Chapter 3

Lu Miao didn’t bother explaining anything. She just sighed, “So Auntie didn’t really invite us over for dinner, huh?”

That sentence landed like a slap—because, well, Lu Lu had just stolen her cousin’s fiancé.

The whole reason they invited Lu Miao and her family over was to "smooth things over" and save face. But now that everyone was already here, they couldn’t just kick them out either.

Auntie wasn’t happy. From her point of view, they were showing disrespect. Her husband was the eldest in the family—senior, respected, practically the family CEO. Eldest brother is like father, how dare the second branch not play along?

And hey, her man was the team leader in the village. People normally treated her like royalty. It was just a trivial matter, by making xiaohui invite their family, they have already handed over the steps. Now, they act like they’re the ones wronged?

Uncle tried to reel her in. “Stop talking nonsense,” he muttered and hurried to welcome Lu Miao and her little brother.

“She’s just like that—sharp tongue, soft heart,” he said with a chuckle.

At least the younger generation showed up—it’d be way too rude to kick them out now.

Auntie glared daggers at him. Who are you calling sharp-tongued, huh?!

Lu Miao, being picky with food, stared into the bowl of dark, greasy chicken chunks and instantly lost her appetite. Before coming, she had told Lu Conge to eat as much as possible. No need to feel bad—these people owed her.

Lu Lu had the nerve to snatch her cousin’s man. And Uncle and Auntie? Raised a daughter like that? Trash, the whole lot of them.

They came here with one goal: freeload some meat.

Lu Conge, ever the obedient little brother, dove in right away and started shoveling meat into his mouth.

Auntie couldn’t help herself. “Look at Little Five going at it like he’s been starved his whole life. Has he never seen meat before?”

Little Five, a.k.a. Lu Conge, was the youngest of five siblings in Lu Miao’s generation.

Any normal person would’ve frozen in embarrassment and stopped eating after that jab. Especially a teenage boy who already felt self-conscious about being poorer than his fancy big-uncle’s family.

Back in the day, Lu Conge would've bolted, humiliated.

But before they came in, Lu Miao had asked him: “Wanna eat meat? Wanna milk some free lunch off Uncle’s place?”

Fueled by pure spite, he ate with extra enthusiasm.

Lu Miao nodded approvingly and said with zero shame, “Yup. Life’s been rough for us. Me and my little bro didn’t grow up eating good stuff. Our parents barely scraped together twenty work points a day—meat was a luxury. Unlike Uncle, who’s got the power and means to spoil Cousin Lulu with chicken every other day.”

As she spoke, she helpfully passed Conge a juicy chicken drumstick.

But the more she talked, the more her words felt off. Was she implying Uncle was abusing his authority? Skimming off communal resources? That whole bit about him being the team leader and all—it hit a little too close to home.

Lu Jiang, who worked at the vet clinic, tried to save face. His wife smiled sweetly. “Your big brother caught this chicken especially to help you recover, San Shui.”

“Really?” Lu Miao turned to him, eyes sparkling.

Yeah, no, not really. Someone else had gifted the chicken. Lu Jiang had originally brought it home for his wife and kid, but Grandpa decided to use it as bait to lure the cousins over and get this awkward engagement mess sorted.

Still, Lu Jiang played along. “If you like it, eat up.”

“Aww, Big Bro, you’re the best. Guess I’ll help myself then.”

Then, she grabbed two chicken necks and handed them to Grandma, gave Grandpa the chicken head, and picked up the whole bowl of chicken pieces—ready to haul it back home.

Everyone stared. “Wait, what the heck are you doing?!”

“You guys said this was for me to recover. Now you’re saying I can’t have it?”

Auntie practically exploded. “Even if it was just for you, you can’t be so selfish! There are elders here—you should know better than to hog it all. You think just throwing the scraps to your grandparents counts as being filial?!”

Lu Miao clutched her head like a tragic heroine. “How could you say that! I gave Grandpa the chicken head because he’s the head of the family! He leads us, like... like the tip of the chicken! Grandma is second only to him, so I gave her the chicken neck, just below the head! I thought I was being so thoughtful. You really think I’m the kind of person who doesn’t respect elders? Are we not family?!”

Everyone paused, chopsticks mid-air, not sure how to even respond to that level of nonsense.

Meanwhile, Lu Conge, remembering his sister’s orders, just kept eating.

The food today was lavish—rice instead of corn cakes—because Uncle’s family was desperate to look harmonious.

Grandpa tried to restore order, scolding, “San Shui! Is that how you talk to your elders?!”

Lu Miao felt a little regretful. Maybe she shouldn’t have bothered leaving them those two chunks of chicken after all.

Their favoritism was nothing new. When Lu Miao’s dad was born with a limp, Grandma dumped him off with the in-laws. Since then, she’d always doted on her eldest son.

It wasn’t hard to see why—Big Brother was the village leader. His wife’s family was well-off. Meanwhile, the second son was just another worker, married to a woman from a dirt-poor family.

Of course the favoritism was blatant.

Uncle’s family got all the perks. When Professor He wrote to propose a marriage alliance, Grandpa offered up Lu Lu without hesitation.

Lu Miao’s parents knew they’d never get the good stuff. They’d long accepted that the leftovers were their fate.

Once Lu Conge was full, Lu Miao stood up. “Well, since we’re clearly not welcome, we’ll head out.”

She grabbed her greasy little brother and made for the door. After all, dinner was waiting at home too.

Grandma cleared her throat. “Sit. We have something to discuss.”

Lu Conge immediately went into protective mode and stepped in front of his sister like a human shield. His instincts were screaming, danger ahead.

Grandma said, “Lu Lu’s marrying Qi Min next week. It’s settled. Don’t go making a scene. As for your own marriage, your Grandpa and I already arranged it—Professor He’s grandson. He’s a good boy, a city man. You’ll be marrying into a well-off family.”

Still no reaction.

Grandma, losing patience, snapped, “Say something!”

Lu Miao blinked. “And what exactly do you want me to say?”

She kept her tone even and calm, but somehow that only made everyone think she was fuming.

Lu Jiang’s wife, always the smooth talker, tried to spin it. “We know you’re upset your engagement was taken, but honestly, the thing with Li’s boy was always just a joke. Lu Lu and him are in love now. You’ll wish them well, right?”

Grandma, in her usual bossy tone, piled on, “Lu Lu’s doing this for you. Professor He’s grandson is an officer, both his parents are doctors. He’s way better than that Li kid. Be grateful.”

Of course, in her mind, she was heartbroken. She thought Lu Lu had lost her mind—giving up a top-notch match for some poor nobody.

But if Lu Lu wouldn’t marry the officer, fine. That prize could go to Lu Miao instead. Lucky her.

Lu Conge was furious. If Professor He’s grandson was that amazing, why would they suddenly offer him to his sister?

The favoritism was disgusting. Uncle and Auntie had taken what they wanted, and now they were spinning it like they were being generous.

Lu Miao could feel her brother about to speak and pinched his arm under the table. Don’t.

The dinner nearly erupted into a brawl. Meanwhile, Lu Lu—the cause of all this chaos—just quietly watched, saying nothing.

She stared at Lu Miao, this being their first meeting since she was reborn. Weirdly, her cousin didn’t look any different than she did at forty. Still young, still beautiful, untouched by time.

Whether she was twenty or forty, Lu Miao had always been stunning.

As one of only two girls in their generation, and just a year apart, they’d been compared their whole lives.

Lu Lu had always had more: a wealthier family, better clothes, better prospects. Lu Miao may have been prettier, but Lu Lu had the resources.

She’d married well in her last life—into a top city family. But while her husband had rank and money, he treated her worse than a stranger. Never touched her. Never looked at her with warmth. Even made her sleep on the floor when he came home.

Her mother-in-law was a snob. Her sister-in-law a nightmare. Her in-laws moved away, leaving her to rot alone.

Eventually, her nephew joined the army, and she tried pulling strings to get him cushy treatment—but her husband found out, flipped out, divorced her, and kicked the kid out of the military.

After over a decade of marriage, she had no job, no skills, and nowhere to go but back to her parents' place.

And wouldn’t you know it—Lu Miao came back to town at that exact moment, all rich and sparkly, arm-in-arm with her once-poor husband, now a big-shot businessman.

The tables had turned.

Lu Lu had once looked down on that scrawny boy. Now he wore tailored suits and made serious money. Meanwhile, she was the divorced nobody.

Lu Miao, that greedy, lazy girl who used to hog all the food and boss her siblings around, had somehow hit the jackpot with a man who actually treated her right.

Her family got rich, her brother joined the police and married into a powerful family. Everything Lu Lu had once had… was now Lu Miao’s.

Back when Lu Lu was the general’s wife, people groveled at her feet. Now those same people were groveling at Lu Miao’s, begging for jobs and business opportunities.

It drove her nuts.

Thank goodness fate gave her a second chance. This time, she wouldn’t let Lu Miao win.

She rejected the “perfect” marriage with Professor He’s grandson. She knew it was a trap.

This time, she’d get to the prize first—she would be the one to marry Li Qinglin.

All she had to do was let his mom know she liked him. And sure enough, things fell into place.

Lu Lu was the team leader’s only daughter. Lu Miao? A nobody. Li’s mom wasn’t stupid. She knew who to pick.

And now? Mission accomplished. Engagement secured.

Lu Miao could go cry over that iceberg professor all she wanted.

Lu Lu watched her cousin closely. So sharp-tongued, so bold—not the same Lu Miao she remembered.

Wait a minute… Had she been reborn too?

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