She thought of her original world again.
She had never had parents since she was young.
She heard that her mother had abandoned her and run off with someone else when she was very young, and her father had passed away when she was still in elementary school.
She had grown up with her grandmother, enduring no shortage of disdainful looks.
Her grandmother had also passed away a few years ago.
That left her alone, tormented by illness for over half a year, lying in the hospital for eleven months straight, with only her best friend keeping her company.
Hmm—had she told that silly girl the bank card password and the deed to the house?
In a daze, it seemed she had.
Good, as long as she had.
She hoped that silly girl would forget about her soon.
As for the original owner—
Xu Anhao let out a soft sigh. You really were foolish.
To abandon the adoptive parents who raised you with such hardship, only to come here and live a life of treading on eggshells and reading people's expressions.
The love your adoptive parents gave you was already overflowing—why would you humbly beg for a love that had long been divided and given away?
Xu Anhao felt she could endure a hard life, but she could not endure a life of constant caution and having to watch others' faces.
So, original owner… I'm sorry.
The man you loved—I took the liberty of setting him free.
But don't worry, I'll live well on your behalf.
Your adoptive parents—I'll care for them in their old age and repay their kindness.
As for your biological parents, they now have sons and daughters of their own, so they probably don't need her that much…
Moonlight streamed in through the window, falling across her face.
Xu Anhao closed her eyes.
The last words lingering in her mind were the man's—"We'll talk about the bedsheet tomorrow."
Talk about what?
Whatever.
They were getting divorced anyway.
Anyway—in another two or three months, news of the reinstated college entrance examination would arrive…
As she thought, she drifted off into a hazy sleep.
After Zhou Yunji left the house, he went straight to the duty dormitory.
When He Xiaofeng saw him return after having left, he sidled over with a sly grin.
He draped his arm familiarly over Zhou Yunji's shoulder, winking and grinning. "Aren't you staying at the family quarters tonight? Came back after getting your fill?"
Zhou Yunji immediately caught his meaning and flushed with irritation. "Got nothing better to do?"
"You're really off tonight." He Xiaofeng wasn't bothered, walking alongside him and deliberately emphasizing his words. "Come on, what did that young lady of yours do to you this time?"
The words "young lady" carried undisguised teasing and a hint of barely perceptible disdain.
He Xiaofeng had been among those who went to flood relief efforts back then.
He had witnessed with his own eyes Zhou Yunji carrying that girl named Xu Anhao out of waist-deep muddy water—at the time, they hadn't known she was actually the Song family's lost daughter.
In rescue operations, with urgent circumstances, physical contact was unavoidable, and more than one or two people had been carried across the river.
That girl had seemed quiet and pitiful at the time. He had thought she was exceptionally beautiful—even more striking than Lin Xiaohui, who was known for her delicate elegance. She had a kind of lush, gorgeous quality mixed with a pitiable charm that truly caught the eye.
He had even felt a pang of regret back then—why hadn't it been him carrying her across the river?
Who would have thought she'd turn out to be someone who craved wealth and status, stopping at nothing, repaying kindness with enmity?
To live a better life, she abandoned the parents who had raised her for over a decade without a second thought. To latch onto Zhou Yunji, she framed her own lifesaver without hesitation!
He should be grateful now that he wasn't the one who carried her across the river—though even if he had, she probably wouldn't have taken a liking to him anyway.
She usually relied on her pretty face and had always set her sights high. The first person she laid eyes on was Zhou Yunji!!
Normally, being noticed by a beauty should be a pleasant experience—except with someone of Xu Anhao's temperament…
He Xiaofeng shook his head inwardly.
It was only Zhou Yunji—burdened by his strong sense of responsibility and constrained by the rumors already spreading like wildfire—who had pinched his nose and accepted this aggrieved marriage.
In the few months since the wedding, Zhou Yunji had either applied for field assignments or applied for duty shifts, basically never returning to the family quarters.
A few days ago, pressure must have been applied from home. The Zhou and Song families had been family friends for decades, and the parents were extremely close.
No matter how much Zhou Yunji's parents disliked Song Yunqing, she was, after all, the Song family's biological daughter, and appearances had to be maintained.
Only then did Zhou Yunji return to the family quarters for a few nights.
And now tonight he was back again—clearly in a foul mood.
He Xiaofeng had already conjured up a whole drama in his mind: Miss Song crying, throwing tantrums, threatening suicide, Zhou Yunji unable to handle it, slinking back to the dormitory to hide and find some peace.
He really couldn't resist. He leaned over and asked in a low voice:
"Hey, is your innocence still intact?"
Zhou Yunji's body visibly paused.
Certain chaotic images forced their way into his mind uncontrollably—
He had just entered, and she started crying and whimpering.
…Utterly absurd!!
She was the one who spiked the drink, she was the one who lit the fire.
And in the end, she couldn't bear the slightest bit of pain and cried like that.
He didn't have an on-off switch installed on his body—how could such a thing possibly stop on command, especially after consuming something unclean?
Zhou Yunji frowned irritably.
He was angry at himself for failing to hold the line, and angry at himself for being so spineless—he clearly looked down on that woman so much, had previously had not a single thought about her, not only no thoughts, but when he saw her shamelessly throwing herself at him, he even felt disgust. Yet just now, his body had reacted anyway.
He felt like a man who hadn't seen a woman in centuries, going again and again!
He told himself it was the drug's effect.
The earlier part was, and the later loss of control must also have been because the drug hadn't fully worn off.
It could only be for this reason.