Zhang Xiuying looked at Lin Qianyi’s exquisitely beautiful face and sighed inwardly. For a young orphan girl to look like this was really not a good thing—it made her far too easy to attract trouble. By all accounts, this girl was already honest and well-behaved enough, yet there were still so many people eyeing her. Now that she had caught Ma Zhenqiang’s attention, it was difficult for everyone to help her even if they wanted to.
In times like these, who would dare to offend someone from a certain county committee so lightly? Ma Zhenqiang had already made it clear that no one was allowed to compete with him for Lin Qianyi. The county committee looked all-powerful, but they had done far too many immoral things. No one thought Ma Zhenqiang was a good match, let alone someone with decent character.
As things stood, Lin Qianyi’s reputation had already been ruined beyond repair by Ma Zhenqiang’s meddling. It clearly wasn’t her fault, yet she was the one bearing the bad name. Unless she could immediately find someone to marry, an ordinary person couldn’t stand up to Ma Zhenqiang. Now no one dared to set their sights on Lin Qianyi anymore. Even if she wanted to marry, no one dared to take her.
As for finding someone who could contend with Ma Zhenqiang—where could such a person be found in a short time? There were only a handful even in this small county. Unless it was someone from the military, but that would be even harder to find. Could she marry someone from the countryside? People there were politically reliable, and perhaps someone in a village might dare to marry Lin Qianyi.
Lin Qianyi was an orphan and also a worker at the machinery factory. It seemed that only the trade union could worry about her situation, but if no one dared to marry her, the union couldn’t force anyone either.
“I’m fine, Sister Zhang, don’t worry. I’ll be better after resting for half a day,” Lin Qianyi said, forcing a smile.
“No need to rush back to work. Rest well first. I’ll let your director know—you can make up the leave after you return,” Zhang Xiuying said, offering a few more words of comfort, subtly reminding her of certain things as well.
Seeing that Lin Qianyi didn’t look very well, she didn’t stay long. She reminded her to rest properly, then left.
After closing the door, Lin Qianyi let out a breath. She hadn’t even managed to sort through all the chaotic thoughts in her head yet.
She looked around the house. It was a small three-bedroom apartment with a separate bathroom and kitchen. Because Lin Jiancheng and his wife had both been senior engineers at the machinery factory, the living conditions were fairly good. The furniture was typical of the era—proper and conventional—but since her parents had been highly educated intellectuals, the home had a scholarly air and was quite elegant.
Lin Qianyi felt that she probably wouldn’t be able to go back. She was the optimistic type, able to adapt to circumstances. It was only 1974 now. If she wanted to change her fate through the college entrance exam, she would still have to wait some time for it to be reinstated.
Suddenly, she felt very fortunate. She really had to thank the transmigration gods for not sending her to the countryside of this era. Otherwise, with someone like her who couldn’t carry loads or do heavy labor, how would she earn work points in the fields? It wasn’t that she wanted to belittle herself—she simply had no memories before the age of six, and ever since she could remember, her life had been truly pampered and luxurious, like that of a little princess. She had never endured hardship.
She had read novels and watched documentaries, so she had some understanding of how hard life was in this era. Back when she was in school, she once went with classmates to visit a particularly remote rural area. To this day, she didn’t dare recall the toilets there.
Alright then—thanks to the transmigration gods for showing mercy and not sending her to the countryside to eat dirt.
But wait—didn’t transmigration usually come with some kind of perk? Like a spatial system or something? Why didn’t she have one?
In her previous life, Lin Qianyi would read online novels to pass the time when she was bored. She was familiar with all the transmigration tropes. Could it be that something was missing? What was missing?
A jade pendant?
Lin Qianyi habitually touched her neck.
My jade pendant is still here?
She searched through the original owner’s memories—there was no such jade pendant. That meant the pendant had come along with her? Her grandmother had said that this jade pendant had been on her when they found her. She had worn it all these years, only changing the chain to make it a design that could be worn as either a bracelet or a necklace.
Over the years, she had tried to trace her origins through the jade pendant, but nothing ever turned up. In her grandparents’ home, she was clearly a child they had picked up, yet she looked more like a true young lady of a wealthy family than any of the girls born into the family. Her family often said that she must have come from a rich household before—her refined bearing was ingrained in her bones.
What was strange was that no matter how hard they looked, they could never find her origins. None of the well-known wealthy families had ever reported losing a child. Yet the quality of the jade pendant she wore was exceptional—something that would fetch an astronomical price on the market.
Lin Qianyi grew excited. The jade pendant had come with her—there had to be a spatial ability attached to it.
She quickly took the pendant off her neck. Did she need to prick her finger and drip some blood? She needed a needle.
She rummaged through the cabinet and found a sewing kit. Opening it, she held up a sewing needle… uh, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. This thing wasn’t disinfected—what about tetanus?
Lin Qianyi was overthinking it a bit and got scared.
She looked for some alcohol. After searching for a while, she actually found half a small bottle of medical alcohol in a drawer that stored emergency supplies.
Alright, stop thinking so much. Wipe some alcohol on it and just prick it already. Seeing how much trouble she was making over this, Lin Qianyi was starting to dislike herself.
She pricked her finger and gently pressed it against the jade pendant. Her vision swayed, and in an instant, the scene changed.
“Huh, I’m back?” Lin Qianyi exclaimed as she looked at the sight before her. Then she happily walked inside.
Wasn’t this her courtyard house in the city? A two-courtyard residence— the front courtyard was her design studio, and the back courtyard was where she lived. The place where she had just appeared was the small yard in the back courtyard.
This was a renovated courtyard house, fully equipped with all modern facilities.
The house was quiet. Lin Qianyi called out a few times, but no one answered. Where had the housekeeper gone? She hurried to the front courtyard, only to find it just as silent, without a single person in sight.
A thought crossed Lin Qianyi’s mind, and in an instant, she was back in the small three-bedroom apartment. Now she understood—it really was just a spatial domain. She hadn’t gone back after all.
Even so, Lin Qianyi was still overjoyed. She quickly entered the space again. Apart from the absence of any people moving about, everything inside felt so familiar and comforting.
Although her courtyard house had been renovated to be modern and convenient, that was only in terms of facilities—the décor itself remained largely in a traditional Chinese style. She also owned another villa that was completely modern in design, but she preferred living in this courtyard house.
She picked up the tablet that had been tossed on the luohan bed. The battery was fully charged, but unfortunately there was no signal. She opened it anyway—it worked as usual, except for the inability to go online. She had downloaded plenty of content onto it herself.
She had always had the habit of downloading anything she found interesting, saving it to watch later when she had time. Now it seemed this was truly a good habit—it had come in handy. At the very least, she could watch dramas or play games when she got bored.
But that didn’t seem like the most important thing right now. She should check the kitchen and storage areas.
The east side room was an open-plan kitchen and dining area, with two refrigerators. Lin Qianyi opened one and saw it was packed full. There was quite a lot inside. She took out a carton of milk, twisted open the cap, and drank it.
Seeing a piece of blueberry cake in the fridge, she took that out as well—she hadn’t eaten breakfast yet.
After finishing the milk and cake, Lin Qianyi walked toward the front courtyard. This was where her design studio was located.