Chapter 1

“Second Brother, don’t drink so much—you’ve still got your wedding night ahead of you!”

“Mm.”

“Old Two, go bring your wife a bowl of brown sugar water, help her replenish her strength.”

“Mm.”

Gu Keqing blinked.
What the heck?

Why did this feel exactly like the plot of that novel she read last night?

Wait… did she just transmigrate into a book?

Gu Keqing’s heart skipped a beat. She took a deep breath.
No way. Absolutely not. Something this absurd couldn’t possibly happen to her.

It had to be a dream. She was just about to close her eyes when—

Squeak — the door creaked open.

A deep, magnetic voice reached her ears:
“I made you a bowl of brown sugar water. Rest if you’re tired.”

Gu Keqing was stunned speechless.

This wasn’t a dream?!!

Shen Yan thought she was just being shy, so he set the bowl down and quietly left the room.

Outside, the courtyard was filled with noise—drinking, dice games…

Everything around her screamed that this was very, very real.

Gu Keqing wanted to cry.
She had just graduated and returned to China, finally moving into the massive “love castle” her dad had built for her.

And now… she’d transmigrated into a book?

Not only that—she’d landed in the poverty-stricken 1970s?

Wait a minute!

She glanced down at her red wedding veil and traditional embroidered bridal gown and realized… she had become that villainous supporting character who dies early in the story.

According to the plot, it wouldn’t be long before the heroine got rid of her.

After all, novels are always centered around the female lead.
Cannon fodder like her just exist to make the protagonist shine.

That thought drove Gu Keqing mad.

She’d been a pampered heiress for 22 years—when had she ever suffered like this?

The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt.
Tears welled up and rolled down her cheeks.

One fell onto the jade bracelet she had just bought.

Before she could even complain about how weird the bracelet was—

A flash of white light struck, and in an instant, Gu Keqing was whooshed into another place.

“Love castle?”

The 3,000-square-meter mega-mansion—equipped with food, entertainment, and every indulgence imaginable—had transmigrated with her.

“It seems… with this space, maybe things won’t be so bad after all.”

She gently ran her fingers over the trees, flowers, and all the delicious food in the castle, wiping away her tears.

Since she was here, she might as well make the most of it!

Thankfully, her new husband Shen Yan was tall, handsome, and muscular—with eight-pack abs to boot.
And apparently… he was some kind of junior military officer?

Although falsely accused and sent with his whole family to this backwater village, according to the plot, he would return to power in three years.

But—he wouldn’t be returning with her, Gu Keqing, but with the female lead Qi Zhilian!

Thinking about the tragic fate of the original character she now inhabited, Gu Keqing knew—

She couldn’t just sit around and wait to die. She had to seize the opportunity and change her destiny.

Not only did she have to survive the female lead’s scheming, but she had to stay one step ahead of her at all times.

With this in mind, Gu Keqing fully accepted the fact that she had transmigrated, and stepped out of her space.

She thought it over carefully.
Thankfully, she arrived in the story on the wedding day.

The original character hadn’t yet caused any major trouble, so there were no irreparable consequences—everything was still salvageable.

But… living here meant having to do manual labor in the fields.

The original body was skinny and weak—how many work points could she earn like that?

Gu Keqing’s eyes lit up. Once Shen Yan came back, she’d talk to him—no way she was going to work in the fields.

But not working meant their family would receive less food rations.

Less food meant more household tension.

Add in the village gossips and the ever-meddling female lead stirring things up every few days…

If someone was going to die, it’d be her.

So, Gu Keqing decided to rely on her “love castle” space to solve this problem.

The place had everything—thousands of square meters of land, a farm, livestock, fish ponds, orchards…

Even rare medicines. Anything she needed was in there.

She glanced out at the darkening sky and the few unopened wedding parcels the original character had brought.

With no hesitation, she slipped into her space.

In the 70s, food was the most precious commodity.

If she didn’t want to work, she needed to make a major contribution—enough to justify her not lifting a finger.

The large freezer had plenty of meat, dairy, and eggs, but milk would be suspicious—it wasn’t easy to explain.

The safest bet was flour, cornmeal, oil, meat, and eggs.

“Let’s do this!”

With a flurry of efficient moves, Gu Keqing grabbed half a sack of white flour, a full sack of cornmeal, 20 eggs, and a small bucket of oil.

She wanted to bring more, but considering the original family’s poor background…

It was best to keep a low profile—no need to draw suspicion.
She had plenty of time to plan.

When she stepped out of the space, she mixed the food with the original owner’s parcels, disguising them as dowry gifts.

Just as she finished, Shen Yan walked in.

Gu Keqing’s heart pounded like a drum.

What now?!

They were all alone in a room together, and before transmigrating, she’d never even dated—let alone held hands.

And sure enough—what she feared most happened.

Shen Yan saw she hadn’t touched the sugar water and assumed it was because he hadn’t lifted her veil yet.

He walked over quickly and gently lifted the red cloth.

In this era, the “wedding veil” was just a piece of red fabric for tradition’s sake.
Money was too tight for anything fancier.

Especially since the original bride’s parents were opportunistic—they had extorted 1,000 yuan from Shen’s family, claiming it was repayment for a life-saving favor from Grandma Shen.

That was Shen Yan’s entire fortune!

Realizing this, Gu Keqing felt an unexpected twinge of sympathy for the male lead.

As their eyes met beneath the lifted veil, both of them blushed.

To Gu Keqing, Shen Yan had sword-like brows, starry eyes, broad shoulders and a narrow waist—handsome from every angle.

After all, he was the novel’s leading man—basically perfect.

But she was a bit worried about how the original version of her looked. What if she was shockingly ugly?

“You… look really beautiful,” Shen Yan said sincerely.

From his angle, Gu Keqing’s almond-shaped eyes, delicate oval face, creamy skin, and slim waist made her far prettier than any village beauty.

“R-Really?” Gu Keqing hesitated, unsure if he was just being nice. “Can you get me a mirror? I want to see for myself.”

The novel hadn’t described the original character’s appearance in detail—just her nastiness and bad temper.

Shen Yan chuckled and handed her a small mirror. “Here, take a look.”

Gu Keqing held her breath as she lifted it.

Whoa!

This transmigration thing might not be so bad after all~

Not only did the original girl look exactly like her, but they even had the same name.

She sighed and passed the mirror back to Shen Yan, finally at ease.

“Yeah, definitely good-looking!”

Gu Keqing had always been confident in her looks, so she didn’t hesitate to praise herself.

“Honey, are you hungry?” Shen Yan asked gently.