Chapter 1

“Wenhua, I really love you. If you stay here, you’ll only waste your youth. Come with me—I’ll treat you well for the rest of my life!”

Xia Wenhua had barely finalized her deal with the God of Transmigration when she was abruptly kicked into the novel. The moment she opened her eyes, she was face-to-face with a greasy, noodle-like pretty boy droning on and on. Suddenly, the plot of the story flooded into her mind.

She quickly realized this was the night the original owner had planned to elope. Meanwhile, the male lead was already on his way to catch them in the act. Without hesitation, she made her move—marching straight up to the pretty boy and slapping him hard across the face.

“What nonsense are you spouting? You owe me money—pay it back immediately! If you keep talking crap, don’t blame me for being rude!”

Almost as soon as she finished speaking, the door to the educated youth commune was kicked open from the outside. Xia Wenhua silently thanked her luck.

After all, in the original storyline, the original owner had been caught pouring her heart out to this pretty boy educated youth. Despite the male lead giving her multiple chances, she had stubbornly insisted on running off with him. This event had led the male lead to awaken a deep-seated resentment toward women.

Not only did he fail to marry the original female lead as the author intended, but he also completely gave up on love, focusing solely on his career and neglecting his children. As a result, two major villains were born into the world.

The failure of the male and female leads to marry caused a fracture in the book’s world. However, since this was a real world and not just fiction, the damage could be gradually restored—if left to develop naturally.

What no one expected was that the male lead’s children were extraordinarily gifted. But without a mother’s guidance from an early age, their brilliance turned into psychological issues. They grew to hate the world and eventually dragged the entire world into ruin. The destruction they caused was truly shocking.

The God of Transmigration had tried many times to save the world by sending people into it. But each time, those people saw this world as just a novel. They insisted on competing with the original female lead and ignored the feelings of those around them, treating everyone like fictional characters. This only accelerated the male lead and his children’s descent into madness and brought the small world closer to collapse.

After much reflection, the God of Transmigration changed strategies.

Xia Wenhua, who had died from a terminal illness, had her soul captured at the moment of death and was offered this chance at life.

Coming to this world was her only chance at survival—there was no way back. To keep living, she had to fully become the original Xia Wenhua.

Now, seeing Pei Songbai appear at the door, a genuine panic flashed through her eyes. She immediately ran up to him, saying, “Songbai, why are you back?”

Pei Songbai, true to his name, stood over 1.8 meters tall, with a cold, resolute face and a tall, strong frame that radiated determination.

Born to a farming family, he started working at age 13 to support himself. By 18, thanks to a fortunate connection, he joined the military. In just over a decade, he had become the youngest regiment commander in Heilongjiang Province. He was filial to his parents, loving to his brothers, and doting to his wife. Aside from lacking a formal education, he had virtually no flaws.

It was this very man who, due to the world’s manipulation, had one fateful night with the original Xia Wenhua—and it resulted in twin children.

The original Wenhua came from a scholarly family, growing up in a well-off environment. Even though circumstances forced her to the countryside, her bourgeois tastes never faded. She had always admired cultured, intellectual men. To her, Pei Songbai’s one flaw—his lack of education—was magnified to the extreme. The two were doomed from the start.

Countless thoughts raced through her mind in an instant.

Pei Songbai didn’t answer her question. Instead, he strode into the room, grabbed Wang Anran—the pretty boy—and gave him a brutal beating. Every punch landed with a heavy thud. Even Xia Wenhua, just listening on the side, winced at the sound.

Wang Anran hadn’t expected to get caught seducing another man’s wife red-handed. He never had much courage to begin with, and now he was utterly terrified, screaming in pain.

“Stop! Please, stop! I won’t do it again!”

Pei Songbai ignored him. Fueled by rage, he shouted, “It was all Xia Wenhua who seduced me! I didn’t do anything!”

Just as he hoped, Pei Songbai’s fists paused for a moment. But before Wang Anran could catch his breath, he was met with even more intense punches.

Only when Wang Anran was half-dead did Pei Songbai stop. He turned to Xia Wenhua and asked, “You wanted to go with him?”

“No, I didn’t!” Xia Wenhua shook her head instinctively and quickly explained, “Songbai, I really wasn’t going to run off with him. I just came to get back the money he borrowed from me. That’s the truth!”

Pei Songbai’s eyes were bloodshot—clearly furious. No man could calmly accept being cheated on. Regardless of how he felt inside, if they were going to continue as husband and wife, this matter had to be resolved.

Xia Wenhua had come prepared. Fearing he wouldn’t believe her, she pulled a freshly signed IOU out of her pocket. “Here’s the proof. These are the debts Wang Anran owes me. He said he’d repay me today—that’s the only reason I came. I didn’t expect him to talk such nonsense. Songbai, please believe me!”

Whether she could survive depended entirely on whether Pei Songbai believed her. Naturally, Xia Wenhua was extremely nervous, looking at him with earnest eyes.

A flicker of something unreadable passed through Pei Songbai’s eyes. He stared at her and asked, “You’re not leaving with him—you want to live a proper life with me?”

He wasn’t well-educated. Even though he held a high rank in the military, it was all earned through blood and sweat. He could barely read enough to get by. As for Xia Wenhua’s flowery language and literary airs, he couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

By some twist of fate, the two had ended up together and even had children. If only for the kids, he didn’t want this family to fall apart.

Sensing that Pei Songbai had softened, Xia Wenhua didn’t push further and immediately made a vow: “I never wanted to go with him. I’ll definitely live a good life with you.”

She spoke with conviction, showing not even a trace of reluctance. Pei Songbai stared at her for a long time before finally taking the IOU from her hands.

On it were detailed notes of the amounts Wang Anran had borrowed—from one or two yuan to over thirty at a time—adding up to more than two hundred yuan.

SLAM!

He threw the pile of IOUs in front of Wang Anran. “Comrade Wang, you came here today to repay your debts?”

Wang Anran shivered and cautiously glanced up at the couple.

Seeing that she finally had a chance at a new life, Xia Wenhua feared this rat might say something stupid and anger the male lead again. So she rushed forward and gave Wang Anran a hard kick. “Wang Anran, my Songbai is back. If you know what’s good for you, pay back the money now and we’ll call it even. But if you try to deny it, I promise you’ll regret it!”

“Humph!” A quiet snort came from behind her. Even without turning around, Xia Wenhua could feel the man’s gaze piercing straight through her.

She instinctively shrank her neck and pressed on, still glaring at Wang Anran:
“Two hundred eighty-six yuan and fifty-four cents—the IOUs are right here. Pay up!”