Reborn: I Tore Apart the Poisoned Comb

In my past life, after my roommate broke my comb, she gave me a new one, a wooden one with an intricate floral pattern.
The first night, our dorm room caught fire. The source was traced to my bed. I was officially reprimanded by the student advisor, a permanent mark on my record.
On the fifth day, my mother called to tell me our family was bankrupt. A sudden financial crisis had wiped us out. I sold everything of value, but it was a drop in the ocean.
On the tenth day, a strange illness took hold of me. I lay in bed, wasting away.
As I was dying, my roommate looked down at me with pure hatred. "Why were you born with so much?"
She pulled out a black credit card. "It doesn't matter. It's all mine now."
I opened my eyes. I was back. Back to the day my roommate broke my comb.

1
Mia approached me cautiously, holding the two halves of my broken comb.
She looked at me with wide, pitiful eyes. "I'm so sorry, Belle. It was an accident."
"I'll buy you a new one."
My stomach lurched. I snatched the broken pieces from her hand. "Don't worry about it. It's just a comb."
My sudden movement startled her. She took a step back. "Really, Belle, I'm sorry. Please don't be mad."
"I'll get you a new one tonight."
I looked up, meeting her gaze directly. "I said don't worry about it. I'll buy one myself."
I had never spoken to her so sharply before. Mia grew visibly nervous, biting her lip. "Are you angry with me?" she whispered. "I promise I'll replace it."
Her insistence was starting to grate on me. My voice rose. "I said no. Don't you understand?" I nudged her aside. "Excuse me. I need to get out."
The other two roommates, hearing the commotion, sat up in their beds.
"Belle, it was an accident. Do you have to be so dramatic?"
Across the room, Zara shot us a sidelong glance, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "She's a princess, isn't she? Rich girls are always a little high-strung."
As she spoke, I watched Mia out of the corner of my eye. Sure enough, her expression was a mask of pure envy.
I forced a smile. "You're right. I am high-strung. So what?"
I slammed the door behind me. In that final second before it latched, I heard Mia begin to sob, followed by Zara's cutting voice. "Just because her family has a little money. Who does she think she is?"
I walked out of the dorm, the broken comb still clutched in my hand. My other hand rested on my chest as I took deep, gulping breaths of fresh air. The sun beat down on my head, a warm, solid presence. It was real. I was alive. I was back.
In my last life, it had started just like this. Not wanting Mia to feel guilty, I had accepted her offer of a replacement comb. She had handed it to me with a fawning smile, a wooden comb with a delicate floral carving. "I hope you like it, Belle."
I had accepted it gratefully, completely unaware that in doing so, I was accepting a ticket to my own personal hell.
I had a habit of brushing my hair before bed. Everyone in the dorm knew. That night, after using the new comb, I fell into a deep, heavy sleep. I woke up choking on thick, black smoke. The room was in chaos. By the time we escaped, half my hair was gone.
The fire investigator's words still echoed in my ears. "The fire started in your bed."
A younger firefighter had looked confused. "The strange thing is, we can't find the cause."
It made no sense. There was nothing flammable in our room, no open flames. But the fire had undeniably started in my bed.
The student advisor was furious. I was given a formal warning and a major demerit on my permanent record.
From that day on, it was as if I was cursed. I'd trip on flat ground. My instant noodles would be missing the flavor packet. Five days later, the phone call from my mother came like a bolt of lightning. "We're bankrupt! Your father's company... someone set him up!"
It felt like falling from the sky and landing in a pit of mud. I sold my designer clothes, my bags, my jewelry. It wasn't enough. My mother cried until she was coughing up blood. My father's hair turned white overnight. He collapsed and couldn't get out of bed.
Five days after that, my body began to fail me. I was paralyzed, too weak to even speak. Soon, even breathing became a struggle.
Mia was the only one in the room with me. I used every last ounce of my strength to beg her to call an ambulance.
She had stood over me, her posture arrogant. "An ambulance? In your dreams."
She was a different person. The Mia I knew was timid and poor, always speaking in a near-whisper, dressed in worn-out clothes. But the woman standing before me wore a gold necklace so bright it hurt my eyes.
She sneered. "Life isn't fair, is it? Why were you born with everything, while I had to survive on bread and water?" She paused, then reached down and pinched my cheek, hard. "But maybe life is fair after all. Because everything you had... is mine now."
The memory sent a chill through me, and I broke out in a cold sweat.

2
I had wandered all the way to the campus gate. I called my dad. Hearing the calm, confident tone of his voice, I finally let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.
All my misfortune in my past life had started with that comb. This time, I had to be careful.
I was lost in thought when someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was Mia, looking anxious. I felt a surge of irritation.
"What is it?"
Her eyes darted around, a calculating look on her face. "Belle, I think you're still mad at me." She linked her arm through mine, her voice turning wheedling. "We're best friends, aren't we? Please don't be mad. I really didn't mean to break it."
In my past life, her words would have touched me. I would have taken her out for a lavish meal to show there were no hard feelings. But now, knowing her true nature, I felt nothing but disgust.
I pulled my arm away and stared at her, a playful smile on my face. "Are we really best friends?"
A flicker of guilt crossed her face, and she stammered, "Yes, of course we are."
"If you're still angry, I'll I'll just go back to the dorm. I'll wait until you've calmed down."
With that, she turned and hurried away. As she disappeared from sight, I felt a wave of relief.
But a second later, a cold dread washed over me. There was something in my pocket.
I pulled it out. A small, wooden comb.
Rage and a profound sense of violation overwhelmed me. It was the same floral pattern as the one from my last life. Without thinking, I took a picture of it, then threw it on the ground.
She was really determined to destroy me.
I crossed the street. A car sped past, and the comb was crushed under its wheels.
She was clever, I'll give her that. A small comb, slipped into my pocket, so I wouldn't notice. I hadn't been particularly aware of my belongings before. I wore a new outfit every day, tossing the old one into a laundry basket for Mia to wash. It sounded like I was taking advantage of her, but I paid her a hundred yuan every time. She was proud and poor, so I couldn't just give her money. I had to find ways to help her without hurting her pride.
And in return, she had repaid my kindness with a viper's bite.
I took a taxi to my usual caf and opened the picture of the comb on my phone. The pattern was interesting: a few intertwined lines forming a flower. I didn't know much about flowers, so I did a quick search online.
I scrolled through images, comparing them to the one on my phone. Finally, I found it.
"Fetal chrysanthemum." An unopened flower bud. The longer I looked at it, the more unsettled I felt.
Just then, my phone rang. It was Zara. We weren't friends. She was always convinced I was a rich bully who took advantage of Mia. She had no idea I was paying Mia nearly four thousand yuan a month. I never explained, and Mia never corrected her.
But it didn't matter anymore. I was going to distance myself from all of them.
I answered the call. "What's up?"
Her voice was sharp and breathless. "Where are you? Mia's been in an accident! She was hit by a car!"

3
I was silent for a few seconds. When I didn't respond, her voice grew louder, more frantic.
"We're on our way to the hospital now. You need to get here."
"She was calling your name before she passed out."
"If you have any conscience at all, you'll come."
She hung up. Over the line, I could just make out Mia's weak voice, calling my name.
Interesting.
But even if Zara hadn't said all that, I would have gone. I wanted to see just how badly she was hurt.
By the time I got to the hospital, Zara was helping Mia out of the emergency room. Mia's head was wrapped in a thick bandage, and her leg was in a cast.
When Zara saw me, her face lit up with relief. "You're finally here! Go pay the bill."
I pointed at myself, incredulous. "What did you say? Me pay the bill?"
Zara didn't seem to notice my shock. She nodded matter-of-factly. "Who else? You and Mia are so close. Shouldn't you help her out?"
A bitter smile twisted my lips. "We're close, yes, but I'm not a charity." I gestured to Mia with my chin. "Mia, you're hurt pretty badly. You should call your parents. This bill needs to be paid."
Mia's face flushed with shame. "It's fine, it's fine. I have some money. I don't need to call them."
Zara looked annoyed. "Then why did you tell me to wait for Belle to get here? You made me waste all this time."
Mia hung her head, mumbling an apology.
Zara sighed, then looked at me. "Come on, we'll go pay together."
On the way, her attitude toward me softened. "How did Mia get into a car accident, anyway?" I asked.
Zara scratched her head, looking confused. "We were going to the cafeteria, and this car was coming. And Mia just threw herself in front of it."
I was stunned. "You mean she did it on purpose?"
Zara looked troubled. "What else could it be? If she hadn't acted like she was possessed, she wouldn't be the one paying for it now."
A thought struck me. I grabbed her arm. "What color was the car she jumped in front of?"
Zara frowned, thinking. "White," she said, her voice growing more certain. "Yes, it was a white car! I remember clearly, because there was blood all over it."
Her words sent a shiver down my spine. The car that had run over the comb I threw away... it was white.
A wave of relief washed over me. Thank God I threw that comb away.
After paying the bill, Mia insisted on being discharged, against the doctor's advice. She said she couldn't afford to stay.
"If you can't afford it, then you should go home," I said coldly.
As I spoke, I was watching her. For a split second, I saw a flash of pure hatred in her eyes before she could hide it.
When we got back to campus, I told Zara to help Mia back to the room. "I'll be there in a minute. I have something to do."

4
I raced back to the dorm and went straight to my bed. It was neatly made, the blanket folded into a perfect square. Mia had clearly been here. She often tidied up for me, and I'd pay her fifty yuan each time.
But this time, I ripped the covers off the bed.
The fourth roommate, Jenna, looked at me, confused. "Belle, what are you doing? Didn't you ask Mia to make your bed?"
I couldn't explain. "I'm just tired," I said, forcing a smile. I began to run my hands over the mattress, searching.
After a thorough search, I found it. Tucked into a seam in the mattress was a small, folded piece of paper. A talisman.
Just as I was about to examine it, I heard Zara's voice outside the door. Without thinking, I dove under the covers.
The first thing Mia did when she entered the room was look in my direction. "Belle, are you tired already?" she asked, her voice soft.
The talisman was still in my hand, my palm slick with sweat. "Yeah," I said, my voice muffled. "I was out all afternoon. I'm exhausted."
She nodded, then asked, a little too casually, "So, do you like how I made your bed today?"
Before I could answer, Zara chimed in. "What's not to like? She should be grateful you do it for her at all." She shot me a disgusted look. "Honestly, the way you treat Mia like a servant."
I glanced over at Mia. As expected, she was playing the victim, her head bowed, her shoulders trembling. Zara had said things like this to me before, and I had always taken the blame to protect Mia's pride.
Not anymore.
I sat up, my voice loud and clear, and pulled out my phone. "Do you really think Mia does all this for free? I pay her for her work."
The room went silent. Mia looked like she'd been struck by lightning. Zara's face turned a blotchy red. "You you do?"
I smiled. "If you don't believe me, ask her. Mia, why don't you tell Zara and Jenna how much I paid you last month?"
All eyes were on Mia. She turned a deep shade of crimson. "Five thousand, five hundred," she mumbled.
"See?" I said, my voice triumphant. "So, she's not my servant. She's my employee. I pay her, she does the work. It's a fair exchange."
I ignored their shocked faces and drew the curtain around my bed.
Once I was sure I was alone, I unfolded the talisman. In the center was a strange symbol, drawn in ballpoint pen. It had been folded into a triangle and hidden in my mattress. I took a picture of it, then carefully folded it back up.
Sometime later, Mia pulled back my curtain. "Belle, I'm going to get food. What do you want?"
I sat up. "Noodle soup. The usual."
Zara looked disgusted. "Her leg is broken, and you're still making her get your food?" She turned to Mia. "You stay here. Jenna and I will get your food."
I saw Mia hesitate, tempted. "If your leg is too much of a problem, we can just end our arrangement," I said quickly.
Mia paled. "No, no, it's fine! I'll go!"
Zara shot me a look of pure loathing. "You're disgusting."
"A true capitalist," Jenna added.
After they all left, I looked at Mia's bed, then took out the talisman.
If you want to play with curses, I thought, let's see how you like it when it backfires.

First, search for and download the MotoNovel app from Google. Then, open the app and use the code "280233" to read the entire book.