Chapter 1

“Clank, clank…”
The train was still rattling along the tracks, its movement not unlike the tender intimacy between Mo Yutong and her Mr. Yan—close, lingering, and deeply entwined.

Mo Yutong was resting her head against the window when she slipped into a hazy dream. In the dream, it was her Mr. Yan from her past life. His strong arms were tightly wrapped around her, his forehead gently resting against hers, the tip of his nose brushing softly against hers.

His gentle eyes were filled with such deep, overwhelming affection. He kissed her lips again and again, whispering in the most doting voice, “Tongtong, I want you.”

“Mm…” she shyly lowered her head, a vision in moonlight white—so beautiful she seemed unreal.

He always started off restrained, patiently caressing her. But once he saw the desire flash through her bashful eyes, he would pounce like a tiger descending the mountain, turning her world upside down.

“Brother Li… Brother Li…” she called out over and over, begging him to go easy. But he always swept her into another wave of wild ecstasy.

She would cling to him, whimpering like a kitten, then bite his strong, bare chest.

But he never got angry. Instead, his passion was wrapped in tenderness, his haze of desire always touched with clarity, guiding his beloved through wave after wave of intense pleasure.

The dream slowly faded with the sound of chattering voices around her. To others, she was just a girl sleeping against the window, her cheeks flushed, a soft smile on her lips, radiating innocent beauty.

No one dared disturb her. In fact, those who saw her quietly lowered their voices.

Some people, you still have the courage to approach—you feel that if you stretch just a little, you might reach them.
But others, with just one glance, you understand what a chasm truly is—what separates worlds that can never touch. They are the kind of person you could never reach, no matter how hard you try.

“Clank, clank…”
The train finally pulled into Yushi, Sichuan Province.
Mo Yutong looked out the window excitedly at the bustling crowd. With a gentle reminder from a refined-looking male educated youth beside her, she picked up her backpack and quickly got off the train.

Her assigned commune was Tongzi Commune, the most remote one in Ming County under Yushi. In her past life, she’d heard from her Mr. Yan that Tongzi Commune was the poorest in the county—rugged mountains, poor roads, and people went hungry for over half the year.

Mr. Yan—that was her husband in her past life. When she met him, Mo Yutong was a 36-year-old woman with a modestly successful career, running a high-end beauty salon.

At the time, her Mr. Yan—Yan Mingli—was running one of the most sought-after hotel chains in Beijing, and owned several large supermarkets.

They met at a private party, and from that moment, Yan Mingli pursued her relentlessly—bouquets of flowers symbolizing love, an endless stream of thoughtful gifts.

He was a gentle, refined, and handsome man. Mo Yutong fell for him with no resistance.

Three months later, they were married. The wedding was grand, and Mo Yutong became the woman everyone envied.

That night, they were like two entwined serpents, tangled up endlessly until dawn broke—and even then, they only paused briefly before resuming their passionate dance.

Three days later, she finally escaped her friends’ teasing. Her Mr. Yan kissed her lips and murmured in a deep, magnetic, gentle voice:

“Tongtong, I love you. Let’s be together for the rest of our lives.”

“Brother Li, I love you too. For a lifetime. We still have such a long, long lifetime ahead.”

But unfortunately, that lifetime was too short.
They had so many places left to go, so many things left to do—but their time had run out.

They were only together for ten years when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. It came swiftly and without mercy. No medicine could save her. Despite Yan Mingli’s tireless efforts, he couldn’t stop her from leaving.

In those ten years, her Mr. Yan had cherished her like no other—afraid to hurt her if he held too tightly, afraid she’d melt if he kissed too gently. He was kind in every detail, warm in every word.

During those final days, she lay in his arms as he softly told her stories of his past—of how his family suffered hardships when he was young, how he often had no food and had once even fought pigs for scraps.

How he had only a single threadbare coat during freezing winters and could only grit his teeth to survive the cold.

Mr. Yan shared so much. Listening to him, she felt a deep ache in her heart. She wished she could go back and love him better, spoil him more, protect him harder.

“Brother Li, how did you suffer so much in the past?” Mo Yutong’s eyes were red with tears, her heart aching.

“It’s better to suffer first and enjoy later than the other way around. If I hadn’t gone through all that, how could I have met someone as sweet as you?”
He kissed her bald head, bare from chemotherapy.

“Brother Li, I’m ugly now. Do you still like me?”
Though in her forties, Mo Yutong still had the bright eyes of a young girl—only faint crow’s feet gave away the years.

“I love you. No matter what, I love you. You’re the only one I’ll ever love in this life.”
Yan Mingli’s eyes were red too. He hated that he hadn’t met her earlier, hadn’t had more time to love her.

“Brother Li, if there’s a next life, I want to meet you again. I want to be with you again.”
She looped her arms around his neck, her soft lips pressing against his.

Yes, her Mr. Yan was called Yan Mingli—a gentle, handsome man who treated her with boundless love.

“Alright. In our next life, I’ll wait for you in Tongzi Commune.”
Yan Mingli responded passionately. His dearest one—how could he bear to let her go?

“Brother Li, you must wait for me. I’ll come find you.”

With that wish burning in her heart, Mo Yutong closed her eyes in his arms…
When she opened them again, it was late summer in 1975.

A soft breeze brushed her skin.
She was back—seventeen again. And in that moment, she had only one thought:
She had to go to Tongzi Commune and find her Mr. Yan.

Mo Yutong, the beautiful girl known throughout the family compound, had a delicate charm rare among Beijing girls. Her large, bright eyes sparkled like stars.

Everywhere she went, people couldn’t stop praising her.

To find Mr. Yan, she would have to go to the countryside.
Mo Yutong wasn’t cut out for hardship, but just thinking of him filled her with strength.

As the only daughter in a well-off family with a frail body, she wasn’t required to go to the countryside under policy. In her past life, she didn’t go either—her father had arranged a cushy post for her in the meat processing plant, where she sipped tea and flipped newspapers all day.

But now, her only desire was to see her Mr. Yan as soon as possible.

She didn’t want him to live a hungry, freezing life.
She didn’t want him to suffer so much that he had to fight pigs for food.

She wanted to cook delicious meals for him, buy him warm clothes, and build him a cozy home.

And together, they would raise little Mingli and little Yutong.