Chapter 1: Chapter 1

“So, Su Qinghu, right? You can be discharged now.”

“Doctor, I think…”

Su Qinghu looked at him earnestly, but before she could finish, the doctor closed the medical file in his hand, looked at her with a smile, and said, “Comrade, your symptoms are pretty mild. Normally, if there’s no problem after six hours of observation, you can go home. Now, you’ve already stayed longer than the minimum 24 hours you requested…”

Yesterday, this pretty young comrade had rushed into the hospital demanding a gastric lavage. She was efficient and clear, explaining her situation in just a few words while paying the fees, saving the doctor on duty a lot of trouble.

But after the procedure, when they told her she could go home after six hours, she insisted on being admitted for observation. She spoke gently, with reason and logic, and the young nurse couldn’t resist and called for her. When she heard the situation, she was amused—there happened to be a free bed, so she arranged it for her.

As for the length of stay, she just went with the 24 hours Su Qinghu had mentioned.

Su Qinghu had no resistance to gentle people, but she was still uneasy about whether taking too many acetaminophen tablets would cause lasting harm. “Director Zhang, could you recommend an experienced traditional Chinese medicine doctor? I…”

Director Zhang’s smile faded. “The benefits the state gives you aren’t meant to be used like this.”

“I’ll pay out of pocket!” Su Qinghu shook her hand with a smile. “I absolutely won’t take advantage of public healthcare.”

“That’s even less necessary! Just follow the instructions I gave you and you’ll be fine.”

In the end, Su Qinghu spent one yuan and ninety-nine cents and was discharged.

Holding the medical bill, Su Qinghu felt a bit dazed. If the pain of the gastric lavage had made her feel the harsh reality of the world, then the medical bill made her feel like she was floating again.

Registration: ten cents. Hospital stay: one yuan. Other fees: eighty-nine cents. In the future, what could you even buy for one yuan ninety-nine?

“Mom! My brother and I got something good, heh heh!”

With a shout, two good-looking kids came running over, making exaggerated faces and trying to look cool.

Once they reached her, they each grabbed one of her hands.

Su Qinghu’s pretty eyes narrowed a bit. She resisted the urge to shake off their hands and looked down.

Sweat, sticky candy, and dust…

She swallowed, her scalp tingling, but forced a smile. “What’s the good stuff?” She took the chance to pull her hands free from their dirty little grips.

“There are too many people here. We’ll show you when we get outside the hospital gate.” Nine-year-old Da Dan was carrying the things Su Qinghu had packed earlier, eagerly leading her out.

Seven-year-old Er Dan tugged at his slipping waistband, grinning with a mouthful of teeth, and trailed behind Su Qinghu and his brother. If Su Qinghu didn’t want the “good stuff,” they’d just sell it to someone else, heh heh~~~

As soon as they stepped out of the hospital gate, before Su Qinghu could say anything, she saw a tall man in a floral shirt and jeans, leaning against the hospital’s white wall. He took off his aviator sunglasses with one hand and gave her a cocky wave, looking like no one in the world could be more wild and free than him.

Su Qinghu narrowed her eyes.

She recognized him!

Wasn’t this the bastard who broke down the original Su Qinghu’s last psychological defenses, forcing her—now the new Su Qinghu—to go through a stomach pumping so miserable she’d rather just die of old age?

Da Dan and Er Dan looked at the man, then at Su Qinghu, and sighed in unison. Welp, time to go get help.

They left Su Qinghu with a “Hang in there!” and ran off.

Su Qinghu watched them go, incredulous. Weren’t these the same adopted kids who had been running around taking care of her and bringing her food while she was in the hospital?

She had just sorted out her situation and decided to treat them well, to set them on the right path, and now… they ran off?

“Su Qinghu?” Zhang Dongsheng was still leaning against the hospital wall, tapping his sunglasses against his palm, speaking in a roguishly casual tone. “You’re really not much fun, are you? If you stick with me, Zhang Dongsheng, you can have whatever you want—even going abroad, I can arrange it for you!”

Just one joke about wanting to sleep with her, and she tried to kill herself with pills! Thinking of the way his buddies looked at him, Zhang Dongsheng was pissed. With his status and looks, plenty of pretty women threw themselves at him, but Su Qinghu? She tried to kill herself!

Seeing his nonchalant attitude, Su Qinghu felt her own anger rising.

What era was this? And what kind of life had Su Qinghu led?

It was 1986. The country had started to open up, but Su Qinghu came from a remote small town, where the only sex education she’d had was about periods, and the most common gossip was about who slept with whom, who was “dirty,” and who was a “slut.”

She was about to graduate from college when this man said he wanted to “be friends,” ruined her job assignment, ruined her relationship with her childhood sweetheart, and after finally finding a way out—marrying a local man through her teacher’s introduction—just two days after the wedding, he showed up again, blocking her way and telling her to get ready that night because he was going to sleep with her…

What she thought was a way out turned out to be a dead end. Panicked, she went home, only to have her neighbor block her at the door of her new job, accusing Da Dan of molesting her daughter and Er Dan of stripping her pomegranate tree bare. The original Su Qinghu just downed a whole bottle of fever pills!

If Da Dan and Er Dan hadn’t come back in time and made her vomit, the new Su Qinghu probably would’ve died again after reincarnating.

Not that getting her stomach pumped was any fun, either.

“All those things you’re offering? My husband can do them too,” Su Qinghu said with a half-smile. “He can even… sleep with me.”

This woman suddenly became so bold and flirtatious that Zhang Dongsheng’s heart skipped a beat. This… this was even more exciting than her previous reserved, orchid-in-the-mountains vibe!

If only she had a slim cigarette between her fingers…

Zhang Dongsheng’s face suddenly turned red. If a woman like her really let loose, no man could resist, right?

“Your husband sleeps with you, but I can let you sleep with me!” Zhang Dongsheng stared at her, shameless as ever. “Anytime you want, I’m at your service.”

Su Qinghu: …

People need dignity, trees need bark, and utility poles need concrete. For someone as shameless as Zhang Dongsheng, only someone as tough as a solid concrete pole could handle him.

“You managed to find out where I work, but you didn’t bother to check who I married?” Su Qinghu rolled her eyes, ignoring his flirting.

Zhang Dongsheng: “What’s it matter? If you want it, I’ll make it happen.”

In his territory, he was always the one people bowed to—he never backed down!

Su Qinghu just said, “Oh? My husband’s name is Chen Lie. Ever heard of him?”

At her words, the air went still.

Zhang Dongsheng looked like he’d seen a ghost. “Who? Chen Lie?!”

The “Chen” with the ear radical, and “Lie” as in “line up”—that Chen Lie?"