At the entrance of the airport, as I watch my best friend, Jenna Bryant, taking the initiative to accept a passerby's request to help bring a USB drive back to the country, I know that she's gotten reborn as well.
In my previous life, the passerby had sought us out and requested us to bring the USB drive with us to the country we were flying to.
"Once you get off the plane, someone will meet up with you. Don't worry, we'll make sure to reward you for your help.
"When we're sure that the USB drive has made it to the safe hands without a hitch, I'll give you a monetary reward."
The passerby looked very anxious, not to mention there was money being promised as a reward. It was only natural for Jenna to feel very tempted to accept the request.
But I quickly shook my head and turned him down. Then, I whisked Jenna through the security customs and made sure to explain the danger of such requests to her.
What I didn't know was that the USB drive belonged to the richest man in the city, and that the one who helped deliver the USB drive would receive tens of millions of dollars as a reward.
After finding out about the news, Jenna was enraged. She rushed to my house and stabbed me immediately with a blade.
"If it wasn't for you, I'd be the one receiving that reward!"
I could only look at my husband, Ricky Manning, in hopes that he'd save me. But he merely replied mockingly, "You lost our ten-million-dollar reward, Valerie! Death is just an easy way out for you!"
After I died, Jenna moved into my house and lived a romantic life with Ricky.
When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day that passerby has stopped me and Jenna.
I just chuckle as I look at how greedy Jenna is. What she doesn't know is that this is actually a deadly USB drive.
"Don't you worry. I'll make sure the USB drive is brought back on time!"
As Jenna Bryant spoke, she took a big step forward, standing squarely between the man facing us and me.
Having achieved his goal, the man sincerely promised, "As long as it's delivered safely, you'll be rewarded!"
At that, my best friend couldn't help but let out a laugh. Clutching the USB drive with both hands, she nodded eagerly, blurting out, "Looks like it's my turn to strike it rich this time around!"
The moment I heard that, it hit me. Jenna had also been reborn.
In the meantime, she kept fishing for more information from the man. "Sir, how much am I actually getting for this?"
The man gave a mysterious smile. "With that kind of money, you won't have to worry about a thing for the rest of your life!"
With that, he waved at us and left. As soon as he was gone, Jenna impatiently dragged her suitcase away from me.
She curled her lips in a mocking smile. "Let me guess. You're going to talk me out of helping strangers in case it comes back to bite me."
A chill ran down my spine. I looked up just in time to catch the fleeting look of malice in Jenna's eyes.
With a smile, I said in a gentle tone, "Why would I say that? The guy just said you'll get a pretty nice reward. That's a good thing, no? This is basically money falling from the sky. Why not go for it?"
When Jenna heard that, her expression noticeably relaxed. She snorted coldly. "Looks like you've got some sense after all."
Quickly nodding in agreement, I pointed at the USB drive in her hand.
"Economy class is pretty crowded. Aren't you worried you might lose it? If you ask me, you might as well upgrade and try out business class since you'll be reimbursed anyway."
Jenna only thought about it for a second before making up her mind. She raised an eyebrow. "You're right. It's not like I'll be short on money in the future. However…"
She stepped back warily. "The reward I will get has nothing to do with you. After all, I'm the one who promised to deliver the USB. From here on out, we go our separate ways. Let's go in separately."
With that, she put on her sunglasses like some big shot, grabbed her suitcase, and walked off without looking back.
Watching her walk away so confidently, I felt oddly relieved for reasons I couldn't explain.
Finally, I was free of her.
Even though I'd been reborn, the memory of how she'd stabbed me to death in my previous life still haunted me.
At the time, that same man had stopped us, speaking humbly as he asked us to do him a small favor.
At first, I was going to agree, but the moment I saw it was a USB drive, I refused without hesitation.
Seeing that I wouldn't budge, he tried to appeal to my emotions. "Miss, please help me out. This USB contains confidential company information. We need it tomorrow!"
That only made me more suspicious. "If it's that urgent, just send it by express delivery. They're fast, so it'll definitely arrive by tomorrow."
The man grew even more anxious and held up five fingers. "I'll give you 5,000 dollars as a reward!"
The moment Jenna heard that money was on the line, she got restless. She hesitated for a bit and was about to agree when I stopped her. "We can't help you. Find someone else."
Grabbing Jenna, I dragged her toward the entrance. At the time, I was so busy explaining the risks to her that I didn't notice the resentment in her eyes.
"Valerie Klein, why did you make that decision for me? That's 5,000 dollars we're talking about! Why would you turn down money like that?"
It was clear that Jenna still wouldn't drop it, so I had no choice but to reason with her. "We don't even know what's on that USB drive. What if it's something illegal?
"If the police get involved, we're the ones who'll be arrested!"
After a lot of persuading, I finally managed to talk her out of it.
But unexpectedly, Jenna had somehow found out that the owner of that USB drive was the richest man in Crewville and that the person who had helped deliver it had received a huge reward.
From then on, Jenna hated my guts and, in her fury, even went so far as to harm me.
Thinking about what happened in my previous life made me shudder. I asked the flight attendant for a blanket.
Ten minutes before takeoff, I noticed that Jenna had posted an update on her social media.
"I have a feeling that I'm about to hit the jackpot!"
I couldn't resist liking her post. I was just about to comment when my husband sent me a message. "I want a divorce."
Right then, countless memories from my previous life came rushing back to me like a tidal wave, and the hatred in my heart could no longer be contained.
In my previous life, when Jenna had left me half-dead, I looked to my husband for help. But not only did he stand by and do nothing, he even cussed me out, calling me a jinx for costing them a reward worth tens of millions.
As if that wasn't enough, after I was killed, he even helped Jenna cover it up.
"I'm fine with divorcing, but the house is my premarital property. I'd like you to be out of my house before I get home."
Undoubtedly, Ricky Manning didn't expect me to say that. In his anger, he started hurling insults at me right in the chat. "You think I want to live in your crappy house? Believe it or not, I'll be moving into a mansion soon!
"You can't even bear a child. Do you think anyone would want you once we're divorced? You'd better keep in mind that you agreed to the divorce.
"Even if you strip naked and beg me on your knees to forgive you, I won't even give you the time of day."
I reread his replies over and over again. They were both ridiculous and pathetic.
We'd been married for five years, but I never managed to get pregnant.
I thought Ricky would stand up for me when his mother pressured me, but instead, he sided with his mother and blamed me, too.
"A woman's duty in life is to give her husband a child. If you can't do something that basic, that must mean our family is cursed with bad luck!"
There were so many nights I almost snapped and threw Ricky's medical report in their faces.
I wanted to tell them that the one who couldn't have children wasn't me. It was Ricky. But in the end, for Ricky's dignity, I chose to endure it in silence.
Unfortunately, all my patience got me was endless humiliation and Ricky's betrayal. Instead of replying, I simply blocked him.
Right then, Jenna posted another update on social media. It was a photo of two people holding hands. The caption was incredibly suggestive. "We're finally able to date openly."
There was no doubt that the man in the photo was Ricky. What made the whole thing even more ridiculous was that she had deliberately tagged me in the post.
"The plane is about to take off. Please turn off all communication devices…"
After the plane took off, I pulled the blanket over myself and fell asleep. The plane landed two hours later, and just as I walked out of the airport, I saw Ricky.
Jenna was right behind him. The two of them started kissing right in front of me without the slightest restraint.
Calmly, I took a photo of them since the one who had been unfaithful during a marriage could be made to leave the divorce with nothing.
Though to be honest, there weren't really many assets between Ricky and me anyway.
Back then, my family was totally against our marriage. But for the sake of what I thought was love, I had a huge fight with them and left home to work on my own.
After working overtime nonstop for an entire year, I finally managed to get a mortgage to buy an apartment. Then I married Ricky, who had absolutely nothing.
Back then, the younger me believed love was everything. I believed true love could conquer anything. Looking back now, I could only find my past self painfully naive.
Perhaps because I had been standing there for so long without moving, looking out of place in the crowd, the two of them finally noticed me.
Jenna calmly hooked her arm through Ricky's, lifting her chin at me provocatively. "Thanks for being too blind to see his worth and giving such a great man to me."
Ricky turned his head away with obvious disgust, muttering, "What bad luck. Why do I run into you everywhere?"
Sneering, I raised my voice to say, "Ricky, we haven't even started the divorce proceedings yet. Legally speaking, we're still married, which means you're a homewrecker, Jenna!"
The moment the words left my mouth, people nearby slowed down and began watching out of curiosity.
Jenna's face flushed with anger as she clung tightly to Ricky's arm. "We're in love!"
"Alright then. Just make sure you can afford to support him!"
Just as I finished speaking, the car I'd booked arrived. Ignoring their shouting and insults, I got in and left.
When I was almost home, Jenna started a live stream. The title was super eye-catching. "Documenting my first time buying a car and a house."
I subconsciously glanced at the time. There were still eight hours left before the USB drive was supposed to be delivered.
No wonder Jenna wasn't in a hurry. With that thought, I quickly switched to a burner account and entered her live stream.
By then, she had already dragged Ricky into a real estate sales office. On my screen, she arrogantly rejected the agent's recommendation of a luxury apartment.
"Can't you tell what I'm looking for? Do I look like someone who'd settle for an apartment? I want a mansion!"
There were only a handful of viewers in the live stream, but they were all Jenna's die-hard fans. "Wow, Jenna, did you strike it rich? It's only been a few days since your last stream, and you've already moved up a whole social class?"
Upon reading the flattery, Jenna became even more smug. Without even trying to hide the arrogance on her face, she pointed at a model and shouted, "That one. I'll be paying for it in full!"
The agent froze for a second, then immediately put on a flattering smile and pulled out the card reader. "Miss, that'll be 32 million dollars."
That staggering number instantly sent the entire live stream into a frenzy. "It's that expensive? That's a joke, right? Are you seriously buying it, Jenna?"
"I'm stunned. Even if I worked for 20 years, all I would be able to afford would be a toilet in Jenna's house."
Comments poured in nonstop, and naturally, it greatly stroked Jenna's ego.
Covering her mouth, Jenna chuckled, saying, "Having money is all about luck. Of course, if you weren't born with it, you'll never have it in your lifetime."
For nearly ten minutes, Jenna bragged arrogantly about how rich she was.
Meanwhile, the sales agent stood there awkwardly with the card reader, her smile stiff on her face.
She then spoke cautiously. "Ms. Bryant, are you still buying the house?"
The sudden question instantly irritated Jenna. She barked, "Are you questioning my ability to pay?"
Ricky immediately jumped in to back her up and even called her his wife. "Are you looking down on my wife? We could easily afford three mansions if we wanted to, let alone one!"
Frowning slightly, I silently studied Jenna's expression.
As far as I knew, even if she sold herself, she wouldn't be able to come up with that kind of money.
Jenna was just a small-time streamer who spent her days gossiping about drama between women online to attract a few wealthy viewers.
She made decent money, sure, but she also spent it just as fast.
This overseas trip had been her idea, but I was the one who paid for the plane tickets, the hotel, and most of the meals.
I'd believe it if she said she had 300 thousand dollars, but 30 million dollars? That wasn't quite possible. Just as I was trying to figure out how she got the money, Jenna suddenly sneered in the live stream and angrily pointed at the sales agent.
"Get your boss here. I want a different agent."
The agent looked humiliated, but she didn't dare offend a customer.
A few minutes later, a different sales agent came. To my shock, Jenna actually paid for the mansion.
With a casual wave of her hand, she spent 32 million dollars, and that was only just the beginning.
Soon after, she moved on to a luxury car dealership.
Holding Ricky's hand, she asked, "Didn't you say you like Land Rovers, darling? What color do you want? I'll buy it for you."
Everyone in the showroom was stunned by her extravagance, and a hint of envy appeared on their faces.
Three minutes later, Jenna spent another seven million, bringing the total close to 40 million dollars. Where exactly did all this money come from?
I found myself lost in thought again, remembering how the tycoon didn't reward that "good Samaritan" who delivered the USB drive until 8:00 pm in my past life.
But right now it was only 2:00 pm, which meant there could only be one possibility—Jenna had already met that tycoon, and she had already received a massive reward from him.
It would seem her retribution was going to come earlier than I thought. After all, whatever was inside that USB drive was definitely not something ordinary people like us should ever get involved with.