Chapter 1

Can You Not Call Me Auntie?

"Less sweet bubble tea is ready, sis." The way the vendor addressed her made the customer twitch slightly.

The beverage vendor, who ran a rather pricey shop, flashed a sweet smile before handing over the order to a regular customer. In times like these, when the cost of living was high, it seemed only the well-off could afford a small cup of flavored tea that cost nearly two hundred baht.

"Thank you." A well-dressed young woman accepted her favorite drink with a smile. But the moment she walked away, her expression turned back to its usual indifferent and emotionless state.

She had just graduated—how could she possibly be an older sister to the store owner, who was already in his mid-thirties? The more she thought about it, the more irritated she became.

Finding a quiet corner of the shop, the petite figure quickly claimed an empty seat. She pulled out her beloved smartphone to scroll through social media for a bit. Once she felt it was enough, she checked the time.

Two more hours... until the alumni gathering.

Sali rolled her eyes slightly, recalling her own achievements. She had just graduated with top honors, had many friends, and her university life had given her a wealth of experiences—both joyful and painful.

Well… perhaps more pain than joy. But never mind that.

What truly mattered was life beyond graduation. The past was something she could remember but didn't dwell on much.

A top-tier company had swiftly accepted her job application after her job documents were sent out. With an outstanding academic record and eloquent speech, she secured a position as an executive assistant at a prestigious firm. She owed this success to the reputation of her highly competitive university, ranked number one for years, as well as to the dedicated professors of the Faculty of Economics, Department of Business Administration.

Her life seemed perfect. Yet, she couldn't shake off an inexplicable irritation.

Sali was someone who thrived on setting goals, planning ahead, and ensuring everything aligned with her meticulously crafted schedule. However... ever since she graduated and secured the job she had always wanted, she felt lost. She had no idea what her next goal should be.

For some reason, her mind wasn’t as sharp or forward-thinking as it had always been.

This year, she turned 22... She should be planning her future more strategically, setting milestones for the next five to ten years… but she couldn’t come up with anything.

Things only got worse when she discovered a single silver strand of hair among her once sleek and jet-black locks. Sali felt overwhelmed with stress, and only one thought echoed in her mind:

Her goal from now on... could it be to never age beyond this point?

The more she dwelled on it, the more frustrated she became. She couldn’t turn back time or freeze it. No matter how much she pondered a solution, all she found were exorbitantly priced skincare products or cosmetic procedures that involved injecting who-knows-what into the face to keep it looking tight and firm. Was it really worth it?

Yet, that single silvery-white strand of hair continued to haunt her... Ten hours had passed, and she was still fixated on the fact that time was marching forward. Was her future now just about saving money for cosmetic surgery? Living comfortably while constantly paying for Botox to erase wrinkles?

It was too depressing to think about… Who in this world actually wanted to age and have a head full of gray hair? No one!

Everyone wanted to stay youthful and firm-skinned—men and women alike.

Sali was particularly sensitive about her appearance. When she realized her thoughts were spiraling out of control, she opened her favorite app—filled with entertaining novels—to relax and kill time.

Read this one already...

Read this one too…

Alright, this one it is.

She clicked on a recommended novel in her feed and quickly immersed herself in a world of fantasy. She watched the protagonist grow, shared in their hopes, and waited for inevitable failures that required someone to step in and set things right. She anticipated the obstacles they would face—until their journey concluded, either in triumph or defeat, before the story was wrapped up.

That was what she expected…

But two hours later, after reading only twenty chapters out of over three hundred, Sali closed the novel app…

…Not because she had only fifteen minutes left before her alumni dinner at the buffet restaurant next door. But because the world of imagination within the written words had barely progressed.

The novel was supposed to be exciting and suspenseful, yet it was riddled with themes of inequality and oppression. The protagonist, often a female lead, had to endure hardships and conform to society’s expectations. Some stories had the main character reincarnate as a villain, only for them to turn out not to be truly evil. Others revolved around the idea that as long as a woman was beautiful or sweet-natured, good men would flock to her like flies…

Was real life really that simple? Or was it because those stories were merely imagination—expressions of the writer’s desires to fill their own heart and the hearts of readers with hope? But in the end, didn’t everyone have to wake up and face reality?

Ah… she was starting to sound like the novels she read too much.

The stories she just read, along with many trending ones, seemed to follow the same pattern. Being a woman who fought for a better life was difficult, but there was still happiness mixed in. The hardships they endured seemed trivial and easily overcome. For someone like her, who enjoyed feel-good novels, they were enough to keep things colorful and entertaining.

At the very least, they let her imagine what life could be like as a carefree young girl, full of endless possibilities, where everything felt fun and exciting…

"But I'm not that old yet… Am I really overthinking this, Sali? Hahaha."

The only thing she regretted was that real life couldn’t go back to being a child like in the novels. When would scientists finally invent a time machine? She swore she’d be the first in line to buy a ticket.

Sali sat there, lost in thought, a small smile forming on her lips. Her beloved smartphone, which she had been staring at, suddenly chimed with a reminder for her appointment.

After fishing out the last chewy pearl from her drink and swallowing it, she got up and left the shop, not forgetting to wave at the familiar staff as both a greeting and farewell. No one noticed that, at a quiet corner table not far from where she had been sitting, a handsome man was smiling at the petite figure that had just stepped out.

Some things might just be fate… “Tonight, we’re drinking until we drop! A toast to our beautiful Sister Sali, the number one angel of Line 88.” A tomboyish, mischievous junior raised her drink without a care for her own image.

“Go easy…, oh, Fah.” The responsible senior, who should have been enjoying the gathering, ended up fretting over her rowdy junior. But Sali didn’t mind. Instead, she let out a rare laugh, a sound that was not often heard by others.

“You should laugh more often, beautiful senior sister.” A woman in professional attire smiled at her. “You graduated half a year early. No trouble finding a job, I assume?”

“None at all, Sister Jane. I’m starting work on the first of next month. I barely made it, though—I’m still shocked.”

“Wow, you found a job really fast. When I graduated, I was unemployed for nearly six months. Almost went back to school. Oh… right. Korn and Natee sent you a gift as an apology for not being able to make it.”

“Wow… I thought they had already cut ties with us. Hahaha.” Sali ignored her beautiful senior’s complaints about unemployment because she knew Jane was only jobless because she had refused to take over her family’s business.

“You’re exaggerating. Those two run huge businesses. They’re in Europe and America right now—super busy.” The beautiful senior, Jane, defended their missing seniors.

The seniority chain above Sali consisted of only three people, mostly because Natee, the eldest, had decided to cut ties with his own lousy senior.

There was no point in keeping that connection. Better to build our own happy circle instead… Sali still remembered her great-grand senior’s words. And her great-senior had wholeheartedly agreed, taking care of their line like a true senior.

In fact…Tonight’s dinner was entirely paid for by Brother Korn, their great-senior. She was only pretending to sulk in front of Sister Jane. How could she not know she had already received the best gift?

"Aren’t you going to introduce your nephews and grand-nephews to me?" Jane blinked as she glanced at the two handsome young men who had just joined their exceptional network.

"Sister Jane… we have a rule against flirting with juniors in our line, don’t we?" Fah spoke up knowingly, earning laughter from everyone at the table.

"What nonsense rule is that? There's no such thing! Hmph…" Jane spun toward her cheeky junior, clicking her tongue. "Kids, don’t listen to Fa. I’m Jane. If you need anything, just let me know. I fully support my juniors' education…"

The conversation between the senior graduates and the newly joined juniors was smooth and engaging, even quite entertaining.

Sali tried to stifle her laughter as she endured her senior blatantly flirting with the younger ones. Her first-year grand-nephew was charming and sociable, blending in with the seniors effortlessly. However, her second-year nephew was visibly shy, which only made him an even more delightful target for Jane’s teasing.

"The more embarrassed you get, the more she’ll tease you. Be confident, Chon."

"I’ll try. I’m not scared of my great-senior. I just… feel a little too respectful."

"Oh my… how adorable," Senior Jane exaggeratedly fanned herself, feigning shyness. Sali shot her a subtle warning glance. "What? Never seen a beautiful woman before?"

"No, sis. I just feel sorry for the juniors…" Sali replied without looking at her senior sister. She cast a bittersweet glance at Chon, her grand-nephew junior—the campus heartthrob who refused to step into the limelight of faculty-wide events.

Sometimes, her life really felt like a novel, surrounded by beautiful and talented people. Or was it simply because she existed in a highly selective social circle? She wasn’t sure.

The casual and easygoing attitude of the older and younger members towards each other made the relationship evolve into a cheerful camaraderie. After three hours, their bond had deepened significantly.

The three remaining underclassmen still in school realized that Sali wasn’t the cold, untouchable angel that everyone made her out to be. She was only distant with strangers. But here, she was a caring, gentle senior, tending to everyone—including her own stunningly beautiful senior sister, who was now completely drunk.

Alcohol… was truly a dangerous drink.

Sali swore she would never touch it. The sight of Sister Jane's condition made her afraid of what kind of behavior she might end up exhibiting. Would it be that embarrassing?

(How am I supposed to get her home?) Sali stood there, lost in thought, completely unaware of her juniors calling her name.

"Sis Li… Sis Sali. Aunt-senior. Great-aunt Sali!"

"Huh!? Who just called me aunt?" Her beautiful face snapped toward the voice, eyes wide in indignation, only to find that the culprit was none other than her grand-nephew, Chon. Her eyebrow twitched.

"I called you sis several times, but you didn’t respond," Chon was shivering. Apparently, the word aunt really got under the ice queen’s skin.

"I’m taking Sister Fah home. She’s completely wasted. But, Sis Li, are you sure you can… uh, carry (?) Sis Jane back?"

"I have no idea…And who’s looking after James?"

"I live in the dorms, sis. It’s just a thirty-minute walk," the youngest in their line answered with a bright smile. He was an adorable kid, clearly training in the art of charm. But his smile wasn’t as devastating as Chon’s—who, as a second-year, had already mastered the technique.

"You’re really not drunk?" Sali gave him a skeptical look. Once she confirmed he was sober, she reluctantly let James return alone, making him promise to text when he got back.

After considering her options, she decided it wouldn’t be appropriate to take her senior sister to her own place. She briefly thought of Jane’s mother, whom she was familiar with, However, she had to smile wryly again because she didn’t want to cause trouble and have her senior sister scolded in the morning for trying to sober up.

"Sigh, we’re going to my condo first, Sis Jane. Come on… up you go!!!"

"Ugh, what have you been eating? You’re so heavy." Sali groaned, completely abandoning any ladylike pretense.

Once she reached the main road, she flagged down a taxi to take them to their luxury condo in the city center.

However, the headlights of an approaching car came much too quickly, and the car swerved slightly, which caught Sali's attention. Her eyes widened as her mind quickly processed the situation. She immediately shoved her drunken senior sister out of the car's path.

A deafening crash echoed, and the surrounding people screamed, even though it was a quiet night.

Sali smiled in relief, glad that the person she was looking after was unharmed.

It was a pity, though. Her body was going numb. The cold spread rapidly, and then—she stopped breathing.

Before Sali could even begin to feel sorrow for what had just occurred, her consciousness completely faded.