At that time, she was attending a factory-run high school in town, living and eating at school, completely unaware of what had happened at home.
Her parents and brothers had left in a hurry, leaving her only a letter.
Soon after, she was expelled from school. Relatives and friends kept their distance, avoiding her as if she were plague-stricken. When she reached the end of her rope, Lin Chaohai suddenly appeared and took her in.
He told her that he knew what had happened to her family, and that he had already reported a marriage to the military. They could go register immediately.
If she married him and publicly declared she was cutting ties with her parents, he could protect her.
At that time, she was young and naïve, only knowing that her parents had been sent down along with her two brothers, leaving her behind without even a warning. She felt deeply wronged.
With no money and fearing she might be taken away by the Revolutionary Committee, she followed Lin Chaohai’s advice.
She thought Lin Chaohai was saving her, but in reality, he had taken her parents’ money, concealed everything, and posed as her benefactor.
For so many years, out of gratitude for the Lin family taking her in, she had endured everything, convincing herself he hadn’t done it on purpose because he was “a good man.”
Even with all the obvious flaws, she managed to persuade herself.
No wonder later, when Qiao Qingqing repeatedly asked him to help find her family, he always said he couldn’t.
Qiao Qingqing had to search on her own, contacting people across multiple provinces, meeting relatives of those who might have known something.
Years ago, a snow disaster had buried the Blackwater Village, where her family had been sent down. Almost no one survived.
Years later, in the deep mountains about 20 miles away, someone discovered more than a dozen frozen bodies.
Upon identification, one of them was Qiao Qingqing’s second brother.
The forensic autopsy revealed that their digestive tracts were full of bark and dirt—almost no real food—showing that they had suffered hunger until death.
Thinking of this tortured her deeply. She demanded to see Lin Chaohai.
Hearing that she was near death, Lin Chaohai soon arrived, his face glowing with health and success. Promoted, rich, and having lost a wife—his pride was unmasked.
She only felt hatred for him, too exhausted for pretense, and asked bluntly: “Lin Chaohai, is Xiao Xuan your son with Xu Peiling?”
Caught off guard, Lin Chaohai froze, then narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Qiao Qingqing’s haggard face.
During that silent minute, she didn’t need to hear him speak—she already knew the answer.
This had been her entire life: a marriage built on deception.
But now Qiao Qingqing was unusually calm. She said, “Lin Chaohai, I’m about to die. Tell me everything about my family. Otherwise, I’ll never let this go. Every extra day I survive costs you tens of thousands—if not more.”
Lin Chaohai’s facial muscles twitched.
With so many eyes in the hospital, and considering his current status, he couldn’t simply let her die. But after seven days in intensive care, burning money every day, it was likely the Lin family wished she’d die sooner.
Her mother-in-law had tried to urge her along, not out of conscience, but to hasten her death.
After a moment’s hesitation, Lin Chaohai lowered his voice: “You already guessed it, didn’t you? Your family died long ago.
A massive snowstorm hit Blackwater Village. Everyone was trapped in the mountains. Only six survived—none were named Lin.
Your parents left you a letter, but I didn’t give it to you. Whose parents don’t die? I didn’t want you to wander the Black Province in mourning every day. Your child was still young, my father’s health wasn’t good, and the family needed you.
I was doing it for your own good. People die, lights go out. You have to look forward.”
Qiao Qingqing’s heart boiled with hatred.
She regretted everything. If only she had recognized the Lin family as the ravenous wolves they truly were, she might have realized her family’s plight sooner.
The supplies she had scrimped and saved to send to Blackwater Village—through Lin Chaohai’s connections—likely never reached them. He had hidden it all.
That night, when the nurse turned off the lights, Qiao Qingqing couldn’t sleep.
Summoning her last strength, she injected herself with the two hidden painkillers, dressed, put on a hat, and quietly left the hospital.
From her mother-in-law, she learned that today was the grand opening of Lin Chaohai’s new factory.
Knowing him well after all these years, Lin Chaohai loved face. He would certainly overindulge at the opening banquet.
Panting, she returned home, found the key hidden behind a milk crate, and gently opened the door.
The apartment had been newly renovated three years ago. Her parents-in-law didn’t live here, Lin Xuan was studying out of town—usually it was just her and Lin Chaohai.
The bedroom was filled with the thunderous sound of his snores. Qiao Qingqing’s heart calmed slightly as she opened the door quietly. Seeing that he was asleep, she headed to the kitchen.
She had read a news story: a woman, trying to rescue her daughter from an abusive husband, boiled a large pot of sugar water and poured it over him while he slept.
The scalding sugar water burned him, and its stickiness caused infection throughout the body. Even in the hospital, it couldn’t be cleaned, and he eventually died in agony.
Qiao Qingqing stared at the boiling sugar water, her hatred finally uncontainable.
She put on heat-resistant gloves and reached for the pot.
But the next second, pain shot through her chest and lungs. She coughed violently, spewing blood.
The painkillers had lost effect. Weak, she collapsed to the floor.
Her clothes, the floor—covered in blood. Her body trembled, convulsing, utterly powerless.
Not only could she not pour the sugar water on Lin Chaohai, she couldn’t even stand.
So close…
The unbearable frustration twisted her heart. She bit her pale lips, glancing through the window at the sky with venomous eyes.
She hated the heavens!
Why?
Her parents and brothers had been nothing but good, kind people. Why were they unjustly sent down?
If they had survived, they could have returned to the city years later, the family reunited, the suffering ended. But they died in the snow disaster.
She could have taken Lin Chaohai with her in a final act of vengeance, but at the last moment, she couldn’t hold on.
Heavens, look at this world. Why do good people suffer and scum succeed? Is this the law of the universe?
She would not die in peace!
Determined to rise again, she moved—and immediately coughed up more blood, her chest and lungs as if torn apart. She reached for the gas pipe.
Suddenly, a violent wind blew in from the window.
The gust blinded her. Then, a bolt of lightning shot down from the dark sky, aiming at Qiao Qingqing.
She couldn’t react in time. The lightning struck her head—but there was no expected pain.
Confused, she realized the intense chest pain had vanished. Her strength returned. She stood up.
A white light flickered before her eyes. Squinting, she saw a line of small text appear on her retina, fixed no matter how she moved her eyes:
[Rebirth Countdown: 71 hours 59 minutes 38 seconds]