Chapter 1

With the restoration of the college entrance exam and the reform and opening up, Qin Yan thought he had caught a good break. Unfortunately, fate was unkind—just a few months before the exam, he was in a car accident that left him paralyzed, ending his dreams of university.

In his previous life, Qin Yan fought against his fate, but as a paralyzed burden, he could only watch helplessly as his family’s courtyard house was taken over by his uncle’s family, his mother was deceived into remarrying and died depressed, and he himself starved to death in neglect.

In this life, reborn, he wanted to change things. Yet, event after event followed the same path. He still had the car accident before the college entrance exam and ended up bedridden.

He realized he was merely the spiteful stepbrother of the female protagonist in a retro-era novel. His mother was the malicious stepmother, and he was a psychologically twisted brother obsessed with the heroine—a nauseating character. He bitterly thought of it as “his disgusting fate opening the door to more disgust.”

Unable to change the plot even after rebirth, Qin Yan felt hopeless. He had thought of ending his story early, but even that was beyond his control—the world of the book wouldn’t allow it. Every effort to change things brought him back to the set path. Qin Yan finally gave up.

What meaning did his rebirth have if he couldn’t alter the storyline?

Was it only to relive the same pain?

He became thin, losing weight day by day.

His mother was extremely worried, believing that if he found a wife, he might regain some hope for life. She even told the matchmaker that if anyone could give him a child—boy or girl—they would receive a courtyard house.

For that courtyard house, his grandmother came to persuade his hesitant mother.

“Shufang, all you want is a woman who can give Qin Yan a child, right? Your sister-in-law’s niece is a bit older and a widow, but she’s experienced. She’s already had a child, which means she can give birth. If you bring in a young girl, with Qin Yan’s irritable temperament, she won’t even touch him—how can they have a child, right?”

“Qin Yan is paralyzed. What are you still being picky about? Be practical. Find a woman who can take care of him and give him a child. He’ll surely want to live on. I see how he’s getting more and more despondent each day. You need to act fast.”

“I’ll get your sister-in-law to bring her niece over now. Let her stay today. Why are you still hesitating? I’m Qin Yan’s grandmother—I wouldn’t harm him, would I?”

His grandmother favored his uncle’s family, which Qin Yan realized after he was paralyzed and reborn. His father was actually an abandoned infant his grandmother had taken in, meaning there was no blood relation between him and her family. Thus, her bias was understandable, even though she and his mother kept it hidden from him.

What use was knowing that? Even with rebirth, he couldn’t stop the accident or prevent his mother from becoming the protagonist’s stepmother, leading to a tragic ending where they were written as vicious characters.

His rebirth was like a cruel joke.

Once again, Qin Yan attempted to alter the storyline. After a lot of struggle, he managed to reach the window. This was only the second floor. According to the book’s plot, he wouldn’t die today. But he wanted to see how the plot would adapt, before inevitably snapping back to its predetermined course. Now, his only pleasure was attempting to change the plot, only to watch it revert.

He would fight until the last moment.

“Brother Qin Yan, what are you doing? Let me help you down,” a soft, tearful voice called.

The heroine of the story had arrived, which annoyed Qin Yan to no end. According to the original plot, he would tell her to leave, but eventually, he would be moved by her and silently protect her.

He really didn’t want to follow the plot, but her presence irritated him.

“Get lost.” When the heroine’s hand touched him, Qin Yan couldn’t help but follow the storyline.

Seeing this, his aunt-in-law took the opportunity to persuade Qin Yan’s mother again, “Sister-in-law, you see, young girls are shy and can’t even get close to Qin Yan. My niece, however, has experience, is strong, and is willing. Really, if you drag this out, who knows if Qin Yan might do something foolish.”

In his previous life, the heroine had agreed to this plan. Despite Qin Yan’s objections, his aunt-in-law’s widowed niece moved in with her child—a child who was nearly ten years old. Later, they accused Qin Yan of being a predator, using this as leverage to extort a house from him.

Even after being reborn, Qin Yan couldn’t prevent this from happening.

Suddenly, the heroine said, “Aunt Miao, Brother Qin Yan isn’t old enough to get married yet. Why not wait a bit longer?”

This deviation from the book’s script made Qin Yan slightly surprised. In his previous life, the heroine had been gentle but weak, advising his family to give away the house to protect their reputation.

Of course, what the heroine really wanted to protect was the reputation of her future blended family, not Qin Yan.

Moreover, in the original storyline, Qin Ao—the male lead—was the biological grandson his grandmother favored. After the families merged, the heroine and the male lead faced many hardships, especially with Qin Yan, the twisted villain, scheming against them. However, they ultimately overcame obstacles, cleared misunderstandings, and ended up together.

For their wedding anniversary, the hero and heroine even went to Qin Yan’s grave to thank him, claiming that his evil actions made them cherish their current life more.

The heroine even expressed hope that Qin Yan wouldn’t be so obsessive in his next life and that he could find his own true love.

How utterly disgusting.

The heroine then tried to reason with his aunt-in-law, “Aunt, Qin Ao and Qin Yan are brothers. If you bring your niece over, what will people say? It could affect Qin Ao’s college entrance exam. Why not wait until after the exam, until Brother Qin Yan is of legal age, before considering marriage?”

“Oh, we can just have a wedding feast first and get the certificate once he’s of age. That’s what many people do back in our hometown.”

“But Brother Qin Yan doesn’t want this.” The heroine continued, “How about we ask Brother Qin Yan himself if he prefers a caretaker or marriage?”

Qin Yan was now sure that the heroine had been reborn.

He chuckled coldly to himself. So his rebirth was just some scraps left over from the heroine’s rebirth.

In the previous life, the heroine had used him and his mother as stepping stones, rising to become a winner in life. And such a life still needed to be repeated? What a joke.

Qin Yan spoke coldly, “Then get a caretaker.”

Since her son had spoken, Miao Shufang respected his wishes and said to his grandmother, “Mom, Qin Yan is your grandson, isn’t he? You wouldn’t force him, would you?”

After some back-and-forth with her eldest daughter-in-law, the old lady finally compromised, “Fine, then find a caretaker first.”

Mu Xuehui felt a sense of joy—she had made a change.

Mu Xuehui had also been reborn. In her previous life, she had ended up choosing Qin Ao, that hypocritical man, and at the peak of her life, Qin Ao had filed for divorce.

The divorce battle was grueling, with the hypocrite pulling ruthless moves, denying her value, accusing her of malice, and even wishing her death.

Only then did she think of Qin Yan, who had died long ago. Despite being paralyzed, he was more genuine than Qin Ao. After the families merged, Qin Yan treated her, his stepsister without any blood relation, really well. But there was no use in regretting it—Qin Yan was already dead.

In the end, she dragged Qin Ao down with her, only to find herself reborn.

This time, she wouldn’t choose Qin Ao. As for Qin Yan, she would try her best to be kinder to him.

Qin Yan’s mother was a pushover, too weak and indecisive. Mu Xuehui withdrew her thoughts and began addressing the first challenge after rebirth—accelerating the formation of the merged family.

Her father was Qin Yan’s attending doctor, but he and Qin Yan’s mother had yet to start developing feelings for each other. She needed to push them together. First, she had to get Qin Yan’s mother to file for divorce early, while restoring her father’s reputation, so his future widowhood would instead become a divorce.

Mu Xuehui knew that pushing for remarriage now would be too hasty, especially with the college entrance exams just over two months away. She had to focus on her studies and get into university—she couldn’t afford to become a housewife again. She needed to change her fate through education.

She needed to burn the midnight oil to study, leaving no time to take care of Qin Yan. That’s why she suggested finding a caretaker to take her place.

Once she got into university, she would have a whole summer to win him over.

Qin Yan’s mother had her own plans. She quietly told Mu Xuehui, “The nanny is just an excuse. I want to find a beautiful young nanny, someone who can develop feelings for Qin Yan over time. As long as she can give Qin Yan a child, whether a boy or a girl, I’ll give her a courtyard house. Maybe if Qin Yan has a family and a child, he’ll have the motivation to keep going.”

A courtyard house—right under the old city’s walls. In her past life, Mu Xuehui used that very courtyard as capital for Qin Ao’s business.

This time, of course, she wouldn’t let her stepmother and stepbrother’s courtyard end up with Qin Ao, but she also didn’t want Qin Yan to get married.

Although she knew Qin Yan would never marry in this lifetime, hearing her future stepmother’s plans still left her feeling a bit uneasy.

“Alright, Aunt Miao. Let me try and persuade Brother Qin Yan to accept the young nanny.”

“Ah, good child, go on then.”

Just as Mu Xuehui crouched down next to Qin Yan’s wheelchair, a cup of cold water was poured over her head. It was the same in her past life—Qin Yan had made her suffer many humiliations.

Qin Yan’s lips curled into a mocking smile, his handsome mouth spitting out a single word, “Scram!”

In her past life, Mu Xuehui had left feeling aggrieved and harbored resentment toward her future stepbrother, but this time, she wouldn’t back down.

Wiping the water from her face, she spoke with a hint of grievance but still encouraged him, “Brother Qin Yan, stay strong. Things will get better. I promise.”

Qin Yan felt sick to his stomach. Her future might get better, but he was still bound to follow the script, playing the part of a twisted, disgusting stepbrother.

Alright, if it’s all about following the script, Qin Yan whispered coldly in her ear, “The day of the car accident, I saw your dad’s boss put his hands inside your shirt, and you and your father just put up with it. Your whole family is spineless.”

Mu Xuehui’s deepest secret had been exposed. She trembled all over—she was a victim, too. Why did Qin Yan have to use such venomous words to pour salt on her wounds? Was there really no way to redeem him early on?

Ashamed and angry, Mu Xuehui ran out.

As she reached the door, the matchmaker arrived, leading a girl with patched clothes. Many girls were willing to have a child for a paralyzed Qin Yan, for the sake of that courtyard house and the generous matchmaker’s fee.

Mu Xuehui paused, worried for a moment, but hearing Qin Yan’s roar and the embarrassed retreat of the would-be bride, her worry dissipated. Qin Yan’s pride had been shattered entirely—unless his legs healed, he wouldn’t marry any girl.

After Qin Yan had driven away several pretty nannies, the recruiter from the nanny agency was at her wit’s end and tried to persuade Miao Shufang, “Shufang, this isn’t working. I have another candidate—not suitable for marriage, but definitely a qualified nanny. Just think of it as finding Qin Yan a little sister—having someone around to talk to him will be better than him being alone.”

Miao Shufang looked at the girl the recruiter pointed to—she seemed too young, fair-skinned, and beautiful. Even the cobwebs on her face couldn’t hide her delicate features, and though her clothes were patched, she was prettier than the stars on TV.

“Where is she from? What’s her character like?”

“She’s my second cousin’s daughter, but to be honest, she’s not too bright. My cousin doesn’t like her much, so when it came time for the countryside labor placements, she sent her instead of her older sister.”

The countryside labor program—that must’ve been seven or eight years ago. This girl would’ve been just a child at the time. They sent a kid to do it?

The recruiter sighed, “She’s not very smart, just a bit simple-minded, and she eats a lot. Her mother doesn’t like her for it. Out in the countryside, she was fed here and there by different families, and that’s how she grew up.”

“How much does she eat?” Miao Shufang was skeptical. How could someone be disliked by their own mother just because they eat a lot?

The recruiter held up three fingers. “Don’t be fooled by her small frame; she eats like a bottomless pit—three to four times what a grown farmhand would eat. In the city, who could afford to keep her?”

It was only 1979, and few families in the city were truly affluent yet. Who could bear such an appetite?

Miao Shufang thought that no matter how much she ate, her family owned a restaurant—surely, they could afford to feed a young nanny?

Miao Shufang said, “Our family doesn’t mind if a nanny eats a lot. She’ll do.”

The recruiter added, “I should tell you, she’s got quite the strength and has hit employers before, but only the male employers who tried to take advantage of her. Qin Yan certainly won’t, so I thought she’d be a good fit for you.”

Naturally, a big eater would be strong.

Miao Shufang considered her son’s current condition. Having someone strong enough to take care of him would be convenient, and besides, she was beautiful. Maybe, spending time together every day, her son might just develop feelings for her.

“Alright, I’ll take her today.”

The recruiter was pleased and called over Jiang Ruan, “Ruan Ruan, come over here. Aunt Miao has a son at home. He’s paralyzed and has a bad temper, tends to curse people, but he won’t take advantage of you. Your tasks include cooking, cleaning, helping him bathe, and taking him out to get some sun. Meals are covered, eat as much as you like, and the monthly salary is fifty yuan. Do you want to give it a try?”

Jiang Ruan was from a post-apocalyptic world where she’d struggled to survive as a low-level healer. She had barely managed to keep herself alive. Here, it was still difficult to support herself.

As much food as she wanted? She could hardly believe such a good opportunity existed.

Worried they might change their mind, Jiang Ruan quickly tidied her hair and tried to look more presentable. “As long as your son doesn’t act indecently, I’m not afraid of being scolded. I promise to take good care of him.”

The recruiter laughed and joked with Miao Shufang, “Though she might not be very bright, she’s an excellent worker. You’ll see in just a few days.”

“Ah, I’m just worried Qin Yan will drive her away. Jiang Ruan—can I call you Ruan Ruan? My son is in a bad mood because of his paralysis. You have to be proactive, talk to him often, and cheer him up. If he lets you stay, I’ll give you a raise, okay?”

“Sure, sure.” Jiang Ruan eagerly promised she’d make Qin Yan like her. No matter what, she was determined to keep this well-paid job that included meals.