I stared at the photo, heart pounding like a war drum. The three faces seemed frozen in time Xiao Xinya, a girl who looked exactly like me, and... him.
Li Ziyang.
The another male lead of Reborn of the Vicious Heiress.
I knew that face anywhere, tall, sharp features, eyes like cold obsidian. In the novel, he was the heir to the powerful Li family, ruthless in business and terrifyingly possessive in love. But here… in this photo, he looked young. Carefree. Smiling. A version of him I'd never read about.
"What is he doing here?" I whispered to myself.
Butler Bu, who stood beside me, leaned forward and adjusted his glasses. "That boy... that's Li Ziyang, isn't it? He used to visit the estate years ago, when you were still in school."
My fingers gripped the edges of the photo. "So he knew Xiao Xinya personally."
"Yes," Butler Bu said, slowly recalling. "You two were close once. But something happened. A falling out, I believe. After that, the visits stopped."
I looked back at the smiling faces in the picture. Xiao Xinya, or perhaps me in a past life, stood beside him with a gentle smile, her hand barely touching his sleeve. The other girl, the one who looked just like me… who was she?
"Who is this girl?" I pointed.
Butler Bu furrowed his brows. "That… I don't know. You never spoke of her. But there was a time when you disappeared for a while, just before high school graduation. You came back… different."
Disappeared?
My thoughts raced. Could that have been the first time she crossed over?
Was this not the first soul-switch?
I carefully tucked the photo into the back of the journal and closed it. My head throbbed with too many questions and not enough answers.
Later that day, I asked Butler Bu to gather information on Li Ziyang.
"I need to know where he is now. If he's in the capital, I want to meet him."
Butler Bu hesitated. "That may not be wise. The Li family… they're not easy to approach. And your past with him…"
I cut him off gently, "I understand. But I need to do this. Please."
He nodded, seeing the determination in my eyes. "Very well. I'll make some discreet inquiries."
That evening, I wandered into the Xiao family's private gallery, a long corridor filled with portraits, awards, and old memories preserved in frames. As I walked past images of Xiao ancestors and business achievements, one portrait caught my eye.
It was a painting.
Of her.
Xiao Xinya.
Only… not the way she looked now. She was younger, more vibrant. Her eyes held a spark — the same spark I remembered from my own reflection in the mirror just days ago.
Beneath the frame, a tiny plaque read:
"Xinya — age 16, painted during her time at First Royal Academy."
First Royal Academy…
I gasped. That was the elite high school from the novel. The same school Li Suna attended. The same one Li Ziyang ruled.
Wait.
If Xiao Xinya went there… and Suna did too…
Had they met?
Could it be that the story I read, the one I thought I knew, was missing pieces? That perhaps Xiao Xinya wasn't a passerby at all… but someone the novel had purposely hidden?
I suddenly felt like I was standing at the edge of a cliff, looking into a deeper mystery than I could have imagined. One where the truth wasn't just about possession or time travel.
It was about identity.
And someone had gone to great lengths to bury Xiao Xinya's place in this world.
The next morning, Butler Bu returned with news.
"You won't believe this," he said, out of breath. "Li Ziyang is back in the capital. And tomorrow night, he's attending a private charity gala… hosted by the Li family themselves."
A gala.
My fingers curled into fists. "Then I'm going."
"But Young Lady..."
"I have to," I said firmly. "It's time I stopped waiting for answers. If Li Ziyang holds the key to my past, to her past. I need to confront him."
Butler Bu sighed but bowed. "As you wish. I'll prepare everything."
That night, I stood before my mirror, slipping into a black velvet gown that shimmered like starlight. My long hair flowed down my back, and with each passing second, I felt more like Xiao Xinya and more like myself.
Whoever I truly was.
As I fastened a crystal pendant around my neck, I whispered to my reflection:
"Li Ziyang… we have some unfinished business."
And with that, I turned toward my new fate.