In her past life, how heartless and ruthless she must have been to constantly sacrifice the interests of her family who were so good to her just to please Wen Zhqing.
In her past life, after she was pulled out of the river, her elder brother compromised.
Later, she married Wen Zhqing as she wished, but that was the beginning of her nightmare.
Because she jumped into the river in the cold winter, she developed infertility issues. Out of guilt for not giving Wen Zhqing a child, she constantly sacrificed her family's and her own interests to help Wen Zhqing.
For Wen Zhqing, her family was almost destroyed. Her elder brother and sister-in-law became a resentful couple, her second brother went to prison, her second sister-in-law died in childbirth, her third brother's college admission spot was taken, leaving his eyes devoid of light, and her parents died miserably searching for her.
And Wen Zhqing, after draining her family of their value, disguised her as missing, continuously passing her to others, using her beauty to exchange for his benefits. Eventually, to marry a rich, beautiful wife smoothly, he arranged for her to die in a fire.
Yao Chunhua, Old Gu, and others had never seen their daughter cry so bitterly. For this daughter they cherished since childhood, everyone in the Gu Family held her as dearly as their own eyes, unwilling to let her do any chores, always thinking of giving her the best.
Now seeing her cry like this, their hearts ached with concern, gently patting her back to comfort her.
"Don't cry, Ning girl, don't cry."
"Come, drink some chicken soup first, and have a good rest."
"In the future, whatever happens, we can discuss it as a family. Don't do anything foolish again."
After a long time, Gu Jia Ning finally calmed down and only after being personally fed a bowl of chicken soup by her mother, did she lie down.
"Have a good sleep. We'll call you when it's time to take medicine."
After making sure the quilt was properly tucked, Yao Chunhua left with the rest of the Gu family, gently closing the door.
Gu Jia Ning was left alone in the room.
With red-rimmed eyes from crying, her eyes were filled with relief.
Gu Jia Ning never expected that she would actually be reborn, and back to the point in her past life where she jumped into the river to convince her brother to transfer his job to Wen Zhqing.
Gu Jia Ning recalled that in her past life, right before she was nearly burned to death, she saw a dark green figure recklessly rushing into the fire, anxiously shouting her name.
After death, Gu Jia Ning's soul saw that the person who rushed to her was someone she had long forgotten—Sheng Zexi.
Following Sheng Zexi, she realized that when they first met, Sheng Zexi, then just a camp commander, was now highly ranked and authoritative.
Listening to Sheng Zexi's narratives, she learned that on the day she jumped into the river, Sheng Zexi had sent a matchmaker to the Gu family, but unfortunately, they encountered the river incident, and the whole village was buzzing about her and Wen Zhqing.
The matchmaker, thinking her heart belonged to someone else, returned without even entering, refusing Sheng Zexi.
Sheng Zexi left, and by the time he returned, she had already married Wen Zhqing.
Sheng Zexi was heartbroken and remained unmarried all these years.
Gu Jia Ning saw that Sheng Zexi, who saved her from the fire, had suffered multiple burns, especially on his half face disfigured, yet even with old age, he remained handsome. Unfortunately, even after saving her, she still died. Sheng Zexi arranged her funeral and used powerful means to retaliate against Wen Zhqing, bringing him down harshly.
Until he passed away from old injuries at fifty, his sole will was to be buried with her...
At that time, Gu Jia Ning thought, although Sheng Zexi was arrogant and sharp-tongued, if given another chance, she would be willing to try with him, as it was better than the wolf in sheep's clothing, Wen Zhqing.
Unexpectedly, her wish came true.
In her past life after her death, Sheng Zexi did many good deeds in her name, accumulating much merit. In addition, her regret and strong desire to have a child attracted the Childbirth System, which bound her soul to it, bringing her back to the present.
Perhaps due to exhaustion from the river and excessive sorrow just released, Gu Jia Ning was extremely tired at this moment. Snuggled in the warm bed, her eyelids grew heavy and she fell asleep.
The last thought before sleeping was wondering if the matchmaker would refuse Sheng Zexi again this time.
[Rest assured, host, have a good rest for now, the matchmaker surely won't refuse directly.] As the mechanical voice echoed in her mind, Gu Jia Ning had already fallen into deep sleep.
The matchmaker remembered by Gu Jia Ning placed Sheng Zexi's gifts in the Gu family home, then noticing the family was busy tending to Gu Jia Ning and had no time for her, she bid farewell and left.
Now she was walking out of Huaihua Village, spotting a green jeep parked on the roadside in the distance, leaning against which was a tall man in a dark green military uniform, a cigarette in his mouth, quickly hastening her steps.
"Officer Sheng," the matchmaker raised her hand in greeting.
Lowering his eyes to his watch, the man, who was lazily drooping his eyes, suddenly raised his head. His facial features were distinct, eyes dark, face sharp and fierce, sword-like eyebrows slightly raised, looking a bit rebellious. His chin line was perfect and smooth, standing about 1.9 meters tall, with a large and slender build. His back was straight, his belt outlined his slender waist, and below, a pair of long legs wrapped tightly, elongated and straight.
Upon closer look, the man's collar was slightly open, appearing somewhat lazy and relaxed.
Seeing it was Wu, the matchmaker he sent to the Gu family for the proposal, he quickly stood up straight, extinguished his cigarette, tucked away his laziness, pressed his lips with a slightly more serious expression, and took large strides forward with a pace hinting of urgency he himself was unaware of.
"Aunt Wu, how did it go?" His voice was low and magnetic.
The matchmaker, yet to catch her breath, scrutinized Sheng Zexi, mumbling in her mind that this Officer Sheng seemed to have his heart set on that girl from the Gu family, unsure if it was worth it.
She didn't keep him guessing, saying, "She agreed, but..."
Seeing the matchmaker hesitate to speak, Sheng Zexi, whose heart had just started to swell with joy, furrowed his brows, "Is there something else?"
The matchmaker hesitated for a moment, but eventually told him about the rumors heard in Huaihua Village—how Gu Jia Ning liked Wen Zhiqing, and even jumped into the river to convince her elder brother to give up his job to Wen Zhiqing.
"… When I arrived, the young girl had just been pulled out of the river. Somehow she later agreed to meet with you, but everyone in the village knows about her feelings for Wen Zhiqing. I reckon it's true. But specifically, it still depends on comrade officer's personal judgment."
The moment she stopped speaking, the matchmaker saw the man's previously raised brows swiftly lower, showing some coldness, a sarcastic curve forming at his lips, "That foolish girl, is she blind or brain-addled to fancy a Zhiqing, and jump into the river for him, is her brainwater not enough yet?"
The matchmaker:… This officer may be handsome, but he's mouth is too sharp. If the girl were in front of him, she'd definitely be scolded to tears.
"So Officer Sheng, are you still meeting tomorrow?" The matchmaker cautiously asked.
"Yes, of course. I will pick you up tomorrow."
"That's great then."
With a confirmed response, the matchmaker left at ease, smiling pleasantly.
Sheng Zexi raised a leg, effortlessly getting in the car. His dark eyes gravely gazed in the direction of Huaihua Village, placing a hand on the steering wheel. Just as he started the engine, recalling something, he turned the wheel, making a 180-degree rotation heading into town. The dust at the back of the car rose slightly urgent, and soon, the car disappeared from view.