Chapter 44: Chapter 44

Wait, isn't this the male lead?

Didn't the system swear just last month that despite all hardships, the male and female leads remained steadfast and ultimately came together?

While An Ning was still processing her surprise, the red-dressed woman ahead had already approached with enthusiastic familiarity:

"Auntie Yang, I didn't expect to see you here today!"

"This must be your daughter-in-law - so beautiful and clearly cultured."

"Oh, I should introduce my partner to you, Auntie. This is Ji Peizhi."

As she affectionately wrapped her arm around the man beside her, An Ning got a clear look this time.

The moment the woman embraced him, Ji Peizhi's body visibly stiffened momentarily. Yet for some reason, he didn't resist, allowing her to publicly claim their relationship with that intimate yet assertive gesture.

Well then, Ji Peizhi. She hadn't been mistaken after all.

An Ning raised her gaze to examine him.

One had to admit, as this world's male lead, Ji Peizhi possessed undeniable appeal. Broad shoulders tapered to a narrow waist, his tall frame clad in a perfectly tailored gray-blue suit. His high-bridged nose and thin lips, coupled with those cool, indifferent eyes, gave him an air of restrained sensuality just by standing there.

Especially now, with three parts impatience and seven parts endurance playing across his features - the very combination to ignite one's desire to conquer him.

Truly a magnet for admirers.

An Ning couldn't help but recall the female lead she'd seen earlier. The world really was unfair - while the female lead still bore visible signs of hardship on her worn face, here was Ji Peizhi, his faint frown lines at thirty only adding to his distinguished charm.

Even in reduced circumstances, high-born women still vied for his attention.

Perhaps An Ning had stared too long, because after the pair left, her mother-in-law gave her a meaningful look. Yet Madam Yang's expression remained remarkably composed, clearly unconcerned about her daughter-in-law's wandering eye:

"Male beauty is fine to admire, but without real capability, even the most striking appearance is just an empty shell."

An Ning nodded in agreement.

Shared values really did make for good companionship.

"By the way, who was that woman earlier?" An Ning asked casually as she handed a bracelet to the salesperson for packaging.

"Oh, the Meng family's daughter," Madam Yang replied dismissively, clearly unimpressed by the family. "You might remember their eldest son - he works under our second son now. That tailor who made your dress last time was their recommendation."

Ah, that explained the girl's excessive enthusiasm.

After browsing the jewelry section a while longer, the three women - trailed by Housekeeper Zhou carrying numerous packages - leisurely drove home in their car.

To An Ning, this had been just an ordinary encounter. But for the system with its romanticized notions, it was nothing short of earth-shattering:

"How could this happen?!" it wailed.

"The female lead stood by him through everything! They endured the most impossible hardships together!"

"Being ostracized and mocked by villagers, having children throw cow dung at them, being forced to kneel and eat wheat chaff by local thugs, nearly being paraded with accusation signs... When his grandfather fell ill, no one would lift a finger to help."

"Through it all, she comforted him in secret, even sneaking him supplies from the farm."

Without her, he likely wouldn't have survived those conditions. Hunting? Forget the mountain dangers - villagers would smell any meat from miles away.

"So you're saying the female lead witnessed the male lead at his most vulnerable and degraded..."

An Ning had intended to ignore the system's dramatics, but its emotional outbursts were becoming ridiculous. What kind of database prioritized such sentimental nonsense?

"But in the original timeline..." the system ventured weakly.

"That was then," An Ning countered matter-of-factly. "I suspect in that version, the stepdaughter's premium jade pendant upgraded the farm first, then some devoted second male lead provided endless support. Once the sugar factory succeeded, the leads' status rose with the profits."

"They probably still suffered, but nothing as brutal or humiliating as this lifetime, right?"

"After such extreme degradation, people either collapse permanently or claw their way up desperately. Which type do you think our current male lead is?"

When someone has too much to lose and too much to prove, love becomes... less essential.

Especially when the female lead's spirit has visibly broken, her beauty faded - no longer the radiant sun that once warmed him.

The system fell silent.

Whatever it saw subsequently must have been telling, because even the normally gossipy system stopped mentioning the pair.

In the following years, Comrade Gu rose steadily through the ranks while An Ning established herself in mathematics, frequently accompanying Professor Huang to international conferences.

As for Zhiheng - with a high-ranking father paving his way, an internationally recognized mother, and looks that automatically earned him extra goodwill points - his political career surpassed even his father's early trajectory. A single ID photo at thirty-five could still cause quite a stir.

An Ning's final encounter with the female lead occurred during a vacation. The sight of Jiang Xue, bedecked in jewelry, leading two muscular young men into a neighboring hotel room was... memorable, to say the least.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she may have stared a bit too obviously in front of her husband. The next day, she could barely walk.

Well, it proved Comrade Gu's decade-long fitness regimen had been time well spent.

An Ning's later years were thoroughly enjoyable - incense and tea, sports and horses, all the pleasures of modern living. She frequently traveled with Madam Yang and her son, the only dissatisfied family member being her husband.

With her diligent skincare regimen learned from Madam Lu, An Ning maintained a youthful appearance even as Zhiheng brought home his own bride. Yet whenever abroad, suitors still came knocking - Westerners who saw no issue with affairs and considered her refusals prudish.

Worst of all, work constraints limited Comrade Gu's ability to follow her abroad.

The image of her nearly fifty-year-old husband, emulating his mother and wife's skincare routines, only to be exposed by their mischievous son, nearly made An Ning burst out laughing.