Chapter 3: The Contracted Space

After returning to the room, Gu Siqing placed Dabao and Xiaobao on the bed. The two children were fraternal twins—Dabao was a boy and Xiaobao was a girl. They didn’t look very much alike. Xiaobao resembled her, especially her eyes, while Dabao didn’t look like her much at all—he actually bore some resemblance to her “cheap husband.”

In her past life, Gu Siqing hadn’t thought much about it. She simply assumed it was a coincidence that some people looked alike. But after traveling through ten different worlds to complete missions and reading many future-world novels, she thought—what if her life was just that dramatic?

It was only the early 1980s now. Though DNA paternity testing existed abroad, it wasn’t yet developed domestically. She couldn’t do a test at the moment, but once they got married, she could ask him. And if it was that kind of melodramatic plot—wouldn’t that be great?

“Mom, will Dad like us?” Xiaobao asked expectantly, looking up at her.

The two little ones had always longed for a father. Ever since they were young, they’d stayed at home all the time. Their grandparents would call them shameful bastards who couldn’t be seen in public. “Don’t go out,” they’d say. “You’ll disgrace the family.”

Though the kids didn’t fully understand what “bastards” meant, they could tell from their grandparents’ expressions that it wasn’t a good thing. They were always timid at home, never daring to eat too much and trying their best to help their mother with housework.

Gu Siqing smiled and gently patted their little heads. “Don’t worry, Dad will definitely like you.”

In her past life, after she and that man got married, he truly treated Dabao and Xiaobao as his own children. After they moved in with her husband, their living conditions quickly improved, and before long, they were chubby and well-fed.

The moment Dabao and Xiaobao heard this, they became excited.

Gu Siqing then took out the necklace her mother had left behind and looked at the few pieces of furniture in the room. In the end, she decided to use a small pencil-sharpening knife. Using the seldom-used back edge, she made a small cut on her finger.

Dabao and Xiaobao were startled and immediately jumped off the bed.

“Mom, what are you doing? Does it hurt?” Dabao asked anxiously.

“I’m fine,” Gu Siqing reassured them briefly, then let a drop of her blood fall onto the necklace.

The moment her blood touched the necklace, it was instantly absorbed. In the next moment, a dizzying sensation hit her—and then, she found herself inside a space.

It was vast. A two-story villa stood at the center, with several other buildings nearby. There were also patches of farmland and a few ponds.

Gu Siqing was stunned. This didn’t match the plot the system had fed her.

In the original novel, the female lead Gu Wanrou’s contracted space only included a modest little house, a few fields, and a special spiritual spring. At the beginning, Gu Wanrou had to buy seeds herself and use the spring water to grow fruits and vegetables, which she then sold to get rich. The crops grown with the spring water tasted great and had health benefits, including life extension.

But this space… clearly exceeded the scope of the book.

The villa in front of her was clearly of futuristic design—nothing like the architecture of the 1980s. Back then, houses were simple and plain, as people just needed shelter and didn’t care much about aesthetics. Only very wealthy families could afford proper décor.

But this villa was just like the ones she had seen when she traveled to the world fifty years in the future.

Next to the villa was a building marked with a hospital symbol. One look, and Gu Siqing immediately understood what it was.

Just then, she heard the confused voices of Dabao and Xiaobao outside: “That’s weird, where did Mom go?”

Snapping back to reality, Gu Siqing focused her mind and exited the space.

The two children stared at her in shock.
(ΩДΩ) What just happened?! How did Mom vanish and then reappear like that?!

Squatting down, Gu Siqing asked, “Dabao, Xiaobao, did Mom disappear just now?”

The two kids nodded dumbly, still dazed.

That’s when Gu Siqing remembered—in the later part of the novel, it was mentioned that Gu Wanrou had brought other people into her space. So the entire body could enter, not just the soul?

Thinking of this, she picked up both children and brought them into the space with her.

The moment they entered, both children’s eyes widened in amazement.

Dabao: “Wow! Why did the place change?”
Xiaobao: “That house is huge! Is that really a house?!”

Gu Siqing set them down and said, “Yes, it’s a house. But Dabao, Xiaobao—this is a secret between us. No one else can know. Understand?”

Both children quickly nodded.

Gu Siqing looked at the building with the hospital symbol, then led the two children inside. It turned out to be a mini hospital, with various departments.

She began to wonder: could the space’s form change based on the knowledge and worldview of the person who contracts it?

Since Gu Wanrou’s understanding was limited to the 1980s, her contracted space was basic and old-fashioned. But because Gu Siqing had traveled to different worlds and seen the future, her space was more advanced and futuristic?

With that thought, Gu Siqing took the children to the villa next door.

Inside, it was full of things that definitely didn’t exist in the 1980s. Dabao and Xiaobao curiously looked around as Gu Siqing introduced them to each item. Then, they explored the entire villa together.

The first floor had the living room, kitchen, a shared bathroom, and a large room that had been decorated like a studio, complete with some drawing paper inside. The second floor had several rooms. One of the bedrooms already had a big bed set up, so Gu Siqing simply placed the two children on the bed and said, “We’ll sleep here for now.”

“Wow!” The two children immediately started jumping on the bed.

Before long, it was dinnertime.

Although they had received a bride price of 1,888 yuan, everyone felt that since Gu Siqing was still staying at home and the food was cooked so well, it would be a waste to let her and the two illegitimate kids eat it. So, that night’s dinner was extremely simple. They planned to cook a better meal a few days later, after Gu Siqing got married and left.

During dinner, Gu Ruizhuo, the cousin who had gone out to play, came back. The moment Gu Siqing saw him, she was reminded of the pain of being beaten to death by him in her previous life, and a dark glint flashed in her eyes.

The others didn’t notice anything. When Gu Ruizhuo saw the food on the table, he immediately complained, “What’s going on? Didn’t we get 1,888 yuan as a bride price? Why are we still eating these vegetarian dishes? I want meat!”

Seeing that he was unhappy, Bai Cuiyan quickly tried to comfort him, saying, “We’ll have it in a few days. These vegetables were bought a couple of days ago—if we don’t eat them now, they’ll spoil! Sit down first.”

Bai Cuiyan kept shooting him meaningful looks. Although Gu Ruizhuo didn’t understand what she meant, he still quieted down for the time being.

Gu Siqing casually ate a few bites but fed Da Bao and Xiao Bao quite a lot. Then she took the children back to the room and entered her space, clearly with no intention of doing the dishes or any household chores.

Bai Cuiyan was instantly displeased. “A child who lost her parents really is uneducated! Living here eating and drinking for free and not lifting a finger. If she weren’t getting married in a few days, I’d beat her with a stick myself!”