Chapter 1: Transmigrated to 1985

“So noisy. Renovations even on the weekend…”

A constant clamor sounded in her ears. Jiang Leyang thought it was her upstairs neighbor renovating again. She reached toward the nightstand to grope for her noise-canceling earplugs, intending to put them on and continue sleeping. But her limbs felt as if they were weighed down with lead. After much effort to lift her hand, she touched something strange.

It was firm yet springy, and so large that one hand could not fully grasp it.

She could not help but squeeze twice, then shifted her wrist slightly to explore from another angle. When her fingertips brushed against a raised spot in the middle, her nerves suddenly reconnected in alarm.

Wait, that feeling! This was a chest muscle!

Jiang Leyang jolted upright in bed. Her eyes flew wide open in disbelief. A muscular man was lying beside her?

No, this was not her own bedroom at all. The blanket over her body was a pink floral quilt with a distinctly outdated style, the fabric rough to the touch, as if it belonged to a past era.

Frightened, Jiang Leyang climbed out of bed, slid her feet into dark blue cloth slippers on the floor, and stood at the bedside to survey her surroundings.

There was an old wooden wardrobe, its door pasted with a red paper “Fu” character whose edges were already curling. At the head of the bed stood a washstand with a chipped enamel basin resting on it. One pane of the window glass was missing, patched together with wooden strips nailed across the frame.

“Where is this?”

Jiang Leyang had been an English teacher at Experimental Middle School No. 3. Her career was going smoothly, her future was bright. Just last night she had been staying up late to prepare lessons, so why had she suddenly appeared here?

On the bed, the stranger’s brow was furrowed as if he was still asleep. Jiang Leyang hurriedly checked her own clothes. All the buttons were still fastened, her pants were still on properly. It seemed nothing had happened the previous night.

She had not yet figured out what was going on, but there was no time to think further. The noise outside was not from renovations after all. It was someone pounding at the door. The blows grew louder and harder. The old wooden door, already worn with age, shook violently until at last, with a loud crash, it was kicked open.

A group of women in blue work uniforms stormed inside, their eyes full of undisguised mockery. Standing at the doorway, they chattered noisily. Although they did not directly point fingers at Jiang Leyang, words like shameless and indecent filled the air. Among them stood a man with slicked-back hair parted three-to-seven. The moment Jiang Leyang’s eyes met his, a flood of unfamiliar memories that belonged to the body she now occupied surged into her mind.

The man spoke first, his tone filled with accusation. “Leyang, how could you do such a thing? I am very disappointed in you.”

“Brother Cao, it is not like that. I did not…”

Jiang Leyang’s body seemed not fully under her control. She had only managed to say half a sentence in defense when her gaze caught the calendar hanging on the wall. The bold numbers read 1985. Only then did she realize what had happened.

She had transmigrated.

She had become a textile factory worker in the 1980s with the same name as her own.

This slick-haired man was called Cao Siming. He was a clerk at the supply and marketing cooperative. With access to supply information and a silver tongue, he was admired by many young women. The original Jiang Leyang had also fallen for him, believing she was in a relationship, when in truth she had been willingly cheated of her money.

The words of explanation that just left her lips were the last remnants of the original owner’s consciousness.

“Sister, we all saw it. How could you do such a thing while Father and Mother were not at home?”

The speaker was Jiang Yingmei, the original owner’s half-sister and the mastermind behind this so-called catching of an affair. Their stepmother was biased, and this sister had bullied the original owner since childhood. Her words carried a tone of feigned innocence. At that moment Jiang Leyang finally recalled what had happened yesterday.

The original Jiang Leyang was a textile factory worker who lived in the staff housing compound. Yesterday had been the wedding of the factory secretary’s son. That sister wanted to embarrass her, planning to get her drunk and drag her to the bridal chamber to make a scene. But after only a few drinks, the original Jiang Leyang had felt nauseous. With her stomach too uncomfortable, she had barely touched the dishes at the banquet and went home early.

The plan had failed, and Jiang Yingmei was disappointed. But in the middle of the night she happened to see a man sneak into the original Jiang Leyang’s room. Excited, she seized the chance to frame her sister. So early in the morning she gathered neighbors to expose the scandal, determined to ruin Jiang Leyang’s reputation.

Once the last trace of the original consciousness vanished, Jiang Leyang fully took control of the body. She was not the kind to let others trample over her. Even the rowdiest teenagers in her class had obeyed her in the classroom. And in this conservative era, premarital affairs were considered a serious offense. She could not allow these gossips to destroy her.

“I did nothing at all. This is the secretary’s son’s friend. He drank too much at the wedding last night. The secretary’s house had no empty rooms, so he asked me to take care of him. I let him sleep in my room while I stayed in the sitting room overnight. I only came back this morning to check if he had woken up, and then you barged in making a scene. Are you trying to ruin my reputation?”

In truth, Jiang Leyang did not know who the man on the bed was. She only remembered that during the banquet he had stayed beside the groom, drinking with guests. Whenever someone tried to force drinks on the groom, this man would step in to shield him.

It was not that her memory was extraordinary. It was because this man’s leg seemed impaired. He had relied on a cane the entire evening. Every step he took echoed on the cement floor with a tapping sound, making it easy to follow his movements. That detail had caught her attention.

If he had helped the groom all night, then their relationship must have been close. The secretary would certainly not want this matter to blow out of proportion.

Sure enough, the moment she mentioned the secretary, hesitation appeared on the women’s faces. Only Jiang Yingmei pressed on with determination to sully her name.

“Sister, you are shameless enough to even drag the secretary into this.”

“You were drunk last night. How could you possibly take care of him?”

“Carrying on with a man and then using the secretary as an excuse, Jiang Leyang, how could you?”

Jiang Leyang countered calmly. “Oh? Did anyone at the banquet see me go home on my own last night? Do you have proof that I was drunk? Or was it you who drugged me?”

“I did not! Stop spouting nonsense. You two were clearly in the same bed!”

“Which eye of yours saw us in the same bed? I slept on a chair in the sitting room last night. I did not even change my clothes.”

Jiang Leyang was secretly relieved. If she had still been lying in bed when they barged in, she would truly have been unable to defend herself.

“You definitely did not sleep in the sitting room!”

Since their parents were not home, no one could say for sure where she had slept. And in that era, there was no such thing as surveillance cameras. With no proof, Jiang Yingmei’s accusations were powerless. Jiang Leyang asked her coolly, “Do you have evidence?”

“Then… then do you dare ask the secretary to testify?”

Before Jiang Leyang could respond, a deep and steady male voice came from behind her.

“Why would she not dare?”

The commotion of people breaking into the room had already awakened Lu Feng. But since he had drunk too much the night before, his mind was sluggish. It took him a while to recall what had happened.

He remembered clearly that he had indeed drunk far too much. The groom had arranged a room for him to rest, but in his drunken confusion, he had walked into the wrong one and stumbled into Jiang Leyang’s room. Without noticing someone was already in the bed, he had simply collapsed and fallen asleep.

Lu Feng was filled with regret. How could he have done such an outrageous thing after drinking? Not only would it destroy the young woman’s reputation, if others accused him of being a hooligan, he himself would be in serious trouble.

When Jiang Leyang confronted the crowd, she had stood in front of Lu Feng the entire time. Watching her slender figure shielding him, Lu Feng felt a deep sense of surprise. They were complete strangers, yet she had chosen to protect him. His heart was inevitably moved.

Lu Feng took a few steps forward to stand at her side and gave her a steady look.

He was tall and carried a sharp gaze. Even with his disability, there was no trace of cowardice in him. Jiang Yingmei was so frightened that her arrogance faltered. Nobody dared to disturb the secretary over this matter. Just when the situation grew tense, the secretary’s voice suddenly came from outside the door.

“What is all this noise so early in the morning?”

Since their families lived in the same compound, it was no wonder that Lu Feng had walked into the wrong room the previous night. The secretary had just finished drinking tea served by his new daughter-in-law when he heard the commotion outside. He had only intended to check what was happening, but Lu Feng immediately stepped forward.

“Uncle Zhang, I must thank Comrade Jiang for taking care of me last night. Yet these people insist on slandering the two of us. You must stand up for her.”

The moment Jiang Leyang saw how familiar Lu Feng was with the secretary, she knew the older man would be on her side. At last, the weight in her chest eased, and she allowed herself to show weakness.

“Secretary Zhang, they broke down my door without reason and even accused me of… of shameful things…”

The secretary was no fool. One glance at the scene was enough for him to understand what had happened. Not only was Lu Feng the son of an old friend, but he was also a retired soldier. For more than one reason, this matter had to be silenced.

“Xiao Jiang, you have been wronged. It was my oversight. I should not have troubled you with looking after Xiao Lu, a single man. But there were too many guests last night, and my household truly could not manage everything.”

He first patted Jiang Leyang on the shoulder to comfort her, then turned to the crowd. “I asked her to look after Lu Feng. Do I need to report every decision to each of you in advance? You speak recklessly, but how is a young woman supposed to face others after being slandered like this?”

The women lowered their heads, not daring to argue. They only muttered that it had been Jiang Yingmei who had sworn Jiang Leyang was with a man and urged everyone to come and catch them. The secretary’s sharp gaze swept across Jiang Yingmei, and she immediately stepped back in fright.

“You are sisters. How can you throw dirt on your own elder sister’s name?”

“No, I really did see him…”

“Enough. Since you started this, you must apologize to Jiang Leyang.”

The secretary’s tone was firm. Jiang Yingmei might have been scheming, but she lacked courage. She dared not resist further. With a muffled “sorry,” she turned to flee. However, Jiang Leyang quickly caught her wrist.

“Wait. You still have to pay for my broken door.”

In this household, the original owner had never been treated fairly. All her daily necessities came from her own wages. If she could squeeze something out of Jiang Yingmei, she certainly would.

“Fine, fine, here you go!”

Shamed and furious, Jiang Yingmei shoved a handful of coins into Jiang Leyang’s hand and rushed off. The rest of the onlookers naturally dispersed as well.

The secretary glanced at Lu Feng and then at Jiang Leyang. Unwilling to meddle in young people’s matters, he turned and went back to his own home. That left the two of them standing in the room, staring at each other in sudden awkwardness. Jiang Leyang recalled how she had grabbed his chest earlier and wished she could crawl into a hole.

Lu Feng, on the other hand, felt even more at fault. After all, it had been his mistake first. He had drunk too much, stumbled into her bedroom, and even shared her bed. Not only had he taken advantage of her, but she had also defended him in front of others. It was truly improper.

“Last night I went into the wrong room. I am really sorry. I… I will take responsibility…”

Even though the secretary had vouched for their innocence, rumors would still spread. Having spent the night in the same bed with a strange man, Jiang Leyang would find it difficult to receive marriage proposals in the future.

Jiang Leyang, however, was unbothered. She had not yet adapted to the conservative mindset of the 1980s. Nothing improper had actually happened between them, and besides, she had just crossed over and was still trying to piece together the original owner’s life. Marriage was the last thing on her mind.

She did not know anything about Lu Feng’s circumstances either. The best outcome was to leave the matter unsettled, without anyone clinging to it.

“I already said I slept in the main hall last night. What responsibility are you taking?”

The moment she spoke, Lu Feng’s face flushed red. He lowered his head, unsure of where to look. “You just now…”

He could not finish the sentence, but when he placed his hand over his left chest, Jiang Leyang suddenly understood.

He had been awake when she touched his chest muscles earlier.

So he thought she had taken advantage of him?

Jiang Leyang cursed inwardly. Damn, all because of these hands.

But she had never touched a man with muscles before. At the time, she thought it was just a dream. Now, watching Lu Feng’s shy face, avoiding her gaze as if she had truly harassed him, she could only test the waters with a question.

“I only touched once. I don’t have to take responsibility, do I?”

“No, no need.”

“Then what are you talking about responsibility for?”

“I… I…”

Lu Feng wanted to say he could marry her. He was a single man after all. But he did not know whether she would look down on his poor circumstances, so he did not dare speak so easily.

This man was far too easy to tease. Jiang Leyang laughed and said, “Why are you stammering? How about this. Take responsibility by finding someone to fix my door.”

“Ah, the door? You don’t need to find anyone. I can fix it myself.”

Relieved to focus on something practical, Lu Feng quickly crouched down to examine the damage. The door panel was fine, but the hinge in the middle had loosened, which was why it had been so easy to kick open.

“Do you have spare screws at home? I can put the door back together for now. In a few days, I will get you a better hinge and replace it.”

Jiang Leyang had no knowledge of such things. Relying on the original owner’s memory, she found some nails and a screwdriver in the cabinet. She also carefully straightened the coins that Jiang Yingmei had just shoved into her hand. There was a little over one yuan in total. She did not know the prices of this era, nor whether it was enough.

“This is all I have for now. Do you think it’s enough?”

Lu Feng had no intention of taking her money and quickly refused. But since his hands were busy with the door, he could not push her away. Jiang Leyang simply shoved the coins into the pocket at his side. In doing so, her hand brushed against the muscles of his waist.

The touch had been entirely unintentional, and she did not think much of it. But Lu Feng was overly sensitive. After all, those hands had just been squeezing his chest.

It felt like a faint electric current swept across his skin. He even forgot to refuse again. Turning his head, he pretended to struggle with the screwdriver, not daring to lift his eyes to her.