1
Jiang Suisui felt that all those sayings about death bringing an end to everything, about feeling nothing at all, were nothing but lies.
Otherwise, why was she feeling so awful right now?
She had been born with a congenital heart defect, to make matter worse, also suffered from asthma. Despite struggling desperately to live a little longer, she ultimately couldn’t make it past twenty due to heart failure.
Dying was one thing, and Jiang Suisui had made peace with it. But she never expected that the feeling of being dead would be so suffocating.
Yes, literally suffocating…
Jiang Suisui felt as if her entire body was submerged in water. Her primal survival instinct made her flair her arms, desperately trying to swim upward to gasp for fresh air.
In her daze, her hand seemed to hit a bamboo pole. Then little by little, Jiang Suisui lost her strength and her consciousness began to fade again, as if she were reliving the feeling of dying.
Despair filled her heart. Why was death putting her through so much torment?
Suddenly, with a splash, the surface of the water rippled, and someone swam swiftly toward her.
In no time, Jiang Suisui felt herself being hoisted up by the waist and pulled above the water.
“Cough! Cough!” She coughed violently, breathing in the fresh air.
Jiang Suisui reached out and tightly embraced the person who had saved her, as if clinging to a lifeline.
“Let go.” A cold voice sounder by her ear.
Hearing this, Jiang Suisui groggily opened her eyes, and what met her gaze was a pair of cold, dark, deep-set eyes.
A high-bridged nose, thin lips pressed together. Droplets of water slid down his wheat-colored cheek, exuding a kind of ascetic yet alluring beauty.
“Are you…here to reap my soul?” Jiang Suisui blurted out unconsciously before her eyes fluttered shut and she lost consciousness.
…
“Oh my, my Suisui!!!!”
“Auntie, stop crying. Isn’t Suisui alright?”
“How terrifying to think she almost drowned and became fish food.”
“How did Suisui suddenly fall into the water?”
“That’s something you’ll have to ask Song Weizheng. He’s the one who brought her back.”
Piercing, shrill wails and scattered chatter drilled into Jiang Suisui’s earts. She furrowed her brows and couldn’t help but open her eyes.
The scene before her immediately startled her.
What’s going on?! Wasn’t she dead? And her soul had been reaped!
Oh, right—that soul reaper was quite handsome.
Jiang Suisui’s mind wandered for a moment before the sudden warmth on her hand pulled her attention back.
The old woman who had been sitting by her bed, wailing nonstop, saw that she was awake, gripped her hand tightly, and exclaimed with joy, “Suisui, you’re finally awake! You scared Grandma to death!”
A swarm of aunties and female relatives crowded around her bed, fussing over her.
“Suisui, how are you feeling?”
“Are you in shock? Why are you so dazed?”
“Have you lost your soul?”
Jiang Suisui looked at the group before her. They were dressed in short jackets and pants covered with patches, their faces sallow yet glowing with a simple, ruddy health.
She then glanced around at her surroundings—mud walls, a tiled roof, shabby and crude furniture. The only item of note was a small, dark-yellow wooden table with a white porcelain jug on it.
Even the bed she was lying on seemed so old and worn that it creaked under the slightest movement.
Jiang Suisui froze. What on earth is going on?!
“Who… are you? Where is this?” she asked hesitantly, her voice timid.
“Suisui, what’s wrong? Have you really lost your soul? You don’t even recognize Grandma?” The old woman, who had been holding her hand, grew frantic. She reached out with her aged, withered palm to touch Jiang Suisui’s forehead and cheek.
“This is driving me crazy! My precious granddaughter was fine, and now, after just half a day, she’s like this!” The old woman slapped her thigh in frustration.
“Aunt Jiang, don’t panic, don’t panic. Didn’t the doctor already see her? She’ll be fine!” someone tried to comfort her.
“Move aside, move aside! I’ve brought Song Weizheng. What’s the situation now?” A loud female voice cut through the air.
Then, a woman who looked like a typical busybody aunt pushed her way through the crowd, dragging a man behind her.
The man stood silently, his brows tightly furrowed, looking somewhat impatient.
Jiang Suisui’s eyes widened. Wasn’t this the soul reaper?
She stared at him blankly. Earlier, she had only noticed his face, but now she saw that he was lean and tall. Among the chattering group of aunties, he stood out like a crane among chickens.
Both of his sleeves and pant legs were rolled up, revealing wheat-colored muscles with clean, firm lines—lean but not scrawny.
However, his eyes were cold, as if he were in a bad mood.
Jiang Suisui found herself unconsciously staring.
She couldn’t help it. During her lifetime, due to her health conditions, she had never dared to experience intense emotions.
Her family had protected her like a fragile piece of crystal glass, and she rarely had the chance to go out and interact with others.
This meant that Jiang Suisui, much to her regret, had never been in a relationship before she died.
And the man before her was absolutely her ideal type.
A perfect physique paired with an aloof, ascetic expression—an overwhelming wave of masculine energy washed over her.
Perhaps having already died once had loosened her inhibitions. Jiang Suisui unabashedly enjoyed the sight of the man before her, delighting in the view of a handsome face.
Noticing Jiang Suisui’s gaze, the old woman turned to look at Song Weizheng, who had just been dragged into the room by someone. “You, Song, what exactly happened? How did our Suisui end up in the water? Come to think of it, before she left, she said she was going to look for you!”
Song Weizheng pressed his lips together and said flatly, “I don’t know either. I was passing by the river when I saw her suddenly fall in.”
What he didn’t mention was that before Jiang Suisui fell into the water, she had specifically called out to him, which was why he noticed her.
After pulling the unconscious, drowning Jiang Suisui out of the water, he had carried her to the Jiang family’s home and then turned to leave. He still had a lot of work to do.
Who would have thought that after working in the fields for a while, a neighbor aunt would suddenly drag him all the way here, muttering as she walked, “That Jiang family girl, Suisui, she doesn’t seem to be doing too well.”
Not doing too well?
Song Weizheng looked at Jiang Suisui lying on the bed. Her eyes were sparkling and fixed on him without blinking.
He couldn’t see anything wrong with her.
Hearing Song Weizheng’s words, Grandma Jiang looked anxiously at Jiang Suisui, seemingly at a loss for what to do.
Murmurs began to ripple through the crowd: “What’s wrong with Jiang Suisui?”
“She’s gone silly! The water damaged her brain!”
“Oh dear, tsk tsk tsk, how pitiful.”
“What’s to be done? If she’s become an idiot, will she ever be able to marry in the future?”
“Even if nothing’s wrong with her, Song Weizheng has already seen and touched everything. She wouldn’t be able to marry anyway!”
“Oh my, how can you say that!”
“What, did I say something wrong? Would you let your son marry her?”
Listening to the discussions behind him, Song Weizheng’s expression gradually darkened.
As if struck by a sudden realization, Grandma Jiang turned to look at her dazed, love-struck granddaughter. Seemingly gritting her teeth, she looked up at Song Weizheng and said, “You, Song, you… you have to take responsibility for our Suisui!”
Song Weizheng frowned deeply. “What responsibility?”
Someone nearby quickly interjected, “You’ve seen and touched everything, so of course you have to take responsibility!”
“Exactly! And we all heard what Aunt Jiang just said—Suisui was going to see you when the accident happened!”
“What could have happened? Did you two have a fight?”
Song Weizheng looked helpless. “I was just passing by.”
Grandma Jiang slapped her thigh. “I don’t care! Who knows if you’re the one who bullied our Suisui! You have to take responsibility!”
“That’s right. That girl Suisui is always following you around anyway.”
“Oh my, when Song Weizheng carried Suisui back earlier, her clothes were soaked and clinging to her body. Everything was visible!”
“Tsk tsk tsk!”
Grandma Jiang stepped forward and grabbed hold of Song Weizheng, alternating between threats and persuasion. “Zheng’er, the Jiang family has helped your family quite a bit, haven’t they? Suisui likes following you around. Now that she’s like this, you can’t just ignore her!”
As she spoke, Grandma Jiang looked as if she was about to start wailing again.
Song Weizheng’s brows were tightly locked. “So, what do you want me to do now?”
Grandma Jiang quickly stopped her crying. She turned her head and asked Jiang Suisui, “Suisui, do you want to marry him?”
Jiang Suisui was puzzled. Since when did death come with an arranged marriage?
She glanced at the young man before her, who she found somewhat enticing, and thought to herself—although he looked a bit poor, still, it wasn’t impossible!
Jiang Suisui blankly nodded her head. “Yes!”
Grandma Jiang clapped her hands. “Done! Grandma will make the decision for you!”
She then pulled Song Weizheng outside, saying they were going to discuss the marriage arrangements. The gaggle of aunts and female relatives followed along to join in the excitement.
The room instantly became quiet.
Jiang Suisui’s head, which had been buzzing from all the noise, finally began to clear.
Song Weizheng… falling into the water… Jiang Suisui…
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her. Why did this feel so much like the novel she had read not long ago?
Jiang Suisui had been frail since childhood and could only stay at home, so she loved reading all kinds of novels.
A while back, she had come across a story called Rebirth in the ’70s: I Want Steady Happiness. The story was still being serialized, with only a dozen or so chapters uploaded. She hadn’t planned on reading it.
But then she accidentally saw her own name in the synopsis—apparently as a cannon-fodder supporting character.
Driven by curiosity, Jiang Suisui clicked on the story.
The novel was about a countryside girl named Jiang Miaomiao in the 1970s, who in her previous life had given up on her childhood sweetheart, Song Weizheng, and fallen for an educated youth sent down to the countryside, Shen Zhiwen.
In her past life, Jiang Miaomiao had secretly been involved with Shen Zhiwen, doing his farm work for him, washing his clothes, and scrimping and saving to give him food and clothing.
When the time came for the college entrance examinations to be reinstated, she spent all the money she had saved to buy him exam preparation books so he could study.
Later, Shen Zhiwen successfully got into university. Before leaving, he promised her that he would definitely come back for her.
Jiang Miaomiao naively believed him, but what awaited her was his never returning—not even a single letter.
Jiang Miaomiao’s parents felt that she had reached the right age and should settle down and marry honestly.
Still holding onto hope for Shen Zhiwen, she refused to give up. So, she stole some money from home and ran off alone to the city where Shen Zhiwen’s university was located.
When Shen Zhiwen discovered that Jiang Miaomiao had come looking for him, he sweet-talked her again, claiming he had no money and no means to bring her to the city, and that he was sorry for letting her down.
So, Jiang Miaomiao settled in the city on her own, working odd jobs here and there while using her wages to support Shen Zhiwen.
After a few years, Jiang Miaomiao was worn down beyond recognition by life and hard labor.
Shen Zhiwen, however, abandoned her once she was no longer useful. He found a girlfriend from a well-off family at school and got married soon after graduating.
He also hired some thugs to intimidate and threaten Jiang Miaomiao, forcing her to leave the city.
With no money, no influence, and no looks, Jiang Miaomiao couldn’t get back at Shen Zhiwen, nor did she have the face to return to her hometown.
She drifted from place to place, working odd jobs everywhere. When she got older, she married a man who ran a small restaurant, finally managing to settle down.
One day, as she was hunched over wiping down the greasy tables of the restaurant with a rag, she happened to see a long-unseen face from her hometown on a small TV during a financial news segment—her childhood sweetheart, Song Weizheng.
By this time, Song Weizheng had become a business tycoon, successful in his career, with no trace left of the poor country boy from back in the day.
**