After Being Reborn, I Cut Off All Contact With My Husband

After being reborn, I decisively severed all ties with Lin Wentao.

When he chose to live in the east of the city, I bought a solitary house in the west, putting half the town between us.

On the rare occasions he brought the child over to my house for a meal, I would lock myself in my room and pretend to be ill, refusing to see him.

When I heard he had volunteered to transfer to our factory as a worker, I submitted my resignation overnight and took advantage of the economic boom to move south.

In my previous life, I had loved him for forty years, and for forty years, he had belittled me.

He constantly compared me to his ideal woman, blaming me for ruining his dream of becoming a factory director.

Even before I passed away, he was already making grand plans to marry his ideal woman.

My stepson, whom I had painstakingly raised, even helped with the wedding preparations, leaving me alone on my deathbed.

In this new life, I refuse to endure such a miserable fate again.

"Ling Shuang! How can you nap at a time like this? Li Xiangyun has gone out with Lin Wentao again!"

"Ling Shuang, wake up!"

I opened my eyes amidst the urgent calls.

The clamor of the weaving machines mixed with the shouts of my coworkers assaulted my ears, and the faded slogan "Strive Forward, Achieve Fast" on the wall stung my eyes.

Who is Li Xiangyun? Who is Lin Wentao?

"What are you waiting for? Go! That little brat Li Xiangyun, the boss's daughter, always picks your night shifts to date Lin Wentao!"

"If you don't stop them, he's going to agree to her!"

The girls in the factory shoved me toward the door.

As I passed a window, I saw Li Xiangyun not far away, pushing her bicycle and talking to Lin Wentao.

He looked a bit embarrassed, glancing over in our direction now and then.

I felt as if I had been hit by a bolt from the blue and rushed to check the production schedule.

The duty roster clearly showed April 15, 1980—I had returned to forty years ago, back to the day that changed my destiny.

I remembered it vividly from my previous life.

Li Xiangyun confessed her feelings to Lin Wentao, asking him to take the child to the park the next day.

I thought that after all these years, with my salary and ration tickets shared with him, his silent acceptance meant he acknowledged our relationship.

Besides, Lin Wentao often complained to me about how Li Xiangyun pestered him, saying it annoyed him.

So, spurred on by my coworkers' words, I grabbed a wrench and confronted them, hitting Li Xiangyun in front of half the textile factory workers.

But when I ended up in security, Lin Wentao turned on me, accusing me of being impulsive.

He insisted he never found Li Xiangyun bothersome and had never agreed to be with me.

He then treated Li Xiangyun's injuries right in front of me.

I was subsequently transferred to the boiler room for three years after offending Li Xiangyun, only to be reinstated after her father was caught for embezzlement, but my position was never the same.

Now that the heavens have given me a chance to start over, only a fool would follow the same path!

I turned back and tossed the wrench into the toolbox, the clang of metal startling everyone into silence.

"What does it have to do with me? They're both single. Isn't it normal for them to want to be together? Why should I interfere?"

The room fell silent, and Miss Zhang was so shocked that her enamel cup fell to the floor with a clatter.

After all, everyone knew my affection for Lin Wentao wasn't a recent development.

I had cared for him since he was a young man, and even after he married someone else, I couldn't let go, burying my feelings deep inside.

When his wife passed away, I devoted myself even more, spending most of my monthly salary on him and his son.

For someone so steadfast to suddenly claim they were letting go, who would believe it?

"Little Chen, are you sure you're not just upset? Wentao is just a young man; maybe he couldn't bring himself to reject her. You... "

"Miss Zhang, no need to say more, " I interrupted her with a firmness I had never felt before. "I admit I used to like Lin Wentao a lot, but I've come to see that you can't force love. I need to plan for my own future. Why should I chase after someone who doesn't appreciate me? Don't you agree?"

Having laid it out so decisively, they couldn't persuade me further.

They just watched as I walked out the door, whispering among themselves about whether Chen Lingshuang had been triggered by something.

I pretended not to hear. As I passed by the pair, my gaze met Lin Wentao's across the distance.

He cast a look my way, and only then did I realize that his expression was one of satisfaction, hoping for the two women to fight over him.