Mu Xiaocao opened her eyes to see a man’s face filled with disgust. Yet, his fingers were unbuttoning her clothes. Without a second thought, she gave the man two heavy slaps across the face.
Ignoring the man’s shocked expression, she scanned the room. Then, barefoot, she rushed out the door and saw the Military Compound, a place that had become somewhat blurred in her memories.
So, she really had returned. She was back in the third year of her marriage to Liu Guoqiang—January 5th, 1981.
She suddenly clutched her chest. It felt as if an invisible hand were squeezing her heart, the pain so intense she could hardly breathe.
She remembered how, before her death, Liu Guoqiang had been celebrating his White Moonlight’s birthday. He had even taken the twin sons she had nearly died giving birth to, and together, they had sung birthday songs for that woman.
She had died without even seeing them one last time.
For over twenty years, for a full twenty years, she had failed to warm his heart of stone.
If he didn’t love her, why did he marry her in the first place!
On their wedding day, he had picked her up on his bicycle and brought her to the Liu family home, only to immediately return to his unit.
It wasn’t until today, three years later, when he called her to the base, that they were finally supposed to consummate their marriage.
Fine. Good. There was still time for everything.
In this life, even if it meant death, she would never bear children for this man again. She wanted a divorce!
Actually, she had arrived earlier that afternoon.
But when she had pushed open the door, sweating and exhausted, she had seen Hu Lili leaning into Liu Guoqiang’s arms as they looked at a picture book.
One face was full of doting affection, the other was blushing like a peach blossom.
Back then, young and impulsive, she had rushed forward to tear into Hu Lili, only to be shoved aside by Liu Guoqiang. Her head had hit the corner of a table, and she had passed out.
When she opened her eyes again, she had almost been forced by this dog of a man!
In her previous life, she had become a mother without much thought. In this life, to hell with the man and to hell with the children!
On this same day in her past life, in order to keep the man’s heart, she had apologized to Hu Lili, washed her clothes, cooked for her, and deliberately tried to please them. She had even given Hu Lili a pearl necklace that a childhood friend had given her.
But no matter how humble or pleasing she acted, she could never win Liu Guoqiang’s heart.
Before she died, she held so much resentment.
After she died, she felt so much regret.
Now that she was alive again, she would no longer cater to anyone!
Liu Guoqiang finished dressing and chased her out, only to find Mu Xiaocao standing dazed in the courtyard, lost in thought.
“Haven’t you made enough of a scene? Since you’re awake, go and apologize to Lili.”
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Liu Guoqiang went to open it, and Hu Lili’s body went limp, leaning against him.
“Qiangzi-ge, forget it. Don’t make things hard for Sister. I’m fine, don’t be angry.”
As she spoke, she tried to hide her right hand behind her back.
On it was a red scratch mark from Mu Xiaocao.
Liu Guoqiang looked down and saw Hu Lili’s subtle movement. His gaze immediately became as sharp as a sword, directed straight at Mu Xiaocao.
“Did you hear that? Apologize to Lili!”
In her previous life, such a look from Liu Guoqiang would have made Mu Xiaocao feel both afraid and panicked.
But now, she had seen through everything. How could she possibly humble herself to accommodate these two wretches?
She tucked a stray hair blown by the wind behind her ear and looked at Liu Guoqiang with icy eyes.
“What did I do wrong? Why should I apologize?”
“You hurt Comrade Hu for no reason. You must apologize!” Liu Guoqiang’s expression was stern.
“Don’t you know why I hurt her?”
“What should I know? All I know is that you scratched her hand like a shrew.”
“Fine, I’ll apologize.”
Mu Xiaocao gave a careless half-bow, then suddenly lunged forward. She grabbed Hu Lili by the hair and slammed her head against the courtyard wall before delivering two swift slaps to her face.
Even with his quick reflexes, Liu Guoqiang failed to stop Mu Xiaocao’s sudden madness.
By the time Mu Xiaocao shoved Hu Lili back toward him, Liu Guoqiang finally snapped out of it and hurriedly shielded the screaming Hu Lili behind him.
“Mu Xiaocao, do you want to die!”
Liu Guoqiang ground his teeth, his face darkened with a gaze so sharp it seemed he wanted to slice her into pieces.
“It hurts!” Hu Lili clutched her head, her face pale with pain as tears streamed down.
Mu Xiaocao’s gaze remained calm as she looked at Liu Guoqiang.
“Liu Guoqiang, since you protect this vixen so much, let’s get a divorce. You can marry her and live your lives together.”
“Mu Xiaocao, watch your words! Lili and I are perfectly innocent. Don’t let your nonsense tarnish her reputation. Once I come back from taking Lili to the hospital, I’ll settle the score with you!”
“Oh, don’t wait. If there’s a score to settle, let’s settle it now.”
Mu Xiaocao didn’t yield an inch.
In her past life, why had she lived so pathetically? She had watched these two act all lovey-dovey in front of her without daring to utter a single word of complaint. Even her own children weren’t close to her, secretly calling this vixen “Mom.”
Just as Liu Guoqiang was about to explode in anger, Hu Lili leaned her entire weight against him, her voice soft and affected: “Qiangzi-ge, my head hurts so much…”
That madwoman had slammed her head against the wall several times; there were probably lumps already.
Liu Guoqiang shot Mu Xiaocao a fierce glare, then picked Hu Lili up and strode away.
Mu Xiaocao watched the man’s tall figure recede into the distance, and her eyes gradually clouded with a layer of mist.
She and Liu Guoqiang were childhood friends who had grown up together.
However, Liu Guoqiang had excelled in his studies since he was young. Awards and certificates had covered an entire wall of the Liu house, making him the envy of all the nearby villages.
He had gone to the city for middle school and high school. In an era of scarcity, to lighten his family’s burden, he had enlisted in the army after graduating high school.
Because he was hardworking and intelligent, Liu Guoqiang had already risen to the rank of Company Commander. At this level, he was allowed to have his family live with him at the base.
But in her past life, she had stayed in this compound for less than a month.
After returning to the village, she never came back to this place because Liu Guoqiang said the family couldn’t manage without her.
Only later did she realize that it was here that Liu Guoqiang had reunited with his White Moonlight from middle school.
Hu Lili’s father was also a soldier. When Liu Guoqiang was in school, Hu Lili was a transfer student in his class. She was fair-skinned and clean, possessing a sophisticated air that made all the other children in school feel ashamed of their own appearance.
Even though she had only been Liu Guoqiang’s classmate for a year, that noble and beautiful figure had taken root in his heart.
Later, when he was stationed at a northern base, he unexpectedly encountered the Star Performer of the Song and Dance Troupe—Hu Lili.
However, by then he was already married, and Hu Lili’s husband had died heroically while on a mission.
Hu Lili was pregnant at the time, and in her grief, she suffered a miscarriage. That miscarriage left her unable to conceive for the rest of her life.
Consequently, Mu Xiaocao became Liu Guoqiang’s tool for carrying on the family line and a free maid to care for his parents until their deaths.
During the years she was alive, Liu Guoqiang gave half of his monthly salary to Hu Lili. He kept one-fifth for himself, gave one-third of the remainder to his parents, and only gave what was left to her.
He claimed it was his duty to look after the family of a martyr.
That “looking after” had lasted a lifetime.