Chapter 3 – Confirming Qin Yajuan’s Rebirth

Xu Jingchu watched Qin Yajuan sit calmly on the stool, patiently chatting with Zhang Qiuyun. In her previous life, that wasn’t the case—she had always been craning her neck, staring toward the staircase, waiting for Lin Tingjun to appear.

No… something was very wrong.

Lin Tingjun came down the stairs, his brows furrowed. First, his father had disapproved of him attending university, then wanted to arrange a marriage for him. Annoying! If it weren’t for the school closing the dorms for summer break, he would never have come home.

Xu Jingchu didn’t miss the way Qin Yajuan froze for an instant when she saw Lin Tingjun, followed by a hurried act of pretending to be a stranger. That moment confirmed the suspicions Xu Jingchu had been harboring these past few days.

No doubt about it—Qin Yajuan had been reborn too!

“Jingchu, Jingchu,” Qin Yajuan “kindly” tugged at Xu Jingchu’s sleeve, teasing, “Say hello!”

Xu Jingchu quickly came back to her senses. “Hello, Comrade Lin.”

“What comrade? Call him brother. From now on, Tingjun is your elder brother, and Tingyu is your younger brother,” Lin Jianbai suggested.

“Alright, Uncle. Hello, Brother Tingjun.” Xu Jingchu’s voice was soft and sweet, like a feather brushing past Lin Tingjun’s heart. Unfortunately, his heart was solid as stone—a single feather could never stir it.

“Mom, I still need to go upstairs and do some problems.” Lin Tingjun ignored Xu Jingchu’s greeting and turned straight back up the stairs.

Even Zhang Qiuyun, who had always doted on her son, felt his behavior was too much. She explained to Xu Jingchu, “He… he’s gotten silly from studying. Don’t mind him.”

“It’s alright, Auntie Zhang. Studying is a good thing. We don’t have the conditions in the countryside, but I still remember my teacher saying that knowledge is power.” Xu Jingchu smoothed things over for her.

In her previous life, right after they arrived, Qin Yajuan had pulled out two jin of white flour from her luggage, saying it was to repay the Lin family’s kindness. She knew the Lins weren’t lacking in food, but it was the best she could offer. The Lin couple had been deeply moved.

This time, however, Qin Yajuan hadn’t made a move. Seeing her hesitate, Xu Jingchu pulled out the tea leaves she had prepared in advance.

She didn’t want to marry Lin Tingjun, nor did she want a random job. She wanted to study. If she wasn’t going to follow the path others had set for her, and since she needed the Lin family’s help, she had to win over each one of them.

“Uncle Lin, Auntie Zhang, these are fresh tea leaves I picked on the mountain at four this morning. They’re still fresh—please make do with them. There’s nothing much in the village to bring.”

Lin Jianbai accepted the tea. “You’ve worked hard, Jingchu. You two haven’t eaten yet, have you? We saved some food for you. Go and eat.”

The two thanked him and went to the table. Braised pork, fried hairtail fish, and white steamed buns—dishes no rural family could eat on a daily basis. Yet both girls ate gracefully, chewing slowly.

Lin Jianbai cast Zhang Qiuyun a meaningful glance, silently proving his earlier point. Zhang Qiuyun hadn’t wanted them to come, or rather, she hadn’t wanted to be forced to choose a daughter-in-law between the two.

Lin Tingjun was among the very first batch of students after the resumption of the college entrance exams. Although Lin Jianbai dismissed it as useless—believing only the military was a way to serve the country—Zhang Qiuyun thought otherwise.

Her son was precious: good family background, educated, promising future, tall and handsome. Many families wanted to introduce girls to him.

But she had rejected them all, saying he was still studying. She wanted to respect his choice, certain he would pick a good girl.

And even if not, she herself would find him someone equal in background, appearance, and career.

How could a rural girl ever be suitable? Country girls didn’t even know proper dining manners, let alone how to deal with people.

Yet looking at Xu Jingchu now, she wasn’t so sure anymore.

Meanwhile, Xu Jingchu was deep in thought. Qin Yajuan had eagerly asked her for the “back medicine powder”—clearly intending to ruin her reputation as quickly as possible.

But destroying her name without winning over the Lins… did that mean Qin Yajuan didn’t actually want to marry Lin Tingjun?

That was possible…

In her last life, Xu Jingchu had heard bits and pieces. After scheming her way into marrying Lin Tingjun, Qin Yajuan’s life hadn’t been easy.

Man plans, but heaven decides. Qin Yajuan hadn’t foreseen how strained Lin Tingjun’s relationship with his parents would become due to his insistence on college. After graduation, he pursued further studies abroad, which only fueled their discontent. When they forced him to marry Qin Yajuan, things hit rock bottom.

Eventually, Lin Tingjun left for a secret place to devote himself to national research, leaving Qin Yajuan behind to care for his aging parents. They lived their entire lives without a single child.

Worse, Lin Tingjun later discovered he wasn’t even the Lins’ biological son. That drove their relationship further apart.

After much investigation, the Lins were shocked to learn their real son had been switched at birth—and he turned out to be Xu Jingchu’s husband, Wang Yuejin.

By then, Wang Yuejin was already a flourishing private entrepreneur, riding the reform wave to wealth. Charming and sociable, he quickly won over the Lin couple’s trust and affection.

In the end, the Lins left Qin Yajuan almost nothing, giving nearly all their assets to Wang Yuejin and their younger son, Lin Tingyu.

The only consolation for Qin Yajuan was that Xu Jingchu had died young, never enjoying Wang Yuejin’s fortune.

This life, she vowed, she would not be foolish again. She had to marry Wang Yuejin! That slut Xu Jingchu didn’t deserve him!

…

After a long day of travel, finally lying down on a relatively soft bed—though nothing like the Simmons mattress she’d had in her past life, still far better than the hard kang—Xu Jingchu only wanted a good night’s sleep.

“Jingchu, Jingchu.” Someone, however, wouldn’t let her. Qin Yajuan kept calling her.

“What is it, Yajuan?” Xu Jingchu suppressed her irritation.

“Look how handsome Brother Lin is! And he’s a scholar too.” Qin Yajuan was working hard to sell Lin Tingjun’s merits.

“So?” Xu Jingchu cut straight to the point.

Forced, Qin Yajuan finally revealed her aim. “Jingchu, I’ll tell you a big secret! I overheard the adults saying—one of us will get to marry Brother Lin, and the other will be given a job by Uncle Lin.”

“So?” Xu Jingchu repeated, in the exact same tone.

“My family needs money. I want the job. If I marry Brother Lin, I’ll have both the man and the job. If I weren’t desperate, I’d never let you have him.” Her voice was full of regret.

“No need to let me. I don’t want him.” Xu Jingchu rolled over, refusing to continue.

Not receiving gratitude, only cold indifference, Qin Yajuan clenched her fists in frustration.

You don’t want him? Whether you want him or not, it’s not up to you!

Xu Jingchu only stirred once she heard Qin Yajuan’s faint snores. So, Qin Yajuan’s true goal was to steal the life she’d once had? Fine—take it.

Qin Yajuan must think Wang Yuejin was upright, capable of making money, later backed by the Lin family.

But in reality, Wang Yuejin was nothing but a good actor. His upright character and modest manners were fake. His ability to make money was nearly nonexistent—his true skill was spending.

In her last life, since Xu Jingchu couldn’t appear in public as a woman, they had agreed Wang Yuejin would handle things openly while she made the plans. Without her, he would never have earned a cent.

Not to mention, his family was a mess—nosy sisters-in-law, troublesome relatives, and worst of all, his mother.

Qin Yajuan only saw the life after he was accepted back into the Lin family, but forgot the twenty-some years before that.

Let someone who schemed against her jump into a fire pit—Xu Jingchu wouldn’t stop her. She’d only clap and cheer.

Even when she finally fell asleep, she didn’t rest well.

In the dead of night, she saw Qin Yajuan sneaking out to the clothesline in the yard.

There, she picked up a pair of men’s underwear.

And… stuffed it into Xu Jingchu’s bed.

Alright then! So it begins? She would play along to the very end!