[Before everyone reads the text, let me say a few words. The original background of this book was different, but due to sensitive reasons, it was forcibly revised. However, there may still be some name issues overlooked. If you find any bugs, please point them out. Much love, Zha Nan]
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Nianyang, I will use my life to love you, let time be the witness, let the rest of my life be the duration. No matter how time changes, my hand will always be in yours, never leaving nor forsaking — Li Tingyan
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Nianyang felt a headache so severe it was near deadly. She opened her eyes dizzily, and the scene before her made her speechless.
In the dim and old room, there wasn't even a window. The air was incredibly stuffy and carried a nauseating sour and moldy odor.
The dark earthen wall was plastered with yellowing black-and-white newspapers. Across the room, a table missing arms and legs had a rusty enamel cup on it. What place was this?
Before Nianyang could react, a flood of memories not belonging to her forced their way into her mind.
She was originally an outstanding doctor of the 21st century, receiving an award on the medical stage in one moment, only to be killed by a suddenly falling crystal lamp the next.
To her surprise, she opened her eyes and was reborn in the body of someone with the same name as hers.
This place was a certain town in the 1990s, and the previous Gu Nianyang lived a life of utter wretchedness.
Since childhood, her parents were extremely biased towards her elder sister Gu Youlan. In the Gu Family, the elder sister was a treasure, the younger was chaff; the sister ate meat, while the younger could only drink vegetable soup.
The original owner, from the time she understood, became a slave at home, only stopping chores to attend school, always wearing and using her sister's castoffs.
Never having eaten meat led to malnutrition, rendering her dark and thin like a telephone pole at 17; she looked only 13.
The original owner was weak and incapable, not daring to complain even when bullied. Bound by blood ties, she allowed the Gu Family to leech her dry, leading to her eventual series of tragedies.
The memory paused; Nianyang looked down at her skinny self, as if a breeze could blow her away, and had only one thought.
Miserable!
The original owner was truly too miserable!
So miserable the kid next door would cry from seeing it!
But now that the heavens have given her this chance to live anew, the weak and incapable Gu Nianyang is dead from this day forth. She has claimed the original owner's body, and starting now, she is the original owner. For those who wronged this body's original possessor, she will seek justice on her behalf!
Through the recent memory, Nianyang knows she has been reborn at a turning point in the original owner's fate.
It was this day that the original owner was supposed to attend the pre-selection exam at school. But last night, she was forced by her mother Wang Ying to do laundry in the rain for most of the night, causing a high fever that couldn't be quelled, preventing her from attending the pre-selection exam, missing next year's college entrance exam, and dropping out to become the Gu Family's puppet to be ravaged at will.
The original owner's life began its descent into hell from this day.
Now that Nianyang is here, she will start changing her fate from the root, and she must make it to school to take the pre-selection exam.
This time, she not only wants to take the college entrance exam but will also apply to her dream university!
Quickly throwing off the filthy blanket, Nianyang supported her weak, feverish body to the door, finding a fist-sized lock hung on it.
In the original owner's memory, this lock was specially bought by Wang Ying in town to cut off the original owner's path. Ironically, it was her first time spending money on the original owner!
Nianyang didn't care about the lock at all. Besides being a doctor, she also learned various disassembly skills. Moreover, a mere door lock?
Her dark, lively eyes quickly scanned the room and eventually fetched an embroidery needle from the broken cabinet, jingling it in the lock hole. With just a click, the lock dropped.
Nianyang had just set foot over the threshold when Wang Ying charged in upon hearing the noise.
"You damned girl, who allowed you to come out? Get back in and lie down!"
Nianyang narrowed her eyes, glancing at the middle-aged woman in front of her, dressed in floral hemp clothes, with an obese figure.
This was the original owner's biased mother. Remembering her torture to the original made Nianyang want to pin her to the ground!
But now wasn't the time!
With her tongue pressing against the oral wall, the girl's immature voice, tinged with hoarseness, due to the high fever, spoke, "Mom, today is the exam, why did you lock the door on me?"
"Who told you to be so useless, getting a high fever just from doing laundry? I locked the door to prevent the cold wind from worsening your illness!" Wang Ying's eyes flashed, speaking with some hesitation.
Ha, afraid of the cold wind coming in?
Such stupid excuses truly amaze me!
"Is that so? Thank you, mom, for your concern then!" Nianyang said coldly, ice sharpness dancing in her eyes.
Wang Ying felt uneasy. How eerie, wasn't this dead girl usually timid, not daring to raise her voice? How did she suddenly dare to show attitude after waking up?
That gaze was genuinely creepy!
And that lock, it's one of those hardest locks, impossible to open without a key. How did the little wretch unlock it?
Before Wang Ying could figure it out, Nianyang strode outward through the door.
"Damned girl, where are you going!" Wang Ying vigilantly blocked Nianyang's way.
"Today's the pre-selection exam; I'm clearly going to take the exam."
"Exam? You jinx, what exam are you taking? Your grades are so poor, you're a dimwit that can't be helped. Don't you dare disgrace us at school. Now that you're awake, go feed pigs in the yard for me, you're not going anywhere else!"
Wang Ying cursed sharply, with her spittle almost hitting Nianyang's face.
She and her elder daughter had planned for a month to come up with an infallible method to make the younger one fail to attend the exam due to fever. They even spent three dollars to buy a lock, which pained her deeply. If the damned girl went for the exam, wouldn't it be all for naught?
Most importantly, if her pig-headed younger daughter had dumb luck, passed the exam, and studied for another year in senior high, it would certainly waste the family's money.
The family's money had to be saved for her precious elder daughter's university tuition; the lowly younger one shouldn't expect a single cent. She should serve their family like a dog!
Wants to go take the exam?
Dream on!
Nianyang frowned listening. She had never seen such a venomous mouth and heart in a mother! It was as if the original owner wasn't her daughter but her enemy.
Without paying attention to Wang Ying, she turned and headed for the back door. If it weren't for time constraints, she'd definitely teach Wang Ying a lesson. This venomous woman shouldn't yell wildly in front of her.
Wang Ying saw the usually obedient younger daughter dare to defy her this time, and instantly, she was irate like a hen with ruffled feathers, rushing to yank Nianyang's ponytail, and pulled her back.
"You little bastard, do you not understand human language? I told you to go feed the pigs!" Wang Ying shouted, raising her hand to slap Nianyang straight across the face.
For years, Wang Ying had been accustomed to beating and scolding Nianyang. In her eyes, Nianyang was just her punching bag, and a day without beating made her palms itch.
Nianyang was caught off guard and received a slap. Already weak and feverish, the blow nearly made her pass out then and there.
Having lived 25 years in her previous life, Nianyang had never been slapped across the face. Her gaze immediately turned cold, and she retaliated with a slap to Wang Ying!
She didn't care for the norms of elder respect or parental authority. The original owner feared Wang Ying, but she wouldn't compromise herself. She always avenged grievances, and Wang Ying wasn't even her mother, so hitting her came with no psychological burden.
"You vicious little wench, how dare you hit your mother? Want to die, eh? Watch me beat you to death today, you money-wasting brat!" Having been slapped by the younger daughter she had oppressed for over ten years, Wang Ying went berserk, lunging at Nianyang with the intent to kill.
"I think the one who's signing her death wish is you!" Nianyang sneered coldly, skillfully revealing the embroidery needle at her fingertips, and stabbed it swiftly into Wang Ying lunging atop.
Knowing anatomy from her study in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nianyang understood exactly where to inflict excruciating pain. Wang Ying's crude abilities were nothing before her.
Wang Ying only saw Nianyang's figure flash before her eyes, and then unbearable pain exploded in various parts of her body. She fell to the ground, rolling continuously, groaning in agony.
Inside, Nianyang felt no emotional disturbance, even finding it amusing. She thought, what's this pain compared to what you did to the original owner? This is just a small interest she's collecting.
Time was tight, ignoring Wang Ying further, Nianyang dashed out the door.