In the corridor of the tube-shaped building in the No. 3 State Cotton Mill residential compound, smoke and dust filled the air, the pungent smell of coal fumes stinging the nose.
Jiang Yumei walked in carrying the dishes, and Tang Wenya immediately stood up to take them, saying with a bright smile, “Mom, you should rest. I’ll go get the bowls and chopsticks.”
“Yaya really knows how to care for others.” Jiang Yumei glanced at Xu Qingning, who was sitting at the dining table, and remarked coolly, “Qingning, you should also help with these household chores in the future.”
Xu Qingning was already this old, yet she had no sense of awareness at all.
But as a stepmother, she couldn’t just order her around, lest others accuse her of mistreating her stepdaughter.
“That’s right. Mom worked all day and still had to come home and cook. It’s too hard on her. It’s only right that we help by carrying the bowls.” Tang Wenya’s face was full of disdain as she also scolded Xu Qingning, “Qingning, you should understand how hard things are for Dad and Mom.”
“Didn’t Auntie work and cook before she married into this family?” Xu Qingning instinctively retorted, “If Auntie and Sister enjoy being maids, that’s fine by me. I have no objections.”
“Xu Qingning, you’re twisting words…” Tang Wenya’s face flushed with anger. She was about to say more when Jiang Yumei stopped her, her eyes reddening as she said, “Yaya, don’t say any more. I’ll just do it from now on.”
The dining table carried the smell of scallions, and Xu Qingning’s chest churned in response, a wave of nausea rising. Everything before her eyes suddenly felt unfamiliar. What was going on?
The peeling wooden door and the calendar hanging on the newspaper-covered wall clearly reminded her: it was May 1, 1978, Labor Day.
Meeting Tang Wenya’s gaze, Xu Qingning immediately realized she had transmigrated into the era novel she had just been reading, becoming the cannon fodder female supporting character Xu Qingning, the story’s foil.
The Female Lead was her stepsister, Tang Wenya, who had come with her stepmother.
She was the glamorous female supporting character who constantly opposed Tang Wenya, hopelessly in love with the Male Lead, Xiao Tingshen, and even attempted to climb into his bed. Instead, she ended up accidentally sleeping with someone unknown, becoming pregnant and panicking, rushing to the clinic for an abortion.
But due to the clinic’s poor conditions, she developed an infection after the surgery, running a high fever for three days and nights. Though she barely survived, her uterus had to be removed.
Xu Qingning blamed everything on Tang Wenya and sought revenge frantically, only to be suppressed time and again by Tang Wenya’s protagonist halo. This repeatedly set up opportunities for Xiao Tingshen to play the hero and save the beauty. Before even half the plot had unfolded, she went mad and met her end.
…
Such clichéd and brainless plot.
Just a moment ago, she had been criticizing it. Who would have thought that now, she had become the cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name, Xu Qingning.
Couldn’t she have transmigrated earlier? By this timeline, she was already carrying a baby in her belly.
Xu Qingning sighed, her gaze falling on the old-fashioned plastic mirror hanging on the wall. An oval face, a pair of peach blossom eyes that sparkled with charm—beautiful, enchanting, and seductive, yet somehow giving off an untrustworthy vibe.
She stared intently at her reflection in the mirror. With such a pretty face, why bother chasing after the Male Lead?
Xu Jianguo walked out of the bedroom and began advancing the plot: “Qingning, the policy on going to the countryside has loosened up a bit now. After you go down, at most half a year, I’ll get you a spot to study. You’ll be back soon.”
“That’s quite good.” Jiang Yumei didn’t even look up, picking a piece of lean meat from a plate of potatoes and placing it into Tang Wenya’s bowl. “Wenya has always been delicate since childhood and can’t handle the countryside environment. We’ll just have to let Qingning bear the hardship.”
“It’s not much hardship. Qingning won’t be gone for more than a few months; she’ll be back soon.” Xu Jianguo sat down at the dining table, focusing only on his own meal. “I’ve inquired—some educated youths return in less than half a year.”
Tang Wenya was gentle, sensible, and endearing. Xu Qingning, previously spoiled and willful by her birth mother, had always bullied Wenya, which strained the marital relationship between him and Jiang Yumei.
Jiang Yumei, a widow who remarried with her daughter, hadn’t had it easy either.
Sending Xu Qingning to the countryside to temper her character might be for the best.
“Dad, I’m pregnant. I can’t go to the countryside.” Xu Qingning naturally wouldn’t follow the book’s plot; she had no intention of suffering this ordeal.
“What?” Xu Jianguo couldn’t believe his ears, a surge of anger rising in his heart. “I told you, I’ll find a way to bring you back as soon as possible. What kind of trouble are you stirring up now?”
“Qingning, you mustn’t joke about such matters. The Educated Youth Office has your sister’s medical records on file. Only you can go to the countryside from our family.” Jiang Yumei looked at her with a slightly surprised expression. “Your dad said he’ll find a way to transfer you back.”
“If you don’t believe me, accompany me to the clinic for a checkup.” Xu Qingning understood the personalities of the couple, her beautiful peach-blossom eyes lively and cunning. “If you don’t want to go, that’s fine too. The Educated Youth Office will conduct a unified physical examination anyway.”
This couple—one a face-loving, hot-tempered man, the other a performative green-tea woman.
Look beyond the surface to see the truth.
One was merely asserting his authority as the head of the household, while the other wanted to use her as a contrast to her own daughter, Tang Wenya.
Tang Wenya frowned slightly.
She was the Female Lead of this book, with an Awakening System by her side, and she knew the subsequent developments of the plot.
However, the current situation differed from what she knew. How dare Xu Qingning reveal her pregnancy…
“You shameless thing!” Xu Jianguo’s face twisted with rage as he roared, “Who is that bastard man?”
“Dad, you should ask your dear daughter Tang Wenya about that. She knows best.” Xu Qingning’s expression remained calm. With a stepmother came a stepfather—this family had no good people.
It was true that the original host had gotten drunk and tried to force herself on the Male Lead, but she hadn’t even touched his hand before Tang Wenya casually shoved her into a nearby hoodlum’s room and entered the Male Lead’s room herself, playing out a mistaken-room scenario.
The original host was foolish and wicked, but Tang Wenya was no saint either.
“Oh, right.” Xu Qingning calmly dropped another bombshell. “Sister is pregnant too. You should give us more money; I’ll go with her for the checkup.”
“Qingning, what nonsense are you saying?” Tang Wenya, caught off guard by the mention, panicked slightly. “How can you say such things…”
This month, her delayed period had already been enough to drive her to despair.
This matter absolutely had to be kept secret. Apart from Xiao Tingshen and Jiang Yumei, no one else could know, including Xu Jianguo and Xu Qingning.
“Qingning, if you don’t want to go to the countryside, just say so. Why must you slander your sister?” Seeing Tang Wenya’s expression turn sour, Jiang Yumei quickly changed the subject. “At this point, whose child it is doesn’t matter anymore. I’ll take you to the clinic right now to find Auntie Lin. Get rid of the child quickly, and once you’ve recovered, it won’t be too late to go to the countryside.”
“Auntie, is Auntie Lin reliable? What if she spreads the news about my pregnancy?”
According to the plot in the book, it wouldn’t even take until tomorrow—the news of her premarital pregnancy would soon spread throughout the entire residential compound.
Meanwhile, Tang Wenya kept her own secret tightly under wraps, deliberately letting Xiao Tingshen know about it while putting on a pitiful act of not wanting to force him. This made Xiao Tingshen feel so heartbroken that within two days, he came to propose marriage and take full responsibility.
Although the two later insisted the pregnancy happened after marriage, if you calculated the timing, Tang Wenya had also conceived that night.
“Auntie Lin would never spread it, of course.” Jiang Yumei paused for a moment before adding, “A young girl like you, if you don’t deal with the pregnancy quickly, how will you ever get married in the future? Are you still hoping that man will marry you?”
“Alright, then I’ll listen to you, Auntie. We’ll go after dinner.” Xu Qingning nodded, looking innocent. “I’ve only told the family about the pregnancy. Besides Auntie Lin, no one else knows. You’re all my family, so you definitely won’t tell outsiders. Since you’re vouching for Auntie Lin, I trust you too.”
Jiang Yumei’s expression stiffened. Why was this wretched girl so sharp-witted now?
She wished she could beat drums and gongs to let the whole residential compound know. Once the gossip spread, Xu Qingning would never dream of returning to the city in this lifetime.
Now, with the wretched girl putting it this way, even a single word of gossip outside would be blamed on Jiang Yumei.
Reluctantly, Jiang Yumei tried to backtrack: “Well, it’s not exactly like that… Oh, right, Auntie Lin mentioned to me last time that she’s going to the provincial capital with the clinic for training. She’s been too busy lately. Why don’t you go by yourself? We’d feel more at ease if you found someone yourself.”
“Fine.” Xu Qingning turned directly to Xu Jianguo for money. “Dad, give me fifty yuan. I’ll handle this myself, so you don’t have to worry.”
“You’ve done such a disgraceful thing, and you still have the nerve to ask me for money? And fifty yuan, no less?” Xu Jianguo gritted his teeth in anger, slamming the table hard. “Get out! I don’t have a daughter like you!”
His and Jiang Yumei’s combined monthly wages didn’t even amount to fifty yuan.
She was really pushing it, probably trying to infuriate him on purpose.
Xu Qingning looked at him coolly. “An abortion doesn’t cost fifty yuan, but hush money does, right? And nutrition expenses, too? I still need to recover my health, or I won’t be able to make it to the countryside in time.”
“If you won’t give it, that’s fine too. Since my sister isn’t pregnant, she can go instead. Her physical exam will definitely pass.”
Seeing the fire directed at her again, Tang Wenya quickly spoke up to mediate: “Dad, Qingning is still young. She really needs to recover her health so she doesn’t suffer any lasting effects. But you and Mom work so hard for your money. Let me figure out a way to get the money for Qingning. I still have some jewelry my grandmother left me before she passed away. I’ll pawn it this afternoon—it should be enough.”
“Yaya, how can that be?” Jiang Yumei frowned. “That’s your grandmother’s dowry for you.”
“It’s fine, Mom, Qingning’s matter is more important.” Tang Wenya’s persona of being understanding was on full display. “I also don’t want to see Dad and Qingning fall out over these fifty yuan.”
As Jiang Yumei and Tang Wenya performed their duet, Xu Qingning sat quietly, eating her meal and watching the show.
Finally, Xu Jianguo gritted his teeth, went into his room, pulled out a few bills, and slapped them on the table. “Take the money and get out!”
“Great, thanks, Dad!” Xu Qingning swiftly pocketed the money, finished the last bite of rice in her bowl, and decisively slammed the door behind her as she left.
After exiting the residential compound of the Third State Cotton Mill, Xu Qingning didn’t head to the clinic. Instead, relying on her memory, she entered the neighboring compound of the Eastern Ocean Shipping Company and found the employee dormitory.
Inside the dormitory, a group of young men in white work vests were gathered, shouting and playing cards, with a few smoking cigarettes.
Xu Qingning moved away from the direction of the smoke and scanned the room, her gaze settling on the man diagonally across from her.
Unlike the others who were noisy, the man was rolling up his sleeves, drawing and organizing his cards. The weather was hot, and he had undone a few buttons of his white dacron shirt. From Xu Qingning’s angle, she could clearly see his well-defined chest muscles.
Xu Qingning silently reminded herself to avert her eyes and tried hard to recall the book’s description of this man.
“Pair of aces, want them or not? If not, fold your cards, hurry up!”
“Think you can get away with a pair of aces? You’re dreaming of marrying a wife and only thinking of good things! Pair of twos, watch me take you down!”
The room was filled with noise.
“Zhao Jingyu, come out for a moment. I need to talk to you.” Xu Qingning stood at the doorway, looking at the man through the haze of smoke.
The original host didn’t know who the man from that night was, but she did.
She had seen the ending.
“What is it?” Zhao Jingyu glanced up at her, then continued playing cards, his expression blank. “There are no outsiders here. Just say it.”
Everyone turned to look at Xu Qingning but remained silent.
They knew Xu Qingning. She was Tang Wenya’s stepsister, and she also liked Xiao Tingshen, often coming to the compound to look for him.
Even though Xu Qingning knew Xiao Tingshen and Tang Wenya were dating, she shamelessly tried to interfere, completely without shame.
“I’m pregnant,” Xu Qingning said, clearing her throat, unable to see his face clearly through the smoke. “It’s yours.”
“Mine?” Zhao Jingyu’s hand holding the cards paused for a moment before he laughed, his smile tinged with laziness. “Fine, then have it. Bring it to me when it’s born. I could use a son.”
The room erupted in laughter.