C6 I Really Didn't Dream!

Guo Shaoqiang naturally didn't want anyone bringing up his personal life. Having three ex-wives was his Achilles' heel. Those events were not just painful memories but an indelible mark of shame for him. Others might not understand the reasons, but as the person involved, he knew all too well. Because of these messy affairs, his latter years were utterly ruined. He feared he might spend the rest of his life alone.

"Who’s afraid of who? Go ahead, try to kill me if you dare," Fann Jian blustered, though his heart was pounding with fear as he saw Guo Shaoqiang's stern face. When Guo bent down, Fann thought he was going to grab the shovel by his feet and really start a fight. Cursing under his breath, he turned and ran.

As Fann dashed off, Faang Xinrann collapsed to the ground, wailing. "Oh, heavens! It's bad enough I have no parents, but why did I have to get hit while saving someone? And if that wasn’t enough, why did I end up in such a poor era? My mom even married a bully. Why couldn’t I have landed in ancient times? Even if the family was poor, I could’ve at least tried to enter the palace as a concubine. Maybe not rise to riches, but at least have a stable life. If not a concubine, then perhaps a general’s wife."

Drawing from the original memories, Faang Xinrann thought she was doomed. She feared she’d starve soon, and the thought made her cries even more desperate. Liu Yu'e, thinking Xinrann was just scared, stumbled over to her, and the two embraced, weeping together. The funeral scene turned into a farce.

Xinrann couldn’t believe any of this was real. After a short while of crying, her frail body gave in, and she fainted. In her dreams, Fann Jian’s insults from the night before echoed in her ears, and she felt his hands around her neck, choking her breath away.

Fang Xinran lay on the bed, struggling a bit before waking up with a scream. When she opened her eyes again, she saw the old, bare light bulb above her, and the ceiling beams, darkened with soot and draped with cobwebs.

She sat up abruptly, noticing the red and green peony-patterned bedspread, patched and dusty. Rubbing her aching temples, her slightly swollen eyes scanned the room's furnishings.

In the shabby, earthen house, two red, worn-out wooden cabinets stood in the corner, their paint peeling. Next to them was a wardrobe. Besides these, the large room contained only the bed.

Determined, Fang Xinran pinched her cheek, and it hurt. Shoulders slumped, her mind was a tangled mess. She was now certain she wasn't dreaming.

Fang Xinran sighed deeply. Orphaned from a young age, she had done countless dirty and exhausting jobs. Reborn, she wasn't afraid, just regretful. And she couldn't accept that such a cliché novel plot was happening to her.

Given the current scene, she couldn't possibly have entered a book; otherwise, why didn't she recognize any of this?

Just as Fang Xinran tried to calm down and figure out what went wrong, Liu Yu'e entered, carrying a bowl of oatmeal.

"Xinran, you scared me to death! How could that scoundrel Fann Jian hurt you so badly? Tell me honestly, did he bully you last night? Did he try to take your clothes off?" Liu Yu'e asked, tears welling up as she saw her daughter awake.

The family was too poor, and unable to repay Fann Jian's money, they had agreed to this marriage.