The Mid-Autumn night should have been lively and warm, but Qiao Qingyan had stopped breathing.
One moment she was laughing and chatting with her three younger brothers at the dinner table, the next she drank the wine they handed her, her vision went black, and she collapsed beside the table.
When she opened her eyes again, she had already been dragged into a shabby clinic.
Her three younger brothers had directly cut out Qiao Qingyan’s heart. The reason was simple—to save their non-blood-related older sister, Bai Wanwan.
The moment the scalpel sliced through her skin, Qiao Qingyan was jolted awake by sheer agony.
The one wielding the knife was the youngest, Qiao Rongze—the top student she had supported by selling her own blood. He didn’t hesitate for even a second as he cut her open.
He glanced down, casually tossed the heart into the silver basin beside him, and a dull thud echoed out.
“You wouldn’t spend money to save Sister Wanwan, so you deserve this fate today!”
Qiao Qingyan was in so much pain she could barely breathe: “But back then… if we’d sent Bai Wanwan to the hospital, your eldest brother would have gone blind…”
“Shut up! Don’t use me as your shield!”
The eldest brother, Qiao Rongkang, cut her off fiercely. “I’d rather go blind than accept your hypocritical charity!”
Qiao Qingyan stared wide-eyed at the three younger brothers she had cradled in her palms since they were children. No matter how deep the knife wound in her chest was, it didn’t sting as much as their words.
She had used every ounce of her strength to lift them up, helping all three brothers become respectable elites—and in the end, all she got was a heart full of hatred?
The second brother, Qiao Rongwei, coldly added the final blow: “Once you’re dead, I’ll transfer all the shares under your name to Sister Wanwan. Consider it the one decent thing you’ve done.”
Before death took her, she glared at the three of them, her eyes filled with nothing but regret!
Tears slid from the corners of her eyes, mingling with the pool of blood.
If there were a next life, whoever wanted to care for them could go ahead—she wouldn’t acknowledge a single one of them again!
…
“Dad! Aunt Wu hasn’t even married into the family yet, and eldest sister is already bullying Sister Wanwan. If we keep her at home, what’s going to happen later? She’ll turn the whole house upside down!”
“Mom sent a telegram saying sister should go to Shanghai, right? Just let her leave. Our family has too many mouths to feed, and with one less person, things will be a bit easier. Besides, it’s for the good of the family.”
A searing pain was still shooting through her chest. Qiao Qingyan struggled to open her eyelids and found herself lying on an old creaking bed. Her father and Qiao Rongze were arguing endlessly outside the door.
“But Rongze, didn’t you say before that a family should stick together no matter what, even if it means selling the pots and pans?”
Her father’s voice sounded a bit weak. “Besides, that slope behind the mountain is so steep—the person who fell might not even be your sister… No one can say for sure who slipped.”
“It was her! She’s rotten to the core and has wanted to harm Sister Wanwan all along!”
Qiao Rongze said with absolute certainty. “What I said before about the family not splitting up—that was before I knew what she was really like! Now I know she’s an ungrateful wolf, and we absolutely can’t keep her around to ruin this family!”
Hearing this, Qiao Qingyan’s heart jolted violently. Mom sent a telegram to bring her over?
Wasn’t that telegram sent when she was nineteen?
She quickly looked around. This wasn’t the empty, cavernous house she’d lived in alone later—this was the old family home in her hometown!
The earthen walls were rough and uneven, and a calendar reading “Learn from Comrade Lei Feng” was pasted on the wall. The date on it read 1975…
The man outside had thick, glossy black hair and looked just over forty.
And Qiao Rongze—he was wearing a white undershirt stained with sweat marks, covered by an army-green work jacket. He didn’t have that refined, gentle smile he’d developed later.
Qiao Qingyan almost didn’t recognize him!
Could it be… she had traveled back in time?
The moment the thought surfaced, even she found it absurd.
While she was frozen in shock, Bai Wanwan walked in, leaning against the doorframe.
Hearing how fiercely they were arguing, she lowered her eyes to look at her arm wrapped in a cast, and her eyes instantly turned red.
“Uncle is right. Sister Qingyan didn’t mean it. I just lost my footing and fell on my own.”
She bit her lip so hard it nearly drew blood, putting on a look of swallowing her grievances: “Rongze, don’t create conflict with Uncle and Sister Qingyan over me. I’m really fine… I’ll be better after resting for a while. Don’t hurt your family bonds because of me.”
If she hadn’t said anything, it might have been fine. But the moment those words left her mouth, Qiao Rongze’s anger flared even hotter.
“Sister Wanwan, I know you’ve been wronged, but don’t worry. Even though Qingyan shares blood with me, I won’t cover for her!”
“I swear, in the future I’ll get into the medical program at Beijing University, cure your illness, and let you live a healthy, happy life!”
Bai Wanwan’s eyes were full of surprise when she heard this.
But Qiao Qingyan, lying on the bed, clenched her fists tightly.
In her past life, at this time, Bai Wanwan had only just stepped through the Qiao family’s door with her mother. Qiao Rongze had been cold and indifferent to her, even thinking the girl was too frail and not worth bothering with.
But now, his attitude was a complete reversal!
What was even more absurd was that the college entrance exam hadn’t even been reinstated yet. Where had he heard such news, and how could he be so certain he’d get into university?
Could it be… he had also been reborn?
Her heart was pounding wildly, and before she could process it, Qiao Rongze had already noticed she was awake.
He rushed to the bedside in a few strides, grabbed her arm, and yanked her up: “Qiao Qingyan, apologize to Sister Wanwan right now!”
His grip on her shoulder was so tight it hurt, and Qiao Qingyan snapped back to reality.
The pain of having her heart cut out in her past life surged up violently. Staring at the contempt in Qiao Rongze’s eyes, she raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face!
“What do I owe an apology for?”
That slap used every ounce of strength she had, sending Qiao Rongze’s head jerking to the side, nearly knocking him to the ground.
“You… you dare hit me?”
He stood there clutching his cheek, his face a picture of utter shock, as if he’d seen a ghost!
From childhood to now, Qiao Qingyan had never even spoken a harsh word to him, and now she’d actually slapped him?
“Shouldn’t I hit you?”
Qiao Qingyan glared at him coldly: “You’re the kind of brother who sides with outsiders and bullies his own sister—a heartless, ungrateful wretch! I’m done with you! I’d rather die than apologize today!”
Qiao Rongze’s teeth chattered with rage: “You did something wrong and still talk back? Hurting someone means jail time! If you don’t apologize, I’ll call the police to come arrest you! From now on, I don’t have a sister like you!”
Qiao Qingyan stared at his arrogant demeanor, her eyes filled with nothing but mockery.
In the past, she had doted on her three younger brothers, and all she got in return was betrayal and scheming.
Heaven had eyes, giving her a second chance at life—these ungrateful little wolves, she would never bother with them again!
She threw off the blanket, got out of bed, and walked toward Bai Wanwan.
Qiao Rongze thought she was just lashing out from shock, and he was already mentally prepared to defend Bai Wanwan.
As long as Qiao Qingyan didn’t get physical, he could pretend he hadn’t seen anything.
But no one expected Qiao Qingyan to suddenly reach out, grab Bai Wanwan by the neck, and yank a jade pendant out from her collar.
“Why don’t you tell everyone why I pushed you off? You snuck up the mountain, trying to steal the jade pendant my mother left me. When I refused, you faked falling off the cliff. What, you’re pretty tough—didn’t manage to kill you?”
She unbuttoned the first button of her collar, revealing the scar on her neck, the skin tinged with a dark, bruised color.
“Now you want to call the police? Then guess—how many years do you get for robbery plus attempted murder?”