“Chi Mianyu, the marriage alliance arranged between our families was never meant for anyone in particular. Baozhu and I grew up together, and we have years of affection between us. She is the only woman I want to marry. Don’t think that just because you’ve returned to the Chi family, you can marry into the Shen family!”
“Are you finished?” Chi Mianyu asked, staring at the pretty-faced man standing before her. Her elegant brows furrowed slightly.
Shen Junfeng snorted coldly. “If you hadn’t constantly badmouthed Baozhu and claimed she bullied you, I wouldn’t have misunderstood her!”
He rolled his eyes, wearing an expression that suggested he had already seen through all her schemes.
“I know you were lost by the Chi family when you were little and only recently found. Old Madam Chi feels guilty about all the hardships you suffered growing up in the countryside, so she indulges your every whim. And now you actually think you can marry me?”
“We come from completely different worlds. Only a well-bred girl like Baozhu is worthy of marrying into a family like ours. She is the only one fit to become a daughter-in-law of the Shen family.”
With that, he slipped two ten-yuan bills out of his pocket and tossed them in front of Chi Mianyu as if he were doing her a favor.
“I don’t have time to accompany you to the movies. Take the money and stop getting in my way. And if you dare say anything to Old Madam Chi when you get back, I won’t let you off!”
After delivering his threat, Shen Junfeng turned and strode away with an air of confidence.
Chi Mianyu watched him leave, her fists clenching.
She took three quick strides forward, grabbed Shen Junfeng by the shoulder, and said, “Wait a minute.”
Shen Junfeng assumed she was shamelessly trying to cling to him again. Frowning impatiently, he turned around, ready to warn her not to push her luck.
BAM!
Before Shen Junfeng could even react, Chi Mianyu’s fist slammed into his face. Her strike was swift, fierce, and precise. After punching him, she swung her hand back and slapped the other side of his face.
“You… you shrew!” Shen Junfeng gasped, pain shooting through his nose.
Chi Mianyu examined his face. Both cheeks were swollen and red in perfect symmetry, finally satisfying her obsessive need for balance.
She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her right hand, the one she had used to hit Shen Junfeng. Before turning to leave, she made sure to stomp hard on the top of his foot.
“Ah! My foot!”
Shen Junfeng cried out in agony and fell flat on his backside, sprawled on the ground with his arms and legs flailing like an overturned turtle.
The onlookers could barely contain their laughter. Some covered their mouths, while others whispered among themselves. The young woman looked delicate and frail, yet who would have thought she could be so formidable?
“Chi Mianyu! Don’t think you can force me to give in by doing this! I would never marry you in this lifetime!” Shen Junfeng continued shouting from the ground.
Unfortunately for him, Chi Mianyu had already ridden away on her bicycle. She couldn’t hear him spouting any more nonsense.
She had been reborn.
The only problem was that she had returned to an extremely awkward point in time—right after the Chi family had found her in the countryside and just as the fake heiress, Chi Baozhu, had manipulated her into falling in love with Shen Junfeng and insisting on marrying the scumbag.
Chi Baozhu and Shen Junfeng were a perfectly matched pair of despicable people. After the real Chi heiress, Chi Mianyu, returned, Mother Chi began treating her with even greater affection. After all, Mianyu resembled Old Madam Chi’s youngest daughter, who had died young, and the old lady doted on her especially.
The most cherished child in the entire Chi family had suddenly changed from the impostor, Chi Baozhu, to Chi Mianyu, the girl who had been brought back from the countryside.
That was precisely why Chi Baozhu had carefully orchestrated the whole scheme.
She arranged for Shen Junfeng to shower Chi Mianyu with attention, flatter her, and take care of her in every possible way.
Meanwhile, Chi Baozhu played the role of the pitiful girl whose fiancé had been stolen from her. In public, she acted as though she were making a noble sacrifice, constantly shedding tears and pretending to be weak to win everyone’s sympathy. Her performance made Father and Mother Chi feel increasingly guilty toward her.
Three days ago, before Chi Mianyu was reborn, she had caught Chi Baozhu and Shen Junfeng embracing. Heartbroken, she had confronted them in tears.
During the ensuing struggle, Chi Baozhu deliberately threw herself down the stairs from the third floor.
She was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. Although she eventually regained consciousness, the doctor diagnosed her with a concussion and warned that she must not suffer any further emotional distress.
The Chi family was devastated and fussed over her endlessly. Their attitude toward Chi Mianyu also began to change. Only Old Madam Chi continued to stand firmly by her biological granddaughter.
Shen Junfeng didn’t even bother pretending anymore. Right there in the hospital, he accused Chi Mianyu of being utterly vicious and heartless, declaring that he would never marry such a malicious woman in this lifetime.
Back then, Chi Mianyu had been utterly devastated. While trying to reason with him, she had been shoved to the ground. Her head struck the corner of a table, and that was when she was reborn.
After returning to the past, she spent an entire day sorting through her memories and gathering her thoughts.
The following day, she announced to the Chi family that she would never marry Shen Junfeng. She also gathered every gift he had ever given her and burned them all to ashes.
Old Madam Chi thought the emotional shock had driven her granddaughter to behave strangely. She even sought out the head of the Shen family personally and warned him that the Chi family’s daughters were not there for Shen Junfeng to pick and choose from as he pleased.
If he dared to upset Chi Mianyu, there would be no reason for their two families to maintain their relationship.
After the Shen family had fallen on hard times several years earlier, it was the Chi family that had supported them financially and helped them get back on their feet.
Although the two families had been close for generations, the Shen family still had to consider Old Madam Chi’s wishes.
Originally, Chi Mianyu had planned to visit the western part of the city that day to buy the chestnut cakes and jujube paste pastries that had recently become all the rage in Haicheng.
But Shen Junfeng’s little performance had delayed her.
She glanced at the watch on her wrist. She was already twenty minutes behind schedule.
With no other choice, she turned into a nearby alley, hoping to take a shortcut.
As she rounded the corner, the corner of her eye caught sight of a patch of blood on the ground near a pile of garbage. It hadn’t dried completely, suggesting that it had been left there only recently.
Almost at the same moment, someone suddenly jumped onto the back of her bicycle.
A cold hand clamped over her mouth, and a low, hoarse voice whispered urgently into her ear.
“Comrade, please help me. Get me out of here.”
Chi Mianyu barely had time to process what was happening when several voices rang out behind her.
“That guy just ran this way! He’s injured, so he can’t have gotten far. Hurry up and catch him!”
“We absolutely cannot let him escape! The boss said we need to bring him back alive or dead!”
The man’s weak voice urged her on.
“Go! If they catch me and see you with me, you’ll be dragged into this too.”
Chi Mianyu realized that she had somehow been dragged into someone else’s trouble.
Even though she didn’t want to get involved, she had no better choice at the moment. She gritted her teeth and pedaled as hard as she could, taking a narrow path that led directly onto a busy main road.
Before long, she had left the pursuers far behind.
Still, she didn’t dare let her guard down. She rode for quite some distance before finally slowing down, intending to stop outside the commune’s health clinic.
“We’re almost at the clinic. You can go in by yourself,” she said, eager to avoid any further trouble.
However, the man behind her didn’t respond.
Instead, his entire body pressed against her back. Through the thin fabric of her clothes, she could feel his chest rising and falling. His body was burning hot, and the warmth seemed to spread all the way to her ears, making them turn red.
Quite a few pedestrians were watching them now. To the onlookers, the sight of a young man and woman riding together in broad daylight, practically wrapped around each other, was scandalous enough to invite whispers and pointed fingers.
Chi Mianyu felt her scalp burning with embarrassment.
She was just about to shake off this shameless man when he suddenly leaned close to her ear.
His scorching breath brushed against her ear canal as he pleaded weakly, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Please… take me to No. 17 Haiwan Road… Someone there will… will help me…”