To please others? It's better to please yourself.

February 4th, the day before Lunar New Year's Eve

In the afternoon, Shen He picked up Xu Jing'an from get off work. As soon as they arrived at the door, they heard lively conversation coming from inside.

"Quick, I bet Big Brother's back." Xu Jing'an patted Shen He on the back and urged him on.

Upon hearing this, Shen He quickened his pace and went inside. As soon as he entered, he saw a man in military uniform talking to Shen's father.

"Big brother, you're finally back." Shen He went up to greet Shen Yue and gave him a hug.

Shen Yue patted Shen He on the shoulder, looking at the much more mature Shen He with satisfaction: "It's been a few years, and the second son has grown up."

"Brother, let's have a drink later!"

"OK!"

"Hello, elder brother," Xu Jing'an stepped forward to greet him.

"This must be your sister-in-law, right? You're off work?" Shen Yue said gently.

"That's right, I just got back. Brother, you sit here, I'll go help Mom!" Shen He replied, then said to Xu Jing'an, "You've had a long day too, go back to your room and rest for a while."

"Go and rest," said Mrs. Shen, coming out of the kitchen and handing Zhuangzhuang to Mr. Shen. "You're not needed here!"

Xu Jing'an returned to her room and lay on the bed, feeling that her back pain had subsided. Listening to the voices outside, she initially wondered why she hadn't seen Shen Yue's girlfriend, but soon fell asleep.

That evening, the family enjoyed a reunion dinner, and Mr. and Mrs. Shen were overjoyed. The two brothers were also chatting animatedly. After a few rounds of drinks, Mrs. Shen asked, "Didn't you say you were bringing your girlfriend home? Where is she?"

The whole family stopped eating and looked at Shen Yue.

Shen Yue smiled and said, "It was already 4 p.m. when we got off the train today. I've settled her in a guesthouse, and she'll come over early tomorrow morning." After all, they're not married, so it wouldn't be appropriate for her to stay at the Shen family's house tonight.

"How old is she? What does she do? How long have you been dating? What's her family like?" Shen's mother asked a series of questions, waiting for Shen Yue to answer them.

Xu Jing'an realized that this was her uncle's private matter, and it was inconvenient for her younger brother and sister-in-law to listen in.

"Mom, I'm done eating. I'm going back to rest now." Xu Jing'an got up, took the child from Shen's mother, and went back to her room.

Shen Yue glanced at her and had to admit that he did feel a little relieved after his sister-in-law left.

The second child will definitely tell his younger siblings afterwards, but at least it's not as awkward as saying it to their faces, right?

When Shen He returned home that evening, Xu Jing'an noticed his hair was wet. She knew he had taken a shower to avoid smelling of alcohol on himself.

She turned around, grabbed a new towel, and carefully dried his hair. Shen He grabbed Xu Jing'an's hand, "I'll do it, you rest."

"You're not that delicate," Xu Jing'an said, drying the hair before casually hanging the towel up to dry. "Go to sleep, it's so late."

"Okay, coming right away." Shen He took off his clothes, looked at Zhuangzhuang who was sleeping, and then hugged his wife in his arms. He thought to himself: How wonderful it is to be able to marry the person you love!

Shen He didn't say anything about Shen Yue's girlfriend, and Xu Jing'an didn't ask anything either. Why ask? She knew more about it than Shen He did.

From the moment they met Shen Yue, another book appeared in their spatial dimension: "The Happy Life of a Reborn Military Wife." The female protagonist in the book, Gu Panpan, is Shen Yue's marriage partner.

Xu Jing'an felt quite sorry for Shen Yue after reading it; he was so unlucky in both his lives!

After reading the whole thing, it seems Shen Yue never really liked Gu Panpan. It was just bad luck; he was only visiting his comrade's mother in the countryside when a girl from the same village tried to force him into marriage by jumping into the water in front of him.

He reluctantly agreed, but then forgot about accompanying his wife to the military. It seems they dragged it out for several years, and by the time he was 35, he still had no children, so he finally had to agree. However, just before he was about to join the military, he was injured on a mission and lost a leg, so Shen Yue simply retired from the army.

The female protagonist, Gu Panpan, couldn't stand it anymore. Since their marriage, she had been living and working in the countryside, with her husband only sending her five yuan a month for living expenses. After enduring several years, she was finally able to join her husband in the military, only to have him discharged. She hadn't even had a good life, and now she had to take care of her disabled husband. So she got a divorce and moved on to live with someone else.

When Gu Panpan asked for money during the divorce proceedings, Shen Yue said that he would agree to the divorce but would not give her a single penny; otherwise, they could stay together without getting a divorce. Gu Panpan was furious and cursed at her ex-husband before leaving, severely humiliating him.

In reality, the female protagonist didn't live the good life she imagined after leaving. Before she died, she saw on TV that her ex-husband had become successful, and felt like she had missed out on a fortune. Therefore, after being reborn, she decided to cherish her ex-husband whom she had abandoned, give him a complete family, bear him children, and live a harmonious and happy life with him.

Xu Jing'an felt helpless that such a typical and cliché story was happening around her.

He only mentioned himself twice in the storybook.

One instance was when the female protagonist came to visit after her rebirth.

There aren't enough family quarters for Shen Yue's family, so he can't accompany his family to the military. The female lead, who doesn't want to work in the countryside, thought about taking over Shen's mother's job. But when they met, she learned that Shen's mother had already retired. Finding someone else to buy her another job isn't impossible, but Shen Yue's intentions have already been made clear, so the Shen family naturally won't interfere.

Having no other choice, she eventually returned to the countryside and endured hardship for several years. She spent five years tirelessly writing letters and sending gifts to the male lead to express her concern, eventually winning him over with her persistent efforts. Just before that mission, Shen Yue agreed to let the female lead accompany him to the army.

The military knew that Shen Yue was almost 35 and still had no children, and the couple hadn't seen each other for five years since their marriage. His wife had finally come to live with him at the military base, so they didn't let him go on this mission, which fortunately saved his leg.

The second time was when the female lead became pregnant, and her mother-in-law, Shen's mother, went to the military region to take care of her for three years. During that time, she asked how things were at home. Shen's mother said that with her two daughters-in-law there, there was no need to worry.

Xu Jing'an felt the plot had little to do with her, since they lived far apart. She felt no joy, only annoyance.

She had carefully selected her husband's family; she couldn't even imagine how difficult life must be for girls without special advantages.

How wonderful it would be to be single!