Sheng Qianyu woke to the sound of crying outside. After glancing around her surroundings and examining her pale arms and hands, she fell silent as memories flooded her mind.
It was 1963. The nationwide disaster had just passed, but it had little impact on the original owner of this body.
The original owner was named Zhao Qianyu, known as the belle of the military compound in the capital. Her father held a high position, so the family never lacked food, clothing, money, or coupons. Living up to everyone’s expectations, she was exceptionally beautiful, academically outstanding, and had skipped grades multiple times. Now in her first year of high school at just twelve years old, her life was about to take a dramatic turn.
Sheng Xiaoyu, the daughter of the director of the meat processing plant, had bumped into the original owner’s mother, Qin Fang, by chance. The two seemed to share an inexplicable connection, and something stirred between them.
That night, Qin Fang tossed and turned, unable to sleep. The next day, she decided to investigate and actually uncovered something.
Sheng Xiaoyu and Zhao Qianyu had been switched at birth.
Both families were well-off, and the mothers had given birth on the same day in the same hospital. The most direct cause was a nurse who had mixed up the babies’ identification tags.
Unable to bear the thought of separating the girls, Qin Fang discussed the matter with Zhou Dahua, the wife of the meat processing plant director. For the sake of the children’s futures, they decided to raise both girls together.
On one side was her biological daughter, whom Qin Fang felt deeply indebted to; on the other was her adopted daughter, with whom she shared over a decade of genuine affection. Qin Fang couldn’t bring herself to let either go.
Sheng Xiaoyu was renamed Zhao Xiaoyu. When the mother and daughter returned home and explained the situation, the original owner, already frail, couldn’t handle the shock and fainted.
After Sheng Qianyu crossed over and sorted through the memories, she got up and walked outside. Addressing the mother and daughter, she said, “Mom… I’ve thought it through. The mistake has already been made. You’ve poured your heart into raising me, and Xiao… Xiao Yu’s mother has done the same for her. It wouldn’t be fair for both daughters to stay with the Zhao family. To minimize the damage, Xiao Yu and I should switch back.”
Qin Fang was taken aback. Ignoring her biological daughter for a moment, she rushed over and hugged Sheng Qianyu, crying, “What kind of mess is this? How did our family end up in such a situation?”
Zhao Daxiong was smoking.
For the sake of his only daughter, Zhao Daxiong, despite his smoking habit, would always satisfy his cravings outside before returning home. But now, with Qin Fang stirring up this drama of the real and fake daughters, he couldn’t hold back.
Zhao Daxiong had always been very satisfied with his daughter.
He himself had climbed up from being a peasant soldier, never excelling in studies and often called uncultured. If not for his ability to fight and his military achievements, how could he have risen to such a high position?
What he admired most about his daughter was her academic performance—she was the top student in the entire military compound. Even the only son of his closest comrade, Political Commissar Chen, couldn’t compare to her!
How could he not be proud?
As for his biological daughter, he’d heard she was still in elementary school and would only start junior high next year. With a father who was the director of a meat processing plant, she certainly hadn’t been deprived. Just look at how plump Zhao Xiaoyu had become over the past three years—it was clear she’d been well-fed.
Compared to his outstanding adopted daughter, this average-performing biological daughter did seem somewhat lacking.
Hearing his adopted daughter’s words, Zhao Daxiong felt both the pride of a parent and a pang of regret. After raising her for so many years, how could she not be his biological daughter?
Despite his reluctance, Zhao Daxiong respected his adopted daughter’s decision. Nodding, he said, “It’s good that you think this way. Go back to the Sheng family. Even if you return, it doesn’t mean you’re cutting ties with our Zhao family. Come back and visit your mother whenever you have time.”
…And me.Zhao Daxiong, a tough and resolute man, ultimately couldn’t bring himself to say such sentimental words.
Zhao Xiaoyu also looked at Sheng Qianyu with a complex expression. After a long pause, she finally said, “Yes, sister, we’re just switching back, not cutting off our relationship. My parents are also your parents. In the future, if you miss Mom, just visit more often. It won’t be any different from before.”
Sheng Qianyu nodded. “Mm.”
Qin Fang wiped the tears from her face and said, “Qianyu, let me pack some things for you. You definitely won’t be used to living there, and your health has never been good since you were young… You, you…”
As she spoke, Qin Fang was on the verge of tears again.
Sheng Qianyu comforted her for a few moments and said, “Xiao Yu came here without taking anything, so I don’t need anything either. Mom, thank you for raising me all these years.”
Zhao Daxiong grew more and more satisfied with his adopted daughter as he watched her. After comforting his wife a bit to prevent her from crying her eyes out, he escorted Sheng Qianyu out of the compound.
The original host had a good personality and was friends with all the peers in the compound. When these friends heard that the original host wasn’t the Zhao family’s biological daughter and was returning to her birth parents, they all came to see her off.
Most of the friends were fine, but Chen Zhou, the only son of Political Commissar Chen, had affection in his eyes. After holding back for a long time, he finally blurted out, “My engagement with the Zhao family will also be switched to that Zhao Xiaoyu, right?”
Zhao Daxiong had stepped away to smoke a cigarette, thinking the kids had something to talk about, so he didn’t hear what this brat said. If he had, he probably wouldn’t have cared about Political Commissar Chen’s face and would have given the brat a few good beatings first.
Sheng Qianyu furrowed her willow-like brows slightly and said, “Our engagement was arranged when we were children, between the Chen and Zhao families. It should have always been you and Zhao Xiaoyu. It shouldn’t be called ‘switching.'”
“But I don’t like her! She’s chubby and looks silly…”
“Chen Zhou!” Sheng Qianyu scolded. “People in the compound say you’re a troublemaker. I thought it was just because you were young, but I didn’t expect your character to be flawed too. How can you gossip about a female comrade behind her back? If Xiao Yu heard this, wouldn’t she take it to heart?”
Chen Zhou stepped forward, wanting to take her hand, but she dodged him.
Chen Zhou’s eyes were red at the corners. “But I’ve always liked you…”
Sheng Qianyu turned her head away and said, “The one you’re engaged to is Xiao Yu. The engagement between the Chen and Zhao families is no small matter. It can’t be changed just because you say so. Don’t make things difficult for Uncle Chen and Aunt Chen.”
After a pause, Sheng Qianyu added, “Also, since I’m returning to the Sheng family, I’ll be transferring schools to one closer to home…”
Chen Zhou was so angry that he didn’t care about anything else. He turned and ran off.
Sheng Qianyu stared at his retreating figure for a moment, lost in thought. When she saw Zhao Daxiong returning after finishing his cigarette, she snapped out of it.
“Do you like that kid?”
Sheng Qianyu didn’t answer.
To be precise, it was the original host who liked him, not her.
Zhao Daxiong said, “You’ve called me Dad for so many years. I can’t bring myself to break up a pair of lovebirds. Since you both like each other, I’ll go talk to the Chen family…”
“Dad,” Sheng Qianyu interrupted. “How old are we? What do we know about feelings? Don’t ruin your relationship with the Chen family over this… As for Chen Zhou, once he spends more time with Xiao Yu, he might forget about all this.”
The Zhao family’s circumstances were decent, but they were nowhere near as good as the Sheng family’s. The original host had already taken advantage of Zhao Xiaoyu for over a decade. If she also snatched her fiancé away, what would others think?She had inherited this body, and since she was still young, it was only natural to make a clean break now.