Chapter 1 – Reborn on the Eve of Getting the Marriage Certificate: “Call Him Daddy”

Hong Kong, the Qin family’s Mid-levels estate.

Inside the grand hall of the main residence, the atmosphere was heavy with frost, tense with a deadlocked standoff.

“You scheming, despicable woman—pregnant from a stolen night, you don’t deserve to step foot into our Qin family!”

Lian Minfang’s sharp voice rang out, her glare at Shu Hui brimming with fury.

How could her most outstanding son possibly be tricked and brought down by such a woman?

A deafening roar filled Shu Hui’s ears. The world spun and tilted, and she staggered toward the wall.

But… wasn’t she already dead?

On her way to attend her daughter’s elementary school welcome ceremony, a side collision had crushed the back of her car.

Just before her last breath, she had felt the warm gush of blood flooding over her head.

She had only been thankful that her daughter had left earlier and wasn’t in the same car.

But now—where was she?

The blinding, dizzying white light faded, and her vision cleared.

A sudden weight pressed against her legs.

Shu Hui looked down. A little girl, only reaching up to her thigh, was hugging her tightly. Her daughter? How could this be…?

“Stop pretending to be weak!”

Lian Minfang rose from the sofa, pointing angrily at Shu Hui. “Tell Yu Shen there’s no need to come back. A manipulative woman like you will never enter the Qin family!”

“Enough!”

The Qin patriarch, seated at the head, struck his cane against the floor, his voice ringing with authority. “It’s not your place to decide matters of the Qin family alone.”

Startled, Lian Minfang flinched. She had always feared her stern and old-fashioned father-in-law.

Outwardly, she dared not refute him, but deep down, she was deeply resentful of his decision.

How could Shu Hui, who had schemed her way into a pregnancy from a one-night stand, possibly deserve to marry her son?!

At the very least, they could just take in the child—why marry the mother?

The more she thought about it, the more furious she became. She twisted the arm of her useless husband seated beside her, her voice breaking in anger. “Say something! Yu Shen is our eldest son, the Qin family’s eldest grandson! How—how can this be allowed…?”

At that moment, Shu Hui understood everything.

This scene—she remembered it vividly.

This was five years ago, the very day she and Qin Yu Shen went to register their marriage.

So the car accident hadn’t killed her—she had been reborn five years into the past.

She bent down and scooped her daughter into her arms. At two years old, little Sui Ning was short but chubby and well-fed, making her arms ache slightly from the weight.

“Mommy… don’t be scared.”

Her daughter’s little head rested against her neck, her childish voice offering comfort.

Her sweet Sui Ning—always so obedient, always so thoughtful.

But then Shu Hui felt her daughter’s tiny body trembling.

Her heart clenched. She quickly whispered soothingly, “Baby, don’t be afraid. Mommy’s here.”

In her previous life, after a graduation trip where she partied too hard in Hong Kong, she had gotten drunk at a bar and ended up in a one-night stand with a stranger.

When she found herself pregnant, she decided to raise the child alone, caring nothing about that man, whose name she hadn’t even bothered to learn—he hadn’t even been any good.

But three years later, Hong Kong media had traced the matter and swarmed her house with cameras and microphones.

Only then did Shu Hui learn the truth—that the man from that drunken night was Qin Yu Shen, current head of the powerful Qin family.

Under relentless media pressure, and after a paternity test, the Qin patriarch decreed that she and her daughter should be brought back into the family. Sui Ning was to be officially acknowledged, and Shu Hui was to marry Qin Yu Shen.

On this very day in her past life, she had stepped into the Qin family mansion for the first time, feeling inexplicably stifled, timid, and weak.

She had endured Lian Minfang’s curses and the Qin family’s mocking disdain.

She hadn’t even held Ning Ning close in the hall, nor realized that her little girl had been trembling in fear.

Back then, lost in fear and humiliation, she had forgotten her two-year-old daughter completely.

This time, her arms tightened protectively, holding her child closer.

At the center seat sat the Qin patriarch. On either side were Qin Yu Shen’s parents and the Qin family’s aunt.

The patriarch had only one son and one daughter. As the eldest grandson, Qin Yu Shen’s marriage was a matter only for the elders to discuss—the younger generation had no say.

In her past life, Shu Hui had stayed in the Qin household for five years, cleaning up countless messes left by Lian Minfang. She knew every one of their personalities and grudges inside out.

Her gaze drifted to the Qin family’s aunt seated opposite.

She couldn’t remember exactly what Aunt Qin had said back then, but she knew well—this woman never missed a chance to mock her brother and sister-in-law.

Sure enough, Qin Ying, the Qin family aunt, smirked as she glanced at Shu Hui. “Sister-in-law, you should be grateful. Miss Shu is beautiful, and she doesn’t even mind your son being as cold as a block of wood…”

“You shut your mouth! What nonsense are you spouting?!” Lian Minfang snapped furiously.

But Qin Ying only looked pleased, delighted to see her sister-in-law flustered.

She didn’t even bother sparing a glance for her useless elder brother.

After a pause, Qin Ying struck again. “How am I speaking nonsense? You should count yourself lucky, sister-in-law. Now you have a daughter-in-law, a granddaughter, and your eldest son won’t be left single anymore.”

Shu Hui almost laughed aloud—Aunt Qin’s tongue was as sharp as ever.

“QIN YING!!!”

Lian Minfang nearly exploded. “I don’t need a granddaughter, and I don’t need your congratulations!”

It was true—Lian Minfang didn’t lack grandchildren.

Though her eldest son Qin Yu Shen was thirty and still unmarried, several of his younger brothers had already settled down and had children.

Her own second son, as well as the third son taken in from outside, both already had kids.

So Lian Minfang wasn’t interested in another granddaughter. All she wanted was to drive Shu Hui and her daughter away.

She snapped at Qin Ying, pointing furiously at the door. “Get out! Our family affairs don’t need your meddling!”

This time Qin Ying truly lost her temper. She jabbed a finger at Lian Minfang’s nose.

“You think I’m not family? Fine! You treat me like an outsider? I’ve shown you respect because of Yu Shen, calling you sister-in-law, but don’t flatter yourself—you’re not as high and mighty as you think!”

The two women had been enemies their whole lives.

Shu Hui already knew they’d end up in a shouting match. She didn’t bother listening anymore. Hugging her daughter, she quietly walked out.

Children shouldn’t be made to stay in such a toxic atmosphere.

Let them tear each other apart.

After all, she had already been the Qin family’s madam once. This time, she would never give up that seat.

She remembered—five years later, Qin Yu Shen would rise to the pinnacle of the business world, holding immense wealth and power in his hands.

That only steeled her resolve.

She would secure Hong Kong residency for Ning Ning, have her name inscribed in the Qin family genealogy. And for that, Qin Yu Shen’s sponsorship was indispensable.

In Hong Kong’s aristocratic families, the genealogy was the most authoritative proof of bloodline, stamped by official institutions—equivalent to a household register in the mainland.

Ning Ning must be Qin Yu Shen’s first heir in his will. Shu Hui admitted it: she was a worldly woman who craved wealth and status.

Her ordinary life had already been ruined by the media. With boundless fortune right before her, only a fool wouldn’t fight for it.

Later, in the garden, Ning Ning at first refused to leave her mother’s arms. But after some time, her mood lifted, and she was soon chasing butterflies with eager little steps.

“Careful, baby, don’t run too fast. You might fall,” Shu Hui said, watching from a bench.

The garden’s main path connected to the estate’s front gate.

From there, the man summoned home by the patriarch approached steadily.

Dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, hair slicked back neatly, forehead exposed, his deep-set brows, straight nose, and cold, aristocratic air were striking.

But his expressionless face made him seem distant and unapproachable—wasting that handsome face on sheer coldness.

Leaning back against the bench, Shu Hui watched him walk closer, her thoughts running deep.

When he reached them, she called her daughter back from chasing butterflies, her voice gentle and sweet.

“Ning Ning, come here. Call him Daddy.”