Song Ziyao had signed up to go to the countryside because she wanted to find Tan Jinhe.
When she had met Tan Jinhe, neither of them had been young anymore. Tan Jinhe, in particular, had been plagued with illnesses from years of reckless overwork in his youth. He had passed away at only fifty years old.
Excluding the time they had spent getting to know each other, they had only truly spent five years together as husband and wife.
Tan Jinhe often sighed regretfully, saying that he had met her too late. If only he had known her before Lu Ming.
But wasn’t that exactly what Song Ziyao had thought as well?
Now that she had been reborn, that “if” finally had a chance to become reality.
Tan Jinhe was two years older than her. At present, he was only twenty years old.
His family was poor, and he had lived a hard life. It was said that he had never eaten a full meal since childhood. Later, he had drunk recklessly and ruined both his liver and stomach.
She was going to find him and bring him food!
She would also take care of his health and make sure he lived a long life in this lifetime.
Thinking of Tan Jinhe, Song Ziyao revealed a smile.
After returning home, Feng Shihui asked where she had gone. Song Ziyao casually brushed her off with a vague answer.
Entering her room, Song Ziyao locked the door and began taking stock of her belongings.
For Feng Shihui to be praised by everyone as a good stepmother and to have won Song Ziyao’s trust, it certainly wasn’t just for appearances.
For example, according to common sense, Song Zishan should have shared a room with her, while Song Ziwei, being a boy, should have had a room of his own.
Instead, Feng Shihui had arranged for Song Zishan and Song Ziwei to share a room, separated by a curtain.
This was how she explained it publicly—
Her own son and daughter had already been fortunate enough to take the Song surname. How could they possibly compete for Song Ziyao’s belongings? Whatever life Song Ziyao had enjoyed in the past, her future could only be better, never worse.
And she truly acted according to those words.
When it came to daily necessities, clothing, and food, Song Ziyao had every right to look down on most people her age.
Every year, she received at least two new outfits. During elementary school, she had received two yuan in pocket money every month, which increased to five yuan when she entered middle school.
Furthermore, school supplies, hair ties, skincare oil, and similar items were all bought for her by Feng Shihui.
Over the years, Song Ziyao had saved most of her pocket money.
After searching for a while, she finally found a tin box inside a chest beneath her bed.
The box was filled with cash.
After counting it, she found that she had 212.5 yuan.
That was not a small amount in this era.
Still, she would need to find a way to squeeze some more money out of Feng Shihui later.
She remained alone in her room for quite a while before someone knocked on the door.
Song Zishan’s impatient voice came from outside.
“Dad’s back. Come out and eat.”
The dining table had already been set with plump white meat buns. Song Gaofei was removing his coat while being attended to by Feng Shihui.
The scene looked exactly like a maid serving her master.
Curling her lips disdainfully, Song Ziyao sat down at the table.
Song Gaofei asked Feng Shihui: “What did the Lu family say?”
Feng Shihui informed him of the date that had been arranged for the matchmaking meeting.
Song Gaofei nodded in satisfaction.
“Very good.”
He attached great importance to the marriage alliance with the Lu family.
Song Gaofei had only graduated from upper primary school. Fortunately, he had entered the factory early, back when that level of education had still been respectable.
But now, among officials of his rank, the technical personnel all possessed high academic qualifications, and more than half had even studied abroad.
There were also some who lacked education, but they had powerful backers.
Only he had climbed to his current position by relying on the connections of his former father-in-law. Although his rank was not low, he was always assigned to leisurely departments. His position was awkward, and people always looked down on him.
Moreover, his former father-in-law’s connections had nearly been exhausted.
If he could form a marriage alliance with the Lu family, the situation would be completely different.
He might even be transferred to a ministry.
Song Ziyao had only learned of Song Gaofei’s plans much later.
The father who appeared to cherish and love her had actually been cold and selfish. Not only had he treated her as a tool, but even her marriage to Luo Lin had been carefully calculated from the start…
However, she had already experienced the shock and heartbreak in her previous life. The current Song Ziyao felt nothing at all.
Originally, Song Ziyao had planned to announce that she had signed up to go to the countryside, thereby rejecting the matchmaking arrangement with Lu Ming.
But after thinking about it, she abandoned the idea.
It would be better to wait until everything was finalized. Otherwise, unexpected complications might arise.
Thus, when Feng Shihui cautiously brought up the matter of the matchmaking meeting, Song Ziyao nodded in agreement.
Feng Shihui immediately felt relieved.
It seemed that although her stepdaughter could be stubborn, she still listened to her.
Feng Shihui could not help feeling proud. Fortunately, she had been farsighted enough not to listen to her natal family’s advice to suppress her stepdaughter. Instead, she had molded Song Ziyao into someone as pliable as dough, easy for anyone to manipulate.
And now, the benefits had arrived!
After hearing this, Song Ziwei grinned and said: “Once Second Sister’s marriage with the Lu family is settled, can I finally get a job arranged for me?”
Song Ziwei had originally had a job. Song Gaofei had arranged an apprenticeship for him.
But his dream was to sit in an office drinking tea and reading newspapers. Apprenticeship work was too exhausting.
He had quit the apprenticeship and had been loafing around for half a year. Song Gaofei had been unhappy about it for quite some time and had only been soothed by Feng Shihui’s constant persuasion.
Hearing his words, Feng Shihui first glanced at Song Gaofei’s expression. Seeing that he seemed normal, she replied,
“Don’t talk nonsense. Nothing’s settled yet! No matter what, Ziyao has to be willing first.”
After a pause, she added,
“But if we really become relatives with the Lu family, finding a job will indeed be easy. You and Shanshan aren’t even the main beneficiaries. The most important thing is your father. He’ll have a much stronger position in the factory from then on.”
A trace of a smile appeared on Song Gaofei’s normally stern face.
Song Zishan, however, was not pleased. She snorted lightly.
She was extremely dissatisfied that her mother had introduced such an excellent marriage prospect to Song Ziyao. She was three months older than Song Ziyao. No matter how one looked at it, she should have been given priority.
Meanwhile, Song Ziyao quietly ate her meal without saying a word.
Seeing this, Feng Shihui smiled.
“Of course, the luckiest one is still Ziyao. Marrying into the Lu family is like stepping straight into a nest of blessings.”
Song Ziyao could not be bothered to listen any longer. She quickly finished eating, stood up, and returned to her room.
Feng Shihui’s brows furrowed once more.
Song Ziyao had agreed to the matchmaking meeting, but why did she still feel uneasy about it?
On the first night after her rebirth, Song Ziyao tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Suddenly, she felt something hard beneath her.
Reaching underneath herself, she pulled out an object that left her utterly shocked.
Resting quietly in her palm was an ivory-colored pendant. She did not know what material it was made from. Its shape resembled the purification vase held by Guanyin, and it hung from a red cord.
This pendant had been a gift from Tan Jinhe!
Tan Jinhe had always believed in fate and fortune-telling. He had once told her that a master had calculated that she would face a calamity at the age of forty-nine and would require the protection of a spiritual object.
This pendant had been that spiritual object.
Although Song Ziyao had never believed it, she had worn it around her neck all along because it had been given to her by Tan Jinhe.
Later, on the very day she had been killed in the traffic accident, it had happened to be her forty-ninth birthday.
In some mysterious way, the master’s prophecy had truly come to pass.
But now that she had been reborn, why had the pendant come with her as well?
Song Ziyao could not understand it.
Gradually, holding the pendant in her hand, she drifted into sleep.
In her dream, she returned to the villa where she and Tan Jinhe had once lived.
It was a Chinese-style villa surrounded by a garden enclosed within its grounds.
The villa had three floors above ground and one underground level.
The third floor contained the master bedroom and study.
The second floor housed guest rooms, a tea room, and recreational areas.
The first floor contained the kitchen, dining room, and living room.
Underground, half the space was a parking garage while the other half served as a storage area.
Song Ziyao walked out of the villa.
Then she was startled.
The fog was incredibly dense!
Thick white mist surrounded the villa and garden like a barrier. Even the air itself was filled with faint drifting wisps, making the place resemble a fairyland.
Suddenly, a loud splash echoed through the air, startling Song Ziyao.
After hesitating briefly, she followed the sound.
Passing through covered corridors, winding paths, and ornamental rock formations, she arrived at a pond.
At one corner of the pond stood a two-meter-tall Taihu stone.
At that moment, a large slanted bottle had mysteriously appeared above the stone.
The image of the bottle gradually shifted from solid to transparent from its mouth to its base, as though it were merging into the surrounding mist.
Yet its mouth pointed directly at the pond, pouring out a continuous stream of water.
No matter how she looked at it, Song Ziyao felt that the bottle resembled the pendant Tan Jinhe had given her.
The water flowing from the bottle looked exceptionally clear and pure, making her mouth water involuntarily.
Unable to resist, Song Ziyao scooped up a handful and drank it.
Immediately, a refreshing energy swept through her entire body, as though every cell within her had been cleansed.
Looking back at the pond, she saw that its previously murky water had become crystal clear.
Koi fish could now be seen swimming about beneath the surface.
Before Song Ziyao could recover from her astonishment, an even more fantastical scene unfolded.
The garden contained countless flowers and plants, each with different blooming seasons.
Yet now, regardless of whether their flowering season had arrived, every blossom slowly opened into its most magnificent state.
Even the century-old osmanthus tree that had long since died began sprouting branches and leaves at a visible speed.
Clusters of tiny yellow and white flowers bloomed across its branches.
In an instant, the entire garden became a dazzling display of color and beauty.
Its vitality exceeded all reason.
It was as though some mysterious energy beneath the soil was stimulating every plant to grow.
Suspiciously, Song Ziyao looked toward the flowing bottle.
Only then did she notice several words appearing on the previously bare Taihu stone.
“Infinite wondrous forms, infinite marvelous sounds.”
These words came from the Amitabha Sutra, describing the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
Could this place be the Pure Land that existed beyond the mortal world?
Yet Song Ziyao had always understood the Pure Land to be a spiritual realm of the heart—a metaphysical concept.
How had it become a tangible, physical existence?
Moreover, this dream felt far too real.
Not only did it lack the hazy confusion of ordinary dreams, but she could even smell the fragrance of flowers in the air.
Could it be that this was not a dream at all?
Suddenly, Song Ziyao felt a sensation of weightlessness.
Opening her eyes, she found herself lying on the small bed in her room.
The hand that had been holding the pendant was now empty.
The pendant had disappeared!
As though guided by some invisible force, Song Ziyao closed her eyes and recalled the “dream” she had just experienced.
Then she nervously opened them again.
Sure enough, she had entered the place once more!
This was a Dimensional Space that she could freely enter and leave!