Chapter 1

“Sleep! Sleep! What time is it, and you’re still sleeping? Do you think you’re some pampered young lady? You old and young are all lazy good-for-nothings! Are you even going to eat breakfast?”

The shrill, harsh scolding was accompanied by a clanging racket, jolting awake the few people still asleep in the cramped room.

Ling Chuxia jolted awake, her face drenched in sweat. Wide-eyed, she stared at the dimly lit, unfamiliar surroundings.

She… had actually transmigrated into a novel!

The original owner’s consciousness had long since faded, but their memories remained in Ling Chuxia’s mind.

She never would have imagined she’d transmigrate into the historical novel she’d been reading before her death—and become a disposable supporting character at that.

The rustling of clothes sounded above Ling Chuxia’s head, accompanied by barely audible sighs. A pair of frail, elderly feet slid off the bed and stood on the floor.

Ling Chuxia jolted upright with a start.

The sudden movement stunned her for a moment. After being bedridden for so many years, she hadn’t expected to move with such agility and speed.

What a delightful surprise! This body was remarkably healthy!

Outside, a gruff middle-aged man’s voice growled impatiently, “Quiet down! Your mother is still sleeping!”

“I want to sleep too! I’m the only one serving the whole family all day! I’m done! I’m going back to sleep!”

“Fine, fine, go back to sleep! Skip breakfast!”

“Fine, I won’t eat! I’m packing up and taking the kids back to my parents’ house! I’m never coming back! You can have your mother all to yourself!”

“You!” The man’s voice cut off abruptly, afraid to say more.

The elderly woman who had just gotten out of bed forced a bitter smile as she stood on Ling Chuxia’s makeshift bed, straightening her clothes. She couldn’t help but sigh again.

The room was cramped and poorly furnished, partitioned off with old wooden boards. It measured only about 56 square meters and felt stuffy.

Against the wall stood a bunk bed. Grandma Ling was already up on the lower level, while Ling Xiaoshuang, still asleep, had buried her head under her pillow on the upper level.

A worn desk stood at the head of the bunk bed, and several stacked wooden chests lined the foot.

Ling Chuxia sat on her makeshift bed beneath the desk. Anyone on the bed had to step over her to leave the room.

Even by the standards of this era, the living conditions were remarkably primitive.

“Sleep a little longer. It’s still early. Grandma’s going out to make breakfast.” The frail, diminutive Grandma Ling smiled at Ling Chuxia, then pushed open a thin wooden door, carrying a pair of cloth shoes as she stepped outside.

Ling Chuxia remained silent, needing a moment to process what had happened.

Feeling the strong, steady heartbeat in her chest, Ling Chuxia couldn’t help but stand up with a grin and bounce excitedly up and down.

This is wonderful! After years confined to a sickbed, she had forgotten the joy of jumping and moving freely.

“Picking up a healthy body for free? This is a win!” Ling Chuxia waved her arms in the air, her smile growing even brighter.

In her previous life, Ling Chuxia had been born frail and chronically ill. Though her wealthy family had provided meticulous care, it couldn’t prevent her young life from ending prematurely.

Although the era she had transmigrated to was quite backward, this unexpectedly healthy body felt like a divine blessing, filling her with overwhelming joy.

Ling Chuxia felt around on the desk, found a small mirror, and checked her reflection. Instantly, her tension dissipated.

The face in the mirror was identical to hers, except this one glowed with vitality, unlike her own, which was often pale from chronic illness.

Since fate has brought me here, I might as well make the most of it. Ling Chuxia felt brimming with ambition. She couldn’t waste this incredible opportunity. Now was the time to try all the things she’d missed out on due to her illness in her previous life.

Since sleep eluded her, she decided to get up. She changed out of her nightgown, rolled up her bedding and placed it on the wooden chest, then slipped on her slippers and stepped out.

It was July 2nd, 1990. School had just dismissed for summer break, and it had been three days since the original owner of this body had been kicked out of the home she’d lived in for seventeen years.

In this world, Ling Chuxia was destined to be a cannon fodder character.

For the first seventeen years of her life, she had been pampered like a little princess.

Her father, Ling Haoran, was among the first wave of entrepreneurs to venture to the coast after China’s reform and opening-up policies. Their family had become wealthy early on, moving into a spacious house. Ling Chuxia’s lifestyle—her clothes, food, housing, and transportation—was the best in her entire class.

Then, one day, Tian Yixiang, who was health-conscious, took her family for a check-up after a friend’s recommendation. It was during this examination that Ling Chuxia’s blood type issue was discovered.

Initially, Ling Haoran suspected Tian Yixiang of having an affair. After much investigation, he finally discovered that Tian Yixiang was innocent; it was the hospital where Ling Chuxia was born that had mistakenly switched the babies.

After several months of searching, with the help of the newspaper and the police, Ling Haoran and his wife finally found their biological daughter, Ling Xiaoman.

It turned out she had been living in the same city all along. However, Ling Xiaoman’s adoptive family was struggling in poverty, six people crammed into a dilapidated shack, and she was at risk of dropping out of school.

Overcome with paternal love, Ling Haoran used money to sway Ling Dajun and his wife. With the newspaper’s help, the two families successfully exchanged their children.

Ling Xiaoman’s life took a positive turn. Under her biological parents’ nurturing, she excelled academically, not only getting into a prestigious university but also becoming an outstanding fashion designer. She later stepped onto the international stage, becoming a legend of her generation.

Ling Chuxia, on the other hand, wasn’t so fortunate. Forced from a privileged home into a cramped, impoverished dwelling, the psychological shock was overwhelming. Unable to accept her new reality, she continued to try and please Ling Haoran, desperately hoping to return to her original family.

Because Ling Chuxia was completely consumed by her obsession, her already distant relationship with Ling Dajun and his wife grew increasingly strained. They grew to detest her more and more.

In the end, she failed to please anyone. She didn’t get into university, was tricked by scammers due to her vanity, and ended up abandoned by everyone. Her fate was utterly miserable.

But none of that mattered to the current Ling Chuxia. She felt no attachment to this place or its people, and had no need to please anyone. She simply wanted to enjoy her healthy body and do the things she never had the chance to do in her previous life.

Stretching lazily, she felt the vitality surging through her healthy arms and legs. Ling Chuxia nodded contentedly.

Beyond the wooden board door lay the Ling family’s so-called living room. This slightly larger space was crammed with furniture: a dining table, cabinets, and bookshelves that filled the room to bursting.

The room exuded an air of antiquity. The most valuable item in the house was a black-and-white television Ling Chuxia had seen online.

At the other end of the living room was a normal wooden door, behind which lay Ling Dajun and Yang Yu’s bedroom. Ling Chuxia had never gone inside, but she knew their youngest son, Ling Xiaoyang, also slept in that room.

This was originally just a simple one-room apartment. The room Ling Chuxia had just emerged from was partitioned off by Ling Dajun using old wooden boards, barely qualifying as a separate space.

The thin boards offered no soundproofing, allowing every noise from the living room to echo clearly through the makeshift wall.

Seeing Ling Chuxia come out, Yang Yu immediately strode over, jabbing her finger at the girl and barking, “You finally decide to get up? Do you even know what time it is? You kids don’t have school during summer break, but adults have to work! If we don’t work, we’ll all be eating the wind!”

When Ling Chuxia remained silent, Yang Yu’s already strained face twisted further into a furious scowl. Her features were actually quite pleasant, but years of hardship had aged her prematurely, and her extreme thinness gave her a harsh, unyielding appearance.

“Yu’er, let me make breakfast,” Grandma Ling said softly as she emerged from the bathroom. “Let the child sleep a little longer.”

She was the only member of the household who truly welcomed Ling Chuxia. For the elderly woman, reclaiming a blood relative of the Ling family was a cause for genuine joy.

“Shouldn’t you get up earlier if you’re going to cook? Look at the time! They say old people don’t sleep much, but you snooze like a dead pig every day!” Yang Yu blurted out, venting the anger she’d been holding onto from her earlier confrontation with Ling Chuxia onto Grandma Ling.

At that moment, Ling Dajun was squatting outside the door smoking, deliberately ignoring everything happening inside, determined to pretend he was both deaf and mute.

Grandma Ling’s expression shifted slightly, but she said nothing. She simply lowered her head and walked toward the kitchen, which was located right inside the entrance.

The bathroom and kitchen were both tiny rooms right inside the entrance, so cramped it was difficult to turn around inside them.

Ling Chuxia caught up to Grandma Ling and announced loudly at the kitchen door, “Grandma, I’ll be there to help you right after I wash my face.”

Since the elderly woman treated her with kindness and warmth, Ling Chuxia naturally wanted to reciprocate in some small way.

Grandma Ling smiled. “Good girl. The kitchen is hot. You don’t need to be here.”

“I’m not afraid of the heat, and I want to learn how to cook,” Ling Chuxia said sincerely.

Only those who have lost their health truly understand its value. Ling Chuxia had been chronically ill before, needing her family’s help even for basic daily tasks. Now that she was healthy, she was eager to learn new skills, like cooking.

Besides, the Ling family residence wasn’t permanent. According to the book’s plot, it wouldn’t be long before both Ling Chuxia and Grandma Ling would be evicted. When that time came, she planned to support herself, and cooking was a fundamental skill.

Ling Dajun, squatting outside the door, overheard this conversation. He turned to glance at Ling Chuxia through the gauzy screen door and sighed.

After washing up, Ling Chuxia indeed dove straight into the kitchen. Grandma Ling was delighted, patiently teaching her how to use the coal stove to cook.

By 7 a.m., a simple breakfast was ready. No matter how dire the Ling family’s financial situation, they could still eat their fill. A large pot of congee cooked with vegetables, along with half a basin of leftover steamed buns from the night before, was enough to feed the entire family.

The weather was hot, and the house stuffy, so Ling Dajun moved the dining table onto the open space outside.

This was the advantage of living on the first floor. Though there was no yard, the communal space outside was freely usable.

Ling Chuxia carried a steamed bun outside and, as expected, saw her neighbors also eating breakfast in the open space.

This was the residential area of the Municipal Cotton Textile Mill No. 1. The four-story building housed many families, and while neighborly relations were neither particularly close nor strained, there were frequent frictions. Everyone was willing to lend a hand in times of need.

The news of the Ling family’s “daughter swap” had been the talk of the town. As soon as Ling Chuxia stepped out, she became the center of attention for her neighbors.

“This swapped daughter isn’t bad-looking at all. She’s prettier than Xiaoman.”

“Rich families raise their daughters differently. Her skin is much fairer and clearer than Xiaoman’s.”

“They didn’t make a mistake this time, did they? Can such a beautiful child really be theirs?”

Ling Chuxia ignored the gossip, but Yang Yu couldn’t stand it. She stormed out, pointing at the neighbors and shouting, “What are you all saying? Huh? Can’t even eat a meal without your tongues wagging? Mind your own business! Stay out of our family’s affairs!”

The neighbors, knowing they were in the wrong, remained silent.

Yang Yu, flushed with anger, dragged Ling Dajun back inside. Stamping her foot and closing her eyes, she snapped, “Ling Dajun! This can’t go on any longer! Your mother and that little bitch must move out immediately to make room for my third sister!”

Ling Chuxia froze, startled. That’s not right… According to the plot, Yang Yu shouldn’t say this for another few months!