In the VIP ward, the smell of disinfectant pervaded the air.
The woman lying in the bed looked old. Her hair was greying, and she was laboriously inhaling oxygen. Beside her sat a woman in her fifties, holding an old letter, the pages yellowing with age.
"My brother passed away a decade ago. His ashes were spread over the national defence line, not brought back, so there is no tombstone," said Li Yan with calmness.
At her words, Yin Qianqian, lying on the bed, opened her eyes wide in disbelief. She turned to look at Li Yan, "Li... Jingyu!"
"He had stomach cancer. His stomach had always been weak. After being in prison for a few years and then going to the border..." Li Yan choked on her words and couldn't continue. She gripped the letter in her hands tightly, and murderous eyes glared, wishing she could strangle the woman on the bed. "Yin Qianqian, do you know? If it weren't for you, if it weren't for you! My brother, such a remarkable person, should have become a military officer, an authority figure!"
Li Yan's voice was tinged with hysteria.
Yin Qianqian's mind went blank; her whole body Shivering. Li Jingyu is dead? Dead at the border, dead a decade ago... Instinctively, her eyes began to burn, a clear tear rolling out of her turbid eyes.
She wondered why Li Jingyu seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth for more than a decade, without a single news. It turned out that he had been dead, dead a decade ago. Yet these ten years, someone from the Li family still took care of her, never shortfall in her living necessities, allowing her to stay in the luxury hospital ward.
Looking at Yin Qianqian’s reaction, Li Yan laughed at her folly, why was she even speaking to a paralyzed, silly woman? Scolding her yielded nothing; her brother was not coming back.
Li Yan looked at the letter in her hand, and threw it on to the bed, "This is a letter my brother left for you, told me to give it to you before you die. Read it yourself."
After completing her task, Li Yan left the room. The hospital staff said Yin Qianqian had only a few days left. Finally, her brother wouldn't have to wait in the underworld any longer.
Yin Qianqian’s face was streaked with tear stains. She hurriedly inhaled oxygen, trying to pick up the letter, but she couldn't lift her hand. Her chest felt so tight that it was suffocating. The life-supporting device began to sound, drawing medical staff into the room.
Somehow finding the strength, Yin Qianqian grabbed the letter.
She glanced at the words on the letter. The familiar handwriting filled her eyes. His final words to her were, "Yin Qianqian, shall we remarry?"
Beep...the life-supporting device fell silent.
In the end, Yin Qianqian thought, Li Jingyu had fought for her his whole life, only showing weakness this once, and it was only this once that she was willing to acquiesce.
Her head felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
When Yin Qianqian was conscious, her whole body was cold, chilled winds were rushing into her clothes. She shivered.
She moved her legs with difficulty, it hurt, she was taken aback, it's been fifteen years since she last had felt her legs.
"Yin Qianqian! You shameless hussy, get back here!" Just as Yin Qianqian was musing, a sharp female voice rang out behind her.
Startled, Yin Qianqian snapped to attention, fearfully she turned around and stood up, not paying attention she almost slipped down.
She looked down fearfully, below was a cold river illuminated by the moonlight, River of Forgetfulness?
"Yin Qianqian!" A slap flew towards her.
Yin Qianqian was left dumbfounded by the slap, it took her a moment to recover and look fearfully at the person before her, "Mom? Dad!" Standing before her were indeed her parents, and behind them were a few neighbors from their hometown, each holding a torch.
"Yin Qianqian, who taught you to steal!" Xia Xiaoya cried out and slapped at her.
This slap hit Yin Qianqian's shoulder, she was somewhat stunned.
Her parents…weren’t they long dead?
"Qianqian, tell dad, did you or did you not steal the oranges from Uncle Wu’s house!"
What theft, what oranges...In her confusion, Yin Qianqian suddenly widened her eyes, only to feel a chill ran from the bottom of her feet to the back of her head.
"Dad...what year...what year is it now?"
"What on earth are you up to again!?"
"Could it really be 1990?" Yin Qianqian desperately grabbed Yin Jun's hand.
Yin Jun had just been furious, but he suddenly softened when he saw Yin Qianqian's pallor. He sighed deeply, "Yes, Qianqian. If you've wronged Uncle Wu, we'll apologize and compensate him. If it's not your fault, speak up!"
It truly was 1990... She had been reborn!
Yin Qianqian felt both like crying and laughing. In 1990, she was eighteen, the Li family had just proposed marriage to her family, her parents hadn't yet agreed, and she hadn't run off with Zhou Haochen in that scandalous escapade yet, nor had she been expelled from school... none of the subsequent events had occurred yet.
She was back. Seeing her parents' faces, her eyes instantly welled up with tears.
"Qianqian? What's wrong? Were you wronged?" Yin Jun asked, looking at her with concern.
Yin Qianqian sniffled, and tears streamed down her face. "It's not... me, Dad! Mom!" She ran towards them and hugged them tightly. In her previous life, due to her wilfulness, they had nearly severed ties with her and refused to acknowledge her as their daughter until their deaths.
Their funeral was solely arranged by Li Jingyu. She was driven away with a broom when she attempted to pay her respects. They declared she was no longer part of the Yin family.
At the time, she had resented her brother's ruthlessness. But it wasn't until she was rendered paralyzed in a car accident with Zhou Haochen that she realized who truly cared for her.
Xia Xiaoxia and Yin Jun were startled. Their daughter had never cried in their arms like this before.
Xia Xiaoxia, who was still furious, instantly broke down. "Qianqian, speak up if someone has bullied you! Is it Zhou Haochen!?"
"What are you implying, Xia Xiaoxia? My Haochen has been at home diligently doing his homework! Are you trying to shift the blame of your thieving daughter onto my son? Do you think I, Zhang Ling, am a pushover?" Zhang Ling, who was in the crowd, protested vehemently upon hearing Xia Xiaoxia's words.
Upon hearing someone defame Yin Qianqian, Yin Jun's temper flared. He'd already had a distaste for the Zhou family's son; he was a poor student who would show up every day to see Qianqian. Ever since Qianqian started hanging out with him, she had changed completely. Yin Jun roared, "It was Zhou Haochen who invited our Qianqian out this afternoon!"
Zhang Ling crossed her arms defiantly, offering a mocking chuckle, "Oh, so your daughter just follows my son whenever he calls? Qianqian is so well-behaved, isn't she? Pity she doesn't seem that obedient to you."
With her shrewd, triangular eyes and harsh tone, Zhang Ling struck fear into the hearts of the villagers. Her words immediately shut Xia Xiaoxia and Yin Jun down.
