After Letting Go of Helping Others, I Focused on Myself

In my previous life, I tried to save a neighbor trapped in a car fire, but my own leg got stuck in the process.

By the time I reached the hospital, it was too late and half of my leg had to be amputated. Afraid of compensating me, the neighbor spread rumors, saying I was playing the hero and that even if I hadn’t intervened, firefighters would have saved them.

I became seen as a meddler by everyone. Eventually, I grew depressed in my hospital bed and passed away within a year.

When I opened my eyes again, thick smoke was billowing from the neighbor’s car.

——

"Help! Somebody, help!" A familiar cry for help echoed.

I opened my eyes to see the familiar sight of the area below my apartment. I stood there in a daze for a long time. When I came to my senses, the elderly lady from my neighbor's house was pulling me forward.

Looking down at my fully functional legs, I nearly burst into tears, now certain that I had been reborn. And it was before I had tried to save the neighbor.

This time, I decided I would no longer "meddle."

In my previous life, I risked everything to save them, only to be met with ridicule. Not only did they never visit me in the hospital, but they also openly blamed me, saying I was just loud and impulsive, always playing the hero. They claimed that even without me, the firefighters would have saved them.

They said my involvement only added to the firefighters' workload and caused more trouble. Yet, at the time, no one had even called the fire department. The elderly lady from the neighbor's house was too busy taking things out of the car and it was only after people saw me trying to save someone that someone finally suggested calling for help.

By the time the firefighters arrived, I had already pulled the woman out of the car, but I got stuck between the seats and couldn't free myself. Without me, that young woman wouldn’t have escaped so quickly.

Yet, they insisted I had meddled unnecessarily.

I glanced at the elderly lady, who had pulled me toward the burning car and a faint smile crossed my face.

Fine, in this life, I wouldn’t meddle anymore.

The elderly lady looked at me with hope in her eyes, "Alexa, my daughterinlaw is still inside. Could you help me get her out?"

In my previous life, the neighbor's daughterinlaw wasn’t very talkative, but she would always exchange a few words with me whenever we crossed paths. We weren’t exactly close, but we weren’t strangers either.

From a distance, I saw her desperately struggling in the car seat, unable to unbuckle her seatbelt. Without a second thought, I rushed over to help.

But what happened afterward?

When she saw my amputated legs, she said I made her feel uncomfortable. Honestly, she might as well have just said I disgusted her.

Watching the flames not far away, I casually said, "Sorry, I don’t dare to help."

The fire grew larger and the car was on the verge of exploding. A crowd had gathered downstairs, but not a single person dared to intervene.

Inside the car, the woman's heartwrenching cries for help echoed, "Someone, please save me! It hurts so much! Can anyone kindhearted pull me out?"

Yet, no one dared to step forward.

Mrs. Grace, panting and carrying bags of rice, flour and oil, pleaded with me, "Alexa, even if this old lady has to beg you, please, help save my daughterinlaw, Bella."

I stared at her in confusion and asked, "She’s your daughterinlaw, not mine. If you’re not going to save her yourself, why expect others to? Even if I dared, I couldn’t. I have a heart condition and can’t run too fast. Looking at you, pulling out someone who weighs about 40 kilograms shouldn’t be much of a problem, so you should do it yourself."

What I said wasn’t wrong.

When the electric car caught fire, Mrs. Grace first scrambled to grab the rice, flour and oil she had just bought from the supermarket, hurriedly escaping from the car without a second thought for her daughterinlaw’s cries for help.

In her eyes, the rice and flour were more valuable than her daughterinlaw.

To her, Bella was nothing more than a brood hen meant to continue their family line.

In my previous life, she begged me to help because she saw that I lived alone without my parents around to back me up. If anything happened, she wouldn't be held responsible. She specifically picked on me, a young girl, knowing I was easy to manipulate.

Mrs. Grace immediately started shedding crocodile tears. "I'm just an old woman, what can I do? If I could still run, I would’ve saved her already! Bella was always the closest to you. She often talks about you at home. You can’t just stand by and watch her die at such a crucial moment, can you?"

Bella wasn’t close to me at all. She could exchange a few words with anyone, but she wasn’t truly close to anyone.

It was simply because their whole family liked to take advantage of others, always sneaky and dishonest. Bella would chat with us briefly and some neighbors, like me, were too soft to confront them. Even when we knew they took things from the hallway, we let it slide. After all, we saw each other often and exchanged a few words here and there.

But in my previous life, my genuine efforts were repaid with a knife to the heart.

I was determined to watch how this ungrateful family all met their bad ends, one by one.

As the fire grew uncontrollably larger, I finally suggested, "I can’t save her. You should call the fire department!"

Even if they called now, it would take at least ten minutes for them to arrive. By then, who knows if Bella could hold on.

Sure enough, Bella started struggling inside the car, her leg trapped between the seats.

An older woman in the crowd, eager for drama, chimed in, "Come on, we’re all neighbors. They’ve begged you like this, what’s the harm in helping? It’s not like you’ll die, right? If I were you, I’d risk my life to save her!"

Trying to use moral guilt to pressure me into helping?

Sorry, but having lived this life again, the only thing that could threaten me was my own life. Nothing else could coerce me. In this life, I had no sense of moral obligation.

I flashed a faint smile and said to Mrs. Grace, "Look, someone is eager to help save your daughterinlaw. Hurry and beg her! She said she would risk her life to help if you asked."

Sure enough, Mrs. Grace’s eyes lit up and she quickly turned to the older woman, "You’re a kindhearted person, please save my daughterinlaw!"

The woman, feeling somewhat embarrassed, responded, "I can't, I have high blood pressure!"

With that, she hurried away as if her backside were on fire.

Mrs. Grace had no choice but to turn her attention back to me. "I really didn’t expect you to just stand by and watch. Bella always speaks highly of you!"

I sneered. "Bella also constantly talks about how great her motherinlaw is! But when it came to a critical moment, she was the first to get out of the car. And oh, she didn't forget to take the rice and flour with her, but she wouldn’t lift a finger to help her daughterinlaw."

I was so angry that I laughed.

This family was both sneaky and greedy. Unable to get big benefits, they settled for small ones.

In my previous life, when I tried to help, they treated me like the farmer in the fable of the farmer and the snake.

They said that people who weren’t family didn’t belong together. I thought Bella must be different from her family, but she turned out to be just as ungrateful—a wolf in sheep’s clothing, not worth any sympathy.

Mrs. Grace, with a red face, replied, "I... it’s just that we needed these things at home and they were easy to grab."

I exposed her mercilessly. "Just say you can't bear to part with these things. They weigh more than 45 kilograms in total and your daughterinlaw only weighs 40 kilograms."

She couldn't argue with me, so she squatted on the ground and cried.

Faintly, I could still hear her muttering, "It was obviously you who saved her!"

I was not sure and wanted to listen carefully, but then I saw the fire trucks coming from afar.

By the time the firefighters arrived, Bella was already on the verge of death.

Although the firefighters arrived, the late call meant that while Bella was rescued, her condition was dire. Her leg was black and purple and they had to amputate it higher up than in my previous life.

This time, it was Bella who would have to face the daily discomfort of her injury.

Mrs. Grace, furious, came to confront me, brazenly accusing, "It’s your fault for not helping that caused Bella to lose her leg! You’re the one who harmed her! Why didn’t you save her? You should have gone to help her first, or else my daughterinlaw wouldn’t have lost her leg."

I suddenly realized that Mrs. Grace must have also been reborn, just like me. She must have returned around the same time I did, otherwise, she wouldn’t have managed to escape from that burning car.

I looked at her expressionlessly and said, "I just chose not to get involved. Besides, your daughterinlaw didn’t die, didn’t she? Isn’t it a good thing she survived?"

She went wild, lunging at me and shouting, "You’re the one who saved her and it’s you who lost a leg! If not for you, Bella wouldn’t have lost her leg! It’s your fault!"

My fault?

It was truly laughable. It was the first time I’d heard such a thing.

I slammed the door shut, letting her plump body slam against it. Hearing her cries of pain from the outside, I felt a sense of satisfaction. "Your whole family is ungrateful. Why should I save her? You’re all disgusting!"

If only they had visited me in my past life or offered some comfort, I wouldn’t have spent my last days in misery and ended up dying tragically.

I could have had a bright future, but I sacrificed it for an ungrateful person. It wasn’t worth it.

Seeing that I wouldn’t open the door despite her commotion outside, Mrs. Grace threatened, “When my son comes back, I’ll have him deal with you! Just wait!”

I shrugged. “Feel free to come anytime!”

Furious, Mrs. Grace kicked the door several times.

I didn’t call the police. Reporting her would only result in a warning. What’s the point of that?

She would still come, knowing that the police wouldn’t do much and would only escalate her harassment. If we’re going to play, let’s play big! I wanted to make sure her entire family got the punishment they deserved, especially Mrs. Grace’s son. He’s nothing but a brute.

After Mrs. Grace left, I called my parents. In my past life, the last thing I saw was their pained faces. To avoid worrying them, I hadn’t told them about this incident. They had worked hard all their lives and couldn’t handle more distress. I had planned to tell them later but I never got the chance.

On the other end of the line, I heard my parents' voices.

"Alexa, are you eating well? Your dad and I worry about you being alone in the big city. Whenever you want to come home, just let us know."

My eyes moistened as I nodded. "I know. I just miss you. I'll come back in a little while."

My parents were very happy.

I was also very happy. In my past life, I thought that a big city would offer better opportunities, but it ended up being my final resting place.

I had decided that once this matter was resolved, I would go back. Having a healthy body and being with family was more important than anything else. I never wanted to see my parents' tearful faces again.

I was unsure what Carter would do when he returned. His entire family was known for their bad behavior. Not only did the old lady and Bella like to take advantage of others, but Carter was just as bad. Even if caught, he would never admit to his wrongdoings.

The electric car fire was caused by Carter’s greed. He had stolen an incompatible charger. Their entire neighborhood had been raided by Carter’s family and it was unclear which charger he had used.

In their minds, the whole world should cater to their needs and desires. That’s why Mrs. Grace thought my actions in my previous life were meddlesome and now accused me of being indifferent to someone’s plight.

Fearing that Carter might do something outrageous upon his return, I decided to stay with a close friend for a few days.

Upon hearing about my story, my best friend was furious and said, “I can’t believe there are such shameless people. This is really eyeopening!”

We decided to buy a bunch of surveillance cameras immediately. Since I lived in a single unit per floor, if anything did happen, we would be able to catch it on camera.

Time was tight and the task was urgent. I took out my valuable items and worked until after 8 PM.

My best friend and I went out for a bowl of spicy hot pot. As soon as we entered the restaurant, we saw a video of the electric car fire playing on the big screen. Bella’s face was blurred, but her injuries were visible as the firefighters carried her out.

Not only was the news on TV, but even small reporters and video bloggers were spreading the story. The video also popped up on our phones, including footage of bloggers personally visiting the hospital. Bella’s distressing situation was visible in high definition, making it accessible to everyone.

In the blogger's video, Mrs. Grace cried while telling viewers how pitiful Bella was. She showed photos of Bella when she was healthy, saying, "This is how Bella used to be. She was fine then, but now she’s lost a leg. Only I, an old woman, am here to take care of her. I just hope she suffers less."

Many people left comments asking for her address and contact details.

Unlike in the past, Mrs. Grace now presented herself as a kind and gentle motherinlaw, showing no disdain for her daughterinlaw. In the video, she claimed that her abilities were limited and pleaded with viewers to contribute whatever they could to help Bella.

People online felt very sorry for her situation. As a result, the hospital was crowded with visitors every day.

Money kept flowing in and they had plenty of fruits and various supplements. Mrs. Grace and Bella loved taking advantage of such opportunities. When reporters came by, they welcomed them all, making their situation even more public.

That's fine with me. The more the public praised them, the harder they would fall when the truth came out. A few days later, Carter returned.

My friend and I checked the camera footage at my door. Around eleven or twelve at night, Carter came to my place, banging on the door and threatening me when he heard no response from inside.

He repeated what Mrs. Grace had said, blaming me for Bella's leg and claiming I was fully responsible. He demanded not only medical expenses but also compensation for emotional distress. If I didn’t pay up, he threatened to come and pound on my door every day.

I took this video and saved it for future use. In my past life, after Carter knew I was disabled and home alone, he took advantage of my limited mobility and brazenly followed me into the house. He searched the entire house for valuable items and threatened to reveal the secrets of my bank card.

At that time, he had lost all his money and was in urgent need of cash. But how could my money cover his losses? Carter then set his sights on me. He arranged for different men to come over at night. Although I had become disabled, he still saw some appeal in me and harbored the idea of using me to make money.

He saw that I was unable to move easily and didn't take many precautions, only confiscating my phone. While he was sitting on the sofa talking on the phone, I crawled over and smashed a vase over his head. Taking advantage of his daze, I retrieved the phone he had hidden and called the police.

Finally, Carter was arrested. Mrs. Grace and Bella came to my door and yelled at me from outside, calling me a destructive vixen. In this life, it wasn't me who was disabled but Bella. Mrs. Grace, a rare and devoted motherinlaw, became an internet sensation.

However, none of them knew how to do live streaming. Otherwise, I believed they would have exploited the sympathy of netizens to make money. Many netizens highly praised Mrs. Grace, with some saying that Bella's good fortune in having such a loyal motherinlaw must be the result of pastlife merits. Some streamers even interviewed them for live broadcasts.

In the live stream, Bella lay weakly on the hospital bed, looking even worse than I did in my past life. Mrs. Grace intentionally positioned the camera to show Bella’s scars and crippled legs.

“Bella has suffered greatly; her injuries are very severe, but I will never give up on her. Even if I have to sell everything we have, I'll make sure Bella gets treatment. Thank you to our family for their support and help; it's allowing us to get through this difficult time."

Who could withstand her pitiful words? Everyone began sending gifts to the livestream. Mrs. Grace’s smile grew wider and wider. I was curious. Since this account didn’t even belong to Mrs. Grace, why was she so happy? Before I could figure it out, Carter appeared on the live stream camera.

Oh no, he was trying to shift the blame onto the neighbors.

Forget the situation at that time; even under normal circumstances, few neighbors would have wanted to help. They all just feared getting into trouble for their efforts. I was a glaring example of that in my past life.

Carter spoke endlessly about how our neighbors didn’t help, betraying their indifference and coldheartedness.

Some netizens, curious, asked for the address and neighborhood. Carter directly revealed the name of our neighborhood, which had now made the properties there difficult to sell. Even Mrs. Grace added to the damage by mentioning my name directly in the live stream.

"There is also a young girl who lives next door to us. Usually, Bella is very likable, but at a critical moment, the girl named Alexa Victor not only didn’t help but even kicked us while we were down. There wasn’t a single person around who offered us any help."

My name had completely gone viral. Some netizens were even scarier, directly putting up the entire neighborhood’s residents on the internet with a striking red text titled: ‘Is this the end of humanity or the decline of morality?’

Whether it was the end of humanity or the decline of morality, I didn't know. What I did know was that they got what they deserved.

I immediately took screenshots of their comments and posted them in the property management group.

This caused a strong reaction and everyone responded enthusiastically.

Some of them posted videos from the day of the incident online, including a video of Mrs. Grace carrying rice and cooking oil down from the tram by herself, completely ignoring Bella who was stuck in the driver's seat.

Some people also posted surveillance videos from in front of their doors.

Carter and Mrs. Grace often stole things from the corridor. The design of having one apartment per floor led many residents to install their own surveillance cameras and there were quite a few videos of them.

It was not just our building, they had wandered all over the neighborhood.

Now, no one dared to leave anything in the corridor, fearing it would be stolen by them. The items weren't even valuable, but no one wanted to bother with them.

Key issues arose when some people had been stolen from multiple times and their tempers flared up. When they saw Carter and the others coming to steal, they confronted them and argued.

Mrs. Grace often lay down on the ground, throwing tantrums and acting like a bully.

Carter even used his mother’s poor health as an excuse to intimidate others, demanding 1500 dollars in compensation from the neighbors.

Over time, no one had been able to do anything about their family.

Some neighbors went even further. They posted videos of Mrs. Grace rolling on the ground online. It was a clear display of her shameless behavior.

I posted a video of Carter threatening me and banging on my door in front of my house.

These videos quickly went viral, putting Mrs. Grace and her family in the spotlight and making them famous for their bad behavior. As a result, they received a lot of criticism and negative comments.

Some netizens left comments saying Mrs. Grace was really stingy. They argued that if she truly cared about her daughterinlaw, she should have dropped everything to help her. They noted that since she was running so fast with the rice and flour, she must be in great health.

Others said that while she couldn’t help her daughterinlaw, she expected the neighbors to risk their lives to save her. They couldn’t understand what she was thinking. They pointed out that helping her was a favor, not an obligation and since her family had a history of stealing and extortion, no one knew if they’d turn around and accuse someone else after being helped. In today’s world, good deeds don’t always get rewarded. People shouldn’t let their sympathy run too wild.

My neighbors and I were seen as victims and cleared of blame. Netizens also expressed their understanding of our actions.