Chapter 1

“Bang!” Ning Qian was suddenly shoved by someone. She staggered several steps before falling hard to the ground. A moment later, she heard the creak of a door closing. Hot steam enveloped her, accompanied by the sound of rushing water. She lay on the floor, dizzy and disoriented. What was going on? She struggled to get up, but after taking only two steps, her foot suddenly slipped. The moment she fell, she instinctively grabbed onto something. A furious voice suddenly came from above her. “…Let go of me!” Only then did Ning Qian realize that she was hugging the other person’s bare leg! “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to…” This position was incredibly embarrassing… Wait. Was this a bathhouse? She clearly remembered getting into a car accident on her way home. How had she suddenly ended up here? By the time she got to her feet, the man had already grabbed his clothes and covered himself. However, his perfectly defined eight-pack abs and V-line were still completely visible to her. The steam was too thick for her to see his face clearly, but judging from his deep, well-defined features, he was definitely handsome. The man’s eyes were cold and sharp as he asked, “Why is it you?” “Ah? You know me?” Ning Qian stared at him in confusion. She waved her hand, trying to clear the steam in front of her. When she finally saw his face clearly, she froze. “Xue… Xue Yunkai?” She covered her mouth, her eyes filled with disbelief. Wasn’t this man supposed to have died in a workplace accident not long after marrying her younger sister? Yet he looked only twenty-five or twenty-six years old—the same age he had been back when he was a workshop supervisor at the factory! Could it be… Had she been reborn? The man frowned, his voice cold and detached. “Ning Qian, what exactly are you trying to do?” Her mind was in complete turmoil, and for a moment, Ning Qian didn’t know how to answer. The wet man stood before her, looking like some otherworldly demon who had descended to the mortal realm. Ning Qian couldn’t help feeling embarrassed as she stared at him. Had someone drugged her? Otherwise, why was she having such a hard time controlling herself? The man’s face turned red under her intense gaze. This woman had no sense of shame at all. How could she be so bold? He waved his hand impatiently. “Hurry up and leave. You’re drunk…” Seeing that she was drunk, he decided not to pursue the matter. Ning Qian blinked. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave right away…” She had just turned around when— The floor was too slippery. She lost her footing, and her body once again lost its balance! The man beside her instinctively reached out to catch her. But before he could steady himself, he lost his balance too. Ning Qian was pinned firmly beneath the man’s strong body, and she experienced firsthand what was meant by a man’s physical strength! She was mortified. In both of her lifetimes, this was the first time she had ever encountered such a situation… At that very moment, the door was suddenly thrown open, and several people rushed inside! Leading them was a young woman. The moment she entered, she began wailing. “Sister, how could you do this to me? I’m about to marry Director Xue, yet you came all the way to the bathhouse to seduce him! I’m your own sister! Don’t you think you’ve gone too far?” …That was her younger sister, Ning Lan! Ning Qian had experienced countless hardships in her previous life, so she quickly figured everything out. This was undoubtedly a “catching them in the act” scheme deliberately staged by her younger sister. Her goal was to break off Ning Qian’s engagement to Xue Yunkai! Xue Yunkai had previously served as a company commander in the military. After being injured during a mission and becoming disabled in one leg, he was discharged and transferred to a position as a workshop supervisor at a state-owned steel factory. In her previous life, Ning Lan had actually been interested in Zhou Jianan. In the end, however, she chose Xue Yunkai simply because she had heard that he was about to be promoted to factory director. At that time, Zhou Jianan was merely an ordinary worker. Strange. Why would this profit-driven sister suddenly want to break off the engagement? Ning Qian’s mind raced. Then she suddenly remembered— Ning Lan had died of illness one month before Ning Qian’s car accident! Could it be that Ning Lan had been reborn too? And had she been reborn before Ning Qian? If that was the case, everything suddenly made sense. Having lived through her previous life, Ning Lan knew that Zhou Jianan would eventually become a wealthy man, while Xue Yunkai would die in the line of duty not long after their marriage. Compared with the two, the man she would naturally choose in this life was Zhou Jianan! Once Ning Qian figured everything out, she actually felt relieved. All she needed to do was go along with the situation and let Ning Lan take Zhou Jianan from her. Then she could finally get rid of that scumbag! In her previous life, they had only been married for a short time before he cheated on her. If it hadn’t been for their child, she would have divorced that bastard long ago. “You ungrateful girl, why are you just standing there? Speak! Why did you try to steal your sister’s fiancé?” The person speaking was Ning Qian’s father, who was so angry that his lips trembled. Her elder brother also angrily scolded her. “Big Sister, you’re absolutely shameless! How could you even try to seduce your own sister’s fiancé?” “This is humiliating! Fortunately, it’s only us family members here. Otherwise, you would have completely disgraced the Ning family!” Their father shook his head furiously. Those words reminded Ning Qian of something. Her father and elder brother were both workers at the factory, and they should both be working today. That was probably why Ning Lan had deliberately chosen this particular day to set her up. She knew that if the matter became too serious and Ning Qian became so ashamed that she took her own life, the police station would inevitably get involved. Once the truth was investigated, Ning Lan would be finished. Judging from this, that girl was indeed quite clever. Xue Yunkai hurriedly put on his clothes. Just as he was about to explain the situation, Ning Qian spoke first. “Sister, I just want to ask you something. You started shouting before you had even come close to us. The steam in here is so thick, so how did you know that the people inside were Director Xue and me?” “Could it be that you had already planned all of this? Is that why you were so certain that Director Xue and I would be in here?” Her string of questions threw Ning Lan into a panic! “You… You’re talking nonsense! How could I have planned this? You’re slandering me!” With her scheme exposed, Ning Lan’s face flushed red with embarrassment and anger. At the same time, she was deeply puzzled. This wasn’t right. Her elder sister had always been rather dull. How could she have seen through the scheme so easily? Could she simply be lashing out because she had been cornered? No. No matter what happened, she had to break off this engagement today! With that thought, she snorted. “Sister, if there really is nothing between you and Director Xue, then why was he lying on top of you just now?” Ning Qian pondered for a moment before calmly replying, “What if I told you that we simply slipped and fell by accident? Would you believe me?” Xue Yunkai could no longer hold back. He glared fiercely at her and hurriedly said, “What do you mean, ‘what if’? That’s exactly what happened!” The way this woman was speaking so ambiguously—what exactly did she mean? He couldn’t help but become suspicious of her intentions. As if she had caught Ning Qian in the act, Ning Lan sneered. “See? I knew it! My sister is obviously feeling guilty. Even the way she speaks is so vague! Besides, if she wasn’t trying to seduce Director Xue, why isn’t she even wearing her outer clothes?” Only then did Ning Qian realize that she was wearing nothing but a fitted undergarment, something resembling a bra-like camisole. Because she had been drunk and felt overheated, and because the bathhouse was dimly lit, she hadn’t noticed it until now. Ning Lan watched from the side, burning with jealousy. How could this wretched girl have such a much better figure than her? What a vixen! The steam had been too thick earlier, so Xue Yunkai hadn’t noticed either. He immediately looked away, took off his jacket, and tossed it to her. “Put this on!” Her own father and brother were supposed to be her family, yet all they did was berate her. Meanwhile, this outsider was the one helping her… Ning Qian put on the jacket, then immediately slapped Ning Lan hard across the face! “You wretched girl! If you want to break off the engagement, then just do it! Why did you have to frame me? And why did you take off my clothes?” She could tolerate many things, but stripping her and humiliating her was something she absolutely could not forgive! Ning Lan was stunned by the slap. She had never expected her sister to suddenly become so fierce. She was so frightened that she didn’t even have the courage to hit her back. But after going to all this trouble to set Ning Qian up, she had to break off the engagement today! So she grabbed their father’s arm and cried out, “Dad, look! Sister seduced my fiancé and even hit me! You and Big Brother have to stand up for me…” “Since Sister likes Director Xue so much, fine, I’ll give him to her. Anyway, I have to break off this engagement. Otherwise, how am I supposed to face anyone in the future? Sob…” Ning Qian’s father immediately patted her shoulder comfortingly. “Alright, alright. I’ll stand up for you. We’ll break off this engagement…” Seeing his younger sister being slapped, her elder brother immediately rushed forward and raised his hand to strike Ning Qian!