But Lin Xinyer showed no reaction at all.
It was as if she didn't even resent Hailey Tang for the incident.
Hailey cast them a sidelong glance, then gave a soft smile. "Nothing serious. I just came to take a look."
To see if Lin Xinyer was still the same sweet manipulator as before.
To see if the world she'd returned to was really different.
She just wanted to confirm—that she had truly been reborn.
Of course, Ethan Yu didn't believe she came out of kindness. He thought she was here to stir up more drama.
"You done looking?" His voice carried a quiet threat.
"All done. You two can keep talking." Hailey flashed a radiant smile and turned to leave.
Ethan froze for a second.
Why was she smiling?
And not just smiling—but genuinely happy.
Something about Hailey Tang had shifted.
She wasn't reacting like she used to. She wasn't falling apart, crying, begging, or throwing tantrums.
She was calm. Almost too calm.
And that unsettled him.
Back in her hospital room, Hailey looked at Zhang Ma and declared, "Pack up. We're leaving."
Zhang Ma looked startled. "Miss, you've just woken up. Shouldn't you let the doctor run a few more tests first?"
"I feel fine. I don't want to stay here another minute. Let's go home."
Even if she no longer cared about Ethan and Lin Xinyer, she still didn't want to see them.
She couldn't wait to leave this place, to breathe in the fresh air of a world she had another chance to live in.
Zhang Ma misunderstood her intentions and tried to console her. "Miss, don't take it to heart. Even if Lin Xinyer becomes the CEO's secretary, she's still not you. Your position—"
Hailey chuckled and cut her off. "Zhang Ma, there's no need to comfort me. Honestly, whatever those two are up to has absolutely nothing to do with me anymore."
Zhang Ma blinked. "Miss… are you saying that just to sound strong?"
Hailey grinned and gave a playful wink. "Do I look like I'm faking it?"
She had died once to understand:
Love?
Devotion?
All of it was utter nonsense.
Living well—happily and freely—was the greatest revenge and the greatest gift.
She'd been reborn, and unless she lost her mind, she would never again chain herself to people who didn't deserve her.
They could fall in love, betray, lie, cheat—whatever.
As long as they didn't get in her way.
Zhang Ma was taken aback by her sudden ease. "Miss… you're different this time."
"How so?" Hailey asked with a teasing smile.
"You've grown up… like, overnight," Zhang Ma said, stunned.
Hailey laughed knowingly. "Wasn't I already grown up?"
"No, now you're truly different. You're better. Stronger." Zhang Ma's eyes softened with emotion. "This is how you should be—look at you, smiling like that. It suits you."
Not the gloomy, angry girl she used to be.
Not the one who wore bitterness on her young face like a second skin.
Hailey's smile only brightened. "Zhang Ma, I'll keep smiling—even better than this. Now pack up. We're going home."
"Right away," Zhang Ma beamed.
But just as she turned to get moving, a figure appeared in the doorway.
"Mr. Yu…" she murmured.
Hailey followed her gaze.
Her radiant smile vanished in an instant.
She looked at Ethan as though he were nothing but a stranger.
Unmoved. Unshaken. Uninterested.
Ethan had heard everything—every word of her casual dismissal.
But he didn't believe for a second that she had truly let go.
He knew how obsessively she had loved him.
How deeply, how madly she had fallen.
To the point of destruction.
He was certain: not even death would make her give up on him.
So she was pretending. Putting on a show. Trying to bait him.
Hah. Playing hard to get?
Ethan's lips curled in cold amusement as he turned and walked away without a word.
But Hailey didn't care anymore.
No matter how Ethan chose to see her, or what he thought—
it no longer mattered.