November, Haicheng.
Shuguang Lighting Factory, residential building.
When Ning You regained consciousness, sharp and vicious curses were ringing in her ears.
“You little bitch! You don’t cook at home, don’t wash clothes, you just sit around eating for free. Why didn’t you die together with your unlucky mother? I must have been cursed for eight lifetimes to marry into the Ning family and become your servant…”
A well-dressed woman was spitting insults like a machine gun.
In front of her stood a thin, sickly-looking young girl.
She was under 1.6 meters tall, born with a small palm-sized face. Her eyes were peach-blossom shaped and misty, and her nose was delicate and refined.
Right now, the girl had her head lowered, her long bangs covering her eyes, making it impossible to see what she was thinking.
Ning You looked around and blinked.
She lowered her head and saw her fingertips—no longer transparent.
She stomped her foot. It felt solid, real. Was she… alive again?!
A trace of disbelief appeared in the girl’s eyes. Could someone who had died really come back to life?
The woman’s insults continued. Ning You quickly sorted through the original owner’s memories in her mind—
It was the 1970s. The country was experiencing famine, and supplies were scarce.
The original owner shared her name, a pitiful girl who had lost her mother and whose father had become her stepfather…
Clearly, the vicious-looking woman in front of her was her stepmother.
Seeing that the usually timid stepdaughter actually ignored her, He Meili became furious and poked the girl’s forehead with her long fingernail.
“You mute brat, speak! Have you grown guts or something—”
Ning You sensed it and quickly leaned back.
She looked up at the woman’s twisted, ugly face.
“You still dare to dodge?” He Meili’s eyes flashed with disbelief. She raised her hand and slapped toward Ning You’s face. “You good-for-nothing little bitch! I feed you, I house you, and you still think I can’t teach you a lesson? I’ll beat you to death!”
Before the slap could land, Ning You caught her wrist firmly.
With a sharp motion, she flung it aside.
Bang!
He Meili’s hand slammed into the doorframe, instantly turning red.
“This is the Ning family. My surname is Ning. You have no right to discipline me.” Ning You spoke calmly.
Her voice was slightly hoarse, as if she hadn’t spoken in a long time.
He Meili hissed in pain, looking at the scratch on her hand, her expression turning furious.
Hearing Ning You’s provoking words only made her even angrier. She grabbed a feather duster nearby and swung it.
“You wretch! Disaster! You’ve got some nerve! Talking back and even hitting me? You want to reunite with your dead bitch mother? Fine! I’ll grant your wish—”
She swung the feather duster violently.
Ning You remembered that feather duster. The original owner had been beaten with it countless times.
Memories surged in, and a deep resentment rose uncontrollably from the depths of her mind, wrapping around her emotions.
Her body seemed to move on its own, snatching the weapon from He Meili’s hand.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
She struck back without mercy.
“If you have a mouth, use it properly. If you can’t speak like a human, then shut it!”
As she spoke, the feather duster aimed directly at the stepmother’s mouth.
He Meili’s lips swelled red from the blows, and she grimaced in pain.
Still, she continued shouting.
“You little bitch! How dare you—mmph!”
Ning You grew impatient, tied her up directly, and stuffed a dirty rag into her mouth.
“What do you mean ‘above’ and ‘below’? You’ve only been a factory worker for a few years and already think you’re above everyone else? Don’t make me laugh.”
Laughing was too tiring. She was too hungry for that.
She continued speaking while the beating didn’t stop.
The sound of smacks filled the room.
He Meili couldn’t dodge, taking blow after blow, both angry and in pain. She was almost going insane, unable even to curse properly.
“Mmph… mmph…”
Her eyes were vicious as she struggled, but it was useless.
After a while, Ning You also got tired.
This body was too weak from starvation and abuse.
Ignoring He Meili’s murderous glare, she sat down on the sofa and caught her breath lightly.
The muffled noises were annoying. Without even looking back, she used force—crack—the feather duster snapped in half.
Seeing Ning You’s expressionless face, He Meili felt a sudden fear.
—Had this little bitch been possessed or something?
Ning You ignored her and continued sorting through memories.
Before she could finish, her stomach growled loudly.
Ever since becoming a wandering spirit, she had never felt hunger before.
Now, the sudden sensation was strange and uncomfortable.
Her stomach twisted with hunger. Without thinking further, she followed her memory to a cabinet.
Inside were a few yellowing vegetables and some flour—just enough to make a bowl of noodles for a child.
Ning You knew from memory that these were specially left by He Meili for her precious son, Ning Yu, to make noodles.
…Now it just happened to benefit her instead.
Thinking this, she ignored the stepmother’s murderous glare, took the food, and walked out.
Houses in this era were small and crowded, and cooking was usually done in the hallway outside.
“Little Yuzu is cooking too?” the neighbor auntie greeted her with a smile. She glanced behind Ning You and asked, “Where’s your stepmother?”
Ning You’s slightly lowered eyes flickered faintly. Copying the timid demeanor of the original owner of the body, she whispered softly, “She said she was tired from work and told me to cook.”
“Pah!” The neighbor spat disdainfully. “He Meili is tired from work? Bullshit. Everyone within miles knows her job is the easiest around.
“Silly girl, your stepmother is bullying you. A woman who isn’t your real mother is just black-hearted…”
Ning You listened to the auntie’s nagging without saying a word.
She skillfully stir-fried some seasoning to use as a topping for the noodles. Soon enough, a fragrant bowl of noodles was ready.
The delicious smell made the neighbor auntie keep glancing toward the bowl.
“Making noodles for Ning Yu again? Smells wonderful. Your cooking just keeps getting better and better…”
Ning You smiled shyly. “I just threw something together. Auntie’s cooking is the really good one.”
The neighbor looked at her thoughtfully, feeling that something about the girl had changed.
Little Yuzu used to be as silent as a gourd with no mouth. But today she even knew how to compliment people? How strange!
Inside the Ning household.
When He Meili smelled the aroma drifting through the corridor, her stomach growled traitorously.
The woman felt a burst of irritation, her face turning ugly.
What was that little brat doing? Don’t tell me she used up all the good ingredients?
After putting the noodles into a bowl, Ning You completely ignored her vicious stepmother behind the sofa and leisurely finished every bite.
Maybe because she had been a wandering ghost for too long, she no longer remembered much about her previous life. She only vaguely felt that she had drifted for a very long time.
Familiar yet unfamiliar images flashed through her mind, vanishing before she could grasp them.
Ning You paid them no attention. After eating, she followed the original owner’s memories back to what was now her… room.
She pushed open the broken wooden door and looked around.
It was a cramped, shabby little room.
The window was tiny. On a broken-legged table against the wall sat a kerosene lamp. Beside the table was a tattered basket stuffed carelessly with rags, and next to the basket were two buckets of who-knows-what.
There were pitifully few belongings—everything could be seen at a glance.
Even a stray dog would shake its head after coming in.
Two words described it perfectly:
Poor and shabby.