Chapter 2: The Reborn Woman's Twisted Psyche

Clang—

Tang Xin's words landed like a sudden clap of thunder, leaving everyone present frozen in shock.

At first, they had only heard rumors that Comrade Tang had taken a liking to that eldest son of the Li family. But no one had expected her to declare such a thing in front of everyone.

You have to understand, people in this era are reserved; they would never express their feelings publicly. Even married couples hesitate to hold hands in front of others.

But this Tang Xin—how could such a beautiful young woman set her sights on a rough country lad?

Even the Li family couldn't make sense of it. Not only was Tang Xin beautiful and educated, but she also came from a big city and, by all accounts, an affluent family.

And what were they—the Li family—but a patch of muddy earth?

Especially Lu Liqin, who, after a stunned moment, immediately scolded her in a low voice, "Tang Xin, are you out of your mind? Stop talking nonsense."

Meng Jia's brow furrowed involuntarily. She couldn't say why, but just now—

Just now, she sensed something different about Tang Xin.

Tang Xin ignored the others, fixing her gaze solely on Li Sheng. The man's expression remained severe and impassive.

But she could see it. His dark eyes, which widened and then quickly narrowed, betrayed the turmoil within.

At first, Tang Xin had only been sizing him up casually, but the more she looked, the more satisfied she became.

Thick brows, striking eyes, and a pair of deep, captivating black pupils—his righteous, austere features suited her tastes perfectly.

Tang Xin had seen plenty of so-called idols on TV, all of whom seemed delicate and effeminate to her.

But this kind of cool, upright look struck right to her heart's core, and her satisfaction with her future husband grew.

She straightened her back, refusing to back down, and met Li Sheng's eyes. "If you didn't hear me clearly, I can repeat myself: I, Tang Xin, want to marry you, Li Sheng."

Li Sheng's expression didn't change; he simply asked coolly, "Why?"

"Because I want to marry you," Tang Xin replied, smiling sweetly.

While others reacted in their own ways, Li Sheng only said indifferently, "It's up to you."

Tang Xin was dumbfounded. What kind of answer was that?

Did he want to marry her or not?

It didn't matter. A bright smile spread across Tang Xin's face. The man she'd set her heart on would never escape her grasp!

Meanwhile, Meng Jia, still standing among the crowd, felt a surge of bitter jealousy as she looked at Tang Xin's almost unnaturally beautiful face.

She bit her lip, feeling more and more unsettled.

In her past life, this scene had never happened.

Back then, spurred on by that mother and daughter duo, Tang Xin's father, under the guise of disciplining his daughter, had arranged for Tang Xin to be sent to the countryside for re-education.

Tang Xin, the most spoiled youngest daughter of the Tang family, was naturally labeled as delicate and pampered.

Her father was furious—how could his child be coddled? How could she fall behind others in contributing to the country?

Seizing on the wave of cadre children being sent down to the countryside, Tang Xin's father volunteered his youngest daughter for the experience.

Sent down to farm? The prospect terrified Tang Xin. Fortunately, her childhood sweetheart, Lu Liqin, volunteered to accompany her.

He helped her with many things, and through the hardships of rural life, their feelings deepened.

It was in the Harvest Brigade that Lu Liqin and Tang Xin pledged themselves to one another, vowing to stay together until their hair turned white.

In the end, Tang Xin's father had only meant it as a lesson; after two years, he arranged for both his daughter and her future husband to be transferred back to the city.

The two married and lived in harmony and happiness.

Later, Lu Liqin started his own business, amassing countless wealth, while Tang Xin enjoyed the pampered life of a wealthy lady.

Wealth truly nurtured her—by the time Tang Xin was nearly forty, she still looked like a girl just past twenty.

You could say, under Lu Liqin's care and protection, Tang Xin lived her life like a princess.

And as for herself? Meng Jia sneered inwardly.

On paper, she was Tang Xin's best friend, her closest confidante in this life, but in reality, she was merely given a job as an ordinary office worker in their company.

All under the pretense of "gaining experience from the ground up." Most people in the company didn't even know she was so close to the boss's wife.

Even later, when Tang Xin gave her an apartment, Meng Jia still felt disgruntled.

By then, Lu Liqin and Tang Xin's combined assets could be counted in the billions, with properties and cars all over the world.

When Tang Xin had a huge cake, she'd give Meng Jia a sliver. Now, even with a whole bakery, Meng Jia only ever got a small slice—her sense of unfairness was overwhelming.

Lu Liqin even made a public statement declaring that all their companies and assets belonged to Tang Xin—he was just her employee.

That shameless couple truly took public displays of affection to the extreme. In that moment, Meng Jia's jealousy reached new heights.

And then Tang Xin insisted that her best friend couldn't go through life alone and tried to set her up.

But the man she introduced was just an ordinary employee from Lu's company, whose annual salary didn't even exceed a million.

At that, Meng Jia's jealousy peaked—she felt utterly humiliated.

But Heaven had indeed shown her favor. Ever since Meng Jia realized she’d returned to the past and had a chance to live her life over, she’d vowed to repay all the humiliation she’d suffered.

This time, she wouldn't let Tang Xin have her way.

More than that, she would snatch away Tang Xin’s enviable husband and live the kind of life everyone envied.

The only thing Meng Jia couldn't figure out was this: she had encouraged Tang Xin to pursue the tall, burly Li Sheng.

Originally, Tang Xin had only acted impulsively out of a misunderstanding with Lu Liqin. But now, pursuing marriage so proactively—what was her motive?

The crowd had shown up expecting to catch someone in an illicit affair and enjoy the spectacle, but now it seemed the young man and woman were on the verge of discussing marriage. Everyone was stunned.

It was late at night, and with several young women gathered in a man’s room, the situation was becoming improper.

Li Sheng simply said to Tang Xin, "Go back and rest for now. If there's anything to discuss, we'll talk tomorrow."

"Discuss? What more is there to discuss? The details of our wedding?" Unafraid of his cold demeanor, Tang Xin kept smiling.

Li Sheng drew a deep breath, struggling to contain his mounting irritation. He clenched and unclenched his fists.

Then, coldly, he tossed out a final remark: "If you're set on courting death, I won't stop you."

He proceeded to drive everyone out of his room and slammed the door shut with a resounding bang.

A harsh, unyielding, icy man—was this truly all Tang Xin could hope for?

At last, Meng Jia felt a sense of satisfaction. She would take everything Tang Xin had, piece by piece!

[PS: This is the start of a new novel, also set in a historical era. I hope you'll support it. The story is purely fictional and does not reflect any real events or timelines—please don't conflate it with reality! Updates will be posted every morning at ten. I also hope you'll enjoy my completed work, "Blessed Wife of the Eighties."]