“Gu Wan, Gu Wan, wake up, wake up! Listen to me, okay? I know you must have misunderstood what you just saw. Zhang Xiaowei and I really have nothing going on.”
The woman’s incessant chatter and vigorous shaking left Gu Wan momentarily unable to process what was happening.
What was going on?
Wasn’t she just bored and reading a novel set in the 1960s and ’70s?
One of the cannon-fodder female characters happened to have the same name as her, so she had read a little more closely.
In the novel, this female supporting character was the daughter of a capitalist family. Her stepmother had spoiled and indulged her to the point that she became arrogant and self-important.
Then, under the influence and manipulation of her stepsister, she rejected an arranged marriage, insisting that she wanted to fall in love freely.
After meeting a scumbag, she became completely love-brained. She grew even more dissatisfied with the military officer husband her grandfather had chosen for her. She would rather have an abortion and get a divorce than give up the scumbag and live happily ever after with him.
As a result, not only did the scumbag trick her out of her job and swindle away her entire inheritance, he even deceived her into going to the countryside.
The spoiled heiress died in the countryside less than two years later. After her death, her grave was even dug up so that she could be given a ghost marriage. Her fate could only be described as utterly tragic.
In those times, the capitalist heiress had attracted all the attention and hostility, while her scumbag father, stepmother, and their family lived comfortably.
After her death, the whereabouts of the inheritance that should have been confiscated also became a mystery.
Her stepsister, Li Mingyue, not only obtained her job, but several years later, when the wave of economic reform and opening-up arrived, she became a billionaire overnight and reached the pinnacle of her life.
Gu Wan simply couldn’t understand how anyone could write such an idiotic novel. She had been thoroughly disgusted by it. And just as she was complaining about it, her vision blurred. Without any transition, she had been sucked into the novel. When she opened her eyes again, she was here.
Before she could think any further, an impatient man’s voice came from nearby.
“She hasn’t woken up yet. What’s the point of babbling on to her? Hurry up and think of something. I have no interest in this pregnant woman. Every time I have to sweet-talk her, I have to force myself not to gag.”
“Shh—”
The woman quickly hushed him.
The two then moved farther away and began speaking in low voices.
“You were way too impulsive just now! You know she’s pregnant, so how could you push her down the stairs like that? What if she fell to her death?”
“Wouldn’t it be better if she died? Then I could inherit her money directly. And I wouldn’t have to sweet-talk her every day anymore. It makes me sick.”
“What are you thinking? She isn’t divorced yet. If she dies, we won’t get anything!”
“The most important thing right now is to coax her into transferring her job to me. Without her personally agreeing to it and voluntarily transferring it, I can’t get her job. And without a job, I’ll have to go to the countryside. The educated youth office has already come to urge me twice.”
“You should go and be nice to her. Make her forget what happened just now and get her to transfer the job to me as soon as possible.”
“…Fine!”
Gu Wan understood now.
The woman was the original Gu Wan’s stepsister, Li Mingyue, while the man was Zhang Xiaowei, the man Li Mingyue had introduced to her as a free-love partner.
Earlier, the original Gu Wan had been shopping with her best friend. When she heard that Zhang Xiaowei had come looking for her, she immediately abandoned her friend and rushed home.
But the moment she entered the house, she caught Li Mingyue and Zhang Xiaowei embracing each other.
When the original Gu Wan rushed forward to confront them, Zhang Xiaowei shoved her. She missed a step and tumbled down the stairs, hitting her head and bleeding heavily before losing consciousness.
That was when Gu Wan had entered the body.
Soon, the sound of two people approaching came from nearby.
The man stood beside Gu Wan, seemingly still hesitating, but Li Mingyue was already impatient.
“Hurry up! Wake her up! What if something happens because she’s been unconscious for too long?”
“But… but how? She won’t wake up, and I can’t do anything about it. How about… slapping her a few times?”
Gu Wan gritted her teeth.
Good!
She would remember that!
“Are you crazy? We need to coax her into transferring the job to me. You do it. Give her artificial respiration.”
“Hurry up! Didn’t they teach you how to do it during field exercises? Go!”
The man hesitated for a moment before crouching down and bringing his mouth toward Gu Wan’s face.
The moment he opened his mouth—
A smell like an exploded sewer blasted straight into her nose.
Gu Wan couldn’t stand it any longer and immediately opened her eyes.
Before her was a fairly handsome face, but the proportions of his features revealed a certain shallowness and vulgarity. His hair had been slicked deliberately backward, as though coated with hair pomade, giving off a strange, unpleasant odor.
Zhang Xiaowei had his lips pursed, his eyes closed, and his face full of disgust and reluctance.
Gu Wan was just about to turn her face away to avoid his biological weapon when—
The jade pendant hanging from Zhang Xiaowei’s neck suddenly caught her attention.
It was a white jade plaque three centimeters tall, two centimeters wide, and half a centimeter thick. One side and the top were openwork-carved with a coiling chilong dragon looking backward. The front was decorated with a relief carving depicting a thatched cottage, flowing water, an old tree, and a crow in the cold.
Gu Wan’s eyes immediately widened.
This—this was—
She reached out and grabbed the jade pendant, turning it over in her palm.
On the back was a five-character poem written in cursive script:
“Ten thousand crows in the cold,
Flowing water winds around a lone pine.”
This was a Ming-dynasty white jade landscape-and-poetry pendant bearing the “Zi Gang” mark!
Gu Wan’s heart began pounding wildly.
This was the Ming-dynasty “Zi Gang” jade plaque that had never even been displayed by the Palace Museum!
How had it ended up around his neck?
Gu Wan clutched the jade pendant tightly. After thinking about it carefully, she immediately understood.
This was the coming-of-age gift the original Gu Wan’s grandfather had given her.
The ignorant original owner had no idea how precious the jade plaque was. After being coaxed by Li Mingyue, she had given it to Zhang Xiaowei as a token of love.
Hmph! As if someone like him deserved it!
Zhang Xiaowei had his eyes closed, mentally preparing himself, wondering what posture he should use to give this pregnant woman artificial respiration.
If not for Mingyue’s insistence, and if not for the fact that he had yet to get the job, he would never have made such a huge sacrifice to serve this arrogant, domineering pregnant woman.
Suddenly, he felt something tug downward at his neck… as if someone had grabbed his neck.
He hurriedly opened his eyes, only to meet Gu Wan’s bright eyes.
The undisguised contempt in those eyes made his heart skip a beat. He suddenly felt that something was wrong.
Whenever this pregnant woman saw him, she always wore a shy and coy expression.
She was already married and pregnant, yet she still pretended to be a bashful young girl. It was truly disgusting.
Mingyue had told him that she was worth hundreds of millions. As long as he coaxed her into having an abortion, getting divorced, and marrying him, everything she owned would eventually belong to him and Mingyue.
If not for that goal, he would never have tried to please such a disgusting pregnant woman.
But… what was that expression on her face now?
Why did it look as though she were staring at something filthy?
He lowered his head and saw that one of Gu Wan’s hands was tightly clutching the jade pendant hanging beneath his neck.
Zhang Xiaowei immediately panicked.
He had specifically taken this jade pendant to someone for appraisal. The person had said it was a genuine antique, exquisitely carved, and worth quite a bit of money.
Zhang Xiaowei hurriedly slapped at the back of Gu Wan’s hand that was gripping the jade.
“Let go! Let go! You’re choking me! Don’t pull so hard—you’ll damage my jade pendant!”
Gu Wan gave a cold laugh. She moved her hand upward and grabbed the red cord attached to the jade pendant, then subtly exerted force.
“Snap—”
The clasp behind the red cord tore loose, leaving a deep red mark around Zhang Xiaowei’s neck.
The entire jade plaque fell into Gu Wan’s hand.