Chapter Four: The Mysterious Ring

After the final class ended that morning, school was dismissed. Lin Xia walked out of the classroom with Ren Jie and Li Jing, heading toward the school gate. As soon as they reached the entrance, they saw a crowd gathered not far from the gate. Li Jing smiled, “It’s been a while since the jewelry vendor came here. Come on, let’s go take a look.” Without waiting for a response, she grabbed Ren Jie’s hand and pulled her toward the crowd. Lin Xia glanced at the throng of people and sighed inwardly: such cheap trinkets—what’s the appeal?

Even so, she followed in their footsteps and joined the crowd. Li Jing, accustomed to buying breakfast in busy places, deftly weaved her way through the mass of students, opening a path with skill that Lin Xia found quietly impressive.

When the three of them finally crouched at the front, Lin Xia surveyed the dazzling array of cheap accessories spread out on a bedsheet, her lips twitching in bemusement. Seeing her friends’ animated faces, she could only cover her forehead in resignation.

Watching their lively discussion, Lin Xia decided not to spoil their fun and turned her attention to the trinkets on display. There was a pile of jade bangles—red, yellow, green—all obviously fake. Next to them was a heap of rings, also in red, yellow, and green. But wait—there was a dark green ring whose quality seemed surprisingly good to her. Weren’t they all supposed to be fakes?

She picked up the ring and examined it closely. It looked like an ordinary ring, a little thinner than the others on the sheet, but otherwise unremarkable. Resting quietly between her fingers in the sunlight, the ring seemed to possess a somber luster, even emitting a flash of dark green light.

Lin Xia laughed at herself—was she getting paranoid, thinking a ring could have a “temperament”?

She wasn’t the only one to notice; the other girls saw the ring and took a liking to it. They asked the vendor, “Do you have any more rings in this color?”

The vendor replied with a hearty smile, “Yes, yes, as many as you want.” He produced a clear bag from a black plastic sack behind him, filled with more rings of this same color.

Lin Xia looked at the ring in her hand and then at its “siblings” in the bag. They were all the same—so much for her earlier impression; it must have been a trick of her mind.

However, she didn’t notice that the rings in the bag were the standard size like the others, while the one in her hand was thinner.

Lin Xia slipped the ring onto her ring finger; it fit perfectly. She asked the vendor, “How much is this ring?”

“Fifty cents,” he answered, juggling other customers as business boomed.

“Here you go,” Lin Xia said, fishing her last fifty cents from her pocket and handing it to him.

The vendor, taking the coin, seemed to remember something and suddenly shouted, “Rings, rings, top-quality rings, only fifty cents! Bangles, bangles, only one yuan! Exquisite pendants and necklaces—don’t miss out!”

His loud call drew more students out of the school and toward the stall.

Having paid, Lin Xia scanned the rest of the items but found nothing else she liked. Feeling a bit uninterested, she asked her friends, “You’ve been looking for ages—have you made up your minds?”

Ren Jie was still absorbed in her selection, but Li Jing replied, “There’s just too much to choose from. Lin Xia, help me decide between these two necklaces—which one’s better?”

One was pink, the other a watery blue. Lin Xia glanced at the remaining necklaces and said honestly, “The pink one suits you better.” At their age, pink was charming and appropriate; any older, and it might seem too youthful.

Li Jing put down the blue necklace and kept the pink one. “How much for this necklace?” she asked the vendor.

He glanced over and shouted, “One yuan fifty!”

Finding the crowd stifling, Lin Xia told her friends she’d wait outside and squeezed her way out.

Leaning against a utility pole nearby, she took off the ring and played with it absentmindedly, gazing at the distant, noisy scene.

She had been reborn.

Whenever she thought of it, Lin Xia still found it unbelievable. It seemed like pure fiction, the kind writers made up for their novels—yet it was real. She felt as though she carried an enormous secret, one she could never share with anyone, not even her family. If her own brother had told her recently that he’d been reborn, she doubted she would have believed him. Who would? It sounded like the ravings of someone who’d read too many novels.

With this in mind, Lin Xia resolved never to tell anyone. Most crucially, even if she did, no one would believe her. She thought of the film “Secret,” where the protagonist confided in her teacher, only to be considered mentally unwell and later shunned by all her classmates.

And even if someone did believe her, as an ordinary person, she couldn’t bear the thought of being taken away for scientific examination, to endure inhuman treatment. Humanity’s curiosity and greed were far beyond anything she could imagine.

Thinking of being ostracized, treated as a test subject—Lin Xia shivered. It was best to keep this little secret to herself.

After she’d made up her mind, her friends finally emerged from the crowd. Lin Xia and Li Jing walked together, while Ren Jie and Ren Xia paired off. The four parted ways at a fork in the road, each carrying their newfound treasures.

Li Jing admired her necklace with delight, unable to put it down. Observing the shoddy craftsmanship, Lin Xia was at a loss for words.

After a while, Li Jing asked, “Hey, Lin Xia, what did you buy?”

Lin Xia curled her lips—so you finally remembered me—removed the ring from her finger, and handed it over. “Here, just a little ring.”

Li Jing took it, gave it a glance, and exclaimed, “The color of your ring is awful! Why didn’t you pick a pink one? Your taste is really something.”

Lin Xia’s face darkened. Pink? Spare me.

Noticing her expression, Li Jing consoled her, “Don’t be mad. You might not have the best taste for your own things, but you have a good eye when it comes to picking for us. Next time, I’ll let you help me again.”

Lin Xia took back the ring, slipped it on her finger, and responded with a faint “Mm.”

Li Jing lived the farthest away, so soon they reached Lin Xia’s doorstep.

“Lin Xia, I’ll come get you at noon for school. Wait for me.”

“Alright,” Lin Xia nodded. Since their morning routines didn’t align, they rarely went to school together in the mornings, but at noon and in the afternoon, they often did. This was why their friendship grew—they walked to and from school together every day.

The house door stood wide open, which Lin Xia found odd. After years in the city, she’d grown used to everyone keeping their doors closed. But in this small town, doors were always left open during the day.

As Lin Xia stepped inside, their dog, Ah Mao, wagged its tail and bounded over, circling her legs and trying to climb up. Delighted, she squatted down and extended her hands, and Ah Mao licked her palms enthusiastically.

Ah Mao was the first dog her family had ever raised. Still only just able to walk, with soft gray fur, it was an adorable and handsome little thing. Stroking its ears and the fur on its forehead, Lin Xia sighed inwardly—truly, dogs are the most adorable creatures of all.

Woof woof...

“You’re back, Xia Xia!” called a hearty female voice from the kitchen, with the clatter of stir-frying in the background.

Lin Xia picked up Ah Mao and walked to the kitchen, sighing, “Mom, I’m home.”