Shen Niannian panicked.
She’d only touched it—how had the entire wardrobe just vanished into thin air?
On top of that, she could hear movement in the kitchen; Gu Yanzhi would be back any minute now.
When he saw the wardrobe was gone, what on earth would he think?
What explanation could she possibly give? Where had it gone? That she’d eaten it? Hidden it away?
And it was such a huge piece of furniture! Even if she’d wanted to hide it, there was nowhere to put it! The place was tiny—where could she possibly stash it?
Worst of all… how had it disappeared in the first place?
The more she thought about it, the more anxious she grew, until beads of sweat dotted her entire forehead.
“Oh no! Oh no! Come back out, you big wardrobe! Please!”
The moment she whispered the words aloud—whoosh—the wardrobe seemed to leap out from some unknown corner and land steadily right in front of her.
Shen Niannian stared in pure shock, her jaw hanging wide enough to fit an egg. If only it had appeared a little farther forward this time, she would have sworn with absolute certainty that what had just happened was nothing but a hallucination!
Just then, Gu Yanzhi pushed open the door and stepped inside, carrying a bowl.
“Niannian, drink some honey water before you sleep? This honey is black locust blossom honey—my comrade-in-arms brought it back from his hometown. It’s very sweet, and it helps with hangovers. Drink it up, so you won’t have a headache tomorrow morning.”
Shen Niannian quickly composed herself and nodded at him with a smile.
“Thank you.”
Gu Yanzhi smiled back, a faint, barely noticeable flush rising to his cheeks. “There’s no need to be so polite with me.”
After watching her finish the honey water and telling her to rest early, he took the empty bowl and stepped back out.
Shen Niannian crept quietly to the door, carefully slid the bolt shut, and finally let out a long breath of relief.
She glanced over at the wardrobe standing firmly in place, walked over to it, hesitated for only a moment, then lifted her left hand and touched it.
In the next instant, the wardrobe vanished in the blink of an eye.
This time, she wasn’t nearly so frightened.
Closing her eyes, she tried to sense where it had gone. The thought had barely crossed her mind when a wave of dizziness washed over her. When she opened her eyes again, she stood inside a room of roughly a hundred square meters. It wasn’t large, but it was achingly familiar—it was the small basement she’d secretly bought shortly after starting her company!
She’d used it to store all the antiques she’d collected from far and wide.
The antiques were gone now… but somehow, the basement itself had come with her??
Her heart ached at the thought of her precious collection. Those were treasures she’d spent a lifetime gathering, her most beloved possessions—now lost to her forever.
Grieving, she suddenly remembered exactly what had happened. She’d been crossing the street on her way home when a car struck her. In the split second she was thrown into the air, she’d looked through the windshield—and seen Shen Youyou’s twisted, furious face.
It was her. Shen Youyou had run her down on purpose.
Now that she had been reborn… could it be… that Shen Youyou had also come back to the past?
She clenched her fists tight at her sides at the thought.
If that was true, then everything made sense. Shen Youyou had always been the beloved granddaughter, the pride of the Shen family. And she? She was just the girl her father had picked up off the street—worthless compared to Shen Youyou. In the eyes of the Shen family, she was only good enough for the scraps Shen Youyou threw away.
Thinking of her father brought tears to her eyes. He’d found her as an infant by the roadside and raised her as his own. He’d never married, so that he could give her a home. He was a simple, honest man, quiet and unassuming. Even when neighbors gossiped and called him a wretched old bachelor, he’d paid them no mind. Every evening after work, he’d come home with wild berries he’d picked secretly, grinning from ear to ear and calling out to her: “Niannian, Papa brought you something sweet!”
Tears streamed freely down her face. In her past life, after she’d married Wang Jiangang, she’d moved into his family home and waited on his entire household hand and foot. Because she couldn’t conceive, whispers and cruel gossip had swirled around her. Somehow, her father had heard tell of a rare herb said to cure infertility—and had slipped off into the mountains to gather it. He never came back. The next morning, villagers found his body at the foot of a cliff. Clutched tight in his lifeless hand was that very herb.
Shen Niannian had nearly lost her mind with grief. Only later, after asking around, did she learn where he’d heard of that herb. Shen Youyou had told him—on a visit home.
Old wrongs and fresh hatred burned together in her chest, turning her eyes bright red with fury.
Shen Youyou… just you wait.
In two days, they would return to the Shen family home for a visit. She would see for herself—now that Shen Youyou had married Wang Jiangang, had she truly gotten everything she ever wanted?
Shen Niannian let out a cold snort. She summoned the wardrobe back into the room, slipped beneath the covers, and lay down.
Heaven had granted her a second chance at life. This time, she would live well. She would protect her father with everything she had—and she would make Shen Youyou pay for every single thing she’d done.
Her thoughts drifted to Gu Yanzhi, waiting just outside the door. In her past life, his family had suffered terribly. If this world were a novel, his family would be nothing more than the most tragic, ill-fated supporting characters.
She shook her head with a faint, sad smile and closed her eyes.
She had expected to lie awake for hours. Yet strangely, the moment her eyes closed, she drifted quickly off to sleep—and into a sweet, peaceful dream.
She woke early the next morning to the sounds coming from outside her room.
Sizzle… — ingredients hitting hot oil.
Clink, clatter… — the rhythm of a spatula against a wok.
And then, the most wonderful scent began drifting through the air.
Gurgle… — her stomach gave a loud, hungry growl.
Embarrassed, she rubbed her empty belly, pushed back the covers, and sat up.
This was the 1980s, an era when food was scarce for most. The Shen family lived in Dashen Village, a quiet settlement in Qingyuan County, Hebei Province, just outside the capital. Reform and opening up had only just begun, and while the household responsibility system was being rolled out elsewhere, their remote village was still waiting for orders. Land had not yet been divided to individual households. Everyone still earned their keep through work points—and every family scraped by on very little.
Shen Niannian, the adopted daughter, always did the hardest work and ate the least. She had been the smallest, skinniest child in the household—until puberty hit, when she suddenly shot up in height and developed more fully than Shen Youyou. Her grandmother, Li Guihua, had accused her of sneaking food, and had grown even stricter with her rations.
It had been so long since she’d tasted meat. Now, breathing in the rich, mouthwatering aroma of frying eggs, she could barely keep herself from drooling.
She dressed quickly, stepped outside—and found Gu Yanzhi standing by the window, wearing an apron and cooking breakfast.
He looked up when he saw her emerge and smiled, gesturing toward the washstand.
“You’re awake? Go wash up first—I’ve already poured the water for you. Breakfast will be ready in just a moment.”
Watching him there, Shen Niannian felt a strange, bittersweet ache in her heart.
Wang Jiangang had been lazy and selfish—he’d never lifted a finger around the house. His mother was sharp-tongued and cruel, constantly hurling insults. His elder brother’s wife was stingy, his younger brother’s wife petty and quarrelsome. Everything had always fallen on her shoulders. To have someone cook for her… to have someone even pour her wash water… it felt so strange, yet so warmly overwhelming.
She nodded silently and went to wash up. By the time she returned, Gu Yanzhi had set breakfast out on the table.
“Taste it and tell me what you think.” He paused, his gaze flickering away shyly. “After we eat… we… we need to pay a visit to your family.”