"Shen Niantang, you poisonous woman! I, Xiao Liang, will absolutely never marry you in this lifetime! Rou Rou, add a bit more of that powder—it’d be best if you turned her into an idiot."
"Brother Xiao Liang, won't a higher dose kill her?"
Shen Rou, looking pure and innocent, lowered her head and leaned into the man's embrace. Her eyes were filled with feigned worry, but her hands were busy pouring more and more of the powder into the glass.
"What are you afraid of? Even if she dies, Uncle Shen and the others won't care."
Xiao Liang looked viciously at the disheveled woman on the floor. In his previous life, he had died young because he married Shen Niantang. Just as he had reached the peak of his wealth as the richest man in Kyoto, Shen Niantang—who was destined to bring misfortune to her husbands—died, and he was dragged to the grave right along with her.
In that past life, he had met a blind fortune-teller under the overpass at the Kyoto International Hotel. The old man told him he was surrounded by a woman with a lethal fate who was draining his luck, and he should stay on guard. Xiao Liang had indeed married Shen Niantang, and sure enough, he had died in his prime. Since he had been reborn, he was determined not to let Shen Niantang go; he would have his revenge!
Shen Niantang’s vision was blurry, and her entire body ached. She struggled to open her eyes and took in her surroundings. She had transmigrated into a book!
And it was the 1970s!
The original owner of the body shared her name, Shen Niantang. In the book, the original had been betrothed by her stepmother, Chen Jinlan, to a poor man named Xiao Liang. The original was timid but clever; she thought she had married an honest man, but Xiao Liang was pompous on the outside and selfish and cunning on the inside.
At first, the original had helped Xiao Liang with his business, saving it from bankruptcy several times, but Xiao Liang was ungrateful. Once he became the richest man in Kyoto with her help, he grew obsessed with beauty and power. In their fifth year of marriage, he colluded with his mistress to drug the original and kill her.
In the previous life, Shen Niantang’s younger sister, Shen Rou, had an unhappy marriage after wedding Commander Gu, but she had always been obsessed with seducing her brother-in-law, Xiao Liang.
"Brother Xiao Liang, I never expected that we would both be reborn. This is truly wonderful. You know, in our past life, I was truly in love with you, but you were snatched away by my sister. I was so heartbroken."
"But this time, thankfully, we’re ahead of the game before she marries you."
Shen Rou threw herself into Xiao Liang’s arms in a display of affectation. The sight made the Shen Niantang on the floor feel physically ill.
Yes, she had arrived just in time—before the original could marry this scumbag and repeat the same tragic path. Shen Niantang had realized the moment she woke up that Shen Rou and Xiao Liang were both reborn. They seemed unaware that she was no longer the original, that she was a soul from the 21st century.
Xiao Liang, standing to the side, saw that she was awake. His ugly nature surfaced as he put an arm around Shen Rou’s waist and gloated.
"You're finally awake, Shen Niantang. It wasn't easy kidnapping you. I must have been blind to fall for a vase like you who only had looks. This time, I’m marrying Shen Rou."
"Once I become the richest man in Kyoto again, I’ll have endless wealth and status."
"Sister, don’t be too sad. If it weren't for the underhanded methods you used to marry Brother Xiao Liang in the past life, he and I would have been together long ago. Forget it, you wouldn't understand. Just obediently marry that brute this time."
With that, Shen Rou picked up the drugged cup and forced the water into Shen Niantang’s mouth. Shen Niantang tried to resist, but her body had no strength. She struggled to knock the cup over, but it was useless.
"Hmph, just wait to become an idiot, Shen Niantang!"
Shen Rou tossed the teacup aside and skipped over to Xiao Liang’s side.
"Brother Xiao Liang, let’s go. This place is so dirty; I don't want to stay here. What if there are rats?"
"Fine, let’s go."
With a look of disgust at Shen Niantang on the floor, Xiao Liang took Shen Rou’s hand and left the dilapidated shack.
Shen Niantang braced her hands against the ground and slowly pulled herself up against the wall. The place was a ruin—a shack on the outskirts of town that hadn't been lived in for ages; the corners were thick with cobwebs.
[Ding! Hello, Host. I am Tiantian.]
A tiny, thumb-sized sprite appeared before Shen Niantang’s eyes.
"What the hell are you?"
[Host, I am your personal system. I am a gift from heaven to help you better adapt to the plot!]
Shen Niantang leaned against the wall and stood up, looking at the sprite. She hurriedly asked, "What did Shen Rou feed me? Will I really become an idiot?"
[No, Host. Before she could act, I secretly swapped the powder for one with no effect. Don't worry, you won't become an idiot.]
Shen Niantang felt as if everything were a dream—so unreal. She had heard stories of female leads being reborn to take revenge on scumbags, but how had she ended up in a scenario where both the scumbag and the mistress were reborn?
"Where am I? Why did those two lunatics kidnap me?"
[Host, you are in a ruined house on the outskirts of town. Both Shen Rou and Xiao Liang were reborn in this life. But it doesn't matter; you just need to live your own life.]
[Next, I will provide you with survival guidance.]
Tiantian produced a tiny, miniature manual out of thin air.
[Host, according to the plot, your next move should be to leave the Shen Residence and head to your aunt’s house to get leads on Gu Tingchuan.]
"Can't you just tell me? Why do I have to go there myself?"
Tiantian snapped the book shut and spoke with righteous indignation.
[I cannot! I am only here to help you adapt to this new world more easily. The events and characters you encounter require you to trigger them. Even though you transmigrated into a book, the future is uncertain. The path the plot takes depends heavily on you.]
[Besides, when the timing is right, I will leave. You must start exploring and perceiving this world for yourself now.]
"Fine, if you say so, I’ll go."
Shen Niantang walked out of the shack and found the surroundings eerily quiet; the mountain outskirts were rarely visited by anyone. The thought of that scumbag Xiao Liang hooking up with her sister immediately upon his rebirth made her sick.
As dusk fell, Shen Niantang navigated by the original's memories and made her way home.
"Tiantian, help me open this door."
With a "whoosh," Tiantian appeared, wearing pink pajamas and a little nightcap that bobbed with every move. Her drowsy little eyes were filled with tears.
[I can't, Host. I don't have that superpower.]
"Then what use are you? Fine, fine, I’ll do it myself."
No sooner had she said that than Shen Niantang began pounding on the door.
"Who is it! It’s the middle of the night, can't people sleep?"
The moment the lock turned, Shen Niantang swiftly grabbed the edge of the door and pulled.
"Ah! Shen Niantang! Are you trying to die? It’s the middle of the night—you still know how to come back?"
Only one dim light remained on in the living room. Chen Jinlan stood there in her pajamas with a blanket draped over her shoulders, her hair in a mess.
"Shut up. You should be grateful I made it back alive. If I had died out there, your daughter would be a murderer, and she’d spend the rest of her life in prison!"
Shen Niantang’s voice was icy, her beautiful, piercing eyes filled with the cold, chilling intensity of the night. Her formidable presence left Chen Jinlan speechless for a moment.
"You... you, how dare you speak to me like that."
Shen Niantang pushed Chen Jinlan aside and walked to her room. Moments later, Shen Rou rushed out from her own room.
"Mom, what’s wrong? Is that Shen Niantang? Hiss... that shouldn't be."
Chen Jinlan stared at Shen Rou, her brows knitted. "What kind of stunt are you pulling now?"