Chapter 1

“Someone help! Zhiyao jumped into the lake to kill herself! Somebody, save her!”
A girl with two braided pigtails shouted loudly.

Hearing the commotion, a number of villagers quickly gathered around.

At the lakeside, a few women who were doing laundry stood up immediately and spotted a figure struggling in the water not far away.

“Oh my god! Someone save her!”

“Why is Comrade Lu trying to kill herself? She still has two kids!”

“Save her first! Who knows how to swim? Get her out of there!”

“None of us can swim!”

Suddenly, the person in the water stopped struggling. A flash of calculation crossed the eyes of the pigtail girl, and a satisfied smile tugged at her lips.

Just as everyone feared a tragedy was about to happen, someone abruptly stood up from the edge of the lake, water splashing everywhere. Several people by the shore instinctively stepped back in fright.

She’s alive? She can swim? Then why jump in the lake to kill herself?!

The girl with the braids was shocked and asked, “Comrade… Comrade Lu Zhiyao, are you alright?”

Lu Zhiyao looked around in confusion, still a little dazed.

She had suddenly woken up to find herself underwater, and before she could process anything, her body instinctively swam to shore.
Now standing by the lake, she saw that the people around her were dressed plainly, the surroundings were completely unfamiliar, and someone had just called her “Comrade Lu Zhiyao”?

Fuzzy memories started surfacing in her mind, and Lu Zhiyao was even more shocked.

Did I… transmigrate into a novel?
And not just that — into a cannon-fodder side character?

As more memories returned, she finally understood her current situation.

The women doing laundry nearby were worried she might still be unstable and quickly came forward to comfort her:

“Comrade Lu, if you’re feeling troubled, talk to us! Life is precious — don’t take it lightly!”

“Exactly! You still have two children at home! If you die, what will happen to them?”

“Are you facing any problems at home? Tell us — maybe we can help!”

Even the girl with the braids came forward with a forced smile:
“Yes, Comrade Lu, why be so troubled?”

Lu Zhiyao suddenly looked at her and raised her hand — SMACK! — and slapped her across the face.

The sound was crisp and loud, leaving everyone stunned.

Before the girl could even cry out, Lu Zhiyao began to sob, wailing,
“Oh heavens! Why are you doing this to me?! I’ve worked so hard raising two kids, and now someone’s trying to steal my husband! My husband is a soldier! This is a military marriage — breaking it is a crime! How am I supposed to live with my two children like this?!”

Her words exploded like a bomb among the crowd.

Everyone knew — some juicy gossip was going down!
And a scandalous one at that!

From that slap alone, it wasn’t hard to guess who she meant was trying to steal her husband.

Baishui Shui, the girl with the braids, stared at her in disbelief:
“You… What are you talking about?! You slapped me for no reason and said I’m stealing your husband? When did I ever do that?”

Lu Zhiyao shouted:
“You didn’t?! Then why do you always flaunt in front of me, saying my husband doesn’t send money home because he spends it on buying clothes for you, and even have the audacity to apologize?!”

“‘Comrade Lu, I’m sorry, I didn’t expect Qingyuan-ge to buy me clothes. But he spent his whole allowance on me and had nothing left to send home. Don’t blame him, it’s all my fault.’ — Who said that to me?! If you had even a shred of decency, you wouldn’t have accepted gifts from a married man! You knew I was home alone raising two kids, and yet you still took them — if this isn’t destroying a military marriage, then what is?!”

“For three years of my marriage, you’ve kept saying things like this. Today, you said it again by the lake. Isn’t that what pushed me to jump in? But while I was in the water, I thought — I’m not letting you two adulterers get away with this! I’m taking my kids and heading to the base right now. I’ll ask my husband if he still wants this marriage, if he still wants his children — and if not, I’ll divorce him right then and there. I’ll give you his place and see if you dare take it!”

After her furious outburst, Lu Zhiyao turned and stormed off, not giving Baishui Shui a chance to respond.

Baishui Shui was panicking, watching Lu Zhiyao march away with long, angry strides. Her heart raced.

What went wrong?!
Lu Zhiyao used to be so timid and quiet.
Did she go crazy today?!

Seeing her walk off so determinedly, Baishui Shui panicked and hurried after her.

She fled, Baishui chased, like a butterfly to a flame.

Lu Zhiyao kept muttering to herself as she walked. Because of the wind and distance, Baishui Shui couldn’t hear her clearly — and the more she couldn’t hear, the more uneasy she felt.

She had come back on a family visit with a purpose — to talk Lu Zhiyao into despair. Given her weak personality, there was a good chance she’d give up on life or file for divorce.

Then she, Baishui Shui, could swoop in and take her place.

After all, she always felt she was more compatible with Lu Zhiyao’s husband — both military people, while Lu Zhiyao was just a village woman.

Even with two kids, so what?

She had purposely provoked her into jumping into the lake — and she’d done it! But now she was alive and charging toward the base?

That was not part of the plan.

Lu Zhiyao ran home crying.

Villagers were surprised to see her soaking wet and tear-streaked.
“Yao Yao, what happened? Why are you drenched?”

“Did you fall into the lake? Hurry and go get changed!”

They asked with concern while urging her to take care of herself.

“Waaah!”
“Everyone knows I’ve been close with Shuishui since we were kids. This time she came back from the army base and asked me to hang out by the lake — I thought she was being sincere!”

Lu Zhiyao cried harder, making herself seem even more pitiful.

“But when we got there, she said my husband didn’t send money home because he used it all to buy her new clothes and shoes. She even bragged about it to my face!”

“She’s a military doctor stationed with my husband. I once asked her to help look after him. Who knew she’d ‘look after’ him like that!?”

“I don’t even know if it’s true, but how am I supposed to go on with my kids?!”

She cried louder and slapped her thighs in anguish, drawing a growing crowd of gossip-hungry villagers.

“How could Baishui Shui do something like that?”

“She seemed so proper — a girl from the army, even a junior doctor! I once thought of matching her with my son!”

“And now she’s seducing someone’s husband and flaunting it to his wife? Poor Yao Yao — raising two kids alone in the village!”

“She’s got the face of a human, but the heart of a beast!”

The villagers were outraged and shocked.

Then, Bai Dahai arrived after hearing the news — he and his wife immediately protested:
“Yao Yao, how could you say such nonsense? You’re ruining Shuishui’s reputation — stop talking!”

But Lu Zhiyao sneered:
“How am I talking nonsense? Everything I said is true! If she hadn’t flaunted it in front of me, would I make any of this up?”

She scoffed internally.
In her past life, she’d seen scenes like this. To survive as the weak, you had to win sympathy. You had to make people speak up for you.

After all, public opinion alone could destroy someone.

And that was true even in this era.

A woman’s reputation was everything. Once ruined, no one in a ten-mile radius would want to marry her.

They’d call her a spinster and dig up her past shame.

“Lu Zhiyao!”

Baishui Shui finally caught up, gasping for breath. She saw the villagers staring at her with judgmental eyes — whispering behind their hands, some even looking at her with open contempt.

She swallowed hard and waved her hands in panic:
“No! I absolutely didn’t do any of this — Lu Zhiyao is framing me!”

“She just tried to kill herself — she fell into the lake! And now she’s talking nonsense! Maybe she’s possessed!”