001: After Rebirth, I Won’t Marry the Scumbag, I’ll Choose Someone Else
“My condition is, I want to marry you.”
Wen Qiao had been reborn half an hour ago.
She had returned to the moment when she brought the childhood betrothal document to the city to find her fiancé.
In her previous life, her father had been helping repair a tractor in the neighboring village when he accidentally saved Shen Haiyang and his mother from a fire.
Unintentionally, he became the benefactor of Shen Haiyang’s family.
Knowing the Wen family had a daughter, Shen Haiyang’s mother specially visited the Wen family to arrange this childhood betrothal.
However, not long after, Shen Haiyang’s mother took him to follow the army to the city, and they had little contact afterward.
Later, Wen Qiao’s father died when he fell off a mountain during a landslide caused by heavy rain while out on business.
Her mother, an ordinary rural woman, couldn’t support the family alone and was forced by her domineering uncle and grandmother to remarry.
Her stepfather was an abusive man.
He also had two sons who were seven or eight years older than Wen Qiao.
By the time Wen Qiao was sixteen or seventeen, her stepfather forced her to drop out of school.
He openly and secretly tried to make Wen Qiao marry one of his sons.
This would save the dowry for marrying off a daughter and the expenses for his sons to marry.
Naturally, Wen Qiao was unwilling, and her mother didn’t know what to do either.
So her mother secretly gave her the childhood betrothal document that had been arranged since she was young.
Telling her to go to the city and seek help from her fiancé.
Who would have known that Shen Haiyang’s father had died in the military many years ago, and Shen Haiyang’s mother had also passed away soon after.
Shen Haiyang had been adopted by an officer in the city.
No wonder there had been no contact with their family for so many years.
After much effort, Wen Qiao finally found Shen Haiyang.
Unexpectedly, the Haiyang brother who had been so kind to her as a child, always calling her “little sister,” pretended not to know her at all.
Wen Qiao didn’t want to return to her hometown and marry her stepfather’s son—truly marry her stepfather’s son.
Her life would be ruined.
Wen Qiao clung desperately, crying and wailing, refusing to leave.
She even took out the childhood betrothal document arranged since she was young.
It bore the names of both sets of parents.
Moreover, Shen Haiyang’s mother had given the Wen family a silver bracelet as a betrothal token back then.
Pressed by Wen Qiao’s loud commotion and her threat to cause a scene at the military academy where Shen Haiyang was studying,
Shen Haiyang panicked and finally brought Wen Qiao to the Shen family.
But to make Wen Qiao voluntarily break off the engagement, he went so far as to hire someone to tarnish her purity.
Although that person didn’t succeed and was beaten out by the Shen family,
the bad reputation of Wen Qiao engaging in promiscuous relationships spread.
In the end, Wen Qiao was coerced and sent back to her hometown by Shen Haiyang’s adoptive father, Shen Jichuan.
Even more terrifyingly, after returning to the countryside, Shen Haiyang spread rumors to Wen Qiao’s stepfather, saying she had been promiscuous with men in the city.
Wen Qiao instantly became the target of public criticism.
Her biological mother was weak and incompetent, unable to protect her, while her stepfather cursed and beat her with foul language.
Unable to bear it all, Wen Qiao eventually hanged herself.
Unexpectedly, after her suicide, she woke up again.
She woke up at the moment she had just arrived at the Shen family.
It was precisely when Shen Haiyang wanted to break off the engagement, Wen Qiao refused, and was about to cause an uproar.
Shen Haiyang, after all, was still young and didn’t know what to do, so he had to call his adoptive father, Shen Jichuan.
And now, the man sitting on the sofa had just returned from the military, his face stern and rigid, carrying an innate sense of oppression.
The man looked at Wen Qiao, his sharp eyebrows furrowed, his voice deep and hoarse:
“Comrade Wen Qiao, you are still young, and I am old enough to be your father. Please respect yourself, think carefully, and do not make such jokes.”
“You can make a request. Whether it’s a stable job or settling in Beicheng, we can discuss it.”
“As for the childhood betrothal you had when you were young, that is a relic of the old era. Now is a new era. Young people should embrace new ideas.”
Wen Qiao looked up at Shen Jichuan.
Her small face was fair and radiant, with two dark braids hanging over her chest.
Her eyes were bright and sparkling peach blossom eyes, and her lips were pink and full.
Her youthful and tender face made her look like a child who had yet to grow up.
“I don’t want anything. I only want to marry you.”
“If you agree, I will burn this engagement document right away, and I will also return the silver bracelet his family gave me to Shen Haiyang.”
Seeing Wen Qiao’s stubbornness, Shen Jichuan lost his patience.
Shen Haiyang, who had been standing nearby, had long lost his patience, especially when he heard Wen Qiao say she wanted to marry his adoptive father.
Shen Haiyang’s temples throbbed with anger, and he wished he could kick Wen Qiao out right then and there.
“Wen Qiao, don’t go too far. My father has already spoken to you politely. What exactly do you want?”
Wen Qiao looked at Shen Haiyang with a calm expression.
“I don’t want anything. Didn’t you ask me to make a request? This is my request.”
What do I want?
I want to be your mother.
Shen Haiyang was furious and even wanted to resort to violence.
Shen Jichuan glanced at his impulsive adoptive son and said coldly, “Haiyang, sit back down.”
Despite his anger, Shen Haiyang had no choice but to sit back on the sofa.
Shen Jichuan lit a cigarette and glanced at Wen Qiao.
“Come with me to the study.”
Seeing his father stand up, Shen Haiyang immediately grew anxious and said, “Dad, Wen Qiao is just deliberately mocking us father and son. You can’t agree to her request.”
His fiancée becoming his stepmother?
How could he continue to stay in the Shen family after this?
Shen Jichuan gave him a cold look.
“Do you have a better solution?”
Shen Haiyang was about to graduate from the military academy and would be assigned a job in the second half of the year. At such a critical moment, Shen Jichuan feared that causing trouble would lead to an unfavorable outcome.
Even though he had influence and could find someone to settle the matter, if Wen Qiao kept causing trouble again and again, the situation would only escalate.
Could it be that he would have to kill Wen Qiao?
Shen Jichuan felt that this matter had to be resolved.
Since this comrade was willing to make a request, it was easier to handle.
Wen Qiao obediently followed Shen Jichuan to his study.
The door to the study closed, and Shen Jichuan sat in his chair.
This was the first time, in this life or the previous one, that Wen Qiao had entered Shen Jichuan’s study.
The decor was simple, with a clear contrast of black and white, and a large red-lacquered wooden desk.
The items on the desk were also simple: a fountain pen, ink, a few military books, and an ashtray that had not yet been cleaned.
He seemed to particularly enjoy smoking.
In her previous life, every time Wen Qiao encountered him, he was smoking.
“Now it’s just the two of us. You can make any demand.”
“If you want money, I’ll give you two thousand. If I’m not mistaken, your annual savings in the countryside don’t even reach a hundred. Two thousand yuan is not a small amount for you.”
“Moreover, I can provide you with a relatively easy job.”
“I think these two options are more realistic for you than a marriage based on a mere piece of paper, don’t you?”
These things are indeed very tempting.
But should the humiliation she suffered in her previous life really be just forgotten like that?
Money, she could earn it herself; a job, she could find one on her own.
Why should she let that scoundrel Shen Haiyang take advantage?
Even though in her previous life, she was nearly defiled and sent to the countryside.
Why did he still have to spread rumors about her there?
He made sure everyone in the surrounding villages knew that Wen Qiao had gone to the city to find her fiancé, dazzled by wealth, and was earning money in the city through promiscuous relationships.
Her stepfather believed it to be true.
Thinking she had a lot of money, he came to her every day demanding it.
If she refused, he would curse her, saying the most hurtful things he could think of.
They were all accomplices in driving her to her death.
Recalling the helplessness and humiliation of her past life and the moment she hanged herself, Wen Qiao’s eyes grew warm and red.
“I don’t want any of it. I only want to marry you. I came to the city to find my fiancé. If he doesn’t want me, someone else should.”
“You…”
Shen Jichuan never expected her to say something like that.
“Are you just going to marry anyone you find so casually? You’re still young. I’m old enough to be your father. Aren’t you bothered by that?”
Wen Qiao replied, “You hold a high position.”
Shen Jichuan was both angry and amused.
“Wen Qiao, are you really determined to marry me?” Shen Jichuan asked her again.
Wen Qiao nodded. “If you don’t marry me, I’ll just stay in your house and refuse to leave. If you try to drive me away, I’ll…”
“You’ll what?”
Wen Qiao truly had nerve. She rushed right up to Shen Jichuan, pressed a kiss to his thin lips, then tore open her own clothes, revealing her snow-white shoulder. Her skin, inherited from her father, was fair and cool-toned, never tanning no matter how much she was in the sun.
After baring her shoulder, a glimpse of her chest became faintly visible, as if she were ready to climb right onto Shen Jichuan’s lap.
“I’ll accuse you of taking liberties with me, of having promiscuous relationships and refusing to admit it.”
Shen Jichuan shoved Wen Qiao away abruptly, forcing her to stumble back several steps before regaining her balance.
“I think you’ve truly lost your mind.”
Shen Jichuan’s veins bulged, and his temples throbbed faintly.
She was indeed mad.
If she weren’t mad, how could she think of staying in the Shen family at all costs, just to ruin Shen Haiyang’s reputation?