Chapter 85 — IAVD (QT) Chapter 85

Jingfeng Mountain. Early summer.

Ji Jingyu sat on a high hillside. Behind her, an old ox grazed leisurely. Beneath her feet, a clear and cold stream flowed, transparent to the bottom.

The breeze brushed past, the grass swaying gently. She swung her legs lightly, staring ahead in a daze.

Three days had passed.

She still had not recovered from this tremendous upheaval.

Just three days ago, she had been a self-made, cool and capable businesswoman, managing more than a dozen chain restaurants, moving with authority, her career flourishing, surrounded by countless admirers and suitors.

Yet that day, after going out to an appointment and peacefully breaking up with her fiancé, she encountered a car accident on her way home.

At thirty-two, she died in the accident. When she woke up again, she had returned to when she was twelve years old.

All the hard-earned achievements of her career had turned into bubbles. From a fair, rich, and beautiful woman, she shrank into a dark and skinny countryside wild girl. And that was not even the worst part. The most infuriating thing was that now, her name was Ji Zhaodi.

“Ji Zhaodi, summer harvest is coming soon. Is your dad coming back or not?”

See, see. This name was truly unbearable to hear.

Ji Jingyu complained inwardly a couple of times, lifted her head to look at the girl walking over, and spoke with a hint of grievance. “Li Shengnan, do not call me by that name.”

Li Shengnan looked confused. “What is wrong?”

Girls living in small mountain villages had never seen the outside world and did not know the meaning behind the name Zhaodi.

Seeing her innocent look, Ji Jingyu waved her hand and sighed, not having the energy to explain.

Li Shengnan became even more puzzled, but her nerves were thick. Things she did not understand were quickly thrown to the back of her mind.

She giggled, trotted over, plopped down beside Ji Jingyu, and cozied up to her, whispering in her ear. “If your dad comes back, will it be easier for you? You will not get beaten and scolded by your mom every day anymore.”

Ji Jingyu froze, as if suddenly jolted awake. Her eyes brightened.

That was right.

Her father Ji Xiu’s death had been an incurable pain in her life.

Many years later, after she escaped her original family and had her own house and career, in the dead of night, she could still recall his kind smile.

When she woke up, her pillow would be soaked with tears.

Perhaps rebirth was not a bad thing after all. She might be able to see her dad again.

Excitement and joy surged in Ji Jingyu’s heart. She propped herself up with her hands on the grass and climbed up briskly. “Yes, my dad will be back in a few days!”

Li Shengnan clapped her hands. “That is great. Then we can do our summer homework together!”

Hm? Summer homework. What kind of thing was that?

Ji Jingyu pretended she had not heard, turned her gaze into the distance, and said in a pretentious tone. “Eh, why did the ox run so far? I will go bring it back.”

“Ji Zhaodi, wait for me.” Li Shengnan hopped after her.

Just hearing the words Ji Zhaodi made Ji Jingyu’s head hurt. She secretly quickened her pace.

Li Shengnan was furious, waving her little fists as she chased after her in a huff.

The two chased each other along the country path. Ahead were two old oxen calmly grazing. The rain had just passed, mist lingering in the mountains and forests. The direction the breeze blew from carried the scent of summer.

…

A few days later, a quiet afternoon.

Ji Jingyu lay under the eaves behind the house to cool off. The gray-yellow palm fan was large and heavy. After fanning a few times, her arm grew tired. She simply placed the fan over her face and lazily fell asleep beneath it.

Less than ten minutes later, an angry woman’s voice came from inside the house.

“Ji Zhaodi, where did you go? Get out here. I told you to fill the water jars and split the firewood. Why did you not do it? Come out. Today I will definitely teach you a good lesson…”

Ji Jingyu mumbled something in her sleep, rolled over, covered her ears, and continued sleeping.

The woman searched inside and outside the house but did not find her. Enraged, she threw stools and slapped the table, cursing nonstop.

After more than half an hour, the woman gave up yelling at home. She grabbed a broom and went to search the village in a fierce manner.

Only then did Ji Jingyu sleepily open her eyes, rub them, go inside to drink some water, and feel that the timing was about right. She changed into her favorite pair of shoes and stepped out with light, excited steps.

Time to go. To pick up Dad.

On the road, Li Shengnan saw her and trembled in fear, gesturing wildly as she told her that her mom was going crazy searching everywhere for her, telling her to be careful and avoid getting caught and beaten.

Ji Jingyu waved at her carelessly.

It would not happen. Her dad was coming back soon.

If that woman dared to bully her in front of her dad, her dad would be the first to not let her off. There was no need for her to be afraid at all.

Ji Jingyu did not take it seriously and continued walking forward cheerfully.

When she reached the fork at the village exit, she turned a corner and ran straight into a woman holding a broom, her face full of fury.

Ji Jingyu fell silent.

Run. Why are you standing there stunned?

She spun around and bolted off like a nimble rabbit, disappearing in a flash.

The woman was furious, her face dark as she cursed loudly. She chased after her in slippers, but after only a few steps, one slipper fell off. She had no choice but to stop, cursing as she went back to pick it up.

By then, Ji Jingyu’s shadow was long gone.

The woman kept a grim face and continued searching along that road.

Ji Jingyu hid behind a haystack, watching her grow farther and farther away. She rolled her eyes arrogantly, then turned and continued toward the village entrance.

When she reached the village entrance, Ji Jingyu found a spot and sat down to wait.

In her previous life, it had been this very day that her dad Ji Xiu returned home to participate in the summer harvest. She remembered it clearly, because it was also on this day that the woman, dissatisfied that she had not done the household chores well, grabbed a broom and beat her legs until they were bruised purple, leaving her unable to walk.

When her dad came home and saw it, he got into a fight with that woman.

She watched coldly from the side, feeling extremely gratified, and recorded this day in her diary, taking it out to look at every time she was beaten afterward.

Unfortunately, she had been too naive back then, forgetting that she was still living under that woman’s hand and had not done enough follow-up work.

Later, her dad went out to work again. She lost her support, and that woman escalated the domestic violence, making her suffer for two more years. It was not until she entered puberty, grew taller, and became stronger, that she fought that woman fiercely. Only then did the woman realize she was no longer someone who could be bullied at will and stop hitting her.

Now though…

She had to keep her dad here. She did not want to live such a hard life like in her previous life.

Besides, keeping her dad was also for his own good.

Money earned from labor was all hard-earned. Her dad worked as a laborer on construction sites, dust everywhere, even more exhausting.

By the time she was in high school, her dad was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer due to long-term exposure to dust. With no money for treatment, he eventually passed away, becoming a lifelong regret for her.

In this life, she absolutely would not let her dad go work on construction sites again.

There was no reason a woman who had been a successful career powerhouse in her previous life would be unable to earn money to support the family after being reborn.

In the future, she would support the household. Her dad just needed to stay home, play mahjong, and play chess with people.

Ji Jingyu waited at the village entrance, her bare feet swinging lightly, plucking roadside grass. She planned everything in her heart, full of anticipation for Ji Xiu’s figure to appear.

At this time, Ji Xiu had just woken up, gotten off the filthy, bumpy bus, carrying a burlap sack, walking unevenly toward the village.

The world-line plot unfolded in his mind.

This was a world about white moonlight and substitutes.

The male protagonist of this world had, in his early years, a beloved girlfriend. She was beautiful and resilient, strong-willed, decisive in her actions, a workplace elite. He admired her courage and loved her uniqueness. He pursued her actively, and it took three years to win her heart.

However, because of his parents’ unhappy marriage, the girlfriend always harbored a faint resistance toward marriage.

The male protagonist proposed several times but never received consent. Disheartened, he broke up with her, returned to being single, and went far away to heal.

According to the normal world line, the male protagonist would, years later, meet another girl whose personality somewhat resembled his girlfriend. He would treat her as a substitute. After a series of misunderstandings and heart-wrenching events, they would fall in love and marry.

As for the former girlfriend, after recognizing her own feelings, she would try to win him back, only to become a cannon-fodder villain, giving the male and female leads a push in their relationship.

But before all that could happen, a divergence appeared.

The male protagonist had just broken up, had not yet gone abroad to heal, and was still alone and heartbroken in the restaurant where they broke up, when he suddenly received a call from the hospital.

The girlfriend had been driving home alone and got into a car accident on the way. She died despite treatment.

It happened right after he proposed the breakup.

At a time when love had been deep and passionate, upon hearing this news, the male protagonist believed it was his rash breakup that had hurt his girlfriend’s heart, leaving her distracted and leading to the accident.

Filled with guilt, he lost the ability to love anyone else, and eventually, in the prime of his life, passed away from depression.

Yes. That former girlfriend of the male protagonist was precisely his daughter in this body, once named Ji Zhaodi, who later changed her name to Ji Jingyu, a little girl.

Now, she should only be twelve years old…

Ji Xiu calculated in his mind and felt that this mission was somewhat subtle.

Because of her unhappy childhood, Ji Jingyu had a fear of marriage.

But if he took good care of this child and let her grow up cheerful and happy, then when she met the male protagonist in the future, would she not accept his proposal and transform from a small villain into the female lead?

It seemed… not impossible.

The Space-Time Bureau did not specify that a villain could not become the female lead. As long as the male protagonist recognized her as his beloved, she would be the female lead.

Ji Xiu pondered for a moment and decided to let things take their natural course.

If his daughter truly had fate with the male protagonist and met and got together with him when she grew up, he would let them be and never stand in their way.

If the little girl had no feelings for the male protagonist, he would not force her to follow the plot either.

As his child, happiness was enough.

Ji Xiu felt at ease and began recalling other memories to better integrate into the life of this body.

Wait. What was this?

An image flashed through Ji Xiu’s mind of a little girl with both legs bruised purple, eyes full of tears as she looked over. Rage surged in his heart.

What kind of mother beats her own daughter like this?

Just from Ji Jingyu’s former name, Ji Zhaodi, one could tell what kind of son-preferring family she lived in.

When Ji Xiu had been a tycoon in the past, he had donated to support girls in mountain villages and heard about how harsh girls’ treatment could be in certain places.

But no matter how much one heard, it was never as impactful as seeing it firsthand.

As if born with hatred toward her daughter, beating her as though she wanted to cripple her.

This wife of the original body had truly gone too far.

Ji Xiu felt anger rising, worried that Ji Jingyu might be at home getting beaten right now. He grabbed the burlap sack and hurried his steps toward home.

Turning a corner, the next second, at the entrance of Liuzhuang Village, father and daughter met face to face.

Ji Jingyu let out a cheer, tossed aside the palm fan in her hand, and flew toward Ji Xiu.

“Dad, you are back!”

Ji Xiu reached out to catch her, a bit surprised. Why was she here? According to her previous life’s memories, should she not be at home right now?

But at least she had not been beaten.

Ji Xiu felt a slight relief, quickly calmed himself, and showed the same warm and honest smile as the original body always had. His tone carried surprise. “Zhaodi, how did you know Dad was coming back, and you even came here to pick me up?”

Ji Jingyu’s excited expression froze.

So angry. Why did everyone have to call her Zhaodi?