Chapter 1 – Divorce

“Lin Shuqiao, did you put something in the medicine?”

The man’s deep voice was laced with barely restrained fury.

In the cramped and dim room, the temperature quickly turned suggestive.

The young girl’s striking features radiated boldness and a bit of wildness, but now she looked a little guilty.

“It wasn’t me! …Your little childhood sweetheart’s here, right? Why don’t I call her in instead?”

She had clearly brought the medicine over herself, but now Lin Shuqiao was full of regret.

Lu Zheng gripped her delicate wrist tightly, his breathing heavy. “How strong was the dose you gave me?”

Lin Shuqiao lowered her voice. “…Two packets.”

Two packets.

Lu Zheng laughed angrily. She really overestimated his self-control!

Just as Lin Shuqiao tried to escape, the man flipped her beneath him and completely pinned her down.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“You lit this fire—now you put it out!”

His burning breath and body heat surrounded her, impossible to ignore.

In the end, all Lin Shuqiao remembered was the pain—and the promise he left behind:

“We’re getting married tomorrow.”

…

Lin Shuqiao suddenly woke up, realizing she had just dreamed of that moment twenty years ago—when she had drugged Lu Zheng to force a marriage.

It had been two decades since they last saw each other. Why was she dreaming about the past?

Perhaps it was true—when someone’s about to die, old memories start to flood back.

Now lying in a hospital bed, Lin Shuqiao had short hair and a sharp, capable air about her. But illness had worn her down. She didn’t have many days left.

“President Lin, the newspapers are full of slander about you. Those people are talking nonsense! There’s no way you’re like that,” her secretary said angrily.

Lin Shuqiao flipped through the paper.

The front page listed every dark deed from her youth, treating her like a criminal.

Today, Lin Shuqiao had become the nation’s leading pig farmer. She founded the Lin Group in the southern province, owning the largest pig farm in the country, and became the first female billionaire.

To the world, she was a true powerhouse.

And yet, the papers now dug up her shameful past.

Born into a misogynistic family, she had been illiterate and raised in a vile, disgraceful environment that corrupted her as well.

By all logic, a rural village girl like her should have had no ties to someone like Lu Zheng, a proud son of the military elite.

But at age 18, Lu Zheng was injured during a mission and took refuge in her village. Lin Shuqiao found and took him in.

He was handsome and upright—the most attractive man she had ever seen. Her family was pressuring her to marry, and her thoughts began to stir.

When they found out Lu Zheng was an officer, her greedy family couldn’t sit still. Her grandmother gave her a shady recipe, telling her to drug him. Once they had “consummated,” he’d have no choice but to marry her.

And he did. To take responsibility, Lu Zheng married her and gave a few hundred yuan as bride price. The Lin family was overjoyed.

Lin Shuqiao thought, If Lu Zheng knew how badly he was scammed, he’d probably rather die bleeding out than take one step into our village.

She got what she wanted—married a city man, entered the military compound, lived off most of Lu Zheng’s salary, and got pregnant just a month after marriage. Life was comfortable.

But she wasn’t satisfied. She complained that Lu Zheng was cold and emotionless, never giving her any affection.

Then came Jiang He, a smooth talker from the compound who deceived her. For him, she resolutely divorced Lu Zheng and even aborted her baby—only to become infertile for life.

Lin Shuqiao thought she had found true love, but Jiang He dumped her immediately after.

She still remembered that freezing day she left the hospital post-abortion, crying as she told Jiang He she could never have children again.

His response was a cruel smirk.

“Lin Shuqiao, you’re really stupid. A few sweet words and you divorced Lu Zheng, even killed your own child. With a brain like that, you might as well bash your head and end it! You really thought I’d be into someone everyone sees as used goods?”

“Look at yourself in the mirror. Your face is sallow, dull, and skinny—what about you is worth liking?”

Only later did Lin Shuqiao realize that Jiang He had deliberately driven a wedge between her and Lu Zheng to force their divorce.

And she had been a fool, throwing away the golden opportunity that was Lu Zheng.

From that day on, Lin Shuqiao lost everything. Her family called her cursed, a jinx. With no friends or relatives left, her only bloodline was gone.

She had nothing. Multiple suicide attempts failed.

Then, after one river-jumping attempt, she was saved by a kind mentor—and she was reborn.

She learned to read, got into college, started a business, and everything improved. It was as if she had shed that wretched, foolish version of herself.

All those memories had nearly faded from her mind.

She thought she had moved on. But now she realized—she hadn’t.

While the secretary fumed, Lin Shuqiao brushed it off lightly. “They’re not wrong.”

That person in the report—had been her. Despicable and shameless.

“Uh? President Lin, you…” The secretary’s voice trailed off.

Lin Shuqiao shifted her gaze to another article.

—Star Meng An’an to Wed Soon.

Meng An’an was Lu Zheng’s childhood sweetheart.

Her groom-to-be was probably him.

After all their twists and turns, Meng An’an had gone from army medic to national celebrity—and they ended up together.

If she had a second chance, Lin Shuqiao swore she would never ruin Lu Zheng’s life again. She would be kind to herself and become a good person.

Scenes from the past replayed clearly in her mind. In a daze, Lin Shuqiao felt like she had returned to the beginning.

…

“Lin Shuqiao, just sign it. I’ll submit the report to the higher-ups this afternoon. We’ll be divorced in a week. After that, we’ll have nothing to do with each other.”

The cold, emotionless voice stabbed into her brain like an ice pick.

“…Divorce?”

Lin Shuqiao blinked hard, trying to confirm that what she was seeing was real.

She wasn’t in a hospital anymore.

She had returned to the 1980s.

To the very day she and Lu Zheng were about to sign the divorce papers!

The room’s furnishings screamed vintage: green iron windows and doors, retro movie posters on the wall—her favorite actor at the time. Through the wooden door, she could see the bed neatly made with bright red floral sheets folded into a perfect square…

Her hand was clumsily holding a pen, and in front of her was a handwritten military divorce application.

The 18-year-old Lin Shuqiao had been illiterate, but her soul now belonged to her 38-year-old self—who could read just fine.

She had returned to the moment before she had made all those irreversible mistakes.

“Lin Shuqiao, what trick are you playing now? Are you signing this or not? I’m busy and don’t have time for your childish games.”

Lu Zheng’s sharp brows furrowed, his eyes fierce with impatience written all over his face.

Lin Shuqiao snapped back to reality and looked at that handsome, stern face. She said decisively, “Let’s divorce!”

She owed Lu Zheng too much.

She had heard in her past life that their divorce caused him a lot of trouble. Her reputation in the compound had been terrible. Everyone said she’d cheated on him.

…Which, honestly, wasn’t wrong.

There was no emotional foundation between them anyway. A divorce would benefit both.

Besides, Lu Zheng had a childhood sweetheart.

Before she died, she had heard they were about to get married.

With her thoughts spinning, Lin Shuqiao quickly signed her name.

The handwriting was bold and powerful, full of sharp energy and self-assurance.

Lu Zheng’s eyes flickered in surprise. Lin Shuqiao had barely been able to write her own name before. At their wedding, she’d written like a child just learning to hold a pen.

How had she improved so quickly in just over a month? Who taught her? The handwriting looked more like a man’s.

Lu Zheng’s face darkened. He took the pen and signed his own name.

“I’ll pack my things. While waiting for the approval, I’ll move out. You can stay here temporarily.”

Lin Shuqiao nodded. “Alright. I’ll move out in a few days and let you know once I’m done packing.”

The two quickly reached an agreement. Lu Zheng headed into the room without any hesitation.

Watching his retreating figure, Lin Shuqiao suddenly remembered—she touched her belly.

Wait a second!

Wasn’t she already pregnant with Lu Zheng’s child at this point?

Now that they were divorcing—what would happen to the baby?

Lin Shuqiao hesitated for a moment.

“Um, Lu Zheng… actually, I’m pregnant…”