The sun had long slipped beneath the hills, and the moon hung low above the mulberry tree outside Lin Qingya's courtyard.
The cornbread buns in the bamboo steamer had gone cold and been reheated three times, but her elder Brother's family still hadn't returned from the fields.
It was the middle of harvest season, and since the younger brother was bedridden after being beaten by Lu Jianhao's hired thugs, the workload had doubled.
Her elder brother and his wife worked both fields now, wheat, sorghum,corn and sweat soaking through their clothes from dawn to moonrise.
From next door came the familiar, grating voice of her younger sister-in-law.
"If it weren't for Qingya's temper, the rich boss wouldn't have divorced her! What woman hits her husband? He only kicked the child once when drunk. A real wife would've endured it."
The words floated easily over the wall.
Lin Qingya kept her expression blank, chopping vegetables as though she hadn't heard.
But her sons Lin Chen's tiny fists clenched under the table. As small as he was, he knew whenever this Aunt of his shouted it was directed at his mother. The child was traumatised from the voice alone.
Still Qingya said nothing. She only whispered, "Eat your food before it gets cold."
...
When her brother finally returned, his shoulders stooped with exhaustion. He washed his hands at the well and sat by the door, lighting a cigarette.
"Qingya," he said, exhaling a tired cloud, "I know your younger sister-in-law's been running her mouth. Don't let it get to you. But there's something else I need to ask."
She looked up quietly.
"About that man...Han Yuzhe. The retire officer you elder sister-in-law mentioned. Are you sure about meeting him?"
Qingya folded the towel on her lap. "You've met him?"
"Once," her brother said, catching his neck. "Serious man. Quiet. Not the type who jokes around. He served on the border and was recently transferred to city security after reforms."
He took another drag, the top glowing red in the night.
"I won't lie to you, Qingya. I don't like rushing you into another marriage. You've been through enough. Whether you say yes or no, we'll stand behind you. But if you agree...just make sure it is for yourself, and not under pressure."
Lin Qingya's voice was steady when she replied. "I'll marry him, if he accepts me."
Her brother blinked. "You've decided?"
She nodded. "I have."
There was no hesitation,no false modesty.
Marrying Han Yuzhe wasn't about romance. It was all about survival.
...
That night, as the house fell into silence, Qingya scrubbed laundry by the well. The moonlight glinted off the ripples of water, silvering her fingers.
What good would it do to stay here, under the same roof as those who mocked her?
Han Yuzhe was a man of integrity. His household registration was urban. With marriage, she could transfer hers too and reclaim the courtyard house her ex-husband had stolen on paper.
That house in her last life, had turned into a multi-million compensation property when demolition came.
This time, she wouldn't loose it.
She wrung out the wet clothes, her resolve as clear as the night air.
....
Meanwhile, across the village, her elder sister-in-law, Zhou Qiaolan, hurried through the narrow paths under the locust trees.
Frogs croaked by the ditches. Sweat clung to her back as she carried a small lantern, slipping toward the old, abandoned house at the end of the lane.
The musty air hit her as soon as she pushed open the creaking door.
Inside, a woman sat on the edge of a straw mat, fanning herself lazily. Zhou Qiaolan's younger sister, Zhou Xinyi.
"You really got the divorce certificate?" Qiaolan demanded.
Xinyi smiled faintly. "Yes. What of it?"
Her sister's jaw dropped. "Han Yuzhe's a city officer! He's got a stable job, a clean reputation and you just let him go? Have you lost your mind?"
"Maybe," Xinyi said lightly. "But I'd rather go mad than live one more year with a man who has no ambition. All he cares about is 'honor' and 'justice.' He's like a walking badge, not a husband."
Qiaolan's face darkened. "You ungrateful-"
But Xinyi waved her off, opening a small packet of spicy dried tofu from the city. The sharp aroma filled the air.
"You always said I was lucky to marry an officer. But let me tell you my sister. The future belongs to those with money not medals." She took a bite, lips glistening red with chilli oil. "The rich will rule everything. You'll see."
Qiaolan's stomach twisted. "You're saying that now? When half the village already thinks am shameless for introducing Lin Qingya to your ex-husband?"
Xinyi laughed softly. "Then you should be happy. If she marries him, she can raise my boys for me. Saves me the trouble."
Qiaolan's eyes widened in disbelief."You're really leaving your children behind?"
"I'm giving them a better stepmother aren't I?" Xinyi said simply, brushing her hands off.
She stood, pulling on her shoes. "I've decided. I'm not going back to him. There's another man I want. A businessman in the neighbouring town. He'll be rich one day, am sure of it."
Her sister grabbed ger arm. "You don't even know him!"
Xinyi smiled coldly. "I don't need to. I've seen what kind of man he'll become."
There was a wild gleam in her eyes.
She didn't know how to explain it, but ever since that bus accident on her way back from the city, she'd had strange, vivid dreams. Dreams of the future.
In them, that same businessman Yun Hao, stood at the top of the city's real estate empire, wealthy beyond imagination, with a wife who looked suspiciously like Lin Qingya.
The very same Lin Qingya her sister wanted to introduce to her now ex-husband.
No. That couldn't happen again.
She pushed open the door, stepping into the humid night.
"Where are you going?" Her sister hissed.
"To meet my future." Zhou Xinyi said without looking back.
She turned down the narrow river path, moonlight glimmering on the water as she disappeared into the the distance.Towards the lights of Lu family village.
On Lin Qingya's side, she finished folding her done laundry. She looked up at the moon pale and round, hanging above the roof tiles.
Tomorrow, she would meet Han Yuzhe. The man who would unknowingly change both their lives.