Lin Qianyi lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. On the bare ceiling hung a single light bulb, with twisted wires beside it, coiled like a braid. She had already walked around the room several times, inside and out. A bulky wardrobe full of a strong sense of age, a table with four thin little legs, an old-fashioned sofa, and a vintage calendar hanging on the wall. There wasn’t a single household appliance in sight. Everything told her clearly that this was not the era she belonged to.
The first thing she did was find a small mirror. Through the slightly blurry surface, she could tell that the girl reflected inside looked exactly like her. The skin wasn’t as good as hers, and the two long braids looked a bit rustic—she had always worn big, wavy curls. Why? What was going on? Wasn’t she skiing abroad? Right—skiing. She had been having the time of her life when tragedy struck: an avalanche. For the sake of excitement, she had gone to ski in foreign high mountains. There were world-class ski resorts back home—so many great ones she didn’t go to. Why did she have to go abroad? See what happened—an avalanche! And now she woke up in this shabby little apartment.
Had she jumped on the transmigration trend? Judging by this environment, things didn’t look optimistic. Lin Qianyi, who had been pampered since childhood, felt her scalp go numb. Could she really live this kind of life after being so used to comfort? This was way too headache-inducing. Sigh… and then her head really started to hurt. She covered her head painfully with her hands.
Fragments of memories that didn’t belong to her slowly flooded into her mind, playing through her head like a movie, until she fully absorbed them.
The original owner was also called Lin Qianyi, twenty years old this year. Her parents were senior engineers at the county machinery factory. Three years ago, during an accident, they both died while trying to save state property. At the time, the original Lin Qianyi was still in high school. To take care of her, the machinery factory arranged for her to work there as soon as she graduated from high school.
The original owner was beautiful. When her parents were still alive, because both of them were senior engineers at the factory, even if people had ulterior motives, no one dared to openly make advances on her. After her parents’ sacrifice, many people started harboring thoughts, but she fended them off by claiming she was observing three years of mourning. Since this was within the machinery factory, that reason successfully blocked those people.
Once the three-year mourning period ended, many began to stir again. The original owner was an orphan, with no relatives on her parents’ side living nearby. She was a high school graduate, a permanent worker at the machinery factory, and had received a large sum of compensation back then. To protect her, the factory had not disclosed the amount to the public. Still, the original owner was undoubtedly a hot commodity, so naturally there were many matchmakers.
Her personality was relatively introverted and quiet. With no parents to back her up, many people tended to take advantage of her, often acting rather forcefully. But since it was all within the same factory, even though the harassment was unbearable, she managed to cope with it.
The real trouble came not long ago. Ma Zhenqiang, the son of a certain county committee director, saw her once at the machinery factory and was instantly smitten. When his proposal was rejected, he showed clear signs of wanting to force the marriage. This Ma Zhenqiang truly had a notorious reputation. In the county, both father and son were feared and hated by everyone, having committed countless evils. Ma Zhenqiang alone had ruined no one knew how many girls—many educated youth had been destroyed by him.
The original owner was terrified. Alone at home, the more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. In a daze, she developed a high fever—and when she woke up, she had become Lin Qianyi.
Lin Qianyi felt so depressed she wanted to smash her head against the wall. Even though this wasn’t the original owner’s fault, she really didn’t want to take over such a mess. She wanted to go back to being her wealthy, beautiful self.
She herself was only twenty-five years old—still in the prime of her life. She had money, looks, and a career, no burdens, free to come and go, living a carefree and comfortable life.
From the original owner’s memories, Lin Qianyi realized that she had transmigrated to the 1970s, an era of material scarcity where even going out required an introduction letter. What was especially strange was that the original owner not only looked exactly like her and had the same name, but also had no memories from before the age of six—just like her.
When Lin Qianyi was six years old, she had been picked up by an elderly couple. At the time, she had been crying alone by the roadside, running a high fever. The area was on the outskirts, with few people around. The elderly couple, who happened to be driving by, heard the crying and got out to check. While they were comforting the crying Lin Qianyi, a large truck ahead lost control and overturned.
If the elderly couple had continued driving normally, they would have been crushed under the truck. Even if they hadn’t been driving alongside it, they wouldn’t have been able to avoid it—the truck had completely lost control. The couple was both shocked and relieved.
The little girl was burning with fever. When they asked her name, she slurred a few words that sounded like “Lin Qianyi.” After the fever subsided and she regained consciousness, she remembered nothing. The elderly couple worked with the police for a long time to try to find her family, but to no avail. In the end, they adopted her.
This elderly couple was no ordinary pair—they were a well-known wealthy family in the area. They doted on Lin Qianyi and gave her an extremely affluent life. Lin Qianyi was content and grateful, strictly keeping to her place. She did not involve herself in any of their family’s business or assets, choosing instead to be a carefree flower of wealth, pursuing only things related to her own interests. As a result, she maintained good relationships with all the family members.
However, her grandparents were already advanced in age and had passed away a few years earlier. As for why her name became Lin Qianyi instead of Lin Qianyi with a different character—it was because when she was little and went to school, she found the original character too complicated to write. She often wrote the simpler character for “one” instead, and eventually just changed it to Lin Qianyi.
The original owner wasn’t a biological child either. She had been picked up by Lin Jiancheng and his wife in Xingcheng. The couple had been busy with work and, despite being in their thirties, had no children. After failing to find the original owner’s family, they adopted her. Later, due to a job transfer, they moved to the machinery factory in Yuan County, Lincheng. That was why no one there knew she wasn’t their biological child.
Lin Jiancheng and his wife named the original owner Lin Qianyi, meaning “one in a thousand.” The coincidence was unbelievable. Lin Qianyi couldn’t help wondering whether this had something to do with her coming here. After thinking for a long time without any conclusion, she gave up.
“Knock, knock, knock…”
There was a knock at the door.
“Qianyi, are you home?” came the voice of a middle-aged woman.
“Coming.” Lin Qianyi responded, climbing off the bed, straightening her clothes, and walking out to open the door.
Standing outside was a sharp-looking middle-aged woman with short hair. Searching through the original owner’s memories, Lin Qianyi recognized her as Zhang Xiuying, the trade union chairwoman of the machinery factory.
“Sister Zhang, it’s you. Please come in,” Lin Qianyi said quickly, letting Zhang Xiuying inside.
“Qianyi, are you feeling unwell today? Why didn’t you go to work? Are you okay?” Zhang Xiuying asked with concern.
Only then did Lin Qianyi realize that work hours had already passed. Her mind had been such a mess that she hadn’t even thought about it.
“Oh, Sister Zhang, I’m sorry. I had a bit of a headache today and couldn’t get up. I didn’t have time to ask for leave. I’ll go and make it up later,” Lin Qianyi said apologetically.
“That’s fine. I just came to check on you. As long as you’re okay, that’s good. Don’t rush for now,” Zhang Xiuying comforted her.