Chapter 1: Rebirth in the Water

“Hey, someone help! Someone’s fallen into the river—!”

Cries for help echoed from the riverbank.

In no time, a crowd had gathered along the shore.

At that moment, Fu Mingxue shivered. Wait—hadn’t she died? Why was she in this icy water?

Hold on, this river… Wasn’t this the same river she’d fallen into all those years ago?

Her eyes darted quickly to the bank. Thankfully, her eyesight was still sharp—she barely had time to marvel at the benefits of youth.

She saw a young Song Yan stripping off his military jacket and jumping into the river, swimming toward her with great effort.

Her heart clenched. Dream or not, she didn’t care—she immediately turned and swam hard in the opposite direction.

She would never let Song Yan save her again, not even if this was just a dream.

She would never again be forced to marry Song Yan, only to spend her life coughing up blood while raising his three children.

The people on the bank saw Fu Mingxue swimming away from her rescuer and were stunned.

Someone couldn’t help but shout, “Fu girl, you’re swimming the wrong way! Turn around, hurry—!”

Song Yan also noticed Fu Mingxue’s actions, his gaze darkening.

He sped up.

Fu Mingxue panicked. She could feel him getting closer and closer behind her. If she wasn’t careful, he’d catch up in no time.

And then it would all repeat—she’d be saved by Song Yan once more.

Thinking of her past life, working herself to the bone for the Song family only to die a miserable death, she swam even faster.

One chased, one fled—it was like a desperate race with no escape.

“Fu Mingxue, don’t move, I’m coming to save you—!”

Song Yan’s clear voice reached her ears, but to Fu Mingxue, it sounded like the whisper of a demon. She felt a wave of despair. Was she really going to be forced to marry Song Yan again?

No. Absolutely not.

Fu Mingxue’s eyes grew even more determined. She took a deep breath and dove underwater.

She held her breath and swam with all her might beneath the surface.

Song Yan hadn’t expected her to disappear just as he was about to reach her. In the blink of an eye, she was gone.

He panicked too.

He dove under, but that brief delay gave Fu Mingxue precious time.

The river was murky, and it was impossible to see which way she’d gone.

Soon, Song Yan completely lost track of Fu Mingxue.

His chest burning for air, he had to surface. He looked around, but there was no sign of her anywhere.

He frowned—where had Fu Mingxue gone?

Had she really drowned?

The people on the bank hadn’t seen Fu Mingxue come up for a long time, and they started to fear the worst.

“Could the Fu girl really have drowned?”

“Well, that’s just her fate. Song Yan even tried to save her, but she swam off on her own—who can she blame?”

…

As the crowd gossiped and speculated, someone suddenly pointed at the river and shouted, “Look! Fu Mingxue isn’t dead—she’s over there!”

Everyone turned to look, and sure enough—Fu Mingxue had already made it to the opposite bank.

Exhausted, Fu Mingxue collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath. After a brief rest, she quickly got to her feet.

Just then, Song Yan had also reached the shore.

“Fu Mingxue, are you alright?”

The sight of him filled Fu Mingxue with instinctive disgust.

Seeing him reach out to touch her, her revulsion was almost tangible. “Stay away from me!”

She was soaked through and had no desire to get tangled up with him any further.

So, after tossing out those three words, she turned and ran off without looking back."