“Once you’re at the military compound, make sure to spend plenty of time around Qiming’s younger uncle—he’s incredibly influential! Who knows, he might even get you a post as a military doctor!”
The mention of being a military doctor instantly stoked a flare of anger in Song Qinghuan’s chest, bringing back memories of her past life.
Back then, she’d already had a job at the hospital that she truly loved—only for Lu Qiming to give it away to Wang Siyu, without ever asking for her opinion. For two years, she’d done her medical internship at the town clinic, studying tirelessly every single day, all so she could become a fully qualified doctor sooner. Everything had been going smoothly… until Lu Qiming stepped in and ruined it all at the last minute.
Just thinking about it made her blood boil. If only she’d hit him harder back at the Lu family home earlier—she’d held back too much.
Being an officer’s wife was nothing but a hollow, empty title. Let anyone who wanted it chase after it; she would make a good life for herself without leaning on anyone else! Lu Qiming would spend his whole life looking after his widowed sister-in-law and her son—marrying him would be nothing but a lifetime of bad luck.
Song Qinghuan’s thoughts drifted off, until Zhao Yufang’s voice pulled her sharply back to the present.
“If you ask me, you ought to head straight over to the Lu family home right now—apologize to Qiming and his family properly, beg for their forgiveness, and salvage this engagement!”
Song Shouyang nodded in agreement, his tone edged with threat. “Daughter, your mother and I have been telling you this for ages—don’t be so stubborn and ungrateful. Marrying Qiming is the best path you could possibly take; our whole family is counting on you to turn our fortunes around! If you marry into their family, we’ll all live comfortably from now on. But if you dare call off this engagement… you’ll be cutting off our entire livelihood! Don’t blame us if we stop recognizing you as our daughter!”
Song Qinghuan listened to them speak in perfect unison, and a cold smirk curled at her lips. All this praise—they were just desperate to use her engagement to Lu Qiming to climb up the social ladder.
She looked straight at the three of them, her gaze sharp and voice dripping with sarcasm. “If it’s such a wonderful deal… why don’t you go marry him yourselves? You love the military compound so much—why not move in there instead? I’m not marrying him, and that’s final.”
Zhao Yufang’s face darkened instantly; all her earlier softness vanished, replaced by a shrill, biting tone. “Ungrateful child! How can you be so unreasonable? What nonsense are you spouting now?”
“We’re only doing this for your own good! If you marry him, you’ll be an officer’s wife—you’ll never want for food or fine clothes, and you’ll get to know all sorts of important, respected people! It’ll be such a glorious life! But if you break off this match… who on earth would ever want to marry you after that?”
Song Shouyang’s expression hardened, his voice dropping to a menacing growl. “Don’t you dare bite the hand that feeds you! If you call off this engagement, our whole family is finished! Your brother is counting on you to get him a good job once you’re married into their household! If you ruin this… I’ll break your legs myself!”
Song Qinghuan glanced at him, then calmly sat down on a wooden chair in the main hall, letting out a quiet laugh. “Your brother is counting on me? If you’re all so eager to live the good life… why not send him to marry Lu Qiming instead?”
Her tone was light and casual—but her words left them all speechless. Zhao Yufang nearly fainted on the spot when she heard it.
She clutched her chest, seething with rage, and glared at Song Qinghuan. “How shameless have you become?! How can you even say such a thing?!”
“All these years… I’ve raised you for nothing! We’re trying to give you a better life, and this is how you repay us? Being a parent is so thankless!”
Zhao Yufang began wailing and carrying on in full dramatic fashion. Song Qinghuan saw right through her act—she remained perfectly calm, completely unmoved. She knew exactly what her mother was after; she’d never had an easy life in this family, often going hungry even for basic meals. She’d been nothing more than a tool—working from dawn till dusk, doing all the chores and labor, only to be treated like a piece of property to be sold off to the highest bidder. Zhao Yufang wanted to squeeze every last drop out of her, just to pave the way for her brother Song Yunfei.
In her past life, she’d been too soft-hearted—every time Zhao Yufang cried and put on a helpless show, she’d never known how to say no. She’d always swallowed her own grievances and agreed to whatever they asked. But now that she’d already lived through it once… she would never let herself suffer that way again.
To her now, family ties were worthless—utterly meaningless. And besides, she wasn’t even their biological daughter—so there was nothing holding her back. She was done catering to them; all she wanted was to move forward, secure that job at the hospital, and never repeat the mistakes of her past.
She knew for a fact: if she refused to marry Lu Qiming, they would kick her out without a second thought. And honestly? That was exactly what she wanted. She would use this chance to cut all ties with the Song family for good—no more interference, no more leeches draining her dry. She’d be free to live her life however she chose.
As for her real parents… she had no memory of them at all, not even a faint impression. Finding them would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. She’d let fate take its course—there was no rush.
Taking a deep breath, she felt a strange sense of calm settle over her. After everything she’d been through, she was practical now—she knew the only thing that mattered was securing her own future first. She couldn’t even be sure if her real parents were still looking for her. If they’d already given up, showing up out of nowhere would only bring them trouble. And if they truly loved her… why had they lost her in the first place?
Her thoughts grew tangled, and a dull ache began to spread through her chest.
In the main hall, Song Shouyang and his family were still shouting and hurling insults. Song Qinghuan listened to their endless nagging until her ears rang with irritation. Finally, she turned and walked straight into her small room, closing the door firmly behind her—shutting out Zhao Yufang’s shrill, venomous voice. But the walls were paper-thin; even with the door shut, she could still hear every word they said.
“You ungrateful little beast! You won’t even listen to us now?! You turn down a family as good as the Lus—who do you think you are?!”
“Qiming is such a fine man—marrying him is a privilege you should be grateful for!”
“And what you did today! You weren’t even part of their family yet, and you slapped your future mother-in-law—and then your fiancé too! Ask anyone for miles around—who else could be so cruel and heartless?!”
“Think of something—quick! We have to figure out how to apologize properly!”
“You will go and apologize!”
“…”
It was the same thing over and over again. Song Qinghuan felt her temper rising, so she sat down on the edge of her bed and tried to steady her breathing. She closed her eyes—and suddenly, vivid scenes from her past life began to play out in her mind.