As the town’s only battered old vehicle disappeared at the mouth of the winding mountain road, trailing thick exhaust fumes, Jiang Sinian and Fang Jingshan had officially left.
The small town remained lively, with people coming and going.
After Jiang Sinian left, Ye Shizhi didn’t go back to sleep. She still had things to do today. Breakfast, prepared by Jiang Sinian, was in the kitchen. She took a few bites before setting down her chopsticks.
Clothes fluttered on the wire strung between the tree and the wall.
The weather was nice—perfect for sleeping.
“Friendly reminder: less than two days remain for the mission.”
“I know.”
Ye Shizhi looked at her reflection in the bronze mirror inside the room. Satisfied with what she saw, she turned and closed the door behind her.
With Jiang Sinian gone, it was easier to handle her own matters.
Some things still weren’t fully resolved—for example, the situation with Zhang Qian…
The road leading to town was exceptionally long. At least, Ye Shizhi had never walked such a muddy, rugged path before.
She didn’t know how long she had been walking. People along the way kept glancing at her.
It made her ask Xiao Liu several times in her mind whether she looked like some kind of monster for everyone to stare at her.
Fortunately, she didn’t care much. Internally, she grumbled about the environment. Occasionally, she would see dilapidated houses and filthy children sitting blankly on the ground, their eyes lifeless. She couldn’t help but sigh.
There were vast stretches of farmland, with many people laboring in the fields. Yet when she looked up, all she could see were endless mountain roads, sometimes giving her a suffocating feeling.
“For Jiang Sinian to lead a group of followers from here to becoming a regional big shot—he’s really impressive.”
Just that he died a little too early in the end.
After a long while, the houses gradually became denser, and more people appeared.
She had arrived in town.
This was her second time here. The first time had been when she had just transmigrated—at the hospital.
“Let’s take a look around first.”
She didn’t immediately start her money-making task. Mainly because she wasn’t familiar with this world yet.
“Xiao Liu, what year exactly is this?”
Instead of answering directly, Xiao Liu asked back, “What if it isn’t any particular year?”
“What?”
“Host, this is a fictional world.” A parallel world as well.
The latter part went unsaid.
“So if I compare it to policies from the historical timeline of Huaxia, some things might be different?”
Ye Shizhi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. If it had followed Huaxia’s timeline, at least she would have some reference points—like the restoration of the college entrance examination in October 1977, or the gradual abolition of ration coupons in the early 1990s.
She had a rough understanding of those events. But now she was told this was a similar yet not identical world.
“Please remove the word ‘era’ from Those Years of the Female Lead’s Counterattack,” she muttered.
Xiao Liu retorted, “It never said it was your Huaxia’s era…” There were countless similar worlds in the universe.
For once, Ye Shizhi didn’t know how to argue. That did make sense.
“Fine. I’ll explore it myself.”
She decided not to treat this world as the era she once knew, but as an entirely new one to learn about.
Most of the town’s houses were made of stacked wood, with corners and alleyways everywhere.
What caught her eye were areas where entire rows of houses were built from stone. At a glance, there were bluestone bridges and a distant, tranquil scenery. It was actually quite beautiful.
Living in such a simple, unadorned town, doing something one liked—it wouldn’t be so bad.
As she wandered slowly, Ye Shizhi paid attention to the open shops and street vendors selling goods. It seemed private businesses already existed here.
That was somewhat different from the Huaxia timeline she knew. Because of this, her initial confidence in earning her first pot of gold wavered.
Could she really complete this mission smoothly?
For the first time since transmigrating, confusion and uncertainty stirred in her heart.
“Host, why worry about these things? You’re just a passerby—a task executor. If you fail, there will simply be a punishment mission afterward. No need to panic.”
Xiao Liu spoke casually, but beneath it was an unsettling coldness.
It was just a mission. There was no need to invest emotions. As for what emotions were, it barely understood. It only knew cold textual descriptions; its information was limited.
“Just a mission, huh…”
She murmured.
Yes. Just a mission. Don’t lose yourself in some absurd world over a task. Maybe this was all just a dream. When she woke up, she might remember nothing.
Ye Shizhi continued forward slowly. It was around ten in the morning—not too early, not too late. She moved through the crowd without drawing attention.
“There’s actually a bookstore at this time?”
Curious, she stepped inside. The shop was small enough to take in at a glance.
A few scattered shelves were filled with books. Many were old, some with pages falling out, yellowed and dusty.
No one else seemed to be inside. She scanned the titles—some in traditional characters, some in simplified. After circling once, she didn’t find any newspapers or illustrated storybooks.
“These books are antiques. Not for sale or lending—only for reading inside.”
As she was about to leave, someone emerged from within, holding a book and speaking without even looking up—likely noticing her silhouette from the corner of their eye. After speaking, the person sat down in a chair.
It was a young girl. Her oversized coat didn’t fit well and was patched in many places. Her hair was braided into two simple pigtails. She had a round face, sallow skin, and looked somewhat malnourished.
“Don’t you have newspapers or illustrated booklets?” Ye Shizhi asked, walking closer.
She glanced down and saw that the girl was reading what looked like a collection of unofficial historical anecdotes. Curious, she looked at it a bit longer.
“Newspapers are at the school. What are illustrated booklets?”
Li Qinqin looked up, puzzled.
“You’re… Xiao Ye?”
Her tone quickly shifted to hesitation and disbelief.
Ye Shizhi didn’t have many memories from the original host. After searching her mind, she vaguely recalled someone.
“Qinqin?”
“That’s right! It’s me.” Li Qinqin put her book aside, clearly delighted to see her.
“That hooligan treating you alright?”
Hooligan… Jiang Sinian?
Ye Shizhi wasn’t entirely sure she had matched the description correctly.