The Abandoned Daughter's Second Chance

Gu Shaojun glanced toward the door, a sharp glint in his eyes. "Have you noticed that your super-smart little brother—my little brother-in-law—seems different than before?"

Regarding the two boys’ behavior just now, Shaoyu was probably genuinely clueless, but Tang Haocheng was definitely making trouble on purpose—his eyes gave away his intentions.

Gu Shaojun was sure he wasn’t mistaken. Last night, when he brought Xiao Man back to the Tang family, Tang Haocheng came downstairs to meet her. Although he called him "Brother Shaojun" as usual, his fleeting glance was distant and cold, and his gaze held an obvious provocation!

Xiao Man said, "Hao Hao’s grown up now. Of course he’s different."

"I don’t mean that," Gu Shaojun said, pulling Xiao Man to the sofa where they sat nestled together. "The old Haocheng used to act just like Shaoyu around me. But now, Haocheng has changed a lot. I wouldn’t say he’s hostile, but he’s definitely targeting me."

"Really?"

"A soldier’s intuition is never wrong."

"But why? Did you do something to offend him?"

Gu Shaojun smiled. "Absolutely not. On the contrary, I’ve always been very good to him. If we really have to get to the bottom of it, this goes back to something from a long time ago—from our past life. After you came to be with me, he wanted to see you, but I wouldn’t allow it. I threw him out time and again and thwarted every move he made. That’s when our relationship grew tense. He looked at me like I was his mortal enemy, as if he wanted to kill me. Last night and just now, the way Hao Hao looked at me felt very familiar, almost the same as back then. The hatred isn’t as intense, but there’s something new: it’s like he’s challenging me! I’ve thought it over and over, and there’s only one possibility—he has his memories from our past life!"

Xiao Man was shocked. "That’s impossible, isn’t it? If Hao Hao was reborn just like me, he wouldn’t insist on treating Wu Xiaowen so well. In our past life, Shaoyu said that after I escaped from my confinement, Hao Hao was on the verge of collapse. His relationship with Tang Qingyun, Wu Xiaowen, and Tang Yaxuan deteriorated to the point where he refused to see them and wouldn’t even return to the Tang family. Later, Hao Hao died in a lab explosion. Before he died, Wu Xiaowen and Tang Yaxuan had been on the phone with him, seemingly coercing him into something. Yang Liu’er happened to overhear part of it. She heard Wu Xiaowen shout angrily, ’Hao Hao, you dare!’ And Tang Yaxuan said, ’Hao Hao, I’m warning you...’ Since it had nothing to do with her, Yang Liu’er didn’t keep listening. This shows that Hao Hao’s death was more or less related to that mother-daughter pair. Besides, the Tang Mansion was handed over to Tang Qingyun and his wife and fell completely under the control of Lin Aizhen and the Wu Family. Mr. Tang moved out and never came back, not even wanting to spare Tang Qingyun a single glance. Even when Tang Qingyun was suffering in agony and became a mere puppet, it was what he deserved... If the Hao Hao of today came back from the past life, I don’t think he would forgive Wu Xiaowen."

Gu Shaojun stroked Xiao Man’s head with his large hand. "Why don’t you tell him all this?"

Xiao Man was quiet for a moment, then smiled. "I’m just his sister, and we weren’t close growing up, while Wu Xiaowen is the one who gave birth to him. Maybe Grandpa taught him too well. Don’t let his young age fool you; he thinks like an old scholar, and his filial piety and respect for parents and elders are ingrained in his bones. I don’t have the confidence to break their mother-son bond, so I can only let him discover and experience things for himself. In any case, I’ll do my best to help him in this life. Even if he acts foolishly out of blind filial piety, it won’t get to the point where they can harm him."

Gu Shaojun tightened his arms, pulling her into his embrace, and said in a muffled voice, "I’m jealous!"

"Jealous of who?"

"Tang Haohao!"

Xiao Man: "..."

She poked him in the waist. "What are you jealous of? I’m already all yours."

"You’re mine, but all these brothers keep popping up to compete with me, and you even share the affection that should be mine with them. That’s all the more reason to be jealous!" Gu Shaojun caught her mischievous, slender fingers and brought them to his mouth, nibbling and licking them.

Xiao Man couldn’t help but giggle. "You get jealous over my brothers, so what will you do when we have our own child? I’ll definitely have to dote on them."

Gu Shaojun froze. The phrase "our own child" was seared into his mind. His eyes suddenly deepened as he stared at Xiao Man, struggling to get the words out, "D-Darling, you want to have a child?"

’What he actually wanted to say was: Our child? I definitely won’t be jealous! As long as you’re willing, we can go get our marriage certificate right now! Then we can start having children. The conditions aren’t perfect yet, but they’re good enough. At least we can be together once or twice a month as husband and wife, and things will gradually get even better!’

But then he heard Xiao Man say, "Of course I do! Children are little angels. Look at Shaoying, Little Bo, and Xiao Fang, and Captain Zhao and Lin Cunhua’s Niu Niu. They’re all so beautiful and cute. In two years, after we get married, I’ll definitely want to have one too!"

Gu Shaojun: "..."

’Alright, he was overthinking it again. The plan hadn’t changed; it was still two years from now. He had to be more down-to-earth and patient. It’s only two years. He could get through it if he just gritted his teeth.’

The topic shifted back to Tang Haocheng’s memories. Xiao Man said, "If Hao Hao remembered things from his past life, he would tell me. He talks to me about everything now, except for things I don’t understand."

Gu Shaojun shook his head. "Not necessarily. In the past life, he disowned you, locked you up, and restricted your freedom. Those are all bad memories. He wouldn’t have the guts to bring them up, afraid that you’d ignore him. After all, back then, you were very resolute about really not wanting him as your brother anymore. But you have a point: his attitude toward Tang Qingyun and Wu Xiaowen is very normal. He’s even willing to go to the Wu Family’s home and doesn’t seem to loathe them. That doesn’t fit his character. I think it’s possible that Hao Hao, like me, has only awakened to fragmented memories of his past life. For me, everything that happened in the three years from when you appeared until I lost consciousness is crystal clear, but the rest is all a blur—vague, uncertain, and not very coherent."

"I see," Xiao Man said. She thought back on Tang Haocheng’s transformation and behavior after they met in Wancheng and nodded thoughtfully. "Hao Hao does seem to have said a few strange things to me. He also mentioned having a strange and terrifying dream—that was a few years ago."

"That explains it. He only has the dream about you, not the full memories. That’s why he doesn’t remember that the Wu Family, Wu Xiaowen, and Tang Yaxuan ever hurt him."

Xiao Man sighed. "How is it that you have past-life memories, and he has a little bit too? If everyone got a small piece like this and started questioning each other about it, wouldn’t things get chaotic?"

Gu Shaojun found it amusing. "That won’t happen. Didn’t I just say? They’re all like dreams. How many people take dreams seriously? Whether someone can capture that fleeting scene and awaken to it depends on their own willpower and obsessions. Besides, this kind of dream arises from specific circumstances; it needs a catalyst and a trigger to occur. For example, I longed to understand the karmic bond between us, and Yang Liu’er’s account of our past life triggered that dream for me. As for Hao Hao, I think it’s because of you. You must have said something that stimulated him, and that’s why he received a fragment of memory."