Tang Xin’er watched her actions and pulled out her ultimate trump card.
“Sis,” she said, still lounging lazily on the sofa, but her gaze had shifted—becoming sharp and laced with a warning. “I’m someone who has already died once. If you don’t return the thing I busted my tail saving up to buy, what’s stopping me from refusing to marry? I’ll just die again!”
This family was utterly repulsive; if she didn’t play her trump card, Zhou Youyou simply wouldn’t want to give it up. Even though she didn’t even like the necklace anymore, she still wanted to hog it like a dog in a manger. That was just the kind of possessiveness she had.
Yet Tang Xin’er couldn’t let the necklace stay in Zhou Youyou’s hands a second longer. If she accidentally triggered the space contract herself, Tang Xin’er would be completely out of options!
Sure enough.
Upon hearing those words, Zhou Youyou’s face grew even uglier. Cursing under her breath about how low-class Tang Xin’er was, she still spun around and stormed back to her room.
Compared to a cheap necklace, the last thing Zhou Youyou wanted was to marry Qin Shiyao. She had already worn that necklace for a while and was long sick of it anyway; she could just as well hand it back to Tang Xin’er. After all, her sister was just a pitiful wretch!
Thinking it through like that, Zhou Youyou felt a lot better. She fished out the necklace and tossed it straight onto the sofa. “Here! It’s just a cheap piece of junk anyway, and I don’t give a damn about it!”
The moment she saw the necklace, Tang Xin’er finally felt her heart settle completely.
Even though she had inexplicably transmigrated into this melodramatic period novel, it didn’t matter. As long as she had this spatial dimension, her life ahead would never be bad. This was basically her life-saving talisman!
“Of course Sis doesn’t care, seeing as you’ve got everything! And whatever you don’t have, you can just snatch from me—while shoving whatever you’re sick of right back down my throat,” Tang Xin’er said with a sarcastic sneer. She clenched the necklace tightly and retreated step by step into her own room.
Once inside, she locked the door, dragged her exhausted body over to the bed, picked up a sewing needle from the curtain, and pricked her finger. Squeezing out a drop of fresh blood, she let it fall right onto the necklace.
The necklace vibrated in her palm, emitting a faint, shimmering glow.
The next second, Tang Xin’er closed her eyes and felt herself transported straight into the space inside the necklace.
Inside the space were a spiritual spring and sprawling plots of farmland, all lush and green. Looking off into the distance brought an instant sense of ease, and nestled nearby stood a massive, modern house.
Tang Xin’er swept a glance around before walking straight into the structure.
Stepping inside, she was both stunned and overjoyed at the sight of the various facilities and equipment.
“An entire skincare research lab!” Tang Xin’er’s eyes widened in excitement. In her past life, this was precisely her field—she had dedicated herself to researching all sorts of skincare products, most of them pure, traditional herbal formulations that offered boundless health benefits without any side effects.
Every single research instrument in this room was fully equipped, even surpassing the lab she had back in her previous life. In her past life, she was considered quite an expert in skincare research, racking up all sorts of industry trophies while still quite young.
She had assumed that coming to this era meant she could no longer work in her chosen profession, but it turned out the heavens hadn’t let her down!
The more she thought about it, the happier Tang Xin’er felt. After taking a full circle around the research lab, she headed back outside and gazed at the bubbling spiritual spring water. Cupping some in her hands, she took a sip.
According to the book, the spiritual spring water possessed miraculous properties.
In the story, Zhou Youyou had contracted the space and used this water to heal Qin Shiyao’s face, earning his deep gratitude. Later on, whenever Zhou Youyou needed help with her career, Qin Shiyao would step in to assist a few times out of thankfulness.
Because of this, the original owner, Tang Xin’er, mistakenly believed that Qin Shiyao still held a torch for her sister. That led to a fractured marriage between her and Qin Shiyao, culminating in an accident that tragically cut her life short in a car crash when she was still so young.
Now that she was the one who had contracted the space, curing Qin Shiyao after marrying him would be a breeze, and she could use the spiritual spring water to rebuild her own run-down body first.
As the spring water slid down her throat, a wave of total invigoration washed over her entire body, leaving Tang Xin’er full of anticipation for the days ahead.
So what if Zhou Youyou was the female lead of the novel? Now that she had arrived, Zhou Youyou could forget about putting on any more stellar performances!
“Time to eat!”
Tang Xin’er spent a little while longer inside the spiritual spring space before exiting. Soon enough, she heard a shout from outside her door.
She opened the door, walked out, and pulled out a chair to sit right at the table.
The family froze for a few seconds. Zhou Yaozu frowned in displeasure. “I said, Tang Xin’er, are you blind? Can’t you see there are bowls that haven’t been brought out yet? Just sitting your butt down like that, what’s your game?”
He had never once treated Tang Xin’er like an older sister; to him, she was nothing more than an unpaid housemaid.
“And you?” Tang Xin’er wasn’t about to coddle his bad habits. “Just parking yourself there, what’s your game?”
“I’m the patient here! What’s wrong with sitting down and waiting for a meal? You’ve got all four limbs working, can’t you grab them?”
Tang Xin’er couldn’t be bothered to engage with this bunch. She simply closed her mouth and sat quietly waiting.
Zhou Zhigang and Zhao Meifang stood by the kitchen doorway, exchanging a glance.
“Isn’t it just getting a bowl? You two can find anything to argue about!” Zhou Zhigang’s expression shifted. He went over, grabbed a bowl, and set it on the table. “Xin’er is recovering from an injury, just let her rest.”
Zhao Meifang didn’t say a word, but she shot Tang Xin’er a series of vicious glares, as if she wanted to slice off her flesh and eat her alive.
Tang Xin’er knew precisely what those looks meant—it was simply because she had put her precious son in his place!
Zhou Yaozu opened his mouth to say more, but Zhou Zhigang pressed down on his shoulder and gave him a sharp look. Only then did the family finally start eating.
Tang Xin’er picked up her bowl. The moment she saw Zhou Yaozu’s hand reaching for the largest chicken leg on the plate, she moved faster, reaching out to snatch the drumstick and drop it straight into her own bowl.
“Tang Xin’er!” Zhou Yaozu was spitting mad. In the past, almost all the chicken legs and the best cuts of meat at home went to him—by what right was Tang Xin’er stealing it?
Tang Xin’er paid them zero attention. She took her time nibbling on the chicken leg and even ladled herself a few bowls of soup.
Zhao Meifang couldn’t stand it any longer. She slammed down her chopsticks and lashed out in a scolding tone, “Xin’er, you’re the one recovering, so a little broth is fine, but that chicken leg belongs to your younger brother! How could you snatch it? How on earth did I raise such an ungrateful wretch of a daughter?”
Zhou Zhigang sat quietly by the side, keeping his mouth shut. He had always been a calculating old fox; since Zhao Meifang had already spoken up, there was no need for him to chime in and risk stirring up a bigger row.
“If I don’t build my strength back up, how am I supposed to get married? Aren’t you afraid I’ll just drop dead right on my wedding day?” Tang Xin’er replied smoothly, taking another sip of the nourishing soup.
Putting everything else aside, Zhao Meifang’s cooking skills weren’t bad. Simmering the chicken with a variety of deeply nourishing medicinal herbs made the broth taste exceptionally rich and delicious.
As soon as those words left Tang Xin’er’s mouth, everyone at the table fell silent.
Sensing that the situation was turning sour, Zhou Zhigang gave Zhao Meifang a nudge to smooth things over and keep Tang Xin’er’s mood in check. “Stop nagging. What’s wrong with the girl having some soup!”
Zhao Meifang was fit to be tied with rage, yet she couldn’t find a single word to say back. Once she finished the last drop of soup, Tang Xin’er announced, “I’m heading back to my room to rest.”
With that, she turned and walked straight into her bedroom.
Zhao Meifang gnashed her teeth in fury, but Zhou Zhigang cast a cold glance at the rest of the table. “Just grit your teeth and endure it for a couple more days. As long as she gets married off, everything will be fine.”
Though he held no emotional attachment to this daughter, marrying her off right now meant trading her for a bride price of over 2,880 yuan. What was a couple of days of forbearance compared to that?
Zhou Yaozu wanted to complain further, but a glare from Zhou Zhigang shut him up. Remembering that he still needed to fund his own upcoming marriage, he swallowed his anger. “Just a cheap chicken leg. Once she clears out of here, I can eat as much as I damn well please!”
“Let her have it, acting like a starving ghost starved to death in her past life. Let’s see if it chokes her!”
With a huff, Zhou Yaozu stood up. Zhao Meifang quickly counted out some cash from her pocket and handed it over. “Yaozu, go check on Xiaomei. We’ll wrap things up on our end as fast as we can—the banquet hall is already booked. Take her out and buy whatever she likes.”
Looking at the bills Zhao Meifang handed him, Zhou Yaozu felt it was a bit light, but after a second thought, he took them anyway. A beaming smile spread across his face. “Thanks, Mom! Once Xiaomei marries into our family, you’ll be living the good life!”
With that grand promise dangled before her, Zhao Meifang beamed from ear to ear. Zhou Youyou, sitting nearby, felt a mild sense of speechlessness, but she wisely kept her mouth shut.