Chapter 23: What Does It Have to Do with Shen Yingying?

A week had passed since Shen Yingying transmigrated into the novel.

Her daily routine was more or less set—home to the cafeteria and back.

Every morning, she had breakfast at the cafeteria with Xie Fangzhu, then dropped off Jiaozi at home.

In the afternoon, she rode her bicycle to pick up Xie Fangzhu.

The rest of her time was hers to spend as she pleased.

But in this era, nothing was developed, and conveniences were scarce.

Even with plenty of free time, there wasn’t much entertainment. She was bored out of her mind.

Fortunately, the original owner had a sewing machine, and before transmigrating, she had been a fashion designer.

It was not just her job but also her passion.

Her dream was to grow her own brand into a household name.

Unfortunately, she transmigrated before she could make that happen.

Still, she was optimistic about it.

In her time, the fashion industry was thriving, full of talent.

Although her wealthy adoptive parents supported her, allowing her to launch her own brand without issue, turning it into a well-known household name in such a competitive industry was harder than climbing to heaven.

But in this era, fashion was still limited to blue, gray, and black, with only a handful of styles.

In two years, when the country reopened, her opportunity would come.

If she could seize the moment and take advantage of the economic boom, perhaps her dream could still come true.

Her first creation was a bra for herself.

Women in this era were conservative. They either wore tight, restrictive camisoles or wrapped themselves in cloth.

The original owner used cloth wraps—uncomfortable, inconvenient to put on and take off, and needing to be tied tightly to avoid slipping.

Shen Yingying initially planned to buy a bra at the department store, but the ones available were all one-size-fits-all and didn’t fit her properly.

So she decided to make her own.

Lacking sponges and metal adjustment hooks, she worked with what she had—cotton fabric and regular buttons. She made some design modifications.

She chose pink cotton fabric, added extra thickness in key areas, extended the length slightly, and created a front-buttoned camisole-style bra.

Not only did it provide better support and shape, but it was also more convenient to wear.

For aesthetics, she added two pink ribbons in the front and tied them into bows.

She was very satisfied with her creation and excitedly showed it to Chen Qingqing.

The shy Chen Qingqing was stunned, her round face turning bright red.

After one glance, she couldn’t bring herself to look again.

From the shape alone, she could guess what it was. But that design…

…was way too bold! How could anyone have the nerve to wear that?

Shen Yingying, however, was quite pleased. It was far more comfortable than cloth wraps and gave better support under clothes.

She had a strong urge to share and wanted to give Chen Qingqing one.

But Chen Qingqing wasn’t as open-minded. Although she was amazed by the fit, she was too embarrassed to wear it.

Shen Yingying didn’t force her and instead moved on to her second project—making clothes for Xie Fangzhu.

Initially, she planned to make something for herself, but the original owner already had plenty of clothes.

Meanwhile, Xie Fangzhu barely had anything in his wardrobe.

Besides, the original owner had bought two sets of fabric as wedding gifts for her third brother, and they were still untouched—perfect for using up.

Might as well win some favor with Xie Fangzhu. After all, she still had to rely on him for now.

She made him a simple outfit suited to this era—a deep blue cotton shirt and a pair of military-green straight pants.

Since he needed to wear them outside, she couldn’t make them too flashy like her bra. She only made slight modifications.

Honestly, she didn’t like the color scheme, but the fabric was already there, and she had no way to change it.

Besides, with Xie Fangzhu’s face and physique, he’d look handsome even in a sack.

So the color didn’t really matter.

That afternoon, after waking up from a nap with Chen Qingqing, Shen Yingying picked up the dark blue shirt hanging beside the sewing machine.

She had been working on it for days. The shirt and pants were finished—she just needed to sew on the buttons.

Just as she picked up the needle and thread, a rough, grating male voice called from outside the door: “Little sister, are you home?”

The next moment, a man peeked his head in, looking nervous.

Only when he saw Shen Yingying sitting at the sewing machine did he let out a breath of relief and stride in casually.

“Little sister, you scared me to death! I thought you had really run away.”

Shen Yingying’s gaze fell on the man. He looked to be in his twenties, with shifty eyes, hunched shoulders, and an overall sleazy appearance.

A strange man suddenly barging in, looking like this—

Chen Qingqing, who was sitting beside Shen Yingying, was caught off guard. She instinctively scooted closer to Shen Yingying, eyeing the man warily.

Shen Yingying patted her hand reassuringly and whispered, “Don’t be afraid, it’s my third brother.”

Honestly, if not for the original host’s memories, she would never have believed this man was related to her by blood.

The original host’s third brother, Shen Jiacai, was just too… unpresentable.

Shen Jiacai plopped himself down on the bed carelessly, sweat continuously dripping down his face. He grabbed a woven fan nearby and started fanning himself.

After a while, when he noticed that Shen Yingying still hadn’t moved, his beady little eyes darted toward her. “Little sister, why are you acting so clueless today? Third Brother is so hot he’s practically smoking—why haven’t you poured me a cup of water yet?”

Normally, whenever he came over, his little sister would be all over him—he wouldn’t even have to ask before she eagerly brought him water.

But today, he’d been sitting for quite a while, and she was acting like an old master, not even budging?

Shen Yingying didn’t even look at him. “No water.”

Shen Jiacai’s brows immediately furrowed into a knot.

What was going on today?

His little sister was actually giving him attitude?!

Had she eaten bear heart and leopard gall?

His expression darkened as he stared at her. “Little sister, Third Brother came all this way to see you, and this is how you act? If Mom finds out, she’ll skin you alive. When that happens, don’t blame me for not standing up for you.”

Shen Yingying narrowed her eyes.

In the original host’s family, her mother, Pan Yun, held the highest authority.

She was domineering and ruthless, and the entire household bowed to her.

Despite being a woman, she worshipped male supremacy.

Since childhood, she had drilled into the original host’s mind that boys were treasures and girls were nothing but weeds—born to serve, toil, and sacrifice for their brothers without complaint.

After years of brainwashing and manipulation, the original host had wholeheartedly believed her purpose in life was to help her brothers.

That was why, when Pan Yun asked her to contribute to Shen Jiacai’s wedding expenses, she had agreed without hesitation.

Because in her subconscious, her brothers were her everything—how could she not help them marry?

With that kind of mindset, Shen Yingying’s current attitude was utterly unacceptable.

But the original host was the original host.

What did any of that have to do with Shen Yingying?