Chapter 1: Your Husband Betrayed You

Si Rong lay half-reclined on a rattan chair, basking in the sun, sipping rose tea from time to time, her apricot-shaped eyes half-closed in comfort.

Although she was nearing forty, many people who saw Si Rong for the first time said she looked at most thirty years old.

All of this was due to the doting love of her husband, Shen Lan, which made her life prosperous and happy, and that was why she was so young and vibrant.

Ring, ring, ring—

The suddenly ringing telephone startled Si Rong; it was the beginning of 1996, and their family was among the first in Huaiyang County to have a telephone installed.

Yesterday, while playing with the phone, she had been annoyed that none of her relatives or friends had phones yet, picking up the receiver only to put it back down, not knowing who to call.

Now that the phone was ringing, who could be calling?

Si Rong picked up the phone, and a very familiar voice came from the other end, "Si Rong, I am you from twenty years in the future. We only have one minute of talk time now. I will only say three things: first, divorce Shen Lan as soon as possible, he has betrayed you; second, the two children you raised are ingrates, look out for yourself early on; third, buy property, the more the better."

Every sentence in this was explosive to Si Rong.

He betrayed you!!!

Shen Lan?

No! She absolutely did not believe it!

They had been husband and wife for twenty years and were the model couple in the eyes of everyone in the residential complex; how could Shen Lan possibly betray her!

And the two children she raised—back then, the doctor said she couldn't conceive, so Shen Lan had adopted two children from outside and brought them home.

She had raised them from childhood; they were closer than biological mother and child!

How could they be ingrates?

"Who are you?" Si Rong asked urgently.

But there was only a busy signal left in the receiver.

Si Rong stood there holding the receiver for a long time; the person on the phone just now said, said she was her from twenty years in the future.

How could this be possible?

Yet that voice was indeed incomparably familiar.

After standing for a long time, with no further sound from the phone, Si Rong slowly moved back to the rattan chair on the balcony, feeling as if she had collapsed.

The rose tea in her mouth seemed to taste bitter.

The autumn sunset shone in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, making her feel agitated and restless.

Her mind was full of that phone call.

Shen Lan could absolutely not betray her!

From their campus romance to the loving couple everyone envied today, they could understand each other's meaning with just a glance.

The sun slowly slanted to the west, and a sense of desolation rose involuntarily from her heart.

As soon as she thought of the possibility that Shen Lan might betray her, Si Rong's heart began to sink, and sink, sinking into an abyss.

This must be someone trying to deceive her, jealous of her happy life now!

Si Rong thought to herself.

Suddenly, she leaned back on the rattan chair and laughed again, talking to herself, her red lips murmuring unconsciously, "And twenty years later? If I from twenty years later could call me now, then why only one minute?"

"Right! It's fake!" As if she had finally found the flaw, she stood up and looked at the phone again; in the twilight, the phone seemed to carry a certain eerie feeling.

Si Rong looked at the phone and said slowly, "If it's not fake, then call back again and say it clearly!"

The telephone rang at this moment.

It scared Si Rong so much she nearly fell to the ground.

She stood up, feeling uncertain and suspicious, and stepped forward to pick up the receiver again before the ringing stopped.

"Rongrong, shall I bring you a Quanjude roast duck when I get off work later? You wanted to eat it two days ago, right?"

It was Shen Lan's voice.

Si Rong's tense body suddenly relaxed, and her nose felt a bit sore.

That was two nights ago, when she was leaning in Shen Lan's arms.

She had placed her slightly cold feet on Shen Lan's lower abdomen.

She had mentioned offhandedly that she wanted to eat roast duck.

"Then I'll go buy it now!" Shen Lan was about to get up immediately.

It was Si Rong who pressed him back into the covers, "I was just saying it, I don't need to eat it right away."

"Then I will definitely buy it back as soon as possible so that my wife can eat it."

When Shen Lan said that, his eyes were full of doting love.

He was always like this; even her casual remarks were kept in his heart.

Could a man like this betray her?

Si Rong's mind eased, and she subconsciously wanted to tell him about the strange phone call she had just received.

But thinking of the weirdness of the call, Si Rong decided it was better not to talk about this over the phone.

Wait for Shen Lan to come back.

Right, once he comes back, everything will be fine.

She was not a person with a strong sense of independence; as the youngest daughter in the family during her childhood, Si Rong grew up being pampered.

Later, although her family suffered a great upheaval, her husband Shen Lan gradually rose in rank and continued to protect her under his wings; there would always be someone in front of her to shield her from the wind and rain.

Soon, the door sounded.

Si Rong went to greet them.

The one who returned was her daughter, Shen Yuan.

She was in her third year of high school this year, preparing to sprint for the College Entrance Examination.

Most of Si Rong's attention was on her, helping her with reviews and daily life.

Although there was a nanny, Wang Ma, in the house, Si Rong personally took care of many things for her daughter.

Such a little girl, from the moment Shen Lan brought her back, a tiny little bundle, she had grown into the graceful young lady she was now.

Could this obedient girl who always sweetly called her "Mom" really be the ungrateful wretch described on the phone?

"Mom, I'm hungry. When will dinner be ready?"

Shen Yuan hugged her and acted spoiled as usual; Si Rong was stunned for a moment before she embraced her back.

"Wang Ma has gone to buy groceries; we can eat in a little while."

"Mom made some white fungus and pear soup; drink some first."

"Mom is the best! I love you the most, Mom!"

Si Rong ladled a small bowl of soup for her and watched her drink it with a smile.

"Oh right, Mom, I want to go to Guo Fucheng's concert on Sunday. Can you help me buy a ticket?"

The "Four Heavenly Kings" were just rising to fame now, and many young girls were obsessed with them; a single concert ticket was being scalped for over one thousand yuan.

One had to know that in the nineties, over one thousand yuan was enough for an ordinary family to live comfortably for a year.

Furthermore, even with money, ordinary people simply couldn't get their hands on tickets.

But Si Rong's second older brother could.

After the family fortune declined back then, her second older brother, Si Han, seized the opportunity of the 1980s reform and opening up, and in just ten years, he had become a well-known entrepreneur in Huaiyang County.

He could get his hands on good things that others couldn't.

In the past, Si Rong had doted on this youngest daughter very much and would grant her every request.

But perhaps influenced by that phone call today, she refused her daughter's request for the first time: "You have the College Entrance Examination next year; focus on your studies first."

Shen Yuan was immediately displeased; she rolled her eyes, set down the half-finished soup, and returned to her own room.

Si Rong's smile froze halfway on her face.

The door sounded again.

The one who returned this time was Shen Lan.

The man was wearing a jacket and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses; although he was already forty-three, his physique was still well-maintained, and his refined face had a bit more of a steady air than when he was young.

Back then, it was precisely for his good looks that Si Rong had married him.