Epiphanies of Rebirth (重生之豁然)

Chapter 4

Funeral music resounded throughout the cemetery.

It was a cloudy day, and the cold northern wind brought winter back to Liyun Town. Lin Jingzhe stood in front of the familiar stone tablet in a thin coat, his whole body freezing. In his previous life, he visited this grave every year.

Time, place, people present—everything was the same. If there was anything different, it was him: he wasn't a timid child who didn't know which way to go anymore. His past yearnings no longer clouded his sight.

Now, he could see his aunt Jiang Xiaoyun and uncle Jiang Zhi shouted themselves hoa.r.s.e, lamenting with grieving faces, but their eyes were dry. The same scene viewed through the prism of twenty jaded years appeared quite different.

His gaze swept over the crowd. Just like in his past life, his mother, Jiang Qiaqia, didn't come.

He couldn't help but wonder if he'd suffered from some kind of insanity in his previous life. If he hadn't, then why would he ever think a woman who didn't bother attending her own father's funeral, who had loved and doted on her since childhood, would be a good mother?

Lin Jingzhe knew a bit about Jiang Qiaqia's situation. She married her second husband, Qi Qing, almost days after her divorce from Lin Runsheng, Lin Jingzhe's father, and currently lived in Qunnan City, the capital of Qunnan Province. She and her husband started a real estate company, called "Qiqing Real Estate," but it was small and not very profitable.

However, Lin Jingzhe knew this situation changed not long after.

Six years later, Qiqing Real Estate merged with Zhixiao Real Estate, a well-established enterprise in Liyun Town, and changed the name to "Qijiang Group." Later, Qijiang Group firmly sat on the throne of real estate business as the leading company in Qunnan Province.

Zhixiao Real Estate was co-founded by Lin Jingzhe's aunt and uncle, who later became major shareholders of Qijiang Group. Well, weren't they impressive? Even the Party Secretary of Liyun Town had to reckon with them.

Were villains punished for their evil deeds? No, in real life, they were rewarded for them.

Fortunately, this had not yet happened—now, these insidious, despicable, and unscrupulous people still hadn't acquired wealth or power.

Aunt Jiang Xiaoyun and uncle Jiang Zhi were still preparing to grab the antiques. Jiang Qiaqia, the future vice-president of Qijiang Group who after her success wouldn't even spare a glance at Lin Jingzhe, was still just an ordinary woman trying to get rid of all traces of her previous marriage.

Qi Qing, Jiang Qiaqia's second husband, looked like a refined, scholarly man, but in reality, he was a male chauvinist with a feudal way of thinking. His family had some prestige in the capital and thought themselves above ordinary people. Since the beginning, they were dissatisfied with the fact Jiang Qiaqia had already married once.

To gain a firm foothold in her husband's family, she spared no effort, and it included cutting off contact with her own family.

Lin Jingzhe, in his previous life, was persuaded to move to Qunnan City, but spent only half a year there, hidden like a thief. Then, "because of his father's strong demand," Jiang Qiaqia made him drop out of college and sent him to Yan City.

At the time, Lin Jingzhe believed her, so after arriving in Yan City, he was hostile towards his father, who he did not remember. He had no idea that less than a year later, the mother who said to him, "You're the only child I'll ever have," happily gave birth to the "fruit of love" she truly looked forward to.

Lin Jingzhe woke from his memories. He accepted the key to the antiques' warehouse officially handed over by a notary and a lawyer. Before they left, he took a look inside.