“Hey sis, are you here to see your husband?”
Jiang Qingmi was holding the baby, standing on a dusty construction site with machines roaring all around. She was completely stunned.
On the wall across from her, signs were posted saying Construction Site, Unauthorized Personnel Keep Out and Slow Down, Construction Ahead.
“What is your husband’s name?” a worker wearing a safety helmet shouted as he approached. It was so noisy that he practically had to yell. “I will call him out for you”
Jiang Qingmi, still in shock, forgot to reply.
She clearly remembered that in the novel, the Qing family was wealthy and influential. They owned a huge estate in the most expensive district of Northern City called Qingcheng Bay.
So where was the luxurious villa area described in the book? What was this construction site about?
“Hey sis, your husband’s name! What is his name!” the worker shouted again, thinking she had not heard.
“Ouch, my ears!” Jiang Qingmi yelled back. “Qing Yanshen! His name is Qing Yanshen!”
She had no hope left. Qing Yanshen was now a domineering CEO. How could he possibly be here?
She had transmigrated into this novel a week ago, taking over the body of the male lead’s ex-girlfriend, a minor character.
The male lead had been switched at birth with a fake heir and grew up in a remote village. He worked hard and was only brought back to his wealthy family at 23.
The ex-girlfriend had pursued him because he was handsome.
Even having grown up in a village, he would tan in summer and turn pale in winter. With his 1.88-meter height, broad shoulders, long legs, and firm muscles, his sharp facial features—high nose, thin lips—looked nothing like the local villagers.
His wealthy parents had paid the ex-girlfriend two million to break up, and she obediently went far away.
She had never seen so much money before. She lived in luxury, thought her swelling belly was just weight gain, and did not realize she was pregnant until the fetus moved. She still had 1.8 million, which was plenty to raise a child.
And then reality hit her.
Jiang Qingmi did not know her luck. She had transmigrated at the worst time when the ex-girlfriend had no money and the baby was still very young.
She knew that when the child was five, the male lead would appear with a large amount of child support.
But the baby was only two now.
Did she really have to struggle and raise the child for three more years, waiting for the domineering father to show up?
Looking at her chubby baby and her own malnourished, frail self, and then feeling the three thousand yuan left in her pocket, she decided that the male lead would eventually pay child support. Why not get it early? She was honest about it. She just did not want to suffer.
In reality, her own background and family did not matter. Transmigrating into the novel made her forget, but she knew she could not endure hardship.
She packed overnight and took the baby to find the domineering father, planning to get the support money and leave.
And now she was standing on a construction site with her two-year-old child, messy hair blowing in the wind.
The worker went to call someone for her.
What could this mean? Could Qing Yanshen really be here?
Then she realized that this construction site might be the future Qingcheng Bay, so it was not strange for the eldest son to be inspecting it in person.
Soon a tall man came out. He wore a black tank top and work pants, had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, a buzz cut, and a bandage around his head. His face was handsome, sharp, and angular.
But no matter how handsome, he was dressed like any other worker, covered in mud, brown boots dusted with cement, sweating, and carrying marks of heavy labor on his shoulders.
He held a safety helmet in one hand, clearly called away during work.
This was nothing like the domineering CEO she imagined. This looked like a laborer.
Jiang Qingmi was stunned. Was he really that hardworking, doing everything himself?
She had no memory of the original character, so she only knew what the book mentioned.
The man stared at her silently for three seconds before speaking.
“I suffered a head injury a while ago. I have forgotten a lot.”
Jiang Qingmi, still dazed, just said “Oh.”
He then looked down at the small girl in her arms. “Is this my daughter?”
She hesitated. “Yes. I think.”
He looked at her. “Are you my wife?”
Jiang Qingmi shook her head firmly. “No.”
Not before, and certainly not now.
He narrowed his eyes. “If the daughter is mine, and you gave birth to her, why not admit it?”
“Why should I?” Jiang Qingmi said in exasperation. “We were exes. We broke up long ago.”
His mind was clear. “If we broke up, why did you have my child?”
“I…” she had no answer. Ask the original character. She did not know.
“Your name. Are you really Qing Yanshen? You are 27?”
He nodded. He had woken up at the foot of a mountain, covered in blood, holding his ID, which confirmed his identity as Qing Yanshen.
“What about your birthday?”
“12.30.”
Names, age, and birthday all matched.
Jiang Qingmi realized something was off. People with the same name were common. In the novel, Qing Yanshen would only be found by his daughter three years later. She had arrived too early. The CEO would not be here.
This must be a coincidence.
“I think I came to the wrong person. Sorry,” she said, trying to leave.
The man frowned, staring at her, clearly in disbelief. “You are leaving me because of my injury?”
His coworkers often discussed women, saying that men who could not earn were useless, and a wife would leave. He had not cared before, having lost his memory. His wages had gone to medicine after his head injury.
But now someone had actually come looking for him. His wife and daughter were here.
Jiang Qingmi explained. “I really came to the wrong person. First, I do not discriminate against laborers, but the child’s father is wealthy, not a laborer. You just happen to share the same name.”
The man’s expression softened. “You think my working on the site makes you dislike me? I will earn money, become wealthy. Don’t worry.”
Jiang Qingmi had no response. “Look at the baby. Does she look like you?”
He said softly, “She does. Nose, mouth, face shape. Only her eyes resemble you. Pretty.” Then he avoided her gaze, looking a bit embarrassed.
Jiang Qingmi was speechless. This man was shameless.
Yet when she looked from her daughter to him, the similarities were uncanny. Could it really be?
But in the novel, Qing Yanshen was a CEO, not a laborer. She had not finished the book and did not know the full plot.
He seemed to notice her hesitation and insisted, “You cannot fool me. Look at the baby. She is clearly my child. No need for a paternity test.”
Ah. The paternity test.
“Yes. Let us do one,” she said seriously.
Qing Yanshen pursed his lips. “You still want to leave.”
“No. I mean. The test will confirm it,” she said.
“The test costs 6,000 yuan. I spent last month’s wages on treatment. This month’s pay is not out yet.”
She was shocked. “Six thousand? That is robbery?”
He noticed her financial situation immediately and softened. “If you have the money, we can go now.”
She hesitated. “Well. I do not have that much either.”
He smiled gently. “Then when we have money, we will do it. Don’t worry now. You have traveled far with the baby. Let us eat first, then I will get you a hotel tonight. Okay?”
She nodded. Exhausted, she had not eaten properly since transmigrating.
The baby, Jiang Tuantuan, held her bottle but perked up at the mention of food. “Mama, hungry.”
Jiang Qingmi picked her up.
There was another way to find the child’s father, to bring the baby to the Qing family mansion and claim he was the father. But the original character had accepted the payout and fled. That could anger the parents.
She just wanted to meet the male lead, quietly get some money, and leave.
“The baby is hungry,” he urged. “Let us eat first.”
Qing Yanshen requested leave from the construction management. He carried her bags lightly, looking at her and the baby. “Wife, baby, let us eat.”
“Who is your wife?”
“What is your name, wife? And the baby?”
Jiang Qingmi rolled her eyes. “You do not even know my name, yet you keep saying wife. Stop.”
“Sorry. Do not be mad,” he said guilty. “It is my fault for losing memory. You must have had a hard two months. I will take care of you, make sure you are healthy and well-fed.”
Who wants to be well-fed? Jiang Qingmi thought. Since he was injured and lost memory, she could not be sure he was really Qing Yanshen.
“I am Jiang Qingmi. The baby’s surname is mine. Jiang Tuantuan. Call me by my name, not wife.”
They moved away from the site. She held Tuantuan. Though not her biological daughter, the girl was adorable and well-behaved.
“When will we do the paternity test?”
He stopped and looked at her. “Once it confirms the baby is mine, can I call you my wife?”
“No.”
She answered firmly.
“If it is confirmed, I will have her call you dad. We are just exes, not husband and wife.”
He did not believe her. “Then why did my heart race and feel excited the first time I saw you? Isn’t that how a man feels facing his wife?”
“That is how a man feels seeing beauty,” she snapped. “You are horny.”
“No. I have seen other beautiful women these two months. They felt like wood. You are different.”
“Who knows. Again, I am not your wife. Call me by my name.”
Qing Yanshen pursed his lips, silent and a little disappointed, carrying the bags ahead.
She thought. The real female lead has not appeared yet. The woman who marries him later will be wealthy and beautiful.
They soon arrived at a restaurant called Sisters’ Home Cooking.
It was not busy, around three o’clock. Two women around forty-five sat at the front desk, chatting and cracking sunflower seeds.
Seeing them, they stood. The one in red said. “Brother, off work early today.”
The one in green smiled. “Ah, your wife and child are here. What a cutie. You are lucky.”
The red-shirted woman directed them to a window seat.
Seeing Jiang Qingmi did not deny the relationship, Qing Yanshen’s spirits lifted.
“Order whatever you like. I do not know what the baby can eat. Watch her,” he said, heading to wash up.
Splashing cold water on his face, he thought. Once memory returns, everything will be clear. She is clearly my wife, the ex, but acting like she does not know me.
Coworkers always said women were inscrutable. Who knew what she was thinking? Sometimes they did not even know themselves.
Qing Yanshen thought. As long as I treat them well and earn more, Jiang Qingmi will not leave.