“Sister, I didn’t do it on purpose. I just like Brother Zhiyuan too much. I couldn’t control my feelings, and that’s how we ended up together. You can understand us, right?”
“Manman, stop talking. Your sister and I never really had any feelings for each other in the first place. If you hadn’t skipped that blind date back then, I wouldn’t have chosen her anyway. Besides, she’s always bullied you at home. Why should you apologize to her? You’re just too kind.”
“Brother Zhiyuan, we’re the ones who wronged my sister. I feel guilty about this. You…”
The incessant chatter was making Ji Yang irritable. She instinctively blurted out, “Shut up!” Only then did she realize something was wrong.
According to her memories, she should already be dead. She had died while filming an explosion scene.
Why hadn’t she been reincarnated after death? Instead, she seemed to have arrived in some… unusual place.
Ji Yang looked around. The first thing that came into view was an old, shabby room. It wasn’t very large, and there was a wooden sofa and coffee table inside. In one corner stood a narrow bed concealed by a cloth curtain. Presumably, someone slept there at night.
Several people were standing in the room: a middle-aged couple, a young woman crying pitifully, a fairly handsome man, and a boy of around twelve or thirteen sitting in the corner, apparently watching the drama unfold.
The people who had been talking just now were the tearful young woman and the handsome man.
Just as Ji Yang was about to figure out what was going on, countless memories suddenly surged into her mind like a raging tide.
Far too much information flooded her all at once. Her head felt as though it were about to explode. Sharp, needle-like pains repeatedly pierced her brain. She squeezed her eyes shut as tears uncontrollably streamed down her cheeks, soaking her clothes.
The people in the room assumed she was simply devastated by the fact that her younger sister had gotten together with her boyfriend. They thought she was crying because she was too heartbroken to accept the truth.
Madam Ji exchanged a glance with Ji Man before taking Ji Yang by the arm and gently comforting her.
“Yangyang, there are plenty of good men in this world. It’s not as though Zhiyuan is the only man you can marry. Besides, it wouldn’t look good for two sisters to fight over the same man. Let’s just put this matter behind us. Your mother will introduce you to another good man in the future, okay? Don’t be upset.”
Father Ji watched the farce unfold, feeling torn between his two daughters. They were both his flesh and blood, and now that things had come to this, he could only ask his eldest daughter to bear the injustice.
“Yangyang has always been obedient and sensible since childhood. Manman is younger than you, after all. As her older sister, you should give in to her a little. I think we should settle things this way: cancel your engagement to Zhiyuan and let Manman marry him instead. You’re sisters from the same family, anyway. What difference does it make which one of you marries him?”
Ji Yang wiped the tears from her face and pushed away Madam Ji’s supporting hand. She began analyzing the situation using the memories she had just inherited.
She had transmigrated into a novel.
And not just any novel, but a sweet romance set in the 1970s titled After Being Reborn, I Became the Darling of a Powerful Man in Beijing.
The character she had transmigrated into was the female lead’s younger sister a vicious female supporting character.
In the original story, before being reborn, the female lead, Ji Man, had married Jiang Ye, an officer in the security department of a bicycle factory. Unfortunately, Jiang Ye had died in a fire while trying to save the factory’s public property and rescue trapped workers. As a result, Ji Man had become a widow at a young age.
Meanwhile, the original Ji Yang’s husband, Jiang Zhiyuan, rose to prominence after China’s reform and opening-up. He eventually became the richest man in their city. Even after achieving great success, he remained completely devoted to his wife.
Online, stories about the richest man in Beijing, Jiang Zhiyuan, and his unwavering devotion to his wife had circulated for years. He was widely praised as the ideal husband and the perfect man.
After being reborn, the female lead, Ji Man, possessed the advantage of knowing the future. She snatched Jiang Zhiyuan, the man destined to become a billionaire, before her older sister could secure him. She even schemed to send the original Ji Yang to the countryside for rural labor.
Once the original Ji Yang was sent away, her return to the city seemed indefinitely out of reach. Unable to endure the harsh conditions of rural life, she eventually married someone locally in a hasty arrangement.
Several years later, the policy allowing educated youths to return to the cities was finally implemented. Filled with resentment, the original Ji Yang returned to the city and became obsessed with opposing the female lead at every turn. She repeatedly tried to sabotage the woman’s happy life.
But what she never expected was that every time she caused trouble, her schemes would not only fail but actually bring the male and female leads closer together.
How could a vicious supporting character possibly defeat the female lead?
Once she had served her purpose, she was naturally written out of the story in disgrace, abandoned by everyone and left to meet a miserable end.
Honestly… the whole thing was ridiculous.
Ji Yang suspected that the novel must have been written by one of her antis. Otherwise, no one could have come up with a plot that completely destroyed every shred of common sense and morality.
But back to the present situation: this was the scene shortly after the female lead had been reborn and successfully seduced Jiang Zhiyuan, only for the original Ji Yang to discover their affair.
“Yangyang.”
Madam Ji wasn’t annoyed when Ji Yang pushed her away. Instead, she continued speaking gently.
“Mom knows you can’t accept this right away, but no matter what happens, we’re still family. We can’t let this matter destroy our family bonds. If you’re really angry, your younger sister is right here. You can scold her a little. And if that still doesn’t make you feel better, you can even hit her a couple of times. Your mother will support you.”
Ji Yang shifted her gaze to Father Ji, then turned to look at Madam Ji again.
As a matter of fact, Madam Ji wasn’t the original Ji Yang’s biological mother.
When the original Ji Yang’s father, Father Ji was young, he had once saved the original Ji Yang’s mother by chance. She fell in love with him at first sight and insisted on marrying him.
The original Ji Yang’s mother was gentle and mild-mannered. After their marriage, she was devoted to her husband and always went along with his wishes. The couple had enjoyed a harmonious and loving relationship.
Unfortunately, their happiness didn’t last long. When giving birth to Ji Yang, her mother suffered severe postpartum hemorrhaging and couldn’t be saved, leaving behind only her newborn daughter.
Ji Yang’s paternal grandmother favored boys over girls and was unwilling to care for her infant granddaughter. Several times, she suggested that Father Ji abandon the child or give her away to someone else.
But when Father Ji looked at his tiny daughter, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
In order to find someone who could help care for his daughter, he quickly remarried. The following year, his second daughter, Ji Man, was born.
Father Ji’s second wife, whom everyone referred to as Madam Ji, was highly skilled at dealing with people. She treated the original Ji Yang reasonably well in daily life. She neither neglected her basic needs nor let her go hungry.
However, it was only natural for a mother to favor her own biological child.
When it came to Ji Yang, Madam Ji often simply ignored her.
Therefore, although Madam Ji’s words sounded as if she were standing up for Ji Yang, her real intention was to help Ji Man escape responsibility. Ji Yang didn’t believe a single word she said.
“Really?”
In her previous life, Ji Yang had worked in the entertainment industry. Although she had never appeared in major blockbuster films, she had acted in quite a few dramas and had even won an award for Best Actress.
She might not have possessed many other talents, but acting was her profession.
Having suddenly transmigrated into a novel, she wasn’t the least bit flustered. She immediately slipped into character.
She pretended to be utterly heartbroken by what had happened before her. Her delicate face instantly turned as pale as paper. She bit her lower lip tightly with her pearly white teeth, almost drawing blood. Her eyes glistened with tears, which trembled on the verge of spilling over at any moment.
“Mom, is what you said true?” she asked again.
Madam Ji paused for a moment before replying, “Of course it’s true. Mom knows you’re angry. What happened today was your sister’s fault. It’s only fair that you give her a couple of slaps.”
Although Madam Ji said this, she didn’t believe Ji Yang would actually hit Ji Man.
She knew this child well. Ji Yang was insecure, timid, and weak-willed. She had always been invisible within the family and had never dared to lose her temper with anyone. She would only stand there quietly, looking at the others with pleading eyes.
Madam Ji was confident that her strategy of appearing to yield would work. Ji Yang would undoubtedly choose to let the matter go, turning a major conflict into a minor one and then sweeping it under the rug entirely.
However, no matter how carefully she had calculated everything, there was one thing she hadn’t accounted for.
The Ji Yang standing before her now was no longer the Ji Yang she used to know.