Chapter 1

“They kissed! They kissed!”

“Brother Yuan is a real man! When he says he’ll do it, he does it—no hesitation!”

“We’d better keep watch. Don’t let any blind idiot ruin Brother Yuan’s good time!”

“Haha!”

Ye Wanqing had been floating in a vast white light for who knew how long when everything suddenly went black. A powerful force yanked her downward.

The next moment her five senses returned. A racket louder than a hundred ducks crashed into her ears. She realized she was being roughly held in a man’s arms while he kissed her messily. Her lips hurt, and the tender skin of her cheeks stung from the scrape of rough stubble.

Everything felt so real it was almost unbelievable—even the strength of the man’s arms and the thick smell of alcohol on his breath were crystal clear.

What was going on?

Ye Wanqing opened her eyes and met a pair of dark, deep eyes. When she clearly saw those familiar yet unfamiliar features, she froze for a second.

This was… the young Ge Yuan?

Ge Yuan?!

Her eyes widened sharply. Those clean, bright almond eyes filled with disbelief.

Perhaps her gaze was too intense. The man stopped his rough movements, pulled back a little, and frowned as he stared at her. His eyes were black and bright, carrying a trace of drunkenness—like a fierce wolf examining the prey under its claws, displeased by her resistance.

Before Ye Wanqing’s muddled mind could fully process the situation, he suddenly grinned with a rascal air, lowered his head again, and breathed a few words against her lips that still carried the faint scent of alcohol:

“Don’t move.”

“So fragrant.”

“So soft.”

“Want to kiss more!”

—The last murmur disappeared between their lips in the fierce kiss, almost inaudible.

Ye Wanqing: “……”

She truly hadn’t expected to be reborn, and to this exact moment: when she was eighteen, the first time she met Ge Yuan and was taken advantage of by him.

Ge Yuan suddenly paused. The little hooligans watching the live show didn’t understand. When they saw him start acting wantonly again, they slapped their thighs, cheered, whistled, and made an even bigger fuss.

Ye Wanqing pushed at Ge Yuan but couldn’t move him. The man was tall, long-legged, solid and strong—practically like a bear.

Feeling both embarrassed and angry, she reached out and pinched his waist hard. He sucked in a sharp breath from the pain and finally took a step back, letting her go.

The alcohol-numbed fog in Ge Yuan’s brain cleared a little. He stared blankly. “I……”

“They went too far. Make them leave first.” Ye Wanqing pressed her lips together. Her almond eyes shimmered as if covered by a layer of mist, looking extremely wronged.

Oh no, he made her cry!

Ge Yuan’s mind went blank. He didn’t care about anything else and quickly waved at the little hooligans, roaring in a rough voice, “Get lost! All of you get lost! Get far away!”

These bastards! They saw him acting up and didn’t even try to stop him—instead they cheered him on!

They really deserved a beating!

……If he drove them all away, even if he got slapped later while settling accounts, at least he wouldn’t lose face so badly.

“Brother Yuan, we’re watching the scene for you!” someone shouted fearlessly.

Ge Yuan’s eyes turned fierce. “Looking for a thrashing?”

“Awoo!”

“No no, no no no!”

The group of little hooligans who still wanted to watch the show immediately recalled the miserable times when they had been beaten until they cried for their parents. They let out exaggerated cries, shoved each other, laughed and joked, and reluctantly left.

“Ge Yuan?”

Once the idle people were gone, the wronged, embarrassed, and angry expression on Ye Wanqing’s face vanished instantly. The corners of her lips curved slightly as her almond eyes looked at the man in front of her with a half-smile. This sudden shift of expression left Ge Yuan stunned. He felt something was off.

Also, it seemed his bad reputation really was widespread. He had thought this person didn’t know his name, yet she actually recognized him.

Hearing his own name come from the woman’s lips that he himself had kissed swollen—so light and soft—somehow didn’t feel tender or affectionate to Ge Yuan at all. Instead, a shiver ran down his spine.

Ye Wanqing: “Was it good to kiss?”

Ge Yuan: “……”

“I saw you kissing with quite a lot of energy. Very satisfying, wasn’t it?”

Why was this person speaking so directly? Ge Yuan’s breath hitched. His mind traitorously replayed the taste from just now, and his mouth felt inexplicably dry. He asked stiffly, “What… what do you want?”

What did she want?

Ye Wanqing wanted to laugh.

In her previous life she and Ge Yuan had wasted a lot of time, coldly ignoring each other for years. Only before she died did she learn how he truly felt about her. Since she had another chance, why take those detours again?

She reached out, grabbed the man’s collar, and with one shove pressed the tall, solid man back against the wall. The height difference was too great, so she rose on her tiptoes. Looking at him with a pair of moist, beautiful almond eyes, she asked with a smile, “What I want—don’t you know?”

“You’ve already held me and kissed me—when are you going to marry me?”

“What?! Marry… marry you? I… I……” Ge Yuan’s eyes widened abruptly. The face half-hidden by hair and stubble suddenly flushed red. Just a moment ago he had been full of guts; now he was completely stripped of armor. Even the alcohol had been shocked out of him!

He could accept a beating or being cut up, but marriage… this… this… Had this little girl been kissed silly by him?

He was just a small-time hooligan. Who would look twice at him?

He… he……

Under Ye Wanqing’s half-smiling gaze, every bit of Ge Yuan’s arrogance and wildness vanished without a trace, replaced by panic and helplessness. After staring blankly for several seconds, he suddenly pressed tightly against the wall behind him, yanked her hand off his collar, and bolted!

His explosive speed was decent—he covered several meters in an instant—but no matter how one looked at that fleeing back, it looked cowardly!

Ye Wanqing: “……”

The young Ge Yuan was rough and wild. Not only did he keep a full face of sideburns, those pitch-black deep eyes were as fierce as a wild wolf that hadn’t eaten for months. His body was also far too tall and sturdy. He didn’t look like anything good, and his reputation was terrible… No wonder she had slapped him and told him to get lost after he took advantage of her in her previous life.

She really hadn’t expected that once she became more direct and bold than him, he would be the one who lost his nerve.

Unable to hold it in, Ye Wanqing let out a soft laugh. Her water-bright almond eyes grew brighter and brighter.

She had truly been reborn……

Reborn to the year she was eighteen.

Really!

Ge Yuan ran more than a hundred meters in one breath, as if a flood or ferocious beast were chasing him from behind.

He rounded a corner and charged into an alley. Spotting a toppled bicycle by the roadside, he even stopped to right it, glanced back in panic, then continued running.

The confusion on his face still hadn’t faded when he ran straight into the group of brothers he had just driven away.

Houzi and the others were sitting at a noodle stall in the small alley eating noodles. When they saw Ge Yuan they all stood up at once.

Every one of them was overly enthusiastic, raising eyebrows and winking.

Ge Yuan: “……”

He didn’t even want to spare these guys a glance. He told the boss to bring him a bowl of plain noodles, sat down with a dark face, and poured himself a cup of water.

Houzi sidled over. “Brother Yuan, why do you look so scared?”

What do you mean “scared”?

Ge Yuan nearly choked on the water.

Thinking of how he had fled in panic just now, he felt he had completely lost face in front of his grandmother. But he absolutely could not admit it—otherwise how was he supposed to keep hanging around in the county town from now on?

He slammed the cup on the table and glared. “What do you know? This is called a strategic retreat!”

“Yo!” Houzi laughed especially slyly. “Then when are you planning your strategic attack? Come to think of it, today we saved that little girl. Otherwise she would’ve been ruined by Stinky Bug’s bunch. You’re her life-saving benefactor!”

“A life-saving favor should be repaid with her body!”

As soon as Houzi finished, the others burst into laughter.

Repaid with her body?

Remembering the woman’s soft lips and bright, moving eyes again, heat rose on Ge Yuan’s face. He felt even the roots of his ears burning. Truth be told he wasn’t any good either—once the alcohol hit he had just gone and kissed her……

But somehow his mood improved for no reason.

Ge Yuan rubbed the stubble on his chin, slapped the table, and shouted generously at the boss, “Boss, cut me a jin of sauced beef—no, two jin! Make the dipping sauce spicy!”

“And don’t call her ‘little girl’—don’t you know what respect is?!”

It was early spring and the weather was still a bit cold.

Ye Wanqing walked quickly through the streets and alleys of Qingshui County, her memories growing clearer and clearer. She tightened her collar, feeling the damp cold wind on her face, took a deep breath of the crisp air, and strode into the county bus station.

Her adoptive father was a driver at the bus station. Their family lived in the staff dormitory building of the station.

“Wanqing’s back!”

“You disappeared for a whole afternoon. Your parents were just talking about you! Hurry home!”

“……”

When she reached the bottom of the dormitory building, quite a few neighbors who had finished dinner and were out for a stroll spoke to Ye Wanqing. She smiled and exchanged greetings with them before going up to the third floor and knocking on her own door.

The door creaked open. Liu Lizhen frowned at Ye Wanqing standing outside and said unkindly, “Come in!”

Ye Wanqing followed her inside.

The power was out at home. A candle was lit on the dining table. Ye Xiangdang was holding a bowl and eating.

Ye Wanqing was hungry too. There were no bowl or chopsticks set out for her at the table. She went to the kitchen, served herself a bowl of rice, and only then sat down at the table. Liu Lizhen immediately slammed her chopsticks onto the table.

“Where did you go today?”

“Nowhere.” Ye Wanqing lowered her head.

Liu Lizhen exploded in fury. “Nowhere? Then how come someone saw you hanging around with little hooligans and doing that shameless thing? Are you not satisfied until you’ve completely disgraced our Ye family?”

“Enough.” Ye Xiangdang said slowly. “If the older girl’s reputation is ruined, it’s fine. Didn’t the Wang family from Niujiao Town come by a couple of days ago? Just marry her off to the Wang family. People in the town are simple, and it’s far away—they won’t know about the county’s affairs.”

Liu Lizhen: “Marrying her farther away is good too. Saves me the irritation of having her under my nose. After she marries, she’d better have a child soon and live a proper life. Your father and I only have this much ability. From now on everything will depend on her own efforts.”

“What about taking over the job?” Ye Xiangdang asked.

Liu Lizhen got even angrier. “You still want her to stay in the county town and disgrace our Ye family? Forget about taking over the job. Tomorrow I’ll have Mingzhu come back and start riding the routes! While others don’t know about her scandal yet, hurry up and marry her off!”

“That’s the only way.” Ye Xiangdang sighed and advised Ye Wanqing, “Don’t argue with your mother. We’re doing this for your own good. If you keep staying at the bus station, never mind how outsiders will look at our Ye family—will you be able to stand the pointing and whispering directed at you?”

Ye Wanqing suppressed the sarcasm in her eyes and continued eating without saying a word.

These two singing in harmony were truly lively. As if she cared about this job.