“Brother Huo, open the door! Niuniu has a fever again. Can you please come help me? I really don’t know what to do!”

Urgent knocking echoed from outside, the old wooden door rattling with the force.

Bai Qingqing’s delicate, anxious voice called from beyond the door.

Inside, Han Xinrui opened her eyes in a daze, looking around in confusion.

What was going on?

Pain throbbed at the back of her head, snapping her back to her senses.

Hadn’t she been dying of breast cancer, lying on a hospital bed?

She reached up to touch the pain. Her hand came away sticky with blood.

She looked up, just in time to see Huo Hongtao’s irritated face.

“Han Xinrui, stop being unreasonable. Didn’t you hear her say Niuniu isn’t well? Can’t you think about others for once? You’re always making a scene.”

Without waiting for her reply, he pulled up his trousers, opened the door, and walked out.

Han Xinrui looked around the room and finally realized what had happened.

She had been reborn.

Back to her wedding night with Huo Hongtao.

In her previous life, tonight was supposed to be their wedding night. Huo Hongtao had already taken off his pants and was ready to get close to her, when Bai Qingqing suddenly knocked, saying the child had a fever.

The moment Huo Hongtao heard Bai Qingqing’s voice, he sprang up like a hungry dog seeing meat and left without a second thought.

She had gone mad, arguing with him and crying that it was their wedding night. Why couldn’t he even stay for this one night?

Huo Hongtao, fed up with her pulling and shouting, pushed her away.

Her head and forehead hit the coffee table, and blood flowed instantly.

Huo Hongtao didn’t even glance back. He just went straight to Bai Qingqing’s yard next door.

Han Xinrui looked down at the blood on her hand and let out a cold, bitter laugh.

After fifty years of wasted love and heartbreak, she no longer felt anything for Huo Hongtao.

Enduring the pain, she slowly got up from the floor. She didn’t try to stop the bleeding. Instead, she focused on recalling everything from her previous life.

She had been married to Huo Hongtao for fifty years, never receiving his love or a single cent from him.

He worked at the fertilizer plant and earned a decent salary, but all of it went to support Bai Qingqing and her son.

For fifty years, the Huo family had criticized her relentlessly. “Look at you. You didn’t get into college, you don’t have a proper job, and your family is nothing special. Now look at Bai Qingqing. A university graduate, a factory supervisor, and her family’s full of powerful officials. If Hongtao hadn’t married you, he’d be so much better off.”

Day after day of being belittled and brainwashed by them had eaten away at her, until she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Just before she died, she saw Huo Hongtao arm in arm with the well-preserved Bai Qingqing, saying, “Han Xinrui, sure, I took your college admission letter, but I also gave you fifty years of marriage. I supported you for fifty years, so we’re even.”

He also said, “I took the jade pendant your parents left you and gave it to Bai Qingqing so she could reconnect with her birth family, but I let you care for my parents for thirty years. That should make up for the family affection you lacked. Now that you’re gone, I can finally live happily with Bai Qingqing.”

Remembering all this, Han Xinrui clenched her teeth in anger. Taking a deep breath, she got off the bed with purpose.

She ran her fingers through her messy hair, making it even wilder, then smeared the blood on her hands across her face.

She turned and searched the room, quickly finding the firecrackers that hadn’t been used yet for the wedding.

She and Huo Hongtao lived in the fertilizer plant’s residential compound. The neighbors all lived close together, and even the smallest noise could be heard clearly.

Today was their wedding day. The neighbors had just left after the reception.

Han Xinrui took the firecrackers and walked to Bai Qingqing’s door.

She glanced inside at the two people embracing, then bent down and lit the fuse.

Fifty-shot firecrackers—loud enough to wake the entire compound.

The moment they caught fire, a rapid “pop-pop-pop” erupted.

The two people inside were startled and quickly pulled apart.

The neighbors, still awake after the reception, opened their doors when they heard the commotion.

“What happened? Is something on fire?”

Those living nearby rushed over.

When they arrived at Bai Qingqing’s doorway, they saw Han Xinrui standing there in her red wedding dress, hair disheveled, blood on her face.

The firecrackers were still going off at her feet.

“Xinrui, what happened to you? It’s your wedding day—why is your face covered in blood?” someone asked in shock.

This was supposed to be her wedding night with Huo Hongtao.

In the 1970s, people were conservative. Everything was meant to be saved for the wedding night.

She and Director Huo should’ve been in bed, enjoying their first night together.

Han Xinrui gave a gentle smile and said, “Sorry if I disturbed you. I was just so happy to be married that I lit some firecrackers.”

Just as she finished speaking, Huo Hongtao came out of the house, holding Bai Qingqing.

“Who’s out here making noise?” he snapped.

He opened the door and froze when he saw the crowd.

His expression shifted several times.

Bai Qingqing hadn’t expected to see so many people either. She instinctively leaned into Huo Hongtao.

He reflexively pulled her into his arms.

The neighbors exchanged looks, their expressions all different.

What was going on?

Wasn’t Huo Hongtao and Han Xinrui’s wedding day?

One was lighting firecrackers at Bai Qingqing’s door, the other was inside her house.

“Who lit the firecrackers?” Huo Hongtao demanded, still holding Bai Qingqing tightly.

Blood still on her face, Han Xinrui replied softly, “I did, Hongtao.”

Huo Hongtao looked up and saw her standing there, her face streaked with blood. Startled, he held Bai Qingqing even tighter.

“What… what happened to you?”

“Didn’t you hit me?” she asked calmly.

His face changed, and his voice rose. “When did I hit you? Don’t talk nonsense. We just got married—why would I hit you?”

Han Xinrui slowly pointed at her forehead and the back of her head. “You pushed me. I hit the coffee table. There’s still blood on it if you want to check.”

Huo Hongtao’s face twitched. He remembered earlier, when she tried to stop him from leaving, and he shoved her aside. He’d thought she was faking it again and didn’t take it seriously.

“How… how did you hit it that hard?” he asked, starting to feel guilty.

Han Xinrui gave him a light smile. “My fault. I didn’t dodge the corner. If I had, I wouldn’t look like this.”

She turned to the neighbors, who were still watching.

“You all know I grew up in the Huo family. I always dreamed of marrying Hongtao. Now that my wish has come true, I’m just so happy I wanted to celebrate.”

She laughed as she spoke.

Her smiling face, messy hair, and the blood smeared across her cheeks created a heartbreaking sight.

On her wedding night, her own husband had hit her and ran off to another woman’s house.

What woman could bear that?

“Xinrui, your head is still bleeding. You should go to the clinic and get that treated,” one of the aunties said, stepping forward in concern.

Han Xinrui nodded, “Alright.”

She let the woman support her as they walked to the nearby clinic.

Before leaving, she turned and said to the others, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb anyone.”