My legs were still intact.
My face was still unscarred.
My parents were alive and healthy.
My younger brother had not yet lost his chance to enter military school.
Everything that Tran Vi Dong’s family had destroyed in my previous life was still mine.
And this time, I would not hand any of it over to them.
From inside the warehouse came another crash.
I stepped farther away from the door.
In my previous life, this was the exact moment I had rushed inside.
I had tried to pull To Huong Hong away.
Tran Vi Dong, barely conscious and unable to control himself, had mistaken me for her.
By the time people arrived, the scene had already become impossible to explain.
Vuong Que Lan cried louder than anyone.
“Hue Thu, how could you do something so shameless?”
And just like that, the victim became the guilty one.
Not this time.
I glanced toward the path.
Dust rose in the distance.
Vuong Que Lan was returning.
But she wasn’t bringing my mother and two female guards.
Behind her came more than twenty people.
Factory workers.
Military families.
The political education officer.
Even several young recruits.
Exactly as I expected.
She ran toward me, pretending to be frightened.
“Hue Thu! I couldn’t find your mother, so I brought everyone nearby!”
I widened my eyes.
“Everyone?”
Vuong Que Lan quickly nodded.
“There’s no time! We have to save Deputy Chief Tran!”
I almost smiled.
Save him?
No.
She had brought an audience.
And she had no idea the person being displayed today would not be me.
Someone inside the warehouse cried out.
The crowd immediately became restless.
Political Officer Liu frowned.
“What’s happening in there?”
Vuong Que Lan opened her mouth.
I spoke first.
“I don’t know.”
She stared at me.
I continued innocently:
“I heard strange sounds, so I asked Comrade Vuong to quietly find two female guards.”
Then I looked behind her.
“But somehow… she brought half the compound.”
Faces immediately turned toward her.
Vuong Que Lan paled.
“I—I was worried something serious had happened.”
Political Officer Liu’s expression darkened.
“Then why didn’t you report directly to the duty office?”
She stammered.
“I…”
Another sound came from inside.
There was no time left for excuses.
Officer Liu ordered two senior female cadres to enter first.
Less than a minute later, one of them rushed back out.
Her face was bright red.
“Officer Liu…”
“What happened?”
She lowered her voice.
“Deputy Chief Tran and Comrade To are inside.”
That one sentence exploded through the crowd.
“What?”
“To Huong Hong?”
“Isn’t she Captain To’s daughter?”
“Deputy Chief Tran is unmarried!”
“Wasn’t the Tran family preparing to propose to Hua Hue Thu?”
Every whisper sounded sweeter than music.
Vuong Que Lan slowly turned toward me.
She finally realized something was wrong.
I should have been panicking.
Crying.
Trying to protect Tran Vi Dong.
Instead, I stood beneath the blazing sun with my expression perfectly calm.
Her lips trembled.
“Hue Thu… aren’t you going to do something?”
I looked genuinely confused.
“Do what?”
“You and Mr. Vi Dong grew up together!”
“So?”
Her voice became sharper.
“You were practically promised to him!”
I deliberately stepped backward.
“Comrade Vuong, be careful with your words.”
The political officer immediately looked at us.
I continued:
“My family has never received a formal marriage proposal from the Tran family.”
Then I looked toward the warehouse.
“Besides, Deputy Chief Tran is an adult.”
My voice was clear enough for everyone to hear.
“Who he chooses to be with has nothing to do with me.”
Vuong Que Lan’s face turned completely white.
In my previous life, she had used our vague childhood connection to force responsibility onto me.
This time, I cut that rope before she could tighten it around my neck.
Twenty minutes later, Tran Vi Dong walked out.
His uniform had been hastily straightened.
His expression was terrible.
To Huong Hong followed behind him, covered by a female cadre’s coat.
The moment she saw the crowd, she burst into tears.
Then Captain To arrived.
His roar could be heard from across the compound.
“TRAN VI DONG!”
Tran Vi Dong’s face lost color.
Captain To rushed forward, but several officers restrained him.
“You touched my daughter and still want to hide?”
Tran Vi Dong immediately said:
“Captain, I was drugged.”
The crowd fell silent.
To Huong Hong sobbed.
“I didn’t know… Brother Vi Dong suddenly became strange…”
Drugged.
Exactly.
In my previous life, because I intervened, no one investigated that part carefully.
Everything had been buried beneath my humiliation.
This time, there was no convenient scapegoat.
Political Officer Liu’s expression became severe.
“Seal the warehouse.”
He pointed toward two guards.
“Collect every cup, bottle and food container inside.”
Then he looked at Tran Vi Dong.
“Until the investigation is complete, you are temporarily suspended.”
Tran Vi Dong’s body stiffened.
Suspended.
For a man obsessed with promotion, that word was worse than being struck.
His eyes swept across the crowd.
Then they landed on me.
Something changed in them.
“Hue Thu.”
I calmly met his gaze.
He walked toward me.
“Why didn’t you come inside?”
I almost laughed.
Even now, his first reaction was to blame me.
“Why should I?”
His jaw tightened.
“You knew something was wrong.”
“Yes.”
“And you just stood outside?”
“Yes.”
His eyes turned red.
“If you had stopped me—”
I interrupted him.
“Deputy Chief Tran, I am forty-eight kilograms.”
The crowd went quiet again.
“You are a trained soldier.”
I tilted my head.
“Were you expecting me to risk my safety to save your reputation?”
Several older women immediately nodded.
“That’s right.”
“How could a young girl stop him?”
“She might have gotten hurt.”
Tran Vi Dong stared at me.
In my previous life, he had never thanked me for trying to save him.
He had only blamed me for becoming involved.
Now that I refused—
he still blamed me.
How ridiculous.
Captain To suddenly pointed at him.
“You ruined my daughter’s reputation. You will marry her!”
To Huong Hong stopped crying for half a second.
I saw it.
So did Vuong Que Lan.
And immediately, transparent comments appeared before my eyes.
【Here it comes! In the original timeline, To Huong Hong deliberately prepared the drug!】
My pupils contracted.
Another line appeared.
【She wanted Tran Vi Dong to be forced into marrying her.】
【But Vuong Que Lan secretly increased the dose because she wanted the scandal to destroy Hue Thu instead!】
I slowly turned my head.
Vuong Que Lan was already backing away.
Interesting.
So the two women had both played their own games.
Neither knew the other’s plan.
And I had died because I stepped between them.
Political Officer Liu ordered everyone to disperse.
As people began leaving, I caught Vuong Que Lan by the wrist.
She flinched.
“Hue Thu, what are you doing?”
I smiled.
“Nothing.”
Then I leaned closer.
“Your veterinary station has strict records for controlled medicines, doesn’t it?”
Her face changed instantly.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean…”
I looked directly into her eyes.
“I wonder whether today’s inventory will match yesterday’s.”
Her lips turned pale.
“You’re talking nonsense.”
“Maybe.”
I released her.
“But if I were you, I’d hurry back.”
She ran.
This time, she truly looked frightened.
I watched her disappear and smiled.
Run.
The faster she moved, the more mistakes she would make.
That evening, my father came home furious.
“Hue Thu!”
I walked out of my room.
He examined me from head to toe.
“You weren’t hurt?”
“No.”
Only then did his shoulders relax.
Mother clutched my hand.
“I heard Tran Vi Dong…”
“I know.”
Her expression became complicated.
Our families had silently assumed for years that Tran Vi Dong and I would eventually marry.
Father sat down heavily.
“The Tran family came earlier.”
I already knew what would come next.
“What did they want?”
“To explain.”
He gave a cold laugh.
“His mother said Vi Dong was drugged, so today’s incident shouldn’t affect your future engagement.”
My expression chilled.
Future engagement?
After everything, they still believed I was waiting.
“What did you say?”
Father looked at me.
“I told them my daughter’s marriage is her own decision.”
My eyes suddenly burned.
In my previous life, my parents had spent years apologizing for a daughter who had done nothing wrong.
They exhausted their connections supporting Tran Vi Dong because they thought marriage had left me no other path.
This time, I would never let them bow their heads again.
I took Father’s hand.
“I will not marry him.”
He studied me carefully.
“Are you sure?”
“Completely.”
Mother hesitated.
“But you liked him since childhood…”
“That was before today.”
I smiled.
“People grow up.”
Father slapped his thigh.
“Good!”
For the first time since my rebirth, I laughed.
But the peace lasted less than ten minutes.
Someone pounded on our gate.
A young soldier stood outside, panting.
“Political Commissar Hua!”
Father stood.
“What happened?”
The soldier swallowed.
“They searched the veterinary station.”
My gaze sharpened.
“And?”
“Several bottles of restricted medicine are missing.”
Mother gasped.
The soldier continued:
“Nurse Vuong Que Lan disappeared.”
Exactly as I expected.
But then he said something I didn’t expect.
“Before she ran, she left a letter.”
Father frowned.
“What letter?”
The soldier looked at me.
“It mentions Comrade Hue Thu.”
My heart tightened.
We hurried to the administrative office.
Political Officer Liu was waiting.
On the table lay a crumpled sheet of paper.
He handed it to Father.
I read over his shoulder.
The first lines accused To Huong Hong of planning everything.
Then came the final paragraph.
My blood went cold.
“Hua Hue Thu knew about the medicine beforehand.”
“She asked me to increase the dose because she wanted Tran Vi Dong’s career destroyed.”
Mother shouted:
“That’s impossible!”
Father slammed the paper onto the table.
“She’s framing my daughter!”
I said nothing.
Because transparent words had appeared again.
Only this time, they were bright red.
【Warning! The letter is only the beginning.】
【Vuong Que Lan has gone to the Tran family.】
【She is carrying the medicine ledger that proves Tran Vi Dong secretly obtained veterinary drugs for years.】
My breathing stopped.
Years?
Then the final comment appeared.
【Those were the same medicines he used on Hue Thu during every pregnancy in her previous life.】
I stared at those words.
In my previous life, I had believed my babies died because my body was weak.
Because I was cursed.
Because I was sick.
But perhaps—
Tran Vi Dong had been killing them long before the day he left me bleeding and refused to call for help.
