CH 1

The thick night envelops the deep, cold winter of Fengcheng, and Shao Cixin stands at the bottom of the Spring and Harmony apartment building, motionless. 

Her beautiful face is frozen and red, and her figure is lengthened by the lonely street lamp. Only the sound of the cold wind blowing breaks the silence. No one passed by. She was the only one who stood silently under the withered tree, like a wisp of a wandering soul that did not want to leave. “Ah-choo!” The sudden sneeze broke the peace.

She rubbed her red nose. It’s another cold night.

The temperature tonight is lower than usual. She came in a hurry, only wrapped in a coat, and she suspects that she will freeze to death if she stands here any longer.

She doesn’t want to leave, but has no courage to enter the Spring and Harmony apartment, because she heard that Wen Yu – her rightful wife – is here with another woman.

“Ah.” She sneezed again, and rubbed her cold hands, still staring at the door of the apartment with no mistakes. The cold wind swept across her face and she felt like she was freezing to death, but she couldn’t raise her spirits. Anxiety, doubt, worry, fear, countless emotions tightly surrounded her like vines, making her unconsciously stay in place. 

In fact… she didn’t know what to do next. She didn’t even think that such a mess would fall on her… She met Wen Yu in college and then fell in love with her. Wen Yu likes good girls, so she restrained her lively personality and became a good girl.

The day Wen Yu proposed to her, she was overjoyed, and even thought that she was dreaming. Exactly one year ago, they completed the wedding and became each other’s lifelong companions. Everything was so beautiful. She thought they were a perfect match and that their love was a two-way street that would last forever.

But now, all the signs indicate that all her assumptions were just her wishful thinking. She doesn’t even know how she could have believed that rumor and foolishly come to the Spring and Harmony Apartments.

Maybe it’s because Wen Yu’s response to her wasn’t affectionate enough, so unlike a lover. Or maybe it’s because Wen Yu’s former girlfriend, Tian Jiahe, whom she really likes, lives here… 

So what should she do now? Go in, find Tian Jiahe’s place, and see if Wen Yu is inside? Or call Wen Yu and directly ask her where she is?

She doesn’t know…

Her mind is a mess right now and she’s emotionally all over the place, unable to find peace. But during times like this, there’s still a sliver of hope in her heart. Shao Cixin still hopes that the rumor is just a load of BS, that Wen Yu isn’t here, and that she isn’t cheating on her. 

It was Wen Yu who proposed the relationship in the first place. If Wen Yu has always liked Tian Jiahe and not her, then why would she go through all the trouble in the first place? That’s right, if Wen Yu doesn’t like her, then why would she ask her out and easily agree to marry? 

Thinking about this, she suddenly forgot how cold the wind was and stared intently at the entrance of the hallway, mustering up the courage to find out once and for all. 

– Wen Yu, don’t let me down. 

Her clothes rustled. Shao Cixin raised a foot. The next moment, two people walked out of the apartment and her foot froze in mid-air. 

The short-haired woman in front, with a beautiful face, was Wen Yu – someone she’s liked for a long time. 

And behind Wen Yu was her arch-nemesis, Tian Jiahe. 

Everything that happened next seemed to confirm her worst fears. 

Wen Yu turned around and hugged Tian Jiahe, kissing her forehead tenderly and lovingly. Tian Jiahe smiled at her and stroked her hair, behaving intimately as if they’ve done these things thousands of times. 

She was even more like Wen Yu’s wife than Shao Cixin was. 

Shao Cixin felt like she was about to explode. Her throat was blocked, and she felt like she was suffocating. She stared in disbelief at the scene in front of her, unable to look away. 

There was no denying it. 

The next moment, her anger surged forth, fueled by the betrayal she felt, drowning out all other emotions. It was crude, taking over her rationality. Shao Cixin’s foot stepped out uncontrollably. 

“Wen Yu!” 

Her voice was trembling with anger. Wen Yu obviously didn’t expect Shao Cixin to appear here, but she wasn’t surprised or ashamed at being caught. She just frowned slightly, and begrudgingly asked,

“What are you doing?”

“What are you and Tian Jiahe doing?!” Shao Cixin responded.

Wen Yu kept the cute and obedient Tian Jiahe behind her, and her expression remained unchanged. 

“There’s nothing to say, Cixin, let’s divorce,” she said lightly, as if divorce was just a trifling matter to her. Shao Cixin was shocked and heartbroken. She didn’t even know which was colder, Wen Yu or the freezing wind. 

“How… how can you say this so calmly? Am I really nothing to you?” Shao Cixin’s throat was dry, and she couldn’t believe it. 

“Yes,” Wen Yu replied calmly, “you’re nothing to me, and you never have been.” 

Shao Cixin was stunned for a moment, and all the good times in the past were shattered at this moment. After a long time, she opened her mouth blankly and asked, “Then why… why did you approach me in the first place..?” 

If we were nothing, why did you initiate the relationship in the first place? Isn’t it absurd to force yourself to be with someone you feel nothing for?!

Wen Yu was still expressionless, as if she was talking about someone else’s past. “I didn’t approach you because I liked you. I lost a bet, and I was upset with Jiahe at that time, so I just came up to you in the heat of the moment; even our marriage is the same. Cixin, the person I like is, and has always been, Jiahe. So, this marriage is already over, do you understand?” 

She finished speaking, and grabbed the hand of the person she was protecting. Tian Jiahe and Wen Yu gazed at each other deeply, and they only had each other in their eyes. In an instant, Shao Cixin, the obedient wife, became a superfluous and ironic existence.

Shao Cixin’s head was buzzing, completely blank. Wen Yu’s words fell on her ears one by one, like knives stabbing her. Their entire relationship was just a momentary slip of the tongue..? She didn’t even see any remorse on her face for this “slip of the tongue”…

“You…” Shao Cixin’s eyes were red. “You don’t like me at all?” 

Wen Yu’s answer was firm. “No, I don’t like you at all.” 

Shao Cixin looked at her calm face: “Even so… is there no remorse at all?” 

Wen Yu suddenly asked in return, “why should I feel guilty? You like me, so our relationship and marriage are what you wanted, right? Why should I feel guilty for making your dream come true?” 

Shao Cixin was deeply shocked when she heard this. Wen Yu’s words are truly shameless and outrageous. What does Shao Cixin want? What is helping her make her dream come true? How can she say such absurd things… The cold wind whistled and beat Shao Cixin’s slender body mercilessly. 

Her fingertips were cold, and she felt cold all over. Shao Cixin looked up at the woman in front of her with red eyes, and then lowered her eyes again. She no longer felt the joy she used to feel when she first saw Wen Yu. The originally bright eyes gradually dimmed as her eyelids lowered, and finally only left cold disappointment. A tear slid quietly down her face, and all her love was gone.

“I don’t need this kind of charity.” Shao Cixin’s voice fell, and she turned and left.

No one ran after her. Nobody chased her. She drove the car in a daze, feeling uncomfortable, but unable to cry. It was as if the single tear she shed took away all her strength to vent. 

She wasn’t low-class enough to beg Wen Yu for love and to degrade herself over and over again in the process. The love she desired was a mutual love from beginning to end. 

The car drove on.

Shao Cixin was the only one controlling the steering wheel. There was a small red mark on her fair arm – she’d accidentally burned herself while cooking, and she came looking for Wen Yu without even dealing with it first, only to witness her wife’s infidelity with her own eyes. 

She let out a heavy sigh. All the matters concerning Wen Yu from before played over and over again in her head. Wen Yu liked Tian Jiahe, but the two of them often argued. Wen Yu had come to her to vent and drink with Shao Cixin many times; she had even cried in front of her because of Tian Jiahe. 

Before today, she couldn’t stand seeing Wen Yu cry, she would feel pain, and her heart would soften. During those times, she tried to persuade Wen Yu to let go of Tian Jiahe, but Wen Yu would always shake her head and remain silent afterwards. She thought that Wen Yu would never be able to let go of Tian Jiahe in this lifetime, and that there was no chance for the two of them. She never expected that Wen Yu would choose to pursue her after after breaking up with Tian Jiahe.

She used to be an actress. When her acting career was at its peak, the Shao family ran into some trouble, and was in dire need of external help. The Shao and Wen families proposed a marriage alliance, and the two people who were expected to create this marriage alliance were already dating. 

At that time, Wen Yu said that she didn’t like actresses. If Shao Cixin could give up her career, Wen Yu was willing to marry her. For the sake of her family, and for the sake of her loved one, Shao Cixin gave up her flourishing career without hesitation. 

Wen Yu didn’t go back on her word, and she married Shao Cixin. The happiness back then was definitely happiness, but the despair today was even greater than the happiness from back then.

Wen Yu had always been deeply in love with Tian Jiahe, but didn’t Shao Cixin feel just as deeply for Wen Yu? She was always gentle and accommodating towards Wen Yu; she met her every need, and followed her every command. She even gave up her great career as an actress for Wen Yu… but when she thought back to the deep love Wen Yu and Tian Jiahe had just shared, she felt disgusted.

What a pair of shitty women.

A person who doesn’t take others’ sincerity as a matter of fact, a person who destroys others’ families without any guilt, what did she do wrong to be involved with the two of them? Why does Wen Yu think that she can be disposed of like a dog? Why does she treat her sincerity like nothing?!

There was a strong hatred in Shao Cixin’s eyes, and her fingers were trembling slightly. She was depressed and furious. She wanted to change this bad situation, but she couldn’t calm down or think about what to do right now.

Let’s go back first, let’s think about it once we get back… Thinking this way, she forced herself to put away all the messy thoughts.

The next second, dazzling headlights took away all of her attention. Just in front of her, a large truck suddenly turned and came towards her, out of control. She stared in surprise and quickly turned the steering wheel, but…

“Bang!”

It’s too late.

The glass broke. The car was crumpled and deformed.

Shao Cixin sat in the driver’s seat, bleeding.

The world outside the car was very noisy, but she felt only silence around her, isolated from the world.

She vaguely saw a drunk man stumbling down from the truck. She couldn’t see the man’s face clearly. Her eyelids were very heavy, and she couldn’t hold on any longer, finally falling into the eternal darkness completely.

Everything came to an end here.

– It seems that God doesn’t like me very much.

This was the last sentence through her mind before she closed her eyes.

Her breathing stopped completely, and her body became lighter, like a mass of air without weight.

Shao Cixin felt that she was pulled out of her body by someone, and thrown into a void. In this void, she was confused and seemed to be floating on the surface of the sea. She didn’t know where she was, or who she was. The world, the seconds and minutes, all felt as if they were accelerated ten times in the void.

Shao Cixin vaguely felt in her fuzzy consciousness that she had been in one place for a long, long time. So long that she couldn’t calculate it. So long that it was illogical. A mess of dreams.

Until one day, she saw a beam of light tearing through the darkness. The light gradually enlarged from a small point, and kept approaching her. Just like the car lights that day, there was no way to avoid them.

The nightmare came. Shao Cixin instinctively backed away in fear.

But the dazzling light grew bigger and bigger, surging, and pursued her relentlessly. In the end, it opened its bloody basin like a monster and swallowed her up in an instant –

“No!”

Shao Cixin opened her eyes in an instant, sweating all over. But there was no dazzling light around, no vast darkness, only a familiar setting.

She slowly sat up and took a deep breath, and started to look around. Her consciousness was unprecedentedly clear. The air conditioner was on, and she could faintly hear the sound of air flowing. The light-colored curtains on the window were chosen by her, with fresh daisy patterns on them.

This is her home. She lived here before she got married to Wen Yu, and once she was married she never came back. 

Now it’s… what’s going on? Shao Cixin was suddenly at a loss. She remembered that she died in a car accident, and she also remembered that she wandered in the void for a long time like a lone ghost, but now she suddenly woke up in a familiar place, which made her suspect – could she be dreaming? But this dream is too real. 

She was deeply puzzled, and she didn’t know how to tell if she was dreaming. She used a crude method, raising her hand and pinching her arm –

“Ouch!”

It’s not a dream! A touch of joy floated on her face. With this pinch, she even found something: the scar on her hand was gone! When she was in the car accident, the scar was still on her arm, but now it’s gone… and she’s in her own home… one puzzle piece after another gradually came together in Shao Cixin’s mind.

Not only was she reborn, but she might have been reborn before she got married? 

Thinking of this, she hurriedly found her phone to check the year, and when she opened it, she saw a message from her former agent:

[The premiere of “Hou Tian” will be held the day after tomorrow. This is your first movie, so you need to rest well these two days and make sure to be in your best state to attend.]

Shao Cixin held her phone in disbelief. The premiere of “Hou Tian”… wasn’t that when she was dating Wen Yu, before they got married? Wasn’t it when her career was just taking off? Not only was she reborn, but she was reborn at such a good time!

This was too good! It seems that God not only doesn’t dislike her, but he likes her a lot! 

Shao Cixin became more and more happy as she thought about it, and she accepted her rebirth with great composure. 

There’s no need to worry about what to do. She’s already died once, so it’s obviously better to be alive. And after she’s reborn, she’ll have more choices and more opportunities. 

This time, she won’t be so stupid as to give her heart to a dog, and she won’t give up her career for anyone! 

Just as she was immersed in the joy of regaining her life, her phone beeped with a new text message. 

[Wen Yu]: Come out and have a drink with me. 

Wen Yu always calls her out for a drink when she’s in a bad mood. If it was before, Shao Cixin would definitely go out to accompany her girlfriend, but not now. 

She’s not stupid. She knows her own value, she knows that her career has just begun, she can’t give up her career for a girlfriend. Those beautiful eyes gradually widened, filled with disbelief. 

– So I’m… reborn?

[Shao Cixin]: I won’t go, Miss Wen Er will drink by herself

[Shao Cixin]: You can also celebrate while you’re at it 

Wen Yu received the second message and felt puzzled.

[Wen Yu]: Celebrate what? 

She sent out the message, but she didn’t get a reply back within seconds like she expected. 

Five minutes later, Shao Cixin slowly and cheaply replied with a message – 

[Shao Cixin]: Haha, of course, it’s to celebrate your return to being single, Wen Yu! 【cute.JPG】 

Wen Yu: “?”