“This woman is so stupid. Why does she even have a mouth if she doesn’t know how to use it?”
“If you can’t win with words, don’t you know how to fight back?!”
“This is seriously pissing me off… What kind of idiot author wrote this? This cannon-fodder female character is way too weak! She’s like a steamed bun—letting people pinch and knead her however they want.”
“A woman raising three children alone should become strong by necessity. Her husband is dead—why doesn’t she toughen up? She’s timid all day long, letting everyone bully her. She can’t even protect her own kids.”
“I’m so mad!!”
The more Xia Wanyue thought about it, the angrier she became.
What made it worse was that this useless side character had the same name as her.
Xia Wanyue felt both furious and disappointed, hating iron for not becoming steel. In a fit of rage, she tossed the phone out of her hand.
The phone bounced once on the mat on the floor before coming to a stop. The screen was still glowing, the text flashing nonstop, as if an invisible hand were rapidly flipping pages.
Xia Wanyue took a deep breath, placed her hands behind her head, and lay back down.
Night had already fallen. This year’s June was far hotter than usual. The daytime temperature had soared to 40°C, and only at night did it become slightly more bearable, with a faint breeze brushing past.
Xia Wanyue disliked air conditioning. Back when she used to go on missions, she had suffered several severe injuries and barely survived. Over the years abroad, those injuries left lingering damage.
Every time she used air conditioning, the cold air felt like it drilled straight into her bones—painful and impossible to sleep through.
So after washing her hands of that life, she returned to China and built a three-story villa in the countryside. She left an extra-large terrace on the rooftop, which was her favorite place in summer.
She would lay down a thick mat on the ground and set up a small tent beside it.
The villa also had a huge courtyard. On ordinary days, she grew vegetables and flowers, or read novels.
The money she had earned years ago was more than enough to let her live extravagantly for the rest of her life, so her days now were simple—gardening and reading.
The novel “Picking Up a Man to Get Through Life” was one she had just found earlier today.
Staring at the stars above, Xia Wanyue gradually calmed down.
“So many stars… Tomorrow’s going to be another blazing hot day. This damn weather is going to roast me alive.”
Bored, she picked up a drink from the small table beside her, took a sip, and started counting the stars.
“1, 2, 3, 4… 31, 32… huh?”
“…A plane? Or a meteor?”
“Holy—no, wait! Why does that star look like it’s getting bigger? It feels like it’s falling!”
As she counted, one of the “stars” suddenly began to grow larger, rapidly hurtling toward her.
Her pupils shrank.
She pulled her hands out from behind her head, preparing to get up.
In all these years, aside from her very first mission, she had never felt this panicked.
Instinctively, she reached for the phone beside her. At the moment she lowered her head, the meteor arrived at light speed directly above her.
She had just lifted her hips when—
Boom!
Xia Wanyue was struck by the meteor.
The villa she lived in—and the entire courtyard—erupted in a massive explosion.
Fortunately, Xia Wanyue liked peace and quiet and lived far from other people. Otherwise, this blast would have injured many.
When the thick smoke finally dispersed, the once-beautiful estate had become a massive crater. The villa, the courtyard—everything was gone without a trace.
……
Dai Kingdom.
Huai Prefecture, Ping’an County, Daotian Village.
“Sister-in-law… sister-in-law! Hurry—something’s happened to A-Ke!”
“Sister-in-law—!”
Outside the courtyard gate, someone pounded hard on the door. Inside the tightly shut house, a heavily pregnant woman was taking her afternoon nap. The sudden noise startled her awake. She hurriedly sat up, threw on her clothes, and rushed out.
She reached the gate, pulled out the bolt, and opened it.
Standing outside was Li Qi. He and her husband, Li Ke, had grown up together as close friends.
“Sister-in-law, hurry! Something happened to A-Ke—over at Dajing Mountain… A-Gen and the others are carrying him back.”
At those words, Yue Niang felt as if thunder had struck her head.
It was like the sky had collapsed.
Her legs went weak, and she nearly fell to the ground.
Luckily, Aunt Zhang from next door, who had come out after hearing the commotion, quickly grabbed her arm and kept her from collapsing.
“Yue Niang! Be careful! You can’t afford anything happening to you right now!”
Aunt Zhang supported her and spoke soothingly.
“Sister-in-law…”
Li Qi looked at the heavily pregnant Yue Niang with worry and guilt flooding his heart.
Yue Niang’s hands trembled as she clutched Aunt Zhang’s arm.
Before she could say a word, tears poured out like a breached dam.
Holding her belly with one hand and leaning on Aunt Zhang with the other, Yue Niang hurried toward Dajing Mountain.
She hadn’t gone far when she saw several people emerging from the foot of the mountain.
Zhang Genhe from the village was carrying her husband, Li Ke, on his back, while Tian Youfu followed closely behind, supporting him so he wouldn’t slip.
Seeing this scene, Yue Niang’s legs felt as if they weighed a thousand jin.
Every step forward was unbearably heavy.
As the three drew closer, Li Ke’s face became clearer.
“Sister-in-law!”
“Yue Niang!”
All of them were covered in wounds of varying sizes, but the injuries on Li Ke—who lay limp on Zhang Genhe’s back—couldn’t be seen clearly.
Tian Youfu and Zhang Genhe carefully lowered Li Ke to the ground. Only then did Yue Niang finally see his injuries.
His face was deathly pale as he lay there, unnaturally calm.
A massive wound gaped open on his abdomen, flesh torn apart, his organs visible.
It looked as if something had taken a vicious bite out of him. His body was white as paper, utterly lifeless.
It felt as though a wad of cotton was stuffed in Yue Niang’s throat. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
“Yue Niang!”
“Sister-in-law!”
With just that one glance, darkness swallowed her vision, and she collapsed unconscious.
“Clink… clink… ding-ding-clang…”
“Ahhh! Ahhh—!”
Overwhelming grief, combined with the fall, triggered labor. Her eight-month-old pregnancy went into early labor.
Outside in the courtyard, a mourning hall had already been set up. The clanging funeral music blended grotesquely with the agonized screams coming from inside the house.
“Yue Niang, don’t sleep! This is your child with A-Ke! The baby is coming—he wants to see his father! Hold on!”
“Think of your children! Think of Da Mao and Ya Ya! Yue Niang!”
Madam Miao gripped Yue Niang’s hand tightly.
When she saw Yue Niang finally regain consciousness, she hurriedly brought over some water and helped her drink a few sips.
As soon as the water went down, another wave of pain surged through Yue Niang’s abdomen. She clenched Madam Miao’s hand, grit her teeth, and pushed with all her strength.
Her veins bulged, and a fierce determination showed on her pale face.
Tears streamed down her cheeks. Madam Miao gently wiped them away, then turned aside to wipe her own eyes.
“Waaah—waaah…”
At last, the sound of a baby’s cry filled the room. Everyone inside and outside let out a breath of relief.
“He’s born… finally born…”
Aunt Zhang happily picked up the baby.
“It’s a boy…”
She quickly wiped away the blood, wrapped him gently in cloth, and held him securely.
“Yue Niang, hurry—look at your child.”
Aunt Zhang stood up happily, hoping the newborn would ease the pain of losing her husband.
“That’s wonderful…”
Madam Miao also relaxed and looked toward the baby.
Neither of them noticed that the Yue Niang lying on the bed had already stopped breathing.
“He’s really handsome, isn’t he?”
Aunt Zhang showed the baby to Madam Miao with a smile, then turned around, preparing to bring the child to Yue Niang.