“Why are you so tense? Spread your legs!”
The cold, emotionless command came with the sharp sting of a metal instrument striking Xu Nian’s leg. She gasped in pain.
Confused, she slowly opened her eyes.
Above her was a soot-black ceiling draped with cobwebs.
Her brows knitted together.
Where am I?
She had clearly been sleeping in the hospital’s staff lounge. After several sleepless nights, she had finally finished her research paper and was looking forward to a well-earned rest.
So why did everything feel so wrong when she woke up?
Before she had time to think, two rough hands forced her legs apart.
Acting on instinct, Xu Nian swung her arm and slapped the person in front of her.
She wasn’t weak. The slap landed with enough force to send the woman stumbling backward, nearly falling over.
“You shameless little slut! You got yourself pregnant before marriage, and now you’re putting on airs? Well? Are you aborting this baby or not?”
The woman cursed viciously.
Only then did Xu Nian get a good look at her. She was dressed in a white medical coat, but despite looking like a doctor, she possessed none of the compassion or professionalism one should have.
Suddenly, a flood of memories that didn’t belong to her crashed into her mind.
Xu Nian stiffened, her brows drawing together.
She had transmigrated.
She had become the youngest daughter of the butcher’s family in Cotton Village.
Old Xu had three sons before finally being blessed with a daughter when he was nearly forty. She had been treasured like the apple of the family’s eye.
Whatever she wanted, she got.
Her parents and three older brothers indulged her without question.
Even her two sisters-in-law, after marrying into the family, had been thoroughly influenced by her parents and spoiled her just as much. As a result, despite growing up in a rural village, she had never lifted a finger to do housework or farm labor.
Naturally, the original Xu Nian had become spoiled beyond reason.
Two months earlier, she’d fallen for Xiao Chen, the youngest son of the village production brigade leader, who was serving in the army. Egged on by her so-called best friend, she’d drugged him, slept with him, and forced him into marriage.
After the hurried wedding, Xiao Chen—the sixth son of the Xiao family—had immediately returned to his military unit.
Unable to endure the loneliness, and once again encouraged by that “good friend,” the original Xu Nian had begun an affair with an educated youth from the same village.
The reason she was lying here today…
was because that educated youth had convinced her to abort her baby.
Xu Nian could only think one thing.
What an idiot.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door.
Rolling off the examination table, Xu Nian quickly pulled up her trousers. The corner of her eye caught sight of a surgical scalpel lying inside an aluminum lunch box. Without anyone noticing, she quietly slipped it into her hand and stared coldly toward the doorway.
The man who entered was Qian Wenyuan.
He was one of the educated youths sent down to the countryside.
Among all the educated youths in Cotton Village, he was considered both the most talented and the most handsome.
Even after spending three or four years in the countryside, his skin remained fair, and he still carried the refined appearance of a cultured gentleman.
Only Xu Nian knew the truth.
Behind that gentle exterior was nothing more than a sanctimonious hypocrite.
For some reason, Qian Wenyuan felt an invisible pressure radiating from her.
He swallowed nervously before forcing a smile.
“Niannian, what’s gotten into you all of a sudden? Didn’t I tell you I’d wait outside? Doctor Yao’s time is valuable, and she’s taking a huge risk by performing this operation for you. Don’t make trouble, okay?”
He patiently tried to coax her.
Xu Nian’s icy gaze settled on him.
“A good dog doesn’t block the road. Move.”
Qian Wenyuan looked helpless.
“Niannian… have you changed your mind? Do you really want to keep that bastard child?”
Xu Nian’s eyes turned even colder.
“Qian Wenyuan, interfering in a military marriage is a criminal offense. How dare you call this child a bastard?”
As she spoke, she slowly walked toward him.
For the first time, Qian Wenyuan felt genuine killing intent from her.
Instinctively, he took a step backward.
“Niannian… what exactly are you trying to do?”
Ignoring him completely, Xu Nian brushed past him and walked out of the illegal clinic.
As she passed through the dim hallway, she spotted rats scurrying along the walls while cockroaches and unknown insects crawled across the filthy floor.
She couldn’t help wondering what had been going through the original Xu Nian’s mind.
An abortion…
In a place like this?
Had she really been willing to throw away her life for the sake of love?
Now that she had become Xu Nian…
She would live properly in her place.
No matter what happened, a person had to learn to love themselves first.
Thinking she was merely throwing another tantrum, Qian Wenyuan hurried after her and grabbed her wrist.
“Niannian, I spent a lot of money arranging for Doctor Yao to perform this abortion. Now you’re saying you won’t do it? What do you take me for? A fool?”
Xu Nian violently shook off his hand.
“Do I need to reason with a shameless scumbag like you? You’re nothing more than someone I can summon when I please and throw away whenever I like.”
As she flung his hand aside, her body swayed unsteadily.
The original Xu Nian had been pampered since childhood. She had never worked in the fields and had never done housework. On top of that, she had been an extremely picky eater, eating only polished rice and fine flour.
She was so thin she looked like a reed.
This body…
was unbelievably weak.
Her footsteps were unsteady as she headed toward the exit.
Grinding his teeth, Qian Wenyuan caught up again and seized her wrist.
“Xu Nian! Have you had enough? I’m really getting angry!”
Xu Nian slowly turned around.
Looking at his smug, self-righteous face, she raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face.
The crack echoed through the alley.
Qian Wenyuan stared at her in disbelief.
“You hit me? You actually dared to hit me?”
“I hit shameless trash like you. Touch me again if you dare.”
All Xu Nian wanted now was to leave.
She hadn’t eaten anything that morning.
Her blood sugar had dropped dangerously low. Her vision blurred, her heart raced, and cold sweat soaked her back.
This body was far too frail.
After taking that slap, Qian Wenyuan’s expression darkened as he noticed how pale she looked.
“I don’t care what kind of tantrum you’re throwing today.”
“This bastard child is coming out.”
“Whether you want the abortion or not, you’re having it!”
With that, he lunged forward and grabbed both of her arms.
A flicker of panic crossed Xu Nian’s eyes.
But only for an instant.
She forced herself to stay calm.
Then she drove her knee upward with all the strength she had.
Qian Wenyuan let out a bloodcurdling scream.
As he doubled over, clutching himself in agony, Xu Nian bit down hard on her lower lip until she tasted blood, using the pain to keep herself conscious.
Running on sheer willpower, she dashed out of the illegal clinic.
She ran blindly through the maze of narrow alleyways.
Only after making certain no one was chasing her did she stop, leaning heavily against a wall as she struggled to catch her breath.
The last of her strength was slipping away.
Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, yet she fought desperately to stay awake.
If only my medicinal space had come with me…
The instant the thought crossed her mind, brilliant white light flashed before her eyes.
When she opened them again…
She was standing inside her own space.
It had come with her.
Overjoyed, Xu Nian immediately rushed to the medicinal garden. She scooped up a bamboo tube of Spirit Spring water and drank deeply.
She emptied the entire tube in one breath.
Then she collapsed onto the soft grass nearby, staring up at the brilliantly blue sky that existed only within her private world.
Taking a deep breath of the fresh, clean air, she finally relaxed.
Everything had happened too suddenly.
Even now, her mind was still in a daze.
In her previous life, she had truly died.
Now she had arrived in China during the 1970s.
And her medicinal space had transmigrated with her.
She had obtained this miraculous space when she was very young. It had inspired her lifelong pursuit of medicine and eventually made her a gifted medical researcher.
In her former life, she had no parents, no siblings, no relatives.
She had been completely alone, devoting every waking hour to pharmaceutical research.
She had never imagined that after transmigrating, she would suddenly have parents, brothers, sisters-in-law…
A husband.
And even an unborn child.
After resting inside the space for a while, Xu Nian felt much stronger.
She finally stepped back into the alley.
No sooner had she returned than a familiar voice echoed from the distance.
“Niannian! Niannian!”
It was her eldest brother.
“Big Brother! I’m over here!”
Xu Nian immediately hurried toward the sound.