Chapter 1: First Encounter

“You’re still mad, my little ancestor!”

“If I don’t come looking for you, you won’t come looking for me. You really won’t give in even a little, will you?”

“You’re just relying on the fact that I like you!”

Yuan Lingling sat in front of the stove, carefully peeling the dust-covered sweet potato skin, making sure the soft, fragrant flesh inside didn’t get dirty. She completely ignored the man beside her, who wouldn’t stop talking.

Just as she peeled off a piece of skin, she caught sight of a large hand reaching toward her from the corner of her eye. Yuan Lingling tilted her body slightly, barely avoiding his touch.

“You!” The man’s anger flared, but before he could fully vent it, he forcibly suppressed it. “I was wrong to lose my temper last time…”

He kept talking, but Yuan Lingling continued to ignore him. Instead, she brought the sweet potato closer to her nose, took a deep sniff, and took a bite. The moment the soft, sweet flavor spread in her mouth, she squinted her eyes in satisfaction.

Finally, she could eat this!

After finishing half of the sweet potato, the burning sensation in her stomach subsided. Only then did she have the mood to take a good look at the man beside her, who was still chattering away.

He had eyes like peach blossoms, a slightly upturned nose, and his hair was styled in the trendy Hong Kong-Taiwan side part. His looks were decent, but unfortunately, those thin lips reminded Yuan Lingling of the descriptions she had read in books—heartless and unfaithful.

Noticing her gaze, the man’s peach blossom eyes curved into a smile. He leaned forward slightly and spoke in a coaxing tone, “I was just anxious. Look at Gou Dan and the others—they went to Yangcheng and became bosses overnight. Meanwhile, I still have nothing. Can you blame me for feeling a little restless?”

Yuan Lingling continued nibbling on her sweet potato without saying a word.

Restless? With someone like Xie Guanglian, what kind of ambition could he possibly have? Yuan Lingling figured he’d be happiest if he could spend his life doing nothing, just waiting to be taken care of.

Since she remained silent, Xie Guanglian couldn’t tell if she was still angry or simply unwilling to give him money.

She wasn’t like this before. A flicker of impatience rose in his heart, but he still dragged his small stool a little closer to her.

“Lingling, come with me to Yangcheng.”

His tone was high and mighty, like he was doing her a favor. With his eyebrows raised slightly and a hint of disdain in his eyes, he looked at her as if he was certain she would be grateful for his invitation.

Just as Xie Guanglian was about to lose his patience, Yuan Lingling finally spoke. “Shen Caisheng is coming back today. Let me think about it.”

The moment she said this, Xie Guanglian’s eager expression instantly froze.

He forced a smile, pulled his coat tighter around him, and got up. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? It wouldn’t be good if he saw me. I’ll leave first. Come find me when he’s not around.”

Although he tried to sound composed, his panic was obvious. His feet barely touched the ground as he hurried toward the kitchen door, as if he wished he had a motor strapped to his legs.

“Ha! Coward.” Yuan Lingling finally enjoyed some peace and quiet. She reached into the fire and pulled out another roasted sweet potato.

The sweet aroma filled her nose. Taking a bite, she let out a satisfied sigh.

Where else could she find such an authentic roasted sweet potato in the modern world?

After eating her fill, Yuan Lingling wiped her hands, patted her round belly, and unconsciously slid her hand downward. Only then did she seriously start thinking about her current predicament.

If nothing unexpected happened, there were already two little ones in her belly, and their father was nowhere to be found, probably off fooling around somewhere.

The original owner of this body had been too naive. She had thought that climbing into Shen Caisheng’s bed would get her a husband who wasn’t controlled by his parents and would wholeheartedly take care of her. When that dream shattered, she threw herself into Xie Guanglian’s fire pit.

She believed Xie Guanglian truly loved her, even to the point of turning against his own brother for her.

But she never realized that their friendship had already faded long ago. Xie Guanglian approached her purely for her money—or, more precisely, for the Shen family’s money.

Although she and Shen Caisheng had a strained relationship, he had never let her suffer financially.

Still, it wasn’t entirely the original owner’s fault. Ever since she was young, she had been taught that she needed to marry a good man to support her family. But when the time came, her family only introduced her to either much older men with stable government jobs or wealthy men who were disabled.

Even now, they thought she was incredibly lucky to have married Shen Caisheng, who was rarely home.

The worst part was that the original owner cared too much about her pride. She refused to let anyone know about her poor relationship with Shen Caisheng. In reality, apart from that one night she forced herself into his bed, he had never touched her.

Yuan Lingling rubbed her face hard. None of that mattered anymore. What mattered now was what she should do next!

In the original story, she kept going back and forth with Xie Guanglian. At first, she hesitated to go to Yangcheng with him, fearing for her reputation. Xie Guanglian threw a huge fit over it.

During that fight, they almost slept together—until they discovered she was pregnant. That stopped them.

With a child on the way, both of them sobered up. Xie Guanglian didn’t want to be a stepfather, and she wanted her child to have a proper family. She even hoped that Shen Caisheng would come back to her for the sake of their baby.

But life didn’t go as planned. Even with a child, their relationship remained loveless, and they argued constantly.

Meanwhile, Xie Guanglian made several attempts to go to Yangcheng but never had the money. Eventually, he came back to her for help.

At that point, he became her emotional support, the only person she felt she could rely on.

By the time she was about to give birth, Shen Caisheng had matured and was finally ready to be a good father. But by then, the original owner had truly fallen for Xie Guanglian and was determined to get a divorce.

With a child already born, no one could understand why she insisted on breaking up. People took turns persuading her, but she was emotionally exhausted. Perhaps due to postpartum depression, her mental state worsened.

Under Xie Guanglian’s manipulation, she ended up using the child as leverage. In a tragic accident, she lost control and pushed the baby into a pond.

After that, she disappeared. No one knew where she went. By the time she reappeared at the end of the story, she had already lost her mind.

As soon as she entered the house, she curled up in the corner and trembled.

That reaction was exactly the same as how Yuan Lingling behaved whenever she was in a confined space.

If her guess was correct, the original owner must have been locked up by the deranged villain.

Just thinking about being confined in a dark room for twenty years sent chills all over Yuan Lingling’s body.

She might as well be killed now and spared the suffering.

Xie Guanglian was inhuman, and this Shen Caisheng was no better.

So not only could she not go to Yangcheng with Xie Guanglian, but she also had to openly and rightfully divorce Shen Caisheng.

Unfortunately, in this era, divorce was not a respectable matter. If the Yuan family found out, they would never agree. Even if they did, there would be no place for her in the family anymore.

That meant she had to consider how to secure her basic needs—food, shelter, and transportation—after the divorce.

Should she follow Xie Guanglian to Yangcheng after all? At least she could find a way to make a living there.

No, that was not right. If she wanted to go to Yangcheng, she could go on her own. Why did she have to rely on Xie Guanglian? Could she not act independently without a man?

Clearly, the most important thing right now was money.

But where could she get money?

Swallowing the last bite of sweet potato, Yuan Lingling was so lost in thought that she forgot to wipe her hands. Resting her chin on both palms, she stared blankly at the faintly warm stove ashes.

If it weren’t for the two children in her belly, she could have just left without worrying about anything. After all, she and Shen Caisheng were not even legally married.

But in this era, getting pregnant before marriage was a huge scandal. Besides, if Shen Caisheng found out she was carrying his child, he might not let her leave so easily. So, the divorce had to be planned carefully.

She could afford to delay, but the child in her belly, already nearly two months along, could not.

Lost in thought, she did not notice the sound coming from outside. It was not until a shadow loomed over her that Yuan Lingling’s body trembled. She shot up from the stool in alarm, only to accidentally hit the stool’s leg and stumble backward.

Thinking of the child, her heart skipped a beat. Fortunately, the wall was right behind her, so she quickly steadied herself against it.

She had been here for several days, yet this was the first time Yuan Lingling had seen her husband—the notorious villain in the novel, Shen Caisheng.

He seemed just as startled by her reaction. Carrying a bag in one hand, his other hand lifted slightly as if to help her.

“Goo-goo…”

A hen poked its head out of the bag of fertilizer in Shen Caisheng’s hand, its eyes darting around as if observing the two humans.

“What are you so jumpy for?”

Seeing that she was unharmed, Shen Caisheng withdrew his gaze and placed the chicken near the firewood pile before unpacking the rest of his things.

Half a basket of eggs, a long strip of pork belly, rice, noodles, flour…

He had brought back quite a lot.

“Nothing.” Yuan Lingling’s heart was still pounding. That moment had increased her fear of him from five points to seven.

“You startled me by showing up so suddenly.”

Meeting his dark, unreadable gaze, Yuan Lingling quickly lowered her eyes. Gone was the composure she had in front of Xie Guanglian.

There was no helping it. Her claustrophobia was severe. Just thinking about how the original owner had been locked in a dark room for twenty years by this man made her fingers tremble uncontrollably.

For a long while, Shen Caisheng focused on unpacking, giving Yuan Lingling the courage to steal a glance at him.

Like most descriptions of villains in novels, he had a tall and well-built figure with strikingly handsome features. His side profile was sharp and well-defined—not quite like it had been carved by a blade, but certainly comparable to a master sculptor’s work.

However, no matter how good-looking he was, Yuan Lingling could not bring herself to have any romantic thoughts about a villain.

“Why is the door open? Did someone come by?”

His indifferent voice carried the crisp scent of pinewood, as cold as the winter wind.

Snowflakes were still drifting outside, blanketing the ground in a thick layer. Xie Guanglian had left not long ago, and Shen Caisheng had likely seen the traces when he arrived. His question was not hard to decipher.

Yuan Lingling retracted her gaze and tried to remain calm. Rubbing her hands together, she scooped a ladle of hot water from the pot and dipped her fingers into the basin. The warmth spread through her, raising goosebumps on her skin but also easing some of her fear of this man.

“It was Xie Guanglian.”

She explained in a small voice, “He said he was going to Yangcheng and wanted to borrow some money from our family. I figured you two aren’t that close, so I refused. Do you think he will come again later?”

The weather was freezing, and within moments, the small ladle of water cooled. Pouring it into the slop bucket, Yuan Lingling turned to help put things away, only to find that Shen Caisheng had already tidied up the cabinet neatly. Even the bowls inside were arranged in perfect order.

With a soft clang, the last patterned bowl was placed precisely in position. He casually responded, “No need. His family has money.”

Yuan Lingling hummed in acknowledgment, about to reply when Shen Caisheng’s cold gaze fell on her again.

Her breath hitched, and for a moment, it felt like all the blood in her body had frozen.

“Does he come looking for you often?” Shen Caisheng asked.