Chapter 1 Don’t Poke Me

Outskirts of Beijing, 1975.

By the riverside, two girls fell into the water—and were each pulled out separately. In a daze, Song Youyou vaguely felt a pair of large, hot hands rhythmically pressing against her chest. Cool air was being passed into her mouth.

After choking out a mouthful of water, she finally came to.

“You?” Song Youyou stared blankly at the familiar, handsome face in front of her. His sharply defined features, those deep black eyes filled with intensity—it was him.

Gu Xiao finally relaxed the tension in his body as he saw her regain consciousness. He slumped back onto the ground without caring about his image, exhaling deeply.

“What? Disappointed it was me who saved you and not your weakling boyfriend?” he said, smirking.

He was dressed in a green military training uniform. The collar was unbuttoned, revealing his wheat-colored skin. His chest was still wet from jumping in to save her, and the fabric clung tightly to his skin, outlining powerful, explosive muscles. Sitting on the ground with one knee bent, he spoke with a trace of mockery at the corner of his lips.

Seeing that familiar unruly expression on his face, Song Youyou felt a wave of conflicting emotions—joy and sadness all at once.

But… hadn’t she died?

What was happening?

“Baozhu! Are you alright? Don’t scare me!”
A familiar, tearful voice broke through. “I searched for you for over a decade… I just found you again. You can’t leave me now!”

It was her mother.
Not far away, her mother was kneeling on the ground, holding Song Baozhu tightly, checking her over with a panicked expression.

Song Baozhu whimpered and suddenly pointed at her, saying,
“Mom, it was her! It was Song Youyou who pushed me into the water! She hates that I’ve come back. She wants me dead!”

She then leaned into Song Mother’s embrace—and behind her back, where no one else could see, she shot a provocative smirk at Song Youyou.

This scene was painfully familiar.

Song Youyou’s heart tightened.

She calmly spoke,
“Song Baozhu is lying. She tricked me into coming here and then pushed me into the water. As for why she fell in too—she saw you all coming and jumped in to act pitiful.”

“Song Youyou! Do you even know what you’re saying? Baozhu is such a timid girl, how could she possibly do something like that?”
Song Mother looked at her in disappointment.

Hearing this exact same response, Song Youyou wasn’t sad at all. In fact, she was slightly thrilled.

Gu Xiao had been about to scold them back for not believing her, but then he saw the strange mix of emotions on her face—surprise, a bit of delight… but no sadness.

“You’ve got a big heart, huh?” he said, poking her forehead, frustrated.
“She’s clearly setting you up, your mom doesn’t believe you, and even your fiancé jumped in to save her first—yet here you are, not even mad.”

“Don’t poke me, I’m still a little dizzy,” Song Youyou said obediently.
But her eyes sparkled, glittering with brilliant light.

“Dizzy?” Gu Xiao immediately sat up straight, concern replacing his earlier teasing.
“You could still be suffering from the aftereffects of drowning. Tell me—what other symptoms do you have?”

“None,” she shook her head gently. “Gu Xiao, let’s go.”

She didn’t want to stay here anymore. Now she was certain:
She had been reborn.

Back to six years ago—her 18th year.

This was the year Song Baozhu, the real daughter of the Song family, had been found.

Only now did Song Youyou finally understand: she had been just a stand-in. An abandoned baby adopted by Song Mother in grief, to fill the void left by her lost daughter.

After Song Baozhu’s return, she resented Song Youyou for taking her place and good life, and schemed against her at every turn.
And every time, the Song family took Baozhu’s side and blamed her.

Her job was taken by Baozhu.
Her childhood engagement? Also given to Baozhu.

She remembered—after this incident at the river, the Song family said she caused too much trouble and cut ties with her.

In this era, a girl in her situation could only go down to the countryside as a rural laborer.

She spent three years doing hard labor. Then, when college entrance exams resumed, she clawed her way back into the city by getting admitted to university.

After she found success, the Song family—suddenly “proud” again—reconnected.

She had known they were just using her, but craved familial love too much to let go.

That only fueled Song Baozhu’s hatred and led to her death.

And when she was murdered, Song Father and Mother helped cover it up.
They protected the real daughter and let her killer go free.

In the end, the only one who avenged her… was Gu Xiao, the man she had pushed away again and again.

Song Youyou looked up at the man bustling around the kitchen.

“Here. Clothes for you. They’re all mine, but I found a few smaller ones—see if anything fits,” he said.

“Thanks.” Song Youyou took the clothes and headed to the bathroom.

She didn’t want to return to the Song house, so Gu Xiao brought her to one of his own residences. Since he lived alone, there weren’t any women’s clothes.

She tried the ones he gave her.
The shirts were oversized but wearable. The pants were too long and loose.

So, she improvised—used a tank top as underwear, wore one shirt as a top, and tied another around her waist like a skirt.
He was tall, so his shirts were long enough to cover her properly.

She cracked the door open and peeked out.
Gu Xiao was still busy in the kitchen. She quickly darted across the living room, took the washed clothes, and went to hang them on the balcony.

She made sure to hide her undergarments deep inside the clothesline.

When Gu Xiao came out of the kitchen, this was the scene he saw:

The girl he couldn’t stop thinking about, wearing his clothes, standing on tiptoe to hang laundry. Her long lashes curled upwards, her soft pink lips pursed. With radiant features and skin as smooth as porcelain, she glowed under the sunlight—like water could drip from her fair skin.

A breathtaking sight that stirred something deep inside him.