A Couple's Rebirth to 1977 Before Marriage

Chapter 200: Chapter 197: Showdown (Part 1)

A gentle breeze drifted by, causing the wind chimes on the windowsill to tinkle slowly. The crisp, pleasant sound startled the two of them, each lost in their own thoughts. Shifting into a more comfortable position in Li Xiu’s arms, Zhou Lian snuggled deeper into his embrace and said softly, "Jin Chen, when did you become so sentimental? This isn’t like you."

Gently stroking Zhou Lian’s hair, Li Xiu looked at her tenderly and said, "I wouldn’t call it being sentimental. I just get this way when it comes to matters involving you. But after hearing your words tonight, Bao’er, I feel reassured. I will hold on to what you said, and you have to keep your word too, Bao’er!"

Zhou Lian had a feeling things weren’t as simple as Li Xiu made them out to be. His insecurity when it came to her was just too severe, and the reason he gave felt flimsy. She knew his personality—stubborn, confident, with a Seven-orifice Exquisite Heart. Why would he be so lacking in confidence about her for no apparent reason? ’It’s like the feeling of regaining something you’d lost... Lost and found?’

"Jin Chen, what do you think happens after a person dies?"

Li Xiu’s pupils contracted. He fought to keep his voice even as he asked quietly, "Bao’er, what made you think to ask that?"

Zhou Lian lowered her eyes and said faintly, "It’s nothing, I’m just curious. They say that when people die, they drink Meng Po Soup before they reincarnate. But what if someone doesn’t drink it? What if they remember all the joys and sorrows of their past life? How are they supposed to live this one?"

"Then they should strive to fulfill all the regrets from their past life!" Li Xiu said softly, fighting to keep his body from trembling. ’Has Bao’er figured something out?’

"Is that so? But can all regrets truly be fulfilled? Can they all be resolved perfectly?"

"Why not? Since you know what your regrets are, you should give it your all to find a perfect resolution. It would be a waste of your past life’s memories otherwise!"

"Jin Chen, is that really your philosophy?"

Looking into Zhou Lian’s calm eyes, Li Xiu said in a trembling voice, "Yes. I would give my all for a perfect resolution, even if it meant my soul would be scattered for all eternity!"

She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them to fix her gaze on Li Xiu. Forcing herself to stay calm, Zhou Lian asked, "Is it worth it? All for a single regret."

"Bao’er, for others it might be just a regret, but for me, it’s more than that. You’ve guessed, haven’t you?" Gently resting his chin on the crown of Zhou Lian’s head, Li Xiu murmured with his eyes closed.

Clutching a button on Li Xiu’s shirt, Zhou Lian’s voice was barely a whisper. "Yes, I’ve guessed. We’ve been husband and wife for two lifetimes. Fear and insecurity aren’t in your nature. Your sudden outburst tonight... it was like the anxiety of someone who’s just gotten back something they’d lost. When did it happen?"

Li Xiu froze, speechless. ’Everyone says I’m the one with the Seven-orifice Exquisite Heart,’ he thought, ’but they always forget how sharp and perceptive Zhou Lian is. She’s always been the cleverest one; she just hides it behind a graceful and quiet facade.’ When did he come back? How was he supposed to answer?

"Tell me. Surely you don’t intend to keep hiding it from me, Jin Chen?" Zhou Lian said softly, looking at the silent Li Xiu. She wanted to know what happened to her son and daughter, and she was also curious about Li Xiu’s situation.

"Bao’er, I..."

"If you don’t know how to begin, then start from after I died in our past life. How were our son and daughter? Were they all right?" She knew this man too well. He was trying to gloss over the painful parts again, but Zhou Lian saw right through his attempt.

The memory from their past life surfaced, and Li Xiu hugged Zhou Lian tightly. He closed his eyes and said, "I don’t know."

"What do you mean, you don’t know? Don’t tell me...?" Zhou Lian stared at him, her eyes wide with shocked disbelief. ’Could it be what I’m thinking?’

Seeing her shocked expression, Li Xiu gently kissed her forehead. ’Might as well tell her everything,’ he thought, ’to avoid any future misunderstandings.’ He gently smoothed her furrowed brow and said softly, "Bao’er, when I watched you pass away so peacefully... my mind went completely blank. I sent the children away, held you, and fell asleep. The next time I opened my eyes, I was lying in bed in the old house. I’d been knocked unconscious by a bull from the production brigade. It was 1977. We hadn’t even had our blind date yet!"

"Wait a second, what was the exact date?" Zhou Lian cut in. ’Surely we didn’t come back on the same day!’

Looking at Zhou Lian tenderly, Li Xiu said slowly, "The ninth day of the seventh lunar month. The same as the day you left. It was the ninth of the seventh month. Bao’er... is that the day you returned as well?"

"How long have you known?" Zhou Lian asked, ignoring his question and staring at him, enunciating every word. ’There were so many things I wasn’t careful about in front of him,’ she thought. ’This man, as cunning as a fox, must have known for ages!’

Li Xiu watched Zhou Lian apprehensively, speaking with caution. "It was when Chuanqi went to your father’s house to get help... you said the names Xiang Lin and Xiang Rui. Bao’er, please don’t be angry. I wasn’t trying to hide it from you. I was just afraid... afraid that if you knew it was me, you wouldn’t marry me, that you might..."

"All right," Zhou Lian cut him off. "So that means you also don’t know what happened to the children?" ’I have no one to blame but myself for being an idiot,’ she fumed internally. ’Damn it! He saw right through me the second time we met in this life. How could I be so stupid!’

Li Xiu nodded. Sensing that she wasn’t pushing him away, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. ’As long as she doesn’t reject me, it’s fine,’ he thought. ’My wife will definitely be angry this time, but that’s all right. I’ll do whatever it takes to win her over again.’

"How could it be such a coincidence? It wasn’t something you did, was it? I died on the ninth day of the seventh month in my past life, and I woke up in this body on that exact same day in this life. Jin Chen, what did you do?" The more Zhou Lian thought about it, the stranger it all seemed. Even for something as supernatural as this, how could someone die in one life and be reborn in the next on the exact same day? There had to be a reason!

"I didn’t do anything," Li Xiu said softly, his mind drifting back to that heart-wrenching moment from their past life. "I was in absolute despair. Holding your already-cold body, what was there to think about? My only hope was that if I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t be so stupid as to lose you. I swore I would treasure you like the rarest jewel, that I’d follow you to the ends of the earth just to be with you, that we’d never be separated for all of eternity. I would spoil you, dote on you, indulge your every whim, and make you unable to ever leave my side!"

She glanced at him, then lowered her head and asked in a small voice, "Don’t you resent me? Don’t you hate me?" ’In their last life, she had been full of resentment and hatred, born from his blind filial piety and that one slap. But what about Li Xiu? He had a wife, a daughter, a son... but for the rest of his life, even with his children for company, did he truly not resent her? Not hate her? From the day their daughter went to college, it was as if Li Xiu was a man without a wife. He had only just turned forty, yet he lived the rest of his days like an ascetic. Knowing him as she did, she was certain he had never done a single thing to wrong her. Otherwise, he could never face her with such a clear conscience now.’

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