The VIP ward was filled with the heavy smell of disinfectant.
Jiang Zao’s hair was gray, her breathing weak. She had cried often in her youth and worked herself to exhaustion. By her early fifties, her eyesight had already deteriorated. She could barely make out the man sitting by her bedside. It had been more than thirty years since they last met, yet he was still as upright as a pine—tall and dependable.
Jiang Zao tried hard to see his face clearly, but she couldn’t.
“…Shui…sheng.”
She stretched out her trembling hand.
Xiao Shuisheng took her hand. His palm was large and dry.
His voice was as deep as ever. “I’m here.”
Jiang Zao knew she was about to die. Murky tears slid from the corners of her eyes, her nose tingling with bitterness. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have doubted your innocence back then.”
If asked what regrets she had in this life—
There were two.
The first was that she should never have let her cousin Jiang Shan deliver meals to Xiao Shuisheng on her behalf.
Jiang Shan had put an aphrodisiac in the food, causing Xiao Shuisheng to lose control. He had tried his best to restrain himself and did not touch Jiang Shan, yet a misunderstanding arose between them. In anger, Jiang Zao broke off the engagement, and they missed each other for thirty years.
The second was that she should never have let Jiang Shan trick her into handing over the jade pendant left to her by her grandmother. The pendant was spiritual—whoever wore it would be blessed with good fortune.
After stealing the pendant, although Jiang Shan failed to marry Xiao Shuisheng, she repeatedly engaged in shady dealings without ever getting caught. She accumulated enough capital to open a snack shop, met an early real estate tycoon, and rose rapidly in life.
After marriage, she gave birth to four sons in succession and was doted on by her husband’s family.
A choking sob sounded by her ear.
The man pleaded, “Zao’er… don’t die.”
What kind of man was Xiao Shuisheng?
A man who would bleed but never cry—strong as steel and iron.
Jiang Zao had only seen him cry twice.
Once when their engagement was broken.
And once now.
It felt as though a hole had been torn open in Jiang Zao’s heart, the pain making her frown.
She was unwilling to accept it. Why was it that Jiang Shan ruined her marriage, yet still lived so well by relying on stolen fortune?
Why had she and Xiao Shuisheng been separated for thirty years, burdened with resentment for thirty years, only to meet again at the moment of death?
Jiang Zao wanted to tell him not to cry, but as the words reached her lips, her throat suddenly choked.
Her eyes widened, wider and wider—then she stopped breathing.
She died with her eyes open, unwilling to rest.
“Zao’er!”
Hearing is the last sense to fade after death. The final thing Jiang Zao heard was Xiao Shuisheng’s heart-wrenching cry.
“Xiao Shuisheng!”
As if trapped in a nightmare, Jiang Zao suddenly sat up.
The lumpy cotton quilt slipped off her body as she raised a hand to wipe away her sweat.
“Zao’er, now that you’re awake, drink the ginger soup. Later, when Shan brings back the lunchbox, wash it clean and scoop some of the mixed rice and potato slices warming in the pot to deliver to your second brother. He hasn’t eaten yet at the factory.”
The woman’s voice was mixed with the clattering rhythm of a sewing machine.
Jiang Zao rubbed her eyes, and her blurry vision gradually became clear.
The pale hospital ward had turned into the old house in her family’s alley.
The low doorway, the yellowed walls, and the beaded curtain swaying gently in the breeze.
In the small courtyard outside, a pushcart held slabs of stone and sand. Overripe apricots had fallen into the sand, attracting buzzing flies.
The only brand-new item in the house was the sewing machine placed by the door.
Her eldest sister had just gotten engaged—the sewing machine was part of the bride price from the groom’s family.
Although her sister had earned it, she couldn’t take it with her. It had to stay behind to help prepare dowries for the remaining sons in the family.
Her mother, Liu Chunhua, wore a dark blue top. Afraid of dirtying her clothes while working, she wore gray sleeve covers. Her shoulder-length hair was parted in the middle, clipped on both sides with black hairpins. Her feet moved constantly, driving the sewing machine wheel with a squeaking sound.
Black thread ran across gray fabric—it looked like a man’s shirt.
“Zao’er?”
“What’s wrong? Does your head still hurt?”
Liu Chunhua glanced back quickly, then continued pedaling the machine, asking in passing.
Jiang Zao gradually came to her senses. An unbelievable thought formed in her mind.
She… she had actually been reborn!
“Mom, what did you just say?”
Liu Chunhua repeated herself.
The moment Jiang Zao heard that Jiang Shan had gone to deliver food to Xiao Shuisheng, and that she was to take the lunchbox back and then deliver food to her second brother Xiao Ming, she snapped fully awake.
“No!”
This was bad!
Why had she been reborn on the very day Jiang Shan delivered food to Xiao Shuisheng?
In her previous life, although Xiao Shuisheng refused to marry Jiang Shan, his reputation was ruined!
He should have had a bright future, but because of this incident, he lost not only his chance at marriage but also his prospects.
Jiang Zao threw off the blanket. “I’m going to find Xiao Shuisheng.”
Seeing her rush out in a panic, Liu Chunhua sighed. “This child… always so jumpy and acting strange.”
Jiang Zao ran to the door and grabbed her shoes.
At a young age, Xiao Shuisheng was already a senior researcher at an institute. In an era when most people barely finished middle school, he held a professor-level education. Even elderly men with gray hair would respectfully call him Professor Xiao.
It took an hour to get from the Jiang family home to the institute. Jiang Shan had taken the bus.
In the 1970s, buses were infrequent, and there were none available at the moment.
She turned a corner and ran to the first house at the alley entrance. Pushing open the door, she saw her friend Yanqiu washing clothes by the well.
“Zao’er, why are you in such a hurry? You’re drenched in sweat.”
Jiang Zao didn’t have time to respond. Spotting the black 28-inch bicycle by the door, she said, “Yanqiu, lend me your bike.”
Yanqiu had never seen the usually quiet Jiang Zao this anxious. If she was in a rush, it had to be important.
“Take it. I just pumped the tires.”
“Thanks!”
Jiang Zao pushed the bicycle to the alley entrance, mounted it, and rode off, her two braids swinging in the air.
After pedaling for forty minutes, she finally reached the outskirts.
People here were familiar with her and often teased her, calling her the future professor’s wife.
“Oh! The professor’s wife is here again!”
Jiang Zao hurriedly asked, “Where is Xiao Shuisheng?”
The person answered while joking, “Back at the dormitory. Why are you in such a rush? Someone might think you’re here to catch him cheating!”
Jiang Zao sneered inwardly.
They guessed half right.
She wasn’t here to catch cheating—
She was here to catch a vile woman.
She rushed toward the dormitory.
Xiao Shuisheng’s dorm was on the second floor. She ran up the iron staircase.
Just as her foot stepped onto the top stair, she heard a woman’s soft moan.
“Brother-in-law Shuisheng… let me be your cure…”