Children… will they have children? Was she just trying to trick Mom? Ming Xianbai gave another self-deprecating chuckle. She was in such a hurry to get a divorce from him, and said so many attacking things to him just last night for the sake of the divorce, how could she possibly have children with him?
Hearing this, Ming Siling didn’t believe it either. Their mother either worked all day or stayed at home, so she didn’t hear the gossip outside, but she certainly did. This Mo Guiyi had long been running around behind his back with other men! Considering how much her brother liked her and treated her so well, this Mo Guiyi was simply heartless and impossible to tame.
“Mom, you don’t know what Mo Guiyi…” “Ming Siling!” Just as Ming Siling was about to blurt it out, a cold, deep voice suddenly rang out.
Ming Siling shuddered violently, her neck stiffly turning to look at Ming Xianbai as he walked over. Tall and long-legged with broad shoulders and a deep chest, his dark eyes were sharp and his aura oppressive, abruptly cutting off the words that had reached the tip of Ming Siling’s tongue and forcing them back down into her stomach.
Ming Siling curled her lips in displeasure, feeling that it wasn’t worth it for her brother. Aside from having a pretty face, what single point about Mo Guiyi made her worth her brother treating her so well? Why did her brother still like a promiscuous woman like this?
Mo Guiyi was also worried that Ming Siling would blurt out the rumors circulating outside. Her mother-in-law had been so good to her; previously, out of ignorance, she had broken the old woman’s heart. This time, no matter what, she would never hurt this elderly woman’s heart again. Fortunately, Ming Xianbai arrived just in time, preventing Siling from saying the rest.
“Xianbai.” Mo Guiyi trotted over to Ming Xianbai’s side, holding out her sandwich and presenting it in front of him. “Mom made this sandwich, eat some first.”
Ming Xianbai glanced at the sandwich, then reached out and pushed it away. “I don’t like eating these.” Supplies at home were limited, and since she liked eating these, Mom made her one every day. If he ate it, she wouldn’t get to have one.
Mo Guiyi put the sandwich down, picked up an egg instead, and shoved it into Lu Minglian’s hand, whispering, “Take this egg and eat it.” There were five people in the family, and the daily egg ration was also limited. Every time, Lu Minglian would make the excuse that he was full and give his egg to someone else. Mo Guiyi’s heart ached seeing him always being so yielding; he was such a tall guy doing heavy physical labor, how could he get by without eating some eggs to build up his nutrition?
Lu Minglian pressed his lips together, pinched the egg, glanced at her delicate yet slightly mischievous face, and silently tucked the egg into his pocket.
Ming Siling, who had witnessed the whole scene: “…” Did these two think there was nobody else standing right next to them? What was Mo Guiyi putting on a show for? Scandals of her messing around with other men were already flying around everywhere, yet she was still acting all affectionate in front of her brother. Was she trying to squeeze something else out of him? All the money in the family had already been spent on her—what else could she possibly want?!
The more Ming Siling thought about it, the angrier she got. In a fit of frustration, she slammed her chopsticks down. “Mo Guiyi, stop putting on an act! I’m telling you, don’t even think about tricking my brother anymore. With me here, you won’t be taking a single thing from our family!”
“Ming Siling!” Ming Xianbai shot her a deep, heavy gaze.
Ming Siling aggrievedly pouted. “Brother, you shouldn’t keep letting her fool you!”
“She is your sister-in-law, you should respect her. Also, eat properly and don’t talk while eating,” Ming Xianbai said in a deep voice.
As soon as he finished speaking, his sleeve felt heavy. He lowered his gaze and caught sight of a pair of fair, delicate hands pinching the fabric of his sleeve. Mo Guiyi curved her lips into a smile at him, her clear, beautiful eyes sparkling as if starlight was rippling across them. She silently mouthed: “Thank you.”
Ming Xianbai’s gaze darkened slightly. After a moment of silence, he pulled his sleeve back. What else was left on him for her to scheme against?
After breakfast, Ming Xianbai headed to the military unit, and Ming Fangqin left for work. Mo Guiyi had no job and nothing to do, idling around the house. In her previous life, she had thoroughly enjoyed such a lazy, pleasure-seeking routine. But now, Mo Guiyi no longer liked it. Having died once, her perspective on everything had changed. The family was poor, relying solely on the salaries earned by Ming Xianbai and her mother-in-law Ming Fangqin. Her father-in-law was in poor health and couldn’t do heavy labor, while Ming Siling was still in school—five mouths in total waiting to be fed. In her past life, she had comfortably enjoyed everything the Lu family provided, but in this lifetime, she didn’t want to live like that anymore. She wanted to shoulder the burden of supporting the family as well.
Before Mo Guiyi could figure out a way to make money, an uninvited guest showed up.
Mo Guiyi narrowed her eyes as she sized up the girl standing before her with two braided pigtails, a cold glint flashing in the depths of her eyes. Yao Shujing had once been her best friend. In her past life, she had trusted her implicitly, sharing all the best things with her and treating her like family, confiding in her with her whole heart. But how had Yao Shujing treated her? When her soul was wandering the mortal world after death, she finally discovered that the intellectual who had coaxed her into eloping, stolen all her possessions, and driven her to starve to death at the bottom of a wall cavity was actually found by Yao Shujing!
Yao Shujing had long been harboring designs on Ming Xianbai. She wanted her to clear out of the way quickly so that she could step into her shoes and take her place. Therefore, whenever she vented to Yao Shujing about Ming Xianbai lacking romance, Yao Shujing would deliberately fan the flames to make her impression of Ming Xianbai even worse, while simultaneously finding men of the intellectual type she liked to seduce her. Even the ultimate theft of her wealth and tragic death by starvation had been entirely calculated by Yao Shujing!
The only thing Yao Shujing hadn’t calculated was that after her death, Ming Xianbai would follow her and die alongside her.
Thinking of everything from her past life, boundless anger and hatred surged within Mo Guiyi’s heart, but she forcefully suppressed it, not letting a shred of it show on her face. Now was not the time to tear off her mask with Yao Shujing. She still had one important item left in Yao Shujing’s possession. She had to get that item back first. However, she would make sure Yao Shujing experienced every single thing from her past life firsthand.
“Guiyi, what’s wrong?” Yao Shujing asked. Why did Mo Guiyi’s look toward her today feel a bit strange? Could this idiot have figured something out? Impossible. This fool trusted her so much; there was no way she would suspect her.
Without dwelling on it further, Yao Shujing thought of the main business at hand and said with an excited expression, “Guiyi, I have good news to tell you!”
“Is that so? What good news?” Mo Guiyi narrowed her eyes slightly.
Yao Shujing whispered, “Painter Wen replied to your letter! This is what he asked me to pass along to you. He also told me to let you know that he’ll be waiting for you at the alley entrance at eight o’clock tonight. Guiyi, I know you’ve suffered grievances being with Ming Xianbai—he’s just a rough soldier with no sense of romance at all. Fortunately, you met Painter Wen. As your good friend, I support you in pursuing your own happiness.”
Mo Guiyi gave a half-smile. What a fine “pursuing your own happiness.” In her previous life, she had believed Yao Shujing’s nonsense and met with Painter Wen that very night, only to be discovered by the neighborhood gossips and caught red-handed right as Ming Xianbai returned. Overnight, her reputation was completely ruined. Everyone knew she was having a illicit affair. And her relationship with Ming Xianbai was completely shattered at that exact moment.
“Guiyi, what’s the matter? Are you not happy? You’ve asked Painter Wen out several times, and he finally agreed. You mustn’t miss this opportunity,” Yao Shujing urged.
What a matter of asking him out several times. It was actually Yao Shujing who had made Painter Wen deliberately play hard to get. Things that were harder to obtain were always cherished more. And in her previous life, this tactic had indeed worked on her.
Mo Guiyi hooked the corners of her lips into an ambiguous smile. “I’ve received the letter. Tell Painter Wen that I will definitely be there on time.”
In her past life, these two had used this rendezvous to ruin her reputation and drag her name through the mud. This time, she would return it all to them in kind, and let both of them taste what it felt like to have their reputations utterly destroyed.