After My Daughter Died of Depression, I Was Reborn!

Chapter 2: The Wretched Man

"Hiss…"

In a run-down rental apartment, Shen Fei slowly sat up, his head splitting with pain, drawing in a sharp breath.

"What is this?"

He looked around in surprise, eyes full of confusion.

In the less-than-ten-square-meter living room, cigarette butts were scattered everywhere, along with toppled bottles of alcohol. The air reeked of a mix of smoke and booze, and the room was in an appalling state of disarray—messier than a pigsty.

"This feels so familiar… Wasn't this the apartment I rented twenty years ago?"

Shen Fei felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity. Memories from twenty years ago surged forward—it was the year he least wanted to remember in his entire ninety-plus years of life.

Legend has it that when people die, their final consciousness brings their soul back to revisit the past. He assumed this must simply be a memory.

Just then, the door was suddenly flung open.

"Bang!"

An excited, childlike voice followed.

"Daddy!"

A little girl of about three ran cheerfully into the room, completely ignoring the suffocating stench of smoke, the messy room, and the sharp smell of alcohol clinging to Shen Fei on the sofa. She rushed into his arms and affectionately hugged his neck.

"Daddy! Yueyue came to see you! Daddy, can you please stop being mad at Mommy? Yueyue doesn't want to go to Grandma's house! Grandma's mean!"

Yueyue!

At that moment, Shen Fei's eyes widened in disbelief.

The real warmth and touch of his daughter's hug stunned him. Her voice was so endearing and vivid, leaving him dazed.

Could this really not be a memory? Had he actually returned to when he was twenty-eight, when Yueyue was just three years old?

"Yueyue, get down!"

A stern voice interrupted Shen Fei's thoughts. He looked toward the doorway.

A woman clad in black clothes, tightly wrapped, and with delicate features, appeared before him.

Han Xinyan!

It was this woman who had made the last twenty years of his previous life unbearable, a life worse than death. Whenever Shen Fei thought of Han Xinyan, his heart was filled with guilt and regret.

If he had repented earlier back then, his wife, Han Xinyan, wouldn't have jumped off a building. Yueyue wouldn't have ended her life right before his eyes either.

It was all his fault!

Not only had he destroyed a happy family with his own hands, but he had also caused his wife's death. Even after her passing, he hadn't felt pure longing or guilt—what he felt was hatred.

He hated Han Xinyan for betraying the vows they once made together. He hated her even more for leaving him and their three-year-old daughter so decisively.

This hatred lasted for five months—until he discovered the truth. On that day, in a haze, he had gone to his wife's grave and wept bitterly for three days straight.

For three days, he didn't eat, drink, or close his eyes. If it weren't for his daughter, he might have already joined his wife.

But now, to his disbelief, Heaven had granted him a chance to make amends, allowing him to relive this moment from twenty years ago!

"Ah, Ah Yan?"

Staring blankly at the woman at the entrance, the one who had once brought him both happiness and pain, Shen Fei's eyes welled up with tears.

"Shen Fei, stop with the fake tears! Just name your terms! What will it take for you to leave me and my daughter alone?"

Seeing how clean and tidy the room had been three days ago now reduced to utter chaos, Han Xinyan snapped, her voice hysterical. She immediately pulled Shen Jiayue away from Shen Fei.

"Shen Fei, I'm begging you! Just sign the divorce papers already! I can't take it anymore! If I keep living like this, I'll go insane! I can only sleep with the help of sleeping pills now! Please, just let me go. Show some mercy!"

Han Xinyan looked pained and exhausted. She took a deep breath, abandoning all her pride, pleading with Shen Fei with desperation in her eyes.

Seven years ago, when she met Shen Fei, fell in love, and believed he was her destined one, she had felt like the happiest woman alive. Despite her family's objections and their attempts to match her with more well-off men, she had chosen Shen Fei.

Believing that love would overcome all hardships, she married him and was consequently disowned by her family. It wasn't until their daughter Shen Jiayue was born that relations were mended.

But what she hadn't expected was for Shen Fei, the man she had trusted completely, to become a different person after a failed business venture. He turned to alcohol, became addicted to gambling, and even resorted to domestic violence over trivial matters.

Han Xinyan had lost count of how many times she had forgiven Shen Fei and pleaded with him to pull himself together, only to be disappointed time and time again. The once ambitious young man had turned into a terrifying monster.

Over the years, Shen Fei had squandered the family's savings, sold off anything of value, and seemed one step away from selling her and their daughter too. The scars on her body beneath the thick clothes were a testament to his violence.

To Han Xinyan, Shen Fei was no longer a man, but a monster—an utter waste of a person.

"Ah Yan, please give me another chance! I promise I won't be like before!" Shen Fei looked at her pleadingly.

"Hah, Shen Fei, I've heard that over a hundred times! When have you ever changed? Forget it. There's no hope for us!"

Han Xinyan's voice dripped with bitterness. The emotional scars she carried were far more painful than any physical wounds.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Suddenly, the door was pounded violently. Before Shen Fei could react, it was kicked open.

Several burly, vicious-looking men barged in.

The bald man at the front sneered.

"Well, well, what's this? Did you gather the family here just in time for me?"