CH 1

The cold wind howled, the snow was getting thicker, and large swaths of snowflakes were flying.

The Jiang’s house in the capital is brightly lit, and in the small three-story bungalow, swords were on the verge of being drawn.

"Mom, MuMu is burning up like this, I must take her to the hospital!" Zhao Yue looked anxious.

The old lady sat like a clock without any response.

"Old Jiang, MuMu is your biological daughter, do you have the heart to just ignore her? If this continues to go on, something bad could happen to her.” Zhao Yue was already anxious and burst into tears.

Jiang Tao couldn’t bear it anymore. Just as he was about to speak, the old man Li Tao sitting opposite him said, “Zhao Yue, I want to send MuMu to the hospital. But I won’t until you sign the divorce agreement. Once you do I’ll immediately have Jiang Tao drive her to the hospital.

Jiang Tao heard this and nodded again and again, "Yes, first sign the divorce agreement."

Zhao Yue bit her lower lip tightly. After so many years, is it finally here?

She stared at Jiang Tao deeply, "You and I have been through ups and downs for 20 years, is this divorce really more important than my daughter?"

"Of course, it's important! How can we carry on the family line without a son? Do you want our old Jiang family to have no descendants?" The old man exclaimed excitedly, "If you can't give birth, you will abdicate to the virtuous woman who can. If you can’t give birth to a son, who will my son work hard for, who will inherit from him?”

Although Jiang Tao had guilt in his eyes, he did not refute his father’s words.

Zhao Yue looked down at the divorce agreement seriously. The request was very simple; leave the house and leave with nothing.

She was trembling with anger, "Jiang Tao! In order to prevent me from getting property, you don’t even care about your own daughter’s body. Are you still a human being? Are you not afraid of heavenly retribution?"

It’s only scary for a meek woman to get angry. Jiang Tao couldn’t help but say, “What are you yelling at? Stop making a fuss. You sign it obediently, and I'll send MuMu to the hospital, and you can stay there with her yourself.” After all, my daughter will marry into someone else's house sooner or later, he thought.

The violent quarrel downstairs made Jiang Mu in the bedroom try to open her eyes. The heat she felt in her head made her brain feel groggy. Looking at the picture on the wall, the tape on the bedside table, and the radio, Jiang Mu's mind became even more confused.

What happened?

Wasn’t she kidnapped by some evil guys, and then wasn’t it because the family only paying her brother’s portion of the ransom that the kidnappers tore her up?

Shouldn’t she have been tied up in a warehouse and burned to death? Why was she back home again?

Moreover, it seems that she is still in her fifteen-year-old bedroom, not her thirty-year-old room.

Looking at the surrounding furnishings and listening to the quarrel downstairs, Jiang Mu had a bold idea in her heart. Could it be that she was reborn again to the age of fifteen?

It also happened to be the day when her parents divorced.

In her previous life, her parents had divorced, and the Jiang family didn't want her because she was a girl and could not pass on the family line or inherit the family business. She would have been kicked out too, but on the day that her mother left, she’d developed a high fever. When she woke up, her mother had already gone.

She was left at the Jiang's house, and a new mother and son moved in. After that, she was like an invisible person at the Jiang's house.

She studied hard, and she ranked first in the school every time.

Her Dad likes to trade stocks, so she directly applied to finance major in college. Grandpa likes antiques, so she followed behind an old professor to study seriously. Grandma likes jade jewelry, so she studies hard at the craft. But no matter how good she is, she can't get a single compliment.

In their eyes, she was no match for a son. She was a girl and could not succeed in the Jiang family or carry on their business. After graduation, she wasn’t even allowed to join the company.

In the end, she and her younger brother were kidnapped together. For a ransom of 100 million, the family took out only 50 million to save her younger brother and abandoned her.

The scorching heat of the fire she had died in could still be felt all over her body. Jiang Mu struggled to stand up; she wanted to leave here, she was leaving with her mother, and never staying in this patriarchal home again.

Her face was flushed red, her whole body was soaked with sweat, and the hair on her forehead had already been stuck together in stringy pieces. Even though she was covered in redness and her head was about to explode, she still insisted on finding her biggest leather suitcase and organizing it. Tidying things up inside it and adding in some more boxes of stuff, she held it all in both hands, and walked out of her room step by step.

Downstairs hall.

Zhao Yue was full of resentment, "Jiang Tao, the reason your Jiang family can have what it does today, isn’t it in large part with my help?”

"You forget that we were hiding in Tibet when we were setting up stalls on the roadside. Back then we were afraid of being caught and being labeled as speculators! No matter what I accompanied you in fear, accompanied you in developing the store, and now you’re kicking me out of the house? Forget it, don't you even care about MuMu’s life and death?"

"A tiger’s poison does not eat its offspring; are you not afraid of bringing down retribution to the Jiang family for acting this way?"

A trace of hesitation flashed in Jiang Tao's eyes, and he turned his head to look at the old man. "Dad, look at this cold winter weather, maybe we should send MuMu to the hospital first."

"No! Jiang Mu has a fever, but do you have one too? The divorce agreement must be signed today! She must also move out today, and tomorrow my good grandson will move in. What if my good grandson sees outsiders and gets upset? She must go!"

The old man Li Tao was tough and overbearing.

Now that his son had been mentioned, Jiang Tao’s relaxed attitude from moments before became tough and he made a ruthless decision, "Sign, I'll take MuMu to the hospital after signing, and you can leave today."

Zhao Yue bit her lower lip. How could she have married such a man in the first place!

"Okay, I’ll sign." Zhao Yue bit her lower lip hard and her mouth was filled with the strong smell of blood. Her hand that was holding the pen kept trembling, and the tip of the pen drew meaningless marks on the paper.

As if exhausting all the strength in her body, she signed her name.

"Mom, let's go." Jiang Mu held the awkward boxes in both hands, her thin body incompatible with the large items she held.

Zhao Yue quickly greeted her, raised her hand to wipe the tears from her eyes, and carried some of the luggage for Jiang Mu, "Okay, let's go."

Jiang Mu turned to look at her grandparents and father. They were much younger than they had been in her past, but they were as indifferent as they’d always been.

"Dad, are boys really that important? So important that you want to abandon your wife and daughter?" The severe cold and high fever she was suffering from had made her voice a little hoarse, and her cold eyes embarrassed Li Tao.

"What’s with your attitude? I don’t know how your mother taught you, how can you talk to your elders in such a tone!” The old man scolded loudly.

Jiang Mu looked at her grandmother, her grandfather who was the most patriarchal in the family, and then at her father who had been silent all this time, completely giving up.

"You will regret it." Jiang Mu turned around, resolutely determined to no longer have any love or nostalgia for these people.

*

It was snowing heavily outside. In the capital city during the year of 1987, there were not many cars. The mother and daughter were standing on the side of the road carrying boxes and suitcases in their hands. Occasionally a few taxis would speed by with people in the cars.

Zhao Yue was very anxious as she looked around, hoping to find a taxi. She was still concerned for Jiang Mu and wanted to take her to the hospital as quickly as possible.

Jiang Mu herself was very relaxed in her heart. She finally left the Jiang family and no longer expected the love of her grandparents and father. Her destiny had already begun to change. She wanted to live a better and happier life with her mother and not care for anyone else.

"MuMu, how are you feeling now? Let's go to the hospital right away." As she spoke, Zhao Yue's feet were unsteady, and she suddenly felt like the sky was spinning before her eyes.

Jiang Mu steadied her in time, showing a relaxed smile, "Mom, don't worry, I'm fine."

Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew, and both of them were sent staggering. Jiang Mu was worried about Zhao Yue's body. She had suffered a lot of physical illness in her early years with the Jiang family and her body still suffered a lot. She had been raised at home for several years, but she was still weak after all.

The two women struggled to stop a taxi and went to the hospital.

After a whole night of tossing, Jiang Mu’s fever finally subsided, and Zhao Yue’s health was said to be fine by the doctors. The next day, after the two completed discharge procedures, they immediately boarded a train back to their hometown.

Zhao Yue felt distressed over the amount of money they had left. The sleeping berth on the train costs 30 yuan, and the hard seats only cost 15 yuan. In 1987, a salary of 200 to 300 hundred yuan a month was considered to be a middle class. In these times, 15 yuan can buy a lot of things.

Thinking about how her daughter needs to go to school in the future, the fact that she didn’t have a job, and the money she needed to spend on her health, she realized that she would need to save where she could. Zhao Yue regretted that she shouldn’t be soft-hearted just now and promised MuMu to buy a sleeper ticket next time.

Jiang Mu saw her concerns and changed the subject, “Mom, you tell me about the things in my hometown. I haven’t been back for three years.”

A smile appeared on Zhao Yue’s face, and she began to talk about the relatives in her hometown.

Jiang Mu's mind has already started to spin quickly. In her previous life, she went to her hometown and failed to find her mother there. Those people still living there had said that her mother had left their hometown after the divorce and left again not long after she returned. Hearing this, Jiang Mu gone back to the Jiang family.

Something must have happened at that time, otherwise, in this era why wouldn’t a divorced woman live at home?

All these doubts were finally resolved when the two returned to their hometown.

T/N: I’m so excited to translate this for you guys, I hope it was easy to understand!