Chapter 5: Given a Second Chance, She Absolutely Would Not Marry Lu Qinglin

The Su family’s house wasn’t big—three bedrooms and a living room. Su Tangxue had one room to herself, Lu Yulong had his own, and Ning Honglian shared a room with Li Chuchun.

Lu Qinglin and Su Father were chatting in the living room, and Su Tangxue, finding it boring, simply returned to her room.

At first glance, the room was decent—not big, but everything was neatly arranged.

Su Tangxue took stock of what was in the room and then lay down on the bed, contemplating her life.

Perhaps due to all the drama earlier, she felt a bit exhausted. Not long after lying down, she dozed off in a daze and only woke up when Lu Yulong came knocking on her door.

The aroma of chicken soup filled the house. The moment Su Tangxue stepped out of her room, she smelled it.

But rather than focusing on the chicken soup on the table, her eyes were immediately drawn to the figure in a blue cheongsam-style dress.

Su Tangxue curiously examined the heroine.

Pretty features, slim figure—aside from the slightly outdated hairstyle, there wasn’t much to criticize.

No wonder she became the female lead!

Ning Honglian seemed to sense Su Tangxue’s gaze. Her hand, which had been setting down bowls and chopsticks, paused. She looked up and offered an awkward smile.

But the moment she lowered her head, a dangerous glint flashed in her eyes.

Just now, the way Su Tangxue looked at her was different—intensely probing.

But it didn’t matter. As long as her plan succeeded, that’s all that mattered.

In this life, as long as she didn’t end up marrying Lu Qinglin, she’d be fine.

In her past life, she had married Lu Qinglin and followed him to the countryside. She lived there for two years, toiling in the fields and dutifully serving his grandmother. On top of that, she had to endure the gossip of others.

She had thought that if she could hold on until Lu Qinglin brought her to live with the military, things would improve.

But to her dismay, soon after they arrived at the base and before they could even build any emotional connection, Lu Qinglin was injured during a mission. The injury affected him fundamentally—he could no longer perform as a husband, nor could he father children.

At first, Ning Honglian didn’t mind, thinking that as long as he truly loved her, it was enough.

But a few years passed, and a marriage without physical intimacy made her deeply frustrated and emotionally drained. Other military wives at the base constantly made fun of her behind her back, genuinely despising her.

No matter how capable or talented she was, they always used this one thing to belittle her.

In this era, every family prized having lots of children—“many kids, much fortune.” Even Ning Honglian believed in having a large brood.

When she corresponded with her mother and learned that Su Tangxue had given birth to three sons in five years—and was pregnant again with a fourth boy—Ning Honglian was driven mad with jealousy.

Later, when the country opened up to business opportunities, Liu Zhipeng took Su Tangxue and their five children to settle in the capital.

All five children turned out exceptional, holding prominent roles in the military, government, and business sectors.

Su Tangxue had completely won at life.

In comparison, what about herself?

Lu Qinglin’s health deteriorated from years of missions, and he passed away before even turning thirty, leaving Ning Honglian alone and desolate, her final years spent in a nursing home.

Why did Su Tangxue get to throw away a burden like Lu Qinglin onto her, then go on to enjoy family bliss?

Why?

It was so unfair… completely unfair.

So she was unwilling. If she had a second chance, she would never marry Lu Qinglin.

The karma Su Tangxue created should be borne by Su Tangxue herself. Only then would it be fair.

Perhaps the heavens had also pitied her injustice. After her death, she woke up and found herself back to a month before Su Tangxue’s arranged date with Lu Qinglin.

After her initial joy, she quickly wrote a letter to ask Lu Qinglin to change the date of his home visit.

She then leveraged Su Tangxue’s prideful nature, prompting Zhao Xinghua to casually mention how great it was that Zhao Xiaoju married a soldier. Hearing that would surely make Su Tangxue feel competitive. Even today, when Lu Qinglin came over, she “accidentally” let Su Tangxue overhear her and her mother’s conversation, revealing that Lu Qinglin was a military officer and subtly brought up the idea of “latching onto a man.”

And unexpectedly, it worked—Su Tangxue had actually kissed Lu Qinglin on the street this afternoon and got rejected.

Not only did Su Tangxue’s reputation get ruined, but Ning Honglian’s wish was also fulfilled. Two birds with one stone.

Now Su Tangxue couldn’t escape—even if she didn’t want to marry, she’d have to.

As long as Ning Honglian married Liu Zhipeng in this life, she could completely escape her tragic past and become the mother of the wealthiest family in the future. Just thinking about it made her ecstatic.

Su Tangxue sat on the sofa, watching Ning Honglian smiling to herself. She had no idea what the girl was smiling about or what schemes were running through her head.

“Xiaoxue, go get that bottle of wine I’ve been saving—I want to have a drink with Qinglin tonight,” Lu Yulong said to her.

Su Tangxue turned to ask where the wine was, but accidentally locked eyes with Lu Qinglin’s piercing gaze. She immediately shut up and turned away to look for it.

Lu Qinglin had just been chatting happily with her father, yet now he was glaring at her? That annoyed Su Tangxue.

So he blamed her alone for what happened back then?

But the original Su Tangxue was innocent too! Based on the memories she inherited, that’s exactly how it went.

Following the fuzzy memories, Su Tangxue found the wine her father had hidden and brought two clean wine glasses with it.

She thought her job was done and was about to leave, but her father pressed her down beside him.

Now, she was just one seat away from Lu Qinglin. Every time she lifted her head to get food, their eyes would meet.

Su Tangxue found this exhausting, so she stopped avoiding him and began to eat confidently and openly.

So what if Lu Qinglin blamed her? One day, when the truth came out, he’d be the one regretting it.

In that moment, Su Tangxue wasn’t afraid of him anymore—in fact, she even looked forward to the day Lu Qinglin would get slapped in the face by reality.

“Xiaoxue, what are you grinning about? Hurry up and eat—chicken soup isn’t as good once it’s cold.”

Lu Yulong turned and looked helplessly at his giggling daughter, gently reminding her.

Lu Qinglin also looked over at her upon hearing the voice.

Su Tangxue bit into her drumstick and looked up slightly, just in time to see Lu Qinglin watching her. She quickly wiped the smile off her lips and focused on eating.

Tonight’s meal was quite a feast. Based on the original Su Tangxue’s memories, it was one of the better ones she’d had.

There was chicken soup, cold cucumber salad, stir-fried greens, and even a plate of fried peanuts.

In high spirits, Su Tangxue drank two bowls of soup. The chicken in this era was true free-range poultry—rich flavor, deliciously aromatic. One bowl wasn’t enough; she wanted another.

Meanwhile, Ning Honglian wasn’t feeling great.

From the moment they sat down, Su Tangxue and Lu Qinglin had been exchanging glances nonstop.

Even if she had no plans to choose Lu Qinglin in this life, they had been husband and wife in the past. Seeing Lu Qinglin act this way toward another woman in front of her left her feeling upset.

But then she remembered the resentment between Lu Qinglin and Su Tangxue, and her mood lightened a bit—she even felt a bit schadenfreude.

The person who killed his father—how could Lu Qinglin ever like her?

Besides, there was still a troublesome woman in Lu Qinglin’s hometown who liked him. Life for Su Tangxue and Lu Qinglin in the countryside wouldn’t be pleasant.

This time, Su Tangxue’s good days were coming to an end.

Thinking of this, Ning Honglian felt immensely satisfied.

Meanwhile, Li Chuchun, quietly eating on the side, had her own thoughts. She was pondering when to talk to Lu Yulong about arranging Ning Honglian’s marriage to Lu Qinglin.

But just as she was hesitating, Lu Yulong suddenly announced—he was going to marry Su Tangxue to Lu Qinglin.

The news completely caught Li Chuchun off guard.