Chapter 1: First Meeting Cheng Xin woke up feeling dizzy and...
Cheng Xin woke up with a dizzy head. She sat up from the bed and rubbed her temples uncomfortably. The old plank bed beneath her creaked, and two horizontal benches supported the wooden planks as bed legs. Looking up at the sky, the beams of the house built of round logs interlaced, the sunlight shone through the gaps between the tiles, and there was a faint smell of mold in the air.
Memories from the dream came flooding back, and my headache became more severe.
These days she was always wandering between half asleep and half awake, the scenes in her dreams were so real that she could remember every detail after waking up, as if they were real memories. The spacious and bright classrooms, the corridors paved with white tiles, the soft Simmons mattresses, and the colorful neon lights of the city under the night sky.
What's even more bizarre is that in her previous dream, she accidentally read a novel, and she turned out to be a supporting character in the novel. After reading the book, she was in a car accident on her way to find a job and came into this world.
"Did I really travel through time? And occupy someone else's body?" Cheng Xin grabbed the coarse bed sheet, feeling completely bewildered. Are the parents who raised me from childhood still considered relatives?
Everything before her eyes was both familiar and unfamiliar. The appearance and voices of her parents in her memory overlapped with the cough coming from outside the door at this moment, making her fall into deeper confusion.
The door of the room opened softly, and Xu Fengxia walked in with a bowl of sugar water. Seeing her daughter wake up, a smile appeared in the corners of her wrinkled eyes: "Finally you woke up! You had a high fever for a whole day, and your father and I were so worried."
"Mom?" Cheng Xin looked up blankly. The person in front of her had a kind face and concerned eyes that made her nose sore. This was her mother, this was the real world.
Xu Fengxia sat down beside the bed and felt her forehead: "It's good that the fever has subsided. Come, drink some sugar water."
Cheng Xin took a sip, and the sweet taste slid down her throat. She suddenly remembered that the sugar was given by relatives when they visited her father, and her brother had been looking forward to drinking it for a long time.
Xu Fengxia pointed to the room next door and lowered her voice: "Speak softly, your brother is very greedy, don't let him hear."
She heard her father's suppressed cough from next door, and Cheng Xin quickly got out of bed and put on her cloth shoes. The touch of the soles reminded her of the exquisite leather shoes and brand-name sports shoes that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars in her dreams, but now it turned into the reality of cold soles.
The cloth shoes on her feet have been worn for four years. The blue-gray uppers have been washed white, the edges are worn and fuzzy, and the soles are worn as thin as cicada wings. There are several patches on the uppers with fine stitches, and the threads are trimmed neatly. The only advantage of this pair of shoes is that the uppers are clean. Cheng Xin tied up her frizzy short hair and tried to dispel the uneasiness in her heart by being busy: "Isn't the grass cut yet? I'll go cut some grass before it gets dark to feed the rabbits."
"Don't go," Xu Fengxia held her shoulders, "your brother cut two large baskets of grass today, so you don't have to go for the next two days."
Cheng Xin paused: "Dad's cough is still the same?"
Xu Fengxia forced a smile and said, "It's just an old problem. I'll just have to take care of it."
This spring's torrential rains caused disasters, and my father contracted chronic pneumonia while helping with rescue work. His once straight spine is now hunched over, and he becomes breathless and coughs until his face turns red. The doctor told him to rest more and not do heavy work.
The only pillar of the family has fallen, and seeing that life is becoming increasingly tight, the mother is filled with worry all day long.
The reform and opening-up policy was announced only a few years ago, and the bold ones were engaged in speculation, while ordinary people only dared to do small businesses to make a living. In order to supplement the family income, Cheng Xin went to the market to sell her thick black waist-length hair and bought two pairs of rabbits to raise at home.
She learned that rabbits can give birth. She bought one and raised it for two months. Another month later, it would grow to adult size and give birth to baby rabbits. At that time, selling rabbit fur or live rabbits would provide a source of income for the family.
A few days ago, there was a heavy rain, and the house was damp. My mother heard from somewhere that mountain products are valuable, and there are still more than ten kilograms of dried bamboo shoots left at home, so she thought about drying them to see if she could sell them for money. Her family is now in a situation where they will try to see if anything that can be sold can be exchanged for money.
Cheng Xin was collecting dried bamboo shoots in the yard. Xu Fengxia hesitated and said, "Someone asked me about you. It seems that they want to arrange a marriage for you."
Cheng Xin was not surprised. It was indeed time for a country girl to get married when she was 20. Her cheeks were hot and she lowered her head and asked, "Mom, what's your reply?"
Seeing that her daughter was not opposed to it, Xu Fengxia was relieved: "I dare not make a decision for you without authorization, so I asked you what you think. After all, even if you are not in a hurry to get married at your age, you still have to look at the candidate. Only after getting along with each other can you know whether it is suitable or not."
Thinking of the fate in her dream, Cheng Xin asked tentatively: "Did the introducer say whose family it is?"
Xu Fengxia smiled and said, "There's a veteran from the commune next door named Geng Yunye. Both his parents were martyrs. This child has very good conditions. You won't have to suffer when you marry him, and you won't have to take care of your parents-in-law."
Cheng Xin froze, and the plot in her dream suddenly became clear. She was the original wife of the future richest man, who would cheat on her classmate in college and eventually die of dystocia while pregnant with her classmate's child. And her husband was the veteran Geng Yunye mentioned by her mother, the man who would become the richest man in the future.
She resisted inwardly because her ending in the book was so tragic and she didn't want to repeat the same mistake.
"Mom, can you change someone?" She pleaded in her tone.
Xu Fengxia sighed and held her hand: "Xinxin, I know you don't want to leave home. I was your age too. But the child of the Geng family is really well off. Not to mention how much subsidy he received after retiring from the army, at least he is diligent and efficient at work. You won't suffer if you marry him."
"To put it bluntly, you don't have your parents-in-law to control you, so you can be the master of your own house. I suffered a lot when I married your father. Even if your father is on my side, he can't protect me all the time."
Cheng Xin never thought that her grandmother had bullied her mother. She was used to seeing her friends' families favoring boys over girls, and her grandparents had never been partial to her just because she was a girl.
Xu Fengxia saw that her daughter was confused, so she patiently explained: "I am not saying that your grandparents are bad people, it's just that we have conflicts in some concepts, so there will be conflicts."
"For example, after I finished my confinement, I had to get up early every day to cook. Sometimes your grandma would nag me if I got up late. In fact, you always make noises in the middle of the night, and your dad and I couldn't sleep well. We finally coaxed you to sleep, but it was already daybreak outside."
"Your grandmother wasn't picking faults on purpose. At that time, everyone was earning work points, and everyone wanted to be an activist. If you were late, you would be overtaken by others. Your grandmother was so competitive that she always tried to be the first in everything in order to be selected as a "model worker" and "advanced producer" just to get extra work points or bonus work points."
Cheng Xin frowned, feeling a little shaken. Even the most harmonious families would have conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Geng Yunye was indeed the best candidate in terms of conditions.
Her marriage was decided by her parents. Her parents loved her very much and let her finish junior high school. They did not marry her off early to save money. In the countryside, there are many families who get married and have children first without getting a marriage certificate.
The mother must have inquired from many sources before she felt it was appropriate. Moreover, Geng Yunye would become the richest man in the future, and if she got along well with him, she might be able to change her fate in the book.
She gritted her teeth and made a decision: "Then I'll meet him." Since she had to get married anyway, she might as well choose the one with the best conditions. Cheng Xin compromised after hesitating for a while.
The fact that Geng Yunye can go out and do business shows that he has capital. Her father's condition has not improved, and her family's current situation means that she can only rely on finding a good in-law to help support the family.
She made up her mind that if it was a good fit, she would give it a try, but if it wasn't, she would reject him immediately. She didn't believe that she would do something shameful like cheating on her husband.
A few days later, the introducer brought Geng Yunye here.
Cheng Xin was called to the yard by her mother, and the matchmaker was standing outside the door chatting with her mother.
She stood in the yard, her shoulder-length black hair slightly curled inwards, her freshly washed hair smelling of soapberry, and a red heart-shaped hairpin pinned to the side of her ear.
She was feeling uneasy, and saw a figure approaching from afar. The other person was wearing a simple white shirt, with sleeves casually rolled up to the elbows, revealing strong forearms. He was tall, with regular features, thick eyebrows and big eyes. There was a cold temperament between his eyebrows, but his eyes were surprisingly gentle.
"Is this the future richest man?" Cheng Xin whispered, unable to help but take a few more glances. The last time she watched TV was when she went to the captain's house to deliver something. She stood at the door and watched the news for ten minutes. Geng Yunye looked like a broadcaster who walked out of the TV.
She rubbed the corner of her clothes unconsciously with her thumb, her ears became hot and red, her eyes were wandering, and she didn't dare to look him in the eye.
Geng Yunye walked up to her and nodded slightly: "Hello comrade, I am Geng Yunye."
His eyes were burning, and he stared down at her. Cheng Xin had a round face with a little baby fat, big, dark eyes, and a small mole at the right corner of her eye. The tip of her nose was sunburned, and her lips were a little dry and chapped. Only he knew that when she smiled, her canine teeth were very lively.
Geng Yunye's voice was deep and magnetic. Cheng Xin's heart skipped a beat and a blush appeared on her face unconsciously.
She mustered up her courage to look up and accidentally met his eyes. Unexpectedly, he was looking at her. She hurriedly lowered her head and responded softly, "Hello, Comrade Geng, I am Cheng Xin."
The two of them sat in silence, and the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.
Cheng Xin didn't know that she was being watched with greed. She could feel her heart beating very fast at this moment. Geng Yunye was exactly one meter away from her. She was afraid that he would notice that her heartbeat was like a drum.
Geng Yunye didn't seem to be very good at chatting. He simply asked about her physical condition and then fell silent.
Cheng Xin secretly glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and found that his ears were red and he seemed a little nervous. She relaxed all of a sudden.
"This guy doesn't seem that scary." Cheng Xin thought to herself. She had a good first impression of him.
The first meeting lasted only half an hour. Before leaving, Geng Yunye took out a small box from his pocket and handed it to her: "I bought these candies in the city. I heard that you were sick a few days ago. Eat some candies after taking the medicine to make your mouth less bitter."
Cheng Xin took the box, and her heart was filled with warmth. She looked up at him and found that his eyes were fixed on her face, with a hint of expectation in his eyes.
"Thank you." She said softly, a smile unconsciously appearing on the corner of her mouth.
Geng Yunye nodded, turned around and said goodbye.
Reborn back to when his wife was 20 years old, this time he finally didn't act clumsy and make her cry like in his previous life. He was sure to leave a better impression on her. As for other things, there was still a long way to go.
Cheng Xin looked at his back, and suddenly felt complicated. She originally thought that she would reject Geng Yunye, after all, the book clearly described her ending, and marrying him would mean becoming a short-lived first wife.
But after their first meeting, she found that she was not as resistant to Geng Yunye as she had imagined. He was gentle, considerate, handsome, and would become the richest man in the future. No one could refuse him.
The candy box in his hand carries body temperature, and the tenderness and expectation in the man's eyes are so real. Perhaps knowing the script of fate in advance gives one a chance to rewrite it?
"Maybe this time will be different." Cheng Xin murmured softly, unconsciously clenching the candy box in her hand with a bit of anticipation and trepidation.
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