“This child is determined to be the one to marry!”
“She’s always been like this—ever since she was little, she’s always liked to compete with her older sister.”
“Back then, our two families hadn’t actually agreed on which child would marry.”
“As parents, we have to take our children’s wishes into consideration.”
…
It was March 1992. The heir to the Qiao family, one of Hong Kong’s most prestigious clans, had been in a car accident and had been in a coma for several days. Doctors said he might end up in a vegetative state. The Qiao family brought him home. Old Master Qiao was deeply distressed over the condition of his eldest grandson, Qiao Xudong, so he sought out a fortune-teller to read his fortune. The fortune-teller advised that a “lucky marriage” was needed to ward off misfortune, so Old Master Qiao recalled a marriage agreement he had once made with a friend.
Old Master Qiao’s friend had already passed away. His friend’s children had not amounted to much and were not doing well in life, so the two families did not interact very often.
This friend’s surname was Zhu; Old Master Zhu had fled to Hong Kong with Old Master Qiao during the turmoil. The two had been close friends, though their life paths diverged. Old Master Zhu had passed away many years ago.
The Zhu family had previously intended to marry their eldest daughter to Qiao Xudong. But after the incident involving Qiao Xudong, they were afraid their eldest daughter would end up a living widow if she married into the family, and she herself was unwilling to do so—so they decided to marry off their second daughter instead.
Logically speaking, the eldest daughter should have been married off first. The Zhu family had previously stated that the eldest daughter had a betrothal agreement with the Qiao family, yet now they were substituting her with her younger sister.
Upon hearing these remarks from the Zhu family, Lady Qiao was deeply displeased; it was clear the Zhu family was doing this on purpose.
“Father-in-law,” Lady Qiao pleaded, hoping to change the arrangement and reject the Zhu family’s daughter. Her son was so outstanding—even if her eldest son remained in a coma, there were certainly other suitable candidates.
“Let it be her,” said Old Master Qiao. “Back then, I never actually specified which daughter to your father.”
In the end, Old Master Qiao still wanted the granddaughter of his old friend. He was well aware that many people had sent their daughters into the Qiao family for personal gain. But he didn’t want to be accused of being ungrateful or breaking a past promise. Given the Zhu family’s behavior, Old Master Qiao didn’t want a Zhu girl to marry any of his other grandsons either.
His other grandsons were all fine for now; it was only his eldest grandson who had been in a coma for many days. What if the eldest grandson never woke up…? Old Master Qiao didn’t want to bring misfortune upon another family’s daughter. In that case, he could marry off the Zhu family’s daughter as his goddaughter—which would also count as helping out his late old friend.
Given the Zhu family’s attitude, if Old Master Qiao didn’t agree to the switch, that young lady would likely have a hard time of it.
The two families do have ties—it’s not as if they have no connection at all. Zhu Jiaojiao and Zhu Shanshan aren’t twins; while it’s true they share the same father and mother, no matter how similar they look, they aren’t exactly alike, so it would be easy to tell them apart.
This isn’t a wedding where she’s leaving with her head covered by a veil; if that were the case, a veil would suffice.
“Father-in-law!” Lady Qiao, upon hearing this, spoke up. “Why not just switch…”
“Do my words no longer carry any weight?” Old Master Qiao’s expression turned cold. “Just because I’ve stepped down and no longer run the company, does that mean you can ignore my words…”
“We’ll do as you say,” Lady Qiao hurriedly replied.
Although Old Master Qiao had stepped down, he still held absolute authority within the Qiao family. Lady Qiao dared not cross him, so she could only nod in agreement. This also made Lady Qiao rather dislike Zhu Shanshan, who hadn’t yet married into the family. Regardless of whether Zhu Shanshan was acting of her own free will, Lady Qiao felt the Zhu family had ulterior motives; surely Zhu Shanshan was only after the Qiao family’s wealth.
“Since my father-in-law has spoken, then so be it,” Lady Qiao said, glancing at the Zhu family with a hint of disdain in her eyes. “Xudong is still bedridden, so we’ll postpone the wedding banquet for now.”
“Of course, of course,” Mrs. Zhu replied flatteringly, secretly letting out a sigh of relief. When Mrs. Zhu gave birth to her second daughter, she had a difficult labor. It took her a very long time to deliver the baby. People often say that the first child is the hardest to deliver, but for her, it was her second child that proved so difficult. She was left physically weakened and had to recuperate for several years before she was able to give birth to a son. During that time, her husband had taken up with another woman, and Mrs. Zhu blamed it all on her second daughter.
Zhu Shanshan didn’t hold much standing in the Zhu household; neither of her parents liked her, and her older sister was constantly rolling her eyes at her.
“Wait until tomorrow—no, tonight, in a little while—I’ll have her come over right away,” Mrs. Zhu said. “I’ll pack her things myself.”
Mrs. Zhu wore a fawning expression, terrified that the Qiao family might reject Zhu Shanshan and that the match might fall through. If this marriage were called off, wouldn’t everyone assume the Zhu and Qiao families had fallen out? How could the Zhu family possibly continue to hold their ground in Hong Kong under such circumstances?
Mr. Zhu spoke little, leaving most of the talking to Mrs. Zhu and letting her take the lead in the conversation.
In the corner, Qiao Yitong witnessed the scene, her eyes wide with astonishment.
Qiao Yitong had been reincarnated in this body, though she’d only awakened to her memories of her past life a few days ago. Before that, she’d been a naive, weak young woman determined to cling to her eldest uncle’s family for support—and it wasn’t just her; her parents and her brother felt the same way.
Oh my God!
Qiao Yitong had been reincarnated into a novel she had once written. In her past life, she was a failed author who had written countless novels. She loved writing so much that whenever a novel flopped, she’d simply wrap it up and move on to the next one.
From short stories of a few thousand characters to novels of over a million characters, Qiao Yitong had written it all—she’d penned hundreds of novels. Her author page was filled with little grass and tree icons, and Qiao Yitong declared that as long as she lived, she would never stop creating.
As a failed author, she was obsessed with chasing trending plotlines—whether it was “marriage for good luck,” “sisters swapping brides,” or “running off while pregnant”—whatever was hot, she’d write about it.
The big shots pioneer new trends up front; once they become popular, the small-time flops like her chase after them. She does come up with her own innovative twists now and then—occasionally soaring high only to crash back down to earth with a thud and continue flopping.
That’s right—adhering to the principle that the big shots get the meat while she gets the broth, Qiao Yitong just keeps writing and writing. Write a few more stories—who knows, maybe they’ll pay for her retirement someday.
Before Qiao Yitong regained her memories of her past life, she wasn’t writing novels at all; instead, she was content to just coast through life. Her parents told her not to even think about starting a business—she should just live off her stock dividends and enjoy life. They weren’t afraid of a rich kid who did nothing; they were afraid of a rich kid who started a business and lost money.
“What are you looking at?” Someone suddenly slapped Qiao Yitong on the back.
Qiao Yitong jumped in surprise. She quickly turned around and saw it was her mom.
“Mom, you almost scared the life out of me,” Qiao Yitong said, patting her chest lightly.
“What a shame—your grandfather had already agreed,” Qiao’s mother sighed. “Oh, and your sister-in-law too—if she didn’t like it, she should’ve just turned him down outright.”
“Mom, what are you planning to do?” Qiao Yitong asked, puzzled.
“Your cousin—she’s willing to marry your eldest cousin,” Qiao’s mother said.
“……” Qiao Yitong fell silent. She’d almost forgotten that her uncle’s people weren’t all that impressive either.
When Qiao Xudong got into trouble, those people didn’t care whether he’d wake up or not. All they knew was that if their daughters married Qiao Xudong, the Qiao family would surely treat them well.
“The Zhu family is being so picky—it’s clear they don’t take the Qiao family seriously—yet your grandfather still hasn’t considered finding someone else,” Qiao’s mother said. “Your grandfather places too much importance on loyalty.”
“My eldest brother will wake up,” Qiao Yitong said.
The Qiao Family series has several male leads: the eldest cousin is a male lead, the second cousin is a male lead, the third cousin is a male lead…
Oh, and even I could be the female lead, with a big shot with a split personality secretly in love with me… What the hell, Qiao Yitong felt like traveling back to her past life and grabbing her own arm tightly: Can’t you write something useful?
A Beauty System, to dominate the entertainment industry and become the heartthrob of millions; a Super-Rich System, to spend millions or tens of millions a day investing in top-tier stars; a Genius Simulator, where even a fool could boost their IQ…
Systems like those three would be so great. Even though Qiao Yitong was already very pretty, what woman wouldn’t want to be even prettier?
Waaah, Qiao Yitong wondered why she hadn’t written these kinds of systems back then. Maybe it was because she wasn’t pretty enough, rich enough, or talented enough to come up with such satisfying plot points. Plus, she was a bit too principled—she felt she shouldn’t get something for nothing.
Oh my God, she was wrong. She deserved to flop. Who told her to be so clueless about what really turns people on? Now look—she’d dug her own grave.
Qiao Yitong was thinking about what she could do with the content from those novels. After all, she was the author—she was practically half the “Heavenly Dao” of this world.
“You think wishing for it will make him wake up?” Qiao’s mother reached out and gently tapped Qiao Yitong on the head. “I told you to go to the temple and get a protective amulet. Did you do it?”
“I… I haven’t yet…” Qiao Yitong felt guilty. She’d gone to a banquet last night, where she’d had some drinks and gotten a little tipsy. Before she knew it, she’d gotten too close to a big shot and ended up kissing him. According to the novel’s plot, that big shot would be coming to hold her accountable very soon.
In the original novel, Qiao Yitong was terrified. She didn’t dare let him into her home and kept stalling, trying to keep it a secret from her family—which only made him angry.
Luckily, he had a secret crush on her; otherwise, she would’ve been in big trouble.
Originally, Qiao Yitong didn’t know about that big shot’s dual personality, but now she did—after all, she was the author.
“I asked you to handle a small matter, and you couldn’t even manage that,” Qiao’s mother said. “Your eldest brother is in that state—don’t you have to pray for his well-being?”
“I’ll go tomorrow,” Qiao Yitong said. “ Or maybe I’ll take my future sister-in-law with me?”
To bridge the gap between them, Qiao Yitong referred to Qiao Xudong and her other cousins as “eldest brother,” “second brother,” and “third brother” directly, rather than “eldest cousin,” “second cousin,” and “third cousin”—adding the character “cousin” made them seem less close.
“Can’t you tell your aunt doesn’t like her? ” Mother Qiao glared at Qiao Yitong. “They didn’t have a wedding banquet, nor did they go through the proper procedures—they aren’t legally married.”
Mother Qiao knew she had to read her eldest sister-in-law’s mood; since the matriarch had long since passed away, it was all up to her eldest sister-in-law—she was the head of the household now.
“Your eldest aunt hasn’t even acknowledged her as a daughter-in-law—how can you call her ‘elder sister-in-law’?” Mrs. Qiao said.
“……” Qiao Yitong wondered if she could say that Zhu Shanshan and her older brother were bound to end up together sooner or later. These two were the official couple in the novel; after going through a series of twists and turns, they were destined to be together in the end. “Then should I call her ‘sister’?”
“Why are you being so enthusiastic about it?” Mrs. Qiao said.
While Mrs. Qiao and Qiao Yitong were whispering in the corner, Old Master Qiao had already instructed Lady Qiao to see the Zhu family off.
“What are you two whispering about over there?” Old Master Qiao asked, his face stern. He’d spotted Qiao Yitong and Mrs. Qiao in the corner a moment ago, but hadn’t spoken up to have them come out.
“Father-in-law, Xiao Tong said she wants to give her older brother the amulet she’s worn since childhood.” ” As soon as Mrs. Qiao heard Old Master Qiao’s words, she quickly grabbed Qiao Yitong and led her out. “She’s worried about her older brother—she hasn’t been able to sleep for nights on end. When she was dragged away yesterday, she was just trying to find someone who could help. She even knelt before others, begging them to save her older brother—she was crying so pitifully.”
Mrs. Qiao knew that Qiao Yitong had attended a banquet last night, and she was also aware of some of Qiao Yitong’s actions. Qiao Yitong never drank alcohol, and she got drunk after just a little. Last night, Qiao Yitong didn’t just accidentally kiss someone—she was clinging to that person’s leg, begging them to save her older brother. She was crying her eyes out, her makeup all smudged, still pleading with them, refusing to let them leave, insisting they save her older brother.
“Last night, when she was brought home, she kept going on and on about her older brother.” Mrs. Qiao was terrified that Grandpa Qiao would be upset by Qiao Yitong’s behavior the previous night. She feared that Grandpa Qiao wouldn’t know the full story—he’d only hear that Qiao Yitong had attended a banquet while her older brother was in trouble. For a younger sister to attend a banquet under such circumstances was simply unacceptable.
“Who brought me back?” Qiao Yitong’s memory was a bit fuzzy. She could only recall the plot of the original novel. She vaguely remembered kissing someone, but she had no idea why she’d been crying so hard—all she knew was that her eyes were a little swollen.
“Silly girl, of course it was your friend,” Mrs. Qiao said. “If it wasn’t your friend, could it have been your future husband?”