatic medicine and wrapped in white gauze bandages.

His tone softened: "Did I scare you?"

Was this about scaring me?

I still looked at him in disbelief.

"I almost forgot, you're still an eighteen-year-old girl."

He lifted the corner of his mouth in self-mockery.

"Iris, it's okay.

"I didn't cut an artery. The blood just looks scary. I'll go clean up the bathroom now.

"You go back to the room and sleep first."

He pushed me into the room.

"Ethan, throw away the blade."

I was almost begging him.

He smiled and touched my head, his fingers lingering in my hair for a moment.

"Okay."

The bedroom door closed.

This was the second time I entered Ethan's room.

The first time was to complete Mrs. Ashford's task of bearing his child.

Back then, I shamelessly bought thin pajamas and snuck in while he was showering.

Ethan came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, his hair wet.

Seeing me lying on his bed, his eyes were full of undisguised disgust.

Later, he had the servants throw out everything I had touched, and even had the floor wiped several times.

I didn't dare sleep in Ethan's bed.

I placed my backpack on the floor, then sat on it and took out my phone to search for news related to Ethan.

"Ethan's company swallows Ashford Group's business, Ashford Group enters bankruptcy liquidation"

The first news article stunned me.

Not only did Ethan not inherit the Ashford Group, he actually destroyed it?

"Tech mogul Ethan still unmarried, only because he can't forget his old love"

I clicked on it.

The accompanying photo was actually of Ethan paying respects at my tombstone.

I'd rather believe he wanted to blow up my grave than believe it was about being unable to forget an old love.

"Ethan exposed for chaotic private life, illegitimate daughter already attending elite elementary school"

The photo captured the little girl's full face.

I couldn't help but pause.

This child didn't look like Ethan at all.

It must be fake news!

...

My finger slid across the screen.

Ethan suddenly walked in.

I immediately stood up awkwardly and explained: "Ethan, I didn't touch your things.

"I didn't dirty the floor either."

His eyes darkened, and he handed me a set of men's pajamas:

"Iris, sleep first."

I looked at Ethan anxiously:

"I'll sleep in the second bedroom instead."

He refused outright: "No one has lived in the second bedroom. It's not convenient."

"It's okay, I can clean it up."

Ethan's attitude was very firm.

"...No."

I didn't dare provoke eighteen-year-old Ethan, and I dared even less to provoke the twenty-eight-year-old him.

What surprised me most was that he was actually willing to let me sleep in his bed, while he made a makeshift bed on the floor beside it.

I couldn't sleep.

A small night light was still on in the room.

I noticed that the moon-shaped night light was mine.

It was very old now.

I called out softly: "Ethan."

Ethan looked up at me.

I spoke the long-overdue apology: "I'm sorry."

I thought he should know which incident I was referring to.

Ethan suddenly sat up.

His eyes were very deep, staring straight into mine:

"Iris, what were you thinking that day?"

I felt somewhat embarrassed.

I stammered to explain:

"The book said adolescent boys are very restless. I thought you might want to.

"And you should have been... your first time. Supposedly it would be quick, so it shouldn't hurt too much.

"That day was also the seventh day after my period ended..."

Under Ethan's gaze, I forced myself to finish the last sentence: "The book said this is the ovulation period."

Ethan fell silent.

His eyes grew even darker.

After a long while, he turned his face away, his earlobes turning faintly pink.

He cleared his throat lightly and said: "I was asking about the day of the study room fire.

"You called me. I didn't answer at the time.

"For these ten years, I've been thinking that if I had answered, I could have saved you.

"Iris, have you ever blamed me?"

So he meant that incident.

I felt somewhat annoyed and pulled the blanket over my head.

In a muffled voice, I replied: "No, Ethan, I couldn't have run out anyway."

After saying this, I suddenly froze.

I couldn't have run out.

Why?

It seemed like something had been forgotten by me.

I tried hard to remember but couldn't recall.

The next day, I woke to the sound of an argument.

My gaze accidentally swept past the window, and I was startled by the scene outside.

Outside the window was actually a desolate, lifeless cemetery.

I jumped out of bed and ran to the door.

I suddenly heard Mrs. Ashford's angry voice: "Ethan, you ungrateful wretch!

"Going to such great lengths to destroy Ashford Group, what exactly do you want?"

Ethan laughed mockingly.

"You don't know what I want?

"Mrs. Ashford, everyone outside is saying I have an illegitimate daughter. Do you think I knew nothing about what happened back then..."

Mrs. Ashford was furious: "Don't talk to me about that. You'll owe the Ashford family forever!

"If it weren't for you, Iris wouldn't have died. You should atone..."

Ethan's expression changed.

After seeing me come out, he quickly walked toward me.

Mrs. Ashford also turned around.

She had aged, looking haggard.

She no longer had her former elegance and grace, and her features had become even more harsh.

The moment she saw me, Mrs. Ashford cried out.

"Iris!

"Ethan, is she... Iris?"

Mrs. Ashford's lips trembled, and a tear slid down the corner of her eye.

This reminded me of when she came to the orphanage.

Among so many pretty and lovely girls, she walked straight toward me, looked at me with disgust, and didn't even want to hold my hand.

She said condescendingly: "Change her name. Call her Iris."

As if she didn't like me, but had no choice but to choose me.

I nervously hid behind Ethan.

Ethan raised his eyebrows: "I found a woman who looked similar and had plastic surgery to make her look like Iris to sleep with me.

"What's so shocking about that?"

Mrs. Ashford angrily threw her purse at him: "You're truly insane!

"Crazy! Disgusting!"