Gu Xiaoxi was reborn yet again!
This was her third time coming face-to-face with the handsome, intense stranger who had suddenly stumbled into her bathroom. He looked flushed, his body radiating a dangerous, wild energy. She froze in sheer disbelief.
Seeming genuinely caught off guard by the compromising situation, the man immediately turned his head away.
“I didn’t mean to intrude! I will take full responsibility!”
Gu Xiaoxi was stunned. His words were identical to what he had said in her previous two lives.
The first time around, he had fled before she could even process the situation. Shortly after, her cousin had maliciously signed her up for the rustication movement. Forced to relocate to the countryside in the autumn of 1975, her frail body couldn’t handle the harsh conditions, and she succumbed to illness a year later.
The second time, the man had left just as quickly, and she was forced to go to the countryside once again. To get revenge, she secretly signed up her cousin—who was preparing to get married—so they could suffer together in the village. Though she eventually survived those grueling years and built a successful career, she still died of an illness before reaching age thirty.
Having been reborn a third time, her immediate thought was simple: Find a husband to save my life, stay in the city, and never step foot in the countryside again.
So, the very second she saw his hand on the doorframe preparing to flee, she called out to him.
“Didn’t you say you’d take responsibility? What are you running away for?”
The man’s hand paused on the doorframe, though he didn’t dare look back. His voice was raspy as he replied, “I’ll submit a marriage request right away. Shall we get our marriage license tomorrow?”
Gu Xiaoxi blinked in surprise, then hurriedly tried to pull her clothes back on. But in her haste, her foot slipped on the wet floor, sending her falling backward.
“Ah…”
Just as she braced for a painful crash, a dark shadow flashed before her eyes. A strong arm wrapped around her waist, catching her securely in a firm embrace.
Their eyes met. In the sudden silence, both of their heartbeats accelerated rapidly.
Gu Xiaoxi felt a sudden wave of panic mixed with awe. The man’s face was breathtakingly handsome—his features sharp and chiselled, his deep eyes reflecting her image. The hand holding her waist was burning hot and incredibly strong, radiating a powerful, magnetic presence.
Gradually, however, she realized something was deeply off.
His breathing grew heavy, his gaze clouded with haze, and his handsome face flushed a deep crimson. His grip around her waist alternated between loosening and instinctively tightening until he was holding her with possessive force.
His entire body was trembling uncontrollably.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked softly.
Looking down at the soft, delicate girl in his arms, the man desperately tried to exercise self-control. Fighting the wild, chaotic sensation burning through his system, he mustered every ounce of willpower to gently push her back, his voice strained and raw.
“Stay back… I’ve been drugged!”
Gu Xiaoxi’s eyes widened in surprise. Drugged?
Before she could process his words, familiar voices echoed from the courtyard outside—it was her cousin, Gu Xinli, and her aunt, Liu Chunhua.
“Mom, you have no idea how handsome Lu Jiansen is! He’s only twenty-five, but he’s already a battalion commander…”
“You foolish girl! I set up the perfect opportunity for you, and you still let him slip away?!”
“How was I supposed to know?! I just stepped away for a moment to get him a cup of water, and he vanished…”
“Stop complaining. Your uncle and aunt are at the hospital today, so only that brat Gu Xiaoxi is home. Let’s borrow her bicycle to go look for him…”
Hearing this, Gu Xiaoxi immediately pushed the man into the dark corner of the bathroom, straightened her clothes, and stepped out, leaving the door half-open behind her.
When Gu Xinli saw Gu Xiaoxi emerging from the washroom with damp hair, her eyes flared with instant jealousy. Gu Xiaoxi was petite, gracefully proportioned, and possessed a delicate face with porcelain skin—a result of being doted on by her parents.
Gu Xiaoxi frowned slightly. “Why are you two standing there like ghosts?”
As Aunt Liu prepared to snap back, Gu Xinli cut in with a glare. “Gu Xiaoxi, lend me your new bicycle.”
Gu Xiaoxi replied indifferently, “Fifty cents per use, and it must be returned by tomorrow morning.”
Under normal circumstances, she would have refused entirely.
Aunt Liu’s face darkened instantly. “You money-grubber! Charging your own family just to borrow a bicycle?!”
“Then lend me Gu Xinli’s wristwatch for a few days,” Gu Xiaoxi countered calmly, leaning against the doorframe.
“No way!” Gu Xinli refused without hesitation.
“Then forget it. No bicycle for you. Off you go.”
Aunt Liu opened her mouth to argue, but Gu Xinli urgently tugged at her sleeve. “Mom, just give her the fifty cents!”
Finding Lu Jiansen was her utmost priority right now. He had consumed the drugged chicken soup; if she didn’t find him quickly, another woman might take advantage of him!
Aunt Liu reluctantly handed over fifty cents and gestured for her daughter to take the bike. Within two minutes, the pair had hurried off.
Once the courtyard fell quiet, Gu Xiaoxi re-entered the washroom.
The next second, she was pulled into a scorching embrace. “I will take full responsibility!” he rasped, his voice tight with desperation as his self-control neared its breaking point.
Looking into his feverish eyes, Gu Xiaoxi made a split-second decision. She wrapped her arms around his waist. “Should I take you to a hospital first?”
Looking down at her soft lips, he couldn’t stop himself from leaning in to press a firm kiss against her mouth.
Leaning close to her ear, he whispered huskily, “My name is Lu Jiansen. Don’t be afraid… I’ll treat you well for the rest of my life!”
Though her heart pounded nervously, Gu Xiaoxi nodded bravely. “I believe you.”
Since she was taking a different path in this life, marrying him was far better than being matched with a stranger or sent to the countryside. At the very least, he was exceptionally handsome!
Her trust broke the final barrier of his restraint. He embraced her tightly, lifting her in his arms and carrying her into the bedroom.
By the end of the night, Gu Xiaoxi felt a lingering pang of regret as she wept softly from exhaustion, eventually drifting off into unconsciousness.
…
At dawn, Lu Jiansen quietly rose from the bed, gently tucking the blanket around the sleeping girl. He gazed at her delicate face with profound tenderness.
Reaching up, he unclasped a uniquely carved purple jade pendant from his neck and gently fastened it around her collarbone.
Five minutes later, he slipped out of the room. With his military leave nearing its end, he needed to resolve everything as quickly as possible so he could officially marry her and take her with him!
Locating the nearest public telephone booth, he immediately dialed a number to the military headquarters…