Chapter 17 "Married to a 90s Generation"

Miao Shuangshuang was in a state of utter confusion; she hadn't expected to receive such news.

The news that the head of the Ye Group, the newly crowned richest man in the country, is suspected of being critically ill has gone viral online. Miao Shuangshuang sat with her eyes closed in the airplane seat, listening to the people around her.

"Sister Shuangshuang, don't panic. It might just be a common illness. No disease can worsen so suddenly!"

Miao Shuangshuang leaned back in her chair without speaking, feeling that if she opened her mouth, something she didn't want to hear would leak out.

She waited quietly for the plane to arrive at its destination. The flight, which was usually quick, seemed to be taking forever this time.

...

The once sparsely populated, poor and backward town is now completely different.

As early as when the city was building the railway, Ye Xiqing had made many efforts to ensure that the railway eventually reached the town. When the plan was to build an airport, he lobbied many people to ensure that the airport was built in a place that was very convenient to travel to from the town.

The extensive transportation network has brought with it a rich network of resources, and the town now resembles a metropolis.

With the booming development of commerce and healthcare, the county's economy is the best in the city. This has not only transformed a once penniless minor official in the county into a very important figure, but also made it easier for Miao Shuangshuang to go home now.

Upon entering, I saw the heartbroken faces of Yip Sai-ying and Yip Sai-mui, and my initial hope for a lucky break shattered instantly.

It's really true... Ye Xiqing is really going to die...

Miao Shuangshuang offered a quick word of comfort to her mother and aunt, then pushed open the door and entered. She saw Ye Xiqing lying on the hospital bed, turning to look at her: "You came back so late. I'm about to die in five minutes."

Miao Shuangshuang: ...

The initial sense of reality was shattered by Ye Xiqing's joking words.

Miao Shuangshuang pulled over a chair and sat on the edge of Ye Xiqing's bed, rubbing her thighs as she hesitantly said, "Are you really not joking...? Should we go to the hospital for another round of emergency treatment..."

Ye Xiqing shook her head.

Her face was deathly ashen, yet her expression was as serene as a newborn's: "You're really going to die. You've wasted almost another minute. In the remaining four minutes, tell me what you have to say."

Miao Shuangshuang: ...

She originally had a lot to say, but Ye Xiqing was so hasty in preparing to die, and she didn't know what to say.

After a long silence, she seemed to have finally found a topic: "Gu Pengfei and I broke up."

Ye Xiqing: ...

Seeing Ye Xiqing's indescribable expression, Miao Shuangshuang felt like she was talking in her sleep, but she couldn't help but bring up the topic.

She and Gu Pengfei had been together for many years, and even aliens didn't know why, but she did.

She was observing Gu Pengfei and found that he wasn't as good as he seemed.

He appears refined and gentle, but he is actually very masculine inside. He cannot tolerate his wife being stronger than him, yet he is reluctant to give up the benefits his strong wife gives him, so he acts awkwardly, like he is performing in a stage play.

He liked to pretend. When he couldn't gain an economic advantage, he liked to pretend to know more about culture than her. At first, she was very angry. After she studied hard, she found that what he knew were all things that others had said, very superficial, and even full of mistakes.

She watched him gradually turn into a good-for-nothing old man who only knew how to boast, and then watched his son gradually become that ambitious and unrealistic man himself, and she began to wonder.

How did they manage to reach such a glorious position in their past lives?

When Ye Xiqing became the richest person in the country, Miao Shuangshuang suddenly felt relieved.

Could this be something he stole from someone else?

Thinking of this, Miao Shuangshuang even wanted to laugh.

She didn't know whether she was laughing at Gu Pengfei or at herself; in any case, it was a bit absurd.

Fortunately, not only Ye Xiqing has been making progress over the years, but she has also been catching up.

After earning her first fortune as an actress, she began to move into production and distribution.

Relying on her own fame, the opportunity of her rebirth, and the huge support from Qingqing Winery, her entertainment company is now a pillar of the entertainment industry, and countless glamorous stars have to rely on her.

With a hand like that, countless young and handsome men would fawn over her with just a wave of her hand. Gu Pengfei was utterly insignificant and could be easily shaken off.

She just wanted to complain to Ye Xiqing—

“Do you know what? He actually threatened me, saying he would take a share of my property or he would expose everything we’ve been doing all these years.”

"It's ridiculous that he actually thinks such words can hurt me. Why did I choose such a stupid man in the first place? And because he had a falling out with my mom and with you too?"

Ye Xiqing listened quietly. Noticing Ye Xiqing's gaze, Miao Shuangshuang snapped out of her thoughts and took a deep breath.

Honestly, it's Ye Xiqing who's about to die, why is she talking about her own messy affairs here!

He glanced at his watch, turned to Ye Xiqing, and tried his best to smile, "I'm done talking. Is there anything you want to say to me? As you said, we should still have some time."

As expected of an actress who has been around for so many years, Miao Shuangshuang has an excellent grasp of time. She said she would give Ye Xiqing time to say her last words, and she really did give him that time.

Ye Xiqing watched the system's countdown tick away, then looked up at Miao Shuangshuang and uttered her final words amidst the countdown of "9...8...7...6..."

Do you think you've surpassed me in this lifetime?

Miao Shuangshuang: ...

At first, she couldn't understand what Ye Xiqing meant, but after she realized what was happening, she suddenly stood up.

However, at this moment, time has frozen, and all people and things have been paused.

At the last moment, nothing needs to be hidden anymore.

This world she knew no longer moved forward, but instead, like an old machine, recklessly emitted a "zzzz" sound as it ran.

After running for an unknown period of time, it finally returned to calm.

Resetting a massive amount of data from an entire world is difficult, but for programs accustomed to resetting, the challenges are only at the beginning and end; otherwise, they run very smoothly.

The "characters" inside lived normal lives, except for one who was slightly abnormal, because she discovered that she had been reborn!

Don't ask why the word "again" can be used to describe rebirth, because she was indeed reborn twice!

In her first life, she had a very bad relationship with her cousin. She chose to marry the son of the local richest man, while her cousin chose to marry a poor college student.

The son of the richest man she chose went bankrupt not long after she married him, while the poor college student her cousin chose became the new richest man.

Deeply resentful, she was reborn for the first time. This time, she preemptively chose to marry Gu Pengfei, leaving the doomed Lu Jing'an to her cousin, Ye Xiqing.

Recalling this, Miao Shuangshuang suddenly sat up; she finally realized something was wrong!

Her cousin was indeed her cousin, but Ye Xiqing held the title of her cousin; she was not her real cousin!

Her mother's name is Fang Shiying, and her aunt's name is Fang Shimei, so her cousin should be named Fang Xiaoxiao!

Such a huge bug has occurred, but it seems that no one cared about it in the previous life!

Miao Shuangshuang covered her head and finally realized that rather than being reborn, she felt like she had gained a memory that didn't belong to her.

The person named "Ye Xiqing" appeared in her mind out of nowhere!

Miao Shuangshuang flipped through this strange memory. It was said to be her past life experience, but it was more like a personal show by someone named Ye Xiqing.

She watched as she rejected both Lu Jing'an and Gu Pengfei without hesitation...

She watched her pen tip as she jotted down one winemaking secret after another in her notebook…

She saw that the woman had built a small winery through this, and she had foolishly helped her sell the wine...

Seeing how she used this to climb the ladder to becoming the richest woman, he turned to her and said—

Do you think you've surpassed me in this lifetime?

Miao Shuangshuang: ...

ah--

She could no longer sense from a number-like memory how much emotion she had for the person in the picture and this guy named "Ye Xiqing".

But she could clearly sense that this person named Ye Xiqing was provoking her!

Miao Shuangshuang, who never allows anyone to surpass her, was furious. Did she think that becoming a minor tycoon gave her the right to look down on her?

squeak--

The door opened, and someone was looking at her timidly. It was Fang Xiaoxiao, her real cousin.

If it were Miao Shuangshuang's first time being reborn, she would definitely compete with her cousin, who has no merits other than good luck.

But now, all she can think about is—

Ye Xiqing! You'll pay!

Fang Xiaoxiao pushed open the door.

The matchmaker has come to the house; she is about to get married.

She had just turned 18 and didn't really have any concept of getting married.

But it seems that the women here have always been like this, generation after generation. When they reach a certain age, they must get married. If they don't get married and have children, they will be laughed at by the whole village.

Fang Xiaoxiao didn't know what she was thinking, so she pushed open the door to find Miao Shuangshuang.

Their relationship wasn't good, but now she didn't know who to confide in.

With inexplicable feelings, I went to find Miao Shuangshuang, only to find her standing there, staring at some unknown place, like an angry lion.

Fang Xiaoxiao watched for a while, then smiled: So even someone as strong-willed as Shuangshuang can be troubled by matchmakers. In that case, she'll have a companion...

...

"Host! What are you doing!"

It seemed like this wasn't the first time Ye Xiqing had heard this.

She had 36,789 points after the settlement. Because she had spent all of her original 100 points on buying books, she now only had 31,901 points left.

She used the remaining 4888 points to buy cheat codes.

The "Golden Finger" [Memory Imprint] can directly convert a limited amount of information into data and send it into the brain. It can be accessed at any time without absorption, making it an external brain and a powerful cheating tool.

Ye Xiqing admired the effects of the cheat system and smiled slightly: "So this is also a cheat system that resets the world and doesn't clear the effects. Your system is quite conscientious."

The system is furious!

It had previously recommended the "Memory Engraving" cheat to Ye Xiqing, intending to mock Ye Xiqing who was struggling with a mountain of books and exercises at the time, and to induce her to spend money.

After all, this cheat code is too tempting for a high school student who is taking the college entrance examination. People need desires to be motivated to do tasks.

But it didn't expect that Ye Xiqing would use it, but in this kind of way!

Since it started this program, it has never had such a serious live broadcast accident!

Sure enough, the live chat exploded with comments—

"Wow! What an unexpected ending! System, please broadcast Miao Shuangshuang's rebirth this time too! I'm willing to pay to watch!"

"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! Send someone to travel through this world again. I want to see an unsuspecting outsider versus an 'awakened' native!"

"Great idea! Great idea! QuickPlay! QuickPlay! I want to watch both of them together!"

...

Due to the unexpected situation, the live stream saw a surge in viewership, but who would want to build their show's appeal on a live stream mishap?

The system gritted its teeth and looked at Ye Xiqing: "Host, is this really a good thing? Even if you don't consider others, you should at least consider Miao Shuangshuang. You told her part of the truth about the world's reincarnation. Do you think she can handle it?"

"No matter what setbacks she experienced, she would always become a new version of herself after the pain."

"Now you've given her a memory that shouldn't belong to her, making her realize that she's in such a false world. Do you think, in the long run, she'll be grateful to you or hate you?"

Ye Xiqing chuckled softly, looking at the system with apparent confusion: "System, why do you say that? Do you think our relationship has become so good that I need to consider the other person's feelings?"

system:……

Ye Xiqing sank into the sofa in the system space with almost effortless ease, tilted her head to look at the system, and smiled, "Don't be silly, everything about her has nothing to do with me. What I want to see is just the third ending."

The system once used a book as an analogy, showing her two possible endings, and laughed heartily.

What Ye Xiqing hates most is having others prescribe an ending for her!

Therefore, Ye Xiqing gave Miao Shuangshuang that simplified, vague, yet indelible memory free of charge.

Whether she finds herself in endless reincarnation or chooses destruction amidst endless suffering, it has nothing to do with her.

After all, their relationship was merely that of a chance encounter between the "female lead" and the "female supporting character."