ARC 2: Stepmother in the Seventies ✦ c71~116 (46)
✦ 40
Translator: InkyDragon (https://inkydragontranslation.wordpress.com)
Li Dan Yang’s self-stolen marriage hadn’t turned out as splendid as she had imagined. Instead, it had become a source of constant torment, leaving her exhausted and riddled with regrets.
But just as she was drowning in the trials of family life, Gu Shi Chu, the woman she had once looked down upon, was basking in success, having been accepted to university in one go!
How could she accept this? It felt as if the thing she had schemed so hard to obtain was now disregarded by Gu Shi Chu, shattering her sense of superiority after her rebirth. Why was Gu Shi Chu living a better life after Li Dan Yang had stolen her marriage?
Li Dan Yang was in a daze, memories from her past life intertwining with those of her current one, blurring the lines between reality and memory. She couldn’t shake the feeling that this life shouldn’t have unfolded this way.
She should have married Zhou Wei Guo and lived happily ever after, with their four stepchildren obedient and respectful, their family harmonious and blissful.
While Gu Shi Chu, for not marrying Zhou Wei Guo and marrying a ruffian from a neighbouring village instead, should have lived a life of hardship, struggling to make ends meet, suffering from hunger and cold, and enduring domestic violence from her husband, until she was beaten to death before she turned forty…
Indeed, in the original timeline, things had unfolded this way: the original Gu Shi Chu, after having her marriage stolen, met a tragic end, while Li Dan Yang, who had stolen her marriage, lived a life of ease.
But then came Shi Chu, who became Gu Shi Chu, and fate began to take an unpredictable turn.
Li Dan Yang’s mind, filled with household chores and the constant scolding and insults from her mother-in-law and children, finally unearthed a forgotten memory, a flicker of realisation: Gu Shi Chu’s personality and her way of handling things in this life were different from the past!
What had happened to her? A chill ran down Li Dan Yang’s spine as she considered a possibility: Could it be that Gu Shi Chu, too, like herself, was reborn?
But that didn’t make sense either. If she was reborn, why didn’t she hold onto her marriage with Zhou Wei Guo? Would she be willing to give up future prosperity and wealth?
If she had been reborn after Li Dan Yang and Zhou Wei Guo got married, why hadn’t she sought revenge? After all, Li Dan Yang had stolen her marriage.
She was puzzled, but guilt gnawed at her, making her afraid to ask Gu Shi Chu. She buried the question deep in her heart, unable to show any sign of dissatisfaction. The weight of her secret, hidden and unspoken, only added to her mental and physical exhaustion.
Meanwhile, Gu Shi Chu, oblivious to Li Dan Yang’s turmoil, was busy preparing to leave the village for Beijing. She would likely not return, so everything grown on the family’s land had to be harvested, and the chickens and ducks they raised had to be slaughtered and turned into cured meats, which she could take to school to eat.
Ji Ming Tao started visiting her more frequently. Seeing that their time together was dwindling, Gu Shi Chu allowed him to be near her, not objecting to his presence.
“When are you leaving?” He asked, his voice a low murmur as he kissed her forehead.
“In seven days,” She replied, pressing her face against his warm chest.
Ji Ming Tao remained silent, his arms tightening around her. Gu Shi Chu, sensing his reluctance, reached out to touch his face, offering him comfort.
After a while, he asked again, “You don’t feel any reluctance towards me at all?”
Gu Shi Chu countered, “How could that be? Of course, I don’t want to leave you. You’re so good to me. Thinking that I won’t see you in the future makes me sad. I don’t even feel happy about getting into college anymore…”
She kissed his chin to emphasise her sincerity.
In that moment, Ji Ming Tao desperately wanted to grab her by the neck and accuse her of being a “liar.” She was clearly indifferent, feeling no reluctance at all, yet she could smoothly speak sweet words to him.
He resented her indifference, hated himself for not being as free-spirited as she was, unable to simply walk away from this relationship without any attachment.
In the dim light, Ji Ming Tao’s eyes gleamed with a terrifying and fierce light, like a ruthless and ferocious wild wolf staring at its prey.
She really thought she could so easily abandon him? She was too presumptuous, already the prey trapped in his snare. Thinking of fleeing at this moment? Too late, she could never escape from him…
Ji Ming Tao sneered silently, his heart filled with a cold fury. Gu Shi Chu, oblivious to his thoughts, drifted into a drowsy state, completely unaware that the “little wolf cub” she thought she was leaving behind had no intention of letting her go.
On the day she left, Ji Ming Tao helped her with her luggage, escorting her to the train station. He waited until she boarded the train, watching her disappear into the distance before finally turning away.
After seeing her off, he didn’t return to the village. Instead, he went straight to a bank in the city, withdrew a sum of money, and then boarded another train, heading south.
- (TN: Ha, how many of you thought it would get dark? I find it interesting how Ji Ming Tao could have easily become one of those dark MLs who abuse FLs, imprison her and so on, but he consciously chooses not to. Despite his dark side that developed from his experience of childhood abuse, he manages to keep it under control by acknowledging his faults and working with them himself. He doesn’t need FL to fix him or suffer because of his inner demons!)
When Gu Shi Chu arrived in the capital, school hadn’t yet started. She found a guesthouse to stay in temporarily and planned to buy a house near Splendor University for her four years of study.
Money was not an issue. The gold bars stored in her “accompanying space” could pile up into small mountains. Taking out a few would be enough to purchase a house.
Although Splendor University was a top-tier institution, the dormitories were as simple as those in other schools, with eight people living together. With so many people and diverse backgrounds, Gu Shi Chu had no intention of accommodating herself and naturally couldn’t live in the dormitory.
She searched for a house near the university. At that time, it was not yet the era of skyrocketing real estate. House prices were very cheap, and no one was thinking about speculation or hoarding. Some houses were even unoccupied, making it easy to find an empty one.
Moreover, most of those living near the university were teachers and their families, so safety was guaranteed, and even if she sold the houses later, she was relatively sure of a fair price.
Gu Shi Chu lucked out this time. After careful comparison, she bought three houses near Splendor University. One was for her own residence, while the other two could be rented out. With property prices on the rise, whether she kept them for rental or sold them later, she would make a profit.
After purchasing the houses, she didn’t immediately move in. She would be living in them for four years or even longer, so she wanted to decorate them to her liking, creating spaces of ultimate comfort.
She hired someone to renovate the houses, transforming them into the most advanced and comfortable spaces, complete with modern bathrooms. She went to the Friendship Mall to buy soft sofas, a two-metre-wide bed imported from abroad, and a washing machine.
Compared to traditional wooden furniture, Gu Shi Chu preferred Western-style furniture, as it suited her lazy disposition. She preferred sitting to standing and lying down to sitting.
Decorating the houses was no less expensive than buying them. Gu Shi Chu indulged whenever she could. Perhaps to compensate for her previous meagre life in Zhou Village, she went all out with her purchases in the capital, turning her house into a luxurious and comfortable abode, even more extravagant than a wealthy family’s home.g so different from what she had imagined?
─── ❖ ── ☆ ── ❖ ───
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(๑✪ᆺ✪๑)
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