Chapter 4: Transmigrated into a 1970s Novel

Meanwhile.

In a parallel timeline, the summer of 1970.

In the staff housing compound of the Canning Factory in Beijing, inside a cramped storage room.

Lin Xiaodou lay motionless on a wooden bed.

She stared at the dilapidated surroundings and the bandages wrapped around her leg.

Her mind felt as if a thousand wild llamas were stampeding through it.

She had planned for everything, yet she never imagined she would transmigrate!

One moment, she was enjoying a delicious set of goose leg and iced cola; the next, she found herself saddled with a broken leg and a sweltering, miserable storyline.

It was true—unexpected windfalls weren’t for everyone to handle.

Thankfully, her hundred-billion-yuan material space remained intact, or she would have wept herself to death.

Lin Xiaodou had landed inside a retro novel she once read, a tale of swapped identities.

The story revolved around a fake heiress and the male lead, who, after enduring a series of hardships, finally found happiness together.

Though it appeared to be a period piece, it was, in fact, a melodramatic romance story thinly veiled in vintage trappings.

Why say so?

The novel opened with a hackneyed scene: the fake heiress rescued the male lead in a dark alley; soon, the two fell in love.

But their happiness was short-lived—the male lead’s mother swiftly intervened.

For the fake heiress’s true identity was unmasked: she was not the cherished daughter of a family of doctors but merely the child of ordinary factory workers.

The male lead, on the other hand, was the son of the department store’s general manager, a wealthy family with their own truck driver.

Their disparity was clear—how could they ever be together?

It might have been difficult to resolve, but the genuine heiress who was found proved utterly disappointing.

Upon her return, she not only vied for the male lead but also sought to drive out the impostor.

Compared to the genuine heiress’s rough and gloomy demeanor, the male lead’s mother naturally favored the gentle fake heiress, eventually consenting to their union.

The malicious genuine heiress, after a string of self-destructive acts, became universally despised and died wretchedly.

After this arc, one would think the main couple’s path would be smooth.

Who could have guessed another “white moonlight” second female lead would appear?

And after resolving her, yet another passionate second male lead, followed by a third and fourth female lead...

Thus, the novel devolved into a cycle of endless misunderstandings and cat-and-mouse games.

In the end, exhausted by it all, the main couple finally married, had children, and reached a happy ending.

Lin Xiaodou, in truth, never finished the novel.

The moment she saw the genuine heiress—who shared her name—meet a tragic end, she set the book aside.

It was simply too infuriating.

Leaving aside everything else, just the genuine heiress’s storyline was enough to render her speechless.

Switched at birth, the genuine heiress was deprived of her rightful place, while the impostor enjoyed a princess’s life.

She, meanwhile, was forced to toil from a young age, enduring scorn and harsh words.

When she finally managed to secure a job, her family, intent on marrying off her idle brother, demanded she wed a violent, foolish man in his thirties in exchange for a substantial bride price.

Her resistance led to a beating that blinded her in one eye, after which she was accidentally reclaimed by her birth parents.

The genuine heiress believed rescue had come, only to find it was but another abyss.

Her birth parents tried to coerce her into taking the blame for the impostor’s misdeeds and serving a prison sentence.

In despair, the genuine heiress set two conditions:

First, she had fallen for the male lead at first sight and demanded he marry her.

Second, the impostor must leave the family, or she would not agree to take the blame.

At the mere suggestion, everyone erupted in anger.

They berated her as delusional and malicious—she wasn’t worth even a strand of the impostor’s hair; if anyone were to leave, it should be her.

Hearing this, her last hope died.

Subsequent rash actions only fueled everyone’s resentment toward her.

In the end, the male lead took measures to have her banished to a farm, where she died a miserable death.

When news of her passing reached her birth parents, they felt no sorrow, only relief.

They lamented, “That child was spoiled by life in the communal building, her character dark and unlikable. If only she were half as sensible as Xuefei, she wouldn’t have come to this. It’s just as well—she got what she deserved.”

Lin Xiaodou: What?

How could any parent say such things?

What kind of twisted plot was this?

To elevate the impostor, the author forced the genuine heiress into a villainous role.

Yet her so-called malice was only the product of everyone’s relentless persecution.

Lin Xiaodou found the novel’s values utterly warped and so abandoned it.

Back then, she’d thought, “If I were the genuine heiress, I would never pine for unattainable affection or do such foolish things.”

She believed it was just another melodramatic novel, easily forgotten.

Who could have imagined that one day she would awaken inside the very body of the genuine heiress—whose fate she had once mourned?

The story had progressed to the point where the original Lin Xiaodou was still unaware of her true identity.

Her adoptive family, desperate to force her into marrying the fool, had locked her in her room.

She attempted an escape in the dead of night, only to fall from a second-story window and break her leg.

Now she was recuperating at home, but no one treated her as an invalid.

Her adoptive parents went off to work; her elder brother idled about, doing nothing.

All the housework fell to her.

Every day, she hobbled on crutches, cooking and washing for the family, enduring ceaseless scolding.

Today, while serving porridge, she spilled a little and was berated harshly by her adoptive mother, Wu Guiqin, who then forbade her from eating dinner.

Returning to her dingy little room, the original Lin Xiaodou grew more saddened and aggrieved the more she dwelled on her misery.

Years of exhaustion, hunger, and pent-up anguish finally overwhelmed her, and she fainted.

In that instant, Lin Xiaodou transmigrated into her body.

After sorting through the plot and the original’s memories, Lin Xiaodou sighed.

Deep down, the former Lin Xiaodou yearned for affection, hoping someone would love her.

Thus, after her identity was revealed and she returned to her birth family, she tried desperately to please them.

She wanted, like the impostor, to be liked by all.

Unfortunately, she was destined for disappointment.

Until her death, she never obtained the love she craved.

Simply because she was not the heroine, she was reduced to a dispensable pawn.

But now... that pitiable pawn had become her.

Lin Xiaodou’s gaze sharpened, growing clearer with resolve.

Now that she was here, everything would change.

The original had no ability to fight back—but she did.

She would not spare anyone who had abused the former Lin Xiaodou.

“Don’t worry, Xiaodou. I will avenge you.”

“I’ll live on for both of us—happily, and well.”

As she finished speaking, a weary sigh echoed in her mind.

“Thank you. I’m so tired... I’ll go on ahead. Take care of yourself...”

In that moment, Lin Xiaodou felt a great weight lift from her shoulders.

The original Lin Xiaodou had finally departed.