Chapter Fourteen: Iron-Blooded Tenderness Weaves at Fingertips (14)

She not only denied the feelings between them but also desperately pursued the man she had abandoned!

That night, though driven by anger and alcohol to act impulsively, he sensed afterward that something was amiss. It was the first time Chen Chuchu had behaved this way; she wouldn’t deliberately feign promiscuity or play both sides to test him. But why was she doing this?

The senior racked his brain but couldn’t make sense of it. Reluctantly, he decided not to dwell on it. After all, Chen Chuchu now filled him with disgust and aversion. Since she no longer stirred up trouble, he resolved to let go and treat their past as erased.

Days passed by, and Chen Chuchu anxiously awaited news of Fan Sijin’s car accident. She checked the calendar repeatedly each day to confirm the date.

By all accounts, Fan Sijin should have had the accident in June and become a vegetable. Yet it was already July! The summer break was near, and Fan Sijin remained safe and sound.

What on earth was going on?

Just as Chen Chuchu’s anxiety peaked, Fan Sijin unexpectedly appeared at her doorstep.

Since that phone call, Chen Chuchu had never reached out to Gao Dingzhong, firmly convinced that Fan Sijin was fated for misfortune.

Now, with Fan Sijin suddenly standing before her, she sharply recalled how harsh and cruel her own words had been.

Considering Fan Sijin’s family background and her position as a teaching assistant, Chen Chuchu felt a wave of unease.

They met at a café near the school gate. Fan Sijin ordered a glass of orange juice, took a gentle sip, and cut straight to the chase: “Chen Chuchu, whether you believe it or not, I know everything about you.”

Chen Chuchu sneered inwardly, about to respond, but Fan Sijin interrupted again.

This time, cold sweat broke out on Chen Chuchu’s forehead as Fan Sijin’s words struck her like a hammer: “You’re a reborn soul—I know.”

“W-what nonsense are you spouting?!” Chen Chuchu hastily denied, anxiety gripping her heart as if it might leap from her chest.

“No need to hide it. I told you, I know everything,” Fan Sijin’s lips curled into a faint smile. “Aren’t you curious how I, who should have had the accident and become a vegetable in June, am still alive today?”

Chen Chuchu’s eyes widened in shock.

Fan Sijin smiled even more brilliantly. “Because, like you, I’m also a reborn soul. You think you’re the only clever one who gets a second chance to fix things with Gao Dingzhong? Do you think I don’t cherish my life and living happily with him?”

“Chen Chuchu, if you were smarter, you’d know you can’t provoke me.”

Fan Sijin lightly shook her orange juice, her smile cool and proud. “After all, destroying you is effortless for me. Though I became a vegetable last time, my soul never died. I know every one of your schemes perfectly. You wouldn’t want me to expose all that, would you?”

Chen Chuchu was stunned into silence, her heart filled with terror.

Fan Sijin’s words were like icy blades piercing through her. Having said her piece, she gently placed the orange juice on the table and turned to leave.

Watching her retreating back, a sudden impulse surged within Chen Chuchu. She dashed out onto the main road and shoved Fan Sijin hard—laughing wildly as Fan Sijin stumbled toward the oncoming traffic.

But things did not unfold as Chen Chuchu had imagined.

From somewhere, Gao Dingzhong suddenly appeared and caught Fan Sijin just in time. Though shaken, Fan Sijin was unharmed.

Gao Dingzhong’s gaze toward Chen Chuchu was cold and cutting. Without a word, he took out his phone and called the police.

The café’s surveillance cameras clearly captured Chen Chuchu’s deliberate shove, and she was promptly taken into custody.

Her life was effectively over.

In her previous life, she at least graduated smoothly; this time, she wouldn’t even make it that far.

Yet fate always holds unexpected twists.

After two weeks in the police station, Chen Chuchu was suddenly found to be pregnant!

Upon hearing this, Fan Sijin extended a favor, saying she hadn’t been seriously hurt and that they should let the matter rest.

Thus, Chen Chuchu was released, but six months had passed—and by then, her belly had grown too large to see her toes.

With a child that large, only an induced abortion was possible. But Fan Sijin deliberately intervened, pressuring the senior’s family so Gao Dingzhong was forced to marry Chen Chuchu.

From then on, their futures were bound together again, likely destined to torment each other endlessly.

This time around, the reborn Chen Chuchu no longer possessed the traits that once drew the senior to her. Truly, greed leads to ruin—losing both husband and army.

Fan Sijin chose to stay in this world and accompany Gao Dingzhong to old age. Because in the original world her body should have died in the accident, they were never fated to have children. Though childless, the couple lived well together.

Until the final moment, Gao Dingzhong clasped her hand on his deathbed, sorrowfully and unwillingly repeating, “Sorry, Sijin. I can’t take care of you anymore, sorry... I’m the one leaving first, Sijin. I can’t bear to leave you, Sijin, Sijin...”

Breath fading amidst grief, he closed his eyes unwillingly.

He feared that once he was gone, Fan Sijin would be left alone in this world, and without his care, he couldn’t rest—he could never let go of the little lady he held dear.

In truth, Fan Sijin had arranged everything. When the monitor beeped long and steady, she too departed from this world.

“Ding—Congratulations, host, mission accomplished! Flowers and confetti~✿✿ヽ(°▽°)ノ✿”

Fan Sijin withdrew back into the mission space, hearing the system’s cheerful voice—clear and youthful. “Looks like the upgrade went well, even the mechanical voice sounds different now.”

“All thanks to the host completing the mission. Without you, I wouldn’t have had the energy to level up,” the system unabashedly praised. “And now I can even take form—look, look.”

As it spoke, a chubby little bundle appeared in the space, wearing a pink bib. The toddler seemed to have just learned to walk, swaying as he moved, the small tuft atop his head bobbing along.

He struggled to reach Fan Sijin, looking up with big, expectant eyes, blinking brightly. “Host, am I cute~”