“He?”
Rebecca looked puzzled.
He Zhen snapped out of his daze.
“I’m fine, are you alright?”
The strange feeling in He Zhen’s heart passed quickly, and he turned his concern to his girlfriend.
Last summer, the couple had faced an emotional crisis. He Zhen had returned to China, visiting Chengdu, and after coming back to the UK, he and Rebecca had travelled to Egypt together.
The exotic setting and fresh journey had temporarily filled the inexplicable void in He Zhen’s heart, helping them navigate their relationship crisis.
Rebecca wasn’t oblivious to this. When He Zhen was feeling low, she could understand him.
This was perhaps what set Rebecca apart from other girls.
When a boyfriend suddenly grows distant, most girls might wonder if he’s lost interest, resorting to clinginess or tantrums, their insecurities pushing him further away.
Rebecca was different.
Though she loved He Zhen and chose to be with him, he wasn’t her entire world.
If they could be happy together, that was ideal. If problems arose, she’d address them. Love could make a girl radiant, but without it… Rebecca still had a fulfilling life, a circle of friends, and her studies. She wouldn’t hang her entire existence on He Zhen.
He Zhen was outstanding, but Rebecca was no less impressive!
Love yourself before loving others. Rebecca encouraged He Zhen to overcome his emotional slump, and the Egypt trip gave them a fresh perspective on each other, resolving their crisis.
UK universities have a three-week Christmas break. In the summer, He Zhen had accompanied Rebecca to Egypt, so for the Christmas holiday, Rebecca joined He Zhen in returning to China.
They had been back in China for a week. He Zhen had taken Rebecca to explore the areas around Shanghai, returning to the city just last night.
Today, He Zhen was to introduce Rebecca to his parents. Rebecca had come to the mall to buy some gifts—she had prepared these in the UK, but their trip had been unlucky. Their luggage was damaged before meeting He Zhen’s parents, ruining the gifts, so Rebecca had to buy new ones.
Fortunately, in a metropolis like Shanghai, goods from all over the world were available.
They had chosen the gifts, but a disagreement arose over who would pay. Rebecca believed in splitting expenses equally during dates, as they had done in Egypt.
She viewed this trip to China as a couple’s journey like the one to Egypt, so sharing costs was only fair. But for He Zhen, once they set foot in China, Rebecca was on his turf. Splitting costs abroad was adapting to the local culture, but in China, he felt it was his duty to pay.
Letting his girlfriend pay in China… He Zhen couldn’t bear the thought of losing face.
During their week-long tour around Shanghai, they had already clashed over this. When He Zhen insisted on paying for the gifts, Rebecca was visibly upset.
Wen Ying only saw the couple’s closeness, not their near argument in the mall.
If Rebecca hadn’t been distracted, she wouldn’t have bumped into Wen Ying.
This small incident broke the tension. He Zhen reluctantly gave in, agreeing that Rebecca could cover today’s shopping expenses and settle with him later via cheque. Rebecca finally smiled again:
“Darling, I’m so glad you’ve come around!”
He Zhen chuckled, “We’re equals, I should let you pay… no need to keep repeating it, you’ve said it plenty.”
This was what drew He Zhen to Rebecca.
Her stunning figure was just the surface.
Her sharp mind and confident personality were her true essence.
No one could dislike a girl like that. He Zhen put his arm around his girlfriend as they left the mall, laughing and chatting as they got into a taxi.
…
Wen Ying ran downstairs clutching a pile of items, her heart racing like a rabbit was bouncing inside it.
The rabbit was dancing in her chest, making her heart pound and her cheeks flush.
Only when she reached the bottom floor, no longer able to see He Zhen and Rebecca, did she slowly come to her senses: Wait, why was she running?
It wasn’t like she had done anything to wrong He Zhen.
In fact, she had seen He Zhen with his first love.
Most importantly, in 2005, she and He Zhen didn’t even know each other—they were complete strangers!
Logically, Wen Ying understood this.
But emotionally, the instinctive shyness of seeing someone familiar had taken over, making her turn and run without thinking.
Now, calming down, Wen Ying felt utterly embarrassed recalling the moment.
In her past life, when she met He Zhen, she was already an established lawyer—not a top name in the field, but at least a polished, capable city woman.
And now?
Now He Zhen’s first impression of her must be utterly bizarre.
Dear God, she hoped she ran fast enough that He Zhen didn’t get a clear look at her face. What a terrible start—not that Wen Ying would stoop to breaking up He Zhen and Rebecca to steal him away. Even treating He Zhen as just an ex-boyfriend, most people would want to appear calm and dignified when running into an ex with their current partner at a mall.
God, how mortifying!
Thankfully, He Zhen didn’t know anything.
The heat on Wen Ying’s face gradually faded as she thought of the foreign girl standing beside He Zhen.
By the timeline, that must be He Zhen’s first love, his British senior, Rebecca.
In her past life, when Wen Ying met He Zhen, he was already 29 and had long broken up with his British senior. A 29-year-old wealthy bachelor wouldn’t stay single for long. Wen Ying didn’t need to ask to know she was neither He Zhen’s first love nor his second.
Between the British senior and Wen Ying, there were several other women He Zhen had dated.
Those ex-girlfriends never affected Wen Ying and He Zhen’s relationship—they were in the past. If Wen Ying cared about them, she wouldn’t have chosen to be with He Zhen.
What Wen Ying knew of Rebecca came from Mrs. Dai’s mouth.
Mrs. Dai seemed to casually ask about Rebecca’s whereabouts, and He Zhen visibly paused. Wen Ying took note.
That was after He Zhen proposed to her.
Wen Ying already knew Mrs. Dai’s stance and hadn’t accepted He Zhen’s proposal.
She was determined to make something of herself to prove her worth to the He family.
Mrs. Dai thought differently, likely believing Wen Ying was clinging to He Zhen. She’d occasionally stir things up, like jokingly mentioning He Zhen’s first love.
“My husband and I sent him to study in the UK to achieve something and help us. Instead, he fell in love there, saying he wanted to marry his girlfriend before even graduating. It infuriated his father.”
Mrs. Dai said this with a smile, teasing her son’s youthful recklessness.
But Wen Ying couldn’t take it as just a joke.
It was a subtle clash with Mrs. Dai.
Her underlying message was that Wen Ying wasn’t the only one He Zhen wanted to marry—she wasn’t uniquely special.
Wen Ying brushed it off with a smile, not getting jealous or arguing with He Zhen. She was genuinely curious about the British senior, Rebecca.
Given He Zhen’s personality, wanting to marry Rebecca before graduating showed how much he liked her. But as Mrs. Dai teased, it was a reckless, youthful decision, out of character for him.
When Wen Ying met He Zhen, he was a polished, mature “Young Master He.” It was hard to imagine him young and impulsive.
Later, Wen Ying asked about Rebecca, curious about why they broke up.
He Zhen summed it up as “meeting the right person at the wrong time.”
Wen Ying playfully feigned jealousy, asking what she was to him. He replied, “The right person at the right time.”
Their youthful impulsiveness meant He Zhen and Rebecca’s romance didn’t last.
Even so, his “first love” had a significant impact on He Zhen.
After the regret of Rebecca, He Zhen never made promises he couldn’t keep. When he proposed to Wen Ying, he was fully prepared. If they didn’t marry, it would only be because Wen Ying wasn’t ready for the next step, not due to external interference.
His choice was unstoppable.
Not even his parents could sway him.
His mother, Dai Chenglan, could only make vague remarks, unable to openly oppose his decisions, because 34-year-old He Zhen was far stronger than 20-year-old He Zhen!
The mature, polished He Zhen that Wen Ying met owed much to Rebecca.
The tree planted by one benefits those who come after. Without Rebecca, who knows what He Zhen would have become? How could Wen Ying be jealous of her?
Everyone has a past, and relationships have an order. In He Zhen’s world, Wen Ying was the latecomer.
Wen Ying understood and respected He Zhen’s past, so she didn’t mind Rebecca’s existence.
At least, that was true before her rebirth.
She had never seen He Zhen and Rebecca together in person.
But just now, Wen Ying saw them.
Though they weren’t overly affectionate in public, their status as a couple was undeniable, hitting Wen Ying hard. Hearing about something and seeing it with her own eyes were entirely different experiences.
This year, or maybe next, He Zhen would consider marrying Rebecca.
Wen Ying couldn’t bring herself to break them up and take He Zhen from Rebecca, nor could she calmly wait for their breakup to meet He Zhen again in 2014.
She couldn’t do it.
After her rebirth, she had altered others’ life paths and her own.
“What are you standing there for? Have you paid?”
Chen Ru had searched upstairs and called Wen Ying several times with no answer. Seeing her standing there dazed, her tone was sharp.
But before Chen Ru could build up to a scolding, she noticed Wen Ying’s red-rimmed eyes.
“…Who bullied you?!”
Chen Ru looked around, trying to spot any clues.
Wen Ying called out pitifully, “Mum,” unsure of what to say.
How could she explain?
How could she tell her mother she had finally faced the reality of her breakup?
Manager Chen would interrogate her about what kind of breakup this was. It was impossible to explain clearly.
