I woke up as the Villainous Empress

The dim lights of the swimming center cast long shadows on the water. Fang Li stood still, her heart beating so fast she thought it might burst out of her chest. In front of her was a man who looked like he'd walked right out of her dreams - or were they memories?

"You... you're..." Fang Li's voice was barely a whisper, shaking with disbelief.

The man's lips curved into a familiar smirk, sending a shiver down Fang Li's spine. "I'm Zheng Lei," he said, his deep voice filling the quiet pool area. "The guy who posted the video. But from the way you're looking at me, someone would think I am a ghost or something."

His cold, indifferent tone and cocky attitude transported her back to another time, another place. It reminded her of when she first officially met Zheng Liang at the imperial banquet, his eyes cold and suspicious as they swept over her.

Fang Li felt like she couldn't breathe. Zheng Lei. Not Zheng Liang, but so painfully similar. Tears started to well up in her eyes as a rush of feelings hit her all at once. The memory hit her like a physical blow, making her knees weak. She swayed slightly, overwhelmed by the collision of past and present.

Zheng Lei's cocky smile faded, replaced by a look of worry. His cool attitude cracked a bit, showing a softer side that was achingly familiar. "Hey," he said, his voice gentler now, "are you okay? You look like you've really seen a ghost or something."

Seeing Fang Li's tears flow freely, Zheng Lei felt a wave of panic wash over him. He was at a complete loss, unsure how to handle a crying girl. "I didn't say anything to you for you to cry like this," he added, his voice tinged with confusion and a hint of desperation.

As Fang Li continued to sob, Zheng Lei felt an unexpected ache in his heart. Her misery stirred something deep within him, a feeling he couldn't quite explain. He wanted to comfort her but didn't know how. His usual confidence evaporated in the face of her raw emotion.

"Come on, don't cry," he said awkwardly, taking a hesitant step towards her. Then, trying to lighten the mood, he added with a hint of his earlier cockiness, "You're crying as if you've seen your ex-boyfriend or something. Why are you making me into a villain here?"

The sight of her distress was affecting him more than he cared to admit. For reasons he couldn't fathom, seeing her cry made his chest tighten uncomfortably. It was as if her pain was somehow connected to him, though he couldn't understand why.

"Seriously," he said, his tone softening again, "what's wrong? I'm not great with crying people, but... is there anything I can do to help?"

That kind of tone broke something in Fang Li. The last thread of hope to control her emotions went loose, and she cried even louder, releasing all the pent-up emotions of the last few days since she woke up from the coma. She couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into tears, her whole body shaking uncontrollably.

Zheng Lei looked shocked, his earlier cockiness completely gone. His eyes widened as he watched Fang Li break down, clearly at a loss for what to do. He took a hesitant step toward her, his hand reaching out as if to comfort her, before stopping himself mid-motion, unsure of how to proceed.

"Hey, hey," he said, his voice a mix of concern and panic. "I didn't mean to... Look, please don't cry like this. I don't know what to do when girls cry." He said helplessly.

Fang Li couldn't stop the tears even if she wanted to. It was as if all the confusion, grief, and longing she'd been bottling up since waking from her coma had found an outlet. She covered her face with her hands, her shoulders heaving with each sob.

Zheng Lei stood there, frozen for a moment, before awkwardly patting her shoulder. "Um, there, there," he said, sounding completely out of his depth. "Do you need to sit down or something? Should I call someone?"

Fang Li shook her head, finally managing to calm down after releasing the emotions that had been suffocating her for days. She took a deep, shaky breath and accepted the handkerchief Zheng Lei hesitantly offered, wiping away her tears.

"I... I'm sorry," she said, her voice still trembling slightly. She looked up at Zheng Lei, her eyes red-rimmed but clearer now. "You just... you remind me of someone. Someone I...

lost."

The words felt painfully inadequate as they left her lips. How could she explain that he reminded her of a person from another life, another world? That the "someone" she lost was both real and a dream, both alive and gone? The complexity of her situation weighed heavily on her, but she knew there was no way to make Zheng Lei understand.

Zheng Lei's forehead wrinkled in confusion. He looked concerned, but also felt a strange ache in his chest that he didn't understand. "This someone must have been really important to you, huh?" he asked, his voice unexpectedly soft, which only made Fang Li's heart hurt more.

She nodded, wiping her tears with shaky hands. "Yes, but... it's not simple. God, I must look so stupid right now." She let out a small, forced laugh, trying to pull herself together. Taking a deep breath, she looked him in the eye. "Thank you, really, for what you did.

For standing up for me when no one else would. If not for you, my career and life would have been ruined completely."

Zheng Lei's face softened a bit, but he still sounded careful with his words. "You didn't do anything wrong," he said firmly, but with a hint of passion in his voice. "I didn't do it just for you. I just... I hate seeing good athletes lose everything they worked for when they didn't cheat. It's not right."

Even though he tried to sound detached, there was a warmth in his words that made Fang Li's heart skip a beat. She wanted to stay near him, to figure out why he felt so familiar.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"I'm still really grateful," she said with a small smile. "Can I... maybe buy you dinner? To say thanks?" Her voice was hopeful, almost begging, showing how much she wanted to spend more time with him.

Zheng Lei paused for a moment, looking at her closely. Something in the way she looked at him seemed to change his mind. "Okay," he said, with a hint of a smile. "I know a good place nearby. But don't think this makes us buddies or anything," he added, his voice lighter, like he was trying to make things feel more normal between them.

As they started to leave the pool, Fang Li's mind was full of questions. She couldn't shake the feeling that meeting him wasn't just by chance - it felt like fate, like the start of a journey back to a life she thought she'd lost forever.

With each step, memories of Zheng Liang overlapped with the presence of Zheng Lei, creating a confusing but thrilling sense of déjà vu that left her both hopeful and terrified of what might come next.