In the original story, the original owner only lived long enough to start the journey back to the city—she never even made it home before she died.
After that, the tale was all about Fu Shixuan and Wang Yurou.
As for the original owner’s family, friends, and background, nothing was ever revealed.
Piecing together the original owner’s memories and what had happened so far, she was now deeply worried: her deadbeat father and stepmother would have likely squandered most of her mother’s property already.
News of her return might reach them ahead of time.
Her selfish stepmother would surely do everything she could to transfer whatever money was left before she got back.
If she didn’t hurry home, there might not be a single crumb left.
And then there was her step-sister…
Before, the original owner only knew how to shout and argue with her stepmother and step-sister, quietly resenting her father for bringing these two strangers into their home—why he treated them better than his own flesh and blood.
But she had never noticed how far too fond he was of that step-daughter.
Shen Zhaozhao’s unease grew stronger by the minute: could this sister actually be the illegitimate daughter her father and stepmother had secretly had behind her mother’s back all those years ago?
No matter how foolish a father was, he would never favor a girl brought in by his second wife—someone with no blood relation to him at all—this much.
It wasn’t that she was overthinking; her father’s behavior was simply too obvious.
When the quota for rural assignment came around, he had given it straight to the original owner without a second thought. He hadn’t even considered sending the step-sister—instead, he’d pulled strings to get her a proper city job.
The step-sister had thought her future was set in stone. She strutted around every day humming tunes, dressing herself up to the nines. Every time she saw the original owner, she made sure to flaunt how she wouldn’t have to suffer out in the countryside—how she had an easy job and a bright future ahead.
Perhaps she had gloated too much, and even heaven could no longer bear it. Just as the young intellectuals were preparing to leave, an unexpected problem arose—and the step-sister’s name ended up on the assignment list after all.
Her world fell apart instantly. She broke down in tears and threw tantrums at home, while the original owner felt a quiet sense of satisfaction, happy to watch the chaos unfold.
She was going to the countryside anyway—the more miserable her step-sister became, the better she felt.
On the day the step-sister left, her stepmother wept as if her own parents had died.
Her father was also in tears, repeating his instructions over and over: take care of herself, call home if she needed anything.
Not a single word of that was said to Shen Zhaozhao.
Even though she was standing right there—just two steps away.
Watching the scene through the original owner’s memories, Shen Zhaozhao’s heart ached.
Back then, the original owner had stood beside that family of three—so close, yet so completely an outsider.
She watched them cry, watched them say their tearful goodbyes, feeling as invisible as a ghost.
Shen Zhaozhao thought of herself.
She had been just like the original owner: her mother had passed away young, and her father had remarried.
Losing her mother had meant losing her father too.
Once he had built a new family, he had poured all his affection into it—growing close to his new wife, and extending that care to the child she had brought along.
Only she—the daughter left behind by his first wife—had been forgotten.
He had forgotten that she was all he had left in this world.
Or perhaps he had not forgotten at all. Maybe he had simply thought: since she had no one else to turn to, she would stay by his side no matter how little he cared for her.
If that was the case, there was no need to waste any more effort on her.
A bitter, sad smile tugged at Shen Zhaozhao’s lips.
Just like the original owner, she had no one left in this world—only a father bound by blood who might as well be dead to her.
But…
She looked down at her stomach.
Those who had gone were gone, but a new life was growing inside her.
If the story followed its original course, her lucky, blessed child was already on its way.
She longed for this baby—not just because it was born with a special gift, but because… this child was one of the few people she and the original owner would ever truly have.
She would protect this child with her life.
As for that deadbeat father, that stepmother, and that step-sister…
Shen Zhaozhao’s expression turned cold.
Now that she had taken the original owner’s place, she would not let her down.
She would take back everything that belonged to her.
Fu Shixuan could not bear to see the slender girl struggle with her luggage alone. He stepped forward to help, carrying her things inside.
As luck would have it, he ran straight into Luo Erfen the moment they stepped through the door.
Luo Erfen’s face lit up the second she saw Fu Shixuan.
But then she caught sight of the bags in his hands, then looked at Shen Zhaozhao behind him. Her smile vanished instantly, replaced by a sharp glare.
Without a word, she snatched the luggage from Fu Shixuan’s hands and shoved it straight at Shen Zhaozhao.
“You little good-for-nothing! Are your bones made of lead? Can’t you carry a few measly things yourself, that you have to make Shixuan do it for you?”
“Those hands of his are for writing and painting—for proper artistic work! All those big characters and posters on our village walls? He’s the one who made them!”
“And you dare make him carry your trash? Everything you own put together isn’t worth a single fingernail of his!”
“You’ve got some nerve! You won’t do a speck of work, and now you won’t even carry your own bags? Do you expect to float through life?”
Luo Erfen’s tongue lashed like a machine gun—one insult tumbling after another, nonstop.
When Shen Zhaozhao said nothing, Luo Erfen grew bolder and more heated, letting out all sorts of foul language.
Shen Zhaozhao frowned in confusion.
Even a mother bear protecting her cub would not go this far.
This was not how someone would act if they were simply trying to curry favor with Fu Shixuan.
The more she watched, the more suspicious it became.
Even Fu Shixuan could not stand listening any longer. He frowned and spoke up.
“Aunt Luo, please—say no more. I offered to help her myself. This has nothing to do with her.”
Luo Erfen would not listen.
“Nothing to do with her? Even if you offered, she could have refused!”
“Shixuan, let me tell you—you’re too kind for your own good. Girls like her know exactly how to play weak and helpless to get you to do everything for them!”
“In truth, she’s just lazy and doesn’t want to work! Just you wait—I’ll teach her a lesson she won’t forget—”
Before she could finish, Shen Zhaozhao suddenly let out a soft cry of surprise and stared at Luo Erfen.
Startled by her reaction, Luo Erfen forgot what she was about to say and narrowed her eyes.
“What are you gawking at?”
Shen Zhaozhao blinked, glancing back and forth between Luo Erfen and Fu Shixuan, then covered her mouth in mock shock.
“Aunt Luo… is he your real son? You two look so alike around the eyes and brows!”
“If he’s not, then what a strange coincidence… so close that it makes one wonder…”