Chapter 16: Transmigration vs. Rebirth?

Wen Ci watched helplessly as the bathroom door opened. There were countless scars across the man's back and waist; even for someone like Wen Ci, who had survived the battlefields of the apocalypse, these wounds were shocking to behold.

Her heart tightened with heartache. Just what had Huo Jingyuan gone through all these years?

The temperature in the room was higher than in the bathroom. When Huo Jingyuan felt a slight warmth, he thought the water heater had regained its temperature. He turned around, only to find himself locking eyes with Wen Ci.

Wen Ci's gaze involuntarily drifted downward, a hint of a smile dancing in her eyes.

Huo Jingyuan hurriedly reached out to close the door. He had rushed in too quickly and forgotten to ensure the door was shut properly, causing this awkward blunder.

After showering, he pulled on a white T-shirt. Droplets of water from his hair slid slowly down his Adam's apple, and Wen Ci's gaze followed them downward.

The outlines of his abdominal muscles were faintly visible at his waist.

"Are you going to the mall?" Huo Jingyuan asked.

Wen Ci glanced at the clock in the room; it was nearly 7:30 PM. In the 1980s, there wasn't much of a nightlife: "Are there still malls open this late?"

"The malls in Haishi close at nine."

Haishi was a provincial capital. Since the state began encouraging the street stall economy, nightlife had gradually begun to emerge, and this was the peak time for activity.

"What are we going to buy at the mall?" Wen Ci asked.

Huo Jingyuan nodded. "My comrades asked me to pick up some things for them."

Soldiers in the Northwest Military Region had very few holidays besides annual leave and marriage leave. Upon learning that Huo Jingyuan was taking marriage leave, many had asked him to bring things back.

"I want to go for a stroll too."

Wen Ci's hair was not yet fully dry. In this era, hair dryers were extremely difficult to come by; women could only rely on towels after washing their hair. Drying one's hair was a tedious task, usually left to air-dry naturally.

Stepping out of the guesthouse, Wen Ci saw many street vendors selling goods, including sweet potato sellers, filling the air with the scent of daily life.

Unfortunately, the stores had already closed before they could get the items Huo Jingyuan's comrades had requested. He frowned. "It looks like I won't be able to buy them for them."

"You can still buy them," Wen Ci said, blinking. "You can take the first bus back to the compound tomorrow morning, and I'll wait for the stores to open to buy the things for them."

"No," Huo Jingyuan refused the suggestion.

Wen Ci was new to this place and unfamiliar with the surroundings; how could he let her handle the shopping?

"But didn't you promise to help them?"

"They will understand if there is an emergency."

***

On the other side, far away in the Beijing compound, Jiang Ye suddenly jolted awake on the sofa. She stared at her surroundings in the living room, her eyes widening, before tears began to flow.

Had she actually been reborn?

In her previous life, she had a boyfriend in high school who was a candidate for Tsinghua or Peking University. She had heard that her parents intended to marry her off to a man in the Northwest whom she had never even met.

She had resolutely refused, even subtly revealing her true origins.

This allowed the biological daughter of the Jiang family to take her place and marry the man in the Northwest.

But...

Decades later, Jiang Ye had suffered endless grievances. Her boyfriend always had a "white moonlight" in his heart, and she remained childless due to health issues.

She was utterly despised by her husband, and her end was miserable.

In contrast, Wen Ci—the woman who had taken her place—though the two shared no romantic feelings, Wen Ci was, on the surface, a prestigious and respected commander's wife.

Jiang Ye's eyes narrowed. Having been given a second chance at life, she was determined to change her fate, though she was unsure of the current timeline. The sound of the door opening echoed through the house; Jiang Ye saw her brother supporting their drunken father.

"Brother, Father, I want to marry Huo Jingyuan."

(End of Chapter)