“I’m not marrying Gu Liancheng. Whoever wants to persuade me can marry him themselves.”
The girl being persuaded became anxious and did not even care that the one persuading her was her already married elder sister.
Gu Jiaoxia felt delighted. “If you won’t marry, then don’t. This marriage is canceled from now on. In the future we’ll each marry whom we want and have nothing to do with each other.”
“No, that won’t do.” An Qihui was nearly driven mad by her willful younger sister. In order to leave her sister a way to turn back, she made a request to the Gu family.
“Within one year, Gu Liancheng must not go on blind dates or get married. This is a debt your Gu family owes to us sisters of the An family.”
Gu Jiaoxia wanted to beat her to death. “Our family has already treated your An family more than fairly. It’s your sister who broke the engagement. Didn’t you hear what she said? She already has someone she likes. No matter what, I will not agree to such an unreasonable demand!”
……
Jiang Zhen had not meant to watch the commotion downstairs. She lived upstairs, but the staircase was blocked and she could not go up, so she was forced to hear a bit of the gossip. She could not understand why the bride refused to marry.
Jiang Zhen could find out why by probing the girl’s memory, but the girl would not survive that. Her curiosity for gossip was not strong enough to go that far.
Soon the crowd ahead automatically parted. A tall man came downstairs in a neatly pressed military uniform.
The groom’s flower that had originally been pinned to his chest was now in his hand. Without any hesitation on his handsome face, he threw the groom’s boutonniere into the trash can beside him.
It was him—the soldier who had given Jiang Zhen sweet potatoes and water at the foot of the mountain during the bandit suppression. The little uncle Gu Pan and Gu Hui often talked about. The second brother of Head Nurse Gu Jiaoxia.
He had been mercilessly rejected by his bride.
Such a handsome man, with broad shoulders and a narrow back—he had the figure, the face, and his ability was not bad either. Even in the apocalypse he would have been impressive. For such a husband to be rejected could only mean the girl had never tasted real hardship and did not know how valuable a monthly stipend of seventy or eighty yuan was.
Because he was Gu Pan and Gu Hui’s little uncle, and because he had once given her a meal at the foot of the mountain, when their gazes met, Jiang Zhen smiled at him.
Jiang Zhen did not receive a smile in return. The man’s expression was resolute. He stared at Jiang Zhen for several seconds without looking away.
Jiang Zhen could understand the feeling of being rejected. The smile she had just given was inappropriate. She secretly bit her tongue and hurried into the stairwell, avoiding his gaze.
Gu Liancheng recognized Jiang Zhen. They had exchanged a few words at the foot of the mountain during the bandit suppression. She had told him her name, but he had not given his.
After returning from suppressing the bandits, whenever Gu Pan and Gu Hui mentioned the Auntie with the surname Jiang, they would sometimes clutch their throats and be unable to speak, as if they had been cursed. That was why he had looked at her a few more times just now.
He silently repeated her name several times in his mind and felt no discomfort at all. She was the same as an ordinary person, nothing special.
……
Jiang Zhen’s dormitory was upstairs, while the bride was getting married downstairs. To return home, she had to pass by the window outside her home. The doorway was surrounded by relatives and neighbors, and the girl’s family was taking turns persuading and scolding her.
“You won’t marry Gu Liancheng—then what kind of man do you want to marry? Say it!”
“You’ve made such an ugly scandal. What good family will want to marry you in the future? Go apologize to Gu Liancheng and say those were words spoken in anger, that there isn’t anyone you like outside. Once Gu Liancheng’s anger subsides, you can get married again.”
“No. If I say I won’t marry him, then I won’t marry him. If you think he’s so good, you go marry him yourselves.”
Jiang Zhen glanced into the room. The girl inside who was loudly refusing the marriage looked across the crowd and met Jiang Zhen’s eyes, and immediately felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.
It was different now. Everything was different.
Before her rebirth, Gu Liancheng had died in the campaign to suppress the bandits. The organization had taken care of her and arranged an administrative job for her at the hospital. Yet she had raised the two children of Gu Liancheng’s elder brother badly—one ended up in prison, and the other became love-struck and eventually went mad.
After being reborn, Gu Liancheng had not died. He returned safe and sound. One look at his eyes told her that Gu Liancheng had also been reborn. How could she dare marry him? She decisively broke off the engagement.
And then there was Jiang Zhen. Back then it had been a huge news story—she had been killed by mountain bandits on the road while bringing her two children to find her brother-in-law.
One of the two children escaped. The other fell into the bandits’ den. Years later, the one who escaped returned for revenge and only then discovered that the bandits of that year had been hired by their aunt to commit murder.
But now Jiang Zhen had not died. Many things were different from before. She was afraid, and she had to break off the engagement.
……
Jiang Zhen and Gu Liancheng’s former fiancée exchanged a glance and immediately knew that something was wrong with the other’s memories—they had overlapped. Although she could not clearly see the overlapping parts, the extra memories belonged to the old timeline before the reversal.
In the apocalypse there had been abilities like time reversal. She thought it might be related to the earth tremor triggered by the mirage earlier.
After returning home, Jiang Zhao was cooking.
Jiang Zhen had absolutely no talent in cooking. Among the children, the slightly older Jiang Zhao had taken on the responsibility of housework. The younger Jiang Tang also helped, picking and washing vegetables together with Jiang Zhen.
Jiang Zhen talked about her plan. She intended to attend a social gathering jointly organized by the garrison troops and the hospital unit—a matchmaking event.
“Mom, are you going to find a new dad?” Jiang Tang lacked a sense of security and was afraid the new father would not like her and her brother.
“Yes. I need to find someone who has household registration here. Only then can ours be settled, and only then can I keep working.”
Jiang Zhen’s expression was calm. She neither looked joyful nor resistant. It was simply forming a partnership to live together. If it worked, it worked. If it didn’t, they would separate. The men in this world fighting one-on-one were no match for her. If anyone wanted to resort to domestic violence, drunken rampages, or male chauvinism, they would only be seeking their own doom. She was not worried at all.
“If you have any opinions about the new dad, you can say them. I’ll look for someone according to your requirements.”
Jiang Tang bit her finger and said, “Mom, I want the new dad to know how to cook.”
“All right. I’ll ask about that when I go on the blind date.”
Jiang Zhen turned to the other child. “Jiang Zhao, what requirements do you have for the new dad?”
Jiang Zhao’s hand holding the spatula trembled slightly. “Mom, I don’t have any requirements. If you think he’s good, that’s enough.”
Jiang Zhao steadied his hand and continued stirring the pot. He had to become more capable. Only by being useful to Mom could he avoid being abandoned.
Also, before, Mom’s cooking had been just as bad, but her temper had been unpredictable. It was impossible to guess when she might suddenly fly into a rage.
But ever since they encountered the bandits, Mom’s temper had become gentle. For several days now she had not said a single harsh word to him.
He liked the Mom he had now.
But… was this still the same Mom as before?
He did not dare think about it, and he did not need to think about it. As long as Mom continued to want him, that was enough.
……
Jiang Zhen ate the meal Jiang Zhao cooked and felt that it tasted even better than yesterday.
“Jiang Zhao, how are you so amazing? The food is so delicious. Mom can’t live without you anymore.”
Jiang Zhao looked shy and happy. Holding his bowl, he smiled with a hint of bitterness.
“Thank you, Mom.”
“Mom, I’ll become even more capable too!” Jiang Tang pulled Jiang Zhen’s hand eagerly to claim credit. “Today I picked vegetables as fast as Mom.”
Jiang Zhen had never been flattered like this before, and her heart softened.
“Good. Both you and your brother are amazing.”
The previous Jiang Zhen had never been so affectionate toward the two children. After several days of getting along, the children’s feelings toward her had risen sharply. They were afraid Jiang Zhen might suddenly disappear again like she had several times before.
As long as Mom did not leave, having a new dad was fine.
Jiang Zhen truly liked life in Fancheng. Housing could be assigned, her work at the hospital suited her well, and the two children handled the housework. She only needed to collect her salary each month. There was no wandering from place to place, and no need to worry about mutated beasts suddenly appearing.
The air was fragrant, the water was sweet, and although food was scarce, it was distributed according to household registration—far better than the apocalypse.
Thinking this way, Jiang Zhen began to look forward to the blind date.
……
Jiang Zhen attending the social gathering for matchmaking had actually been encouraged by Gu Jiaoxia.
Now that her second brother had broken off the engagement with the An family—more precisely, the An family had taken the initiative to cancel it—and since he was willing to attend blind dates, Gu Jiaoxia immediately thought of Jiang Zhen.
Gu Jiaoxia played the emotional card.
“Jiang Zhen, if you don’t mind that my brother’s engagement was broken off, when the blind date day comes, you two can meet and see how it goes. Gu Pan and Gu Hui mention you all the time.”
“Gu Liancheng?” Jiang Zhen blurted out. “But my ex-husband married into the An family, and the fiancée who broke off the engagement with him is also from the An family. Is that appropriate?”
“What kind of ex-husband is that? It doesn’t count. The An family argued that marriage customs from the Republic of China era don’t count in New China and refused to acknowledge it. Why keep it in your heart? Just tell me if you’re willing. If you are, I’ll go talk to my brother right now.”
Jiang Zhen considered herself to have excellent conditions, and Gu Liancheng in this world was equally outstanding. Their personal circumstances were similar. Each had two children. The scales were balanced—no one would gain an advantage or suffer a loss. What a fair and equal arrangement.
Jiang Zhen felt her heart stir. She could not help asking Jiang Zhao and Jiang Tang, “Do you like Gu Pan and Gu Hui’s little uncle?”
Children naturally admired people in military uniforms. In addition, the other party’s children were Gu Pan and Gu Hui. Jiang Zhao was a hundred times willing and nodded repeatedly. Jiang Tang was also willing and nodded obediently.
Jiang Zhen agreed. “On the day of the blind date, I’ll talk with him.”
……
Today there were truly many people attending the “social gathering.” Qingcheng Hospital had sent many doctors and nurses, and the garrison troops had also sent many unmarried soldiers.
In the quiet corner where she had arranged to meet with Gu Jiaoxia, Jiang Zhen struck up a conversation with Gu Liancheng.
Jiang Zhen had confidence in herself. She was like a blind box—after marriage, surprises would keep appearing. Whoever married her would be incredibly lucky.
“Battalion Commander Gu, are you here for a blind date too?”
Jiang Zhen’s opening was quite direct. As long as Gu Liancheng responded, she would immediately propose her conditions. If it worked, it worked. If not, she would continue searching. Gu Jiaoxia had already said that if it didn’t work out, they could pretend this had never happened.
“Yes. I came to take a look. If I meet someone suitable, we’ll talk.”
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Gu Liancheng did not follow up on her topic. Jiang Zhen felt that the chances were slim, and without that, there was no way to discuss the conditions afterward.
Gu Liancheng had never dared hope for someone with Jiang Zhen’s conditions. He had just finished processing the experience of his rebirth and had reported it to the organization. Based on the current investigation results, they suspected that an explosion of an unknown energy field had caused those affected to revert in time. He might not be the only one.
The organization had approved his request to attend blind dates and form a family. However, he had set a principle for himself: he would only enter a contractual marriage, without feelings involved.
Jiang Zhen was young and beautiful. If she married through a blind date, it would be to live a normal life. He was not suitable for her and could not delay her future.
Besides, if he stated his conditions, Jiang Zhen would probably scold him after hearing them.