Chapter One: The Bracelet with a Secret

Three months without a job after quitting, and still no decent leads. If she didn’t land something soon, she’d be short on rent – Anne Young couldn’t help but stress over it.

She used to have this job paying just over five grand a month after tax – not amazing, but livable. She gave it up after nailing a bank interview. Resigned, went for the medical checks… and bam, heart rate too high. She failed it, repeatedly. By the time results were due, the onboarding date had come and gone. They ghosted her. Just like that, opportunity gone.

A couple of days ago, she finally bit the bullet and did a round of hospital tests. The bill? Basically a few months’ worth of wages gone in a snap. She’d have to go back soon to collect the reports—who knows if some new thing had popped up. It’s like her wallet had a hole, money came in and directly walked into the hospital. Life really didn’t let her have nice things; the moment something good showed up, the universe made sure to balance it out somehow.

When she used to work night shifts—three-shifts-around-the-clock kind of chaos—she had to rent near the office. In a city like this, where a shoebox single room cost her two grand a month, that five thousand salary barely kept her above water. And with three grand of credit card debt each month, it really piled on. If anyone was about to ask why she’s living off credit, well—her savings couldn’t handle surprises. She got sick all the time. So to play it safe, her rent and living costs went on credit. The moment her paycheck dropped, she paid it back. She liked knowing there’d always be at least a month’s pay cushion in the card—a weird kind of security blanket.

Now, she only had about twenty grand left on her card. Not great. With that thought weighing heavy, Anne grabbed a carton of milk from the fridge at the local convenience store and mentally started crunching numbers again. Maybe it was time to move back home. At least there, no rent, and living expenses were a lot lighter.

"Boss, checkout," she called out.

Once she scanned the payment via WeChat, her phone buzzed with a bank alert, confirming her mental math matched the real damage. Silently, she clicked it away and stepped out of the store.

Right then, she spotted a delivery guy pulling up in his three-wheeler. Looked like her order had arrived—that blood vine bracelet she’d ordered a few days ago. She had just checked the tracking this morning.

July sun was brutal, especially without any shade. Standing outside for even a few minutes almost felt like slow-cooking. Anne had always been on the frail side—she was basically a permanent subscription to flu season. Sick from spring to winter, and twice a year she’d crash hard. Life with constant meds was her norm. Childhood wasn’t so bad, but once she started working these switch-around-the-clock jobs, it all went to hell—hair loss, insomnia, eyesight tanked. Lately, she dreamed of packing it all in and farming in the countryside. Anything sounded better than endlessly grinding it out alone here. And just a few days ago, Mom called saying Dad’s stomach was acting up again—still won’t see a doctor though. So stubborn. But yeah, being broke kind of pushes people to ignore health stuff.

After waiting in the heat for a while, she finally heard her name called. Package in hand, she headed upstairs. She lived on the tenth floor—luckily, there was an elevator. All the inner-city rentals here were the same: cramped, less than twenty square meters, with stuff crammed into every inch. Six years of her life squeezed into this box of a room. Yeah, it was a mess—and nope, she hadn’t really bothered tidying up.Anne stuck the milk into the fridge, grabbed a pair of scissors, and started tearing open the package she’d ordered. She saw this bloodvine bracelet on a shopping app — hand-made, really pretty, though kinda pricey. It cost 279 yuan, which was still within her budget. They claimed it could help with mood swings, blood circulation, relieving joint pain, and boosting immunity. Maybe it was just her being sick for too long; buying it felt like a little comfort for herself. She figured, who knows, maybe wearing it for a week would make her feel better. So she clicked “buy” without overthinking.

The bracelet came in a classy brown velvet box. Inside was a coiled vine, shaped into a circle. The clasp was a silver piece sculpted with a lotus and cloud design. It looked solid on her wrist—dark red in color, matched nicely with her skin tone, a bit vintage even. Anne really liked it. It was actually the first piece of jewelry she ever bought for herself in 26 years. Everything else was either too expensive, not her style, or just plain annoying to wear.

She checked the time—almost 7 PM. Lately, she hadn’t been feeling great, so instead of ordering takeout like usual, she now cooked at home. There were still some groceries in the fridge: sweet potato leaves and frozen chicken wings. Cheap stuff, but they were her favorites. After checking her pantry, she decided to make some stir-fried greens and spicy chicken wings—it was just her, two dishes were enough.

These two were definitely among her top comfort foods. She picked out the leaves, rinsed them clean, heated the wok with some oil, tossed in minced garlic, and added the greens. A few quick stirs, and it was done—light, crisp, and perfect. Her eldest brother, Jethro, made this best when she lived at home. Just thinking about it made her mouth water.

She minced the chili peppers, garlic, and ginger while heating oil in the pan. In went the chicken wings, frying till they turned that perfect golden brown with a hint of char. She fished them out, flash-fried the prep mix till it smelled amazing, and threw in the wings again to stir-fry. After a quick toss, she added a splash of cold water, simmered for ten minutes, then turned the heat up to reduce the sauce. The wings came out full of flavor and so tender she could easily finish an extra bowl of rice.

After dinner, Anne chilled for a bit, then pulled out what was left of a watermelon from the fridge. She scooped it out while scrolling through her phone, reading some of her saved rebirth novels. Those stories were basically her mental lifeline. One of them had the female lead reborn with a magical space; Anne couldn’t help daydreaming—if only she had one too, she could just return home and live freely doing nothing. "That’d be the life," she thought and let out a laugh.

She shook her head, telling herself to snap out of it and take a shower. Real life isn’t a novel. After her shower, she lay in bed scrolling through social media, and before she knew it, it was 10 PM. She took her usual meds, the kind that helped her sleep—usually worked within half an hour. She promised herself she’d go back to that job hunt tomorrow, cast a wider net, and get this unemployment chapter over with.

Anne slept in till past ten the next morning. When she saw the time, she got up in a hurry, washed up, and started sending out more résumés.

While dabbing cold water on her face with a towel, a sudden sharp sting stabbed through her left cheek. She touched it and felt something—like a scar, half the length of her pinky, right near her cheekbone. Alarmed, she ran to the mirror. A facial scar was no joke—she wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous or anything, but she’d always considered herself pretty decent. Plus, she already had a small scar on the right side from a fall when she was a kid. Another one? Nope, not happening.

In the mirror, she saw it—a slash on her left cheek, the area around it red and angry, like it had been cut by something sharp. There were bits of dried blood too. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, but when she splashed water earlier, it must’ve irritated the wound—it burned like crazy now.Anne frowned slightly as she studied the cut. There was nothing sharp on the bed or the pillow that could’ve scratched her. The sheets and blanket had been washed countless times, and she hadn’t worn anything sharp—aside from the bracelet she’d just put on yesterday. That was the only new thing.

She lifted her left hand. Right where the silver clasp of the bracelet met the blood vine wood, there was a strange red—darker than the wood itself, more like dried blood. And it looked like the blood had seeped out from the clasp and was slowly being drawn into the vine, like it was absorbing it.

So, this thing scratched her? She’d just put it on and it was already causing trouble—was that a bad omen? Should she take it off and toss it?

Before she could finish the thought, the air around her warped, and the bracelet shot out a blinding, fiery red light. She didn’t even have time to flinch before everything vanished, and she landed in the dirt.

Lying on her back, Anne stared up at the sky—endless white clouds, no sun in sight, and everything was eerily silent. She stayed still for a moment. Was this… it? So this was the “space” thing? Did this one come with a magic spring or something? Was she suddenly lucky?

Her heart started racing. She sat up clumsily and quickly scanned the area—her eyes lighting up the more she looked. Right in front of her was a well. In the distance, a mountain pierced the clouds, though it was too far to see clearly. To the left, there was a lotus pond in full bloom, wild and obviously untended for years. The lotus leaves and flowers grew unchecked, and the water looked icy cold, like the mountain springs from her childhood—only clearer, so clean you could see the mud at the bottom, which was pitch black. She wondered if crops grown there would thrive.

Anne pushed herself up and walked to the well. Peering in, she saw water, but had no way of knowing if it was magical or whatever. But then—floating in the center was a bright red lotus, about the size of a dinner plate. A closer look showed the seeds were already ripe, poking out of the pod. There were nine in total, red and white like polished jade. She had no idea what they were for, but didn’t dare touch them. Items in a place like this had to mean something—they could be keeping the place running, or maybe tied to the well’s powers.

To her right were patches of farmland, divided into small rectangular plots. Some were planted—like the ones closest to the well, their dark soil looking rich and full of life. She recognized ginseng growing in one area, and next to it, stump-grown glossy mushrooms. The rest of the plants? No clue. Some of the land was still empty, though—perfect if she wanted to try growing her own stuff. Anne scratched her nose, a bit amused. This was straight out of a fantasy novel, and it’d be a waste not to use it.

She turned to check behind her—nothing fancy, just one massive tree, its thick leaves spreading wide. It reminded her of the old banyan tree in her hometown. Under it was a flawless stone table, white with a smooth, almost marble-like texture, carved with cloud patterns and a strange, unidentifiable animal. The eye sockets were hollow, like something was missing.

Taking it all in, Anne couldn’t help but feel this place was full of surprises. This space—it was her shot at something better, her backup plan. Thinking of all the rough days she’d endured, the pressure that weighed her down, her brow finally smoothed out. For once, she could breathe. Maybe, just maybe, her luck was finally turning after 26 years. Gazing calmly at the mountain in the distance, she realized—she needed to come up with a whole new plan for her future.