June 1971, Shanghai, Qiao Family Villa.
“Xiao Yu, won’t you let your sister and Zhang Yu be together? They truly love each other.”
“Mom knows you’re hurting, but Zhang Yu said he has no feelings for you—he loves your sister. Open the door, let’s talk this through properly, okay?”
Hearing the woman’s voice outside the door, Qiao Yu couldn’t help but frown.
What was going on?
She only remembered translating a client’s documents in her study, feeling so exhausted that she dozed off for a moment.
When she opened her eyes, she found herself here.
An iron washstand, enamel mugs, a radio, posters of glamorous starlets…
Every piece of furniture in the room, steeped in a strong sense of the era, reminded her that she seemed to have traveled back to the 1970s.
Before Qiao Yu could figure out what was happening, the woman outside the door continued, “How about you marry Gu Shaoyuan, and your sister marries Zhang Yu? After all, you’re both sisters—swapping marriage partners shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Gu Shaoyuan is even a military officer. You won’t suffer if you marry him.”
Hearing these familiar lines, Qiao Yu finally realized she had somehow entered the niche track of transmigrating into a book.
Last night, her best friend had recommended a novel to her. The cannon fodder female supporting character in it shared the exact same name as hers, and her friend even suggested she memorize the entire book to guard against transmigration.
Out of curiosity, Qiao Yu opened the novel.
The original host was a capitalist young lady from Shanghai, pampered and spoiled, fair-skinned and beautiful, with a family fortune accumulated over generations through business.
The Zhang Yu and her sister mentioned just now were the male and female leads in the original book. Her sister, Qiao Xiang, was not her biological sister but had followed her stepmother into the Qiao family and taken her father’s surname.
Qiao Xiang didn’t want to marry Gu Shaoyuan, who was stationed on a remote island, and instead set her sights on the refined and cultured Zhang Yu.
Compared to the pampered Qiao Yu, her fiancé Zhang Yu indeed preferred the gentle and understanding Qiao Xiang. Under Qiao Xiang’s subtle seduction, he couldn’t resist falling for her.
The two had already consummated their relationship before marriage. To cover up the scandal, her father, Qiao Zhenhua, wanted to downplay the matter and sent her stepmother to persuade Qiao Yu to marry Qiao Xiang’s fiancé, Gu Shaoyuan.
How could the original host agree? She looked down on Gu Shaoyuan, who came from a humble background, and having lived a life of comfort since childhood, she would never go to some godforsaken island.
After repeated arguments, Qiao Zhenhua grew cold toward Qiao Yu, and she couldn’t understand why her father protected her stepsister. It wasn’t until later that she discovered Qiao Xiang was actually her half-sister.
Not long after,
Qiao Yu was sent down for re-education. How could a delicate capitalist young lady endure life in the countryside?
Moreover, her beauty attracted the attention of local ruffians. Unable to bear the humiliation, she eventually drowned herself in a river.
Meanwhile, Qiao Xiang and Zhang Yu thrived in Hong Kong, later establishing a chain of businesses, becoming a wealthy woman on the rich list, and amassing a fortune.
After finishing the novel, Qiao Yu couldn’t help but complain: why could scumbags and scheming women become the male and female leads?
The original host did nothing wrong yet ended up as cannon fodder.
Lying in bed, Qiao Yu calculated the timeline. Her identity as a capitalist young lady was indeed precarious.
This island—she had no choice but to go.
Before heading to the island to find Gu Shaoyuan, she had a lot to deal with. Qiao Zhenhua had long since emptied the house of anything valuable, creating the illusion for Qiao Yu that the family was already in decline.
In reality, he had hidden all the valuable items in the warehouse of the old family home.
Since Qiao Yu had transmigrated into the original owner’s body, she had to take revenge on this disgusting family on behalf of the original owner.
Qiao Yu suddenly remembered that the original owner’s long-deceased mother had left her a high-quality jade bracelet, which had mysteriously disappeared two months ago.
Having read the original novel, Qiao Yu knew that the bracelet had been stolen by Qiao Xiang, who had even unlocked the Spirit Spring Space within it.
While Qiao Xiang was still unaware of the Spatial Dimension inside the bracelet, Qiao Yu had to seize this golden opportunity for herself.
Stepmother Liu Shuhong, hearing no movement from the room, assumed Qiao Yu was throwing another tantrum. Suppressing her impatience, she softened her voice and said, “Xiao Yu, could you come out for a moment?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the door was opened from the inside.
Qiao Yu’s delicate, fair face appeared from behind the door. She looked at her stepmother, Liu Shuhong, and raised an eyebrow slightly.
“I agree to the marriage swap.”
Liu Shuhong’s face lit up with joy. She had been thinking that if Qiao Yu refused, they would have to force her to marry into the Gu family, but to her surprise, Qiao Yu had relented.
“Xiao Yu, I’m so glad you’ve come to your senses! Don’t worry, your father and I will make sure your dowry is nothing less than the best!”
Qiao Yu smiled faintly. “Aunt Liu, don’t celebrate too soon. If you want me to agree to the marriage swap, you’ll have to meet a few conditions.”
Liu Shuhong’s smile froze. She knew this wretched girl wouldn’t agree so easily.
Pretending to be affectionate, she took Qiao Yu’s hand, trying to brush it off. “Silly girl, we’re family. Talking about conditions makes it seem so distant.”
Qiao Yu pulled her hand away in disgust.
“Aunt Liu, I’m the one who’s been cheated on. Shouldn’t you compensate me somehow?”
Seeing that Qiao Yu was serious, Liu Shuhong’s expression darkened immediately.
Fine, for the sake of her daughter’s reputation, she hurried downstairs to call Qiao Zhenhua for a discussion.
When Qiao Zhenhua heard that Qiao Yu had conditions, his brow furrowed.
“What do you want now? We’re arranging this marriage with Gu Shaoyuan for your own good! Don’t be ungrateful!”
He had little affection for this daughter. She had been spoiled and willful since childhood, all because of his ex-wife’s indulgence!
Qiao Yu looked down on Qiao Zhenhua. While the original owner’s mother was still alive, he had been carrying on with Liu Shuhong, using the family’s money to support another woman and even pocketing the money and dowry left for the original owner by her mother.
With a cold expression, she said, “I want twenty thousand for the dowry, along with food coupons, meat coupons, and fabric coupons. Also, call Qiao Xiang and Zhang Yu back. I want them to kneel and apologize to me in person!”
When Qiao Zhenhua and Liu Shuhong heard her demand for twenty thousand, they were both stunned.
“Twenty thousand?! Are you out of your mind?” Qiao Zhenhua trembled with anger.
Qiao Yu sneered. “I’m just taking back the dowry money my mother left me. Why are you so nervous? And all the valuable dowry items my mother brought with her back then—you have to return every last one!”
Qiao Zhenhua’s veins bulged on his forehead. This rebellious daughter was becoming more and more outrageous.
Seeing this, Liu Shuhong quickly steadied Qiao Zhenhua and tried to reason gently with Qiao Yu. “Xiao Yu, your father and I really don’t have that much money!”
“Over the years, buying you dresses and jewelry, and supporting this whole family, your father has spent a fortune. At most, we can give you two thousand.”
Two thousand? Who did they think they were fooling?
Qiao Yu no longer gave them a pleasant expression. “When my mother married you back then, all her dowry was recorded in the list. Should I take it out and confront you face-to-face?”
“If you don’t return the dowry and the money, I can ruin your reputation—and Qiao Xiang’s—right now!”