Chapter 6

Pei Songbai was the first to calm down. He picked up the handkerchief again and gently wiped Xia Wenhua’s tears.
“We’re already married. Whether you want to be with me or not, I can’t just ignore this. When I get back, I’ll find a way to relay this situation to the higher-ups. Whatever happens, I’ll shoulder it—don’t worry.”

He wasn’t someone who took advantage of others. Their marriage had happened by accident, and Xia Wenhua, a well-educated woman, ended up marrying a man like him—seven years older and rough around the edges. He already felt guilty enough about that. Now, he would certainly not use her situation as leverage to force her to go with him.

Hearing the shift in Pei Songbai’s tone, Xia Wenhua wiped her tears and calmed herself.
“You know my background now. Does your offer for me to go with you as a military spouse still stand?”

She knew well that if the two of them were going to continue together, there could be no secrets—especially with something as critical as the original host’s hidden identity. It had to be clarified from the beginning.

Getting a second chance at life was exciting, sure, but that didn’t mean she would blindly walk into trouble. If she could resolve all the hidden dangers at the start and live normally using this identity, great. But if the problems kept coming and Pei Songbai didn’t want anything to do with her from the beginning, she wasn’t afraid.

After all, she had already died once. Every extra day was a blessing. She just had to do her part, and remove any obstacles along the way.

She had just cried, and her eyes were still glistening like a startled little deer. Yet she now forced herself to stay composed, and the look of determination in her gaze accidentally pierced straight into Pei Songbai’s heart.

They had been married for four years and even had children, but it was the first time he felt that this delicate woman might actually want to live a real life with him.

His heart thumped wildly. He took a deep breath, suppressing this strange surge of emotion, and looked at her with a complicated expression.
“You said you want to live a real life with me. Do you mean it?”

“You know my situation now. If you’re still willing to take me along as your military spouse, then let’s live a good life from now on.”
Xia Wenhua didn’t avoid his gaze. She truly wanted to settle down and live well in this era.

The transmigration god hadn’t lied. Based on all her interactions with Pei Songbai so far, everything confirmed one thing: he was someone who truly wanted a family.

And ironically, in the original storyline, the reason the “big shot” even awakened and grew was because the original host had cheated.

A person’s social class was one of the most sensitive and dangerous secrets in this era. Even if Xia Wenhua had once lied to him, now that she was laying everything bare in front of him, Pei Songbai was deeply moved.

Under her hopeful gaze, he finally nodded and reassessed their relationship.
“As long as you truly want to live a good life with me, I won’t give up on you for anything.”

For a rough farm man like him, marrying an educated woman already felt like his ancestors were smiling on him. Now knowing Xia Wenhua was once a capitalist’s daughter made him even more elated.

Even though the times made it impossible to say this out loud, everyone knew that people from good families carried something special—things others could never even access.

Pei Songbai was not stupid. Finding such a cultured woman to be the real mother of his sons, and one who was even willing to live with him, might just be the luckiest thing that ever happened to him.

As for Xia Wenhua’s identity issue—since she had already passed background checks back then, all that remained was to properly clean up any loose ends. As long as he kept climbing upward and gave no one a chance to attack him, no one would think to investigate Xia Wenhua again.

So, the couple from the eldest household finally opened up to each other after marriage, and both were in good spirits.

Xia Wenhua was not a sentimental woman. Pei Songbai was good-looking and capable, and since the two of them were clearly destined to be tied together, she didn’t hesitate. When he got up as usual to sleep on the floor with his blanket, she stopped him.

“Come sleep on the bed.”

Pei Songbai froze, and his eyes immediately lit up like a hungry wolf.

They were both adults. Xia Wenhua naturally knew what that look meant.

Although she had never married in her past life, she’d been in a few relationships—and, thanks to her financial independence, had even dated some younger men. She wasn’t conservative in this area.

But… glancing at the two children on the bed, she still shook her head and said to Pei Songbai,
“I really do want to live a good life with you, but the kids are still here. Let’s talk about this later. For now, just sleep on the bed.”

Though his advances had been turned down, Pei Songbai wasn’t disappointed. After all, in the past he wasn’t even allowed to sleep on the bed. Now at least he could. So, feeling quite pleased, he climbed into bed with his blanket.

That night, Xia Wenhua even unconsciously snuggled closer to him in her sleep, making Pei Songbai so happy he could burst.

Turns out his “educated woman” cheating had one silver lining: at least it showed her that pretty boys can’t be relied on, and finally made her see how dependable he was.

Pei “Silly Boy” Songbai held Xia Wenhua in his arms, secretly admiring her clean, beautiful face and took a deep, satisfied breath.

“From now on, I’ll finally have a real family.”

This time, Pei Songbai had returned home and resolved a major issue in their little household. In the next two days, everyone in the family noticed the improved relationship between him and Xia Wenhua. Some were happy, but others were troubled.

Those troubled were naturally the other branches of the family. After all, there’s a huge difference between splitting and not splitting. Even though Pei Songbai had promised the money he sent back wouldn’t decrease, if they ever wanted extra help, they could no longer count on old favors.

The Pei family had grown used to living off the money Pei Songbai sent every year. No one had expected the family to be divided so suddenly—and Xia Wenhua had completely caught them off guard. The way they looked at her now could practically shoot knives.

But Xia Wenhua ignored all of it. She used the next couple of days to bond with the children and pack their belongings, joyfully preparing to say goodbye to the village.

Soon, it was time to leave. Right before departure, Pei Mother pulled Xia Wenhua into a room while the others weren’t paying attention.

“Wenhua, I’ve held you back these past few years. In truth, Songbai has mentioned bringing you along as a military spouse several times. But when I asked you, you never gave a clear answer, so I thought you didn’t want to go. That’s why I turned him down on your behalf. I never realized you were just too embarrassed to say it. It’s all my fault!”

Pei Mother had a soft demeanor and gentle personality. Now, her face was full of regret, and her words came from the heart. It made Xia Wenhua feel awkward.

But Pei Mother wasn’t wrong—the original host really didn’t want to go. She had no feelings for Pei Songbai and had only married into the family out of desperation. Why would she want to follow him into a military life?

However, Xia Wenhua had come here to live. The hard life in the countryside—facing dirt and backbreaking labor—wasn’t something she could endure. Following Pei Songbai into the army would definitely be better. Given the option, only a fool wouldn’t choose it.

Many thoughts passed through her mind, but none could be shared with Pei Mother, so she could only offer a helpless apology.

To her surprise, Pei Mother didn’t wait for a reply. Instead, she reached into her clothes and pulled out a small handkerchief, handing it to Xia Wenhua.