By six o’clock that evening, Lin Sui had arrived—at least an hour earlier than she used to get here in her past life.
She borrowed a bicycle from her cousin and headed straight for the shoe factory.
A familiar autumn breeze brushed past, carrying the scent of damp earth and mildew, and it helped calm her nerves a little.
Would Gu Shaonan guess that she had also gone back in time?
Probably not. After all, she had never seen herself at the Shencheng Securities Exchange in her previous life.
Rebirth was such a strange miracle; who would ever imagine that both husband and wife could return to the past?
The Nanfeng County Shoe Factory where Gu Shaonan worked was a state-owned enterprise. Not long after joining, he had already been promoted to team leader of the machine maintenance workshop, a position that made many colleagues envious.
Two years later, however, the factory began losing money and had to downsize. Only after much encouragement did Gu Shaonan finally decide to leave and start his own business.
It was nearly seven o’clock. Just like in her past life, Lin Sui spotted three shifty-looking men with sharp, rodent-like features huddled at the corner, lying in wait. They were clearly thugs hired by people jealous of Gu Shaonan. In her previous life, she had come to the factory looking for her uncle for help, only to find he was away entertaining factory leaders. She had run into this scene entirely by chance back then.
Back then, Gu Shaonan had been quite frightened when he saw the men. This time, knowing exactly how events would unfold, Lin Sui felt far calmer.
But seven o’clock came and went—and Gu Shaonan did not appear.
Lin Sui wondered if she had misremembered the time. After so many years, it was only natural for memories to blur.
She waited another half hour, but still there was no sign of him.
By almost eight o’clock, the three men grew impatient. One of them ground his cigarette hard against the pavement.
“Damn it, did that Sun fellow trick us?”
“Didn’t he say the guy would definitely pass this way?”
Just then, two police officers walked by.
“What are you loitering around here for?”
The thugs forced grins. “Nothing, officer. Just passing through. We’re leaving right away.”
One of the officers noticed Lin Sui standing nearby, looking pale and uneasy.
“Comrade, is everything all right? Do you need help?”
Lin Sui pushed down the rising anxiety in her chest.
“Officer, did you happen to be passing by, or did you get a report that thugs were planning to start a fight here?”
The officer grew alert. “What fight? Were those men bothering you?”
“Oh, no… we were just passing through. It’s nothing. You should head home quickly, miss—it’s not safe out after dark.”
Long after the police had left, Lin Sui stood there in a daze. Their arrival had unfolded exactly as it had in her past life—but Gu Shaonan still hadn’t come out.
He would usually go straight home after work. After all, his older sisters had all married off, leaving only his mother, younger sister, and his sister’s out-of-wedlock child in the house. Yet tonight, he was nowhere to be seen.
Lin Sui waited until nine o’clock. Most of the workers had already left, and the factory lights were being turned off.
She stopped one of the departing workers. “Excuse me—has everyone finished for the night?”
“All gone. The whole line’s shut down and lights are out.”
Lin Sui froze. Gu Shaonan wasn’t coming. He must have left early, or perhaps hadn’t even shown up for work today.
She tried to console herself: Maybe he had sensed the danger and decided to avoid the ambush, not knowing that she too had been reborn.
If there was no attack, there was no real danger. But it still left her feeling uneasy. Could it be that this first meeting—this place that had once been their regular spot for dates and courtship—held no special meaning for him anymore?
Couldn’t he have stopped by after the thugs left? Or would running into her out of the blue seem too suspicious? Perhaps he was just waiting for another chance to meet her.
Just then, two more workers walked past. One of them complained loudly, “That Gu Shaoran is really something! He took sudden leave today and dumped all his work on me. I’m exhausted—isn’t he usually the one who begs to work overtime until dawn?”
“Why’d he take time off all of a sudden?”
“Heard he had to go to Ning County next door for some business.”
A cold chill ran through Lin Sui from her scalp all the way down to her toes, and she swayed unsteadily on her feet.
Ning County. So he wouldn’t be coming tonight. Not even in this new life.
Had he already made a different choice?
She could not remember how she left the factory grounds. Holding onto her bicycle, she wandered through the pitch-black streets like a ghost.
She recalled how in her past life, Gu Shaonan’s mother had fallen and broken her leg while chopping bamboo in the mountains, leaving her unable to care for herself. Gu Shaonan was swamped with work at the factory, and his older brother refused to help because of constant conflicts between his wife and their mother. So Gu Shaonan had quit his job to look after his mother for two whole years, while also running a small street stall selling clothes to make ends meet.
Once his mother had recovered, they moved to the southern city to start their business. That was around the time they adopted their son, Xiao Rong. With the child still young and their new venture just taking off, they asked his mother to come help look after the boy. But she refused—worried about her younger daughter and grandson left behind in the village. Meanwhile, Gu Shaonan’s sister had become a mistress, had a child, and when her lover’s business collapsed, they had nowhere to live. They moved into Gu Shaonan’s home and stayed there for more than ten years, idle and lazy, spending their days playing mahjong.
Once Gu Shaonan became wealthy, they all came asking for support. When Lin Sui refused, her mother-in-law called her heartless. On top of that, she and Gu Shaonan had never been able to have children, which only fueled the tension between them.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want a child. They had gone for countless check-ups and tried every remedy, but no cause was ever found, and no pregnancy followed.
And really—what family didn’t have its share of disagreements behind closed doors?
But now, given a second chance, was Gu Shaonan choosing to leave her behind? If that was how it was, then fine. She was reborn too. She could change things. She could stop his mother from going up the mountain in the first place, so she would never fall and break her leg. Even if the accident still happened, there was Chen Qinghe who could take care of her. Having lived through the future, she knew the trends of the economy and held the secrets of success. She could earn plenty of money on her own—without needing him at all.
After the shock came deep disappointment and anger. Her chest felt tight, as if stuffed with cotton, making it hard to breathe.
Suddenly, she felt something fall on her face. She brushed it away, and her hand came back damp. It had started to rain. Looking up, she realized she had wandered all the way to the turnoff for Bamboo Grove Village.
“Hey, you little witch—did you call those cops just now?”
Two men stepped out to block her path. One of them eyed her from head to toe with a leering grin. “Not bad… you’re quite the pretty thing.”
“More than just pretty. Never seen anyone this good-looking before.”
The three thugs had doubled back, surrounding her—two in front, one behind.
Lin Sui snapped back to reality and gripped the bicycle handlebars tight. “W-what do you want?”
“You know exactly what we want.”
“Come along quietly. Don’t make us rough you up right here.”
In the next instant, Lin Sui hurled her bicycle straight at the man behind her and turned to run.
She thanked heaven she had once been the 100-meter sprint champion at her school sports meet.
She sprinted hard, quickly putting some distance between herself and her pursuers, while shouting at the top of her lungs: “Help! Someone stop them! Murder! Help!”
Strangely enough, she felt no fear—only a burning anger toward Gu Shaonan.
Up ahead, she saw the headlights of a car approaching. Without thinking, she ran straight toward it.
Screech! The tires skidded on the wet road, and the car came to a sudden halt right beside her.
“Are you trying to get yourself killed?!” the driver yelled.
The window rolled down, revealing a furious face with sharp, square features.
“Comrade! Help me—there are thugs chasing me!” Lin Sui cried out.
No sooner had the words left her mouth than the passenger door swung open. A man jumped out, and as the first thug lunged forward, he delivered a powerful kick that sent him flying several feet back.
His movements were fast and sharp, just like in those action movies.
The thug hit the ground hard. Blinded by the car’s bright headlights, the other two raised their hands to shield their eyes. The words they meant to curse died in their throats. They scrambled to their feet, helped their fallen companion up, and fled as fast as they could.