Chapter 001: Reborn on the Day of the Broken Engagement in the Seventies

“Really don’t know what’s good for you! I introduced you to such a good match, and you’re still being picky. Do you know how rich he is? The fact that he even fancies you is your blessing!”

Qin Xiaoran’s head throbbed painfully. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw the sharp, mean face of her stepmother, Cui Hongyan, and her finger almost poking into her eyes.

Her thoughts were in chaos. She instinctively took a step back, but her weak body nearly collapsed to the ground.

“Qin Xiaoran! What do you mean by this? Are you trying to put on an act in front of your father, saying I bully you? I’ve worked so hard to raise you for eighteen years. For your future, I begged and pleaded to arrange this marriage for you. Do you want to be an ungrateful white-eyed wolf? Her dad, you judge this matter!”

“Ahem… Xiaoran, listen to your mother on this. She’s only thinking of you. The marriage partner she found for you… the conditions are indeed… not bad.”

Qin Xiaoran stiffly turned her head and saw her father, Wang Wenbin, looking several years younger. Beside him stood her stepsister, Wang Xiaoyi, still youthful and innocent in her demeanor.

The familiar scene, the familiar dialogue, and these younger “family members”… As unbelievable as it was, Qin Xiaoran knew—she had been reborn, back to 1972, the day of her broken engagement.

Memories of this day automatically replayed in her mind.

That year, she had just turned eighteen. Cui Hongyan and Wang Wenbin forced her to marry a forty-year-old wealthy man. Of course, she was unwilling.

After eighteen years of meekness, she resisted for the first time, but they pushed her relentlessly. In desperation, she slammed herself against the wall to show her determination not to marry.

Wang Wenbin, still caring somewhat about appearances, feared she might really kill herself, so he stopped pressing. But Cui Hongyan refused to back down. She demanded Qin Xiaoran hand over the jade bracelet her mother left her as “atonement” before she would agree to cancel the marriage.

In the end, Qin Xiaoran lay bedridden for over half a month from her injuries, the jade bracelet was taken by Cui Hongyan and given to Wang Xiaoyi, and Cui Hongyan shifted all the blame onto her, spreading rumors that ruined her reputation.

That incident ruined both her body and her name, and stripped her of the last relic from her mother—it became the starting point of all her misfortunes.

No, her misfortune began much earlier.

Twelve years ago, when Cui Hongyan married Wang Wenbin and became her stepmother, her life grew hard.

Eighteen years ago, when Wang Wenbin cheated on her pregnant mother, Qin Qin, with Cui Hongyan and fathered Wang Xiaoyi, disaster had already begun.

Twenty years ago, when Wang Wenbin married into the Qin family, the seeds of misfortune had been planted.

Qin Xiaoran felt dazed, but quickly regained clarity.

No matter what, everything could still be changed. The past could not be undone, but the present and future could.

From now on, everything would be different.

This time, she would live only for herself!

This time, she would take back everything that belonged to her!

This time, she would not spare a single person who had hurt her or the Qin family!

Her eyes gleamed cold and sharp, like an unsheathed blade.

Cui Hongyan was still rambling on about how wonderful this marriage was, how hard she worked as a stepmother, trying to morally pressure Qin Xiaoran into compromise.

Qin Xiaoran frowned, cast her a single glance, and the chatter ceased immediately.

Cui Hongyan’s heart skipped—this girl, raised under her thumb and made weak, how could she now have such a terrifying gaze?

For a moment, it was as if she saw the late Elder Qin himself.

An illusion. It must be an illusion.

Ignoring Cui Hongyan, Qin Xiaoran said directly, “Since this marriage is so good, I’ll let Wang Xiaoyi have it.”

At that, Wang Xiaoyi, still young and without much scheming ability, panicked.

“I don’t want to marry that short, fat, ugly old man!”

Her words tore away the last pretense. Wang Wenbin’s face flushed. Even if he had wronged his wife and daughter, he still knew that marrying off his eighteen-year-old daughter to a forty-something man was shameful.

Cui Hongyan too was embarrassed for a moment but quickly recovered.

“Nonsense! Mr. Xun isn’t that old—he’s only forty… And older men know how to cherish people. He’s rich, too. Marrying him means you’ll enjoy a good life…”

Qin Xiaoran sneered.

Her father, Wang Wenbin, was also only forty, and Cui Hongyan was just thirty-six.

“Only forty”? What kind of shamelessness did it take to say that?

“This marriage, I’ll let Wang Xiaoyi have it. Dad, haven’t you always told me to give way to her? I’m listening to you.”

“That won’t do—”

Wang Wenbin reflexively objected, but when his eyes met Qin Xiaoran’s clear, mirror-like gaze, he found himself unable to continue.

Cui Hongyan sensed something was wrong. Today’s Qin Xiaoran was not easy to deal with. Dragging Wang Xiaoyi into it and using Wang Wenbin’s vanity against him—if this continued, she might really slip away from this matter.

If Qin Xiaoran escaped this time, there might not be another chance.

Letting it be known that she introduced her stepdaughter to a forty-year-old man would not only disgrace Wang Wenbin, but also make her the target of scorn.

This matter had to be done swiftly and quietly.

Her mind turned quickly—if she couldn’t do it openly, she’d do it secretly. Once things were set in stone, nothing could be undone.

But Qin Xiaoran sneered inwardly, not giving her the chance.

This time, she wouldn’t hurt herself by smashing into a wall, nor would she give up her mother’s jade bracelet. She would use another way to crush Cui Hongyan’s scheme completely.

After all, without Wang Wenbin’s tacit approval, Cui Hongyan would never have dared act so brazenly.

A malicious stepmother, and a rotten father—they were both equally guilty.

They wanted her to marry that old man for one reason: to get the bride price. And secretly, they also wanted to kick her out completely and seize all of the Qin family’s assets.

The first reason was obvious. The second was hidden, and if she hadn’t lived through it once, she might not have seen it.

But no matter their motives, she would never let them succeed.

If she wanted them to give up on this marriage, she had to show them an even greater benefit.

Whether or not they could actually obtain that benefit was another matter.

And as it happened, she knew of such a greater benefit. Coincidentally, it was also a marriage.

In her previous life, they had often lured her with false promises. This time, it was her turn to bait them—with a promise so grand it would choke them.

“Dad, I can’t accept this marriage, because Grandfather already arranged one for me long ago.”

“With the Huo family of Beijing.”