Gu Qing'an was very strong-willed since she was five years old. From a young age to adulthood, she had always been rather overbearing, so many people did not like her personality.
The Gu family business was huge, so they did not need political marriages. Therefore, the girls only needed to find someone they liked to marry.
Although Gu Qing'an was strong-willed, she was also naive.
When she was out with friends one time, she was drugged and taken advantage of by so-called friends. She escaped and was saved by a frugal and hard-working student with high grades.
The two got to know each other and gradually developed feelings after more interactions.
Upon hearing this, Shen Tang suspected that this was a story of a rich lady falling in love with a self-made man.
Just as she thought this, she noticed that Gu Huaian seemed to glance at her.
"Within his ability, he treated my sister very well. However, at that time, many people opposed their relationship, including me. I felt that he was approaching my sister with ulterior motives, until that incident happened..."
When Gu Qing'an and her boyfriend were graduating from college in their fourth year, they had promised to go back to their hometown together after graduation.
The man's home was in a mountain village. He was raised by his grandmother and was the only college student from that village.
However, when they returned, they discovered that his grandmother was paralyzed in bed with bedsores all over her body and starving with skin and bones.
The man was furious. He then found out that the money he sent back every month had been embezzled by their neighbor.
The couple decided to take the grandmother with them and provide care.
The grandmother refused as she felt she would be a burden, but her objections were ineffective.
On their way leaving, the neighbor's son was angry that his source of money was gone. He drove his van to hit them.
The man protected Gu Qing'an tightly in his arms at the cost of his own life and his grandmother's. They died at the scene.
Shen Tang was shocked that it turned out to be a tragedy.
She regretted her damned curiosity for prying into another person's old wound.
"I'm sorry..."
"It's okay. It's all in the past, and that family has been punished. Just don't mention it in front of my sister. She puts on an unconcerned attitude but is actually very sensitive."
Otherwise, she would not have buried herself in work after giving birth.
All these years, she had been overseas and never came back until recently when she heard he was getting married. Only then did she transfer her work back to China.
Shen Tang nodded in understanding.
She could not understand how there could be such bad people.
"So Anran and Wuyu..."
"They are his unborn children. You can also tell from their names that my sister's greatest wish is for the two of them to be safe and sound."
Shen Tang's tears kept flowing. The most painful thing in the world is for loving people to be eternally separated.
This also affirmed Shen Tang's heart that did not understand love. What if she transmigrated back one day? Wouldn't she also be separated from her lover by two worlds?
Shen Tang sniffed and nodded heavily. From now on, she would only sleep with people, not fall in love.
Gu Huaian: "???"
"It's not necessary to give up eating due to choking."
"You don't have to tell me, I understand!" Shen Tang's eyes grew even firmer.
Gu Huaian: "......"
He suddenly regretted what was going on?
The two chatted for a long time before heading back to the hotel late at night.
Just as they arrived at the hotel lobby, Shen Tang discovered that Xu JiaoJiao was still there.
Hearing the sound, Xu JiaoJiao looked up and excitedly ran over to hug Shen Tang's arm tightly.
"You're back!"
"Why are you here?"
"Waiting for you." Having said that, Xu JiaoJiao revealed a shy, bashful smile.
Shen Tang felt something was not right. She extricated her arm from Xu JiaoJiao's embrace, "Um, it's late, let's go upstairs first."
While riding the elevator up, Shen Tang noticed that Xu JiaoJiao kept giving her inadvertent glances.
The hair on Shen Tang's skin were standing up.
After a quick goodbye, she hurried back into her room and locked the door tightly. She couldn't wait to take out her phone and ask her friend what was going on.
With conspiracy theories filling her brain, Qi Yue went on elaborating more and more horribly frightening speculations.
On the contrary, Huo Yingying had seen a lot more of the world with deeper experience. She gave Shen Tang an unexpected speculation —
"Could she have fallen for you?!"
She's fallen for me?!
Fallen for me?!
Fallen for you?!
Shen Tang's brain went blank directly with the CPU nearly burnt out.
"That can't be..."
"Then tell me, isn't she always sticking to you? Doesn't she always squeeze herself in whenever she sees you with someone else?"
"Yes..."
"Then that's it. She likes you!"
Shen Tang's jaws dropped without a word for quite a while. "I'm a bit dumbfounded..."
On the other end, Huo Yingying already started her fanfiction on their relationship.
"I would never have expected a lesbian right by my side!"
"She must have been absolutely infatuated with you!"
"Ahhh it feels so sweet, so sweet!"
"Sigh... Tangtang, you really attract everyone, men and women alike..."
But Shen Tang still felt something was not right. She did not think Xu JiaoJiao looked at her with feelings of affection. On the contrary, her gaze seemed almost fanatic.
"No no no, it must be a misunderstanding."
Shen Tang felt unsettled. It would not do keep speculating wildly like this. She decided to ask directly.
Arriving at Xu JiaoJiao's door, Shen Tang took a deep breath and gently knocked on the door. Sounds of footsteps rang out before the door opened.
"Tangtang, why are you here?"
"I... have something I'd like to ask you, do you mind if I come in?"
"Of course not!"
Stepping into the room, Shen Tang discovered everything looked normal without anything out of the ordinary.
"May I ask directly, do you have feelings for me?"
"Yes, I like you a lot."
"In what way?"
Xu JiaoJiao paused briefly in surprise before bursting out in loud laughter with tears flowing out.
"Pffft Tangtang, could you have misunderstood something?"
Shen Tang felt rather embarrassed. "So there's nothing going on?"
Xu JiaoJiao rolled her eyes with an impish grin, "There is!"
"Huh?"
"Haha, just kidding! You're so adorable..."
"Then why do you keep..." Although very embarrassed, Shen Tang still wanted to understand what was going on.
Xu JiaoJiao sighed. "I don't know if you'd believe me if I told you..."
"Ah?"
"Actually, I have reincarnated."
She didn't actually know whether it was reincarnation or a fleeting dream.
If it were a dream, it would have felt too real.
Seeing Shen Tang's lack of response, Xu JiaoJiao shrugged. "See, I told you that you wouldn't believe me."
"I believe you. Can you tell me what happened in your previous life?"
Why wouldn't she believe it? With Shen Tang crossing into a book herself, having someone else reincarnate was nothing strange.
Shen Tang was unaware whether Xu JiaoJiao reincarnated in the first cycle without her crossing in or the second cycle after she crossed. If it was the second cycle, then she might be able to learn something about the future from this.
"My previous life..."
Xu JiaoJiao gazed ahead as her thoughts slowly drifted away.
In her previous life, she was a minor celebrity without resources or connections. After acting in this drama, she managed to ride the wave of popularity.
However, good times did not last. Some investor eyed her, so the company started bringing her out to drink and entertain clients.
Although she upheld her principles, she still could not avoid being taken advantage of by roving hands.
At another dinner banquet, a fat-headed man with big ears put his hand on her thigh to grope about while trying to pour alcohol down her throat.
By then she had already drunk until she felt like vomiting with stomach cramps and a dizzy head. She declined again and again.
The man was about to force the drink on her.
It was Shen Tang who saved her like an angel sent from heaven.
In her muddled state, she witnessed Shen Tang give that man a good beating before bringing her to the hospital to pump her stomach.
While it might have been a small matter to Shen Tang, it was a life-changing event for her.
If not for Shen Tang, terrible things could have happened to her - things she did not dare imagine.
Shen Tang scratched her head. "So you came to like me because of that?"
Xu JiaoJiao smiled and nodded. "Yes, we later became best friends. I knew all your preferences and you helped clear the way forward for me..."
As she spoke, tears flowed from Xu JiaoJiao's eyes.
How could she have been so uncontented in her previous life?
Fortunately, fortunately...