Back in her assigned room, Su Nian’an glanced around the shabby, run-down place the Su Aiguo couple had put her in—and couldn’t help laughing bitterly.
The original owner of this body really had it rough. Good thing she, Su Nian’an, had long since grown numb to the very idea of family affection.
If no one loved her? Fine—she’d just love herself all the more.
Lying on the bed, Su Nian’an closed her eyes and began sorting through the memories in her head, along with the plot of the novel she’d read.
The original owner’s own memories held barely any connection to what came later in the story. She was nothing more than a throwaway side character, a tragic pawn meant to highlight the scheming Fú Pèi (villainess) Su Nianxi—who had planned to break off her engagement to the male lead, and sent the original owner in her place to marry him instead.
In the original story’s timeline… the original owner was supposed to have drowned herself in the river today.
All Su Nian’an could find in her predecessor’s mind was endless suffering: how she’d been abused and enslaved by her aunt’s family. Even before the Su Aiguo couple brought her to the capital, just after she turned eighteen, her aunt and uncle had already plotted to marry her off to Butcher Zhang from the village.
A butcher—yes. He had money, and plenty of meat to spare; at the very least, the bride price would be generous.
So when Su Aiguo and his wife arrived to take her away, the poor girl had looked on them as her salvation. Caught between soaring hope and crushing despair… was it any wonder she’d lost the will to go on?
Now, about the novel’s plot itself…
Su Nian’an sighed. She’d never actually finished reading the book; she’d tossed it aside in annoyance partway through. The gist was this: the male and female leads met in the countryside, where he’d been sent to work and she was a city-educated youth resettled there. They’d grown fond of each other back then, but through one misunderstanding after another, they’d never ended up together. Then his family’s standing was restored, and he returned to the capital. Years later, they met again—now both risen to great heights. And presumably picked up where they left off. Su Nian’an had given up reading before that part.
To Su Nian’an, who valued practicality above all else, the entire story was just: I love you, you love me, and yet we refuse to be together—let the heartbreak ensue.
Frankly, she’d never gotten the sense the male lead was actually all that fond of the girl; it always seemed like she was the one chasing after him. As for him? The book described him with the same handful of words over and over: tough, cool, noble, strikingly handsome, indifferent to women, self-disciplined to the point of austerity.
Su Nian’an had no clue what the author was thinking—likely trying to write him as some kind of peerless, unyielding man who belonged to one woman alone.
And that was exactly why Su Nian’an had agreed to marry Gu Qingyu.
If he truly wanted nothing to do with women… wasn’t that perfect?
She’d marry him, put up with whatever hard times the Su family was going through for a while… and once the Gu family’s fortunes were restored, she’d walk away with a handsome payout and her own household registration booklet. Once she had her freedom, she could settle wherever she pleased.
She’d heard that to get rich in these times, most people headed for Hong Kong. But Su Nian’an figured it didn’t matter—with her skills, she’d never go hungry right here.
One step at a time. First things first: get her hands on the money the Su family promised her.
And so Su Nian’an drifted off to sleep, content with her plans.
Meanwhile, out in the living room, the other three were in far less cheerful spirits.
“Goodness gracious… all that money—are you seriously going to hand it over to that ungrateful girl?” Liu Cuilan asked, wincing as if in physical pain.
Su Aiguo had always despised his wife’s petty, short-sighted ways. But this time? Even he felt his heart ache.
Everything he’d just promised Su Nian’an amounted to nearly half the Su family’s entire savings—their life’s hoard.
They’d been terrified of being labeled “capitalist sympathizers” and had dared not keep much wealth at all, donating the bulk of it away. Then, paying to secure decent work for their own had cost them dearly as well. Still—status and standing mattered more than money, or so they’d told themselves at the time.
On top of that, the Su family lived well beyond their means. Su Aiguo and his wife spoiled their daughter Su Nianxi rotten—she wore a new outfit every other day, ate meat at every meal, and wanted for nothing. No amount of wealth could keep up with that lifestyle. And now, on top of everything else, Su Nian’an was walking away with so much cash and food vouchers… it was a blow the Su family could barely weather.
“Enough!” Su Aiguo rubbed his temples. “If you don’t want Nianxi sent off to the countryside, quit your whining.”
“I… I just hate seeing money thrown away!” Liu Cuilan said defensively. “We’re already stretching every penny as it is!”
“Stretching? You and your daughter wear a different dress every single day! What kind of belt-tightening is that? From now on, one new outfit a month—what’s the point of so many clothes? They don’t fill the belly!”
Women, of course, loved their finery. And Su Nianxi, beautiful and thoroughly spoiled, was never seen in the same thing twice.
“Couldn’t we just… call off the engagement with the Gu family?” Liu Cuilan finally blurted out what she’d been holding in for ages. “I’ve said so all along! The Gu family is ruined—they’ve been sent to the countryside for reform! Why on earth must we send one of our daughters to share their hardship?”
“Call off the engagement? You make it sound so simple!” Su Aiguo snapped. “When our family fell into trouble years ago, it was Old Master Gu who saved us—out of respect for my father. Without him, with our family’s background… we’d have been sent to the countryside in chains, the whole lot of us. Everyone of standing in the capital knows this! If you want our family to become a laughingstock and be driven out of decent society? Go ahead—break the engagement. Throw away our honor just to keep a few coins from going to Su Nian’an.”
Liu Cuilan paled. “Is it really that serious? Surely… surely our private affairs don’t matter so much to outsiders?”
“The Gu family is one of this capital’s oldest and most respected clans. They have ties to nearly every family of consequence here. If we betray our word? Just wait and see—we’ll be mocked and shamed from every corner.”
Su Aiguo had his own suspicions: the Gu family’s sudden, total banishment to the countryside felt… unnatural. But whatever lay behind it—he would not let his beloved Nianxi suffer such a fate.
As for Su Nian’an, his own flesh and blood… a flicker of guilt stirred in his chest, but it faded quickly. Still—if money could solve the problem, he thought it was a bargain. He’d seen too many people sent down to the countryside, wasting away, unable to endure the harsh life.
“Father… this is all my fault—” Su Nianxi stepped forward, eyes glistening with tears, looking heartbreakingly vulnerable.
“Fault of yours? Nonsense. This engagement was arranged by your grandfather. We owe the Gu family a debt—and Su Nian’an will pay it in your place. She wants money? Then we shall give it to her. Not another word of this. All that remains now is to send Su Nian’an to the countryside and place her into the Gu family’s hands.”
In Su Aiguo’s mind… Su Nian’an was barely human. She was less a daughter, less a person… and more like a possession. Something to be bartered, given away, used to settle a debt. Just like that.