Lin Yujiao stood in the sitting room of her spacious apartment, staring at the familiar furniture and appliances before her.
She had personally chosen every single item. How could she possibly fail to recognize them?
She walked farther inside.
The kitchen was there.
So were the washroom, bedroom, and study.
Could this be…
Was this the legendary personal space that always appeared in transmigration novels?
Lin Yujiao’s eyes immediately lit up.
She hurried over and opened the refrigerator.
Before leaving home that day, she had just gone grocery shopping, so the refrigerator was still packed full of food.
At this moment, Lin Yujiao was incredibly grateful for one of her old habits.
Because she had grown up with very little, she had always felt more secure when there was plenty of food stored at home.
Now, her apartment was filled with things to eat.
At the very least, she would not have to worry about food for quite some time.
Wanting to make sure the food was actually edible, Lin Yujiao took out an apple.
She turned on the tap.
To her surprise, water flowed out normally.
She washed the apple and took a large bite.
Crisp, sweet, and bursting with juice.
She could really eat it!
Lin Yujiao turned back toward the refrigerator.
Her eyes widened.
There was another apple sitting exactly where she had taken the first one.
In other words, anything she removed from this place would automatically replenish itself.
Was this her special blessing for transmigrating?
It seemed the heavens had not treated her too badly after all.
Lin Yujiao tested it several more times.
Sure enough, everything in the refrigerator replenished itself automatically.
The taps worked.
The washroom worked.
Even the books in her study could be taken down and read normally.
There was only one drawback.
Her mobile phone, tablet, and computer could no longer connect to the outside world. There was no internet, so she could only access whatever had already been stored on the devices.
Still, that hardly mattered.
Lin Yujiao was already more than satisfied.
With such a miraculous space at her disposal, she was confident she could survive in this unfamiliar era.
She touched her forehead.
She was still feverish.
Lin Yujiao found her medicine chest, took some medicine, drank a glass of water, then climbed into her own bed and went to sleep.
She had spent a small fortune on this bed.
Compared with the hard bed outside, this one was incomparably comfortable.
With the medicine taking effect, Lin Yujiao slept deeply for a long time.
As she slept, her exhausted body gradually recovered.
When she finally woke again, she felt refreshed from head to toe.
Her head was no longer burning.
She went to the mirror and examined herself.
Even her complexion looked noticeably healthier.
“Out.”
The moment she silently thought the word, she left the mysterious space.
Back in the old house, Lin Yujiao stretched lazily.
Now that her immediate problem had been dealt with, it was time to think carefully about what she should do next.
Before she could begin, however, the outer door was suddenly pushed open.
Several people swaggered inside as though the house belonged to them.
Watching through the window, Lin Yujiao frowned.
She opened her bedroom door just as the group reached her.
Leading them was the original owner’s eldest aunt-in-law—now hers as well.
Beside her stood a timid-looking elderly woman, Lin Yujiao’s paternal grandmother.
And then there was her youngest aunt-in-law.
The very woman who had plotted to destroy the original Lin Yujiao’s reputation.
The youngest aunt-in-law froze when she saw Lin Yujiao.
Yesterday, she had watched the girl sink beneath the water. She had been certain Lin Yujiao would not survive.
Who would have thought the wretched girl would be so difficult to kill?
Not only was she alive, she looked perfectly fine.
There was even some healthy color in her cheeks.
Her youngest aunt-in-law immediately thought of her nephew.
Not long after returning home yesterday, he had begun having nightmares and developed a fever. He kept babbling that a water ghost was trying to drag him away.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
She glared at Lin Yujiao as though flames might burst from her eyes.
Lin Yujiao met her gaze without the slightest hesitation.
Her bright, clear eyes seemed capable of reflecting every dark and ugly thought hidden inside another person’s heart.
The youngest aunt-in-law clenched her teeth.
This wretched girl!
Since when had she become so fierce?
Before the woman could speak, the eldest aunt-in-law stepped forward with a concerned expression.
“Yujiao, are you all right? I heard you fell into the water.”
Lin Yujiao calmly pulled her hand free from the woman’s grasp.
“Eldest Aunt, who told you I fell into the water? How come even I don’t know about it?”
Her eldest aunt-in-law paused.
A calculating gleam flashed through her eyes.
“Oh? You didn’t? But I heard you fell into the water yesterday. Wasn’t Demin the one who rescued you?”
Li Demin.
That was the name of the youngest aunt-in-law’s nephew.
Lin Yujiao caught the vicious gleam that flickered through her eldest aunt-in-law’s eyes, and a chill spread through her heart.
So she knew everything.
It seemed this woman was another accomplice.
Of course Lin Yujiao would never admit that she had fallen into the water.
After all, their entire purpose was to ruin her reputation.
If she admitted what had happened, the story that spread through the village would certainly bear little resemblance to the truth.
Lin Yujiao shook her head.
“Nothing like that happened. Eldest Aunt, who told you such a thing? Why don’t we go and ask them together? I spent all of yesterday resting at home.”
Lin Yujiao had spent years making her way through society in her previous life.
Dealing with people like these did not frighten her.
She continued calmly, “Whoever started such a rumor must be truly vicious. I’m an unmarried young woman in the prime of my youth. How could anyone possibly connect me with a hooligan whose wife is already dead?”
The youngest aunt-in-law immediately exploded.
“He’s still your relative! How dare you despise him like that!”
Lin Yujiao glanced at her.
“Youngest Aunt, there’s no point saying that to me. I’m only repeating what other people say about him. If you’re unhappy, go find whoever started saying those things and argue with them.”
Of course, that would be rather difficult.
There were simply too many people saying it.
This was the countryside.
Everyone knew everyone else.
Who in the surrounding villages did not know exactly what sort of man Li Demin was?
He had started stealing chickens and sneaking around committing petty crimes when he was barely in his teens.
Stealing, drinking, gambling, visiting brothels, there was hardly a vice he had not indulged in.
Later, he had added beating his wife to the list.
His reputation had long since sunk as low as it could possibly go.
No respectable family was willing to marry their daughter to him.
Why else would the youngest aunt-in-law have set her sights on Lin Yujiao?
If yesterday’s scheme had succeeded, Li Demin could have married Lin Yujiao.
Then, through that marriage, the youngest aunt-in-law could have helped her maternal family seize the house and factory position left behind by Lin Yujiao’s parents.
Unfortunately for them, the original Lin Yujiao had preferred death over allowing their scheme to succeed.
Truthfully, Lin Yujiao admired the original owner for that.
Cornered and alone, the young woman had still possessed the courage to stake everything on one desperate fight.
Precisely because the scheme had failed, the youngest aunt-in-law now stared at Lin Yujiao’s lovely face with such hatred that she wished she could tear it apart.
“Such a sharp tongue! You don’t behave like a proper young maiden at all.”
The eldest aunt-in-law watched the exchange and immediately realized that her sister-in-law was no match for Lin Yujiao.
Originally, she had planned to sit quietly on the side and reap the benefits while others did the dirty work.
Now it seemed she would have to change her approach.
She smiled and stepped forward to smooth things over.
They had important matters to deal with today.
What was the point of wasting time arguing?
“Then Eldest Aunt must have heard wrongly. As long as you’re all right, that’s what matters.”
Lin Yujiao smiled faintly.
“Eldest Aunt, all of you know what kind of person I am. My parents always said I’m still young and shouldn’t be thinking about marriage yet. Anyone who deliberately spreads filthy rumors about me deserves to have their guts rot inside them, to be struck down by heavenly thunder, and to die a miserable death.”
The eldest aunt-in-law’s expression grew uglier with every word.
Lin Yujiao looked directly at her and continued.
“My parents haven’t been gone for long. They’re still watching from the heavens. I’d really like to see who dares to commit such a heartless deed while they’re watching!”
Everyone’s expression changed.
Only then did they remember.
The seventh day since Lin Dajun and his wife’s deaths had not even passed.
Suddenly, the house seemed several degrees colder.
Old Madam Lin’s eyes reddened, and tears began falling down her cheeks.
“My Dajun…”
The eldest aunt-in-law shot the old woman an irritated glare.
Useless old thing.
She was no help at all.
They had brought her here to persuade Lin Yujiao, yet all she knew how to do was cry.
Lin Dajun was already dead.
Shouldn’t his house naturally remain with the Lin clan?
Lin Yujiao would marry out sooner or later.
Once she did, wouldn’t everything belonging to this household eventually go to her own son anyway?
She was merely taking possession a little earlier.
What was there to be afraid of?
“Yujiao,” the eldest aunt-in-law began in a coaxing voice, “you’re a young woman. You shouldn’t be so stubborn. We’re all one family. Your grandmother worries about you living here alone. Why don’t you move over and live with her?”
Old Madam Lin looked at her granddaughter.
Her lips moved slightly.
But she said nothing.
Her silence was clearly an agreement.
Lin Yujiao glanced at her.
Old Madam Lin had three sons and one daughter.
Lin Yujiao’s father, Lin Dajun, was the second son and had always been the least favored of the three.
According to the original owner’s memories, Old Madam Lin valued sons far more than daughters.
She treated her eldest and youngest uncles’ sons far better than she ever treated Lin Yujiao.
Worse still, she had always resented Jiang Chunyue for giving birth to only one child.
Because that only child happened to be a daughter, the old woman treated Lin Yujiao even worse than some of the other girls in the extended family.
The original Lin Yujiao had never felt much affection for this grandmother.
Naturally, the current Lin Yujiao cared even less.
She simply looked at her eldest aunt-in-law.
“If I move away, what happens to my house?”
Her eldest aunt-in-law’s eyes immediately brightened.
“Your elder cousin is getting married soon. Your future cousin-in-law’s family said the young couple should have somewhere of their own to live, but our family only has those three rooms…”
She hesitated deliberately before continuing.
“Why don’t you lend them your house for the wedding? When you need it again someday, we’ll return it to you…”
As she spoke, her greedy gaze swept across the Lin family’s three spacious brick-and-tile rooms.
Second Brother had always been capable.
He had earned good money and built such a fine house.
What a pity he had died so young.
Still…
Now that he is gone, this house would suit her family perfectly.