Chapter 1: I Cried, But I Was Faking It

Early in the morning, Jiang Xianli walked in on her twin sister, Jiang Xianhui, and her boyfriend, Wu Jianting, sleeping together.

She cried her heart out, devastated and heartbroken.

But she was faking it.

Because she had been reborn, and so had her sister.

In their previous life, Jiang Xianli saved Mrs. Xie from drowning, and in return, Mrs. Xie sent a matchmaker to Jiang’s home to propose a marriage, wanting Jiang Xianli to become her fourth daughter-in-law.

The Xie family was a well-known wealthy family in Haiping City, engaged in the cotton-spinning business.

In contrast, the Jiang family was just an ordinary working-class family with five children to support.

Logically, this marriage proposal was something the Jiang family could only dream of.

However, Xie Jingcheng, the fourth son of the Xie family, was infamous as a playboy—indulging in eating, drinking, and fighting. He had so many entangled women that he could start a harem.

Jiang Xianli, a senior at Haiping University, was poor but ambitious, always holding a lofty disdain for the “stench of money.”

She had an inexplicable aversion to rich men and instead admired her classmate Wu Jianting, who had come from the countryside.

So, she firmly refused to marry.

But as fate would have it, her elder brother Jiang Xianming needed money for his wedding, and the Xie family offered a dowry of 6,666 yuan.

Her mother, Zhao Xiumei, threatened her with death to force her agreement, and just when Jiang Xianli was about to reluctantly consent, Jiang Xianhui schemed to spend a night with Xie Jingcheng.

In the end, Jiang Xianhui took her place and married into the Xie family, while Jiang Xianli got her wish and married Wu Jianting.

After the marriage, Wu Jianting was specially recruited to continue his studies at a military academy, and he quickly rose through the ranks to become a commander, making Jiang Xianli the envy of all women as an officer’s wife.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xianhui never gained Xie Jingcheng’s affection. She eventually became pregnant, but the mistress came to her door, causing her to miscarry.

Unable to bear the pain, she constantly cried and sought death, leading Xie Jingcheng to forcibly send her to a mental institution.

When Jiang Xianli visited her, Jiang Xianhui, in a fit of madness, pulled Jiang Xianli with her and jumped off a building.

When Jiang Xianli opened her eyes again, she had been reborn back to 1987, just as the Xie family came to propose marriage.

Everything was just as it had been in her past life—the old, dilapidated house, her mother who favored sons over daughters, and her weak and incompetent father.

But this time, instead of Jiang Xianhui climbing into Xie Jingcheng’s bed, she had put Wu Jianting into her own.

Well!

That’s just perfect!

A scheming gold digger and a despicable “phoenix man.”

A match made in heaven!

A perfect match!

A divine match!

But Jiang Xianli wouldn’t let anyone know she had been reborn. She had to stick to her previous life’s role and cry her heart out.

Her mother, Zhao Xiumei, was even more devastated.

She grabbed a broom and started beating Wu Jianting, who was kneeling on the ground, “You beast! You’re engaged to my second daughter, but you’ve taken advantage of my third daughter in our own home! You scoundrel, I’m going to the police station right now!”

Last night, she had invited Wu Jianting over for dinner, intending to tell him that he wasn’t good enough for Jiang Xianli and to make him break up with her.

But before she could even start, Wu Jianting and Jiang Xianhui had drunk themselves unconscious.

Furious, she had thrown them both into the living room and gone to bed.

Who would have thought that by morning, they had ended up in Jiang Xianhui’s bed?

“Mom, Mom!” Jiang Xianhui hugged Zhao Xiumei’s leg tightly. “Mom, I’ve always liked Jianting. Although last night was an accident and somewhat shameful, I feel fortunate. I have no regrets about spending the night with him!”

“Slap!”

Zhao Xiumei slapped her hard, feeling a mouthful of blood stuck in her throat, her rage reaching its peak.

“How could you be so shameless! Losing your virginity before marriage, and with your own sister’s fiancé at that! If you wanted to be loose, why didn’t you find a rich man? How low do you have to be to end up with a country bumpkin like Wu Jianting!”

Jiang Xianhui was the prettiest of her three daughters. Since childhood, Zhao Xiumei had raised her carefully.

She dressed her in beautiful skirts, bought her expensive snow cream, and even sent her to learn dance for two years.

All in the hope that she would marry into a wealthy family.

But now, at just 21, she had entangled herself with a man from the countryside.

How could Zhao Xiumei not be furious, not feel disgusted!

Wu Jianting clenched his fists, his head bowed, saying nothing, though a deep-seated resentment flickered in his eyes.

Jiang Xianhui, eyes brimming with tears, stubbornly looked at Zhao Xiumei.

“Three years ago, when Second Sister and I were in our senior year of high school, I feared you and Dad couldn’t afford to support two college students, so I voluntarily gave up taking the college entrance exam to work at the department store. For the past three years, I’ve only kept 20 yuan of my monthly salary, handing the rest over to you to help with household expenses.

Now, I just want to marry the man I love. What’s wrong with that?”

She then turned and glared at Jiang Xianli, “Crying, crying, crying! What right do you have to cry? Back then, Mom had found you a job at the bathhouse, but you stubbornly refused to go and insisted on going to college.

Your tuition and living expenses all came out of my earnings. Without me, you wouldn’t have become the university student everyone praises, and you wouldn’t have met Jianting! What’s the big deal about giving me one man?

You sacrificed your love, but I sacrificed my entire future!

I suggest you get your priorities straight!”