There was a knock at the door.
“Knock, knock, knock—”
Lin Qianyi stood up and went to open it.
“Qianyi, you’re back.” It was Sister Lanxiang from next door, carrying a basket.
“Sister, it’s you. Come in,” Lin Qianyi invited her inside.
“I’m fine. I just brought some vegetables I grew at home, thought I’d give you some,” Lanxiang said, taking a few vegetables out of the basket.
“Sister, no need. You should keep them for yourselves. I can’t finish much on my own,” Lin Qianyi tried to refuse.
“Just take them. It’s nothing special—I brought quite a lot,” Lanxiang insisted.
“Alright then, thank you,” Lin Qianyi finally accepted.
She then took out a bag of sponge cake from the cabinet and put it into Lanxiang’s basket.
“Hey, don’t give me this,” Lanxiang quickly refused.
“Let Xiao Jun have it as a snack,” Lin Qianyi pressed her hand, not letting her return it.
After a brief push-and-pull, Lanxiang finally accepted it.
“Qianyi, don’t worry too much. When things reach a dead end, there’s always a way out. Something will work out,” Lanxiang comforted her.
She felt helpless too. Everyone wanted to help this girl, but there was nothing they could do.
“Sister, don’t worry. It’s fine now—I’ve already found a way to solve it,” Lin Qianyi said.
She didn’t mention Meng Junchuan for now, as things weren’t officially settled yet.
“Really? That’s great!” Lanxiang said happily. Seeing that Lin Qianyi didn’t want to elaborate, she didn’t press further.
Lanxiang had a lot of family matters to attend to, so after a few more words, she left in a hurry.
After returning inside, Lin Qianyi began sorting through the original owner’s assets.
Following her memories, she found a biscuit tin in the cabinet. Inside were several passbooks.
She opened one: 10,000 yuan—this was the compensation money for Lin Jiancheng and his wife.
In this era, it was a huge sum. But considering it was two lives lost—two senior engineers—it still felt insignificant.
She opened another: 16,000 yuan. This was the couple’s savings.
The third passbook had only 200 yuan—likely the original owner’s personal savings.
Outside of that, there was some scattered cash and coupons, totaling only a few dozen yuan.
No wonder people were coveting her. Her beauty was one reason—but her wealth made her even more of a target.
Even without knowing the exact compensation, everyone knew her parents were senior engineers with stable, high salaries and decades of work. They naturally assumed she had savings.
She transferred all the money into her spatial storage.
She didn’t plan to use it. Lin Jiancheng and his wife had been war orphans, educated with the help of patriotic benefactors.
Fortunately, because of their background as war orphans and their education under patriotic sponsorship, they had not been heavily affected by this era’s hostility toward intellectuals.
They had no other children and had devoted their entire lives to their work.
Lin Qianyi planned to wait for the right opportunity and then donate the money in their name.
She wasn’t short of money herself. With the space, she lacked nothing—food or clothing.
Once restrictions were lifted, she could easily earn more money anyway.
This money was earned with their lives. Spending it would make her uncomfortable.
It should remain entirely theirs.
[Author Note / “Avoiding misunderstanding” disclaimer omitted in translation tone]
(The original text contains an author’s note addressing reader criticism and plot clarification. It explains that the main character and original body are not the same consciousness and that later plot developments will clarify misunderstandings. It is meta commentary rather than story content.)
She kept the original owner’s 200 yuan and some change and coupons for now—otherwise she would have no money at all.
After confirming there was nothing else to do, she felt a bit sleepy and went to bed.
When she woke up, it was already dark outside.
She got up, locked the doors and windows, drew the curtains, and entered her space.
Inside, she lay down on her luohan bed, feeling completely at ease.
This was still the most comfortable place for her.
After resting for a while, she got up and went to the kitchen to prepare something to eat.
She opened the fridge and looked at the abundant ingredients, thinking about what to make.
The lunch at the state-run restaurant had included plenty of meat, but the taste was mediocre. Not bad, but her palate was quite picky, so she hadn’t eaten much.
Steak, then. With red wine. A welcome dinner for herself in this new world.
She laughed at her own idea.
Perfect. Steak and red wine—settled.
She thawed a steak, washed some mushrooms and broccoli.
Once the steak was ready, she heated a pan, melted butter, and started frying it to medium doneness.
The mushrooms and broccoli were quickly sautéed and plated.
She set the table, poured the nearly decanted red wine, and raised her glass:
“Lin Qianyi, welcome to this era. May you live happily, joyfully, and freely. No matter where you are, enjoy life and be grateful for everything you encounter and possess.”
She took a sip of wine, set down the glass, and happily enjoyed her meal.
Perfect. The steak was tender and just right.
She ate with great satisfaction.
After finishing, she returned to the main room and lay on the luohan bed, scrolling through videos on her tablet.
She should learn more cooking videos. From now on, she would have to rely on herself—there would be no housekeeper anymore.
She loved food, and in her past life she often downloaded cooking videos for her housekeeper to learn from.
When she felt inspired, she would also cook herself.
Once she had digested a bit, she went to the west side room, which was her bedroom.
In the bathroom, she filled the bathtub and added a little spiritual spring water.
She opened a glass jar full of dried flowers and sprinkled some into the water.
Then she soaked in the bath.
It was incredibly comfortable—so relaxing that all fatigue melted away.
After bathing, she noticed her skin had improved again, becoming even smoother and more delicate.
She was delighted.
A woman’s love for beauty never changes, no matter where she is.
She took out needle and thread and altered the clothes she would wear the next day.
The original owner’s clothes were all loose and shapeless.
But the original owner actually had a very good figure, similar to her own in her previous life. So she often wore oversized clothes to hide it.
Lin Qianyi didn’t want to wrong herself. She was used to looking good and couldn’t accept looking dull.
Of course she wouldn’t wear revealing clothes in this era, but she also didn’t want to look like she was wrapped in a sack.
A slightly fitted waistline was fine.
After adjusting it, she tried it on and looked in the mirror, satisfied.
Same style, but more tailored—it made her look taller and more elegant. She was already 1.68 meters tall.
After finishing everything, she looked at her comfortable bed and hesitated.
Sleep inside the space or outside?
In the end, she decided to sleep outside. Safety first—she needed to adapt to this world.
She tidied up, left the space, and lay down properly in her bed.
…