February 19, 1976, evening, Lantern Festival.
Warehouse in the backyard of Jiangcheng Textile Factory.
Faint rustling sounds echoed in the small compartment on the cold night.
Bai Xiaotong: “Come on, hurry up!”
The hand pulling the belt was grabbed by the man. In the darkness, his breathing was rapid.
Bai Xiaotong clicked her tongue, her voice full of temptation, “Can’t you do it? Are you even a man?”
The man lying beneath her grew angry, “Shut up!”
In an instant, he turned the tables and took control.
Bai Xiaotong swayed her groggy head and smiled faintly.
After planning for over half a month and finally seizing this opportunity, she was thoroughly satisfied.
After tonight, Chen Xiangjun would be her man. Let’s see how that ungrateful country girl Hu Xiulan could still compete with her.
Hahahaha…
After a passionate night together, Bai Xiaotong happily fell asleep, embracing the person beside her.
In her drowsiness, she began to dream.
In this dream, just like tonight, she shared a bed with a man in the small warehouse of the factory compound.
Unfortunately, when she woke up the next day, she discovered that the man was not the one she longed for, Chen Xiangjun, but Lu Ling from the factory’s security department—the most despised troublemaker in the compound.
Lu Ling, the troublemaker, was tall and handsome, with a striking appearance. However, he came from a poor background, got into fights, caused trouble, and was idle—everyone in the factory compound avoided him.
What future could there be in living with someone like that?
Bai Xiaotong panicked and lost her composure. Just then, Hu Xiulan brought people to “rescue” her. In her confusion, Bai Xiaotong went along with everyone’s suggestion and pinned the blame on Lu Ling.
As a result of the incident, Lu Ling was sentenced to six years in prison, while Bai Xiaotong’s reputation was completely ruined. She hid in her room all day, too ashamed to face anyone.
When Lu Ling’s sentencing notice arrived, she mustered the courage to step out of her room and face the rest of her life, only to discover she was pregnant.
Terrified, she bought medicine to secretly terminate the pregnancy. However, she overdosed on the medication, hemorrhaged heavily, and died in bed.
In her final moments, Bai Xiaotong realized that the world she lived in was not real but rather a period novel.
In this novel, her cousin from the countryside, Hu Xiulan, was the female lead who had been reborn. Her childhood friend, Chen Xiangjun, was the gentle male lead with a bright future. As for herself, she was merely a brainless female supporting character, existing only for the male and female leads to put her in her place—despite her beauty.
No wonder she was so foolish, clumsy, and always courting death. It turned out how she lived and how long she could live had all been predetermined in the book.
Bai Xiaotong was filled with regret and resentment. She didn’t want to be a puppet in this world.
But what could she do? Once a person dies, it’s like a lamp going out—nothing mattered anymore.
The moment her heart stopped beating, she thought the dream would end. Instead, time raced forward.
She saw society reforming and opening up. She saw the male lead, Chen Xiangjun, attend university, and the female lead, Hu Xiulan, start a business. She also saw Lu Ling, who had been sentenced to six years, have his case overturned and be released early.
After three years in prison, Lu Ling became ruthless and vicious. Unable to take revenge on her, he directed all his hatred toward the male and female leads, becoming the greatest antagonist in this world.
The three of them fought fiercely for over a decade, and just as the conflict was nearing its end, Bai Xiaotong was abruptly kicked, shattering the dream.
“What’s going on? It was just getting to the crucial part.”
Bai Xiaotong grumbled discontentedly, trying to cling to the human-shaped pillow beside her to continue sleeping, but her hand was mercilessly pushed away again.
Bai Xiaotong slowly woke up, covering her mouth as she yawned. She drowsily opened her eyes and saw a sliver of light filtering through the window ahead. However, because shelves were placed everywhere, much of the light was blocked, leaving the corners still shrouded in dimness.
Shelves?
“Where is this?”
After dreaming all night, Bai Xiaotong felt as though she had lived for over a decade, her mind utterly muddled. It wasn’t until a cold, suppressed voice filled with anger sounded above her head that she snapped back to reality. “Did you drug me?”
Drug?
Bai Xiaotong turned her head and met those fierce, ruthless eyes. She was so startled she nearly jumped off the bed.
“Lu, Lu Ling!”
Goodness, Lu Ling, Lu Ling, it’s Lu Ling!!
Bai Xiaotong froze for a moment as reality and everything from her dream exploded in her mind.
She immediately understood and realized.
It seemed she really had slept with the wrong person. Last night wasn’t a dream—it was the future!
If everything in the dream was true, then she only had three months left to live?
The thought sent a cold sweat down Bai Xiaotong’s spine.
At that moment, Lu Ling’s hand closed around her neck, his voice icy. “You’ve got guts, daring to scheme against me. Who told you to do this?”
Lu Ling tightened his grip, and Bai Xiaotong’s breathing instantly became strained.
She grabbed his hand, hurriedly explaining, “I didn’t, it wasn’t me. I thought, I—”
“Thought what?”
Lu Ling leaned closer, his face dark as storm clouds. Their breaths mingled, their noses almost touching.
If they were a loving couple, this position would have led to a kiss in the next moment.
But now, Bai Xiaotong only felt suffocation and a tidal wave of oppressive pressure.
Oh my god, this is the biggest villain in the entire book!
She didn’t know how he spent those three years in prison, but after he got out, to take down the male and female leads, he had done things like breaking limbs and burying people alive. Just thinking about it was terrifying.
Bai Xiaotong clawed at his hand. “Can you let go first? I, I can’t breathe.”
Her voice was soft, on the verge of tears.
Lu Ling suddenly remembered last night. Although his mind had been hazy, as if in a dream, some sensations were etched into his bones, impossible to shake off.
After a moment of hesitation, Lu Ling released his grip, warning her fiercely, “Don’t play any tricks unless you want to die.”
Bai Xiaotong wouldn’t dare play tricks. She was anxious and panicked, terrified out of her mind.
Her prophetic dream had come at the worst possible time. Why couldn’t it have come earlier? Now she had already done something foolish, provoked the villain, and after last night, she was even pregnant. Realizing all this now only presented her with an enormous problem.
Bai Xiaotong rubbed her throat and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. After thinking carefully, she silently sat up, cautiously looking at Lu Ling’s handsome face in the dim light. She forced a smile and said, “Lu Ling, I, I’ve actually always liked you.”
After considering her options, Bai Xiaotong decided to try a beauty trap first.
Lu Ling was taken aback for a moment, then his gaze grew even more ruthless. The hand he had just withdrawn rose again.
Seeing that he was about to choke her again, Bai Xiaotong quickly raised her hand to block him. “Why are you doing this again?”
Is he addicted to choking her?
What’s wrong with this guy? She was the factory flower, stunningly beautiful and famous far and wide. Forget confessing her feelings, even a single extra smile from her would have the young men in the factory overjoyed for half the day. But he? He actually got angry instead.
Lu Ling sneered, gripping Bai Xiaotong’s wrist tightly. “Everyone in the factory knows that the person you like is Chen Xiangjun. Do you think I’m a three-year-old child?”
“Speak up. What exactly happened last night? Was it you trying to harm me, or someone else? If you don’t explain clearly, believe me, I’ll dig a pit behind and bury you in it.”