Section 1

The First Day Her Thoughts Were Overheard

"Careful. Don't bump the baby."

He Chunlian adjusted the scarf around her neck, stepped around the pile of coal on the ground, and spoke sharply to her son.

Even as she did, she remembered to answer the neighbors calling out to her.

"Auntie He, your little one's back? How is she?"

Old Sun from the west wing was cooking over a coal stove by the door. She leaned out to ask.

He Chunlian breathed out, her breath turning to mist in the bitter winter cold. "She's fine. The doctor said it was nothing serious. She got chilled and ran a fever. Now that the fever's gone down, she'll be all right."

"That's good. If it's nothing serious, there's nothing to worry about." Old Sun stirred her cabbage with vinegar, then glanced at Gu Jinshui and Gu Yinxing. She teased Gu Yinxing with a smile, "Isn't the other family coming over to discuss the wedding date today? You'd better dress up nicely."

Gu Yinxing looked like He Chunlian had when she was young. She loved dressing up and didn't mind spending money on clothes. Today she wore a white sweater under a beige wool coat. Her nose was red from the cold, but she still sniffed with an air of vanity. "How much more dressed up can I get? This outfit of mine is the height of fashion anywhere in Beijing."

Gu Jinshui rolled his eyes and kicked aside the padded door curtain. Once inside, he hurried to set the baby down. Seeing that her eyes were still closed, he blew on his hands until they were warm before reaching out to touch her. "Good thing her fever went down."

"You should be grateful Liang Ying found her when she got home from the night shift. If it were up to you, sleeping like the dead, the baby would've..." He Chunlian unwound her scarf as she lit the brazier. Realizing she was about to say something unlucky, she stopped and glared at Gu Jinshui. "Anyway, you're a father now. Start acting like one."

Gu Jinshui rubbed his nose. He was usually carefree and had been scolded by He Chunlian plenty of times, but this time he really had been at fault.

The baby in the swaddling clothes seemed to wake at the noise. She opened her bright, clear black eyes, looked at Gu Jinshui, and smacked her lips a few times.

"Oh! My daughter can say 'Dad'!"

Gu Jinshui immediately forgot He Chunlian's scolding and leaned close to his daughter. "Come on, sweetheart. Say 'Dad' again."

Dad, my foot.

Gu Yousi looked at the man before her, who was admittedly quite handsome, and inwardly cursed up a storm.

She had arrived in this world three days ago. At first, she had been too groggy to make sense of anything except the Beijing accents around her, so she suspected she had landed in Beijing. Once she felt better, she discovered she had indeed ended up in Beijing. The problem was that it was Beijing in 1983.

The good news: she had become a Beijing native.

The bad news: she had arrived far too early.

What did 1983 even mean?

Gu Yousi wasn't sure. All she knew was that during her days in the hospital, the nurses kept talking about where to buy pork, how they needed connections to reserve some fatty cuts, and how they had to stockpile hundreds of pounds of cabbage for the New Year...

One nurse had apparently received a bonus of twenty yuan. The others were so envious their eyes nearly turned red.

Gu Yousi was at a loss for words.

She had no idea how she had transmigrated, or why.

Gu Yousi's old life hadn't been perfect, but it hadn't been bad either. Though she was an orphan, she had been gifted at school from an early age. She had worked her way into studying abroad, earned a computer science degree, and landed a job paying hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. She had a house and a car, and almost no regrets.

All she remembered was that before she came here, a former middle school classmate had suddenly contacted her and recommended a book, saying a supporting character shared her full name.

With nothing better to do, Gu Yousi had finished the book. Perhaps she had stayed up too late reading it, because when she woke, she was here.

"Mom, I bought half a chicken and a pound of meat."

Cooking smoke rose from every corner of the Compound Courtyard. Liang Ying rode in on her bicycle, parked it in the yard, and carried a mesh bag into her family's room.

Once inside, she handed the bag to He Chunlian before looking down at her daughter. The baby's cheeks were rosy and her eyes shone. Liang Ying couldn't have been happier. "Did Second Girl fuss?"

Gu Yousi silently rolled her eyes.

That was another thing Gu Yousi hated.

Her childhood nickname was Second Girl. It had been decided at the hospital. Apparently, her grandmother believed an unflattering name would help a child survive, so she had chosen Second Girl.

As for why she was called "second" when she was an only daughter, the old lady had her reasons for that too. She believed it would do a better job of fooling the god of death.

"No." Gu Jinshui cheerfully picked up Gu Yousi and bounced her in his arms. "How was work at the factory? Your team leader didn't give you trouble, did she?"

Liang Ying had taken yesterday off to care for the baby. With everyone rushing to meet year-end targets, her team leader had been unhappy about it, said some nasty things, and docked a day's pay. Liang Ying had taken the day off anyway.

"No."

Liang Ying shook her head.

She took the baby from him and said, "Go give Mom a hand. The Chen family should be here soon. Chen Shiwen's mother doesn't strike me as easy to get along with. They're coming to discuss the wedding date today, so let's not give them anything to criticize."

Gu Yousi had been about to close her eyes in Liang Ying's arms, but at those words, her eyes flew open.

What?

Chen Shiwen? Wasn't that the name of villain Gu Yinxing's scumbag husband in Eighties Beloved Little Lucky Star? The one who abused her and tricked her into marriage?

"Sister-in-law, what could his mother possibly criticize? What's wrong with me?"

Gu Yinxing was combing her hair in front of the mirror. She pouted unhappily.

Liang Ying smiled. "There's nothing wrong with you. But Chen Shiwen is a university graduate, and he's joined the Land Bureau. Think about it. He may be a little older, but a family with prospects like theirs is hard to find."

That was true enough.

Remembering how envious her coworkers had been, Gu Yinxing couldn't help smiling.

Meanwhile, Gu Yousi's heart sank.

A university graduate working at the Land Bureau—those two details left Gu Yousi no room to fool herself.

He Chunlian cooked quickly, especially since she was making only four dishes: stir-fried chicken, scrambled eggs, twice-cooked pork, and a bowl of chicken stewed with mushrooms.

Gu Yousi thought little of those dishes. But in an era when grain, oil, and meat all required ration coupons, and the average monthly income was under forty yuan, this was an exceedingly generous meal.

At least, when Chen's Mother and her family came in and saw the dishes on the square table in the main room, their smiles grew considerably brighter.

"Goodness, why go to so much trouble and make so many dishes?" Chen's Mother asked.

Chen's Mother had clearly dressed up for the occasion. She wore a brand-new padded jacket and trousers, and even her shoes were new, with a red flower embroidered on them.

But when she saw He Chunlian's figure and nearly wrinkle-free face, a flicker of jealousy still crossed her eyes.

"It's nothing, just a few home-cooked dishes." He Chunlian invited everyone to sit and gave the seat of honor to Auntie Sun, the matchmaker.

Auntie Sun laughed. "You call this nothing? Chunlian, did your daughter make all this? Once the Chens take your daughter into their family, they'll be in for a treat."

He Chunlian frowned at that.

"My son made it," she said evenly. "My daughter can't cook. Besides, she's so busy at the hospital. When would she have the time?"

Gu Jinshui smiled at everyone. "That's right. My sister couldn't make any of this. When she joins your family, please be understanding if there's anything she doesn't do right. She's my only sister, and I couldn't bear to see her mistreated."

Chen's Mother's face fell at once. "What kind of woman can't cook? I started cooking when I was seven or eight. Once she joins our family, she'll follow our rules."

Gu Yinxing, seated nearby, looked displeased. She shot Chen Shiwen a sideways glance and nudged him with her foot.

Chen Shiwen hurriedly said, "Mom, it doesn't matter if she can't cook. Besides, Yinxing and I both have jobs. We can eat at our workplace canteens..."

In the East Room, Gu Yousi listened to the conversation drifting in from the main room. The more she heard, the more familiar it sounded.

She was almost certain she had transmigrated into the book.

Worse, she had landed in the villain's family.

Though she had been here only three days, Gu Yousi had already grown somewhat fond of her aunt, Gu Yinxing, who doted on her.

She couldn't just watch her aunt leap into a pit of fire.

"Waa, waa, waa..." Gu Yousi cried out, trying to get her mother to carry her outside.

Liang Ying had no idea what she wanted. Puzzled, she felt the baby's bottom. "What's wrong? You're not wet. Why are you crying?"

Waa! Take me outside! I have to save Auntie before she marries that monster!

A young, childish voice suddenly rang out in Liang Ying's mind.

Startled, Liang Ying snatched back her hand and stared wide-eyed at her fair, precious daughter.

That voice just now?

Mom, hurry and take me outside! That man out there is a bastard. Auntie can't marry him!

The voice grew clearer. Her daughter was making crying sounds without shedding a tear, gazing at her expectantly.

Liang Ying's mind went blank. Almost without thinking, she carried the baby outside.

To her surprise, the baby stopped crying the moment they left the East Room.

"Why did you bring her out?" Gu Jinshui had no patience for talking to the Chen family. He stood up to take the baby.

Liang Ying handed the baby to him. Her lips moved, but she had no idea what to say.

"Oh, it's Jinshui's wife. Come sit and eat with us."

Sensing the tension between the two families, Auntie Sun quickly invited Liang Ying and the baby to join them. She looked at the child and praised her. "What a pretty little girl. She looks just like the two of you."

The smiles on Gu Jinshui and the others' faces became more genuine.

Chen Shiwen hastened to add, "She's already a little beauty. I'm sure she'll grow up to be as beautiful as her aunt."

Gu Yousi rolled her eyes.

Stay away, you cheating scumbag. Auntie's beauty didn't stop you from chasing so many women you'd need an octopus's legs to keep track of them all.

At those words, not only Liang Ying and Gu Jinshui but also Gu Yinxing froze.

Gu Yinxing stared at Gu Yousi, dumbfounded.

Gu Yousi was so anxious she wished she could speak aloud.

But she was only eight months old. She didn't even have teeth yet, let alone the ability to talk.

All she could do was try to send Gu Yinxing a message with her eyes.

Auntie, you really can't marry this man. He already has a wife and child from when he was sent to the countryside in Yunnan. He abandoned them both to return to the city. He doesn't even want to pay a bride price to marry you. After the wedding, he plans to sell your job and use the money to pay off his debts!

Gu Yinxing might have dismissed the earlier words as something she had imagined.

But at the mention of his time in Yunnan, she could no longer sit still. Chen Shiwen had spent seven years there before returning to the city. He was thirty-one now. Gu Yinxing had asked why he had never married, and he had told her he hadn't wanted to marry in the countryside.

At the time, Gu Yinxing hadn't thought much of it. City people could be particular; it wasn't unusual for one to refuse to marry someone from the countryside.

But she had never imagined...

Gu Yinxing's face flushed with anger, and the veins in her neck stood out. She was on the verge of exploding.

He Chunlian pressed a hand over hers, then smiled and poured wine for Chen's Father, Chen's Mother, and Chen Shiwen. "As for the cooking, we can sort that out. I was thinking it wouldn't hurt for our Yinxing to learn."

Only then did a smile return to Chen's Mother's face.

Chen's Father said nothing. He merely lowered his head and drank.

Auntie Sun hurried to warm the mood. "Exactly. These are all little things. What matters is that the young couple live happily together. Let's settle on an auspicious date soon, and before long, they can have a healthy baby boy."

Delight appeared on Chen Shiwen's face, and he looked toward Gu Yinxing.

He Chunlian gave a small smile. "Auntie Sun is right. But honestly, I can hardly bear to part with my daughter. My youngest girl has always been so thoughtful. It truly pains me to think of her getting married and leaving home."

"Of course. We mothers raise our children from infancy. Who wouldn't feel sad to see her daughter married off?"

Auntie Sun knew how to keep a conversation moving. "Especially when your youngest is such a beauty. But sons and daughters have to marry once they're grown. You can't keep her at home forever. Don't worry—the Chens are good people, and Shiwen has a bright future. Your daughter will have a good life."

Good life, my foot! The moment she joins their family, she'll lose her job and have to work herself to the bone serving all of them. And Chen Shiwen's sick in the head—he likes beating women!

He Chunlian's gaze turned cold.

Holding her wine cup, she quietly placed a chicken leg on Gu Yinxing's plate. "Whether she'll have a good life is a question for later. Right now, I want to know how much bride price the Chen family plans to offer."

At He Chunlian's words, the main room fell si