Chapter 1: The Real and Fake Ye Fan.

1974, Summer, Capital City

A few days ago, an elderly couple in their fifties and a young woman in her early twenties visited the Ye family. The couple claimed that the young woman was Tao Chunlan’s biological daughter, while Ye Fan, the daughter Tao Chunlan had raised for 25 years, was not related to her by blood. In reality, Ye Fan was this couple’s daughter. Decades ago, both families had given birth at the same hospital, and due to a mix-up, the babies had been swapped.

Tao Chunlan was so furious that she nearly fainted.

Since the revelation, Tao Chunlan had not been herself. Her once upright shoulders were now hunched, her eyes bloodshot, and even sitting on the sofa required her to grip the armrest for support.

“Fan Fan, what do you think?” Tao Chunlan looked at the daughter she had painstakingly raised, not wanting to put her in a difficult position. Yet the hope in her eyes betrayed her true feelings.

For Ye Fan, there had only ever been one mother in her life—Comrade Tao Chunlan. As for the two strangers who had suddenly appeared, Ye Fan had no intention of acknowledging them.

Because this Ye Fan was no longer the same Ye Fan.

The current Ye Fan had originally lived in the 21st century, a small-town student who had relentlessly worked her way through life in a big city—grinding for a car, a house, savings, until she burned out and died suddenly. In the moment she lost consciousness, Ye Fan deeply regretted her choices. If she had another chance at life, she vowed to take care of her health and live it well.

And then, Ye Fan came back to life.

The good news was that Ye Fan was now over a decade younger, waking up in the body of an 18-year-old girl. The bad news? She had traveled back more than half a century, landing in the 1960s, just as the college entrance exams were suspended. Three paths lay before her: join the military, go to the countryside, or get married.

As a child, young Ye Fan had been frail, and Tao Chunlan had spent a fortune and countless efforts nursing her back to health. During that time, the staunch atheist Comrade Tao Chunlan had even changed her daughter’s original name from “Ye Fan” (叶繁) to “Ye Fan” (叶烦), hoping the King of Hell would find her troublesome enough to leave her alone.

Tao Chunlan couldn’t bear the thought of sending her to the military, nor could she let her toil in the countryside doing farm work. Instead, she suggested arranging an engagement first, delaying marriage for a few years to see if the situation changed.

Young Ye Fan believed that if others could contribute to the Four Modernizations, so could she—even if it meant going to a sparsely populated, barren area. Tao Chunlan argued until her lips were dry, but Ye Fan remained insistent on going to the countryside. Frustrated, Tao Chunlan’s fiery temper flared, and she locked Ye Fan in her room.

At the time, Tao Chunlan’s husband was in the military, and her son and daughter-in-law lived at their workplace, leaving only Tao Chunlan and young Ye Fan at home. Tao Chunlan, busy with her job, figured that since there was food in the room, Ye Fan wouldn’t starve, so she left her alone.

When Ye Fan eventually quieted down, Tao Chunlan opened the door, only to find the food untouched and Ye Fan pale and weak, her lips bloodless. Overwhelmed with worry, Tao Chunlan failed to notice that this Ye Fan was no longer the same Ye Fan.

Tao Chunlan, afraid of losing her daughter, planned to compromise, so she asked Ye Fan to admit her mistake. Tao Chunlan suspected that Ye Fan was using the strategy of retreating to advance, looking for an opportunity to escape. Ye Fan raised a very practical concern: after missing several meals, she had fainted from hunger. If the village faced floods or droughts and needed to tighten their belts, wouldn’t she starve to death far from home?

Seeing that her daughter had finally grown up, Tao Chunlan immediately began arranging blind dates for her.

Two years later, Ye Fan married, and her husband went to the military. Tao Chunlan, worried that her daughter wouldn’t adjust to life at her in-laws’ house, brought her back home.

And so, she stayed for five years.

A few days ago, Ye Fan’s husband sent a letter saying that he had been promoted to the regiment level, and the military unit he was in had a family area. Ye Fan could join him, and he would come to pick up his wife and child when he was on leave. However, Ye Fan’s husband had not yet returned, and the real Ye Fan had come back.

The real Ye Fan’s name was now Chen Xiaohui, and she had grown up along the Huangpu River in Shanghai.

When Chen Xiaohui arrived in the capital, Ye Fan learned that Tao Chunlan and her husband had spent a few years in Shanghai before and after the founding of the nation. Along with Chen Xiaohui came her adoptive parents, who were also Ye Fan’s biological parents in this body.

On the day Ye Fan’s biological mother arrived, she explained that she and Tao Chunlan had given birth on the same day at the same hospital. Her husband, busy with work, had mistakenly taken the wrong baby in his hurry.

The news of “raising the wrong child” was a thunderclap for both Tao Chunlan and Ye Fan. At the time, neither Tao Chunlan nor Ye Fan knew what to do.

Tao Chunlan asked the Chen family to stay with her first and notified her husband, son, and daughter-in-law, asking them to return and discuss a plan. During this time, Ye Fan calmed down. In her previous life, she had been born in the year 2000, in the 21st century, and even in rural areas, there were parents who discarded weak and sickly children. Meanwhile, little Ye Fan was the same age as the People’s Republic. It was an era when even the wealthy found it difficult to obtain good things. If there was no money to support a pregnant woman and they wanted a daughter, what better way to lower the cost than by simply switching babies?

So Ye Fan suspected it was a deliberate switch. While “deliberate switch” sounded more acceptable, the truth was that the frail Ye Fan had likely been the one abandoned. However, this was just a guess, and Ye Fan didn’t share it with anyone. She decided to wait and see how things developed.

As for Ye Fan’s father and brother-in-law, when they first received the call, they thought the whole situation was absurd. But when they arrived home and saw Chen Xiaohui’s appearance, which closely resembled Tao Chunlan’s when she was young, the three of them fell silent.

Hearing Tao Chunlan’s words, Ye Fan first smiled and tried to comfort Comrade Tao Chunlan, then reassured her biological mother: “This isn’t as serious as we think. Mom—”

Both her adoptive mother and biological mother turned to look at Ye Fan.

Even though Ye Fan had mentally prepared for the various situations she might face, she couldn’t help but smile wryly at this scene. Two moms? What kind of situation was this?

After thinking for a moment, Ye Fan said to her biological mother: “I’ll call you ‘Mom,’ but you still call me ‘daughter.’ Just because you gave birth to me doesn’t mean I should forget the parents who raised me.”

Tao Chunlan nodded in satisfaction. Ye Fan’s biological mother smiled and nodded in response, saying, “I’ll listen to you.” She then looked at Chen Xiaohui beside her. “Xiaohui said the same thing.”

On the day Chen Xiaohui first arrived at Ye Fan’s home, her eyes darted around, unwilling to meet Ye Fan’s gaze. She seemed overly concerned about her adoptive parents, as if she believed Tao Chunlan was the one who had wronged her by swapping the babies. This lack of discernment made Ye Fan feel unfavorable toward Chen Xiaohui. Upon hearing her mother’s words, Ye Fan couldn’t help but look at Chen Xiaohui. Chen Xiaohui lifted her head, slightly raising her chin, her expression quite haughty, almost as if she were pleased with herself.

Ye Fan really couldn’t understand what there was to be pleased about, so she decided to set it aside for the time being. “Everyone doesn’t need to argue about whether I stay at Ye’s or return to Chen’s. I’ve already gotten married, and tomorrow my husband—he might even be home this afternoon—will be here, and I’ll go with him to the army.” Ye Fan had already decided on going with her husband to the military, and even if Chen Xiaohui hadn’t shown up, she would still have gone. “Once I leave, Xiaohui can take over my work.”

“I’m not trying to take your job,” Chen Xiaohui interrupted.

Ye Fan frowned. When had she ever said she was trying to take her job? “My work is something my colleagues can’t take over. After I leave, whether you go or not, they’ll have to find someone else. Rather than let someone outside do it, it’s better to give it to someone from within the family.”

Tao Chunlan agreed. “Fan Fan is right.” She turned to Ye Fan’s biological mother. “What do you think?”

Ye Fan’s biological mother’s first reaction was to look at Chen Xiaohui.

Ye Fan’s sister-in-law raised an eyebrow. Like Ye Fan, Chen Xiaohui seemed to be someone with firm opinions. She had thought that Chen Xiaohui was quiet and shy, but now she saw otherwise. Ye Fan’s sister-in-law tried to smooth things over: “Fan Fan’s work is complicated. Xiaohui might not necessarily like it. Mom, Auntie, let’s see what Xiaohui thinks first.”

But Chen Xiaohui didn’t know what to think.

Ye family had connections, and before coming here, Chen Xiaohui had considered Ye Fan’s job, but she hadn’t expected Ye Fan to give it up so easily. The secure job was just handed over like that. She also hadn’t expected Ye Fan to distance herself from the Ye family, which left her unprepared and confused, her mind a blur.

Ye Fan’s parents had never met Chen Xiaohui, but Chen Xiaohui was very familiar with them. Based on her understanding of Ye Fan’s parents, they would never let Ye Fan marry a soldier. Setting aside the fact that the couple would be separated, in this era, the northern region was unstable, the southern region was restless, the skies were uncertain, and the seas were also dangerous. Every soldier could face the possibility of sacrifice. Ye Fan’s parents would never want her to be widowed at such a young age.

The current Ye Fan was different from the Ye Fan Chen Xiaohui remembered. It took her a while to realize: “I… I haven’t decided yet…”

Ye Fan’s sister-in-law asked, “Haven’t decided on what?”

Chen Xiaohui instinctively replied, “No! I—I never thought about settling in the capital. I originally planned to just see what my biological parents looked like and then go back.”

It’s thousands of miles from Shanghai to the capital, just to meet once, with no other agenda—could that be true? Ye Fan didn’t believe it: “Do you have a job in Shanghai?”

Ye Fan’s biological mother blurted out, “No!”

No job, yet still wanting to stay in Shanghai—how close is Chen Xiaohui to the Chen family? Does she even know that she and Ye Fan were maliciously swapped by the Chen family? Ye Fan tended to believe she didn’t know. If she were in Chen Xiaohui’s shoes and knew about this, she wouldn’t just condemn the Chen family; she would have immediately cut ties with them and sent them to the police.

Ye Fan suspected that the Chen family had even slandered her family to Chen Xiaohui, which explained why Chen Xiaohui still felt closer to her adoptive parents. “Since you don’t have a job, what are you worried about?”

Tao Chunlan didn’t understand either. It was clear that Ye family’s conditions were much better than the Chen family’s. Chen Xiaohui could only be an unemployed wanderer if she stayed in Shanghai, but if she came back, she would have everything. Why would she still want to stay in Shanghai? “Is Xiaohui worried that we’ll bully you?”

When Chen Xiaohui heard this and realized she was being misunderstood, she hurriedly clarified, “No, no, it’s just… my household registration is in Shanghai. Now the registration rules are strict. Ye Fan’s registration is here, but can I transfer mine over?”

Worried about this? Ye Fan smiled and reassured her, “No need to worry. My household registration isn’t here.”

“Not here?” Chen Xiaohui was surprised. “But don’t you live here?”

Ye Fan replied, “My household registration is at my in-laws’ place.”

Ye Fan’s biological mother couldn’t help but ask, “If your household registration is at your in-laws’, and Xiaohui’s registration comes here, then we won’t have a daughter anymore?”

Ye Fan: “…”

What kind of mind is that? No wonder they could come up with such a toxic and stupid idea of swapping children. Ye Fan restrained the impulse to kick her biological mother out and said, “Even if Xiaohui doesn’t transfer her registration here, is she never going to get married? Even if she doesn’t marry, she’ll still need to transfer her household registration for work. So, according to you, once Xiaohui leaves home, you’re not going to acknowledge her as your daughter?”

Ye Fan’s sister-in-law was also annoyed with Ye Fan’s biological mother. Not to mention that Ye Fan was already married, and there was no need to transfer her registration back, but the Chen family messed up with the children and couldn’t just change them whenever they wanted. Ye Fan’s sister-in-law said irritably, “To go to the countryside, you need to transfer your registration there. Xiaohui has been there for years, and you’ve always acted as if you never had this daughter?”

Ye Fan’s biological mother realized she had misspoken: “What I mean is, Ye Fan and Xiaohui are both in the capital, and it will be hard for us to meet in the future.”

Ye Fan wanted to laugh coldly. It’s much easier to travel from Shanghai to the capital than from Shanghai to the countryside. As far as she knew, Xiaohui’s village was over a thousand miles away from Shanghai. Why didn’t her biological mother mention how hard it had been for Xiaohui to see anyone while she was in the countryside all those years? Ye Fan couldn’t be bothered to waste time talking with her and directly asked, “Do you want me and Xiaohui to stay with you?”

Ye Fan’s biological father nodded. “If Xiaohui returns to the Ye family, you must come back to Shanghai with us. Otherwise—” Isn’t that a huge loss? Ye Fan’s biological father realized his words were inappropriate and quickly swallowed them. “Otherwise, we just continue as is.”

Ye Fan immediately felt a surge of anger.

Did her biological father even know what he was saying? It would be one thing if Xiaohui had a good life, but Xiaohui had no job in Shanghai. Ye Fan just happened to have an available job, and under these circumstances, asking Xiaohui to stay in Shanghai—was he even human?

Ye Fan laughed bitterly, truly giving him face!

What “wait and see,” go to hell!

Ye Fan asked, “My household registration is with my husband. If I transfer it back to Shanghai, I would have to divorce. Are you asking me to get a divorce?”

“Isn’t there another way?” Ye Fan’s biological mother looked at her father.

Ask her father to use his position to cover up their mistake? Was he out of his mind? Ye Fan frowned. “He’s a soldier; he has no authority in this matter.”

Ye Fan’s biological mother was about to say something, but upon seeing Ye Fan’s displeased expression, she couldn’t help but take a step back. “You don’t have to transfer your household registration. But you have to come back home with us. If Xiaohui comes here and you don’t return with us, what will the relatives and neighbors think—”

Ye Fan bluntly asked, “What does that have to do with me?”

Her biological mother choked for a moment and then looked at Tao Chunlan. “Why is this child speaking so harshly?”

Ye Fan was annoyed and couldn’t help but frown. “Are you implying that my parents raised me wrongly? Is it impossible that you two just weren’t good, and that I was born with issues? It’s already remarkable that I’ve turned out this way.”

Chen Xiaohui was stunned, unsure how to speak to her elders.

Ye Fan’s biological mother was gasping for breath, and her biological father suddenly sat up straight, tense with anger. Ye Fan’s sister-in-law, seeing this, quickly interjected, “Fan Fan, don’t say such things!”

“I can’t be bothered to argue with you,” Ye Fan was truly fed up. She looked at the elderly Chen couple and said, “Originally, I didn’t want to bring it up. When my mom gave birth, my dad wasn’t around. It’s perfectly normal for a mother to be too preoccupied to notice what Xiaohui looked like. Are you blind? For the past twenty-five years, no one thought about switching us back. Now, suddenly, you think you can quietly track down our address and just show up here. Who told you where we live? There are so many things that don’t add up. If we don’t mention them, do you really think we’re fools? Just because it’s only you two who think you’re smart?”

Chen Kuanren was enraged and said, “I’m your father, speak to me with respect!”

“Do you deserve it?” Ye Fan asked impatiently. “How do you prove I’m your daughter? Or was it that someone saw you take the wrong child back then?”

Chen Kuanren was left speechless, stammering, “I… I—”

“Get to the point!” Ye Fan said coldly.

Chen Kuanren trembled at her shout.

Tao Chunlan quickly tried to calm things down, “Fan Fan, let’s talk properly—”

Chen Kuanren tried again, “It’s just—”

“Is this the point?” Ye Fan asked coldly.

Chen Kuanren instinctively swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth. Ye Fan looked at her biological parents and said, “You two are the ones who swapped Xiaohui. By all rights, you should compensate the Ye family. Considering you didn’t mistreat Xiaohui, we can forget about the money. If I were you, I’d immediately tell my mom to have Xiaohui move back to Shencheng and transfer her household registration.”

Chen Kuanren couldn’t help but ask, “And you?”

Ye Fan replied without hesitation, “I have in-laws to care for and children to look after. I don’t have time to go back to Shencheng.”

Chen Kuanren retorted, “No way!”