"Xiao Nian, Xiao Nian, it's time to get up."
In a daze, Shen Nian thought she heard a familiar voice calling her name.
She slowly opened her eyes. The sunlight was dazzling; it was a beautiful day.
She closed her eyes in satisfaction, but just a moment later, they snapped open again. She shot upright, her eyes wide with shock.
'How could this be! How could I possibly wake up again, feel the sunlight, and hear someone calling my name!'
'Didn't I die in that explosion? My soul wandered the earth until it finally faded into nothingness, right?'
'What in the world is going on?'
Shen Nian stumbled out of bed and walked to the largest mirror in the room.
Gazing at her much younger reflection, Shen Nian's face filled with astonishment.
'This... this is clearly me as a young girl. This is me before I endured so much suffering, before I experienced such a tragic death.'
Her face was free of wrinkles, her skin dewy and moist. Her hands weren't withered or calloused; they were fair and soft.
This room was also decorated just as it had been when she was a girl.
Shen Nian covered her mouth in disbelief. 'Could it be? Have I returned to the past?'
'If so, does this mean I have a chance to protect the people I let down? A chance to properly repay them?'
The moment the thought surfaced, Shen Nian's eyes couldn't help but redden.
'I have another chance. This is wonderful, truly wonderful!'
Shen Nian remembered the voice she had just heard. It was her mother, Miao Cuifen. Her mother was still alive. She could see her mother again.
'This time, I absolutely, positively will not let them suffer such a miserable fate again!'
After composing herself and getting ready, Shen Nian was eager to see her parents, to see the relatives she had abandoned for so long.
Just as she opened her bedroom door, Shen Nian heard her parents' voices.
"Jian Country, do you think we made a mistake, forcing our daughter to get married? Xiao Nian is so against this marriage."
"There was no other way. Have you forgotten? The fortune teller who read Xiao Nian's fate said she had to marry by eighteen, or she would face a life-threatening disaster! Besides, the Lu Family is a rare and wonderful family, and their boy is someone she can entrust her life to. We can rest easy with her married to him!"
"Sigh... I hope Xiao Nian can understand. I'll go talk to her again in a bit. I don't want to part with our daughter either, but it's not proper for her to come back and live with us right after getting married."
"Talk to her gently. Explain it to her clearly. Feelings can be cultivated over time. The Lu boy may be a bit older than Xiao Nian, but he's a very good person. What's more, he's the one who asked for this marriage. He must really like our Xiao Nian."
Standing at the door, listening to her parents' words, Shen Nian's eyes were already brimming with hot tears.
She remembered now. Back then, her parents had forced her to marry. The wedding had just ended when Lu Cheng received an urgent assignment from his company and had to leave home.
And she, in turn, had run back to her maiden home, the Shen family, the very next day. Her mother, Miao Cuifen, had indeed tried to persuade her several times, but back then, brainwashed by Qin Xueling, she was completely infatuated with Yin Yang and had not an ounce of affection for Lu Cheng.
Worse, Qin Xueling had insinuated that the Shen family married her off so early just to get the Lu Family's high bride price, essentially selling their daughter. Because of this, she secretly resented the Shen Family and even had a huge fight with her parents.
It was after that incident that her relationship with her family began to slowly deteriorate until they eventually severed all ties.
But not this time. Shen Nian would absolutely not let the events of her past life repeat themselves.
Besides, she had just overheard the real reason her parents had forced her to marry so early. It wasn't for the bride price at all, but because of a prophecy from a master fortune teller when she was a child.
The reason might seem absurd, but Shen Nian knew it was all because of her parents' love for her.
'Perhaps... in my past life, the great disaster befell me precisely because I ruined my own marriage?'
'What greater disaster is there than death itself!'
And she never knew that her marriage to Lu Cheng was something he had personally requested.
'Lu Cheng... could it be that he started liking me way back then?'
"Xiao Nian, you're up? Why are you crying? What happened?"
Miao Cuifen stood up and saw Shen Nian standing at the door with red eyes. She immediately walked over in concern. Hearing Miao Cuifen's voice, Father Shen, Shen Jian Country, came over as well.
"Dad, Mom."
Seeing Shen Jian Country and Miao Cuifen in front of her, seeing their concerned gazes, Shen Nian couldn't hold back any longer. Tears streamed down her face.