First Contact - Chapter 881 - Those Who Carry On

To care for her ailing sweetheart, college student Lu Chenchen gave up her white-collar office job and chose the higher-paying caretaker profession instead. Going around in circles, she ended up at the Mao family’s home.

The Mao family background was complicated. Old Madam Mao was not her son Yanning’s birth mom, but his young aunt. His wife was Old Madam Mao’s first love’s daughter, spoiled and pampered. Despite over ten years of marriage, husband and wife were distant.

To repay Old Madam Mao’s kindness in raising him, and for the sake of his three children, Mao Yanning endured again and again – not just a loveless but outright destructive marriage.

Lu Chenchen walked on eggshells among these people – carefully serving young and old, currying favor with the lady of the house without offending the man of the house, while also worrying about his sweetheart’s illness and missing “his” elders and children back home. Her heart was like a cookie flattened between the pages of life, living a difficult and cautious existence.

However, as the saying goes, “You reap what you sow.” A life that has been polished will eventually shine with a brilliance that ordinary years cannot compare.

An eternal prison, a soulless body, a sealed spirit, everything lost.

To resign before merciless fate, or to become destiny!

“I lived in an illusion, I was lost, I could not find my home, I did not have a home… but why does it matter?! Between bowing to the threat of death and a spine that would never bend, I will choose the latter!”

- Description from Novelupdates

On the day of her wedding, Ivy Quinn vanishes, leaving behind only a note: “I’m sorry, I can't marry a blind man.”To protect her son from heartbreak, Elizabeth Winters strikes a desperate deal—Ruby, Ivy’s identical twin, must take her sister’s place at the altar. Trapped by duty and family pressure, Ruby agrees, believing it will only last until Stefan’s eyesight is restored.But from the moment they marry, Stefan senses something is different about his “wife.” The woman beside him is nothing like the shallow fiancée he once knew. She’s sharp, resilient, and understands his business in a way Ivy never did. Against all odds, he falls harder than ever for this new version of her.And Ruby? She never expected to fall in love with a man who was never meant to be hers.But just when she finds the courage to tell him the truth, Ivy returns, ready to reclaim the life she abandoned.When Stefan finally opens his eyes, will he see the woman who truly stood by him—or will he be too blind to recognize real love?****Excerpt****“By the way, did Ruby come to the wedding?” he asked, catching her off guard since she hadn't expected him to ask her that all of a sudden.Was he already suspecting that it was her and not Ivy?Ruby’s fingers froze on the door handle for just a fraction of a second.It was enough to set off alarms in Stefan's head.“I—uh…” She hesitated, but only briefly. “No. She had work. She couldn’t make it.”Was he suspecting a switch already? What must have set off the alarm in his head?Stefan hummed, tilting his head slightly. “Oh, I see. How is she, then? I hope she's coming to visit one of these days?”Her fingers tightened on the handle, though her voice remained steady. “Yeah. She would, the moment she is chanced and can come.”A slow smirk tugged at the corner of Stefan’s lips, though he kept his expression neutral.Interesting. Very interesting. His wife had just lied to him and he didn't know why.Even though he was blind, he'd find out why soon enough.

When Alex woke up, he discovered he had transmigrated into the body of the ultimate villain of a cultivation novel, the Saint Lord of the Hale Family.In the original story, he was nothing more than a tragic tool, existing solely to be exploited by an overpowered male protagonist. No matter how fearsome his cultivation or how supreme his authority, his fate was to endlessly hand over treasures, opportunities, and women, until he was finally discarded and destroyed.Among those women was Isolde.She was personally nurtured by Alex from childhood, raised with the vast resources of the Hale Family. Rare heavenly materials, divine techniques, priceless treasures, she lacked nothing. Cherished as the apple of his eye, she owed Alex and the Hale Family a debt beyond repayment.Yet all of that was overturned by a single bowl of plain porridge.Deceived by shallow warmth, Isolde ignored decades of kindness and willingly severed all ties with the Hale Family in order to join the male protagonist’s harem.That was only the beginning.Later in the novel, she personally assisted the male protagonist in killing Alex and participated in the complete annihilation of the Hale Family's elders, disciples, servants, and even newborn infants, none spared.When Alex first transmigrated, it was precisely at the moment this adulterous couple stood before him in open defiance.Emboldened by years of indulgence, Isolde confidently made her demand, certain that Alex would forgive her as he always had, no matter how grave her betrayal.But this time, the ending changed.Alex spoke calmly, decisively and ruthlessly:“You may leave, but leave behind the Seven Orifices Divine Heart your family bestowed upon you.”