With a creak, the door opened.
A girl wearing a floral padded jacket came in from outside, carrying a bowl of food. The light from the doorway flashed briefly before disappearing, and as the door closed with a sound, the room instantly became dim again.
In that brief flickering light, Lin Yi clearly saw the person who had entered.
The girl was fifteen or sixteen years old. Her hair was tied into two braids, and she wore a flower-patterned cotton jacket. She had large eyes and delicate features. Her beauty was not the delicate kind of a sheltered flower growing in a greenhouse; instead, she was like wildflowers and weeds blooming across mountains and fields—bright, lively, and full of vigor.
“Second Sister-in-law, it’s time to eat.”
She emphasized the words “Second Sister-in-law” heavily. Anyone could tell she was not someone easy to deal with.
After saying that, she turned around and sat down on the kang beside Lin Yi, staring at her with wide eyes, waiting for her to wake up.
The girl’s eyes were bright, filled with anger and disappointment toward Lin Yi.
In reality, Lin Yi had already been awake for a while.
When she first arrived, she thought she was dreaming. However, her mind clearly contained the original owner’s memories. Those memories felt like things that had truly happened. Combined with the environment she was currently in, she had no choice but to accept that she had transmigrated into a historical-era novel.
After graduating from university, she stayed in the city where her school was located to work. Just as her job had stabilized, a friend introduced her to someone for a blind date.
While she was on her way to meet him, a car suddenly came rushing toward her.
All she remembered was a blinding flash of light appearing before her eyes…
After a piercing pain shot through her chest, she heard a sharp scream and chaotic footsteps. The light in front of her eyes gradually blurred, and the pain became indistinct. Her entire body felt as if it was floating, like a soap bubble blown by a child—becoming more and more unreal.
Until she arrived here.
Only then did she feel like everything had returned to reality.
The only problem was that her head hurt badly. The sharp pain from her skin and bones actually helped clear her mind.
This was her little sister-in-law, Zhou Ying, nicknamed Yingzi.
The girl had actually gotten along quite well with her in the past. But this time, she was obviously angry with Lin Yi. Even calling her “sister-in-law” sounded forced.
“You should hurry and eat. There’s also a salted egg.”
As she spoke, she took an egg out of her pocket and placed it beside the bowl of rice porridge.
The girl’s tone was somewhat harsh, making it sound as if she had some grudge against Lin Yi.
Lin Yi raised her head slightly and felt that every part of her body was still intact…
Then she suddenly met the girl’s face.
That was not the important part.
The important thing was that Lin Yi saw several words appear above the girl’s head.
【How is Second Sister-in-law doing? It looks like it hurts badly. Did she injure herself somewhere?】
【Did I say things too harshly?】
Lin Yi: “……”
She had thought the girl was extremely angry with her.
She never expected that she was actually still worried about her.
The girl looked at her anxiously.
【Second Sister-in-law didn’t hurt her head, did she?】
Lin Yi shook her head.
“I’m fine.”
Only then did Yingzi push the salted egg closer to her.
“Eat the egg.”
A salted egg was considered a precious thing in this era. Ordinary families were reluctant to eat one themselves, yet she had taken one out for Lin Yi?
Lin Yi’s mind was a complete mess.
She had no idea why she could see black words above people’s heads. Everything felt unbelievable.
But at that moment, her stomach betrayed her with a loud rumbling sound.
No matter how big the situation was, nothing could compare to the overwhelming hunger she felt right now.
Lin Yi decided that she would eat first and think later.
She moved her arms and discovered that she could sit up. She slowly sat upright, picked up the salted egg, pulled the bowl of porridge closer, and began eating.
Perhaps because she was simply too hungry, she found the food surprisingly delicious.
Seeing how enthusiastically she was eating, Zhou Ying muttered beside her:
“Sister-in-law, please don’t leave, okay? My brother just passed away, and you’re already leaving. You’re too heartless! That educated youth surnamed Yuan is not a good person. He’s nowhere near as good as my brother…”
An educated youth surnamed Yuan.
After reading the original owner’s memories, Lin Yi understood what had happened.
The original owner had never met Zhou Ying’s brother before.
The two of them had been matched through a matchmaker. When they married, Yingzi’s brother was serving in the army and had not returned home.
The Zhou family found a bullock cart and brought the original owner from her parents’ home. They prepared a banquet, then placed the couple’s bedding together.
The military documents, introduction letter, and marriage application from the army were all completed afterward. The original owner had not participated in any of those procedures.
In any case, the paperwork was finished, and she and Zhou Lixing were considered married.
Actually, the original owner was quite pitiful.
Up until now, she had only seen a tiny black-and-white photograph of Zhou Lixing. She had never seen what he actually looked like.
But none of this mattered to Lin Yi.
No matter what Zhou Lixing looked like, it had little to do with her anymore.
Because Zhou Lixing had died while carrying out a mission.
When news arrived from the army, the Zhou family was devastated.
But the original owner did not feel much.
It felt almost like a child’s game.
Her husband in name was gone, and she felt as if a horse that had been tied up had finally been released. She wanted to escape the Zhou family’s restrictions and quickly find her next love.
Sure enough, before even two months had passed, she had fallen for an educated youth surnamed Yuan.
That was why she had caused a huge scene at the Zhou family home and ended up injuring her head after hitting the wall.
The Zhou family parents had just lost their son and had not even recovered from the grief.
Then their daughter-in-law suddenly demanded to remarry and wanted to take away their son’s death compensation.
The blow was truly enormous.
And that was not even the worst part.
Their daughter-in-law had also hit the wall and fainted. The elderly couple were terrified.
If something happened to their daughter-in-law as well, their Zhou family would have to hold two funerals in one year.
How could they possibly endure that?
Zhou’s father went to town to invite a doctor, who came and treated Lin Yi with acupuncture.
After half a day, she finally regained consciousness.
They thought they had saved her.
But they were wrong.
The original Lin Yi was already gone.
The person who arrived was another Lin Yi with the same name.
After saving her, the Zhou family did not know what to do.
They were afraid Lin Yi would lose hope and try to end her life again, so they asked Zhou Ying to stay with her.
Unexpectedly, this little girl was quite interesting.
She looked fierce toward Lin Yi, but deep down she was actually very concerned about her.
Lin Yi liked straightforward people like this.
When they were angry, they were genuinely angry.
When they cared, they genuinely cared.
Compared to those who acted one way in front of others and another behind their backs, this kind of person was much more lovable.