Chapter 1: Death for Love, Rebirth

Su Zhiyi is dead.

She had died from her own blindness and foolishness.

Deceived and lured by a scumbag man and a vile woman.

Beaten savagely, and finally smashing her head against a large stone—meeting a tragic end.

She had died in the year when Lu Hanchuan clearly loved her deeply, but never once admitted it aloud.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

In a quiet cemetery, an elderly man with a full head of silver hair sat silently in front of a gravestone.

Buried there was the love of his life.

His face was ashen, lifeless.

His bloodshot eyes looked as if they might bleed at any moment.

After a while, a hoarse voice laced with age and pain sounded: “Zhizhi, I’m sorry. I broke my promise. I couldn’t stop myself from coming to see you.”

Then, he curled his lips slightly, revealing a bitter smile. “Zhizhi, loving you is really exhausting. If there is a next life, let it be you who loves me, alright?”

But the only response was the howling of the wind.

After a long silence, he finally gathered his courage, crouched halfway down, and gently reached out to stroke the cold gravestone, as if he were touching a fragile treasure.

“I’ll come find you now…to be with you… okay?” After speaking, he chuckled at himself.

“I forgot again—you hate me. You don’t like me, and don’t want to see me anymore.” A heartbroken sob rose from deep in his throat.

It took a long time before he spoke again, his aged voice filled with a desperate plea:

“Please, don’t push me away again.”

Then he swiftly drew a military knife—and stabbed it fiercely into his own chest!

“No!”

With a loud cry, the young girl on the bed suddenly sat up.

Hiss—an intense headache struck her, and a joyful voice rang in her ears:

“Aiyo, my dear Zhizhi, you’re finally awake! You scared Mom to death!”

Then she fell into a warm embrace.

Su Zhiyi finally came to her senses, staring in shock at her youthful parents before her, unable to react for a long time as tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.

At that moment, her eldest brother Su Junyi looked at his tear-streaked, dazed little sister and waved his hand in front of her eyes.

He then turned to Father Su and said: “Dad, how about we call off this engagement?”

Just as his words fell, an angry voice sounded: “Nonsense! Regiment Commander Lu injured his leg saving you! We can’t be ungrateful!”

Hearing Father Su’s words, a surge of joy rose in Su Zhiyi’s heart.

This was great. In her previous life, at this very moment, she hadn’t yet done anything to hurt Lu Hanchuan. Everything could still be changed.

As soon as Father Su finished speaking, conflicted expressions appeared on Mother Su and Su Junyi’s faces—especially Su Junyi.

After thinking for a moment, he looked troubled and said,

“But Hanchuan’s leg…Forget it! I can’t drag Zhizhi into this! I’ll find a way to repay this life-saving debt myself!”

Before Father Su could react, he stood up and walked quickly outside.

As he walked, he called out: “I’m going to call Aunt Lu right now!”

Just as Father Su was about to open his mouth to scold him—

Su Zhiyi quickly spoke up: “Dad, I’ll marry him!”

The moment her words fell, the whole family turned to look at her in surprise.

Mother Su softly asked: “Zhizhi, have you really thought it through?”

Upon hearing this, Su Zhiyi immediately nodded seriously. “Yes, Mom, I’ve thought it through. I’m willing to marry Lu Hanchuan. I believe his leg will definitely recover completely. Besides, with his abilities, even if he really leaves the army, he’ll surely make a name for himself somewhere else!”

“Good, good, good! That’s my good daughter. Marrying Hanchuan is the best decision.” Father Su’s voice was full of comfort and pride.

Lu Hanchuan was not only Su Junyi’s direct superior but also his closest brother-in-arms—someone he could entrust his life to without hesitation.

Su Junyi had often spoken to them about Lu Hanchuan.

So both Father Su and Mother Su were very satisfied with Lu Hanchuan.

At this moment, Su Junyi also looked very pleased with himself.

“Of course! Hanchuan is a hundred times better than that damned educated youth! He doesn’t even come clo— Ow!”

He rubbed his shoulder where he’d been smacked and looked in confusion at Mother Su beside him.

“You little rascal, what nonsense are you spouting?” Mother Su glared at him with widened eyes.

Only then did Su Junyi realize and put on a fawning smile.

“Alright, alright, I know I was wrong. Don’t be mad, Mom. Or else you’ll start getting wrinkles.” After saying that, he quickly darted out of the room.

Mother Su couldn’t help but laugh and scold,

“This little rascal.”

Then Father Su spoke. “Alright, go make something for Zhizhi to eat. It’s been so long—she must be hungry.”

Hearing that, Mother Su slapped her own forehead. “Aiyo, look at my memory! Zhizhi, wait just a moment, Mom will go make you something to eat right now.”

Su Zhiyi happily nodded. “Okay, Mom. I want your homemade da lu mian.”

“Got it! Mom will go make it right now.” Mother Su responded with a cheerful smile, then turned and quickly left the room to prepare the noodles.

As soon as she stepped out, Father Su’s expression turned solemn. He looked at Su Zhiyi and asked, “Zhizhi, did you really fall into the water by yourself this time…?”

“No, Dad! It was Su Wenjing—she took me to the little riverbank. She told me that if I wanted to get rid of Lu Hanchuan and be with Lin Zhiqing, the only way to make you all agree was to threaten you with death. I told her I wouldn’t do something like that, but who would’ve thought—when I let my guard down, she pushed me into the river! My head hit a big rock at the bottom. If my brother hadn’t pulled me out in time, I probably would’ve…”

With every sentence Su Zhiyi spoke, Father Su’s face grew darker with fury. By the time she finished speaking, his anger had reached its peak. He immediately stood up and stormed out of the room.

Watching her father’s furious figure leave, Su Zhiyi couldn’t help but call out in panic: “Dad, please don’t be impulsive!”

That entire despicable family wasn’t even worth dirtying her father’s hands.

Hearing her words, Father Su paused in place and responded without turning his head, trying to comfort her: “Zhizhi, don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.” With that, he strode away.

Watching Father Su’s figure disappear from view, Su Zhiyi lay back on the bed, exhausted.

Her mind was filled with the events of her past life.

In her previous life, after she jumped into the river, Father Su had disregarded her will and forcibly sent her to Yuncheng to marry Lu Hanchuan.

At that time, all Su Zhiyi felt toward them was seething resentment.

Lu Hanchuan was a cold and inarticulate man. Even though he cared deeply for her and loved her to the point of obsession, he never once showed it.

After marrying him, although all the housework was done by the maids and she didn’t have to lift a finger, she still made a constant fuss, stirring up drama every day, never showing a single smile.

She spoke harshly to Lu Hanchuan, never letting him get even the slightest bit close.

Wherever she was, she forbade Lu Hanchuan from appearing.

She even refused to share the same room with him.

Yet no one in the Lu family ever blamed her. Instead, for Lu Hanchuan’s sake, they tolerated her and accommodated her every day.

Because, by that time, Su Zhiyi had already been etched deeply into Lu Hanchuan’s very bones.

To be precise, from the moment he saw her photo at Su Junyi’s place—just one glance—this girl named Su Zhiyi had taken root in his heart.

Later, when he injured his leg while saving Su Junyi, Su Junyi felt responsible.

Fearing that if Lu Hanchuan’s leg didn’t heal properly and left him disabled for life, he would never find a good wife, Su Junyi decided to marry off his delicate and soft little sister Su Zhiyi to him.

Just because he could see, deep in Lu Hanchuan’s eyes, the strong affection he had for his little sister.

But when he shared this decision with Lu Hanchuan, it was met with firm resistance.

Because Lu Hanchuan didn’t want to burden Su Zhiyi with his crippled body.

However, Mother Lu, being a mother who loved her son dearly, repeatedly promised that if Su Zhiyi married into the Lu family, they would treat her well and never let her suffer even a bit.

As a mother, how could she not see that Lu Hanchuan’s resistance came from his care for Su Zhiyi? He didn’t want her to marry a disabled man and be tied down by him for life.

Eventually, the Su family was moved by Mother Lu’s sincerity.

Moreover, Su Junyi was certain that Lu Hanchuan would cherish and protect Su Zhiyi with his very life.

So in the end, Su Zhiyi still married Lu Hanchuan.

But ultimately, Su Zhiyi forced a divorce from Lu Hanchuan by threatening death—and soon after, left Yuncheng with that Lin Zhiqing.

Even after she left, the Lu family never blamed her—not even a little.

Instead, they tried to comfort Father Su and Mother Su, asking them not to blame Su Zhiyi either.

She had thought she was running toward the happiness and sweetness she had long yearned for—only to realize too late that she was stepping straight into a path leading to hell.