Chapter 2: Lian Hui

Chapter 2: Lian Hui

After the beautiful woman left, Yan Qing opened his eyes again. In his previous life, as an orphan, he had never experienced such indulgent familial affection. Even when someone later treated him well, it was impossible for that person to be so considerate due to their family's reasons.

Yan Qing stared blankly at the poorly dyed blue coarse cloth canopy above him, its rough texture and color characteristic of a certain era. Just like the room he now lived in, though clean and tidy, it could not escape its historical flavor.

The roof visible through the tiles, walls pasted with newspapers, cabinets and trunks with peeling red paint, a desk with three drawers and a small cabinet, all exuding a handmade charm, and an old-fashioned simple armchair.

"Hmm!" The aftereffects of childbirth left his body weak and exhausted, as if recovering from a serious illness, drained of all strength. Yan Qing struggled to move his body, unwilling to close his eyes because once he did, his consciousness would drift, and he would see the scene before his death—

Yan Qing strained to keep his eyes wide open, trying to focus on everything in the room to distract himself. Unfortunately, his body was too weak, and his mind still drifted into a daze...

...He saw himself entering a strange, fairyland-like stalactite cave. It was truly a world like a fairyland; the stones emitted a rainbow of light, and the grass and wild fruits were dotted with starlight. He excitedly pulled the person who followed him, saying it was a fairyland, wanting to eat those wild fruits to achieve immortality, and to live there in seclusion so that the other's family could never find them. He wanted to undress the person and make love in that fairyland-like place...

Suddenly—two giant spotlights appeared in his line of sight, quickly approaching him. As he struggled to tear off the person’s clothes, he had no time to react. When they were less than a meter apart, he finally saw the true form of the 'spotlights.'

A dragon? A dragon from Chinese legend! And a dragon's mouth filled with terrifying fangs.

...In the next second, that person stood in front of him, being bitten into two halves by the terrifying legendary creature.

Two halves—

"No, go to hell, go to hell—Zhang Donglin—"

The pain from his wound pulled Yan Qing back from the nightmare, forcing him to lie flat again. After all, he wasn't a woman; even without a cesarean section, a long, stitched wound remained in a certain area, which wouldn’t heal easily in a short time.

The pain from the wound made Yan Qing dare not move recklessly. But tears uncontrollably streamed down his face.

After a long while, only the faint murmurs from his moving lips could be heard: "... Zhang Donglin, thank you... Zhang Donglin, ... goodbye... Although I don't want to forget you, I... will try my best to forget you... Such entanglement, one lifetime... is enough... What I owe you, I'll repay when the opportunity arises... What you owe me..."

Perhaps due to his extreme weakness, Yan Qing drifted back to sleep unconsciously. When he woke up again and tried to recall past scenes, it seemed as if he had always been this person, and everything from his previous life was merely an additional memory in his mind—a memory that felt like a dream—vague and distant, as if it might vanish with the morning dew at any moment.

Yan Qing didn't know what it was like for a woman to sit the month, but he found it both miserable and peaceful.

The misery naturally stemmed from his physical condition; even though he had once been gay, he never imagined he would end up with such a disabled body, let alone give birth to a child. The thought of it made his teeth ache.

"Thankfully, I'm not some straight guy, or I'd probably be dead by now," the gay man boasted to himself without reserve.

As for the peace, Yan Qing felt that a month was enough time to mourn the past, understand his current situation, and plan for the future.

Oh, speaking of which, it's worth mentioning his rebirth. He had been reborn into the 1970s, possibly in the same timeline he once inhabited, as a person who had just given birth.

The original host was named Zhen Fu'er, and she was eighteen years old.

Well, Yan Qing couldn't help but criticize the name. Even if he hadn't studied history or delved into the "Ode to the Luo River Goddess," the numerous web novels and TV dramas of later generations had still educated him, making him aware that this name was that of a legendary goddess—the Goddess of the Luo River.

"Damn, this family is too creative, but can you at least give a male name to a boy? There were also male beauties in ancient times, like Pan An and Song Yu. Names like Zhen An or Zhen Yu would sound great too."

Fortunately, the original host grew up well, living up to her name. Despite growing up in a rural area during the most impoverished years of the 1960s and 1970s, her face combined the best features of her parents and all her elders, eventually becoming a child who looked like a golden boy or jade maiden, akin to the Bodhisattva Guanyin. As she grew older, even in tattered cotton coats, she couldn't hide her ethereal and refined aura.

Just like in the world where Yan Qing once lived, humans generally had a low tolerance for individuals with XX chromosomes, whether in the past or the future. It was even worse with the original host's irresponsible father, who 'announced it to the world' right after her birth, making her journey through life unavoidable.

But fortunately, the lady of the house and her parents were among the few who did not discriminate against the original host. From childhood to adulthood, they treated her with a subtle favoritism, almost pampering her. Even her younger siblings were taught from a young age to love and respect their brother as a guiding principle in life.

Of course, this favoritism wasn't unrestrained indulgence but rather a comprehensive education aimed at cultivating the original host into a well-rounded individual, striving to make her excel in every aspect.

Parents who love their children plan for their long-term future!

Although the original owner was limited by the era and wasn't cultivated into a well-rounded individual skilled in traditional arts such as music, chess, calligraphy, painting, swordsmanship, and archery, they did inherit the family legacy of medicine, as their ancestor had once been an imperial doctor.

The original owner's mother was Zhen Baobao, a perfect beauty in the eyes of many rural young men at the time. She was willing to resort to shrew-like behavior for the sake of her eldest son, staging what became known as the "seed incident."

Yan Qing ￣*￣｜｜: Ah, Mother Zhen is truly a role model for our generation!

The origin of this serious incident dates back to last spring.

One day, Zhen Baobao, a rural doctor in Xiema Town, went to a neighboring village several mountains away to help deliver a baby with her grandmother. On the way back, she happened to find Lian Hui, severely injured and unconscious by the mountain road.

Lian Hui was severely injured, with knife wounds, gunshot wounds, and bruises from falling down the mountain. Although he didn’t have any weapons or ammunition, his uniform with military insignia was unmistakable.

In the era of unity between the military and the people, Zhen Baobao, filled with a strong sense of justice, immediately called her father to help carry him back.

Normally, soldiers should be reported immediately upon rescue, but being someone who valued appearances, Zhen Baobao was instantly smitten when she cleaned his face and discovered he was incredibly handsome. She found herself captivated.

The more she looked at the soldier, the more suitable she found him to be her son-in-law.

So, within a month of his coma, while he was still not fully conscious, this bold woman forced him to sign a one-sided agreement, supposedly in writing.

Lian Hui ╰＿╯: ...It was her who pressed my hand onto the paper for the fingerprint...

Yan Qing →＿→: ...

Lian Hui →＿→: Although I later realized this place was notorious for producing difficult people, the child was incredibly good-looking, like a fairy from the scrolls in my grandfather's house, so it didn’t feel too wrong, haha...

Initially, Zhen Mier was an upright boy. Despite being a double-X individual, he had been raised as a boy for more than a decade and was fearless in climbing mountains and swimming in rivers. Moreover, he had studied medicine with his grandfather for several years. Without the biological capacity for pregnancy, how could he possibly have a child? To him, his mother’s idea seemed delusional.

But who was Zhen Baobao? With her silver tongue and convincing acting skills, she had already convinced her own parents. Convincing her "honest and simple" eldest son was a piece of cake.

After listening to her mother’s well-reasoned analysis and observing the marital discord among the village brothers and sisters, Zhen Mier understood that he wouldn’t be able to marry and would have to rely on his younger siblings for support in old age.

"...Son, I'm doing this for your own good. If there's even the slightest chance, we should give it a shot, right? Besides, Lian Hui is quite handsome. If you two have a child, the baby will definitely be good-looking..."

Lian Hui →＿→: The last sentence revealed your true motive, didn’t it, Mother Zhen?

No matter how Zhen Baobao persuaded him, Zhen Mier eventually agreed, albeit confused.

In theory, Lian Hui was only slightly dazed at the time and not completely foolish. No sane person would agree to something so absurd. But Zhen Baobao’s thick skin and unreasonable behavior overpowered him. She even held onto his "identification."

This led to a simple wedding between Zhen Mier and Lian Hui, followed by a brief relationship that lasted six or seven months. By the end of last year, Zhen Mier was found to be truly pregnant, and Lian Hui received notice when the child was five months old, ending this absurd transaction.

"Sigh!" Finally recalling Lian Hui's appearance in Zhen Mier's memory, Yan Qing let out a deep breath, struggling to contain the wave of emotions that washed over him, unable to react for a long time. If the other party was really... "Haha, this is truly an unbreakable connection..."