“Suyu, for the sake of these sixty years in which I never mistreated you, just sign this divorce agreement.”
“I never loved you. I only married you because my father forced me to repay a debt of gratitude. I gave you a lifetime of dignity. Now that I’m about to die, I want to be free. I’m begging you, alright?”
Looking at her husband, who had only a breath left in him, eighty-year-old Xu Suyu still signed her name on the divorce papers.
Beep—
The heart monitor let out a sharp, piercing sound as the man on the hospital bed exhaled his final breath in relief.
“Han Shumo, if I had known that my so-called happy marriage was nothing but an illusion you crafted over a lifetime, I would have returned your freedom much sooner.”
…
“Shumo, if Grandpa Xu hadn’t saved your life back then, you would’ve died in that river. We can’t forget kindness and repay it with ingratitude.”
“Dad, repaying a debt doesn’t have to mean sacrificing my marriage.”
“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Your Grandpa Xu has now been labeled a capitalist. Although he publicly severed ties with Suyu in the newspapers, if she doesn’t marry soon, she’ll still be sent back to Miancheng for reeducation in three days. For Grandpa Xu’s sake, marry Suyu.”
Xu Suyu abruptly opened her eyes and looked around. This was… the living room of the old Han family residence.
This scene. This conversation…
She had been reborn.
Reborn sixty years earlier—on the very day her father-in-law was persuading Han Shumo to marry her.
In her previous life, Han Shumo had looked at her quietly. After a long silence, he relented.
“Dad, I promise. I’ll marry Suyu.”
But this time, he didn’t hesitate even for a moment. His voice was firm and resolute.
“Dad, the person I love is Qin Wanqiu. I can’t marry someone I don’t love. It wouldn’t be fair to any of the three of us.”
Xu Suyu instantly understood.
He had been reborn too.
In this life, he was unwilling to marry her. Good. She didn’t want to live another lifetime muddled in deception either.
“Uncle, when my grandfather wrote that letter, he didn’t understand your family’s situation. If he had known Comrade Han already loved someone else, he would never have made things difficult. Besides, I don’t like Comrade Han either. There’s no need for him to worry about me.”
At the words don’t like, Han Shumo’s expression flickered briefly before returning to calm.
Han Guozhang looked at her earnestly. “Suyu, whether you like him or not isn’t important. Do you understand your current situation? You need to get married to stay safe!”
How could Xu Suyu not know?
She had lived through those ten years. She knew reality was far crueler and darker than anything portrayed in films or novels. Few survived to the end. Even her grandfather would die—because in her previous life, he had passed away in exile just half a year later.
In this life, she couldn’t rely on Han Shumo. And as the daughter of a so-called capitalist, someone everyone avoided, who would dare marry her?
She had only three days.
Three days to find someone willing to marry her.
She had to survive first—only then could she find the person who could prove her grandfather’s innocence and save him.
Han Guozhang turned to Han Shumo again, pleading earnestly.
“Shumo, I’ve never harmed you. Wanqiu’s family background means she’ll never be a suitable match for you. Grandpa Xu entrusted Suyu to you in that letter because he was begging you to save her life. Think it over carefully before you answer.”
Han Shumo clenched his fists slightly and looked at Xu Suyu.
Their eyes met. Neither looked away. It felt as though half a century had passed before Han Shumo finally broke eye contact.
“Comrade Xu, I’m sorry. We have no emotional foundation. I can’t marry you.”
Xu Suyu smiled bitterly.
It didn’t matter. That false and tragic marriage—since she had once been brave enough to step into it, she was capable of stepping out of it.
She had just opened her mouth to speak when a solemn, commanding voice came from outside the door.
“If you won’t marry her, my grandson will!”
Xu Suyu turned her head. At the entrance stood an elderly man in an old-style military uniform, dignified and imposing, walking in with a cane.
Beside him was a young man with thick brows and sharp, well-defined features—a buzz cut and the air of a tough little warrior. Though his face looked youthful, his build was tall and solid.
He wore a navy-and-white striped shirt, military trousers, and a pair of prized Warrior sneakers—quite valuable in those days. The lazy swagger in his stride made it clear he was a spoiled compound brat.
Hearing the old man’s words, he studied Xu Suyu’s eyes for a few seconds before turning back with a careless curl of his lip.
“Old man, are you alright? You want me, the mighty Young Master Jiang, to marry this delicate little thing who looks like she’d cry hard enough to topple the Great Wall after two sentences?”
“Shut your mouth! Did you eat filth outside? Why are you talking like that?” The old man shot him a glare before looking at Xu Suyu.
Han Guozhang and Han Shumo hurried forward and saluted.
“Commander Jiang, what brings you here today with Jiang Sun?”
“Just out for a walk. Came by to tell Little Han I’m out of medicine. Have him send some more.”
Han Shumo nodded. “Yes, Commander. I’ll deliver it later.”
Commander Jiang… Jiang Sun?
From distant memories, Xu Suyu recalled who they were.
The decorated veteran Commander Jiang Zhunián—and his notorious, arrogant grandson Jiang Sun, the feared “Little Devil” of the military compound.
In her previous life, only a few months after her marriage, she heard that Jiang Sun had committed many offenses and was eventually executed for hooliganism while still young.
Devastated by the loss of his grandson, the old commander passed away not long after.
On this very day in her previous life, after Han Shumo agreed to marry her, they had gone out to prepare for the wedding. She never knew the Jiangs had come by.
Nor had she interacted much with them afterward.
Seeing the old commander studying her, Xu Suyu folded her hands politely in front of her and bowed her head.
“Hello, Commander Jiang.”
“Good child. Since you need to marry to escape your predicament, and my grandson has reached marriageable age, why not marry him and become my granddaughter-in-law?”