"My head hurts so much…."
Xu Xiuwen opened his eyes. He had stayed up late yesterday, and had dozed off in a daze.
As he took in his surroundings, he suddenly froze.
What's with this tattered blanket?
He abruptly sat up and glanced around.
The room was empty as can be described with the phrase 'bare walls.'
On top of a limping table, there was a bowl of pickles. The chipped room, though clean, exuded an indelible aura of poverty.
Where was his luxurious villa?
It took him more than a decade to rise from nothing to become a billionaire. With such vast wealth, how could he end up here?
Xu Xiuwen's gaze suddenly landed on a corner of the bed, where a woman was looking at him with a slightly frightened eyes.
The woman was wearing a pink-colored short sleeve shirt that was a bit faded but perfectly outlined her figure.
Especially the pair of proud attributes, they were eye-catching.
Even her perky backside, as she sat on the bed, was hard to pull the eyes away from.
Her appearance was on par, if not better, than some celebrities.
At the moment, she was holding a worn-out palm leaf fan, with a girl of around four or five years old lying next to her.
"Sorry... I'm sorry, I was already speaking so softly, I didn't realize it would wake you up..." the woman stuttered.
Xu Xiuwen was rendered speechless, just as he was about to speak, a surge of memories violently erupted into his mind.
After a long while, Xu Xiuwen looked at his own hands, "What the...?"
I had stayed up too late, died from overwork, and have now seemingly reincarnated in the body of another man who ironically also carries the name Xu Xiuwen.
However, this Xu Xiuwen was a bona fide scoundrel.
Before his marriage, he seemed fairly decent. But after marrying, he became listless and complacent, not only indulging in alcohol and gambling, but he also attributed all these responsibilities to his wife.
He never took care of the children, often physically abused his wife whenever things didn't go his way, and never once showed her a pleasant face.
After losing several rounds of non-stop gambling, Xu Xiuwen had gone so far as to even gamble his own wife away, finally returning home defeated.
Once he got home, he had simply fallen asleep and unexpectedly dropped dead.
Shen Fengling, perhaps sensing Xu Xiuwen's gaze, nervously glanced at herself.
Then, reddening, she lowered her head and sidled over to Xu Xiuwen: "Could you... keep your voice down, the baby just fell asleep..."
As she spoke, she was about to remove the only T-shirt from her body.
"Wait!"
Xu Xiuwen quickly interrupted her.
Had it been his old self, faced with such a beautiful woman, he would definitely spare no expense to take what he 'wanted', given his notorious reputation as a playboy.
But now, he had no ideas at all.
"What's wrong?"
Shen Fengling looked at Xu Xiuwen with some trepidation.
"I have a slight headache..."
Xu Xiuwen began, digesting the memories that flooded into his mind.
Upon hearing this, Shen Fengling immediately straddled herself over Xu Xiuwen's body, her slender and beautiful legs and clean feet flashed past him.
She didn't dare to hesitate for a moment, for if she failed to fulfill her responsibilities as a wife, she would surely be greeted with her husband's punches and kicks.
Many times, this happened right in front of their daughter.
Soon, a bowl of clear water was brought over.
Shen Fengling looked at Xu Xiuwen with caution, "Have some water..."
"Do we not have any tea?" Xu Xiuwen asked subconsciously.
Shen Fengling's head lowered again, "We... can't afford tea..."
As she said this, she shrank back, closing her eyes, preparing herself for the incoming slap.
"Water will suffice."
Xu Xiuwen said with a smile, downing all the water in one gulp.
Looking at Xu Xiwen, who was smiling, Shen Fengling found it hard to believe.
Xu Xiwen had not smiled at her for so long that she had forgotten when last she saw it. She lived in fear every single day.
But for her daughter's sake, she had no choice but to bear it.
"I'm a bit hungry..."
Xu Xiwen rubbed his stomach. The late-night snack he had ordered the day before, he hadn't got around to eating before he fell asleep...
No, he had actually died...
"I'll go cook!" Shen Fengling immediately spoke up.
"You keep an eye on the child."
Xu Xiwen got up, throwing the pickles that were on the table directly into the trash.
Shen Fengling opened her mouth several times, yet she couldn't muster the courage to speak out. That was the only vegetables they had at home.
Xu Xiwen rummaged around the kitchen for a while, leaving only two bowls of leftover rice and two eggs.
"Those eggs..." Shen Fengling finally couldn't hold back anymore. It didn't matter if she got scolded, she had to voice her concerns, "We were planning to sell them..."
"How much could eggs be worth?"
Xu Xiwen smiled and began bustling around in the kitchen.
Decades of living alone had given him a decent knack for cooking.
Listening to the sounds from the kitchen, Shen Fengling's heart grew progressively more uneasy.
Xu Xiowen was acting way out of character today.
Throughout these years, except for gambling and drinking, he barely did anything else.
Everything of value in their home had been sold and squandered away by him.
But today...
Before long, Xu Xiowen came out from the kitchen, carrying two plates in his hands.
He'd prepared two bowls of fried rice, topped with refreshing green onion, that seemed pleasing to the eye and especially appetizing.
Atop one of the plates of fried rice was a fried egg with a sweet, runny yolk.
"Come and eat," Xu Xiowen began, "it should taste quite good."
As he spoke, he passed the plate with the egg to Shen Fengling.
Catching sight of the plate pushed in her direction, Shen Fengling's tears welled up, uncontrollable. "What kind of terrible thing have you done?" she asked, her voice choked with tears, "I've told you, I don't ask for anything else, but you absolutely cannot involve our daughter... "
"Don't cry..."
Xu Xiowen immediately panicked. Hastily placing his own plate of fried rice on the table, he reached out and gripped Shen Fengling's hand tightly.
"I didn't do anything. Calm down and eat your meal, trust me..."
Shen Fengling's hand felt somewhat rough, the result of a life filled with hardships.
"I can't believe…" Shen Fengling shook her head, tears still uncontrollable, "You've never done this before. Tell me, did you sell our daughter?"
Xu Xiuwen paused: “Trafficking in persons is a crime. What are you thinking? I swear, I've really done nothing…"
Speaking as such, he couldn't help feeling a little bitter inside.
The original owner of his body was indeed an unforgivable person, and judging from his memories, he indeed contemplated selling his daughter.
But this was something he couldn't explain now.
The original owner lost his wife to someone else while gambling the previous night.
It would not be long before his gambling friends would come.
With a skeptical look, Shen Fengling took the plate and glanced briefly at the egg. She hesitated for a beat before preparing to give it to Xu Xiuwen.
"You can eat it. There are some for the child; I fried her eggs and left it in the kitchen for when she wakes up," Xu Xiuwen replied. After this, he sat down at the table and began to eat quickly.
Shen Fengling took a bite of the fried rice. The flavor... it was exquisite.
Although it was just a simple dish of fried rice, the cooking was done at just the right temperature.
She forgot how long it has been since she has tasted such delicious food like this that she couldn't help gorging herself.
Just then, a small voice suddenly appeared, "Mom... I'm hungry…"
"Coming right up!"
Xu Xiuwen quickly stood up, fetched another egg, and handed it to the little girl, "Eat up!"
But the little girl looked at the plate in front of her, yet she dared not reach out…
