Transmigrated as Jane’s Ghostly Godmother - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Life I Once Had—The Two “Janes” She Knew…

Lin Zhao was not someone who dreamt often. But after having her first dream at Whirlwood, the past began to visit her frequently.

She dreamt of being Jane’s age, spending summer vacation at her grandmother’s house with her mother. She didn’t like going outside, so her aunt gave her two books—thick as bricks—a complete translated edition of Jane Eyre.

It was a blistering summer. The cicadas outside were relentless. She curled up on a lonely bed beneath a wobbling ceiling fan. As sweat trickled down her forehead, she turned the first page and met Jane for the first time—a girl shrinking behind a curtain against a cold, gray sky.

It took her nearly two weeks to finish those volumes. The specific parts that moved her most back then had blurred over time, but as she moved between relatives’ houses after leaving her grandmother’s, she couldn’t help but think of Jane’s days at Gateshead.

The first time she spoke to Jane in her heart was then. “Do you want a home of your own?” The pale, thin, plain-looking girl locked eyes with her. Her first question was “Who are you?” and her second was “Of course.”

After that, she talked to Jane often. This phantom born from a book, living in her mind, witnessed Lin Zhao moving from relatives’ homes into boarding schools.

“We have a lot in common,” Lin Zhao would say. The girl, slightly taller but still frail, disagreed: “You don’t have to weep for the death of a best friend. How are we comparable?”

Lin Zhao thought then that if she had a friend, she would certainly be willing to weep for her. But she didn’t; Jane was her only imaginary friend, and she couldn’t weep for a phantom.

Jane didn’t need her tears. Jane grew up alone, graduated alone, worked alone, and met many people in her own complete life. Lin Zhao knew that as a reader, her job was simply to read, accept, and remember the touch of the story.

“Do you understand what love is now?” The wealthy Jane, who had inherited her fortune and chosen to return to Rochester, smiled at her. “Perhaps. But you are still searching for your own answer, aren’t you?”

Yes, she was still searching. She hadn’t even found herself in the haze of life before she was suddenly thrust into the book. In this disrupted story, she was lost once again, wondering why she existed here at all.

“Like Eleanor said, before I became a ghost, I was human.” Seeing Jane’s firm nod, Lin Zhao found her voice amidst her chaotic thoughts. She looked at the little girl before her, wondering for a fleeting second if this was just another dream. “The life I once had… was very similar to yours, Jane.”

Jane’s eyes widened, and she let out a sharp, shocked breath.

“I stayed with relatives, moved from one boarding school to another, and relied on my grades to earn the right to study.”

“Coincidentally, one of the foreign languages I studied was your mother tongue.”

As she spoke, Lin Zhao’s lips curved. A shallow layer of nostalgia rested in her eyes as she avoided mentioning the “book” part of the reality. Facing a girl who would protest for the sake of her own will, Lin Zhao saw no reason to dump the “this is just a fictional world” revelation on her.

Jane, listening intently, studied Lin Zhao truly for the first time. Stripping away the prejudice of her being a ghost, the person before her had a remarkably young face. Her skin was fair, her long black hair tied loosely back, with bangs slanting across her brow. A few stray strands fell near the corners of her slightly upturned eyes. Yes, the biggest difference lay in those ink-black pupils. Jane had once feared that staring too long would result in her soul being sucked away, but now, seeing the sunlight shimmering in that darkness, she felt her face grow warm.

She believed Lin Zhao’s claim of being human instantly, and her mind filled with tragic stories of how the ghost might have ended up in this state. Moved, she asked, “When you go home, will you have your own life again?”

“I don’t know,” Lin Zhao admitted softly. She knew why Jane’s gaze had changed. She murmured honestly, “At least by then, you should be living a life much happier than your current one.”

Jane wanted to ask why she was always so certain about Jane’s future, but the words were stolen by a discovery as she looked down. “Ah! Your hand is back to normal!”

Lin Zhao looked down. Her once translucent palm had indeed regained its solidity. She tentatively crouched and picked up a stone from the path. It was heavy and warm from the sun, pressing against her palm. Jane watched her with wide eyes, then suddenly stepped forward, took her hand, and tossed the stone away.

The palm was empty again, but in place of the stone was a warmth much softer. Lin Zhao was speechless. She looked down at Jane’s smile, and her heart felt heavy and warm.

If she had felt like a balloon slowly drifting away over the past few days, she now felt as if someone had jumped up, caught the string swaying in the wind, and brought her back to earth. That person was Jane, as always.

Compared to the years of whispering to herself, the biggest difference was that Jane was standing before her, incredibly vivid. They were no longer just a reader and a protagonist. They were an odd but real pair tied to the same fate: a girl who would one day grow up and run toward happiness, and a lost but determined ghost standing behind her.

“It seems you really did me a great favor,” Lin Zhao thanked her seriously. “I thought you controlled that yourself?” Jane asked, remembering Lin Zhao’s previous explanation and furrowing her brow in confusion. “Cough… anyway, we should find Miss Lana to register for the competition, right? Let’s go tell Eleanor and the others.” Having accidentally exposed her own bluff, Lin Zhao quickly changed the subject.

This tactic worked perfectly on the current Jane. She nodded quickly and ran to catch up with the other girls.

Registration was faster than expected, likely because Eleanor had already submitted the materials. With six months until the start, the competition covered many areas. On the way back, Jane looked at the project list with a growing headache.

“I’ll help with the academic knowledge!” Eleanor patted her shoulder reassuringly, then tilted her head toward Beatrice. “As for the etiquette classes… Betty always gets the highest marks…” “Really?” Jane couldn’t help but sound skeptical.

Beatrice didn’t get angry. She took two steps back, lightly pinched her skirts, and performed an extremely elegant curtsy. When she looked up, her thick lashes fluttered, a reserved smile graced her lips, and her voice was soft and sincere. “Beatrice of the Knox family greets you, Miss.”

“Wow…” Jane blinked, unable to hide her admiration. Eleanor clapped happily. “That’s it! Jane, if you work with Betty, you’ll definitely catch up on this part soon!”

“I make no promises about being able to teach someone like her,” Beatrice snapped back to her usual cold self, glancing sideways at Jane. “Being a good teacher requires a good heart. I’m glad you have such self-awareness, Beatrice of the Knox family,” Jane nodded in mock agreement.

“Most of her bad opinions of you seem to come from Georgiana,” Lin Zhao noted, having observed the dynamics over the past few days. Jane couldn’t speak to Lin Zhao in front of them, so she just blinked twice to indicate she understood.

“Betty, stop being so mean to Jane. You aren’t really like that, are you?” Eleanor grumbled. She spent half her time breaking up their fights and couldn’t understand why the tension remained so high. “You’ve barely known her, how do you know what kind of person she is?” Beatrice retorted, nearly losing her composure.

“What exactly did Georgiana say to make you hate me so much?” Prompted by Lin Zhao, Jane let her curiosity take over. Instead of just thinking it, she asked directly. “We have known each other for a while now. Do you trust someone else’s evaluation over what you see with your own eyes?”

Beatrice hadn’t expected such a direct question. She hesitated, and though she refused to lose the argument, her tone softened significantly. “What you see isn’t always the truth, and besides, it’s only been a few days.” She paused, then added quickly before pulling Eleanor away: “If you want me to change my mind, then win the competition.”

“Slow… slow down!” Eleanor stumbled as she was pulled away.

“Are you really okay? You don’t have to force yourself to associate with her if it makes you uncomfortable,” Lin Zhao said, unable to watch. She disliked Beatrice’s attitude, but Jane had insisted she stay out of their business. Jane shook her head. “‘The way to prove yourself is never by arguing.’ School Survival Guide No. 7, right? I remember it well. Just watch.”

Even though she had written it, hearing it from Jane felt entirely different. Lin Zhao couldn’t argue. “Fine. I believe in you.”

“Are you coming back to the room tonight?” As the dormitory came into view, Jane carefully probed Lin Zhao’s plans. Lin Zhao hadn’t spent much time with her lately, and Jane was both curious and worried. Even if a ghost didn’t need to worry about wind and rain… “Yes, I have some things to do. But if you want me to, I’ll come back,” Lin Zhao replied. “The bed is big enough for both of us, as long as you don’t crouch at the end like you did before,” the little girl expressed her “want” in a shy, roundabout way. “Alright, I’ll be back. If you’re tired, go to sleep first,” Lin Zhao promised gently. “Sweet dreams, Jane.”

As Jane followed the girls inside, Lin Zhao turned back the way she came. The sky was darkening, and the rising moon cast a hazy glow. She stepped into the moonlit flower pavilion, where she had spent a lot of time lately organizing her thoughts.

A face—similar yet not identical to the little girl she had just left—appeared before her. “Everything here is so strange. What do you think I should do next?” Lin Zhao sighed as she saw her.

“You decided you wanted to change fate, and you did it. Now things are developing in a way that has nothing to do with what I experienced. What can I say?” The woman, whose eyes held the weight of years, shook her head. In the moonlight, her expression mirrored the little Jane’s. “Can’t you give me advice like you did before?” Lin Zhao struggled. “You don’t even call me Jane anymore. Figure it out yourself,” the “Jane” declined with a smile. “Besides, I never really gave you advice. I just talked with you. Don’t you have a much better person for that now?”

“What are you saying? Once or twice is one thing, but I can’t talk about my troubles to a child every day. A Fairy Godmother needs to be reliable.”

“I thought you talking about your past meant you were going for the ‘relatable’ route. Besides, I think she can see that your ‘reliability’ is quite forced.” The woman gestured toward the main building. “Just do what you’re good at. She won’t hate you for it.”

Lin Zhao was speechless, and the older “Jane” vanished.

Yes, Lin Zhao’s mysterious and slightly spooky act had been learned from this version of Jane. Just as the young Jane was confused by Lin Zhao’s existence, Lin Zhao had no idea what this “Jane” who had accompanied her for over a decade truly was.

There were so many things she couldn’t understand that she had lost the energy to be frustrated. Life was always like this—uncertain, a mix of curiosity and a fear of trouble, supporting a person through one day after another.

“And ghosts are the same,” she added to herself, turning back toward the dormitory. First, a milestone goal: Let’s see how Jane takes down the Reed siblings on her own.