I used a rock to smash a car window, saving my uncle who had driven his car into a river. But instead of thanking me, he blamed me for accidentally scratching his paint job and demanded my family pay him $20,000 in repair fees. My grandma chimed in with even more shocking logic: "All he had to do was open the door and swim out! Who told you to go smashing windows? If you ask me, your family owes your uncle a brand-new car!" My mom snapped back on the spot. "If it weren't for Jane saving him, he'd be fish food by now. Forget twenty grand—I'd burn a hundred cars for him at his funeral!" Denied his compensation, my uncle flew into a rage. He drove his truck and rammed our family car off a bridge and into the river. "Won't pay? Fine! Let's see how you like having your car wrecked!" My parents died instantly. I ended up in the ICU. But Grandma took the money meant for my life-saving surgery and gave it to my uncle. "Even if your parents are dead, a debt is a debt! He needs a new car!" As I died filled with hatred in that hospital bed, my uncle was happily picking up a new car at the dealership. When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the riverbank, watching the car sink rapidly into the water. This time, I'd like to see how my unconscious uncle plans to just "open the door" and swim out. 1 I was awakened by the loud crash of my uncle's car hitting the water. I opened my eyes to see the vehicle already drifting toward the center of the river. The water was swallowing the car at an alarming rate, seeping into the cabin and submerging most of the seats in seconds. Even though the water was up to his legs, Uncle Rick was slumped over the airbag in the driver's seat, motionless. Without rescue, an unconscious Rick would sink to the bottom of the river with his car within five minutes. In my past life, seeing this, I didn't hesitate. I grabbed a rock from the bridge and smashed the window. I knew that once a car is submerged, the water pressure makes opening doors impossible. Smashing the window is the only way out. I never expected that this common-sense act of survival would bring total destruction upon my family. After escaping through the window I broke, Rick didn't offer a single word of thanks. Instead, he blamed me for scratching his paint job with the rock, leaving three coin-sized dents. I explained that the car was drifting in the current, making it hard to aim. But he wouldn't let it go. "I just bought this BMW! Your daughter smashed it up. Family or not, business is business. You owe me twenty grand!" My parents called him ungrateful. But Rick insisted he would have survived without me. "There are plenty of ways to escape! Who said you have to break the window? Someone else might have saved me without damaging my car!" "Your daughter just had to play hero and ruin my window. Now I have to spend an extra grand fixing it. I'm being generous not asking for that too!" Hearing that Rick had to pay for the window, Grandma turned on me. "You little brat, can't keep your hands to yourself! Opening the door is easy! Who told you to smash the car?" Then she demanded my mom buy Rick a whole new car. "Your brother's nice car is ruined because of your daughter. If you don't pay him back, don't call me your mother anymore!" 2 Usually, Mom gave in to Rick and Grandma's demands. But seeing their greed grow out of control, she finally woke up and firmly refused. "Jane did nothing wrong. We won't pay a single cent!" Rejected, Rick locked the gate, trapping us, and threatened violence. This infuriated my parents. They warned him that if he didn't let us go, they'd report his drunk driving to the police and sue him for the $15,000 he'd borrowed over the years. Hearing "police," Rick reluctantly let us leave. But as we drove onto a nearby bridge, Rick chased us down in his truck and rammed our car into the river. "Won't pay? Fine! Let's see how you like having your car wrecked!" My parents drowned. I suffered severe brain damage and was rushed to the ICU. Friends and coworkers pooled money for my surgery. Grandma promised them she'd do everything to save me. Then she turned around, signed a "Do Not Resuscitate" order, and gave the money to Rick to buy a new car. She cremated my parents and told everyone they died due to drunk driving. While I lay dying in agony, Grandma comforted Rick. "Don't blame yourself! Their deaths have nothing to do with you. It's their own fault for being bad people!" "Look! You both drove into the river, but you're fine and they're dead! If that's not karma, what is?" Karma. I clenched my fists tight. I hope that in this life, when Grandma sees Rick's corpse, she can still casually call it karma. The crash naturally attracted the villagers. But it took nearly a minute for anyone to actually walk to the riverbank. Several elderly voices rang out. "Did I hear that right? Sounds like a car went in the water?" "Let me put on my glasses... Oh my! It really is a car. We should call 911!" "Huh? Where's my phone?" Watching the old folks slowly patting their pockets for phones, I almost laughed. In my past life, when Rick woke up on the shore, the police and fire department had already arrived, leading him to believe plenty of people could have saved him. He didn't know that the only reason a kid like me had to smash the window was that the first responders on the scene were geriatrics and toddlers. 3 In Grandma's village, most young adults had moved to the city for work. The place was populated almost entirely by the elderly and children left behind. Though there were many people, almost none had the ability to save Rick. As the crowd on the riverbank grew, I squinted, scanning the faces. Soon, the person I was waiting for appeared. Grandma squeezed her way to the front of the crowd of old ladies with surprising agility, craning her neck toward the center of the river. I pricked up my ears, waiting for her reaction. But to my surprise, upon seeing the car, Grandma put her hands on her hips and laughed out loud. "Haha! Serves him right! Driving like a maniac in the village! Hope you drown, you bastard!" I was stunned. The onlookers were stunned too. "Martha, why would you say that? Do you have a grudge against the driver?" "Yeah! Do you know whose car that is?" Seeing that the villagers didn't recognize the car, I remembered. Rick had bragged about "just picking up" the BMW in my past life. I thought he meant he bought it recently, but now I realized this was the first time he'd driven it back to the village. Even his own mother didn't know it was his car. Grandma said angrily to the villagers: "I don't know him! But this car almost hit me on the road just now. If I hadn't dodged fast, I wouldn't be standing here talking to you!" She pointed at her clothes. "Look! I had to roll on the ground to dodge him. Look at my new clothes!" Grandma was wearing the new outfit my mom brought her today. It was a light blue jacket, now covered in mud, looking almost brown. Looking at Grandma's clothes, I slapped my forehead. I remembered something else. In my past life, after waking up, Rick said he was going to settle the score with an old lady in blue. He claimed he drove into the river because that old lady suddenly jumped in front of his car, causing him to panic and swerve. Well, well, well! So the person Rick almost hit was Grandma. I was so focused on saving him last time that I missed the drama on the shore! I was getting more and more curious about Grandma's expression when she realized the person in the car was her son. Strangely, despite hearing Grandma's near-death experience, none of the other elderly people responded to her. Another minute passed. The kids finally managed to find two middle-aged men. As soon as they saw the car, they started discussing rescue plans and asking the elderly folks for help. "Did anyone call 911?" "Quick, take a picture and send it to the village group chat. Let's see whose car this is! Get their family here!" "Who has tools? We need something to break the window!" 4 With someone taking charge, the elderly folks finally mobilized, taking pictures, making calls, and hobbling home to find tools. Seeing the villagers ignoring her and obeying the newcomers, Grandma unhappily tried to make her presence known. "What's the rush! Wait until you drag the body out, then call the family to identify it!" Grandma's mouth was always venomous, and after nearly getting hit, she was in full curse mode. "Martha, the man isn't dead yet! Save your breath for prayers!" "Exactly! They're going to save him!" Grandma got riled up and started arguing. "Driving like that, even if he doesn't drown today, he'll crash eventually! He didn't hit me this time, but what if he hits someone else later? You're saving a murderer!" I don't know how others felt hearing this, but a chill ran down my spine. However, the villagers were much busier than me. They had no time to argue with Grandma. The two middle-aged men had stripped down and jumped into the water. The elderly folks were handing them tools. "See if this works for the window!" "Take this inner tube! Be safe!" In the bustling crowd, only Grandma was as idle as I was. She sat on a stone bench, crossed her legs, and started pouring cold water on the rescue efforts. "Ooh! You guys really aren't afraid of death. So many people have drowned in this river. Aren't you afraid of the water ghosts pulling you down instead of saving anyone?" This made a few teenagers who wanted to help hesitate. The river currents were strong, and there were whirlpools. People really had drowned here. Plus, it was Ghost Month. The mention of "water ghosts" scared the superstitious elders into holding their grandkids back. "Go home! This isn't for you!" Seeing Grandma discouraging everyone, Mrs. Lee from the east side of the village couldn't take it anymore. "Can you stop talking! It's a human life! Are you going to watch him drown? Your Rick drives too. If this happened to him, would you want everyone to just stand by?" Hearing this, Grandma jumped three feet in the air and grabbed Mrs. Lee's hair. "You old hag! How dare you curse my Rick to drown? I'll throw you in the river right now!" Mrs. Lee's son was one of the men in the water. He had already swum out a few meters. Hearing the commotion, he looked back to see Grandma shoving his mother toward the water. He had to turn back immediately. Seeing the rescuer return to shore, others who planned to help stopped. "What's wrong? Is there something in the water?" The momentum to save the person deflated significantly.
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