Reborn as the Villain's Wife, I Shine in 80s-Chapter 508 - 492 Events of the Past of Parents

When he was a child, Jiang Jinghuai lived in a happy family. His father was gentle, his mother virtuous. Although the world outside was not very peaceful, the protection of his family background sheltered him, and he remained joyful.

Until one year, his father was assigned to a remote mountainous area in S Province.

Back then, Jiang’s father was still young and needed experience, so Jiang Lao did not oppose him going there to gain training.

Jiang’s father was ambitious, wanting to be a good official and benefit the local people.

Everything seemed fine, except for one thing: Jiang’s father met a woman there.

This event quietly began to change the dynamics of their family.

The woman’s name was Li Lingling, a radiant pearl glowing in that remote village, charming and alluring, full of seductive allure. She was nothing like Ye Binyi’s refined and elegant bookish demeanor. The first time Jiang’s father saw Li Lingling, she was wearing coarse clothes, planting rice seedlings in the fields.

Jiang’s father, newly appointed to his position and acting as a benevolent official, went down to the field to labor alongside the villagers. He was coincidentally placed next to Li Lingling.

Jiang’s father was a scholar who had studied abroad and rarely had the chance to practice farming himself. Without the experience, he embarrassed himself. "Oh my, Mr. Official, that’s not how you plant rice seedlings. Look at me," Li Lingling then laughed gracefully and guided him.

Her words startled Jiang’s father. Mr. Official? This was no longer the old era. He found this woman intriguing. He quietly observed Li Lingling as she worked. He had never imagined that a beautiful woman could labor in the fields. He had never imagined that a woman as beautiful as her could be so hardworking and simple.

He looked at her fair hands, covered in mud, and suddenly felt an impulse to take her home and protect her. Her hands should be cared for and shouldn’t be doing such work.

Just like his wife Ye Binyi, whose delicate, jade-like hands were made for flipping through books, playing musical instruments, and arranging flowers. But Li Lingling’s hands were used for growing vegetables, cutting grass, and planting rice seedlings.

When he was with Ye Binyi, he never felt such passionate emotions. His relationship with Ye Binyi could be considered a familial arrangement. Through the introduction of their families, they naturally came together. They shared common interests, and their interactions always felt calm and harmonious.

However, with Li Lingling, his heart raced madly, pounding furiously as if it would burst out of his chest! It was so fiery, so passionate, reminding him that such exhilarating feelings could still exist in this world!

So this was love!

Jiang’s father thought, it must be her, it must be her! The feeling of being in love was akin to betraying the entire world just to be with her. In the village, he had many chances to spend time with Li Lingling. Sometimes he watched her wash clothes, sometimes watched her catch fish, and worked the fields with her. She would invite him over to her house for meals — a simple bowl of noodles where she would deliberately crack a precious egg into it.

He picked up the noodles she made and slurped them happily. Seeing this, Li Lingling let out a hearty, somewhat bashful laugh and said, "Eat more slowly; it’s not like this is something special."

When she laughed, there was an inexplicable glow in her eyes, a subtle yet seductive charm.

They fell into a fervent love affair, wishing to be together every day. Their romance even received the blessings of the entire village. Everything that was bound to happen did happen, except Jiang’s father forgot one thing: he was already married. He had a son, and his wife was pregnant.

When Li Lingling asked him to marry her and take responsibility, Jiang’s father didn’t hesitate to agree. He truthfully told Li Lingling about his married status. Heartbroken, Li Lingling said she didn’t know he was already married. She chose to withdraw but admitted she still loved him.

Jiang’s father couldn’t bear to see her treated this unfairly. Nothing could hinder them from being together; not even his wife and child. Despite loving his child and feeling guilt toward his wife, he insisted on being with Li Lingling.

At that moment, he felt family no longer mattered. He thought he’d never again forge such passion, obsession, and excitement for another woman like he had for Li Lingling.

Blinded by love, the first thing Jiang’s father did upon returning home was to tell Ye Binyi he wanted a divorce. He even pleaded with Jiang Lao to let him divorce her, arguing that he had found his true love and was willing to leave the marriage with nothing.

Jiang Lao was furious. He couldn’t believe his always-principled son could commit such impulsive, reckless acts.

This matter spread throughout the Jiang Family. Ye Binyi had no idea what she had done wrong, still recovering at home with the child, only to be blindsided by a demand for divorce. She was devastated. When her husband returned, he seemed like a stranger, repeatedly proclaiming true love. Who could recover from that?

But Jiang’s father was resolute in his decision, his youthful impulsiveness stubborn as a bull. Even ten oxen couldn’t pull him back. Jiang Lao was enraged, directly instructing the eldest son, Jiang Jinghuai’s uncle, to beat him up. It was so severe that he ended up in the hospital. Yet still, his heart longed for Li Lingling.

Since Jiang’s father wouldn’t budge, Jiang Lao decided to target Li Lingling instead. To Jiang Lao’s surprise, Li Lingling was not nearly as wonderful as Jiang’s father had described. Although overly stunning in appearance, she lacked substance and depth. She could feign modesty, but it wasn’t genuine. Jiang Lao, with his age and vast experience, could easily discern depth in someone’s character. After all, wasn’t there a saying that beautiful faces are countless, but interesting souls are rare? When looks are paired with substance, the feeling they evoke is definitely not like Li Lingling’s.

Jiang Lao gave her money to leave Jiang’s father. Li Lingling took the money without much reaction.

Nonetheless, Li Lingling traveled a great distance to the hospital. At that time, Jiang’s father had not yet recovered. Her arrival moved him to tears; he hadn’t expected Li Lingling to come find him. He told Li Lingling that even if he had to leave the marriage with nothing, he would still choose to be with her. Jiang Lao and others, who had arrived at the hospital, saw this and furiously forced Jiang’s father to leave the marriage with nothing.

After leaving the marriage empty-handed, Jiang’s father and Li Lingling returned to the mountainous area. He was no longer an official, now nothing at all. Within less than two months, issues arose between them. Jiang’s father discovered that Li Lingling actually had money and spent it extravagantly on various things every day. When he asked her where the money came from, she refused to say. Once the money ran out, she complained that Jiang’s father couldn’t earn money, insisting she wanted to move to the city, live in a nicer house, and have this and that—this and that.

Life was filled with small, mundane matters—firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea—and Jiang’s father began to see the ugly truth behind Li Lingling’s beauty. It completely shattered his rosy illusions about her. Until one day, Ye Binyi brought Jiang Jinghuai to visit him and encountered Li Lingling alone in the house. Li Lingling hatched a plan, thinking that if Ye Binyi and her unborn child were out of the picture, she could return to the Jiang Family with Jiang’s father.

Li Lingling deliberately pushed Ye Binyi, causing her to suffer from difficult labor and massive bleeding. Although mother and child were safe, Ye Binyi was left unable to bear children anymore. Jiang’s father witnessed this scene and was filled with immense regret, utterly despairing over Li Lingling.

Later, Li Lingling became pregnant and demanded a large sum of money from the Jiang Family in exchange for aborting the child. Li Lingling, of course, did not abort the child. After giving birth, she persistently kept trying to contact Jiang’s father throughout the following years, but the Jiang Family intercepted every attempt, which was why Jiang’s father remained unaware of Li Yibai’s existence.