Chapter 14

Lin Huiru quickly straightened up and walked to Mu Wanwan’s side.

“Wanwan, what Wen Lin said is true. Just now it really was a misunderstanding. I’m too weak, and when I tried to help Brother Wen Lin sit up, I lost my balance.

Thankfully, Brother Wen Lin caught me. Otherwise, I might have fallen.”

Mu Wanwan looked at her coldly. Such scheming. Did Lin Huiru really think she couldn’t see through her little act—that it had all been staged for her benefit?

In her past life, she had suffered many of these petty calculations. Every time, she had grown angry and reacted rashly, losing her composure and earning a reputation in the compound as a shrew.

Meanwhile, Lin Huiru carefully cultivated the image of being gentle and gracious, forming a sharp contrast with her.

Clearly, Lin Huiru hadn’t taken her previous warning seriously and had come looking for trouble again. Did she really think Mu Wanwan was still the easy target she once was?

A cold smile appeared on Mu Wanwan’s face. Suddenly she asked, “You’re attending Yuansheng Technical Secondary School, aren’t you?”

Lin Huiru froze, not knowing why Mu Wanwan would ask such a thing.

“Your principal and teachers must not know that you’ve been deliberately trying to wreck a military marriage. What do you suppose they’d do if they found out?”

Mu Wanwan knew Lin Huiru too well. A woman who loved putting on an act feared nothing more than having her mask ripped away.

Right now, behavior and moral conduct were being strictly scrutinized. If word got out that Lin Huiru had tried to sabotage a soldier’s marriage—even if unproven—the school would almost certainly refuse to keep her.

If it were true, the entire school’s reputation would be tainted. School leaders would never gamble with their institution’s good name.

Lin Huiru’s heart jolted. Damn it! At this moment, Mu Wanwan’s presence was actually making her feel pressured.

Her eyes immediately reddened. She spoke in a pitiful tone, “Wanwan, I already explained. Don’t you believe me? How could I ever want to ruin your marriage with Brother Wen Lin? It really was a misunderstanding.

It was so hard for me to get into Yuansheng Secondary. If I’m expelled, my whole future will be ruined! Is your heart really that cruel?”

“Misunderstanding? You know best whether it was or not. I warned you before.

No matter what feelings you harbor for Wen Lin, as long as he and I aren’t divorced, you must keep your distance. What you just did counts as deliberately sabotaging our marriage.”

Mu Wanwan felt no sympathy for Lin Huiru’s tearful performance. Time and again, Lin Huiru had provoked her. This time, she would not hold back.

She and Wen Lin weren’t even divorced yet, and Lin Huiru was already this eager.

Lin Huiru instinctively turned to Wen Lin, tears slipping down her cheeks.

Wen Lin frowned. “You should go. I need to talk to her properly.”

Biting her lip, Lin Huiru reluctantly agreed. She believed Wen Lin would not abandon her.

After all, he had promised her brother he would look after her. If Mu Wanwan truly followed through on her threat, her future would be destroyed, and Wen Lin would have broken his word.

Thinking of her brother steadied her nerves somewhat, but her hatred for Mu Wanwan only deepened.

Only after she left did Wen Lin turn to Mu Wanwan. “It wasn’t what you saw just now. Xiaoru’s explanation is true. She lost her footing, and I only helped her up.”

Mu Wanwan’s expression was icy. Sometimes she wondered whether Wen Lin truly couldn’t see Lin Huiru’s real face—whether he was blinded by her frail exterior or simply choosing to protect her.

His explanation now was just an attempt to calm her down, to prevent her from pursuing the matter further. In the end, it was still all for Lin Huiru.

Yes—Lin Huiru was the one he cherished most. Compared to her, nothing else mattered.

In her past life, she had grown accustomed to disappointment. By the end, she no longer held any illusions.

Yet even now, her chest still ached faintly, as if with a dull pain that made breathing difficult.

“I’ve always treated Xiaoru like a younger sister, and she sees me as an older brother. Don’t say such things again. If word spreads, it will hurt both of us. It absolutely cannot reach her school.

She worked hard to get admitted to secondary school. Even if you’re angry, you shouldn’t slander her. There’s nothing between us. If people get the wrong idea, how could she ever marry in the future?”

Wen Lin genuinely couldn’t understand Mu Wanwan’s thoughts. She seemed perpetually to misinterpret his relationship with Lin Huiru.

He had already explained, yet Mu Wanwan still cared too much. They had argued over it several times. Though she no longer quarreled as fiercely as before, her suspicions only grew deeper.

It gave him a headache. Her jealousy was excessive.

As expected, Wen Lin’s priority was still Lin Huiru. He always considered her feelings first and never hers.

Even if Mu Wanwan truly wanted to act against Lin Huiru, Wen Lin would surely stop her.

Fortunately, this time she was living life over again. Otherwise, as in her previous life, she would have broken down long ago.

Her nose stung, but she forced back her tears.

“Wen Lin, when will your divorce application be approved?”

Her voice was too calm, flat, without any trace of emotion. Wen Lin’s heart tightened suddenly.

Still, he answered, “By the end of this month, most likely.”

He had submitted it some time ago, but his superiors had tried to dissuade him.

To divorce so soon after marrying would look terrible, easily stirring gossip.

But when they saw his determination, they finally relented. Now it was just a matter of procedure.

“Good. Then we’ll divorce at the end of this month.”

Today was September 20. Counting the days, only a little more than half a month remained. If she could just endure that long, she would be free of Wen Lin, this wretched man.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door. It must be Huzi, delivering the pig offal. Mu Wanwan quickly composed herself and turned to her business of earning money.

The next morning, after preparing breakfast and delivering it to Wen Lin’s room, Mu Wanwan went to the post office to write home.

She hadn’t contacted her family in some time. In her previous life, once she arrived in Beijing, she had hardly written to them at all, afraid of being mocked as a country bumpkin, desperate to shed her rural roots.

Only now did she realize how wrong she had been. She was the youngest daughter in her family, with two elder brothers—she had always been cherished.

Yet in her past life, for the sake of one man, she had cut ties with them.

Reborn, she still felt unsure how to face her family, weighed down by shame.

She asked after their well-being in the letter, tucked in twenty yuan, and reread it several times before sending it off.

So much time had passed with no word from her—she didn’t know if they were angry with her.

In her last life, she had never returned home before dying. She hadn’t known their situation at all. This time, once she divorced Wen Lin, she was determined to go back.