I never thought my wretched life would be given a second chance.
After dying a tragic death in my previous life, I've reincarnated on the fifth anniversary of my marriage to my husband Qi Xiao.
I sat on the sofa waiting for him all day. It's late into the night now, and he's still nowhere to be seen.
I couldn't help but sneer, "Is this the marriage I refused to give up in my previous life?"
Every year on our anniversary, I would meticulously prepare a candlelit dinner and gifts. Yet, he's never once come back.
Suddenly, the sound of a car parking echoed in the courtyard.
He's home today?!
My heart was in a whirl. In my past life, Qi Xiao insisted on divorcing me for another woman. I disagreed, and he drove me, his wife of five years, to a desperate corner. He even went so far as to wipe out my parents.
You'd think I'd hate him after reincarnating. But standing in front of the window, watching the tall and long-legged man get out of the car, I found my inner self surprisingly calm.
In the past, Qi Xiao proposed a peaceful divorce and offered me a share of the Qi's stake – Preposterously lavish for a lifetime's spending.
But my stubbornness got the best of me then. I couldn’t comprehend how I spent a decade of my youth and didn't get a fraction of his affection.
Another woman, however, just spent a year, and he was head over heels for her, even willing to stand against the world for her. How could that be fair!?
My unwillingness and grievances gradually steered us towards a life-and-death showdown.
But now, I've come to my senses.
Why should I?
"He's just a man. If he doesn't want me, then let him go."
"If given a chance to restart, I will never repeat the same mistakes."
When Qi Xiao strides in with his long legs, I'm already seated back on the sofa.
"Not sleeping in the middle of the night, and putting on a scary woman act?" His icy eyes sweep over, and the words that come out of his mouth are as unpleasant as always.
"Let's have a chat." I look up at him.
I must say, apart from not loving me, this man really has no other flaws.
Physically, he is nearly one hundred ninety centimeters tall, stand straight, with broad shoulders and a slender waist. He is the type who looks slim when dressed and muscular when undressed.
As for his face, it's the dream of millions of girls.
In terms of family background, the Qi family is a well-known business family in City A. In terms of power, his name alone is enough to dominate City A.
With such a man, who wouldn't call him perfect?
"What's there to talk about between you and me?" Qi Xiao is as cold as ever.
"Qi Xiao, let's get a divorce." I look at the man passing by me, my throat feels tight.
At my words, Qi Xiao stops in his tracks and laughs, "Shen Qingmo, what has upset you?"
I stared at him, the corners of my mouth slightly curving up.
Yes, I am upset, upset by the stimulation of your future destined woman!
Today, the first thing I did after reincarnation was to meet the woman from my past life, Yan Liu, who made him lose his soul, and for whom he was willing to make enemies with everyone.
She was a youthful and vibrant female university student. Her innocence was as clean as a pure jasmine flower.
Now she is working part-time at a coffee shop.
In my past life, I never got to see her until the time of my death, because Qi Xiao truly protected her like the apple of his eye.
I proposed to see her once and just talk, he rejected me.
So, I became excessively curious about what kind of woman she really was!
Today I met her.
Young, beautiful, innocent, kind, cheerful... these beautiful adjectives seemed to be fitting for her.
She had a face full of collagen, a full and firm body with elasticity. If I look at myself, I'm now as thin as a skeleton because of anorexia. Well, who would want to hug a bunch of bones when sleeping at night?
"I'm serious," I said solemnly.
Qi Xiao squints at me with his deep eyes, his gaze is full of oppression.
I don't care at this moment, "It's been five years, our marriage is in name only. I always knew you didn't love me, and you will never love me in the future, so let's end this and give each other freedom."
My voice was soft, without much fluctuation.
A month later, he would meet Yan Liu, who would be the hostess at a large-scale commercial dialogue in City A, and he would fall in love with her at first sight. Afterwards, he would do whatever it took to have her!
In my previous life, I did everything I could and should.
I was always nothing more than cannon fodder in their love trajectory, even affecting my own family's reputation.
Knowing the outcome, why should I continue to beg pitifully?
Let go early, and be free early.
I'm not sure if it's because my indifferent attitude angered him, or what, but Qi Xiao's gaze suddenly became extremely cold. It was as if he wanted to strangle me.
After all, Qi Xiao has always had a bad temper. Whoever upset him, he would certainly seek his revenge.
As he looked at me, his eyes were filled with raw hostility. "Shen Qing Mo, are you playing me?!"
"Five years ago, the person who was desperate to marry me was you. Now the one who wants a divorce is also you. How is it? Am I your toy? At your disposal?!"
I pursed my lips.
Yes, it was indeed me who forced him to marry me five years ago.
At that time, our Shen family had a good relationship with their Qi family, and I had been secretly in love with Qi Xiao for five years already.
In reality, Qi Xiao had never considered marrying me. It was just that Qi's grandfather was gravely ill, and together we pressured him into marrying me.
There may be no melodramatic love triangles or stand-ins between Qi Xiao and me, but the fact that Qi Xiao, who didn't love me, was forced to marry me became his greatest shame.
Moreover, at that time, he was taking over the family business, and my family was of help to him. Hence, we managed to get by for five years based on this.
"Could it be, you fell in love with me in these five years? You can't bear to part now?" I asked bitterly.
"Fall in love with you?" Qi Xiao suddenly closed the space between us, his hands propping on the couch, pulling me into his embrace. Towering beside my ear, he carelessly said, "Shen Qing Mo, are you still dreaming?"
Qi Xiao enjoys smoking, there's always a faint hint of tobacco on him. It is subtle, and surprisingly pleasant.
He never hugged me, but I had once held his coat close and sniffed it, infatuated.
Now as I take in that scent again, there is no joy, just annoyance, "We have endured a marriage that exists in name only for five years. Do you really wish for it to continue?"
I am tired.
"In name only?"
Qi Xiao raises an eyebrow, "What's wrong? Are you unsatisfied?"
