The year was 1987, in the Fifth District of Yanhe County, outside the Chi Family courtyard.
Wei Chengliang, holding a gift, pounded on the gate and shouted, "Chi Yin, can you stop being so unreasonable? Chi Yan is your younger sister—how could you expect me to stand by and watch her die?"
"Chi Yan has already suffered enough. Why must you make things so difficult for her? If you absolutely have to be so stubborn, can you at least wait until I find her a new job?"
Under the pagoda tree in the courtyard, Chi Yin was shaken awake by her mother, Zhou Lanhua. She stared blankly at the azure sky, only snapping to awareness when she met her mother’s wide, concerned eyes.
The last thing she remembered was drinking a whole bottle of paraquat, waiting to die so she could reunite with her twin daughters. Yet, when she opened her eyes, she found herself in this yard—a place so strange, yet so familiar.
The low-slung brick house, the slate-paved yard filled with potted plants of all sizes, and the swing in the corner hanging from the old pagoda tree—the one fashioned from thick hemp rope and a wooden board by her father for her twin daughters.
The thought of the children brought back that familiar pain, sharp as an arrow piercing her heart. Chi Yin bit her lower lip hard, her vision blurring as hot, suffocating tears welled up.
Had the police not discovered the truth during their scene investigation, she would never have known that the sight of Wei Chengliang holding the children and weeping uncontrollably was nothing more than a performance.
Her "good" husband and her "good" sister—a pair of monsters who had defied all morality and human decency to satisfy their illicit affair. To pave the way for a "legitimate" marriage, they had discarded their humanity and personally fed paraquat to her twin daughters.
After being arrested and hearing they would face the death penalty, they had turned on each other. When that failed, they staged a show of repentance—feigning mental illness, claiming depression, writing letters of apology to her. Did they truly regret it? Were they truly filled with guilt?
No. The only thing they regretted was not being more discreet with the poison.
Paraquat did not kill instantly. Her twin daughters had lain in their hospital beds, unable to speak, their eyes filled with agony as they reached out with trembling hands, desperate for their mother’s embrace. The pain was gut-wrenching, deep down to the marrow!
Three whole days!
Chi Yin could not bear to imagine the suffering her children endured in those final three days.
After the children died, Chi Yin had kept her grief bottled up, neither eating nor drinking, waiting for news from the police. It wasn't until the seventh day after their death—the *touqi*—when it was confirmed that these two pieces of human trash would face the death penalty, that she finally found peace.
With the wicked finally brought to justice, Chi Yin did not know if her daughters’ souls found comfort in heaven, but she wanted to see them for herself. She bought the paraquat—a full bottle—and drank every drop.
She never expected to wake up in the spring of so many years ago.
The hellish memories of her previous life were too much to bear; she beat her head hard, trying to drive them away.
"Yin'er, are you alright?" Zhou Lanhua asked, noticing her daughter’s strange behavior.
Chi Yin looked at her mother and let out a soft laugh.
It was wonderful. She was back.
She had returned to the day Wei Chengliang had "saved" Chi Yan. The very day all this evil began.
While working at the Minsheng Textile Factory, Chi Yan had been caught in a machine. Wei Chengliang had cut the power to save her, pulling her nearly naked body into his arms.
When Chi Yin heard the news, she had been furious and ran back to her parents' house. Now, Wei Chengliang was at the gate, begging for her forgiveness.
In her past life, Chi Yin had been unable to resist Wei Chengliang’s honeyed words, and it wasn't until after her daughters were dead and the police investigation concluded that she learned the truth about those two dogs.
In this life, she would never live in such a daze again!
As for her twin daughters... she would like to see anyone try to touch even a single hair on their heads!
She would not only protect her children, but she would also settle every single debt those two owed her, one by one!
Watching the worry in Zhou Lanhua's eyes, the smile faded from Chi Yin's face as she wiped the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand.
She looked at her mother. On the night the children died in the hospital, her mother had visited her and said, "Yin'er, you’ve always been the best to me. I miss you. I’m leaving tonight, just came to see you one last time."
That very night, her mother had died in this courtyard after taking an overdose of sleeping pills.
It wasn't until the seventh day after the children’s death that her brother-in-law had told her the truth. Chi Yin knew her mother had chosen suicide because she could not bear the blow.
Just like her, she had lost all hope for life.
Outside the gate, Wei Chengliang tried to persuade her, his tone growing impatient. "Chi Yin, just open the door and let me in. There are so many people watching out here. I’m a manager at the Minsheng Textile Factory; don't you care about my reputation?"
Hearing that a crowd had gathered, Chi Yin knew she certainly couldn't open the door now. Had she not done enough to protect Wei Chengliang's reputation in her past life?
"Everyone saw what happened! So many people testified—it was a perfectly normal rescue. Why would you think such things?" Wei Chengliang sounded annoyed, his pounding on the gate growing heavier.
He was blaming her for being unreasonable. A cold smirk touched the corners of Chi Yin's lips.
Wei Chengliang, that animal, was skilled at using moral manipulation against her. Every time he spoke like this, she would be overcome with shame.
She remembered what he had said back then.
He had held Chi Yan for half an hour because her clothes had been shredded by the machine, leaving her nearly naked and terrified. "In public, even if I weren't her brother-in-law, any man—stranger or not—wouldn't have been able to push her away. Chi Yin, if I were that cold-blooded, would you even dare to live with me? It’s because I’m such a good man that you love me so deeply, isn't it?"
Back then, those words had extinguished most of her resentment. She had dismissed her suspicions, leading her to ignore their intimacy for years to come.
Chi Yin looked at the sky; the time had come.
Sure enough, a soft, delicate voice drifted into the yard. "Mom, it’s me—Chi Yan."
Then, to Wei Chengliang, she cried, "I’m sorry, brother-in-law. It’s all my fault. I’ve ruined your marriage. If I could turn back time, I’d rather have been ground to paste by that machine than have you save me. Wuu wuu..."
Chi Yan, thin and frail, wept until she looked like a rain-drenched flower, stirring the hearts of the gathered neighbors.
In her past life, Chi Yan had relied on these people to back her up. She had put on a dramatic performance, throwing herself against a wall and sobbing until she forced Chi Yin to apologize in public.
Countless accusing gazes had fallen on Chi Yin, calling her selfish and heartless, a woman who obsessed over petty jealousy while a life hung in the balance.
Chi Yin still remembered that crushing shame. From that day on, she hadn't dared to suspect the two of them again. And from that day on, Wei Chengliang became Chi Yan's "savior."
Outside the gate, surrounded by a group of women, Chi Yan sobbed, "Sister, why are you doing this to me? If my death could save your marriage with my brother-in-law, I would gladly die..."
Wei Chengliang looked at her with pained eyes, just about to offer a few words of comfort, when the gate creaked open.
As Chi Yin stepped out, Chi Yan wept even harder. "What have I done wrong? Why must my own sister think such filthy things of me and my brother-in-law? If there’s no explanation today—"
"SMACK!"
A sharp, crisp slap echoed through the crowd.
Everyone froze. No one had expected Chi Yin to walk straight up and deliver such a sudden, vicious slap to Chi Yan’s face.