She took a few steps and occasionally felt as though she was stepping on air.
“Host, don’t celebrate too early. 001 must remind you that if a task is not completed, points will be deducted. If your score reaches -999, you will be erased immediately.”
Su Yu sighed.
She knew there couldn’t possibly be such a good deal without conditions.
Fortunately, as a beginner, she still had point protection.
Failing the first three tasks would not result in any point deductions.
“Alright, Host. 001’s guidance ends here. From now on, you’ll need to explore on your own. 001 will be leaving.”
After saying that, the space fell silent once more.
“001?”
Had it really flown away?
Su Yu had no idea how the system came and went.
She still had countless questions left unanswered.
For example, why had she been chosen to be reborn?
Every day, countless people died in accidents.
Why had she been given a system?
Standing there, Su Yu thought about it but couldn’t figure it out.
She sat cross-legged on the ground and noticed that there was no wind in the space.
The sun remained fixed in the sky, never changing position.
From the time she entered until now, Su Yu estimated that about two hours had passed.
Outside, it should have been around three in the morning.
In any case, she had already been reborn.
There was no need to dwell on things she couldn’t understand.
Since Heaven had given her a second chance at life, she should cherish it.
Just then, the patch of land where she had planted a few wheat seeds suddenly sprouted several stalks of wheat.
And they were already fully mature.
Likewise, the patch where she had planted the vegetable roots was now covered with lush green vegetables.
Joy filled her heart.
Perhaps in the future, she could bring wheat into the space and grow it here.
It would mature quickly and produce abundant harvests.
After a while, she closed her eyes and silently thought about leaving.
The next moment, she heard little Tangtang’s steady breathing beside her.
“Mommy… I want Mommy…”
Even in her sleep, Tangtang smacked her lips as though she were eating something delicious.
Her little hand tightly gripped Su Yu’s clothing.
Looking at Tangtang’s long eyelashes, Su Yu’s expression softened considerably.
Moonlight streamed through the window and onto the edge of the bed.
As she gazed at the full moon outside, she smiled from the bottom of her heart.
The next morning, just as the sun was rising, Su Yu was still asleep.
She was having a beautiful dream.
In the dream, she and her family had entered the space together.
They lay in a rice field, watching dragonflies occasionally flutter overhead.
Little Tangtang laughed happily while holding a pinwheel in her hand.
“Mommy, Mommy, wake up! The sun is shining on your butt!”
Tangtang stood beside the bed.
Seeing the smile on Su Yu’s face, she climbed onto the bed and pinched her mother’s nose.
Then she softly blew into Su Yu’s ear.
Annoyed by the disturbance in her dream, Su Yu suddenly opened her eyes.
“Tangtang… you’re still here.”
The dream had been so wonderful that she had been afraid it was merely a fleeting illusion.
What if she woke up and everything disappeared?
When Tangtang’s warm little body was pulled into her embrace, Su Yu cried tears of joy.
Warm tears fell onto Tangtang’s shoulder.
“Mommy, are you crying? Did Daddy make you unhappy?”
Tangtang asked this because Li Rui often intentionally approached Tang Chen.
Su Yu had gotten jealous many times.
But she didn’t want to argue with Tang Chen.
Instead, she would quietly cry alone in bed late at night.
“No.”
Su Yu shook her head.
“Mommy is just happy because Tangtang is such a good girl.”
Displaying such a vulnerable side of herself first thing in the morning in front of Tangtang left Su Yu feeling somewhat flustered.
She wiped away her tears.
Just as she was about to get out of bed, Tang Chen entered carrying a basin of hot water.
Steam rose from its surface.
“You’re awake.”
Tang Chen looked at her gently.
“I prepared some water for you. Go wash up. Breakfast is already ready.”
A clean white towel hung neatly on the washstand beside the basin.
“Thank you.”
After sixteen years apart, Tang Chen was now young and gentle once again.
His figure was tall and straight.
Even though she had already borne him a daughter, Su Yu still felt a trace of awkwardness and unfamiliarity.
She casually got out of bed.
Yet the way her hands tightly gripped her clothes betrayed her nervousness.
After washing up, little Tangtang took Su Yu by the hand and led her to the dining area.
On the table were white-flour steamed buns and a small dish of pickled vegetables.
In both Su Yu’s and Tangtang’s bowls was an extra egg.
Tang Chen brought over a chair with a backrest for Su Yu.
“I traded some white-flour buns for these eggs from Auntie Li this morning. Her hen just laid them. They’re fresh and nutritious. Perfect for the two of you.”
He said it as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
In Tang Chen’s mind, as a man, he should shoulder the responsibility of being the pillar of the family.
But Su Yu’s thoughts wandered elsewhere.
If Tang Chen had never disappeared in her previous life…
Would everything that followed have been different?
She sniffled quietly.
Flour wasn’t cheap these days.
It cost around twenty cents per jin.
Tang Chen and she could earn about twenty work points a day working in the village.
Every month, they could collect ten jin of wheat from the production team.
The wheat was stored in a warehouse.
Most families rationed it carefully.
Ordinarily, people survived on sweet potatoes.
Looking at Tang Chen’s plate, she saw only a burnt sweet-potato cake.
Silently, Su Yu sat down.
She peeled the egg for Tangtang first.
The egg inside was white and fragrant.
Tangtang immediately began drooling.
“Mommy should eat first.”
Even though she desperately wanted it, Tangtang still handed the egg to Su Yu.
Tang Chen smiled when he saw the scene.
“There’s another one. Go ahead and eat.”
As he spoke, he casually took the egg from Su Yu’s hand and skillfully peeled it.
Then he brought it directly to her lips.
Su Yu froze.
Tang Chen had been gentle in her previous life too.
But she didn’t remember a scene like this involving peeled eggs.
The gesture felt a little too intimate.
She turned her head slightly away.
“Um… I can do it myself.”
She quickly took the egg and began eating it in small bites.
She failed to notice the flicker of disappointment that passed through Tang Chen’s eyes.
After eating until she was half full, Su Yu handed the remaining half of the egg—both white and yolk—to Tang Chen.
“I can’t finish it. You eat it.”
She didn’t even dare meet his gaze.
She was afraid her feelings would be exposed.
But after waiting for quite a while, her arm growing sore from holding it out, nobody took the egg.
Su Yu cautiously turned her head.
And immediately fell into a pair of deep, calm eyes.