“Live a good life?”
Jiang Sinian chewed over those words, then sneered mercilessly. “So now you’re not afraid I might end up in jail at any moment and drag you down with me.”
Jiang Sinian straightened up, his eyes void of any amusement. Ye Shizhi panicked for a moment, instinctively grabbing his arm. “Jiang Sinian, can you trust me just one more time?”
The soft pressure on his arm, so different from his own hardness, made Jiang Sinian pause. He didn’t catch what she said next.
“Please? Just this last time!”
Fearing he wouldn’t believe her, Ye Shizhi raised her other hand to swear, but a pair of hands slapped it down before she could.
Jiang Sinian averted his gaze from her glistening eyes, trying his best to ignore the obvious hope in them.
“Ye Shizhi, I don’t believe you.”
Just a few words, and Ye Shizhi felt her heart sink.
Even though she knew from reading the story that her approach would only invite suspicion and coldness, she had still held on to a sliver of hope. Now the outcome, though expected, still made her a little sad.
“Host, there’s no need to be sad. This is only the beginning of a task,” the system Xiaoliu said, puzzled and unable to understand emotions.
“Yes, I know!”
Ye Shizhi replied.
She did know. The reason she stayed and the pretext for getting close to Jiang Sinian were all just tasks. But before she could move someone else, she had to fully invest herself. Like a good story—if it couldn’t move herself, how could she expect anyone else to empathize?
In Ye Shizhi’s view, taking every person and every situation seriously was the attitude she wanted in life—not overly positive, but sincere and held close to her heart.
For the next while, neither of them spoke as they walked a few steps apart.
This time, however, Ye Shizhi walked in front, and Jiang Sinian followed, striding behind her, occasionally letting his gaze fall on the small of her back.
Ye Shizhi composed herself, ignoring the burning stare on her back.
She thought silently: if Jiang Sinian forgave her this easily, she would actually be surprised. People were always contradictory—before doing something, they cling to a bit of fantasy; after getting the result, they console themselves if it didn’t turn out as hoped.
Still, using the pregnancy as an excuse to stay at Jiang Sinian’s house counted as completing the first small task.
..
A few hours earlier, Ye Shizhi, feeling empty and sad after finishing a novel, had decided to take a shower to calm herself—but slipped and hit the ground, nearly dying.
Luckily, having bonded with System Xiaoliu temporarily saved her life. To revive herself, the condition was to ensure the little antagonist Jiang Suian lived in a happy family, grew safely to three years old, avoided the kidnapping that triggered the real tragedy, and earned 100 points.
During this time, she would also receive occasional small tasks to earn points.
For example, the first task upon occupying the original body was: tell Jiang Sinian about the pregnancy and move back into the Jiang family home.
The novel was called “The Era Heroine’s Revenge”. The title wasn’t appealing—the only reason she kept reading was the misleading synopsis.
The story described the heroine’s early life, suffering from her parents’ favoritism toward sons, awakening mid-story with the male lead’s help, working hard, and later enjoying success in both love and career, taking revenge on all sources of her suffering.
During this story, the big villain, Jiang Sinian, was a minor character—a hooligan, often wandering around the police station. The only connection to the heroine came mid-story when she began her career; Jiang Sinian, with stronger resources and connections, constantly intercepted the contracts she almost secured.
Thus, the heroine hated Jiang Sinian.
Later, with the male lead’s help, she repeatedly provoked him, even manipulating events during Jiang Suian’s three-year-old kidnapping, just so she could secure an international contract.
She knew that as long as Jiang Sinian existed, that deal could never be hers.
Jiang Sinian was simply an obstacle.
Before the heroine could eliminate him, Jiang Sinian died from a lingering illness caused by past fights, leaving only a child, Jiang Suian.
The heroine thought that with Jiang Sinian gone, her path would be smooth. Unfortunately, when Jiang Suian reached fourteen, he suddenly rose in the business world—more ruthless than Jiang Sinian, decisive, and even causing the male and female leads’ careers to collapse.
Without his father, Jiang Suian’s childhood had been deeply traumatic: after the kidnapping, no one protected him, his property was divided by partners, and he ended up scavenging on the streets, competing with dogs for food, huddling in pigsties for warmth in the cold.
All these experiences skewed his worldview—he learned to pursue what he wanted by any means necessary.
His radical behavior led the male and female leads to seize evidence of his crimes and get him imprisoned.
Jiang Suian stayed three years in prison, came out to pay respects to his father Jiang Sinian, then returned to his hometown and committed suicide at his mother’s barely remembered grave, ending his tumultuous life.
The male and female leads’ careers then slowly collapsed, and they never ended up together.
The story concluded bleakly.
..
Even less written about than Jiang Sinian was the original owner of Ye Shizhi’s current body.
Ye Shizhi’s predecessor, oppressed by a family favoring sons, turned to alcohol, accidentally became involved with Jiang Sinian, and was caught by acquaintances.
Her family, forced by circumstances, accepted Jiang Sinian’s generous dowry and pressured her to marry him.
A young woman who only wanted to study hated it. Jiang Sinian was a notorious hooligan, and marrying him left an indelible stain on her reputation, making it impossible to face others with pride.
Even after marrying, she maintained a cold face, harsh words, and openly threatened to return to her family home.
By the plot, the original owner discovered her pregnancy that day. She had initially intended to abort, but doctors warned that her rare fertility made future conception difficult. Hesitant, she ultimately decided to keep the child, hiding the pregnancy from everyone.
Later, when it became difficult to conceal, a previous city acquaintance, after staying at her home, wrote her a letter expressing his longing and urging her to come to the city. The original owner, determined, ran with her unborn child before a divorce could occur.
However, upon arrival, the acquaintance turned out to be a trafficker. He took care of her until the child was born, then sold both mother and child to a remote, violent family, turning her into a victim of abuse.
Over time, her mental state deteriorated, and she began abusing the child violently.