I was reborn on my twenty-third birthday.
Zhou Junhao had just introduced Cheng Xiaoyu—to me for the first time.
“She’s the granddaughter of our old family friend Cheng. Both her parents passed away, and she’s come here to study. It’s really tough for her.”
In my last life, I truly treated Cheng Xiaoyu like a little sister, moved by her tragic background. If she so much as glanced at something in my bedroom, I’d give it to her without a second thought.
Later, she would look at me with venom and say, “You think you’re being kind? Your charity just makes me feel worse! And you know what I want most? I want Zhou Junhao! If you’re so generous, why don’t you give him to me?”
“Qingyao, what’s wrong?” Zhou Junhao was gazing at me tenderly, his eyes full of only me.
In my previous life, how long had it been since he’d spared me a glance? A year? Two?
He always wore crisp white shirts, his face sharply handsome, his eyes like stars—the kind of boy every girl dreams about in her youth.
I, too, had once fallen for him, and my whole youth was filled with him. We married, had a daughter, but I never imagined that while I was home caring for our child, he would be sleeping with Cheng Xiaoyu during his business trips. When our daughter was in the hospital with acute leukemia, waiting for him, he was celebrating Cheng Xiaoyu’s birthday…
It was hard to believe that the man who never came home, who ignored his wife and child, was the same person standing before me now.
Our parents were already planning our wedding.
But when did he really start to fall for Cheng Xiaoyu? And why did he marry me?
I didn’t know. Maybe, while I was still naively lost in love, his feelings for me had already dried up. Maybe it was all just a practical arrangement—a marriage of convenience between two families, for resources and power.
Who cared if he was faithful? Who cared if he loved me?
I pushed his hand away. “I’m not feeling well. You guys have fun. I’m going home.”
Everyone looked confused. This was supposed to be my birthday party, after all. And the next part of the plan was Zhou Junhao’s surprise proposal—on the city’s tallest building, with the words “Marry Me, Qingyao” lighting up the night sky, even making the news.
But I couldn’t care less about anyone else’s feelings. When my daughter died in my arms, it was just the two of us against the world.
Cheng Xiaoyu glanced at me timidly. “Junhao, did I make Qingyao unhappy by coming? Maybe I should go. I know I’m not good enough to be her friend.”
I looked at her, then at Zhou Junhao, and said nothing. If they wanted to be together, let them. I had no hope or love left for him.
Perhaps her appearance proved the old saying: childhood sweethearts can never trump a sudden new love.
I didn’t want to see them anymore. I grabbed my bag and went home.
I had been reborn. I would not repeat my mistakes.
As soon as I got home, Zhou Junhao followed.
He grabbed my arm. “Qingyao, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought Cheng Xiaoyu. I know you don’t like strangers, but she’s all alone here. If I don’t look out for her, who will?”
“Let’s break up,” I said coldly.
“What?” His eyes widened in shock.
“I don’t love you anymore.”
“Why? Did you fall for someone else?” His voice was urgent. “Did I do something wrong? Tell me, I’ll change.”
In my past life, after I found out he was cheating, I had begged him to come back, saying those very words.
Back then, he had pulled away coldly, his jaw tight. “I don’t love you anymore. Nothing you do will change that.”
My father and stepmother came out. “What’s going on?”
I turned to them. “I’m breaking up with him. I’m not getting married. Cancel the wedding.”
My father was furious. He slapped me. “You’re twenty-three! How can you be so thoughtless? The invitations are already out! You can’t just call it off!”
My stepmother’s lips curled into a smirk, quickly suppressed. “You shouldn’t hit her, no matter what she’s done wrong.”
My mother died young. Less than a year later, my stepmother was pregnant and moved in. I was never happy. Growing up, it was always Zhou Junhao who protected me. His presence alone told everyone I was to be his wife. Anyone who crossed me would be crossing the Zhou family.
Who wouldn’t love a prince who wields a sword to protect you?
But all that kindness, once he changed, became the sharpest blade, cutting me to the bone.
“Uncle, Auntie, let me talk to her,” Zhou Junhao said.
The adults always trusted him.
We went upstairs, and he followed me into my room. He hugged me, his breath warm on my ear. “What’s wrong, darling? What did I do to upset you?”
Because my mother died so young, I had always been sensitive. For a long time, I barely spoke, and people thought I was mute. Only Zhou Junhao was patient enough to comfort me.
Maybe... his kindness never disappeared. Maybe he just transferred his love and tenderness to another girl.
“I’m serious,” I said, pushing him away. “I’ve thought about this for a long time—years, actually.”
Yes, ever since I got pregnant, he was always traveling, working late, ignoring my calls and messages.
When he did come home, he spent most of his time in his study—behind a heavy door, his heart closed off.
By then, Cheng Xiaoyu’s social media posts were giving her away. A college student, her locations always matched his business trips. In her photos of fancy meals, his watch or cufflinks would flash by, proof that he was always with her when he was supposed to be working.
I had thought about divorce, but I couldn’t bear to lose the man he once was.
But in my last life, the price I paid for that sweetness was my own life. Now, with a second chance, I would not betray myself again.
He looked even more shocked, his eyes reddening.
It wasn’t fake sadness. He staggered back, his voice hoarse. “So, while I was planning our future, you were thinking… of breaking up with me?”
I looked at him. But when I gave everything to our marriage, you were with another woman. Even when our daughter was sick, you didn’t change.
“What have all these years meant to you? Was I just a neighbor who looked out for you? Did you only ever see me as a brother?”
“Zhou Junhao, don’t act like you’re the one who was wronged. In our relationship, I was always the one who was betrayed. I just want to cut my losses now.” I sighed, tears in my eyes. “Maybe the you now really does love me. But the price I paid for your love was too high. The change in you later was so drastic, I couldn’t even connect the man you became to the man standing before me.”
I wiped my tears. “With this second chance, I don’t want anything to do with you.”
Chapter 01
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