Chapter 1: Applying to Join the Army

Haicheng People’s Hospital.

Intensive Care Unit.

“Ms. Shen, all of your family members have refused to come to the hospital to see you one last time.”

Hearing the nurse’s words, Shen Hongxing tried with all her might to lift her eyelids. Not even sixty years old, yet her hair was completely white.

She lay there, eye sockets sunken, skin sallow like wax.

She looked like a withered leaf drained of life.

Shen Hongxing stared at the door of the ward.

Three days.

She had held on for three days, forcing herself to keep breathing, just waiting to see her husband Lu Pingan and their children one last time but they didn’t even want to look at her before she died.

“Ding ding!”

Her phone chimed twice.

The nurse, thinking it was a message from her family, quickly brought the phone to her.

Using all the strength she had left, she unlocked the screen.

The next second, a family photo filled her vision.

In the photo, LuPingan was affectionately holding the still-elegant Shen Jiaojiao. In front of Shen Jiaojiao sat an exquisite cream cake, and her son and daughter stood beside her, smiling happily as they helped blow out the candles.

Below the photo was a taunting message:

“Shen Hongxing, in this life, whether it’s your parents, your lover, your son or daughter if I want them, they’ll all be mine!”

“Pfft”

A mouthful of fresh blood gushed out.

Shen Hongxing felt as if her internal organs were about to explode. The pain was unbearable.

After forty years of marriage, she had spent her entire life working herself to the bone for LuPingan, giving him everything.

Yet at the end of her life, he was celebrating Shen Jiaojiao’s birthday instead and wouldn’t even give her a final glance.

And her children… the ones she carried for ten months and raised with countless sacrifices.

They didn’t care, didn’t appreciate her. After Shen Jiaojiao returned to China, they had even rushed to call her “Mom” instead.

Tears slid from the corners of her eyes as Shen Hongxing slowly closed them.

If she could live her life all over again, she would never marry Lu Pingan, and would never give birth to those heartless children for him.

She would love herself well.

She would never again allow herself to live such a miserable, failed life spending her whole existence making wedding clothes for Shen Jiaojiao.

…

“Young lady, are you alright? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

When she opened her eyes again, Shen Hongxing found herself lying on the ground.

People were crowded around her.

She glanced around in confusion.

Where is this?

Hadn’t she already died?

“Oh my, young lady, you suddenly fainted just now we were all scared to death!”
The speaker was an elderly man in his seventies.

He wore a dark blue Mao suit, with a fountain pen clipped to the pocket on his chest.

That was the most fashionable look for men several decades ago.

Wait a minute something’s not right!

She looked down at her own hands.

Though there were a few calluses in her palms, her fingers were long, straight, and her skin was firm.

These were not the hands of a sixty-year-old woman who had worked hard all her life.

She reached up and touched her face.

Her cheeks were smooth, taut, and nearly wrinkle-free.

What was going on?

Why was she so young again?

She looked around at the department store in front of her, the street, and everyone’s clothing.

It all looked like a few decades ago.

Shen Hongxing quickly turned to the old man and asked, “Sir, what year is it right now?”

“Young lady, did you hit your head just now? You don’t even know what year it is? Of course it’s 1980!”

What?! 1980?!

Shen Hongxing covered her mouth in shock. She had actually been reborn into the height of summer, 1980.

She remembered this exact day from her previous life: Lu Pingan had promised to come with her to the department store to buy wedding supplies. She waited and waited in the heat until she fainted from heatstroke. Meanwhile, he had already run off to the Grand Theater to support ShenJiaojiao in her debut stage performance.

Shen Jiaojiao was the daughter who had been switched at birth with her.

Back then, a textile factory worker named Wang Meili had deliberately swapped her own daughter with the daughter of the factory director so her child could live a better life.

From birth, Shen Jiaojiao had stolen her identity, her parents, and the life that rightfully belonged to her.

Even after Shen Hongxing was finally found by the Shen family, they still favored Shen Jiaojiao in every way.

Whatever Shen Jiaojiao said, they believed.

Whatever she wanted, they gave her even if it meant stealing it from Shen Hongxing.

As for Shen Hongxing, due to years of abuse at the hands of Wang Meili and her husband, she had grown timid and insecure. Even when she was wronged, she didn’t dare to fight back.

This led to a lifetime of misery and loneliness.

But now that she had been reborn, she wanted nothing more to do with those parents who didn’t know right from wrong, nor with the fickle, two-faced Lu Pingan.

She rushed home and pulled out a military enlistment recommendation letter she had hidden under the bedframe.

That letter had been given to her by Lu Pingan’s uncle on the day they got engaged.

Unfortunately, in her past life, she had been blinded by love and gave up that one and only opportunity for Lu Pingan.

A chance to change her fate.

Shen Hongxing gripped the recommendation letter tightly.

This time, she was determined to seize the opportunity and change her destiny.

She then went to the room of Shen Jianguo and his wife, rummaged through the drawers and cabinets until she found her household registration booklet and identity documents.

She hopped on a 28-inch bicycle and headed straight to the military recruitment office.

“Uncle Lu, I want to enlist!”

Lu Jiaoyang, who was buried in paperwork, looked up in surprise when he heard her voice.

He was very handsome. The dark green military uniform made his features look even more defined.

With his crisp short haircut and tanned skin, he exuded a strong, masculine energy.

Seeing it was Shen Hongxing, he was visibly shocked.
“You suddenly changed your mind?”

He still remembered when he gave her the recommendation letter she had said she was just a woman, without any grand ambitions.

She had told him all she wanted was to be with Lu Pingan and live a simple, peaceful life.

Lu Jiaoyang asked with concern, “Did Pingan bully you?”

Shen Hongxing didn’t answer that question.

Instead, she stood tall, saluted him, and said solemnly:
“Uncle Lu, I’ve thought it through. I want to be like you a soldier who protects the country!”

“No need, Uncle Lu. I don’t want to marry him anymore!”
Her eyes were filled with unwavering resolve.

Lu Jiaoyang was silent for a long moment. Then he opened a drawer, took out a stack of documents, and placed them in front of her.
“This is the application form. If everything looks good, sign your name on the last page. The first round of review takes about five to seven days. Go home and wait for the result. If you pass, someone will contact you for a medical exam.”

Without hesitation, Shen Hongxing signed her name.

As she was leaving, she suddenly turned back, looking at Lu Jiaoyang with a pleading expression.

“Uncle Lu, can you keep this a secret for now?”

She knew her parents and ShenJiaojiao too well. If they found out she had secretly applied for enlistment, they would do everything they could to stop her.

After all, in their eyes, she could never be allowed to outshine their fake daughter.

“Alright,” he said.