What she found most unbearable was that Wang Jiangang was actually decent-looking—except for his yellow teeth, which made her stomach turn. On their wedding night, the moment he opened his mouth, she nearly keeled over from the stench.
In her past life, she’d suspected Gu Yanzhi had something wrong with him because, on their very first wedding night, he hadn’t dared to touch her. But starting the second day, she had been the one refusing to let him near her!
She’d told him that if he didn’t send those two “worthless brats” away, he would never so much as lay a hand on her for as long as she lived.
She still remembered how Gu Yanzhi’s face had darkened right then and there.
Later, not only were the two children not sent away—he’d taken them with him to his army post, but he hadn’t taken her.
Thankfully, she’d gone on to pass her university entrance exams, and had looked down on him more than ever!
How could a rough, unrefined man like him ever compare to a talented university student?
Yet later, watching Shen Niannian and Wang Jiangang rise from scrap collectors to running their own company, living better and better by the day, she’d been consumed with envy.
What good was being a university student? She’d been assigned to a factory as a technician, but her monthly salary was barely a fraction of what theirs earned.
Then the factory had shut down, she’d been laid off, and to make matters worse, the Gu family had fallen into complete disarray. She’d been so overcome with regret she could’ve kicked herself.
Especially when she’d seen Shen Niannian on television, being interviewed again and again, opening one company after another, living in a high-rise apartment, driving a car, and followed around by no less than four assistants and secretaries.
Envy had taken root—until it burned into madness!
In the end, she’d driven her car straight into Shen Niannian on her way home. But she’d met no happy ending either: her car had spun out, slammed into a concrete barrier, flipped over, caught fire, and finally exploded.
In the very instant she was blown apart, she realized—she had been reborn!
She was back in 1979, before either she or Shen Niannian had gotten married.
Looking at Shen Niannian, who knew nothing of what was to come, she felt a surge of triumph.
When her family had suggested arranging a marriage between her and Gu Yanzhi, she had refused outright.
She would not repeat the mistakes of her past life! She would marry Wang Jiangang—from the scrap collection station!
She would become a wealthy man’s wife! She would live the kind of life she had once only dreamed of!
Let Shen Niannian deal with all the mess and misery of the Gu family!
Her family had been utterly baffled at the time, but Shen Youyou hadn’t cared. Deep down, she had felt smug, telling herself: Just wait. Just wait until you see me driving a car, running my own company, and becoming a wealthy businesswoman!
Who could have guessed that on their very wedding night, Wang Jiangang would refuse to touch her!
No matter how she tempted him, how she threw herself at him—he would turn red with suppressed desire, yet he never once gave in.
Shen Youyou was seething with frustration.
Is there something wrong with this man? Is he completely incapable?
Come to think of it, she realized she had never heard of Shen Niannian ever having children, either!
So in the dead of night, while Wang Jiangang slept, she had crept over and pulled down his underwear—only to nearly retch all over again.
His underwear was practically stiff with grime!
And just like Shen Niannian, she had never shared a man’s bed in her past life—so she had had no idea what she was in for, or why it was so repulsive.
It was disgusting beyond words.
She wanted to gag. In an instant, every last bit of desire had vanished.
Better he not touch her. If he had, she would have been plagued by nightmares all night long.
And so she had drifted through the rest of the night in a daze.
Before dawn had even broken, Wang Jiangang’s mother began pounding furiously on their door at the top of her lungs.
“Get up! Get up this instant! What time do you call this? Lazing about instead of getting breakfast ready!”
Shen Youyou could barely keep her eyes open. Glancing out the window, she saw the sky was only just beginning to lighten. She rolled over, determined to get a little more sleep.
Especially since Wang Jiangang beside her was sleeping as soundly as a log.
But his mother was like a rooster hopped up on adrenaline—relentless, nonstop.
There was no point in trying to sleep. Furious, Shen Youyou dragged herself out of bed and got dressed.
Yet the moment she opened the door, his mother slapped her hard across the face.
“You lazy good-for-nothing! Do you have any idea what time it is? Still in bed when you should have been up cooking hours ago?”
The blow made Shen Youyou’s head spin. It took her a long moment to recover.
Dazed, she glanced toward the other rooms. She saw that the eldest brother, his wife, the younger brother, and his wife were all already up, brushing their teeth and washing their faces. She had no idea if they had been woken up the same way—but they all seemed perfectly used to it, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
The sharp retort that had risen to Shen Youyou’s lips died in her throat.
No. She could not lose her temper. She was counting on Wang Jiangang to give her a good life. If Shen Niannian could make it work, then so could she.
Outwardly, she forced a smile and hurried to wash up, then joined her sisters-in-law in the kitchen to help prepare breakfast. But inwardly, she had already cursed that old woman a thousand times over!
She told herself: Once Wang Jiangang starts making money, the very first thing I will do is buy us a house and move out. We will split from this family.
Yes! Once we are living apart, just the two of us—then I will be the one who calls the shots!
Back at home, Shen Niannian had always done the cooking, so Shen Youyou had barely lifted a finger in the kitchen.
But her two sisters-in-law—whether they had conspired together or not—kept dumping all the dirtiest, heaviest work onto her.
Even the actual cooking fell to her.
She had never been much of a cook. Back home, Shen Niannian had done all the cooking—her food was delicious. As for Shen Youyou’s own cooking? Even her grandmother had once said not even a pig would eat it.
So when she realized she was expected to do the cooking, she hesitated.
“Sisters-in-law… why don’t one of you do the cooking instead?”
But the eldest sister-in-law tossed her head back and huffed.
“And why should I? I’ve got to get to work soon! If I cook, I’ll reek of cooking smoke all day!”
Helpless, Shen Youyou turned to the younger brother’s wife.
She, however, placed a hand over her stomach and gave a sheepish smile.
“Oh, Second Sister-in-law… I’m so sorry. I think… I think I might be pregnant. Jianlin was just saying he’d take me to the clinic for a checkup this morning.”
She pretended to look queasy, and gave a dramatic gagging sound.
Then she turned and walked right out of the room.
Shen Youyou turned pale with rage.
Fine! So it’s just cooking, is it? I’ll do it!
Half an hour later, the Wang household rang out with the old woman’s ear-splitting shriek!
“You worthless little hussy!!! You used up nearly an entire jar of lard cooking vegetables!!! Are you trying to ruin us?!!!”
“Nearly a whole jar of lard—and look at what you’ve made!!! Even pigs wouldn’t eat this!!! You good-for-nothing!!! How did our family ever end up with a useless creature like you?!!!”
Shen Youyou stood there, face ashen, fighting back tears. She hadn’t wanted this! They had forced her to cook! She knew perfectly well she was no good at it. She had only thought that using plenty of lard might make it taste better.
She had never expected everything to turn charred and black.
“I… you all made me do it!” she stammered, voice trembling. “I never asked to cook! Back home, my parents never made me lift a finger in the kitchen—how is this my fault?”
Her heart was aching, her eyes stinging with tears. She turned to look at Wang Jiangang, who had just gotten up, hoping he would come to her defense.
But he simply walked over to the table, chuckled awkwardly, glanced at the blackened mess on the plates—and frowned.
“What on earth is this?” he asked.
The eldest sister-in-law jerked her chin toward Shen Youyou.
“Your wife’s cooking!”