Everyone in the entire Compound knew that the daughter the Shen family had found was desperately in love with Fang Yi.
All day long, whether she had a reason or not, she would find her way to Fang Yi’s side to make her presence known.
It was as if she believed that if she just hovered in front of Fang Yi enough times, he would finally see her.
The skating rink was bustling with people, and the disco music was deafening. To talk, you had to lean close to the other person’s ear and speak very loudly.
“Brother Yi, are you really going to marry Shen Qi? What about Baozhu then?”
Fang Yi, a cigarette dangling from his lips, shot his childhood friend Tian Jingxiang a sidelong glance.
“What else? The old man has spoken. If I don’t agree, he won’t be able to rest in peace.”
Tian Jingxiang patted him sympathetically. “How pitiful. Sometimes, being too popular with the girls isn’t a good thing. It’s a shame that you and Baozhu grew up together, yet it won’t end in a perfect happily-ever-after.”
“Heh.”
Fang Yi squinted. “Who says it can’t have a perfect ending? You can get a divorce after getting married. Shen Qi and I will just register our marriage without holding a banquet. That’s enough to humor the old man. Once he’s gone, I’ll divorce her.”
“Will Shen Qi agree? She sticks to you like a stubborn plaster. Once she’s actually married to you, there’s no way she’ll be willing to divorce.”
“What right does she have to disagree? She’s a country bumpkin who doesn’t know anything. She got lucky and saved Grandpa once, and now she thinks a toad can feast on a swan’s flesh. I’m not going to spoil her!”
“That’s true. Just looking at her makes me cringe. If I married a wife like that, I’d be too embarrassed to greet people when I go out.”
Tian Jingxiang winked. “You only brought Baozhu out to play today. When Shen Qi finds out later, she’s bound to throw a fit. She might even go and complain to your grandpa.”
“Complain? She dares?” Fang Yi curled his lip nonchalantly. “If she pisses me off, I’ll just throw away this military uniform and leave home. Then no one will have a good time!”
Tian Jingxiang gave him a thumbs-up. “Badass!”
The two of them leaned against the railing of the skating rink as they spoke, completely unrestrained and unafraid of being overheard.
On the rest bench right behind them, Shen Qi had been sitting for half an hour.
Half an hour ago, Shen Qi had discovered that she had returned to her nineteen-year-old self.
On this day, she had accidentally learned that Fang Yi had been asked out by Tian Jingxiang, so she had secretly followed them, wanting to give Fang Yi a surprise.
Shen Qi sat on the rest bench with her back to the skating rink, planning to suddenly turn around when Fang Yi skated over and play a cute joke on him.
Unexpectedly, in the time she sat there, the nineteen-year-old Shen Qi vanished, and the soul inside her body became that of the thirty-five-year-old Shen Qi.
She had heard the entire conversation between Fang Yi and Tian Jingxiang just now, but her body and soul had not yet fully merged, so she couldn’t move freely.
Now that she could move, she stood up.
At the same time, Shen Baozhu skated over unsteadily. Losing her balance, she looked as if she was about to fall.
Fang Yi reached out and caught her, and Shen Baozhu took the opportunity to fall into his arms, receiving a full embrace.
Shen Baozhu’s face instantly turned red. As if scalded, she frantically pushed Fang Yi away.
“I-I didn’t do it on purpose.”
Just as she regained her footing, her feet slipped again. Shen Baozhu’s entire face crashed into Fang Yi’s chest. It was only because the man grabbed her by the waist that she didn’t end up sitting on the ground.
Tian Jingxiang let out a jeering cry from the side. “Hey, you two, watch it! There are so many people here!”
Fang Yi’s smile was unrestrained. “I’m doing a good deed. Don’t you get it, kid?”
Shen Baozhu clutched Fang Yi’s clothes, her head bowed, not daring to look at anyone.
Such incidents were common at the skating rink. Many young men and women came to the rink precisely for a legitimate excuse to get physically close.
Everyone understood!
Suddenly, someone called out “Fang Yi” from behind.
Fang Yi’s brows knitted together. He could tell from the voice that it was that stubborn plaster, Shen Qi.
He was very annoyed. He didn’t want to turn around, didn’t want to see Shen Qi’s irritating face.
“Fang Yi!”
Shen Qi called out again. Her voice was cold, and though not particularly loud, it was exceptionally piercing.
Fang Yi propped himself up on the railing and turned around impatiently. “Don’t you come and bother—”
Before he could finish, the soda bottle Shen Qi was holding smashed viciously onto his head.
With a crack, the glass bottle shattered. Orange-flavored soda drenched Fang Yi’s face, and a good amount of it splashed onto Shen Baozhu and Tian Jingxiang.
“Ah!”
Shen Baozhu shrieked in terror, staring at Shen Qi in disbelief.
“Are you crazy?!” Tian Jingxiang snapped back to his senses and rushed to check Fang Yi’s injury.
A wave of satisfaction washed over Shen Qi’s heart. She threw down a contemptuous sneer, turned, and strode away.
A thin stream of blood trickled down his cheek. Fang Yi shook the soda from his hair, his eyes fixed deadly on Shen Qi’s departing back.
Shen Qi could feel the almost tangible gaze on her back.
But she no longer cared.
In her past life, she had exhausted all her efforts, cast aside her dignity, and given her all, just to earn a glance from him.
The result was only deception and lies.
In her past life, she had died at thirty-five. She died all alone, riddled with illnesses. Though not yet forty, she looked older than a sixty-year-old.
All of this was thanks to Fang Yi.
So, upon being reborn and hearing Fang Yi’s belittling words, Shen Qi was filled with rage.
The first thing she did after regaining control of her body was to viciously smash a glass bottle on Fang Yi’s head!
He was a scum man. Whoever wanted him could have him!
She, Shen Qi, didn’t want him anymore!
In her past life, her perspective had been too narrow, unable to see the true nature of things, which was why she had stubbornly believed Fang Yi was her salvation.
Little did she know that the greatest storms in her future would all be of his making!
Shen Qi was originally from the Compound. She had been switched at birth by a nurse and had her life swapped with a baby girl from the rural Zhou family.
At seventeen, she happened to save an old man. The old man invited her to the Compound as a guest, where she unintentionally met the Shen family, and the mystery of her birth was finally revealed.
Logically, since the switch was discovered, Shen Qi and Shen Baozhu should have returned to their respective families.
But Xu Ailian couldn’t bear to part with the child she had raised like a precious pearl for seventeen years. After discussing it with the Zhou family, she decided to keep Shen Baozhu.
After all, the Shen family was well-off; raising one more child was no problem.
The Zhou family, on the other hand, was dirt poor. One less mouth to feed was one less burden.
The Shen family carefully doted on Shen Baozhu, afraid that she would be unhappy if she found out she wasn’t their biological child.
To that end, the Shen family announced publicly that Xu Ailian had given birth to twins, but had accidentally lost Shen Qi. The hospital, afraid of a scandal, had lied and claimed there was only one baby.
With the passage of time, since the person had returned, there was no need to dwell on the past.
Everyone accepted this explanation. After all, if the parties involved didn’t mind, what reason did outsiders have to mind?
But no one had ever considered Shen Qi, nor did anyone care if Shen Qi was unhappy.
In her past life, Shen Qi was the one who was forgotten and ostracized. She was clearly the most pitiful and innocent one, yet no one saw her.