In this life, I didn't accept my best friend's invitation to check out the collection. Instead, I downed two Red Bulls and drove onto the highway in the middle of the night. When I saw the police checkpoint, I practically blew into the breathalyzer with a smile. And I walked into the back of that patrol car grinning from ear to ear. In my past life, my "best friend" invited me to visit a famous antique collector. While we were there, she slipped a priceless jade piece into my bag. When the police found it, I knelt and begged the collector to verify my innocence. But he just grabbed my sleeve, joining forces with my friend to identify me as the thief. My parents bankrupted themselves trying to save me. My fiancé’s reputation was destroyed by association. In the end, I was hacked to death by a crazed antique fanatic, my body left to rot in the wilderness. ... 1 "Don't drink and drive. Seriously, where did you learn the traffic laws?" The highway was a mess of flashing lights and sirens. Four or five patrol cars had set up a checkpoint. The officer stared at the flashing breathalyzer in his hand, shouting for me to get out of the car. I unbuckled my seatbelt and checked my phone. Sure enough, a new message popped up. [Bestie: Hey, I remember you love antiques. I met this old collector recently. Wanna come check out his stuff?] The exact same text message as my last life. My heart skipped a beat, my body trembling involuntarily. "Hey, you drunk or something? Can't move?" Just as the officer was about to call for backup to help me out, I snapped back to reality and practically skipped into the patrol car. "Another crazy one." "Must be out of her mind. Who looks happy about getting arrested?" Inside the car, a few other drunk detainees looked at me like I was insane. I ignored them, grinning so wide it hurt. At the hospital, the nurse prepared to draw blood for the alcohol test. She kept glancing up at me, sensing something was off. "Chloe! Are you okay?" "Baby, the police said you were drunk driving. Is it true?" The door burst open. My fiancé and my parents rushed in, faces etched with panic. "Who are you people? You can't just barge in here!" "We're here for Chloe Li! If there's a problem, talk to us, don't scare her!" My dad stood in front like a shield, while my mom and fiancé rushed to my side. Seeing their familiar faces, tears stung my eyes. It was okay. I was in time. In this life, I wouldn't let my parents age overnight from worry. I wouldn't let them lose everything for me. And I wouldn't let my fiancé be dragged through the mud, abandoned by everyone because of me. During the questioning, the nurse kept eyeing me, and the officer grew suspicious. "You haven't actually been drinking, have you?" A chill ran down my spine. The warmth of seeing my family vanished, replaced by panic. I didn't know how he figured it out, so I forced a difficult smile. Like every drunk driver in denial, I lied through my teeth: "Haha, of course not. I don't know why the breathalyzer malfunctioned." Thankfully, he didn't press further, just nodded and moved on to the others. I let out a shaky breath. My phone buzzed again. It was a voice message from my best friend, Sarah: "Are you asleep? Why aren't you replying? I already booked the visit for tomorrow morning at nine. Don't be late!" 2 In my past life, the morning after Sarah sent that invite, we walked into the collector's estate. Not long after, she disappeared. When I left around noon and walked back to my own house, I found it surrounded by police. "It's her! She stole Mr. Zou's jade bracelet!" Before I could even process what was happening, Sarah jumped out of a police car and pinned me down. "She stole a national treasure? She doesn't look like a good person!" "I heard it was a Tang Dynasty Empress's bracelet, worth a fortune. Greedy girl!" "Scum. People like her should just die!" The accusations swirled around me, and I finally realized something was terribly wrong. In my panic, I saw the collector, Mr. Zou, in the crowd. I knelt, sobbing, begging him to clear my name. But the kindly old man frowned, grabbed my sleeve, and cursed: "Shameless! Stealing a national treasure I was about to donate to a museum! I let you into my home out of kindness, and this is how you repay me?" With Sarah and the collector testifying against me, and the bracelet inexplicably in my bag, my defense crumbled. My family and fiancé were ruined, treated like pariahs. And I died a gruesome death before I could even stand trial. The pain and blood of my past life were scars on my soul, feeding a burning hatred. In this life, I stood directly under the surveillance cameras. Between the video footage and my blood test, I had a double layer of protection. Let's see who can frame me now! After the blood draw, I slept on the hospital bench. It was hard and cold, but I slept peacefully. When I woke up, the nurse announced my blood alcohol level was zero. The officer let me go. It was already noon. I had perfectly missed the window for Sarah to frame me. Just to be safe, I shamelessly asked the officer for a ride home, claiming my car was still impounded. As I got off the police motorcycle, a swarm of officers waiting at my apartment surrounded me. Sarah led the charge, grabbing my hands with tear-filled eyes. "Chloe! We agreed to just look at the collection this morning! Why did you have to steal?" My eyes widened in shock. Even the officer next to me was stunned. I had been at the hospital since last night. How could she still try to pin this on me? I frowned. "I was detained for suspected drunk driving last night, I've been..." Hearing this, Sarah got even more agitated, cutting me off: "Drunk driving? Oh my god, Chloe, what have you done? Alcohol isn't an excuse for stealing national treasures!" A crowd of onlookers gathered, incited by Sarah's words. My explanations were drowned out by the noise. Within a minute, I was being pinched and shoved by unseen hands in the crowd. My arms were already bruising. The police noticed something was wrong and moved to disperse the mob. I finally caught my breath and glared at Sarah. "I didn't drink, and I didn't steal any national treasure! Can we talk about evidence?" Sarah's face darkened for a split second before she put on a worried mask again, pleading to the officers nearby: "Officer, you heard her. My friend did this because she was drunk. She's still not thinking clearly." "She didn't steal it on purpose. Please, go easy on her!" Just as Sarah tried to drag me toward a police car, the traffic cop who drove me home stepped in. He blocked her path, shielding me. 3 "This lady has been in the hospital since last night. I just brought her back." "You say she stole something? Where's the proof?" Faced with the officer's question, Sarah snapped without thinking: "Who are you? I'm assisting an investigation. unrelated personnel should stay out of this." "He's a police officer," I said slowly. Sarah's face changed instantly. "From the moment I was suspected of drunk driving last night until now, I have been under his supervision!" The crowd gasped. The detectives immediately verified the traffic cop's ID. Then, they turned to Sarah with stern expressions. Why would she accuse someone with an ironclad alibi? Sarah hadn't expected this twist. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. Just then, the collector, Mr. Zou, marched over. He pointed a shaking finger at my nose. "I can prove she's the thief!" Seeing the man who indirectly caused my death again, anger flared in my chest. In my last life, I had at least entered his house. I could excuse his accusation as an old man's mistake. But in this life, we hadn't even met. How dare he accuse me? I gritted my teeth. "Old man, you can eat the wrong food, but you can't say the wrong words! We've never met. Why are you framing me?" I stared at him, looking for a crack in his conviction. Mr. Zou grabbed my left arm. "I have a habit. Whenever a guest enters my collection room, I apply a strip of special ink to the cabinet doors." "I mixed the color myself. I'd recognize it anywhere!" With that, he yanked up my sleeve. A dark brown stain was clearly visible on my forearm! 4 The crowd froze. Even I was stunned speechless. I hadn't gone to his house in this life. I checked my clothes before coming home. How could this be here? "You steal petty things all the time, fine. But today you stole a treasure and bribed someone to lie for you? Too far!" Sarah seized the moment to blacken my name, malice dripping from her eyes. Then, she pulled a laptop from her bag, claiming she had surveillance footage to submit as evidence. In the video, at 9:30 AM that morning, a short-haired girl walked into the estate with Sarah. Her build, her outfit, even her hair clip—identical to mine. The crowd erupted: "That's her!" "You can't see the face clearly, but it's obvious. She's got some nerve, ignoring the cameras like that!" "Kids these days are fearless. She needs ten years in prison to learn a lesson!" Insults rained down on me. Someone kicked me from behind, the pain nearly making me black out. I fought through the pain, gasping for air as I shouted: "I have video evidence too!" I looked at the traffic cop. He pulled the body cam footage from his motorcycle. "My ID is verified. It can't be faked." "Ms. Li has been recorded by police body cams and hospital surveillance since she left the hospital. She has a perfect alibi." Two videos pointing to two completely different truths. The crowd was confused. The police and Mr. Zou were confused. One officer started calling the traffic division and the hospital to verify my movements. Mr. Zou muttered to himself, insisting he couldn't mistake his own ink. Under the scrutiny of the crowd, Sarah couldn't maintain her fake concern anymore. She glared at me with pure hatred. I smiled coldly back at her. "Disappointed that the police verification will clear my name?" Unexpectedly, Sarah smirked. "What are you saying? We're best friends. If you didn't steal it, of course I'm happy." Then, catching me off guard, she lunged at me, reaching for the fanny pack at my waist. She ripped open the zipper and screamed: "Officer! The treasure is in her bag! Grab her—" Her voice cut off abruptly. She stared at me in disbelief. "You... you..." I looked down at her shocked face and smiled. "Oh? What's wrong?"
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