Wang Ying instinctively wanted to ask, “Who are you?” but swallowed the question.
The man in front of her had a scruffy beard. He was quite tall and reasonably handsome, but his entire body gave off an unpleasant odor. One glance was enough for Wang Ying to tell: it was definitely the smell of clothes not properly washed or dried—a musty, moldy smell. The wrinkled shirt on him drastically diminished what was otherwise a decent appearance.
Wang Ying positioned her bicycle between them. Seeing how guarded she was, the man stepped back three paces on his own.
Even at this now respectful distance, Zhao Jun’s question didn’t get a single response from Wang Ying.
Zhao Jun furrowed his brow. The two of them had been married for decades in their previous life. Wang Ying had passed away the year before he was reborn. At the time, he and their children were all busy. The last time he saw her was in the hospital morgue. But regardless, Wang Ying had been his wife in their past life. He had been occupied with work, and they hadn’t spent much time together, but husband and wife were still husband and wife. Back then, things had never been this guarded or distant between them.
Wang Ying’s silence, in Zhao Jun’s eyes, only made Wang Lingling’s words from the other day seem even more deliberate and pointed.
Zhao Jun sighed and began talking to himself: “Wang Lingling has already been sentenced. She admitted it herself—back then, she wedged herself in between us and used some tricks to marry me. I didn’t return as early as you two did, so I didn’t see through her greed…”
Zhao Jun told Wang Ying about how Wang Lingling had hoarded and resold grain. At this point, he didn’t know how to go on.
He had indeed come back late, but Wang Ying should have known everything. And yet, she had let Wang Lingling change everything from their past life without interfering, clearly harboring resentment in her heart.
Wang Ying calmly listened to the man before her speak. Her mind was spinning rapidly. The identity of the person in front of her had become crystal clear.
Zhao Jun.
He was the brother-in-law that Wang Lingling—the reborn older cousin—had been obsessed with. In the previous life, he had been the original Wang Ying’s husband.
Wang Ying still didn’t speak. She was worried she might slip up. Zhao Jun had probably done quite well for himself in the previous life, so he certainly wouldn’t be as dumb as Wang Lingling. She wasn’t the original Wang Ying who had spent a lifetime with Zhao Jun. If he noticed anything odd, he would surely ask what had happened to the original Wang Ying.
Wang Ying pieced things together in her mind, inwardly hoping Zhao Jun would talk a little more.
Zhao Jun organized his thoughts and said, “I know I used to be too busy and ignored your feelings. Now that you’re with Xu Shuang, I won’t say anything more. Xu Shuang is a good man. Being with him, you should be doing alright…”
Lately, Zhao Jun had been busy cleaning up the mess Wang Lingling had left behind. The grain had been handed in, but as her husband, he inevitably had to undergo investigation. Luckily, he was completely clean and was soon cleared of suspicion.
As for Wang Lingling, her sentence had been passed down. Although hoarding grain was a serious offense, she hadn’t sold it, and Zhao Jun had promptly turned in the goods and reported the Li family. So, her punishment wasn’t too heavy. Coupled with Zhao Old Madam’s accidental death, Wang Lingling was sentenced to four years in prison and four years of re-education through labor.
Zhao Jun’s brothers were all furious, thinking Wang Lingling had gotten off too lightly. She had caused someone’s death—how could she avoid the firing squad?
But only Zhao Jun knew that his mother had high blood pressure. In that era, high blood pressure was extremely rare and poorly understood. In their past life, she had developed complications in the later stages, and Zhao Jun had taken her to the county hospital to get diagnosed.
So her death wasn’t entirely Wang Lingling’s fault. It might have been a sudden thrombosis or coronary heart disease.
Zhao Jun accepted the ruling, but his brothers almost completely cut ties with him.
He couldn’t even begin to explain his frustrations. He had originally only taken a month off work. Traveling back took four or five days, and returning would take another four or five, so at most he had just over two weeks at home.
But now, he had already been home for a month.
On one hand, he had to wait for Wang Lingling’s sentence, cooperate with the investigation, and take care of his mother’s funeral. On the other hand, the two kids had no one left to care for them.
His mother had passed, and his brothers had split and fallen out with him—none of them was willing to help watch the children. His father, devastated by losing his wife, would throw things at Zhao Jun and scream that he wanted to beat him to death whenever he saw him.
It wasn’t until now that Zhao Jun understood what true chaos felt like. Everything was a mess. The kids were noisy and demanding, constantly needing to eat and drink. They wet the bed at night, needed their dirty clothes washed after every trip outside, and were picky about food.
After just one month of raising kids, Zhao Jun no longer looked anything like the confident, sharp man he once was.
He didn’t plan on asking Wang Ying to come back. Wang Lingling’s words were unpleasant, and Zhao Jun didn’t fully believe her, but he believed in facts.
And the fact was—Wang Ying had married Xu Shuang.
Zhao Jun had some dignity. He wasn’t shameless enough to go clinging to Wang Ying. He still had his moral boundaries. Since she had already married someone else, he wouldn’t complain.
People made their own choices.
If she wanted a simple life, then he would let her have it.
In fact, if he hadn’t seen Wang Ying riding her bicycle in town today, he wouldn’t have come looking for her at all.
But looking at the Wang Ying before him—more beautiful than she had been in the last life—Zhao Jun couldn’t explain it. He just felt a deep sense of loss. When he stopped her, he had originally wanted to ask her why she had chosen not to pursue the smooth, promising life of their past and instead married Xu Shuang.
But now that she was actually here, despite all he had said, he still didn’t know how to voice what he really wanted to ask.
Zhao Jun said, “…Since you made a different choice, then just live your life well. Oh, by the way, Zhao Dong and Zhao Xi are both doing well. If you ever want to see the children, I won’t stop you.”
Zhao Jun’s words, which he thought were perfectly reasonable, sounded completely off to Wang Ying.
According to Zhao Jun, in the world where she hadn’t arrived, the original Wang Ying had married him, a second-marriage man. Life had gone pretty well. Their material conditions were decent, and the two children had grown up to be especially successful. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have attracted the attention of the reborn Wang Lingling.
But from Wang Ying’s perspective, something didn’t sit right.
Zhao Jun had succeeded, Zhao Dong had succeeded, Zhao Xi had succeeded—but what about the original Wang Ying?
Wang Lingling had always acted imperiously toward her. Even after suspecting that Wang Ying might be a fellow reborn, her attitude hadn’t changed. Clearly, she hadn’t taken her cousin seriously.
So didn’t that mean that, in the eyes of someone like Wang Lingling, the Wang Ying of the past life had just been a housewife who relied entirely on her husband and stepchildren?
Wang Ying’s anger flared instantly. She paused for a moment and then said to Zhao Jun coldly, “No need. I have nothing to say to your family. I spent my whole life revolving around the stove—now that I have a man who cooks for me, I think my life is already much better than before.”
Zhao Jun felt stung. He didn’t even realize it himself, but a wave of irritation rose in his chest.
Wang Ying didn’t let up. “Besides, I’ve had enough of raising children that aren’t mine.”
Zhao Jun frowned in confusion. “If that’s how you felt, why didn’t you say something sooner? If you had, we could’ve had another child after Zhao Xi grew up…”
Wang Ying, fully channeling the original owner’s emotions, lashed out with righteous fury. “Have another child after Zhao Xi grows up? How grown-up are we talking? At eighteen? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to give birth at an advanced age?”
For the first time in both his lives, Zhao Jun was being directly scolded by Wang Ying—and it hit him hard.
He was frustrated. “I don’t get it. You agreed back then. Sure, I forgot later, but isn’t it more important that the children turned out well? Does it really matter if you gave birth to them? Why fuss over that?”
And in that moment, Wang Ying suddenly understood everything.
Ha. No wonder she hadn’t sensed the original owner’s presence since crossing over. No wonder both Zhao Jun and Wang Lingling had been reborn—but not the original Wang Ying.
Piecing together the original host’s previous life, she was first mistreated by her uncle and his wife, then went on to become a stepmother. The man she married did become successful, but his success was for himself and his children. The original host, who had dedicated her entire life, received nothing in return.
She didn’t even have a child of her own. Instead, she devoted her life to Zhao Jun’s two children, allowing them to live good lives and have bright futures.
Pah!
Wang Ying’s face completely changed. “Pah! Zhao Jun, you and Wang Lingling, you two really are a turtle matched with a tortoise, a perfect pair made in hell! Don’t come near me again. Just the sight of you makes me sick.”
Zhao Jun frowned deeply. “Why are you acting like a shrew now?”
Wang Ying laughed from anger. “And what’s wrong with being a shrew? In your eyes, I was supposed to raise your kids, take care of everything inside and outside the house, be your solid support while you went off to succeed, and in the end get a mere ‘you did fine’ in return, right? Who the hell do you think you are? Are you some kind of emperor? You really think you’re so great, huh? That just by relying on your so-called success, you can casually find some woman to take care of your household, and whoever gets you should feel lucky?”
Wang Ying sneered. “Just you wait, Zhao Jun. You look down on women, so in this lifetime, you’re going to pay the price for it.”
Zhao Jun scoffed. He saw Wang Ying’s words as nothing more than a hysterical woman’s curse.
Zhao Jun: “Whatever you say.”
Right now, he found Wang Ying completely unreasonable. After living together for decades, he truly didn’t understand what he had done to provoke such deep hatred from her.
Wang Ying gave the man a contemptuous look. As someone who had taken over the original host’s body, she finally understood why the original host no longer existed here.
A man like this… truly made people lose all hope. She never wanted to speak a word to him again.
Wang Ying left. Zhao Jun pulled himself together and pushed everything related to Wang Ying out of his mind.
He would absolutely never seek her out again!
She and Wang Lingling were the same—ungrateful.
Wang Lingling got to live life over again, yet she abandoned the idea of a peaceful, modest life and instead chose to chase after luxury.
Wasn’t Wang Ying doing the same? She gave up the good life with him to chase a mundane life with Xu Shuang, where her husband stayed home.
Did she not think about how no successful man would revolve around his wife and family?
Men work outside, women take care of the home—wasn’t that how every household lived?
Why was it okay for others but suddenly too much for her?
Zhao Jun calmed down and decided it was fine this way. Wang Ying was no longer the virtuous wife she had been in the previous life. She clearly no longer suited him.
So be it. Rebirth was a rare opportunity. Everyone had the right to choose their own life.
If Wang Ying was dissatisfied with her past life, then let her go and live the peaceful life she wanted. People always had to experience things for themselves before they understood regret.
As for himself, as long as he followed the same path as in his past life, he would definitely surpass his previous achievements.
Zhao Jun gave himself a pep talk. Having moved past the initial panic of being reborn, he could finally plan for the future. He intended to seize every opportunity and achieve greater success.
