Chapter 7

Hearing the robot’s reminder, Meng Yingying was startled and quickly asked in her mind:
“How is she on Li Yanhong!?”

“Looks like after you were reborn, she couldn’t take over your body anymore, so she possessed someone else.”

So, Li Yanhong was no longer the same Li Yanhong as before—she had been replaced by the transmigrated female protagonist.

But why was she interested in Meng Yingying?

Meng Yingying felt a chill as she noticed Li Yanhong’s intrigued gaze, as if she wanted to devour her.

Li Yanhong’s real name was indeed Li Yanhong. The first time she transmigrated into a novel, she possessed Meng Yingying.

Unfortunately, she had been too reckless then and completely ruined the plot, to the point where the world itself collapsed.

The Time-Space Administration came to her and ordered her to repair the broken storyline, putting her this time into Li Yanhong’s body.

Still, she preferred Meng Yingying’s body—it was far more beautiful, had a great figure, and, more importantly, was dangerously addictive to men.

In her previous life, whenever she used that body to seduce men, it worked every single time!

Men were captivated by that face and figure, and she played them like puppets, relishing for the first time what it felt like to be surrounded by admirers.

Now she longed to possess Meng Yingying again and return to that life of decadent pleasure!

After taking in all the information from the robot, Meng Yingying showed no friendliness toward Li Yanhong and went back to carving wooden toys with the children.

Li Yanhong persisted. “Sister Meng, why are you ignoring me?”

Meng Yingying replied coldly, “Don’t call me sister.”

Li Yanhong froze, momentarily speechless.

At that moment, Li Fang, unable to watch any longer, pulled Li Yanhong up and scolded:
“Why are you pestering her? She’s not even your target!”

Li Yanhong snapped impatiently, “Mind your own business!”

But what Li Fang didn’t know was that Meng Yingying was indeed Li Yanhong’s real target. She desperately wanted to possess her again—but had no idea how.

Why wasn’t Meng Yingying dead this time? Did she need to wait for her to die before she could take over her body?

Just then, Zhan Tingxu finished cooking and brought the dishes to the table, including a steaming pot of crucian carp tofu soup.

“Yingying, come eat.”

“Amin, Aliang, Tingting, go wash your hands,” Meng Yingying said, taking the children to clean up.

Zhan Tingxu shot Li Fang a cold glance, making it clear he had no intention of inviting them to stay for dinner.

Feeling awkward, Li Fang dragged Li Yanhong away.

Li Yanhong, however, stared at Zhan Tingxu, shocked by the tenderness he showed Meng Yingying.

When she had possessed Meng Yingying’s body before, Zhan Tingxu had been cold and distant—why was he so gentle now?

Could it be that, in the previous timeline, he had sensed something was off?

Li Fang scolded Li Yanhong on the way out:
“Look at you! You were given a chance, and you wasted it. Why didn’t you go talk to Fourth Brother?”

Li Yanhong pouted, “He ignores me—why should I throw myself at him?”

Rather than cling to one man like Zhan Tingxu, she’d rather have her pick of many. But for that, she needed Meng Yingying’s beauty and figure.

After all, money she could earn herself—but beauty and an enchanting body couldn’t be bought at any price.

When Meng Yingying and the children sat around the table, Zhan Tingxu served each of them a bowl of fish soup.

The children couldn’t help but exclaim, “This soup is amazing! We’ve never had anything this good!”

Feeling a bit skeptical, Meng Yingying took a sip—and had to admit it was incredibly fresh and flavorful. The rich aroma of fish blended perfectly with the delicate scent of tofu.

Zhan Tingxu asked eagerly, “Yingying, how is it?”

Meng Yingying coughed lightly in embarrassment. “Ahem… not bad.”

“If it’s good, drink more.” Zhan Tingxu picked out a piece of fish belly, carefully removing the bones before placing it in her bowl.

Meng Yingying tasted it—it was tender and silky, melting in her mouth.

“How did you afford such good food?” she asked.

Zhan Tingxu explained, “I caught the fish in the river. The rest comes from my army stipend. They issued it to me before I came home.”

That made sense. In the past, Zhan Tingxu often sent not only money but also ration tickets for grain, meat, and cloth.

Amin, eyes wide with curiosity, asked, “Dad… Uncle, is the army fun?”

Hearing the boy almost call him Dad but switching to Uncle, Zhan Tingxu couldn’t help but laugh. Still, he answered,
“For Daddy, it’s pretty fun.”

Amin’s eyes sparkled. “Then I want to join too!”

Tingting chimed in, “Uncle cooks so well—I want to eat this every day!”

“If you all come live with me at the army base, you can eat Daddy’s cooking every day,” Zhan Tingxu said warmly.

“What does living with the army mean?” the children asked.

“It means living in the military compound with Daddy. I’d take care of you and Mommy.”

The children were excited, but they kept sneaking glances at Meng Yingying to gauge her reaction.

Then Zhan Tingxu spoke solemnly:
“Yingying, come live with me at the base.”

Meng Yingying stayed silent, keeping her head down as she ate. Zhan Tingxu placed more fish in her bowl, and she didn’t refuse, quietly eating it.

Aliang piped up brightly, “Uncle, I want some too!”

Tingting added, “Me too!”

Zhan Tingxu patiently picked out more bones and served them pieces of fish.

That night, before bed, Zhan Tingxu helped Meng Yingying wash the children’s hands and faces before tucking them in.

He quickly learned how lively the children were—the three of them bounced on the kang bed, chasing and roughhousing. If the bed weren’t solid brick, it might have collapsed.

Only after they tired themselves out did they finally settle down.

“Alright, time to sleep,” Meng Yingying said, pressing them into bed and pulling up the quilt.

Zhan Tingxu sat on the bedside, locking eyes with Meng Yingying.

He clearly wanted to stay, but the kang wasn’t big enough—if he squeezed in, the kids would fall off.

He regretted not building a larger bed, big enough for the whole family. Of course, his original intention had been to sleep alone with Meng Yingying, not with three children in between.

Glancing at Zhan Tingxu beside the bed, Meng Yingying suddenly remembered their wedding night—on this very bed, the two of them had stayed entwined till dawn. Her cheeks warmed at the thought.

Luckily, the dim kerosene lamp hid her blush.

Zhan Tingxu looked at her pleadingly, his voice husky:
“Yingying, can I stay and sleep here?”

“Do you think we’d even fit?” Meng Yingying shot back.

He was momentarily speechless.

“Hurry up and go. We’re going to sleep,” she urged.

With a long, reluctant sigh, Zhan Tingxu got up and went to sleep in the storage room next door.