Chapter 1: Transmigration

Summer of 1970.

The cicadas in the parasol trees chirped tirelessly. Sunlight streamed through the rusted iron window bars, casting warm rays into the hospital room, where the sharp scent of disinfectant lingered heavily in the air.

Shen Nanqing felt like her head had been hammered—dazed and groggy. She instinctively raised her hand, and the sharp pain on the back of it jolted her into clarity.

Looking around, everything around her radiated a sense of another era. A portrait of a great leader hung on the peeling wall, and on a heavily worn wooden desk sat an enamel mug printed with a red five-pointed star, its edges chipped in several places.

Shen Nanqing was full of confusion. “Where is this?”

Just then, the hospital room door was pushed open, and a nurse walked in. She smiled with simple kindness. “Comrade Shen, you’re awake.”

Shen Nanqing nodded instinctively. Her voice was hoarse as she cautiously asked, “Ex… excuse me, where am I? Why am I here?”

The young nurse was momentarily stunned. She looked at the pale but still stunningly beautiful Shen Nanqing and gently comforted her, “This is the infirmary of our unit. You fell off the stage during rehearsal and hit your head. You’ve been unconscious, but the doctor said it’s nothing serious.”

Shen Nanqing couldn’t process a word that followed. Her mind buzzed—wasn’t she just dreaming?

She had trained in dance since childhood and had won countless awards. Just when she reached the peak of her career, her body began showing signs of trouble, forcing her to halt all work and start treatment in the hospital.

Before losing consciousness, she had been on the operating table, drifting off under anesthesia. What followed was a long, long dream.

In the dream, she witnessed a girl’s entire life—a girl who not only looked exactly like her but even had the same name. The only difference was that the girl had a warm, loving family, while she had always been alone in the world.

The dream-version Shen Nanqing seemed born under a lucky star. Her father was the director of a machinery factory, her mother an accountant at a textile mill. She had three older brothers who doted on her endlessly. Raised in a cocoon of love, she grew up carefree, developing a pampered and innocent personality.

After high school, when the trend of being sent to the countryside swept through the nation, her father refused to let her suffer and used his connections to get her a spot in the literary and art troupe. Fortunately, she had striking looks and a flexible body, so she passed the audition and stayed. After a few years of training, she had become a key performer in the troupe.

For the twenty-some years of her life, Shen Nanqing had gone smoothly along every path—her only hardship being in the realm of “love.”

She and Li Haoxuan had grown up together in the same compound, always inseparable. They were childhood sweethearts. She had even agreed to join the art troupe because he was the bugler there—she had grown used to his presence.

Her fate began to change the moment she met Xu Ruyan. Shen Nanqing had always been proud, like a peacock, never deigning to acknowledge anyone in the troupe, which led to her often being isolated. Still just a young girl at heart, she was delighted when Xu Ruyan approached her with warmth.

As they spent more time together, Shen Nanqing truly treated Xu Ruyan as a close sister, wholeheartedly good to her—even introducing Li Haoxuan to her. What she hadn’t expected was that her dear “sister” would stab her in the back.

Li Haoxuan had always treated her with special care, but somehow, all that affection shifted to Xu Ruyan. Betrayed by both her childhood sweetheart and her best friend, the proud Shen Nanqing couldn’t possibly swallow such a humiliation.

Trying to win Li Haoxuan back, she constantly tried to trip Xu Ruyan up. Unfortunately, though she had beauty, she lacked brains, and all her schemes ended up backfiring on her. The fall from the stage this time—was Xu Ruyan’s doing.

Shen Nanqing tried to shake off everything from the dream, but in the end, she had to accept the truth—she had really transmigrated.

She consoled herself: Well, since I’m here, I might as well make peace with it. At least I’m alive—and healthy. Besides, the emotions in that dream felt too real. It’s like… I really was her.

Shen Nanqing stepped out of the infirmary, and the wave of summer heat that hit her felt all too real. Everything before her eyes was unfamiliar—and yet strangely familiar.

From now on, she was Shen Nanqing.

The infirmary wasn’t far from the dormitories of the performing arts troupe. Shen Nanqing didn’t run into anyone on her way back. Just as she reached for the door, she paused, as if guided by instinct—someone inside had just mentioned her name.

“Xu Ruyan, didn’t you say you and Shen Nanqing were like sisters? Then how come she got hurt and you haven’t even gone to see her?”

A flicker of gloom flashed in Xu Ruyan’s eyes. She knew Li Zhen had always looked down on her and liked to mock her whenever she could. But since Li Zhen had a powerful father who was a division commander, she had no choice but to swallow her anger. Usually, Shen Nanqing would speak up for her and put Li Zhen in her place.

“Nanqing probably doesn’t want to see me,” Xu Ruyan said after a pause, her expression full of inner conflict. “There was sand in my dance shoes, and during rehearsal, my foot got hurt and I lost my balance—that’s how I accidentally tripped Nanqing.”

“It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me, Nanqing wouldn’t have gotten injured.” As she spoke, her eyes quickly welled with tears, her face filled with guilt.

“I knew it!” a sharp voice cut in, brimming with excitement.

Zhu Xiaomeng was infamous for stirring up trouble—she had to insert herself into everything. “I remember those dance shoes were a new pair Shen Nanqing gave you. How could there possibly be sand in them? You must have put it there yourself. You did it on purpose!”

Li Zhen caught on and got just as worked up. She had always been overshadowed by Shen Nanqing, and now that she had found a potential scandal, there was no way she’d let it go.

She marched up to Xu Ruyan, tugging on her arm to take her to the troupe leader and report Shen Nanqing.

“That’s not true! You’re wrong—Nanqing isn’t that kind of person,” Xu Ruyan said, tears streaming down her cheeks in crystalline drops. After a moment’s hesitation, as if she had finally made up her mind, she added, “Even if it was her, I wouldn’t blame her.”

Outside the door, Shen Nanqing let out a cold laugh. Xu Ruyan really is a master of white lotus act, she thought. Not only had she smeared Shen Nanqing’s name, she’d even painted herself as the picture of pure kindness and moral virtue.

From what she knew, the original Shen Nanqing had planned to shove Xu Ruyan on stage to embarrass her. But she hadn’t expected Xu Ruyan to react so quickly—dodging the push and even tripping her in return. As for the so-called pebbles in the shoes? Complete nonsense.

Expressionless, Shen Nanqing pushed open the door. The faint scent of snow cream floated in the air. The room, once full of heated voices, instantly fell into silence, as if someone had hit the pause button.

It was Li Zhen who snapped out of it first. Her gaze swept over the bandage on Shen Nanqing’s forehead, and a hint of jealousy flashed in her heart. Heaven really is unfair.

Despite her sickly pallor, Shen Nanqing’s beauty remained striking. In fact, compared to her usual aggressive flair, she now carried a fragile grace that was even more captivating.

“Shen Nanqing, you came at just the right time. Come with me to the troupe leader—I’m reporting you for sabotaging a fellow comrade!” Li Zhen crossed her arms, eyes gleaming with schadenfreude.

Shen Nanqing gave her a sidelong glance and ignored her completely. Instead, she walked straight to Xu Ruyan and stared her down coldly.

“Nanqing, y-you’re okay!” Xu Ruyan forced a smile, her heart in panic. She wasn’t sure if Shen Nanqing had overheard their conversation.

But Shen Nanqing had made up her mind—no more pretending. She wasn’t going to play the scapegoat anymore.