“Your health is poor, and working at the textile factory is too exhausting. How could a delicate young lady like you possibly endure such hard work? Let your older sister go in your place.”
“As for the spot for going to the countryside, your mother has already made inquiries. The great Northwest is a wonderful place, full of opportunities to make a difference. You should go there and toughen yourself up. Don’t disappoint the country’s kind intentions.”
The noise in her ears sounded like hundreds of flies buzzing incessantly, giving her a splitting headache.
Tang Wan suddenly opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was an old face covered in cheap Snowflake Cream, its owner smiling so broadly that wrinkles spread across her cheeks. The woman was forcibly pushing a fountain pen into Tang Wan’s hand.
That look, that tone of voice she was practically the evil wolf disguised as Grandma trying to trick Little Red Riding Hood into her stomach.
A flood of unfamiliar memories surged into Tang Wan’s mind.
She froze for a second.
Holy crap! She had transmigrated into a novel!
She, Tang Wan, the sole heiress of the prestigious Tang Group, a wealthy young lady who had been pampered since childhood, had just accidentally fallen overboard during a yacht party one moment ago. In the next, she had somehow transmigrated into a tragic historical novel set in the 1970s called The Reborn Sweet Wife of the Seventies.
And she had become the biggest sucker in the entire story.
She was the cannon-fodder supporting female character, Tang Wan, whose sole purpose was to give money, a job, and a man to the female protagonist, only to end up dying at the hands of hooligans.
The woman currently trying to fool her into signing away her rights was none other than the original owner’s stepmother, Liu Guilan.
Seeing that Tang Wan wasn’t responding, Liu Guilan assumed she had been persuaded. A hint of delight flashed through her eyes, and she hurriedly pressed her advantage.
“Wanwan, dear, I’m doing all this for your own good. Look at your older sister. Although she’s not your biological sister, she treats you even better than a real younger sister would. She’s only willing to suffer in your place because she’s worried you’ll get exhausted. Hurry up and sign the job transfer document. Once you sign it, the matter will be settled.”
For my own good?
Tang Wan almost laughed out loud.
Keeping her biological daughter in the city to enjoy a comfortable life while tricking her stepdaughter into heading to the Northwest to eat sand that was what she called doing something for her own good?
Perhaps the original owner’s naive, sweet personality would have fallen for such nonsense, but Tang Wan was a tea-identifying expert from the twenty-first century. She knew exactly how to recognize a two-faced, manipulative woman.
This kind of low-level trickery might fool an inexperienced girl like the original owner, but it wouldn’t work on her.
Tang Wan didn’t take the pen. Instead, she shrank backward, and her beautiful almond-shaped eyes quickly filled with tears. Her eyes turned red, making her look like a frightened little rabbit.
She was determined to play the delicate, pampered young lady to perfection.
After all, children who cry get fed, and a woman who knows how to play the innocent victim can make her way through life much more easily.
“Auntie Liu…” Tang Wan’s voice was as faint as a mosquito’s, slightly hoarse from just waking up. It was enough to make anyone feel sorry for her.
“If the great Northwest is really such a wonderful place, with so many opportunities to make a difference, and my older sister is so enlightened and patriotic, then why doesn’t she go? Why do you insist on sending me instead?”
The fake smile on Liu Guilan’s face froze.
That wretched girl! Usually, you couldn’t get three words out of her even if you beat her with a stick. Why has she suddenly become so sharp-tongued today?
“Wanwan, how can you speak to your mother like that?” Liu Guilan put on a stern expression, adopting the air of an elder.
“Your sister is only thinking of your well-being! Besides, your sister graduated from high school, while you only finished junior high. This job should naturally go to someone with a higher level of education. That’s called the rational allocation of resources!”
Tang Wan sneered inwardly.
Rational allocation of resources?
The original owner had given up high school to save money and help support the family. And this job had been secured by her biological mother before she died, after pleading with everyone she could find and exhausting every connection she had.
What on earth did educational qualifications have to do with it?
This was nothing but outright robbery!
Tang Wan couldn’t be bothered to argue any further. It was time to unleash her ultimate move.
She suddenly threw off the blanket, jumped out of bed without even putting on her shoes, and dashed barefoot toward the door.
Liu Guilan was startled and reached out to grab her.
“You little brat! What are you doing?”
Tang Wan nimbly twisted her body, dodging Liu Guilan’s vicious claws, and yanked the front door open.
It was breakfast time, and the entire apartment building was bustling with activity.
People were washing up in the communal washroom, lighting stoves in the corridors, and wandering around with washbasins in their hands. There were spectators everywhere, all eager to see some drama.
Tang Wan gripped the doorframe and took a deep breath.
Then—
“I’m not going! I’m not going to the countryside! That job was left to me by my mother! Why should I give it to my older sister?”
Tang Wan put every ounce of strength into that shout, projecting her voice from deep within her lungs. It was piercing, shrill, and powerful enough to carry throughout the building.
The entire apartment building fell silent in an instant.
Everyone’s gaze swung toward her like a spotlight suddenly switching on.
Liu Guilan’s mind went buzz.
Oh, no!
Has that wretched girl gone crazy?!
Family scandals were supposed to stay behind closed doors, yet she had dared to shout everything out in front of the entire neighborhood!
Liu Guilan’s face turned livid. She hurried forward, trying to cover Tang Wan’s mouth.
“Wanwan, what nonsense are you talking about?! Are you still half-asleep? Come inside with your mother, quickly!”
But Tang Wan refused to cooperate.
She clung tightly to the doorframe, her body trembling like a fallen leaf caught in the autumn wind.
She raised her tiny, palm-sized face. Tears streamed down her cheeks like pearls spilling from a broken string, making her look so pitiful and heart-wrenchingly beautiful that anyone who saw her would feel compelled to protect her.
“Auntie Liu, I’m begging you, please don’t force me… My health is poor. I’ll die if I go to the great Northwest… Cough, cough, cough…”
As she spoke, she deliberately launched into a violent coughing fit, as though she were about to cough up a lung.
The neighbors began whispering among themselves.
“Oh, my goodness! That poor Tang girl is crying so miserably.”
“Did you hear that? Her stepmother is forcing her to go to the countryside and wants to steal her job for her own biological daughter.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Once there’s a stepmother, the father becomes a stepfather, too. Ever since the eldest Miss Su passed away, that poor girl has been bullied terribly.”
“Liu Guilan always looks so cheerful and friendly. Who would’ve thought she’d be so vicious?”
Although the neighbors weren’t speaking particularly loudly, every single word reached Liu Guilan’s ears.
She was furious and anxious, her wrinkled face turning red one moment and pale the next.
“What are you all gossiping about?! This is a family matter that should be discussed behind closed doors!”
Liu Guilan shouted at the neighbors before turning around and glaring viciously at Tang Wan. She lowered her voice and threatened her.
“Tang Wan, shut your mouth! Just wait until your father gets home. You’ll regret making such a scene!”
Bringing out that useless father of hers?
Tang Wan despised him even more.
That spineless man who only dared to throw his weight around at home was nothing more than a kept man in her eyes. Liu Guilan was the only one who treated him like a treasure.
“Dad… Dad wouldn’t agree to let my sister steal my job, either…” Tang Wan began crying even louder. “My mother left that job for me… Auntie Liu, you can’t bully me like this…”
“Shut up!” Liu Guilan screamed in exasperation.
She raised her hand, preparing to slap Tang Wan across the face.
This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for!
Out of the corner of her eye, Tang Wan spotted a figure coming up the stairs. It was none other than her useless father, Tang Jianguo.
Instead of backing away, she moved forward, deliberately leaning her face toward Liu Guilan’s raised hand.
Just as the woman’s palm was about to strike, Tang Wan rolled her eyes back and let her body go limp.
“Ah—!”
After a brief cry of alarm, Tang Wan collapsed to the floor, landing right in the most conspicuous spot by the doorway.
Even at that moment, she didn’t forget to adjust her posture so that she would fall more gracefully, looking even more like a delicate white flower that had been cruelly battered by the elements.
“She’s hitting her! The stepmother is beating the girl to death!”
Someone among the neighbors, clearly enjoying the drama, shouted at the top of their lungs.
Tang Jianguo had just reached the upper floor when he witnessed the scene. The enamel mug in his hand fell to the ground with a loud clang.
“Wanwan!”
Tang Wan kept her eyes closed, listening to the commotion around her. Inside, she gave herself a huge mental cheer.
Victory in the first battle!
You want to steal my job?
If I don’t ruin your reputation, then I’m not a Tang!
But this was only the beginning.
Tang Wan knew very well that pretending to faint could only buy her some time.
Her reborn stepsister, Tang Shuang, hadn’t even made her appearance yet. She was the real tough opponent.
But that was fine.
Since Tang Wan had inherited this identity, the original owner’s grudges were now her own.
Just wait and see how she dealt with these bloodsucking parasites!