Chapter 1

Synopsis

Six months into my pregnancy, I began dreaming of my child.

In those dreams, the child never let me see its face clearly.

It sat with its back to me, speaking in a small, childish voice about things that hadn't happened yet.

"Mommy, buy number 17 tomorrow."

I did.

And won.

"Mommy, don't take the 302 bus on Tuesday morning."

That Tuesday, the bus crashed through a bridge railing.

"Mommy, don't open the door for your youngest aunt tonight."

I didn't.

The next morning, the police told me my aunt had been dead for three days.

Everything the child said came true.

I began to fear it.

One night, I couldn't bear it anymore.

"You haven't even been born. How do you know all this?"

The child was silent for a long time.

Then it slowly turned.

In the darkness, I saw a face uncannily like my own.

"Because I've lived this life seventeen times."

I went cold.

"Then why do you keep coming back?"

It looked at me.

And smiled.

"Because you kill me every time."

…

Chapter 1: The Baby in My Womb Told Me Not to Go Home

I first heard my child speak in the twenty-fourth week of my pregnancy.

That night, I dreamed I was standing in a very dark room.

No door.

No windows.

Only four dark-red walls.

A child sat in front of me, its back turned, its short legs swinging over the edge of a bed.

I couldn't see its face.

Only its soft black hair.

"Who are you?" I asked.

It didn't answer.

After a long while, it spoke.

"Mommy."

I startled.

The voice was very quiet, as young as a three- or four-year-old's.

Yet the instant I heard it, my hand went instinctively to my belly.

The baby kicked.

At the same moment, the child in front of me turned its head.

Just as I was about to see its face, the room went black.

Its voice sounded right beside my ear.

"Mommy, don't go to work tomorrow."

My eyes flew open.

It was still dark outside.

The phone on my bedside table read 4:17 a.m.

I lay still for a long time, my heart pounding.

Beside me, my husband, Chen Mingyuan, slept on.

I touched my belly.

The baby was quiet.

The dream had felt so real that I could still remember every word.

But I dismissed it.

Pregnant women had strange dreams.

Besides, I hadn't been sleeping well, and I still had to work during the day.

I took a sip of water and lay back down.

The next morning, I went to work as usual.

The office was about a forty-minute drive from home.

Mingyuan drove me.

On the way, I casually told him about the dream.

He laughed.

"Looking after you before the baby's even born?"

I laughed too.

"Maybe it's a girl."

"Why a girl?"

"A boy probably wouldn't fuss over me so much."

He laughed harder and reached over to stroke my hair.

"Boy or girl, I don't mind."

"As long as the baby takes after you."

I looked at his profile.

Morning sunlight streamed through the car window, softening the lines of his face.

We'd been married for three years.

This baby hadn't come easily.

During our first year, we hadn't planned to have children.

In the second, we started trying, but nothing happened.

Only at the beginning of this year had I discovered I was pregnant.

The day two lines appeared on the test, Mingyuan was so happy he ran downstairs and bought three different brands, then made me test again.

My mother-in-law was delighted too.

She immediately came from the countryside to look after me in the city.

The whole family was waiting for this baby.

So I soon forgot the strange dream.

Until 10:36 a.m.

I was sitting in the conference room when an enormous crash rang out.

Boom!

The building shook.

A cup toppled onto the table.

Everyone sprang to their feet.

"Earthquake?"

"No!"

"It came from outside!"

A colleague ran to the window and looked down.

Seconds later, her face went white.

"A vehicle's crashed into the ground-floor lobby!"

I stared.

Our office building stood beside a main road.

A truck had lost control and plowed straight through the glass entrance.

It had hit the convenience store in the lobby.

The store where I bought a carton of milk every morning before going upstairs.

Including this morning.

Except today, I'd arrived ten minutes early.

I stood at the window, looking down at the chaos.

Suddenly, I remembered the dream.

"Mommy, don't go to work tomorrow."

A chill crawled up my spine.

If I'd slept ten minutes longer.

If traffic had held us up a little.

If I'd spent a few extra minutes in that store.

I couldn't finish the thought.

That evening, I told Mingyuan.

He was silent for two seconds, then laughed.

"A coincidence."

"I know."

That was what I said.

But before falling asleep that night, I still found myself resting a hand on my belly.

"Was that you?"

Nothing.

I felt ridiculous.

How could a six-month-old baby in the womb speak?

Let alone appear in dreams with warnings.

I turned out the light.

I don't know how long I'd slept when I found myself in that room again.

The same four dark-red walls.

The same bed.

The same child with its back to me.

This time, I wasn't calm.

I went straight toward it.

"Was it you?"

It didn't turn.

"Did you listen to me, Mommy?"

I stopped.

"You knew about the truck?"

"Yes."

"How?"

No answer.

I took another step.

"Who are you?"

"Your child."

"You haven't been born yet."

"I know."

"Then how do you know what happens tomorrow?"

Silence.

After a long while, it suddenly said, "Mommy, buy a lottery ticket tomorrow."

I froze.

"What?"

"The first five numbers are 03, 11, 17, 26, 32."

It spoke slowly.

Without meaning to, I memorized them.

"And the last number?"

The child turned.

As before, darkness hid its face.

But I felt it looking at me.

"09."

"Do you remember, Mommy?"

I said nothing.

It asked again.

"Do you remember?"

"Yes."

The instant I answered, the dream dissolved.

I woke at 3:09, drenched in cold sweat.

The next morning, after a long hesitation, I bought a lottery ticket.

Not because I believed.

I only wanted to prove it had really been a dream.

That evening, the results were announced.

I sat on the sofa, staring at the numbers on my phone.

Every one matched.

I checked nearly ten times.

My hands began to shake.

The prize wasn't enough to change my life; I'd bought only one ticket.

But that wasn't the point.

All six numbers were right.

That was what frightened me.

Mingyuan came home while I was still sitting there in a daze.

He looked at the ticket in my hand.

"You really won?"

I nodded.

He looked surprised for a moment.

Then he laughed.