In the center of the mourning hall, fresh flowers surrounded a brand-new martyr’s urn.
On the urn was a name: [Zhao Lingcheng 1938–1976]
A woman with dull yellow hair and a haggard face opened the lid with trembling hands and placed a photograph inside.
It was a black-and-white photo of a little girl about five or six years old.
Her big eyes curved like crescents, and the corners of her lips lifted into deep dimples.
The photo quietly slipped down, revealing a line of childish handwriting on the back: “Dad, I’ll wait for you in heaven!”
The woman choked back her sobs. “This was taken after Niuniu finally met her father. Look how happy she was smiling.”
“Niuniu said that even though she only spent three days with her dad, he was the person she loved most. I’m sorry, Lingcheng. I really couldn’t find Niuniu’s remains, so let this photo accompany you in eternal rest.”
…
Chen Mianmian stayed up late reading the novel, but it left her furious.
In the period novel Fragrant Sixties, there was an outstanding supporting male character who left her deeply unsettled—Zhao Lingcheng.
He was originally a special soldier rooted in the desert, researching heavy military technology.
But because he accidentally saved a supporting female character who had fallen into the water, she clung to him and forced him into marriage.
Zhao Lingcheng had felt their relationship wasn’t strong enough and didn’t want to live together yet, but the woman drugged him and forced intimacy.
Zhao Lingcheng intended to live a proper life, but she turned around and climbed to a higher status, insisting on divorce.
Niuniu was Zhao Lingcheng’s biological daughter, born only because the woman failed multiple attempts to abort the pregnancy.
To marry into a better family, she left Niuniu at her parents’ home—for six or seven years.
From childhood, Niuniu never had a full meal, and at a young age she had to do endless housework.
She endured beatings from her uncle and aunt, cold treatment from her grandmother, and lived in utter darkness.
Until one day, the woman suddenly seemed to grow a conscience and said she would take Niuniu to find her father.
At this point, Chen Mianmian finally felt some relief. Yawning, she kept reading.
But immediately, her anger flared up again.
“I was foolish. When I went back to my parents’ home, I always saw bruises all over Niuniu. They said she fell by accident, and I stupidly believed them. Only now do I realize how much she was beaten.”
“Niuniu is a genius. Even without schooling, she taught herself to write and could recite thousands of digits of pi.”
“I am guilty. I shouldn’t have listened to their instigation and used Niuniu as leverage to force you to remarry me. She couldn’t bear to see you in a difficult position, so she quietly took her own life, dying in a place no one could find. My daughter, my Niuniu…”
Chen Mianmian had thought the woman had developed a conscience and returned Niuniu to her father.
But she was wrong—completely wrong!
The woman had been incited by her younger brother and his wife. Knowing that Zhao Lingcheng had risen to a high position and become an important leader, she used Niuniu as leverage to force a remarriage and benefit her natal family.
Seeing his thin but clever and adorable daughter, Zhao Lingcheng was deeply moved.
He immediately took out all his savings and valuables just to gain custody of his daughter.
But the woman made outrageous demands that Zhao Lingcheng could not meet.
And while he was caught in a dilemma and she continued to make trouble, little Niuniu fought back.
It was a stormy night with thunder and lightning. After writing in childish handwriting on the back of the photo that she would meet her father again in heaven, Niuniu disappeared alone into the vast, endless Gobi Desert.
After searching the desert for his daughter in vain, Zhao Lingcheng died during a mission.
Yet the woman’s family suffered no consequences. Her brother and his wife even became minor local officials.
The whole family practically became local elites.
Seeing this, Chen Mianmian exploded in anger: So good people die young while the bad live long?
She ranted again: Why doesn’t that woman just die? Shouldn’t her whole family be executed?
After furiously writing a thousand-word comment, she threw aside her phone and eventually fell asleep after tossing and turning.
But in her dream, she saw the people who abused Niuniu.
…
It was a place called a state-run guesthouse.
As if in a dream, Chen Mianmian walked into a guest room.
There was a large heated brick bed with a floral quilt neatly folded on top.
A mirror hung on the wall, with a slogan written on it: “Go all out to build the Great Northwest.”
A woman stood in front of the mirror, her cotton-padded jacket open, staring intently at her swollen belly.
Her features looked almost exactly like Chen Mianmian’s.
Chen Mianmian didn’t understand what was happening, but she knew in her heart—that was the supporting female character.
Judging by her large belly, she was pregnant—with little Niuniu.
As Chen Mianmian hesitated, she saw the woman suddenly raise her hand and punch her swollen abdomen several times.
Chen Mianmian immediately felt a sharp pain in her own stomach and, furious, raised her hand.
This foolish woman—she would nearly die from hemorrhaging after a failed abortion. Was it worth harming her body like this?
But when she struck, her hand hit the mirror.
Looking again, she saw herself disheveled, clothes open—it was her. She had become the woman.
So she had transmigrated into the book—and into the villainous ex-wife?
Her stomach hurt badly. Chen Mianmian bent over and took deep breaths.
Gradually, the pain eased. But just as she relaxed, there was a knock on the door.
She asked cautiously, “Who is it?”
A cheerful voice replied, “Second sister, it’s me—Jinhui.”
Chen Mianmian’s eyes flared with anger.
Chen Jinhui—the woman’s beloved younger brother.
He was also the one who abused Niuniu the most in the story.
Despite his tall build, gentle appearance, and respectable job, as her uncle, he not only failed to care for Niuniu but continuously beat and abused her until her death.
This was a 1960s guesthouse. There was no inner lock, only a wooden bar securing the door.
As soon as Chen Mianmian removed the bar, a tall man in a wool coat walked in.
Seeing her exposed belly, he looked concerned. “That bastard child—still not aborted?”
He hung up his coat and added, “Make me a cup of milk powder. I’m thirsty.”
Chen Mianmian hid the stick behind her back. “What are you here for?”
Chen Jinhui said kindly, “Since Zhao Lingcheng drove you back to your parents’ home, you’ve been mocked by neighbors and don’t dare go home, staying in this guesthouse. I’m here to help you find a better man than Zhao Lingcheng.”
Chen Mianmian paused—she felt a nail at the tip of the stick, sharp and exposed.
She thought, Nice. A perfect weapon for killing.
Weighing it in her hand, she asked, “Who’s better than Zhao Lingcheng?”
Chen Jinhui said patiently, “Section Chief Wei. He’s already agreed to marry you.”
Chen Mianmian held her belly. “But I’m carrying Zhao Lingcheng’s child.”
The woman had been divorced for half a year before realizing she was pregnant at four months.
By then, she was already preparing to marry Section Chief Wei.
As her belly grew, she panicked and tried to abort the child by punching her stomach.
Chen Jinhui said gently, “That’s why I’m here to help.”
Lowering his voice, he added, “My wife found an old Chinese doctor who prepared abortion medicine. Drink it, and the fetus will come out without pain.”
In truth, the medicine would not induce abortion—it would cause a difficult labor and severe bleeding, nearly killing her.
The baby born would cry and kick—that would be Niuniu.
Though the stick in her hand seemed eager to strike, Chen Mianmian restrained herself and said, “The state strictly forbids illegal abortions. It can cost lives. I should contact Zhao Lingcheng and discuss having the baby.”
Chen Jinhui spread his hands. “Sister, I’ve sent over a dozen telegrams to Zhao Lingcheng about the child, asking him to take you back. He didn’t reply even once. That means he doesn’t want you—or the child.”
Chen Mianmian sneered. If she hadn’t read the novel, she might have believed him.
He did send telegrams—but not about her pregnancy. He used her name to ask for money. No wonder Zhao Lingcheng never replied.
The woman had waited foolishly for a response, trusting her brother completely.
Chen Jinhui continued persuading her, “It’s just one dose of medicine. Think about Section Chief Wei—he promised me a promotion. My brothers-in-law’s jobs depend on him too. Once you marry him, everything will be settled.”
Section Chief Wei was Chen Jinhui’s superior.
If they became relatives, he, his wife, and her brothers could all secure stable government jobs.
But the woman would suffer permanent damage from childbirth and never bear children again, eventually ending in divorce.
Her whole life would only serve her brother’s family.
Now that Chen Mianmian had become her, she would return to Zhao Lingcheng and safely give birth to Niuniu.
As for the man in front of her—the one who caused Niuniu’s death—she only wanted to beat him badly.
Stretching lazily, Chen Jinhui asked, “So, should I go get the medicine?”
When she didn’t respond, he added softly, “Sister, our whole family’s future depends on you.”
Before he finished speaking, Chen Mianmian swung the stick and struck his head hard.
With a loud bang, the nail pierced his scalp and blood flowed.
It was the first time he had ever been hit by his sister. He was stunned.
“Second sister!” he screamed.
“You—you actually hit me!”
Chen Mianmian was a lawyer by profession, but she had also learned swimming, shooting, taekwondo, and fencing.
She wasn’t a professional fighter, but beating thugs was easy for her.
As Chen Jinhui tried to grab the stick, she dodged and struck his eye.
He bent over in pain, clutching his face and howling.
Thinking of how he deceived and harmed the woman, she hit him several more times.
But just then, her abdomen suddenly moved.
Chen Mianmian instinctively stopped and held her belly, and Chen Jinhui took the chance to run away.
Why was her belly moving? She thought it was an illusion and wanted to chase him.
But miraculously, it moved again.
Though she didn’t fully understand, she realized—it was the baby kicking.
She gently held her belly and said, “Niuniu, don’t be afraid. I’ve driven the bad guy away. I’ll take you to find your dad!”