Chapter 002

Tang Yuan’er sat on the edge of the bed with one short leg tucked under her, holding a roasted sweet potato wrapped in newspaper. The skin was charred and blackened, and she chewed on it, her mouth full of dark, burnt bits.

She opened and closed her small blackened lips, seriously asking Meng Li, “What are you thinking about?”

Since Meng Li had woken up again, she had been staring blankly, not saying a word. Her expression had gone from dull to solemn, and now it looked as though she might burst into tears.

Meng Li managed to snap out of her daze, took a moment to compose herself, and controlled her expression.

She was now a fierce leader, a “wanzhu” in Beijing slang, which referred to a tough, dominant figure. Of course, she couldn’t be crying like this.

With her expression in check, she turned her head to look at Tang Yuan’er and asked in a weak voice, “Where’s your grandmother?”

Tang Yuan’er took another bite of her blackened sweet potato and, still serious, replied, “She went to make you some egg soup, afraid you’d be hungry.”

Meng Li nodded and responded softly, “Oh, thank you.”

Tang Yuan’er blinked twice, her eyes widening slightly. “You can say thank you?”

Meng Li’s gaze shifted uncomfortably for a moment as she thought about the way Meng Li usually acted. Since she had gained a position in Beijing, she barely came to the Cheng family anymore. When she did, she never had a good expression on her face and wasn’t warm with anyone, not even her own mother, Gu Huijuan.

Meng Li pressed her lips together, not saying anything further, afraid that talking too much might reveal something.

She still pulled her thoughts back, focusing on her own worries, but had already consciously controlled her expression. She thought for a moment, sighing inwardly as she stared at the rafters. She comforted herself — just being alive was good enough; what more could she ask for?

“Since I’m here, I’ll make do,” Meng Li decided, pushing away useless thoughts.

A wave of hunger swept through her stomach. She turned her gaze back to Tang Yuan’er’s face, hesitated for a moment, and then, trying to sound like Meng Li, spoke arrogantly, “Hey, kid, give me your sweet potato!”

Because her body was weak, Meng Li’s voice didn’t sound as domineering as she had imagined. Instead, it was a little soft. Tang Yuan’er wasn’t afraid of her at all. She quickly pulled the sweet potato back, hugged it to her chest, and ran out of the room, making a “thud, thud, thud” sound as she went.

Meng Li: “…”

Wasn’t she supposed to be scared of “her”?

Wasn’t it always “give me whatever I want”?

Tang Yuan’er, holding the roasted sweet potato, almost bumped into Grandma Cheng, who had just walked in through the door curtain. Startled, Grandma Cheng steadied the egg soup in her hands and scolded her, “Why are you running?”

Tang Yuan’er, holding the sweet potato, complained, “She wants to take my food again!”

Meng Li was lying inside, still the same temperamental child. Grandma Cheng didn’t say anything more, fearing that speaking too much might provoke the irritable child. Instead, she silently carried the egg soup and continued into the room.

Tang Yuan’er, clutching the sweet potato, hid behind Grandma Cheng and followed her into the room.

When they reached the bedside, Tang Yuan’er was still half-hidden behind Grandma Cheng.

Grandma Cheng placed the white porcelain bowl in her hands on the vanity by the bed, reached out to help Meng Li sit up, and spoke politely to her, “You’ve been lying here for so many days. We couldn’t feed you much, just some sugar water and rice soup. You must be starving by now.”

Meng Li truly felt she was starving. The moment she had smelled the roasted sweet potato in Tang Yuan’er’s hands earlier, her mouth had almost watered. Now, the scent of egg soup was making her saliva flood her mouth even more.

She sat up, took the white porcelain bowl from Grandma Cheng’s hands, and gulped down a large mouthful of the egg soup, almost pouring it straight down. Despite Grandma Cheng telling her to slow down, not to burn her mouth or stomach, she didn’t slow down at all.

She drank the whole bowl of egg soup in one go. Her stomach felt a little warmer and more comfortable. Meng Li handed the white porcelain bowl back to Grandma Cheng and, feeling a bit embarrassed, asked, “Is there more?”

“Yes, I’ll get you more.”

Meng Li drank a second bowl of egg flower soup and also ate a roasted sweet potato that had been baking in the fire pit outside. The sweet potato’s skin was charred black, entirely because Grandma Cheng had forgotten to keep an eye on it while she was busy, and it had burned.

After filling her stomach, she felt stronger and more comfortable, so she lay back down on the bed.

Grandma Cheng told her to rest properly and, with the bowl in hand, went out with Tang Yuan’er.

The room fell quiet, and Meng Li lay there, eyes open, not moving.

It was only at this moment that she had the leisure to turn her head and carefully examine her surroundings.

Even for someone living under the imperial city’s shadow, there wasn’t much in this room.

Apart from the wooden bed she was lying on, the rest consisted of a vanity, a camphor wood chest, and a wardrobe wide enough for two people.

Everything was the same dull, old color.

The room had a wooden door, with the top half made of wooden lattice and the bottom half fitted with glass.

Behind the glass was a floral curtain, drawn halfway, and through the remaining glass, she could see a washstand placed in the corner.

Meng Li lay there, staring blankly for a while, pondering how she should live her life now that she had taken on the identity of “Meng Li.”

Unlike the strong and imposing character that Meng Li represented, she herself was a delicate and somewhat timid girl. Before the transmigration, she had been just an ordinary high school student, her days revolving around studying and exams, with little else to fill her life.

In her mind, she knew she couldn’t let anyone notice how much she had changed. She had to adapt and mimic the personality and temperament of the original Meng Li.

Being timid and fragile wouldn’t do; she needed to be tough and defiant.

Lying there in a daze, her attention eventually shifted to the discomfort on her body. It wasn’t just uncomfortable—it was downright itchy, especially on her back. The itching made her squirm, trying to scratch it. But that didn’t help much, so she reached around and scratched her back a couple of times.

Meng Li didn’t pay much attention to the curious glances from Grandma Cheng and Tang Yuan’er as they watched her bustle about. She was too focused on preparing everything for her bath.

After filling the washbasin with warm water from the big vat and heating it over the stove, she carefully closed the door, ensuring the little latch was in place, and hung up the blue plastic shower curtain. Then, she drew the floral curtain across the room’s glass panels before locking the door behind her.

As the door clicked shut, Grandma Cheng muttered softly, “Not leaving, huh? I thought she was going to take off again…”

The older woman couldn’t help but remark, remembering how Meng Li had rarely stayed home these past couple of years, almost as if she didn’t see this place as her true home.

Inside the room, Meng Li focused on undressing. Each piece of clothing she removed made the cool air creep into her skin, but the stove’s warmth helped keep the chill at bay. She knew she needed to wash off the discomfort and the restlessness that had been with her since waking up in this new life.

After taking off the last piece of clothing, Meng Li saw that “her” chest was tightly wrapped with a wide strip of cloth, which wrapped her chest very flat. As a seventeen-year-old girl, her body was already very well developed, and it was really difficult to hide it like this.

Meng Li didn’t care about that, she tore off the cloth strips and got straight into the bathing tent.

The room filled with heat, inflating like a semi-transparent blue balloon.

Soaking in the water, her face flushed red, Meng Li began scrubbing herself.

Bit by bit, inch by inch, she rubbed her entire body until it was as red as a tomato.

Once her body was thoroughly clean, she felt more at ease. Meng Li put on the simple coat and cloth tunic she had prepared before her bath. These were the clothes of the 1970s—either dull gray or faded blue, reflecting the era’s distinctive style.

Of course, there were trends in this time as well. The most fashionable outfit was military clothing. No matter who wore it, as long as they donned a military uniform—and better yet, a pair of tall leather boots— they’d be the sharpest dresser on the street.

The green military uniform Meng Li changed out of wasn’t her own; it was something she’d taken from a child of the compound. These children never lacked military uniforms. No matter the era, they could always get their hands on People’s Liberation Army gear—it was always from their parents.