Chapter 2: Only Ever Make One Mistake in a Lifetime

Ye Siran’s sudden change left He Hongwen completely bewildered, accompanied by a vague, indescribable fear that made his heart pound uncontrollably.

Every beat of his heart felt like being gnawed by ants, making him truly experience what “heart-wrenching” pain meant.

He closed his eyes, too weak to leap out the window to chase Ye Siran, and could only lie on the ground, enduring the sensation of those gnawing ants.

Ye Siran hurried home to change clothes, but ran into her half-brother at the corner.

“Second sister, weren’t you at home cooking? How come you’re back from outside?” Ye Weiguo asked sharply.

“I went out to throw away the trash. Where were you rushing off to?”

“Eldest sister said there’s a mouse in your room. She’s really scared and asked me to call some aunts from the tube-shaped building to help catch it.”

Ten-year-old Ye Weiguo ran off immediately after speaking, and there were still over ten minutes until the end of work.

No wonder, in her past life, she and He Hongwen had been watched by a crowd of aunts.

It turned out it wasn’t a coincidence—all of it had been deliberately orchestrated by her stepsister. In her previous life, her suffocating experiences weren’t unjustified.

Ye Ruyue, as expected of a capitalist’s daughter, was not only smart but also scheming and ruthless.

She would go so far as to use a man as outstanding as He Hongwen to secure her own future.

But what Ye Ruyue never expected in her dreams was that He Hongwen, who was supposed to call off their engagement and marry her, would resign himself and marry Ye Siran instead.

In her past life, Ye Ruyue succeeded in her schemes to secure a notice from the University of Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers, and Ye Siran successfully married the man she had secretly loved. Ye Ruyue was sincerely grateful.

It wasn’t surprising that she “worshipped” him for thirty years—because after marriage, He Hongwen had appeared to be a good husband.

His care and love weren’t fake, but that was all on the condition that Ye Ruyue wasn’t involved.

Ye Siran took a deep breath. After the sharp pain in her chest passed, a wave of relief swept over her.

Years of favoritism in her past life had exhausted her capacity to love. In this reborn life, she only wanted to do something meaningful.

Her family’s front door was wide open. She went inside and took down the drying clothes from the bamboo pole in the yard, intending to go to her room to change.

After so many years, she had forgotten that she and Ye Ruyue shared the same room. Just as she was about to turn, she saw Ye Ruyue peeking at her from the doorway.

Fueled by a strong sense of indignation, Ye Siran quickly strode forward. She saw Ye Ruyue just inserting the key into the lock.

Ye Siran suddenly moved forward, twisted the key in one smooth motion, pushed Ye Ruyue inside, and closed the door—an effortless sequence of actions.

Soon, many people would come to watch, and the man inside should have reached his limit.

It didn’t matter that the person entering now was the one he had been longing for; even if it had been a sow, a man wouldn’t let the opportunity pass.

After finishing all this, Ye Siran went to her brother Ye Weiguo’s room to change clothes, then went to the kitchen to start cooking.

It wasn’t that she wanted to prepare meals for her stepfather and biological mother—it was that she herself was hungry and needed hot food to calm her nerves.

Although her upbringing had taught her that no work meant no food, she had been reborn and no longer needed to endure.

Her biological mother favored Ye Ruyue and Ye Weiguo, and her stepfather turned a blind eye—but the meat and vegetables she ate were no less than theirs.

Before the dishes were fully served, she would secretly eat her share, which was also why she enjoyed cooking and washing dishes.

Not long after, Ye Weiguo returned with a group of aunts, followed by several elderly women, heading straight for their room.

Watching their retreating backs, Ye Siran thought to herself: Ye Ruyue, He Hongwen, in this life, I’ll make it happen for you.

She wanted to see, without herself being a doormat, whether the pair who once admired each other as “suffering lovebirds” would still love each other in this life as they did in the last.

In her previous life, Ye Ruyue had studied nursing at university and, after graduation, worked at the same hospital as He Hongwen.

Beautiful and educated, Ye Ruyue married well, though their first child was a daughter.

Whether it was He Hongwen or her own mother orchestrating it, they ensured Ye Ruyue had a happier life in her marital home.

They even secretly swapped children, giving their son to Ye Ruyue while her own daughter—the one she had raised with difficulty—was officially recognized as Ye Ruyue’s.

If Ye Ruyue’s daughter hadn’t insisted on marrying her own biological son and she hadn’t threatened divorce, He Hongwen wouldn’t have had to reveal the truth. Upon hearing it, she coughed up several mouthfuls of blood in anger.

In her final moments, she even heard He Hongwen puzzled: “Ranran, in my whole life I only ever did one thing wrong to you. Can’t you be more magnanimous?”

That single, decades-heard “magnanimous” crushed her and hastened her death.

In her dying moments, she realized that her previous life had been a joke.

He Hongwen was close to their son—she was jealous and brooded silently. Her mother-in-law was close to their son—she felt guilty for not helping bear a grandson.

Her daughter grew up cold toward her but reliant on Ye Ruyue, even arguing with her for Ye Ruyue’s sake.

Everything had a reason.

The reason was simple: everyone knew who the biological parents were—except her.

She had spent her life feeling inferior for not bearing a son, working herself to exhaustion to repay the He family’s “generosity”…

Inside the room, just as Ye Siran had guessed, He Hongwen could no longer restrain himself and lunged at Ye Ruyue the moment he saw her.

“Hongwen, are you crazy? We’re still on the floor…” Ye Ruyue stared in terror at the man gone mad.

The only answer she received was the ripping of clothes and a man acting on desire without restraint…

Ye Ruyue had dreamed of marrying He Hongwen, but the He family was no ordinary high-status household.

If it weren’t for Ye Siran’s father saving Uncle He, she would never have met He’s second son.

Her stepmother treated her better than her own daughter. Last year, the He family allocated her biological daughter a spot in the textile factory, but her stepmother boldly gave it to Ye Siran instead.

Every day, Ye Siran cooked for the family, washed their clothes, and worried about being sent to the countryside at eighteen.

At a time when she was proud, Uncle He gave her a university placement.

This was outrageous!

She already had a job. If she were forced to take it, her stepmother might allow it, but her reputation would suffer.

So she devised a perfect plan: make He Hongwen have “something happen” with Ye Siran, so everyone would see.

On the day of He Hongwen’s engagement, he had wanted to call it off and marry Ye Ruyue, but Uncle He had refused. She knew she couldn’t marry into the He family.

Then scheming to secure Ye Siran’s university placement would at least benefit her!

She didn’t want to spend her life as a textile worker; she wanted to go to university. Being a female worker made it hard to marry into a high-status family.

If she could improve herself while making He Hongwen feel guilty toward her, he would be devoted to her for life.

He Hongwen liked her so much—he wouldn’t marry that fool even if he had an affair with Ye Siran!

Even if he ultimately married Ye Siran, he would only feel guilty toward her, since he had once ruined her reputation.

Ye Siran would feel grateful to her. No matter how it played out, she would benefit—so she conceived this scheme.