Reborn before the famine, kicking away the scumbag's family and living a carefree life.

118. Encounter

Inside the hospital, Qi Zhengyang looked at the baby in swaddling clothes, feeling completely content.

He had another son.

He wanted to raise this son to be as outstanding as An Ran, oh! No, even more outstanding than An Ran.

Because he is more cultured than Su Jinru.

The son he raises will surely be even more outstanding than An Ran.

Over the past two years, Su Jinru has instigated her son and daughter to ignore him, which has been his greatest pain in the past two years.

Now, he has a son again, and he is full of hope for life once more.

There's still a long road ahead, and it remains to be seen who will ultimately have the last laugh.

Du Mei suffered a massive hemorrhage. Although her life was saved, she needs to take good care of herself to recover.

Qi Zhengyang's stomach was growling with hunger.

He planned to go out and buy something for Du Mei to eat. If she doesn't eat, how can she produce milk? Her son depends on his mother's milk to survive!

Qi Zhengyang took a lunchbox and went to the state-run restaurant.

When he arrived at the state-run restaurant, he inadvertently looked through the window and saw a woman who looked exactly like Su Jinru sitting inside eating.

She was wearing a light green cotton shirt and had short hair that reached her ears. A man in military uniform was sitting opposite her.

The man had clear, handsome features and was very charming.

Although the woman's clothes and appearance were nothing special, she sat there with red lips and white teeth, a face like a peach blossom, and a charming smile. She was as fresh and elegant as an orchid, making it impossible to look away at first sight.

The man opposite him was also as upright as a pine tree.

Many people couldn't help but take a second look at them, because the two of them were so dazzling, the kind of unique and eye-catching presence in a crowd.

Qi Zhengyang tried hard to recognize her. He hadn't seen Su Jinru for almost a year. The woman in front of him had features that resembled Su Jinru's, but she wasn't quite the same.

He couldn't quite place her; she was so similar to Su Jinru. Yet, he couldn't reconcile the image of the disheveled Su Jinru in his mind with the vibrant and lively woman before him.

In her past life, Su Jinru always wore tattered, gray clothes, her face was always sallow and thin as if she were malnourished, and her expression was timid, ingratiating, and even somewhat melancholy.

The woman before me, however, was poised and elegant, her entire demeanor relaxed and at ease.

Qi Zhengyang walked into the state-run restaurant with a mixture of curiosity and confusion, and then found himself involuntarily walking in front of Su Jinru and the others.

Su Jinru and Yuan Wenjie chatted while drinking. Su Jinru's face was flushed and her eyes were sparkling because of the alcohol.

Not knowing what they were talking about, the two of them laughed. Su Jinru's eyes curved into crescent moons when she laughed.

Impossible, she's not Su Jinru. In my memory, she almost never smiles.

Qi Zhengyang smelled the alcohol.

Su Jinru never drinks, which makes him even more certain that it couldn't possibly be her; she just looks somewhat similar.

Moreover, this man exudes an extraordinary air about him. Someone like him must have a good background and excellent personal qualities. It's impossible for him to have such a close relationship with a divorced woman with a child.

Therefore, this woman is not Su Jinru.

At this moment, Su Jinru also noticed Qi Zhengyang.

He stared at her, then at Yuan Wenjie, and then at the dishes on the table.

Su Jinru frowned. What was wrong with this person? Why did he come up to her? What did he want?

In Su Jinru's mind, this person and she were from a past life.

So when they met again, it was almost like they were strangers; she didn't want to look at him or say another word to him.

Yuan Wenjie saw a disheveled, ragged man walk up to them and look at the food on their table, and assumed he was a beggar.

He picked up a steamed bun and handed it to him.

"Hey bro, take this and eat it outside! The waiter will kick you out if they see you."

Yuan Wenjie's words instantly stung Qi Zhengyang.

He actually mistook him for a beggar.

He was stunned, and then, as if he had been deeply humiliated, he slapped the steamed bun out of Yuan Wenjie's hand.

"Do you think I'm here to beg for food?"

Su Jinru suddenly stood up.

"Qi Zhengyang, are you crazy? What are you trying to do?"

Hearing Su Jinru's familiar voice, Qi Zhengyang's heart sank.

His voice trembled.

"You...you are really Su Jinru?"

Qi Zhengyang's words surprised Su Jinru.

He couldn't possibly not recognize her, since they had lived together for almost forty years in their past life!

How could he ask such a nonsensical question? Is there something wrong with his brain?

Yes! He's faced setbacks everywhere in his life; he probably couldn't handle the stress and developed a mental breakdown!

"Qi Zhengyang, are you out of your mind? I have nothing to do with you anymore, so stop trying to make conversation."

After confirming that it really was Su Jinru, Qi Zhengyang was instantly filled with shame. He must have been out of his mind to come here and humiliate her.

Qi Zhengyang hurriedly turned around and staggered away.

Qi Zhengyang, who had escaped to the outside of the state-run restaurant, was shocked to find himself in such a sorry state. He had been called home while working in the fields, so his clothes were not only tattered but also covered in dust.

Even his hands and fingernails were covered in grime.

With his appearance, it's no wonder people mistook him for a beggar.

But what he had just witnessed still deeply stung him.

Qi Zhengyang's pride was shattered once again in front of Su Jinru.

He remembered what Su Jinru said when she divorced him.

"Qi Zhengyang, after the divorce, I won't need to serve you or those ungrateful wretches in your brother's family. I won't have any burdens, and I will live a good life."

She was right.

Only someone with a leisurely job and no worries about food and clothing can have such a relaxed and comfortable life!

Other people's meals consist of three meat dishes and one vegetable dish, plus a little wine, costing at least five yuan. But she didn't even have five yuan to take her critically ill wife to the hospital.

Qi Zhengyang didn't have the courage to go back to the state-run restaurant to buy food.

Back then, apart from state-run restaurants, nobody sold food.

The hospital cafeteria has it, but it only has porridge.

Qi Zhengyang could only buy a dime's worth of porridge at the hospital cafeteria for himself, and then buy another dime's worth to send to Du Mei.

Inside the state-run restaurant, Su Jinru watched Qi Zhengyang flee in panic, feeling somewhat bewildered.

"Su Jinru, do you know this person?" Yuan Wenjie pointed at Qi Zhengyang's fleeing figure.

"Is he my ex-husband?"

Yuan Wenjie choked on the alcohol and started coughing.

Su Jinru quickly made him some hot soup.

Yuan Wenjie took a sip of soup before he recovered.

"Su Jinru, did I hear that right? You said that person was your ex-husband?"

Su Jinru nodded.

"Didn't you say he was an elementary school principal? How come he looks like this?"