After hearing about her daughter’s situation, Jiang’s father and mother were caught off guard. Jiang’s mother sighed.
“Why didn’t you discuss it with the family? You just divorced like that. You’re a woman—divorced and with children, what will you do in the future?”
“I’ll just live my life like this. I’ll earn my own money and raise my children. I don’t need anyone else!”
“You make it sound easy. You’re pregnant now. In the future, with children, it won’t be easy to find another partner!”
“I’m not going to find a partner anyway. What, so I can find someone at home who makes me serve him?”
“You—”
Jiang’s mother was so angry she couldn’t speak. If her daughter wasn’t pregnant, it would still be easier to remarry. But with children, it would be difficult. She was only twenty—could she really stay single forever? And what if she raised the children and they left her? Would she end up alone in old age?
No, Jiang’s mother paced anxiously. Old Master Jiang and Jiang’s father both kept sighing in worry.
That night, after dinner, Jiang’s mother went back to her room to lie down. Jiang’s father tried to comfort her.
“Enough, stop thinking about it. Our daughter is here with us. We’ll take care of her. She’ll be fine. Divorce isn’t the end of the world.”
“You don’t understand!” Jiang’s mother sat up.
“What I’m angry about is that she’s pregnant—and she still divorced! If she wasn’t pregnant, it would be fine. She could always remarry later. But with children, it becomes much harder!”
“So what now? She’s already divorced.”
“Forget it. Let’s sleep first. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. That girl is really going to drive me crazy!”
..
Jiang Banyue went into her room and closed the door, then slipped into her spatial dimension. This was something she had accidentally obtained in her previous world—a space containing a large villa. Whatever she placed inside would remain exactly as it was when taken out.
She had a habit of hoarding supplies. She had bought many things from supermarkets—food, clothing, daily necessities—everything she could need. She discovered that once items were used up, they would automatically replenish, making it like a portable supermarket.
Inside the villa was a large kitchen, her favorite place.
There was an oversized double-door refrigerator filled with food. Next to it was a cooking counter, specially set up for making cakes. There were also ovens, electric mixers, cake turntables, and various baking tools.
The kitchen cabinets were filled with flour and cooking oil. Because she made cakes every day, she used flour quickly, so she directly ordered 1,000 jin of flour in bulk from a flour factory, and 50 boxes of cooking oil, all stored in the villa’s basement.
In front of the villa was a large plot of land planted with various vegetables and fruits. When they matured, she could harvest and eat them. After eating, they would cleanse impurities from the body, prolong life, and improve physical condition.
Jiang Banyue picked a peach and slowly ate it. After finishing it, black impurities began to ooze from her skin. Disgusted, she quickly went into the villa bathroom.
The bathroom had a large bathtub, along with expensive body wash and shampoo.
She removed her clothes, turned on the faucet, and slowly filled the tub. There was also a showerhead; she stood under it and rinsed the impurities from her body. After washing, she stepped into the bathtub.
She sank slowly into the water, squeezed in body wash, and gently stirred it, forming bubbles. Feeling playful, she scooped up bubbles and blew them lightly.
Her fair skin turned rosy from the bathwater. After finishing, she stood up, walked to the mirror, and looked at herself.
In the mirror was a woman with fair skin, a soft slightly rounded belly, long jet-black waist-length hair, a chubby little face, curved willow-shaped eyebrows, bright sparkling eyes, a delicate small nose, and cherry-like lips.
After admiring her beautiful face, Jiang Banyue put on a white bathrobe and went to the bedroom to sleep. The two-meter-wide bed was covered with soft white bedding. She pulled the blanket over herself and closed her eyes.
..
Meanwhile, far away at the military base, Shen Yunhe was on the phone with his grandfather.
“Brat, where’s my granddaughter-in-law? Hurry up and let her answer the phone.”
Sitting on the sofa, Shen Yunhe rubbed his brow, feeling troubled about how to respond. His grandfather especially liked Jiang Banyue. If he found out they had divorced, he might come over with a cane to beat him.
The divorce had been quick, but now he regretted it a little. Why couldn’t he have just endured it? It was just arguments—what couple doesn’t argue? He wasn’t young anymore, and it had taken effort to get married. Now everything had gone back to square one.
“Brat, your grandfather is talking to you! Did you hear me? Let my granddaughter-in-law talk!”
“Grandpa, Banyue is asleep,” Shen Yunhe lied helplessly. He had to get through tonight first.
“Oh, she’s asleep? Alright then, she can rest. I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”
Click—Old Master Shen hung up.
Shen Yunhe put down the phone and leaned back on the sofa, staring blankly at the quiet house, feeling a bit unaccustomed.
His marriage to Jiang Banyue had been arranged by his grandfather. At the time, he thought he was of age and should marry, so after meeting once, they got married. After marriage, Jiang Banyue followed him to the military base. On their wedding day, it was only their second meeting; they were not familiar with each other and were not like other newlyweds who were affectionate. Instead, they were polite and distant.
Even their first time sleeping together happened accidentally when he was drunk. After that night, their relationship gradually became more natural, eventually turning into something like an old married couple.
Thinking back on everything, every time he met Liu Juan, Jiang Banyue would argue with him. He swore he had never had any private contact with Liu Juan or even spoken to her voluntarily. So why did Jiang Banyue always suspect something between them?
..
The next morning, after breakfast, Jiang’s father and mother went to work. Jiang Banyue finished preparing and took out a sheet of paper to draw her shop’s renovation design.
The shop would have two floors. The ground floor would be a cake shop with a large work counter. The upper floor would be divided into three bedrooms, with a small bathroom.
Jiang’s father helped find construction workers, who began renovating according to her design drawings. Jiang Banyue often came to supervise since it would be her future home, so she needed to be sure.
Jiang’s mother, worried about her pregnancy, took leave to accompany her. Looking at the building’s structure, she frowned.
“Why is this house layout so strange?” It was narrow and deep, like a well. The more she looked, the stranger it seemed.
“It’s a taller structure. I split it into two floors. It’ll look good once it’s finished.”