Chapter 4: Bai Yalan, You Actually Treated Me Like This — Don’t Regret It

Qin Kaishen hurriedly dodged and cursed angrily, “Bai Yalan, you! Fine, you win!”

“Qin Kaishen, get as far away from me as you can! Whatever gratitude I owed you, I’ve already repaid it in full. Don’t be so full of yourself, thinking just because you look decent, every woman must like you. That’s laughable. There are plenty of men out there better-looking than you.”

Qin Kaishen nearly passed out from rage after hearing that. Seeing how she humiliated him, he could only throw out one last threat: “Fine, fine, fine! Bai Yalan, if you dare treat me like this, don’t come crawling back and regret it later!”

Bai Yalan looked at him coldly, her eyes gleaming with the satisfaction of revenge, and faint traces of tears.

Good. At their first meeting in this life, she had already vented some of the bitterness from her previous life.

Qin Kaishen stared at her angrily for a long time. When he saw the hatred and tears in her eyes, he couldn’t help but freeze.

Finally, remembering he had taken leave due to an injury, and that his parents were expecting him home today, he knew they’d get worried if he delayed too long.

With fury and confusion, he didn’t continue arguing and left after hurling a few more harsh words.

On the way home, Qin Kaishen simply couldn’t understand — how had Bai Yalan, who had always treated him gently and affectionately, suddenly turned into a completely different person?

Thinking back to Lu Qing’er at the hospital, and the tears in Bai Yalan’s eyes earlier, a sudden realization seemed to hit him.

He sneered to himself. She must have done it on purpose, just to get his attention, right? After all, she had always taken the initiative — visiting his house, doing this and that for his parents.

And he’d always treated her indifferently.

Now that he had come looking for her for the first time — and because of Qing’er no less — it wasn’t surprising she’d get upset and react so fiercely.

Qin Kaishen shook his head. Women, they always liked to play these hard-to-get games. She’d been chasing after him for almost half a year now.

As for that talk about repaying a favor, please — he only helped her in passing. The real person who helped her wasn’t even him…

The more he thought about it, the more amused Qin Kaishen felt. He shook his head and concluded:

This woman was just using repayment as an excuse to get close to him.

She might be angry now, but once she calmed down, she would surely come crawling back again, flattering his parents just to win his heart back.

But this time, he wouldn’t be so easygoing with her.

After Qin Kaishen left, Bai Yalan seemed to lose all strength. She shut the door and leaned weakly against it for a long time before recovering.

When she went to the bathroom, she noticed her muddy clothes from the day before still hadn’t been washed.

She let out a soft laugh — so all of this was still just the beginning.

She picked up the clothes and tossed them in the trash.

She had bought them to please his parents. She would never wear them again.

Back in her room, she began packing. She had no job, no income, and with her parents away, she still needed to eat and buy daily necessities.

Inside the savings box hidden deep in her wardrobe, only a few grain and cloth coupons remained. Not much money.

Most of her earnings from working at the township hospital had been used to buy gifts for the Qin family elders. Getting those things back now was impossible.

A sudden flash of insight lit up Bai Yalan’s mind, and she bit her lip.

But there was one thing she absolutely had to take back — and as soon as possible.

That jade bracelet she had given Qin’s mother in her previous life — wasn’t that what Lu Qing’er used to collude with Qin Kaishen and ultimately destroy her?

In this life, she could not allow the same thing to happen again.

That bracelet belonged to her. She must get it back.

She wasn’t sure exactly when in her past life Qin’s mother had passed the bracelet to Lu Qing’er. But judging from the timing, she guessed the bracelet hadn’t been in her hands for long yet. With Qin’s mother’s personality, it was unlikely she would have given it away so quickly.

Still, she had to act fast.

The more she thought about it, the more anxious Bai Yalan grew.

She threw on a coat, locked the door, and went straight to the bus stop.

Qin Kaishen’s parents didn’t live with the military family compound. First, only deputy battalion-level officers and above could apply for housing to bring family on base. Lower ranks needed special circumstances to do so.

Second, Qin Kaishen knew his parents’ personalities. Outwardly, he looked upright and filial, but in truth, he was proud and cared deeply about appearances. He didn’t want to be embarrassed by his parents in front of others, so he used the excuse of sparing them discomfort to keep them living in the old house in the countryside.

After waiting a long time, Bai Yalan finally boarded the bus.

Following the dusty, bumpy road, after nearly half an hour, the bus stopped at Qin Family Village.

Bai Yalan got off. She had walked this road so many times in her past life. Now, a swirl of emotions rose in her heart.

The bus station was still far from the Qin home, so Bai Yalan had to walk. Because she had visited often in the past, some villagers recognized her and greeted her with friendly smiles.

She didn’t mind. In her past life, when she was working at the hospital, Aunt Zhang, who often helped her, was from this very village.

Even if she had a second chance at life, she would never forget that kindness.

Fortunately, because of Qin Kaishen’s cold and distant attitude, his mother had only ever introduced her as a distant relative who occasionally visited. So socially, it wasn’t too awkward.

Sure enough, halfway through the journey, someone called out to her.

A farmwoman with muddy feet — clearly fresh from the fields — waved to her, holding two fish strung on rice stalks.

“Aiya, isn’t that Old Qin’s relative?”

Bai Yalan had no choice but to stop and greet her. “Hello, Auntie Wang.”

“Girl, could you do me a favor? Last time you came to visit your aunt, I happened to borrow a kilo of rice flour from her. Just caught two big fish from the field today — could you take them to her for me? Save me a trip and thank her for me, okay?”

Before Bai Yalan could decline, the woman had already stuffed the fish into her hands and hurried off, her pant legs still rolled up.

Bai Yalan… stared at the two fish still flopping in her hands and frowned.

What even is this…? Oh well, she was passing by anyway.

While Bai Yalan was making her way to the Qin house, Qin Kaishen had already arrived.

Because he was on medical leave due to a mission injury, the military had specially dispatched a soldier to drive him home in a military jeep.

At this time, cars were rare, and a military jeep was even more eye-catching. When he arrived, the villagers were full of admiration and praise.

They all said Old Qin’s son had made something of himself — arriving in an official car like a big shot.

This made Qin’s parents beam with pride and bask in the limelight. They truly believed their son was extraordinary — a dragon among men.

They bought cigarettes and liquor to show off around the village before finally heading home.

But not seeing Bai Yalan left them puzzled.

“Kaishen, didn’t you bring that girl Xiao Bai back with you? Why isn’t she here?” Qin’s father asked.

“Don’t even bring her up, Dad. You don’t know what kind of terrible thing she did…”