So frightened that she lost her footing, she tripped over herself and fell hard on the ground.
Yao Yunzhen had been standing inside the doorway earlier, Yao Kemei’s attention was completely focused on Yang Erni, and coupled with her dazed mental state, she hadn’t noticed anyone else.
It was only then that she saw Yao Yunzhen.
The face before her was incredibly beautiful, but it absolutely did not belong to Yao Yunzhen.
The Yao Yunzhen she knew didn’t look like this!
But why was everyone calling her ‘Zhenzhen’?
Who was she? Who exactly was she?
Yang Erni was already in a bad mood, and seeing this, she mercilessly scolded: “What mischief are you up to again, you wretched girl?”
Yao Kemei ignored her, still staring intently at Yao Yunzhen.
She was too shocked and too terrified; Yao Yunzhen’s stunning beauty even served as evidence to confirm a certain suspicion in her heart.
Could it be that she hadn’t actually been reborn?
Had she not returned to the past, but instead come to some bizarre and unpredictable world?
But why? Whether it was her family members, the villagers, or even Li Yunqi – everyone was exactly the same as in her memories.
This so-called Yao Yunzhen definitely had problems, definitely had problems!
Yao Yunzhen was no fool – being stared at like this couldn’t go unnoticed.
She looked at Yao Kemei, who was still sitting on the ground, and slightly furrowed her brows.
She didn’t like being looked at with such eyes.
Yao Yunzhen was no pushover – if she felt displeased, she would vent it.
“Did you drown your brains in the water?”
“You’re not Yao Yunzhen!”
Yao Yunzhen rolled her eyes: “If I’m not Yao Yunzhen, then are you? I think you’re the one who’s not Yao Kemei!”
From earlier on, she had felt there was something off about the other girl – wondering if she had hit her head when she fell into the water, making her act so crazy now.
Suddenly, the system in her mind proactively made sounds.
【Bzzzt… Correcting… Correcting… Bzzzt…】
What did that mean?
Yao Yunzhen immediately focused her attention on the system.
In all these years, this was the first time it had spoken proactively, and it had even used new words.
Correcting? Correcting what?
Yao Yunzhen didn’t notice the flash of realization in Yao Kemei’s eyes, nor that when Yao Kemei looked at her again, there was no more terror or doubt.
Quietly, Yao Kemei got up and returned to her seat at the table.
Miao Cuilan had originally intended to scold her – how dare she speak about her daughter like that? Did she have a death wish?
But seeing Yao Kemei’s disheveled state, she moved her lips but ultimately said nothing.
The old couple generally didn’t interfere in conflicts between the children. Seeing that both had backed down, Tan Guihua picked up her bowl again and continued serving porridge.
Yao Yunzhen was usually a slow eater, but now, eager to study the system, she quickly finished the porridge in her bowl and retreated to her room.
Unfortunately, no matter how much she poked and prodded, the system didn’t say anything else, instead returning to its original state.
【Bzzzt… System… Bzzzt… Connecting… Bzzzt…】
Yao Yunzhen: “…”
Before she could figure out the system, the sounds of argument between Yang Erni and her mother came from outside again.
Although Yao Yunzhen didn’t know why Yao Kemei had suddenly become more assertive, she still supported her choice.
As for Li Yunqi – the Educated Youth who was quite popular in the village – in Yao Yunzhen’s view, he wasn’t a suitable match.
Not to mention she shared the same view as her family—that Educated Youth were rootless duckweeds—just the sight of his pretentious demeanor made Yao Yunzhen frown.
Was it really because he was handsome that all the village girls liked him?
Wasn’t it because he secretly flirted with them?
Yao Yunzhen didn’t work in the fields. When bored, she would wander around the village wearing a mask, and more than once she had seen girls stuffing eggs or pastries into Li Yunqi’s hands. Each time, he would half-heartedly accept them.
Whether his family was truly wealthy or not was unknown, but he was definitely not a suitable candidate for marriage!
Yao Kemei had a deeper understanding of this.
In her previous life, she had also nearly drowned and was rescued by Li Yunqi.
Back then, she had genuinely admired him. When Yang Erni pressured him to marry her, she didn’t hesitate much and followed her mother’s advice.
She successfully married Li Yunqi.
But her married life was miserable. His family had no money at all—his decent lifestyle in the countryside was entirely supported by his parents draining the lifeblood of his older sisters.
Yao Kemei only found out later that the 200 yuan in betrothal gifts her mother demanded came from his parents marrying off two younger sisters to collect the bride prices.
At the time, those two sisters were only fifteen or sixteen years old. Because of this, her sisters-in-law never accepted her, causing her much suffering.
The rest of the Li family also looked down on her for being a country girl, finding all sorts of ways to humiliate her.
As for Li Yunqi? He ignored everything, even spending the money she worked hard to earn on other women. Later, he developed a drinking problem and would beat her every time he got drunk.
Her poor children—still in her womb—were brutally beaten to death by him.
Given a second chance, how could Yao Kemei possibly be willing to marry him again?
She wished he were dead!
Why couldn’t she have been reborn a little earlier?
If she had, she wouldn’t have drowned, wouldn’t have been saved by him, and her mother would have no reason to force her into marriage.
Yao Kemei knew very well that her mother would never give up.
Her mother only had eyes for her brother. For that 200 yuan, she would stop at nothing.
After barely managing to fool Yang Erni, Yao Kemei stood in the yard and finally fixed her gaze on Yao Yunzhen’s door.
Without hesitation, she walked over and knocked.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Who is it?”
Yao Yunzhen lay on her bed, unwilling to get up and open the door, so she shouted.
“It’s me.”
Yao Kemei had never gotten along with Yao Yunzhen in her past life, so she couldn’t bring herself to call her “sister” now.
Yao Yunzhen still didn’t move.
“Little sister? What do you want?”
Hearing the term “little sister,” Yao Kemei frowned.
In her previous life, Yao Yunzhen always called her by her full name in a tone dripping with contempt and malice.
‘Yao~ Ke~ Mei~’
Every time, Yao Kemei wished she could sink into the ground.
From the moment she understood the meaning, she knew it wasn’t a good name—filled with shame and ill intent.
But now, even though Yao Yunzhen wasn’t using her name and called her “little sister” instead, Yao Kemei still felt deeply uncomfortable.
Something felt off to Yao Kemei, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.
“Can you open the door? I need to talk to you about something.”
The painful memories from her past life were too vivid, dominating her mind and suppressing the memories of this life deep beneath the surface.
Yao Kemei was quite confident in her own memory, completely failing to delve into why Yao Yunzhen would call her that way, nor noticing the differences between this lifetime’s Yao Yunzhen and the previous one’s.
Looking for her for something?
Due to her favored status and the stark contrast, the Three Golden Flowers were all somewhat jealous of her to varying degrees, and thus never took the initiative to approach her.
Living under the same roof, they rarely even had basic conversations—why would the other party be looking for her for something?
Out of curiosity, Yao Yunzhen got up and opened the door.
“Speak, what is it?”
“It’s not convenient to talk here. May I come in?”
Glancing past Yao Yunzhen, she could see the light blue bedsheets and duvet cover on the bed, without a single patch.
This was something she couldn’t afford even after ten years in her previous life.
A flash of jealousy crossed Yao Kemei’s eyes.
“I asked you a question?”
Yao Yunzhen impatiently tapped on the doorframe beside her.
Calling for her and then staying silent—was there something wrong with her?
Yao Kemei snapped back to reality and forced a smile.
“It’s not convenient to talk here. May I come in?”
“No.”
Yao Yunzhen refused outright.
She didn’t want irrelevant people entering her room, nor did she want her clean, fresh bed to be sat on by others.
Yao Kemei had already lifted her foot but had to set it down again.
A shadow of gloom flickered in her eyes, yet she managed to put on a gentle smile.
Unfortunately, she was too thin and too dark at this point for it to look gentle—it just seemed odd and terribly mismatched.
“Fine then. I wanted to talk to you about Li Yunqi.”
After saying this, she fixed her gaze intently on Yao Yunzhen.
Yao Kemei had thought that saying this would prompt an invitation inside, but instead, she only saw Yao Yunzhen’s growing impatience.
Yao Kemei’s mind wandered for a moment.
How could someone be so beautiful? Even impatience made it hard to look away.
But the next second, she was jerked back to reality by Yao Yunzhen’s blunt words.
“What does your business with Li Yunqi have to do with me?”
Yao Kemei quickly shifted her gaze to the door panel beside her before continuing:
“I know you like Li Yunqi too. Now that I have a chance to marry him, are you really okay with that?”
“What?”
Yao Yunzhen felt insulted.
“What nonsense are you spouting? How could I possibly like a man like Li Yunqi?”
Yao Kemei took a deep breath.
With a face like that, yet such a crude personality—what a waste!
If only that face were hers—if it were, she wouldn’t have suffered so much in her previous life, and Li Yunqi wouldn’t have sought other women.
“Don’t deny it. I know you like him, and now I’m willing to give him up for you.”
Yao Kemei didn’t believe Yao Yunzhen’s denial at all.
In her previous life, after she married Li Yunqi, Yao Yunzhen had secretly cried several times and often made cutting remarks when she visited her family.
She had felt smug about it.
So what if Yao Yunzhen lived a better life than her? She still hadn’t managed to steal him away.
But in this life, Yao Kemei definitely wouldn’t fight for him again.
She would fulfill these two!
“Are you deaf? I already said I don’t like him!”
Seeing Yao Kemei’s confident expression, Yao Yunzhen felt an unusual sense of frustration.
What kind of person was she? Beautiful and with a good temperament—how could she possibly be interested in someone like Li Yunqi?
Just the thought made Yao Yunzhen sick, like stepping squarely on a pile of filth while walking down a clean path.
Yao Yunzhen warned, “Yao Kemei, let me tell you this—don’t even think about dumping the man you don’t want on me. If I hear you say that again, I’ll make you regret it!”
With that, she slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
After nearly drowning, Yao Kemei had gone completely mad, and Yao Yunzhen had no desire to engage with her any further.