Chapter 1: Reborn as a Stunning Mixed-Blood Beauty

August 8, 1985

Ertuozi Village

The weather was clear, the sky a deep, cloudless blue it was the kind of day that lifted the spirits.

“Living a good life, vibrant and thriving.”
“Caught up in a great era, joyful and full of youth.”

Humming a cheerful tune, Rong Mei lay lazily on a lounge chair. Above her was a makeshift sunshade made of dry grass. She reached out, grabbed a soda from beside her, took a sip, and then let out a satisfied burp.

If you ignored the mud-brick house behind her and the dirt ground beneath her feet, just judging by Rong Mei’s relaxed posture.

You might have thought she was vacationing on a beach in the Maldives.

But Rong Mei didn’t care.

As long as you have a good mindset, any place can feel like Bali.

“Tch, shameless vixen, homewrecker!”

From outside the courtyard fence, Luo Xiuxiu peered in and spat in disgust at the leisurely lounging Rong Mei, her eyes full of hatred like she wanted to tear her apart.

But her curse was only a barely audible mutter she didn’t dare speak louder.

Otherwise, she’d be on the receiving end of a one-sided beating again.

Ever since this “vixen” Rong Mei married into the Zhou family, Luo Xiuxiu’s life had become pure misery.

She used to not even need to wash a single dish at home. Now? She had to do everything around the house and even dig in the fields.

No one knew what kind of spell this vixen had cast on Mother-in-law Liu Rong, who insisted on spending 500 yuan to bring this woman home to marry her off to the youngest Zhou son who was still away serving in the military.

With a hoe slung over her shoulder, Luo Xiuxiu wore a dark face, keeping her head low and doing her best to go unnoticed.

As soon as she stepped into the courtyard.

“Oh? Back from the fields, sis-in-law?”

Rong Mei lazily glanced at Luo Xiuxiu, who had just entered, and took a juicy bite out of a sweet, crisp pear. She greeted her with a bright, sunny smile.

Startled, Luo Xiuxiu instinctively tensed up, her whole body stiffening.

She feared that woman would pull another wicked trick on her.

She muttered a barely audible reply and scurried off like she was fleeing for her life, disappearing into the easternmost room of the house.

Rong Mei tilted her head in Luo Xiuxiu’s direction and squinted slightly.

Then she looked away.

Very good seeing others unhappy made her happy.

With her mood lifted, she smiled with genuine satisfaction.

On the first day she realized she had transmigrated, she figured it out:

Life is short. Be lazy when you can.

In her previous life, she worked herself to death just to outdo others.

Not anymore.

No more waking up at dawn and working until lights out.

Screw those demanding clients.
Screw the business dinners that made her puke blood.
Screw pretending to be humble just to survive.

She wasn’t some workhorse she was human!

The past was the past. Now, she was a whole new beast.

If gods tried to stop her, she’d slay gods. If Buddhas blocked her path, she’d smash them too.
She would treat others the way they treated her.

Live freely. Don’t let your boobs suffer stress.

That’s why, on her first day here, she gave Luo Xiuxiu a solid beating.

The reason was simple:

She couldn’t stand watching her insult a woman in her fifties her mother-in-law, no less.

That mother-in-law happened to be the original host’s mother-in-law too.

The original owner shared the same name: Rong Mei, 18 years old.

She wasn’t originally from Harbin, though that was her registered hometown.

She came from Heihe City, in the northernmost part of Heilongjiang Province.

Heihe borders Russia, and during World War II, many Russians moved there to escape the chaos.

After the war, some went back, but many stayed, settled down, and had families.

At that time, the Chinese government granted them official citizenship, recognizing them as a minority group the Russian ethnic group.

The original Rong Mei’s mother was one of those descendants a typical Slavic beauty, with fair skin, defined features, a well-proportioned figure, and striking Siberian blue eyes.

Her father was a true Northeastern man broad frame, wide shoulders, long arms and legs built like a perfect inverted triangle.

Even though the couple had long passed their youthful prime, he remained charming, and her mother still exuded grace and allure.

The original host perfectly inherited the best of both their looks.

She had the defined bone structure of Westerners combined with the delicate, smooth features of the East.

Her father’s genes softened the strong Caucasian features, giving her a more refined and elegant Eastern appearance pure and captivating. Even her hair wasn’t the golden shade of her mother’s but leaned more toward a dark brown-black.

But the most stunning and unforgettable part of her was her deep, mesmerizing eyes a rare blend of icy blue mixed with amber tones. They looked like they held multicolored diamonds, and the moment you met her gaze, it was as if the stars of the universe all faded into dust.

The only regret was that she didn’t inherit her parents’ great height.

Her father was over 1.8 meters tall, and her mother Natalia stood at model height over 1.7 meters.

But when it came to Rong Mei, her height was “shrunk,” barely even hitting 169.5 cm a “shortie” in comparison.

Apparently, all the height genes had gone into perfecting her figure instead.

Her waist could be gripped with one hand, and she had a perfectly curvy figure with a narrow waist and full hips.

With the face of an angel and a devilishly seductive body, she looked like she had walked straight out of a painting too perfect to be real.

As for how the original Rong Mei became the daughter-in-law of the Zhou family, well, that was a long story.

Years ago, Rong Mei’s father had traveled alone from Harbin to the border city of Heihe to make a living.

There, he met Natalia by chance and it was love at first sight.

For Natalia, he made the bold decision to stay in Heihe. They got married, and not long after, gave birth to Rong Mei.

They had only one daughter, and Rong Mei was raised with love her entire life.

Because of her father’s courage and ambition, he had been doing border trade (known as daoye) ever since China’s reform and opening-up. In the past years, he’d made a fortune.

Especially in recent years, he often took Rong Mei along on cross-border trips between China and Russia.

And it was during one of these trips that fate took a turn.

In Russia, Rong Mei met a young German boy. They fell in love and promised each other a future.

But after Rong Mei returned to China, the boy started dating someone else. His excuse was that he couldn’t handle a long-distance relationship or her emotionally reserved, indirect expressions of love.

It was the first time Rong Mei had truly fallen for someone and she was betrayed.

Heartbroken and unable to recover from the pain of her first love, she attempted suicide.

Fortunately, she was rescued in time and survived.

However, once she regained consciousness, she insisted on leaving that sorrowful place.

She wanted to return to her father’s hometown and find a man as reliable, loyal, and upright as her father.

Her parents made arrangements and sent her to stay temporarily with her uncle’s family in the countryside.

Her uncle’s family lived in a rural village. They were simple farmers who had received help from her father over the years. With that support, they managed to build a new house and were now living comfortably by village standards.

As soon as Rong Mei arrived at the village, she openly expressed that she was ready to meet suitors.

Very quickly, eligible bachelors from nearby villages flocked to propose.

Because she was just too beautiful.

Most of them had never seen someone so stunning in their entire lives.

Even if they didn’t propose, they came just to take a look.

Among those who heard the news was Liu Rong, from the neighboring village.

Without hesitation, she found the local matchmaker and brought a photo of her youngest son, Zhou Nanxu, and went to see Rong Mei.

A face-value person to the core, Liu Rong was instantly won over by Rong Mei’s beauty.

And Rong Mei, after seeing Zhou Nanxu’s photo, was very satisfied with both his appearance and his status as a soldier.

Without waiting for her parents’ reply, she made the decision herself accepted the 500 yuan bride price from Liu Rong, and returned with her to the Zhou family to become Zhou Nanxu’s “wife.”

But on the second day after arriving at the Zhou household, the original host’s soul was replaced and now Rong Mei had taken over.