Her past life

On the high-ended platform stood an elegant lady, receiving her award for her best contributions to the medical field. The professionals including her teacher and friends who were seated in the audience were admiring as well as cheering for her. They had been watching her since she was in the middle of her career. She had grown so much after achieving success in the field and the awards that accompanied it. She knew they would cheer even more if they knew what she has done to earn those awards.

"Finally, I fulfilled my mom's dream." Yan Xi thought. Yes, Yan Xi was that elegant lady's name.

At the age of fourteen, she was admitted to a well-known medical university and was mentored by a renowned doctor. He taught her everything and gave her his undying support. Her achievements grew at an exponential speed. She started working on her master's degree at the age of 20 and became a professor within three years with excellent qualifications.

She is currently working at her mom's hospital as an attending physician. Her maternal family, the Shen family, is a family full of doctors. They are the founders of the Zhongshan Hospital, at which she is currently working, and also the nation's foremost medical institute specializing in Chinese medication and acupuncture. They are mainly focused on doing various research programs regarding medicinal herbs and ancient needle techniques for treatment.

Her mom, Shen Yanli was a well-known neurosurgeon. Her dad, Yan Chen is the chairman as well as the founder of the Yan Corporations, one of the nation's top leading business corporations. Her brother Yan Rulan, who is two years younger than her, is currently majoring in business management at Harvard University. After his graduation, he is intended to take over the CEO position at his dad's company. Yan Xi is always proud of her brother who got admitted to such a prestigious university without relying on others. After all, he was nurtured by her after their mom's death.

Speaking of their mother, she was a dedicated neurosurgeon and owned a private laboratory for her research on brain disorders. Before her death, her biggest wish was to develop a drug that can cure a special brain disorder that are found in children.

After her death, Yan Xi takes her path to become a doctor. She works at her mom's laboratory and has done much research on drugs. A year ago, she invented a drug that is purely made of herbs for treating that brain disorder. This was one of her greatest achievements as well as her contributions to the medical field, for which she got the award. Now that she fulfilled her mom's wish, Yan Xi feels content.

After the award function, Yan Xi headed to her office and immediately called her secretary to inform him that he could go home. In front of her, was a large glass cabinet containing countless bottles of different brands of pills and herbs. These were all used in her research, especially the ones with a lower potency and more potent effects on certain conditions that she developed or researched. She opened each bottle one by one. After doing the checkout, she walked out of her office.

Once she arrived at her car, she called her driver.

"Get ready now. We'll be heading back home soon."

Her chauffeur drove straight towards her house. The car stopped in front of her gate.

"Ma'am, you are free to leave now."

The driver said after the door was unlocked. Yan Xi thanked him before getting off the car.

As usual, she walked into the house and directly went upstairs. Seeing the light in her dad's office room, she entered.

"Dad?" she called out while closing the door behind her.

"Oh, Xi'er! Come in. Sit here," her dad replied without looking up from whatever documents he was reading.

Yan Xi looked down at the documents and sighed. It's already late at night, and instead of sleeping, he's busy with his work.

"Hey, I'm sorry for coming unannounced..."

"No problem, Xi'er. You're my only daughter. Why would I mind your arrival?"

Yan Xi smiled. She then sat next to him on a sofa and gave him a shoulder massage.

He relaxed visibly.

"Dad it's already late. Stop working now and go to bed. We have to get ready early in the morning to pick up Ah-lan from the airport."

"Ah...right, yes we must. Good night, Xi'er!"

"Good night, Dad."

Remembering something he suddenly called her.

"Yes, dad". Yan Xi answered while rubbing the back of her neck.

Yan Chen took a key from the drawer and went to the locker room. He came back carrying an old wooden box in one hand and put it on the coffee table. It was a simple small wooden box with a green lycoris pattern on top of it.

"Here, Xi'er. You should have it."

Yan Xi reached out for the box and opened it. She took out the item lying inside it - a waist tassel pendant. The waist tassel pendant contains round white jade with small moon-like pearls embedded in it. It has a beautiful white thread with a tint of greenish color at the end. The pearls on them are very valuable.

"This is..." Yan Xi was confused.

"This is what your mom asked me to give you when you turn 26". Yan Chen replied with melancholy in his eyes. His voice sounded gentle when he spoke.

" This white jade waist tassel pendant is the heritage of the Shen family. It is passed on to those Shen members who made excellent contributions to the medical field. Your mom was a genius at her time and became the sole inheritor of this pendant. Now you made greater contributions than her in the medical field and even fulfilled her greatest wish. She must be very proud of you my child." Yan Chen said with tears streaming down his face.

"Dad..."

Yan Xi hugged him tightly in response.

Her mother died in a car accident when she was only about 12 years old. When the three grieve over her, Yan Xi got over it because of the responsibility of taking care of her father and her only sibling.

While comforting her father, she observed the waist tassel pendant. She was looking through its carving details carefully. Suddenly the pendant flashed an image of a whitish-green spider Lilly with a blue vine encircling it. She snaps out of her reverie and looks at her father again. Seeing his worried look she changed her expression with a smile.

"Don't worry, father. I promise to take good care of everything."

"I believe that, my dear child."

Yan Xi nodded at her father and left with the wooden box.

-------------------------

Early in the morning both Yan Xi and Yan Chen got ready and drove the car straight to the airport. After waiting for half an hour, Yan Rulan came with his luggage. Upon seeing his dad and sister, Rulan started running toward them and hugged them tightly. After exchanging joyful emotions, they sat in the car. With Yan Xi being the driver and Rulan being a talkative person himself the ride was nothing but peaceful.

During the trip, Yan Rulan talked non-stop with Yan Xi about his studies, the girls he met at the university, and how things are going in college these days. He brags about his friends and experiences in the USA. It was noisy but also pleasant. Yan Xi continued listening to his bragging while driving the car.

But they didn't notice a truck crossing the street in front of them. Even though it was fast, Yan Xi was still able to see the truck from far ahead. Fortunately, her reflexes were fast enough, and she reacted accordingly. The car accelerated just slightly before the truck collided with the rear tires. A scream was heard and Yan Xi lost control of the car. It crashed into a pole on the side of the road causing the car to flip several times. Yan Xi being the nearest person to the crash was bleeding profusely from her forehead.

Her car rolled once before coming to a stop.

She felt pain all over and couldn't breathe. Both her father and brother are severely injured and struggling for their last breath. She, enduring the pain, took out the white jade waist tassel pendant from her pocket.

'Looks like my end is near. What a pity that I could only hold this treasure for a day.'

Yan Xi thought to herself while holding the waist tassel pendant tightly. Before losing consciousness, she saw a faint light emitting from the waist tassel pendant. But before she could feel surprised, everything fades into darkness.