“You are the cannon fodder female supporting role, destined to be the stepping stone for the female lead.”
“You are spoiled and brainless, a country bumpkin who serves as the contrast group to the female lead.”
“The male lead married you to gain experience—a rough man with a child exuding that married man vibe is the most charming.”
“Your child is merely a tool person to advance the relationship between the male and female leads.”
“The female lead’s child is the true crystallization of love…”
Ji Yanshu died in her sleep.
Just before her last breath, she heard these baffling words.
After death, her soul did not dissipate but remained trapped by Zhou Heng’s side.
She personally heard others say how pitiable Zhou Heng and the child were—a father and son duo who wouldn’t know how to carry on.
They also cursed her for being heartless, abandoning her child and leaving just like that.
Three months later, her mother-in-law used the excuse that the child couldn’t be without a mother to pressure Zhou Heng into remarrying.
The new wife was a capitalist’s daughter who had been sent down to the northwest—a cultured city girl.
But her background was problematic, and the in-laws disapproved. They wanted Zhou Heng to marry a local virgin from the same production team.
Someone who could help take care of the child, manage household chores, and even work in the fields to earn work points.
Most importantly, their son wouldn’t be at a disadvantage.
Zhou Heng insisted on marrying the capitalist’s daughter.
He made a three-point agreement with his new wife: they would only be a couple in name, not in reality.
The new wife would help manage the household and care for the child.
He would be responsible for providing for the family.
At first, they slept in separate rooms.
Though under the same roof, they were as distant as strangers.
Later, as Zhou Heng saw how well the new wife cared for the child, slowly… he developed feelings for her.
When a man showed up at the production team claiming to be the capitalist’s daughter’s former fiancé, Zhou Heng grew jealous, lost control, and confessed the love he had kept hidden.
On the night he consummated the marriage with his new wife, Zhou Heng denied his past with Ji Yanshu.
Said it was the folly of youth not understanding love.
He even claimed that if time could be rewound, he wouldn’t have married so hastily.
Ji Yanshu and Zhou Heng were childhood sweethearts who grew up together.
Dating, marrying, having a child…
Despite all those beautiful memories, he claimed it wasn’t love.
Having become a ghost, Ji Yanshu gave up on Zhou Heng.
If he didn’t love her, she wouldn’t love him either!
Perhaps because she missed her child too much, her spirit never dispersed.
She watched as her child grew up day by day, treating the capitalist’s daughter as his own mother.
He even urged his stepmother and biological father to have a child, to give him a little brother or sister.
Though it grated on her, Ji Yanshu didn’t resent her child.
But when he sided with his stepmother and deliberately avoided her Ji family relatives, Ji Yanshu finally exploded with rage.
So furious that even a ghost came back to life!
“Comrade, hasn’t your partner arrived yet? Any longer and we’ll be off duty.”
Someone patted Ji Yanshu on the shoulder.
Drowsy, she jolted awake.
After twenty years as a ghost, suddenly being able to be touched felt strange to Ji Yanshu.
Frowning, she thought—hadn’t she died? How could others see her?
Then it hit her.
She grabbed the unfamiliar female comrade’s hand, tears welling in her eyes, and pleaded, “Pinch me.”
The female comrade laughed. “Did you doze off waiting? Comrade, if your partner doesn’t show up soon, we really will be off duty. You’ll have to come back tomorrow to get your marriage certificate.”
Marriage certificate…
Ji Yanshu scanned her surroundings.
Everything felt both unfamiliar and nostalgic, even the enamel mug in the female comrade’s hand evoked a sense of retro charm.
She had been reborn!
Reborn on the very day she was to get her marriage certificate with Zhou Heng!
It was the summer of 1970.
She was twenty years old.
Zhou Heng was twenty-five.
They had grown up together and were betrothed to each other since childhood.
After dating for two years, marriage seemed like the natural next step.
Zhou Heng was the team leader of the production brigade. He had gone to the commune for a meeting in the morning and they had agreed to register their marriage in the afternoon.
Finally about to marry the man she loved, Ji Yanshu was so excited she couldn’t sleep all night.
She arrived early at the commune management committee to wait.
She waited and waited with eager anticipation.
But Zhou Heng never showed up.
Exhausted from waiting, Ji Yanshu dozed off while sitting there.
When someone finally woke her, she no longer wanted to marry Zhou Heng!
Ji Yanshu laughed.
Tears glistened in her eyes.
She grabbed her canvas bag, pulled out the marriage application form, and tore it to pieces.
She wouldn’t go through with this marriage!
She didn’t want Zhou Heng anymore either!
Ji Yanshu let out a heavy sigh.
All the grievances, sorrow, and anger from her previous life as a ghost were expelled with that breath.
She would stay far away from the “male and female protagonists.”
And she would live her life well.
Without her as their stepping stone, she wanted to see whether Zhou Heng and the capitalist’s daughter could actually make it work in the end!
“Comrade, let’s talk this through properly. Tearing up the application won’t solve anything,” the staff member advised.
Thinking to himself: Could she be angry because the male comrade didn’t show up?
Ji Yanshu left without looking back.
Since she didn’t even want Zhou Heng anymore, what was the point of keeping the application?
Disgusting things like that should be decisively discarded.
What bad luck!
Ji Yanshu’s family lived in the countryside, where their ancestors had been farmers for generations. It wasn’t until her generation that the family fortune began to change.
Both her parents were still alive and well.
Her eldest brother, now forty, had joined the army early and become a combat hero with meritorious service. He was now a division commander in the military region.
Her second brother, thirty, worked as a doctor at the county hospital.
Her third brother, twenty-five, taught at the commune school.
Her fourth brother was her twin, but he hadn’t inherited the family’s hardworking qualities.
His academic performance had been average at best.
After finishing junior high, her fourth brother learned to drive tractors.
Ji Yanshu continued through high school and after graduation took up management work in the production brigade.
In the countryside, many people were illiterate, with some having only attended literacy classes.
Ji Yanshu was considered a rare talent.
In everyone’s eyes, Ji Yanshu was an outstanding female comrade.
She came from a good family and had a good job.
Many city dwellers might not enjoy the happiness she had.
At home, she was the beloved youngest child.
Her parents doted on her, and her four brothers treated her exceptionally well.
The best food and drinks were always reserved for her.
Coupons were always given to her first.
On top of all this, Ji Yanshu was exceptionally beautiful.
Her small face was fair and delicate, with sparkling eyes—every feature from her eyes to her nose and lips was perfectly lovely.
Not only was her face beautiful,
But her figure was particularly slender as well.
She had a defined waist.
And well-shaped hips.
Even though she wore long sleeves and pants every day, her excellent figure was still evident.
Ji Yanshu was naturally fair-skinned, and after being in the sun, her oval face would take on a rosy glow.
She wore two glossy braids with bangs cut straight across her forehead.
She was stunningly fresh and vibrant!
Those who saw her couldn’t believe she was a girl raised in the harsh environment of the Northwest.
Seeing Ji Yanshu returning on her bicycle, an elderly woman sitting at the village entrance asked, “Why didn’t you come back with Xiao Zhou? Weren’t you two supposed to register today?”
Ji Yanshu’s eyes flickered.
“He’s back?”
“He returned long ago, rushing off somewhere in a hurry. I tried talking to him, but he ignored me.”
Ji Yanshu tightened her grip on the bicycle handles.
Suddenly she remembered—in her previous life, Zhou Heng had been late too, because an emergency meeting had been called at the last minute.
But they still managed to get their marriage certificate before work ended.
This time, when he suddenly returned to the production team, he didn’t go looking for her again.
Could it be that Zhou Heng has also been reborn?