Chapter 5 – Dreaming of Her Own Future

Li Yunmei stepped into the room and saw Song Kexia lying on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. She walked over quietly and spoke in a soft, coaxing tone.

“Don’t blame your elder and second brothers for speaking harshly. Why did you have to hit Leyi for no reason? You’re all siblings in one family—you should be helping each other, not fighting. No wonder they’re upset with you.”

Song Kexia lay there without moving a muscle, not even shifting her eyes. They had already shown their bias to the point it was laughable—whatever they said now was meaningless.

Seeing her keep silent for so long, Li Yunmei felt her irritation rise. But remembering the matter she was about to bring up, she forced herself to swallow her temper.

“You’re not so young anymore—you should understand these things. Have you heard of Director Zhao from the steel plant? He’s only thirty and already a deputy director. Not only is his job impressive, but he’s tall and handsome too. Tomorrow, you’re going to meet him at the teahouse.”

Song Kexia’s heart skipped a beat and she instantly sat up.
“What Director Zhao? You mean Zhao Yinqiu?”

“You know him? That’s perfect. Tomorrow, dress up nicely and have a good chat with him.”

Her blood seemed to freeze in her veins. In the dream she had, Zhao Yinqiu was her husband. His conditions were indeed excellent—deputy director now and destined for higher positions later. But at present, he was divorced with a son and a daughter. If she married him, she’d be their stepmother.

Worse still, Zhao Yinqiu had an extremely possessive nature. After their forced marriage, he made her quit her job to stay home with the children. Later, he became even more controlling—refusing to let her interact with outsiders, and when he went to work, he locked her in the room.

Her ten years with him had been like a prison sentence. Only when he died in a car accident did she finally gain her freedom.

She had once thought that dream was just a nightmare—yet here was Zhao Yinqiu, real and standing in her path.

The reason Li Yunmei was pushing her toward this pit of fire was that Zhao Yinqiu could help Song Zhengli get into the army. Last year, Song Zhengli applied to enlist but failed the physical exam. For the sake of his future, they had chosen to sacrifice her.

No—truthfully, when they forced her to give up her acceptance letter, she had already been abandoned. She had simply been foolish enough to believe these were family members who cared for her.

“I understand,” she said flatly.

Li Yunmei’s eyes lit up. “So you agree?”

Song Kexia looked at her with cold indifference. “If I didn’t agree, wouldn’t you just force me anyway?”

The words startled Li Yunmei. Tonight, this girl seemed different—her words sharp, barbed. Meeting her gaze, which seemed to pierce straight through her, Li Yunmei suddenly felt a flicker of guilt and hurriedly stood up.

“Good. Just dress nicely tomorrow.”

“You’re not giving me a photo—how will I know which one is Zhao Yinqiu?”

“No need for a photo. He’s seen you before… he’ll recognize you for sure.”

Had Zhao Yinqiu seen her before? She had no memory of it at all. She searched her mind but came up empty.

Forget it—she was going to the matchmaking meeting anyway. Not just to go—she was going to ruin it. With Zhao Yinqiu’s petty nature, once she offended him, he’d never let the Song family off. And after how they schemed against her, it would serve them right.

Li Yunmei had barely left when the door opened again. Song Leyi entered, wiping her tears.

Kexia only gave her a glance before looking away.

“Elder sister, I know you’re angry at me, but you’ve really misunderstood—”

“Shut up,” Song Kexia snapped sharply. “You know exactly what kind of person you are. No need to put on an act for me.”

“Elder sister…”

Ignoring her, Song Kexia got out of bed, took clothes from the wardrobe, and headed for the bathroom. More than half of the wardrobe space had been taken over by Song Leyi, with Kexia’s clothes crammed into a corner.

There were three bedrooms in the house: one for Song Jianshe and Li Yunmei, one for Song Zhengyu and his wife, and one for Song Zhengli. After Song Leyi returned to the family, she had been made to share a room with Kexia.

At first, Leyi had been polite, never touching Kexia’s things. But within two months, she had taken over most of the space.

Kexia took a deep breath. In any case, she wouldn’t be in this house much longer. She carried her clothes to the bathroom.

There was only one bathroom in the house, so anyone wanting to bathe had to queue. By this time, past eleven, everyone who needed a bath had already finished.

Undressing, Kexia noticed red marks on both sides of her waist. Her skin was pale, making the marks stand out starkly. Just how much force had that man used?

Thinking of him brought back the memory of his hot breath on her neck, his heavy breathing—

She shook her head quickly, forcing the thoughts away. Tomorrow she needed to go to the hospital. She loved children, but she wasn’t married yet—having one now was out of the question. Medicine was strictly regulated these days; to get contraceptives, she’d have to go through the hospital.

She didn’t even know if they would give them to her.

After her shower, she hung her clothes in the hallway to dry and returned to the room. Song Leyi was already asleep.

Perhaps because the drug’s effects hadn’t completely worn off, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

And then she dreamed again.

This time, she saw her entire life—more vivid than the brief dream she’d had earlier that night.

After her incident with Qin Muye was discovered, everyone had accused her of being indecent—even though nothing had happened between them. Later, Qin Muye came to propose marriage, but Li Yunmei turned him down on her behalf, instead marrying her off to Zhao Yinqiu.

Then, she introduced her own niece to Qin Muye. For some reason, Qin Muye refused.

Song Leyi took her place at university, attending the same school as Jiang Qinghan—a man she had fallen for at first sight. Their relationship blossomed over four years, and they married right after graduation.

Jiang Qinghan’s father eventually became county magistrate, and with his influence, Leyi and Jiang Qinghan’s lives grew better and better until they became famous wealthy figures in China.

Lin Siming, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. Though he liked Leyi, she only used him, discarding him once he was no longer useful. He eventually married someone else, but after his factory went bankrupt, he lost his job and could only do odd jobs to survive.

But her own fate was worse still.

From the moment she married Zhao Yinqiu, she had never known a day’s peace. He made her quit her job to care for his two children, forbade her from speaking to men, and beat her if she did.

As his suspicion grew, he began locking her in the house, not letting her step outside. She tried asking Song Jianshe and Li Yunmei for help, but as Zhao Yinqiu’s position rose and he brought them more benefits, they ignored her suffering. Li Yunmei even told her to just endure it and not anger him.

She endured ten years—until Zhao Yinqiu died in a car accident.

With nowhere to go, she was found by her birth parents. She thought she could finally live a quiet life, but fate was cruel.

One of Leyi’s old classmates happened to come to Feng County, accidentally learning her real name and suspecting she had stolen her place at university. When Leyi heard of this, she rushed home to discuss a countermeasure with the Song family.

Song Zhengyu, who adored Leyi, came up with a plan—have her hire someone to abduct Kexia and sell her to a remote mountain village.

The place was isolated and poor, its people strict in keeping her from escaping.

Alone and hopeless, she endured for five years—until grief and despair consumed her life entirely.