Ning Qiao was on the verge of tears, but she bit her lip and held them back.
Out here, she had to be strong—otherwise, people would only think she was easy to bully.
Jiang Heng looked at the young girl before him, her face full of grievance.
He was immensely grateful—she was still alive.
This was the feeling of having something lost and regained. He instinctively reached out to touch her forehead, wanting to confirm whether her fever had broken.
But Ning Qiao curled up, shrinking back as far as she could.
Her fair little face was full of wariness, her fingers clutching the bedsheet tightly, her whole body on guard against a villain.
Jiang Heng’s hand froze in midair. After a pause, he withdrew it.
He had been reborn after avenging her in his previous life, and his memories had only slowly returned after meeting her again in this life.
He had been overjoyed that she was still alive, but he had forgotten that in Ning Qiao’s eyes, he was almost a stranger.
Such a gesture was far too forward.
“Are we getting married tomorrow?” Ning Qiao asked softly.
Of course Jiang Heng wanted to marry her—the sooner, the better. But for now, Ning Qiao’s health needed to recover first.
He said gently, “In a few days. There’s no rush.”
Ning Qiao breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as in the original plot, he was always indifferent about it.
Jiang Heng brought over a thermos of chicken soup from the table.
After his rebirth, he had reflected on many things from his previous life. Ning Qiao had a weak constitution, but the island’s climate was nurturing—she hadn’t fallen ill often back then. The only two times she caught a chill, she had been too considerate to worry him and had tried to tough it out on her own. Only when he found out did he learn from their neighbor, Director Bai, how to cook, and clumsily made her a bowl of chicken soup.
Jiang Heng clearly remembered that in his past life, Ning Qiao had sipped the soup slowly and told him it was the most delicious thing she’d eaten since arriving on the island. She had smiled sweetly, like a child.
Over these two days, while anxiously waiting for her to wake up, Jiang Heng had recalled the steps for making coconut chicken soup.
The soup was in the thermos, ready to eat as soon as the lid was opened.
Ning Qiao quietly surveyed her surroundings, her gaze sweeping over the three younger siblings’ faces.
In her dream, these three children had been the most exhausting to deal with.
But now, they were staring at her intently, looking perfectly innocent and harmless.
Ning Qiao looked away.
The man before her made another move.
Jiang Heng’s long fingers wrapped around the spoon, scooping up a bit of soup and gently blowing on it.
He brought it to her lips, his tone coaxing: “Careful, it’s hot.”
Now that Ning Qiao had fallen alone into a wolf’s den, with danger lurking everywhere, she didn’t dare refuse.
With the spoon at her lips, she looked up into his deep, dark eyes, quickly averted her gaze, leaned forward slightly, lowered her lashes, and took a small sip.
She had only meant to go through the motions, but before she knew it, she tasted the chicken soup.
The broth was clear and fragrant, with the natural sweetness of fresh ingredients.
“Little Sister-in-Law, Big Brother made this himself!” Jiang Qi said. “He simmered it for hours.”
“It smells so good—” Jiang Guoguo swallowed.
Jiang Yuan tugged at her sleeve.
Jiang Guoguo fell silent and stood still.
Ning Qiao suddenly found the soup less appetizing.
In her dream, Jiang Heng’s younger sister was sharp-witted but also the most spoiled. She had been born after their parents passed away, and Old Master Jiang, doting on her, had given her everything she wanted, letting her develop a headstrong temper. Later, when Ning Qiao married into the family, the little girl resented her as an “outsider” and showed hostility from the very start.
There were so many details in that dream.
So now, as Ning Qiao drank the soup and saw the little girl eyeing it hungrily, she wondered—should she offer it to her?
Jiang Heng continued spoon-feeding her, displaying extraordinary patience.
Ning Qiao cautiously looked up at Jiang Guoguo. “Would you like some?”
“I don’t want any—you drink it, Little Sister-in-Law!” Jiang Guoguo replied with full energy.
“Cough, cough, cough—” Ning Qiao choked.
Her reaction was quite strong, and Jiang Heng didn’t dare reach out to pat her back.
He could only wait quietly, a hint of worry showing in his unfathomable eyes.
The three younger siblings craned their necks, equally tense.
Ning Qiao took a deep breath.
All four of them were being unusually nice—it was suspicious.
She was scared…
“I’d like to be alone for a bit,” she said softly.
Jiang Heng paused for a moment, then set down the soup bowl. “Alright.”
“Wait—” she asked again. “Where are my father and brother?”
To avoid disturbing Ning Qiao’s recovery, Jiang Heng decided to leave first.
As he closed the door, he turned back to look at her one more time.
She seemed very afraid.
This was different from his previous life—back then, when Ning Qiao first arrived on the island, she used to smile often.
Perhaps it was because she was still ill, feeling fragile and insecure.
The moment the door closed, Jiang Heng’s heart felt weighed down by something heavy.
He didn’t want to leave her to face everything alone again, but many things couldn’t be rushed.
After leading his younger siblings away, Jiang Heng knocked on the door of the neighboring room. “Uncle Ning, Ning Qiao is awake.”
Hearing his words, Ning Zhiping quickly got up.
“Comrade Luo and Comrade Jiang happened to come by just now. Ning Yang borrowed their phone to make a call—the family back home was worried, so he wanted to let them know. By the way, how is Qiaoqiao doing?”
“She just woke up. She’s not in high spirits,” Jiang Heng said.
“It’s only natural—she fell ill as soon as she got off the boat, and now she’s woken up in a strange place. It’s normal for her mood to be low,” Ning Zhiping said. “I’ll go see her.”
With that, he hurried out, quickening his pace. As he passed by the doorway, he noticed the three children.
The siblings looked at him with curiosity. Ning Zhiping smiled and nodded, casually asking why they hadn’t gone to school yet.
All the while, Jiang Heng was closely observing his three younger siblings’ attitudes.
They were being polite, at least.
After Uncle Ning had rushed out, the three kids felt as if their big brother’s gaze was boring a hole into the backs of their heads.
They sighed.
Their big brother had always been fierce, and now he was even fiercer.
Jiang Heng led the three older kids out of the guesthouse.
Earlier, by the seaside, he had been in a hurry because of the chicken soup simmering at home, so many things hadn’t been fully explained. Now, he finally had the time to ask properly.
“What exactly is going on?”
The three children stared at each other with wide eyes.
Jiang Guoguo, being the youngest, felt perfectly at ease shrinking back and looked toward her third brother.
Her third brother tilted his head and looked at the second brother.
Jiang Yuan had no choice but to speak up first. “We were thoughtless before and hurt Little Sister-in-Law’s feelings. Big Brother, we promise—we’ll never do it again.”
Under Jiang Heng’s persistent questioning, Jiang Yuan repeated the memories that had surfaced in his and his siblings’ minds.
At first, it was because their grandfather, who usually doted on them, had been so harsh that they were trembling in fear. But as Grandpa emphasized over and over how wonderful Ning Qiao was and told them not to bully her, somehow, the three older kids gradually began to recall various details about their sister-in-law from before.
In their previous life, when their sister-in-law first married into the family, they had resisted her from the bottom of their hearts. Being brought to the island by their big brother and scolded constantly was already miserable enough—and now suddenly there was another person bossing them around? Who could stand that?
The three children had always been unruly, and when they teamed up to drive their sister-in-law away, they were just acting as usual. But no one expected that their sister-in-law, soft and delicate as she seemed, was actually incredibly resilient.
In that past life, so many things had happened. Their sister-in-law had exhausted herself trying to guide them back onto the right path. In the battle of wits between both sides, they had finally been defeated.
If they had known it would come to this, why had they struggled so much in the first place?
How wonderful it would have been to get along with their sister-in-law!
The three siblings’ memories stopped at the moment they had reconciled with their sister-in-law in their previous life.
After that, they couldn’t remember anything else.
“That must have been from our past life, right?” Jiang Qi, always drawn to new and exciting things, had bright eyes. “Do people really have memories from a past life?”
“Jiang Qi.” Jiang Yuan interrupted him sternly. “What if someone overhears?”
Jiang Guoguo stood on tiptoe to cover her third brother’s mouth and asked earnestly, “Third brother, are you not very bright?”
She was only nine, and even she knew what should and shouldn’t be said. Her third brother was just too clueless.
Jiang Qi hated being called dimwitted more than anything. Fuming, he grabbed his sister by the back of her collar to teach her a lesson.
The two kids squabbled, their voices growing louder.
The second brother, Jiang Yuan, cleared his throat. “Ahem—ahem!”
The third and fourth siblings felt their scalps tingle.
They’d forgotten their big brother was still there.
“How long have I been gone, and how long have you been running wild?” Jiang Heng narrowed his eyes.
The siblings shook their heads like rattles.
“Go to school,” Jiang Heng said.
Jiang Yuan’s eyelid twitched.
Jiang Qi said earnestly, “Big Brother, I already learned all this in my past life. Do I really have to learn it again in this one? I already know it!”
Jiang Heng’s cold gaze swept over him. “You dare talk about past lives again?”
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