At the thought, she instinctively pinched herself.
A searing pain shot through her arm.
Joy surged through her heart—so heaven was fair after all. In her previous life, she had been cruelly killed by that father-daughter pair, and now she had been sent back immediately to take her revenge.
Yes, she had died, but she had lived again.
Her happiness didn't last long before she was once again interrupted by little Zhao Chao beside her.
"Mommy won't play with Chaochao! Drown mommy…"
Little Zhao Chao's cries grew even more piercing, clearly displeased with her mother's distraction.
Gu Wanxing's heart jolted, a flicker of coldness passing through her eyes.
In her previous life, although she had been shocked and annoyed when Zhao Chao said something like "drown mommy," she had thought—she's my own flesh and blood after all. She simply couldn't believe such a small child would actually want to kill her. She'd only thought it was childish nonsense that needed more discipline.
She had then dragged her weak body around, searching everywhere for Zhao Chengyan, but no matter where she looked, she couldn't find him.
In the end, she had begged and pleaded with everyone she knew, borrowed money, and taken Zhao Chao to the hospital.
Only after confirming the child was fine did she collapse. From then on, she'd been left with chronic headaches and a sensitivity to cold.
This time though…
Gu Wanxing looked over the tiny bundle that was Zhao Chao, her eyes utterly cold.
Such a well-behaved little girl—who would have thought that beneath her obedient exterior lurked a demon?
A murderous demon.
Zhao Chao, still groggy, saw her mother looking at her and quickly reached out her arms, wanting a hug.
But all she got in return was a look of utter disgust from her mother.
She didn't understand what that look meant, and she kept her little arms stretched out until they grew sore, but her mother never came to hold her.
Gu Wanxing's heart twitched, and she quickly averted her gaze, not wanting to look at her.
This child was now an extremely complicated presence for her. A child who had personally killed her—how could she treat her the same as before?
Dream on. Not a chance.
Thud—
Gu Wanxing watched as little Zhao Chao collapsed unconscious on the bed.
She instinctively reached out to pick her up, but the image of Zhao Chao's twisted, terrifying face as she pulled out her oxygen tube flashed in her mind.
Gu Wanxing withdrew her hand, darkness clouding her eyes.
She wasn't an animal—she couldn't bring herself to kill her own blood…
But this child had never been loyal since birth. At such a tiny age, she'd wanted to drown her. In this life, she would never again run herself ragged for such a child and ruin her own life.
In her previous life, when they'd returned from the hospital, someone said they'd seen Zhao Chengyan eating at a restaurant with a woman and a child, looking like a family of three.
So he'd already been carrying on at this point. She'd always thought it was only after their family became wealthy that Gu Yuerou had sought out Zhao Chengyan.
A mocking smile curled at the corner of Gu Wanxing's lips.
She wanted a divorce—one where she didn't take the child.
A woman of action, she dragged her somewhat weak body off the bed. She needed to take stock of the family assets and prepare for the divorce.
Just as she opened the cabinet, hurried footsteps sounded in the courtyard.
She looked out the window and saw her sister-in-law—Zhao Chengyan's younger sister, Zhao Chengfang.
"Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law—"
Zhao Chengfang rushed toward the house, calling out as she came, with Zhao's mother Liu Xifeng following behind in quick little steps.
"Sister-in-law, I heard you and Chaochao nearly drowned. Are you two alright?"
Zhao Chengfang pushed aside the cloth curtain and walked in. When she saw the disheveled mother and daughter, a flicker of secret delight passed beneath her worried expression.
"Chaochao has a bit of a fever, and I'm feeling weak myself."
Gu Wanxing pressed her hand to her forehead at just the right moment, leaning against the tall cabinet with a haggard look.
She had once thought this sister-in-law was a decent person—reasonable, at least much better than her mother.
But who would have guessed? It was all false affection, ill-intentioned underneath. The whole family was cut from the same cloth.
As she lowered her gaze in thought, her mother-in-law Liu Xifeng came in and shot Gu Wanxing a vicious glare:
"Weak my ass. I just think you don't want to work—lazy enough to die, you are. You just swallowed a few mouthfuls of water, what's so delicate about that? You're just lazy!"
In the sunlight streaming through the window, Gu Wanxing could see the spittle flying from her mouth.
Her wrinkled face wore a harsh, mean expression.
Hearing this, she lowered her eyes at just the right moment, concealing the darkness beneath them.
It was also at this moment that she remembered she was still working at the garment factory, on rotating three shifts.
"Mom, what are you saying? People said sister-in-law almost drowned—thank goodness Regiment Commander Fu happened to pass by and saved her, or the consequences would have been unthinkable. I heard that when he carried her ashore, their soaking wet bodies were pressed together."
Zhao Chengfang didn't like this sister-in-law, but she didn't like her mother's attitude either. It was just like her own detestable mother-in-law—no wait, her mother-in-law was slightly better than her mother.
At least she'd never been scolded without rhyme or reason like this.
Since she disliked both of them, that didn't stop her from stirring the pot with her words.
Liu Xifeng shot her daughter a sidelong glance: "Useless thing. Boosting others and deflating your own. She let a man hold her with her clothes all disheveled, and she still has the nerve to talk."
The mother and daughter were both trying to sling mud on themselves, one openly and one covertly. Gu Wanxing had no desire to play along with their hypocritical games.
Zhao Chengfang was still playing the good guy: "Sister-in-law, don't take it to heart. Mom's just got a sharp tongue but a soft heart."
"Who asked you to say that?" Liu Xifeng elbowed her daughter, wishing she could just toss her out.
This stupid girl had no idea what went on inside or outside the house.
"I want to rest." Gu Wanxing lifted her gaze to Zhao Chengfang, her eyes filled with nothing but distance.
It made Zhao Chengfang's heart skip a beat. How could her sister-in-law have such a look in her eyes?
Could it be that she knew her brother had gone to see that Gu Yuerou?
At that thought, she didn't want to stick around any longer. She needed to go to town and drag her brother back. He had absolutely no sense—what was so good about that Gu Yuerou anyway?
Every time she saw Gu Yuerou's fake, affected demeanor, she wanted to slap her twice.
Yes, she didn't like Gu Wanxing, but she disliked Gu Yuerou even more.
"Alright, sister-in-law, you rest. I just heard something happened to you and Chaochao, so I came back to check on you. Since you're both fine, I'll head back now."
"Stay for lunch before you go. I'll make you some chive pockets."
Seeing her daughter about to leave, Liu Xifeng followed her out.
Gu Wanxing watched their retreating figures, a cold sneer in her heart. The old woman didn't think that was the end of it, did she? She'd taken the child out and gone to a river with such a strong current.
When Zhao Chao got into trouble, she ran off. What kind of goddamn grandmother was that?
At this time, Zhao Chengyan still cared a great deal about his daughter.
If he found out that Zhao Chao had nearly drowned because her own grandmother had put her in the water, who knew what kind of fight those two would have?
At the thought, Gu Wanxing couldn't help but feel a bit of anticipation.
Still, she was running a fever, and her legs felt weak. She staggered to the door and latched it shut.
Then she began rummaging through boxes and cabinets. She remembered that at this time, Zhao Chengyan was up to all sorts of shady dealings.
He worked at the steel factory and often stole steel to sell on the black market.
Also, real estate was booming outside, steel rebar was everywhere, and he was trafficking that too.
Zhao Chengyan had money, but he never gave her any. All the household expenses came from her thirty-six yuan monthly salary.
Every time she thought about that period, she wished she could give herself a good smack. What a fool she'd been.
Looking at the bankbook she pulled from the inner pocket of the overcoat, Gu Wanxing's throat tightened. Before she'd opened her shop in her last life, their household had been miserably poor—that beast hadn't contributed a single cent.
She opened the bankbook and went straight to the balance at the end.
Seeing the number on it, Gu Wanxing laughed out loud.
Fifteen thousand yuan…
That already made them a "ten-thousand-yuan household," and this was 1989, mind you.
Gu Wanxing set the bankbook aside and reached into the other pocket of the wool coat, pulling out Zhao Chengyan's personal seal, just as she'd expected.
Bankbooks back then didn't require a password—just the account holder's seal to withdraw money. And banks had no surveillance, so there was no way to trace who took the money.
If she withdrew this money, that bastard would definitely be suspicious.
But Zhao Chengyan had no proof either. Let him do whatever he wanted. At least they were still husband and wife, weren't they? Between a married couple, what was mine was his and his was mine. If this went to the police station, wouldn't they laugh their heads off?
Besides, his money came from shady sources. Would he dare report it?
After that, Gu Wanxing stuffed her remaining three yuan and sixty-eight cents into her pocket.
Only then did she go to find her dowry that she hadn't sold yet—
A box her biological mother had left her. There wasn't much inside, but it was the capital she'd use to build her fortune.