“If you want a divorce, fine.”
The man’s voice rang in her ear.
Mo Guiyi gave a sharp start, snapping back to awareness. She looked around in a daze at the familiar scene, the familiar furnishings, and the man sitting by the edge of the bed.
Wasn’t he… already dead fifty years ago?
Fifty years ago, because her family’s political status was unfavorable, they were sent down to the countryside. To escape being sent away, she had married the only man willing to take her in at the time: Ming Xianbai.
Yet in her heart, she looked down on Ming Xianbai. He was just a rough, uncultured brute with no romance in him, and when they were intimate, he showed not a shred of gentleness or consideration. As a result, after the wedding, she practically refused to let Ming Xianbai lay a finger on her.
Ming Xianbai had seen right through what she was thinking, too.
Whenever he came home, he simply went to sleep, spending most of his time stationed at the military base.
Yet even with things like this, she remained unsatisfied.
Later on, she became infatuated with an educated intellectual who was attending university and eloped with him. But that intellectual had only had his eyes on her money. Once he stripped her of every last cent, he ran off.
Left with no money and stranded in the remote wilderness, she struggled to survive for a time before eventually starving to death in the open fields.
In the moment of her death, deep regret bloomed in Mo Guiyi’s heart.
Uncultured as Ming Xianbai was, he had never let her go short of food, clothing, or spending money. If only she had stayed obediently by Ming Xianbai’s side, she would never have come to such an end.
And after her death, her soul had lingered in the human world for a time.
She had watched as Ming Xianbai searched for her like a madman. When he finally found her remains, he held that rotting corpse—so badly decomposed it was unrecognizable—for a very long time. That man, usually so cold and devoid of emotional fluctuation, held her body and wept with suppressed grief.
So, he had loved her all along.
That was why he had indulged all her past willful behavior.
What a pity that by then, they were already separated by the boundaries of life and death.
Less than a month after her death, Ming Xianbai died on the battlefield during a mission. His comrades said that originally, Ming Xianbai shouldn’t have died, but it seemed he no longer had any will to live; he had resolutely rushed toward his death, perishing together with the enemy.
After his death, Ming Xianbai was posthumously named a revolutionary martyr and buried with national honors.
Yet his grave had been placed right beside hers.
As if even in death, he was unwilling to be parted from her.
A sharp pain stabbed at Mo Guiyi’s heart. By the time she came to her senses, her face was already bathed in tears.
The man sitting by the bed had already dressed neatly and stood up to walk out.
Panic surged through Mo Guiyi. Recalling everything from her past life only made her more terrified. In a rush, she lunged forward and hugged Ming Xianbai from behind. “Don’t—don’t go.”
The man’s body instantly stiffened.
His breathing grew heavy in an instant. After a moment, he reached out to pry Mo Guiyi’s hands away, his tone cold and detached. “Wasn’t a divorce what you wanted? Now I’m giving it to you. Once I’m back at the base, I’ll submit the divorce papers. You just need to wait a little longer, and you’ll be divorced.”
“No, I don’t want a divorce anymore,” Mo Guiyi hurriedly said.
Having lived through everything from her past life, how could she possibly choose that path again?
The man’s body froze, a fleeting look of bewilderment crossing his expression.
Yet it quickly returned to normal as he let out a self-mocking, cold laugh. “What else do you want? All the money at home belongs to you; I don’t want a single cent of it. If you still want to live here, you can stay whenever you like, but—”
Ming Xianbai clenched his teeth hard. “Don’t you dare bring any other man back.”
“I won’t. I only want you,” Mo Guiyi rushed to say.
Ming Xianbai looked at her delicate, pretty face, a dazed look in his eyes for a moment before his gaze hardened once more, filled with a mix of suppression and anguish. “Is there anything else left on me that you want? Go on, what else do you want?”
A pang of heartache struck Mo Guiyi at these words.
It had been just like this in their past life—whatever she wanted, he would surely give it to her. Even if he didn’t have it, he would move heaven and earth to satisfy her.
How on earth had she been so blinded by greed that she couldn’t see his devotion, holding such deep prejudice against him?
“I know you won’t believe anything I say right now, but I genuinely want to live a proper life with you. Will you give me a little time to prove it, please? Besides—anyway, I’m not getting a divorce.”
“Suit yourself, then,” Ming Xianbai sighed.
He pulled away her arms and strode out.
Hearing the man yield, Mo Guiyi breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as he stopped bringing up the divorce, it would be fine.
Back in her past life, around this time, rumors of her and that intellectual had reached Ming Xianbai’s ears. Ming Xianbai had come back to question her, and in a fit of anger, she had said many hurtful things to provoke him and demanded a divorce.
Angered by her, Ming Xianbai had truly agreed to the divorce.
Yet that divorce never ended up happening.
Because the very next day, Ming Xianbai left on a mission, and during that mission, an accident occurred, leaving him heavily wounded.
In truth, she and that intellectual had only ever corresponded through letters and had no physical contact. She was quite traditional in that regard, believing that a person should only share such intimacy with their beloved after marriage. Fortunately, she hadn’t, or else she would have been utterly sickened with herself.
Mo Guiyi tidied up and came out of the bedroom.
Her mother-in-law, Ming Fangqin, had already prepared breakfast.
Seeing Mo Guiyi, she waved her over. “Guiyi, come eat. I made you a sandwich. Hurry up and try it to see if it’s to your liking.”
Mo Guiyi had very picky tastes. For breakfast, she would eat sandwiches and drink milk. In this day and age, fresh milk and eggs were not so easily come by, yet her mother-in-law had never once complained. Every single morning, there would be a sandwich waiting on the dining table, just the way she liked it.
Ming Siling rolled her eyes. “She thinks she’s still some capitalist’s young miss. Times have changed, and she’s still putting on bourgeois airs at home. Mom, eggs are so expensive now. You fry one for her every single day—no amount of money can withstand this kind of waste.”
Ming Siling glared at Mo Guiyi as if looking at an enemy.
“Siling, don’t talk nonsense. She’s your sister-in-law,” Ming Fangqin reproached gently.
Furious, Ming Siling tossed down her chopsticks. “Defend, defend, defend! All of you only know how to defend her. Big Brother’s entire salary goes to her, and every cent of the wages you earn goes into buying her food. Does our family owe her a debt or something?! If this keeps up, our family won’t even be able to scrape together meals sooner or later!”
Ming Siling glared at Mo Guiyi. “Don’t think I don’t know you’ve been talking about getting a divorce with my brother recently!”
Ming Fangqin froze in astonishment. “Guiyi, is that true? Did you and Guonian have a falling out? Did Guonian do something to upset you?”
Listening to her mother-in-law’s caring questions, Mo Guiyi felt a long-lost wave of familiarity wash over her.
After marrying into the Lu family, she truly had never suffered a single grievance.
Ming Xianbai doted on her, and her mother-in-law was entirely accommodating, treating her like her own biological daughter. She honestly had no idea what kind of trouble she had been stirring up back then. With such a wonderful family-in-law, how could she have been so blind as to elope with some frail, weak scholar?
Mo Guiyi shook her head and took Ming Fangqin’s hand. “No, Mom. How could I ever divorce Guonian? I’m going to live a good, proper life with him, and one day give you a big, chubby grandson.”
Ming Fangqin’s mind finally put itself at ease.
She knew about Guiyi’s past background; they were just an ordinary family, and it was only natural that Guiyi wasn’t used to things at their home and threw a few tantrums over the years. But a divorce was a major matter—no matter how much fuss was made, one simply didn’t talk about getting a divorce.
Not far away, Ming Xianbai froze at Mo Guiyi’s words.