Chapter 001

001  

Qingyin opened her eyes again, only to find herself still lying in this small partitioned room.  

Yes, she had transmigrated—and into a novel, no less.  

In her previous life, Qingyin had been an orphan, fortunate enough to be adopted by a rural barefoot doctor. She excelled in both character and academics from a young age. Though she underperformed in the college entrance exams, she still managed to get into a first-tier university, studying the major she loved. After graduation, she worked on the clinical frontlines for many years before resigning to start her own business, eventually expanding her traditional Chinese medicine clinic into a chain enterprise. Achieving financial freedom at a young age, she was often called a “career-minded genius” by those around her.  

Despite her wealth, she never became “heartlessly rich.” Instead, she devoted herself to charity, particularly supporting education in mountainous regions and aiding orphans… She believed she had done nothing morally wrong, so why had she transmigrated into the period novel she read before bed—and worse, as a minor aunt who only appeared in one chapter but met a tragic end?  

In this novel, the male lead, after securing a job as a Worker-Peasant-Soldier University Student, quickly became the most sought-after technician in the research and development workshop of Shucheng City’s steel plant, thanks to his handsome looks and exceptional interpersonal skills. Later, riding the wave of reform and opening-up, he ventured south into business and amassed great wealth.  

Aside from his flourishing career, his romantic storyline was equally sweet. The male lead fell in love with the female lead during their humble beginnings, and together they wrote an inspiring life story. The occasional sweet moments between them left readers swooning.  

The rare misunderstandings and jealousy arcs, however, gripped readers’ hearts—especially whenever the supporting female character Qing Huihui appeared, provoking even the most silent readers to comment: “When will this love-struck fool exit the story?”—a remark that garnered the most likes.  

This “love-struck fool” had a younger aunt named Qingyin. Though her seniority was high, she was Old Mr. Qing’s late-life daughter, truly cherished like a pearl in his palm. The young aunt was naive, innocent, and adorably charming, with striking beauty. In the author’s own words, she was the most beautiful girl in Xinghua Alley—even the female lead paled slightly beside her.  

When this character was first introduced, readers adored her, thinking the Qing family finally had a normal person.  

But as the story progressed, something felt off—  

The eldest Qing brother died in a steel plant accident, leaving behind a job opportunity. Whether following Old Mr. Qing’s dying wish or the principle of equal division between the two branches of the family, this opportunity should have gone to the young aunt. Yet, the love-struck fool generously handed it over to the male lead’s third sister, who was supposed to be sent to the countryside as an educated youth!  

Old Mr. Qing had worked hard all his life to accumulate savings, which he divided equally between his children before his death. But when the love-struck fool learned that the male lead wanted to venture into business but lacked capital, she “borrowed” the young aunt’s share for him—and it was never returned, even by the novel’s end.  

Old Mrs. Qing, originally the daughter of a wealthy Jiangnan merchant, had brought a considerable dowry, including at least four well-preserved courtyard houses. According to the will, the young aunt was to inherit two of them. Yet, just half a month after the properties were returned, the love-struck fool sold them at a dirt-cheap price to the male lead’s family.  

Even the young aunt’s fiancé from her Childhood Sweetheart Marriage Arrangement became a stepping stone for the male lead’s rise in various plotlines.  

And in the end, the young aunt was forced to take a fatal stab meant for the male lead, dying tragically on the streets.

In the end, the love-struck fool became the target of everyone’s scorn, but she felt utterly wronged. She didn’t think the male lead was a scumbag—he treated her well. He was just… Readers with normal moral compasses were furious. Poor Little Auntie!

Qingyin nearly developed mastitis from frustration—because her name was also Qingyin, the same as Little Auntie’s.

What was even more shocking was that when Qingyin woke up, she found she had transmigrated into the role of the pitiable Little Auntie. She was utterly dumbfounded.

Had she destroyed the Milky Way in her past life? Of all the novels to transmigrate into and all the characters to become, why did she have to end up as the little aunt of a love-struck supporting female character?

Qingyin sighed. She had been here for a full day now, convinced that a good night’s sleep would send her back to the real world. But after countless failed attempts, fragments of the original host’s memories gradually surfaced in her mind.

Little Auntie’s life was both unfortunate and fortunate. Old Mrs. Qing had succumbed to illness when Qingyin was just a month old, leaving Old Mr. Qing, at the ripe age of sixty, to raise her single-handedly until she turned seventeen. He, too, had passed away last year.

Yet, Little Auntie was also lucky. Having grown up without a mother, her father and eldest brother doted on her, spoiling her into a naive and innocent girl. The old man had gone to great lengths to pave the way for her future, not only leaving her a considerable inheritance and dowry in writing but also arranging a Childhood Sweetheart Marriage for her early on.

Had it not been for the love-struck fool meddling in her life, she would have lived comfortably, peacefully, and happily.

Qingyin sighed again. That love-struck fool—she harmed others and herself!

Hearing the sigh, Lin Suifen, who had been quietly sobbing next door, suddenly burst into loud wails.

Dawn had already broken, and the courtyard was bustling with activity—people washing their faces, brushing their teeth, making breakfast. But at the sound of Lin Suifen’s cries, everyone could only sigh inwardly.

“The Qing family is truly unlucky. First, the old man passed away last year, and now Boss is gone this year.”

“With both pillars gone, what’s left is a house full of women. How will they manage?”

“When Qingyang was around, the women in that household never had to lift a finger. He did everything for them.”

Though Qingyang hadn’t inherited much of his father’s medical skills—only working as a modest doctor in the clinic, handling minor ailments—he was famously known as the best man in the No. 16 Courtyard of Xinghua Alley. He could cook, do household chores, and was incredibly considerate. Lin Suifen had married him years ago and had barely washed clothes a handful of times.

Sadly, this “good man” had died in an accident just days ago, leaving behind his wife, daughter, and his younger sister Qingyin, who was six years younger than his own child.

Amid the murmurs of the crowd, Qingyin could no longer stay in bed. She got up, put on her padded jacket, and carried a basin and towel from the outer room to wash up.

The early spring morning was bitingly cold, and the wind made Qingyin shiver. Back in her past life, she had been career-driven, capable of working three days straight without sleep. Waking up early was routine, and she never minded the heat or cold.

But now, after transmigrating, even her constitution felt different.

“Oh, Qingyin, you’re up so early. Why not sleep a little longer?” Aunt Zhao, the loudest voice in the courtyard, asked sympathetically.

“Couldn’t sleep, so I got up.”

“Ah, what’s done is done. You’ll have to make peace with it. At least you’ll graduate from high school soon.”

Qingyin paused before remembering—the original host had just turned eighteen and was in her final semester of high school. She would graduate in three months.

Someone nudged Aunt Zhao’s arm and winked, “High school graduate, my foot! With the Qing family’s current situation, where would they get the money for high school?”

Old Mr. Qing was a man of integrity and incorruptible, with clean sleeves—he hadn’t saved much of a family fortune. Otherwise, they wouldn’t still be living in the No. 16 compound after all these years. His eldest son, Qingyang, had been working for years, but he was henpecked, spending all his wages on his wife, daughter, and younger sister. Even the money for the emergency hospital stay after his recent accident had to be borrowed.

Word was they owed several hundred yuan—who knew when they’d ever pay that off.

Qingyin’s sister-in-law, Lin Suifen, had originally been a clerk in the steel mill’s propaganda department. But when Qing Huihui graduated from high school, to keep her from being sent to the countryside, Lin had to give up her job for her daughter. Now, the only wage earner in the entire Qing household was Qing Huihui.

In the past, though Qingyang’s medical skills were mediocre, his seniority and amiable nature—always ready with a smile—had earned him the favor of the factory leaders out of respect for Old Mr. Qing. He’d been drawing a Grade 8 chief physician’s salary of 115 yuan, the highest in the entire compound!

Qing Huihui had started with a Grade 8 clerk’s salary of 33 yuan. Over the years, she’d shown little interest in studying or taking exams. While her peers had advanced to Grade 6 clerks, she’d barely managed to scrape by as a Grade 7 clerk on the dwindling prestige of the Qing family and her high school diploma, earning thirty-seven yuan and fifty fen.

Thirty-seven fifty to feed three mouths—all of them “spendthrift women” accustomed to living large—made for truly hard times.

“Poor Huihui, still a young girl herself, having to support her little aunt,” someone murmured sympathetically, drawing nods of agreement from the other aunties.

“With two dependents in tow, her marriage prospects don’t look good.”

“Qingyin, don’t take this the wrong way,” one aunt ventured, “but if you really care about your niece and sister-in-law, you should quit school. You’ll be married off anyway—what’s the use of studying when you can’t even take college exams?”

Qingyin said nothing, committing the speaker’s face to memory.

She firmly believed that anyone—man or woman, young or old—who discouraged girls from getting an education, calling it a waste, was no damn good.

The original Qingyin had been oblivious to worldly affairs, retaining a childlike mentality. She’d spent her time playing house with the seven- and eight-year-old girls in the compound. Beyond basic manners and greetings, she knew nothing of these women’s true natures—who was friends with whom, who couldn’t stand whom, which families bore grudges against hers.

What a… naive fool.

Mentally cataloging their words and actions, Qingyin finished brushing her teeth and washing her face before returning to her room.

Who was Qingyin? Having accepted she couldn’t return, her top priority now was survival. Gathering as much information as possible might yield unexpected advantages later, so she’d been quietly listening. Everyone attributed her unusual behavior to the recent upheavals, speaking freely around her without suspicion.

In the original story, Qingyin hadn’t been abruptly written off without buildup. She remembered several key turning points: first dropping out of high school, then having her job snatched away, being forced to the countryside, followed by her dowry being “borrowed” and her home sold… Her tragic death on the streets came in the early 1980s. These intervening years gave her enough time to devise a survival strategy.

Currently, it seemed that everyone in the compound sympathized with Qing Huihui. Many people advised her behind the scenes to persuade her young aunt to drop out of school. As a result, the Qingyin in the original story was also brainwashed by the crowd, believing she was a burden to her niece. To avoid making her niece’s life too difficult, she voluntarily proposed quitting school.

Little did she know, the inheritance her parents had left for her elder brother and his wife was more than enough to support a young girl like her. She hadn’t taken anything from anyone, nor did she owe anyone anything.

Later, because the job left by her elder brother was given by the love-struck fool to the male lead’s third sister, Qingyin—lacking a high school diploma—couldn’t qualify for temporary job openings. She had no choice but to go to the countryside as an educated youth.

During her years in the countryside, Qing Huihui only wrote her a single letter when she wanted to meddle with her dowry. She never visited her, and after the first six months, she stopped sending her even a single cent for living expenses, leaving her to fend for herself in the rural wilderness.

Just imagine—an eighteen-year-old city girl, orphaned, beautiful, and utterly harmless, stranded in an unfamiliar countryside. What kind of life did she lead? The original book didn’t go into detail, but any reader with a shred of decency could guess.

That’s why so many readers were outraged when the young aunt died in the end.

Thinking of that scenario, Qingyin’s anger flared up again. That love-struck fool—just drop dead!