Reborn in the Seventies

Reader's note:

This story has undergone several major revisions, and some content has been deleted. Please understand if you see any "dots," thank you!

Dual male leads + period drama + HE + dual purity + transmigration into a book + golden finger (appears in chapter 19).

Gu Yu (top) × Shen Jianan (bottom).

The protagonist is not perfect or a saint; he repays every grievance.

Supporting characters include both annoying ones and cute, righteous ones. This applies to all genders, so please do not jump to conclusions or start unnecessary drama.

The first 30 chapters focus on the protagonist's personality. Due to his circumstances and status, many of Gu Yu's abilities are not yet fully displayed, but later on, it becomes a story of a powerful duo.

This story has many career-focused plotlines and a slow pace; it is not suitable for readers looking only for romance or fast-paced action.

Some historical knowledge mentioned in the text comes from the personal experiences of elders and online research. For the sake of narrative integrity, the plot may deviate slightly from reality; please do not over-analyze.

Also, in the seventies, some places had electricity, but supply was insufficient and rationed. Although the setting is fictional, it is based on the conditions of my hometown at the time. Since that area was a special region, it did have electricity. Please be rational and do not criticize.

Lastly, I warmly welcome all readers! If you love it, please continue; if not, please kindly click away. Writing is not easy; please do not leave bad reviews just because you didn't read carefully. I truly beg you!

My writing level is that of a kindergartner, and this is my first time writing a period piece. If there are shortcomings, I welcome rational suggestions and feedback. The low rating is due to the impact of several major revisions; please do not troll or verbally attack the author, as it will backfire. Thank you!

Main text:

At the entrance of XX University.

A dignified, wealthy woman handed a card to Shen Jianan and said coldly, "Your tuition for the four years of university is in here. Don't come looking for money from me again."

She then turned and linked arms with a middle-aged man in a tailored suit, his hands covered in gold rings. Shen Congwen, standing not far away, squinted at their retreating backs and spat, then ground his cigarette butt into the trash can with a scowl. He walked over with an irritable expression and stopped in front of his son.

He impatiently pulled out his phone and shook it at him. "Scan the code. I only have 6,000 yuan in this WeChat account. Be frugal with it for the next four years; I have to support Xiaobao and don't have any extra money."

"Ha!"

Shen Jianan let out a cold sneer but didn't say much. He cooperated fully, pulled out his phone, and deftly opened his payment code. Once the 6,000 yuan was transferred, he began to haggle, "Give me another 30,000, or I'll go to your workplace and broadcast your deeds."

Shen Congwen froze, then roared, "What the hell did you say?"

Seeing his murderous expression, Shen Jianan didn't flinch. He repeated it expressionlessly, "I said, give me another 30,000, or I'll go to your workplace and broadcast your deeds—tell them you gave birth to me but never raised me."

"In your dreams!"

Shen Congwen glared, raising his hand to strike, but Shen Jianan stepped forward, tilting his head to look at the raised palm.

"Go ahead and hit me! There are surveillance cameras everywhere. I dare you to try. I promise I won't fight back."

"You!"

Shen Congwen jerked his hand up, but in the end, he didn't dare let the blow land. He wheezed, glaring at the rebellious son before him, his eyes burning with uncontrollable rage. "Fine! I'll give it to you, but from now on, you'd better not appear in front of me, or I'll break your damn legs!"

"Deal!"

The boy nodded. As long as he got the money, he didn't care. Seeing him agree, the man didn't waste another word and quickly transferred the money, terrified that if he lingered, this shameless little brat would ask for more.

Shen Jianan tapped to receive it and curved his eyes at him. "Thanks, Mr. Shen!"

He shook his phone, grabbed his suitcase, and walked away without looking back. Unexpectedly, an SUV suddenly lost control, swerving from the center of the road at high speed toward the sidewalk. It slammed into Shen Jianan, who hadn't gone far, sending him flying backward to crash heavily into the gloating Shen Congwen behind him.

Before he drew his last breath, half of the eighteen years of resentment in Shen Jianan's heart instantly dissolved. He watched the people rushing toward them in a panic, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and then he slowly closed his eyes.

Summer, 1975. The scorching sun was so bright it was hard to keep one's eyes open. The ridges of the fields were baked hot and brittle, covered in dense, narrow cracks. If one wasn't careful while walking, they would crumble underfoot.

The recorder, Zhao Hongjun, paced back and forth between the furrows, carefully monitoring the progress of the men, women, and children from the brigade. Every now and then, he would glance at the boy lying unconscious under a persimmon tree and mutter to himself.

"Honestly, he's been here for a year already. How can he faint after doing just a little bit of work!?"

"Ugh—"

The boy let out a soft groan and slowly opened his eyes. Countless unfamiliar images flashed through his mind. He couldn't help but reach up to rub his head, then looked up at the tree above, feeling momentarily dazed.

A few hours ago, he and that black-hearted father had been killed by an SUV at the university gate. He hadn't expected that the moment he opened his eyes, he would arrive in this era of scarcity.

The crucial point was that he had transmigrated into a dark period novel titled The Seventies: My Spicy Life with the White Lotus Heroine. He had become an unlikable, minor background character—the kind who wouldn't survive three chapters.

The plot had already progressed to the point where the minor character fainted from heatstroke. He hadn't woken up even when the whistle blew to end the workday. The recorder, in a hurry to return, had ordered the book's second male lead, Gu Yu, to carry him back to his living quarters.

This gave the black-hearted male lead, Zhao Jianguo, the perfect opportunity. Because the cannon-fodder boy was someone who couldn't carry a load or lift a weight, had a sharp tongue, and refused to suffer even the slightest loss, almost everyone at the Educated Youth Station had argued with him.

Later, the other educated youths grew so annoyed with him that they went to complain to the brigade leader, Zhao Qiancheng. The leader also found him to be a useless sack of straw and chased him off to live with Gu Yu in a thatched hut halfway up the mountain.

Therefore, if they were to return, they would have to take that narrow, steep mountain path. Zhao Jianguo knew this, so he had laid an ambush in the grass beside the mountain trail, waiting for the right moment to push them both down the slope.

The original Shen Jianan, who shared his name, had landed in a pile of jagged rocks at the foot of the mountain, a sharp stone piercing his neck, killing him instantly. As for Gu Yu, because he had been the one underneath, he had only broken his right leg.

When he finally endured the pain to call for help and drew people to the scene, Zhao Jianguo had run out from the side, insisting that he had seen Gu Yu murder Shen Jianan. As for his own broken leg, he claimed it was just a ruse Gu Yu had staged to divert attention and escape punishment.

In reality, under normal circumstances, such a clumsy framing attempt wouldn't have fooled anyone with a brain. But the mistake lay in Gu Yu's sensitive background.

Due to certain reasons, his family had been unable to defend themselves and were labeled as "class enemies." In the end, except for an aunt who had married a high-ranking official and a younger uncle living abroad, everyone else had been sent down to different regions.

Consequently, Gu Yu became a primary target for the brigade's "special attention." The people of the Red Flag Commune treated him like a plague, and his reputation was abysmal.

Furthermore, Gu Yu had always shown a strong aversion to Shen Jianan, and everyone was used to seeing him scowl at the boy. In contrast, Zhao Jianguo was the son of the brigade secretary—smart, studious, and the image of righteousness. Naturally, everyone was more willing to believe his words.

Thus, because of his "kind-hearted" act of carrying the boy, Gu Yu was not only blamed for a death but also thrown into prison. Originally, he was meant to be executed, but someone had eventually leaked the matter to his aunt.

She had used various methods to save Gu Yu, but he hadn't completely escaped the law and was still sentenced to seven years. During this time, Gu Yu's "white lotus" educated youth girlfriend not only refused to believe him but was also led around by the nose by Zhao Jianguo.

The absurdity was that this woman claimed to love Gu Yu deeply and promised to wait for his release to marry him, yet less than a month after he was sentenced to prison, she threw herself into the arms of Zhao Jianguo. That would have been one thing; if you're going to cheat on someone, you could at least keep your head down and live a quiet life. After all, everyone else wasn't stupid.

Instead, she was incredibly high-profile, strutting around like a peacock that had just finished mating, practically wishing she could carve the words "Zhao Jianguo is my man" onto her forehead.

She even claimed her love was open and honest, insisting that she was breaking up with Gu Yu not because he was in prison, but because she had gradually seen his true colors. She claimed his past perfection was all an act and that Gu Yu was actually an introverted, dark-hearted murderer.

Meanwhile, Zhao Jianguo was supposedly upright, ambitious, and kind; only a man like that deserved the entirety of her love.

Shen Jianan was truly speechless. He thought to himself that this wasn't some dark-themed novel; it was a brain-dead story written by someone with a lobotomy. As for Zhao Jianguo and the female lead, Jiang Hongmei, they were simply a pair of rancid, deranged fools.

However, the most absurd part was the author. She couldn't have written such a plot without a decade of brain damage. To satisfy the romance between the leads, she not only ruined the most sensible second male lead but also killed off the minor background characters. It was pure madness.

The crucial point was that he had transmigrated into this very minor character. How could Shen Jianan endure this? Filled with hate and rage, he mentally cursed the author's entire family eighteen times over before finally calming down, intending to come up with a strategy to deal with Zhao Jianguo.

Just then, he heard rapid footsteps approaching from a distance. As his eyes flickered, he quickly put on a look of guilt, trembling as he braced his hands against the ground to push himself up. With a pale, handsome face, he looked at the recorder who had walked up to him and spoke in a soft, thin voice.

"Recorder, thank you for your care. I, I'm feeling a bit better now. I'll go back to work immediately!"

As he spoke, he "struggled" to his feet to the other man's surprise and stumbled toward the fields. The way he tripped over his own feet made the recorder, Zhao Hongjun, frown, and he couldn't help but ask.

"Shen, are you sure you can handle it? If you really can't hold on, take another rest."

"No, no need!"

Shen Jianan waved his hand, walked with determined steps to his assigned plot of land, picked up the hoe left in the corner, and began to till the soil.

Watching him swing the hoe with such weakness that he looked like he might drop dead at any moment, Zhao Hongjun felt anxious, but it was still better than usual.

This kid couldn't carry anything on his shoulders or lift anything with his hands. He usually relied on his family's good financial situation, receiving money and food stamps regularly, so he never lacked rations and thus never took his work seriously.

Furthermore, he didn't get along well with the people at the Educated Youth Station or the villagers, often arguing with everyone over trivial matters. But now, this person was actually working voluntarily. Had he hit his head and suddenly seen the light?

Zhao Hongjun thought to himself that regardless of the reason, it was good that the boy was willing to work. He curled his lips, then walked to the other end of the field with his hands behind his back, feeling satisfied and no longer worrying about the weakling Shen Jianan.

As for the other party, he also breathed a secret sigh of relief once the man left. The youth gritted his teeth and worked hard for a while, and just as he was getting tired and wanted to rest, he heard the whistle signaling the end of the shift. He happily straightened his back, leaning on the hoe, and raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

He saw the unlucky second male lead, Gu Yu, and the white-lotus female lead, Jiang Hongmei, walking over one after the other, each carrying a hoe. Recalling the plot from the book, Shen Jianan quickly curved his eyes and ran over.

"Brother Gu!"

Gu Yu had been lost in thought when he suddenly heard a familiar voice. The veins on his forehead throbbed. Just as he wanted to avoid him, the youth ran up like a whirlwind, tilting his head and looking at him with a beaming smile on his overly handsome face.

"Brother Gu, shall we go back together?"

"But Gu Yu still needs to help the Educated Youth Station fix their roof! You go back first!"

Gu Yu's mouth twitched, and just as he was about to refuse, he heard the youth in front of him scoff. With a face full of sarcasm, Shen Jianan tilted his head toward Jiang Hongmei behind him. "Why? Is that Brother Gu's house? Are there no men at your Educated Youth Station who know how to fix a roof?

Don't you know Brother Gu is busy? If he goes to fix your roof, who's going to do the work at the cowshed? If he doesn't finish his tasks and gets his work points deducted, or gets scolded, are you and those other men going to take his place?"

Shen Jianan's mouth didn't stop, making Jiang Hongmei gasp for air. Her chest heaved violently, like a bellows. "Shen Jianan, how can you twist my meaning? I'm trying to help Gu Yu. He has a special situation, so he needs to contribute more, don't you know that?"

At her words, Gu Yu's expression changed instantly. He couldn't help but close his eyes. He had never been able to understand what was wrong with him—why he liked such a brain-dead woman when he sometimes wanted to strangle the idiot.

Yet, whenever he had that thought, an uncontrollable surge of love would well up in his heart. He would keep thinking of her good side, and then he would never be able to refuse her or bring himself to hurt her. To be honest, he was truly miserable.

Fortunately, the little sparrow named Shen Jianan had come to the countryside and, through a twist of fate, ended up living with him, which had allowed him to have a few days of peace.

But what was annoying was that even though the boy was cute, he felt inexplicably irritated by him—the kind of irritation that made him lose his temper and yell at him sometimes.

Every time he saw the boy's aggrieved expression, Gu Yu felt immense guilt. He didn't know what was wrong with him; he clearly wanted to be good to this person, but the next moment, he couldn't control his emotions.

"Pah! That sounds nice, doesn't it? You just want to find a sucker to provide free labor, yet you make yourself sound so noble. Shameless!"

Shen Jianan sneered with disdain. "Besides, if you really cared about Brother Gu, you wouldn't keep making him do your work."

The youth narrowed his eyes, leaned in slightly, and lowered his voice toward her. "Also, if I hear you talking about Brother Gu's 'special situation' in front of others again, I'm going to report you for forcing others to do your work and trying to act like a capitalist hedonist."

"You!"

Jiang Hongmei's eyes welled with tears. She couldn't help but step to the side, reach out to tug at Gu Yu, and said aggrievedly, "Gu Yu, say something! You know that's not what I meant. I just want you to have a good relationship with everyone so that later..."

"Thank you for your concern, but there's no need!"

Gu Yu pulled his thoughts back, glanced at her with a cold expression, and then tilted his chin toward the triumphant Shen Jianan. "Let's go."

"Oh!"

The youth's dimples deepened as he hoisted his hoe and walked alongside him, leaving Jiang Hongmei standing there, stunned and unable to recover for a long time. In the end, it wasn't until her companion couldn't stand it anymore and came over to pull her that she snapped out of it.

"Hongmei, Gu Yu is being too petty."

The educated youth Lu Xiaoyue watched the two figures leaving and said with disdain, "Even though his family used to be well-off, look at how fallen they are now. What's there to be proud of? Why don't you just go with Zhao Jianguo? He likes you anyway."

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Jiang Hongmei's face flushed, and she gave the other girl a shy, reproachful look. "Jianguo and I are like-minded, close friends, while Gu Yu and I..."

She lowered her head, her voice carrying a hint of stickiness. "My parents both said that when we reach the right age, we're going to get married. Do you understand?"

"Oh!"

Lu Xiaoyue responded perfunctorily and said nothing more, though she was secretly mocking the other girl in her heart. She had used this excuse 800 times, yet it didn't stop her from flirting with Zhao Jianguo. As for Gu Yu, sometimes he seemed to be on good terms with her, but other times he seemed to find her repulsive.

Furthermore, from Jiang Hongmei's own words, Lu Xiaoyue and the others at the Educated Youth Station knew that the Gu household had never acknowledged the relationship between her and Gu Yu, only saying that everything was up to fate. Yet, Jiang Hongmei and her family always acted as if the Gu household had accepted the engagement.

She looked at the other girl, lowering her eyes to hide the complexity in her gaze. "Let's go! If Gu Yu won't help, we can fix it ourselves."

"But... I still want him to have a good relationship with everyone."

Jiang Hongmei twisted her fingers in grievance. Seeing her like this again, Lu Xiaoyue felt a sudden wave of irritation and rolled her eyes in silence. "Then go yourself!"

She finished speaking, shouldered her hoe, and walked away impatiently. Jiang Hongmei froze for a moment, then raised her voice to call out to her friend in hurt, "Xiaoyue, how could you be like this?"

To her surprise, upon hearing the accusation, Lu Xiaoyue not only failed to respond but actually picked up her pace, as if she were being chased by a dog.

Jiang Hongmei was both angry and anxious. What was wrong with today? Everyone was bullying her, refusing to listen to her advice, and acting as if they had turned into different people.