Chapter 1

Qiao Wei opened her eyes and found that her body was very weak.

She had been ill for two or three years, accustomed to the feeling of weakness. At this moment, she even felt quite good, just lacking strength, without the tormenting pain.

For her, not being in pain was already like heaven.

She lay quietly on a simple wooden bed, receiving information from her brain.

Qiao Wei had already died in another world. She was young and healthy, suddenly diagnosed with a terminal illness, underwent surgery, and deteriorated rapidly.

In the last two years, she was not only weak but also in pain. The once energetic girl was tortured to the point of being a mere shadow.

But even so, she still wanted to live. Unfortunately, in the end, she succumbed to the disease.

Unexpectedly, upon opening her eyes again, she had transmigrated into a historical novel and became Qiao Weiwei, the cannon fodder ex-wife of the male lead in the novel.

In this novel, Qiao Weiwei never appears directly. The story began with the male and female leads discussing marriage and getting married after settling things.

Actually, the female lead was reborn. She knew early on that Qiao Weiwei’s husband would become a significant figure in the future. After rebirth, she tried every means to get her family to introduce her and forcibly married the male lead, becoming Qiao Weiwei’s son’s stepmother.

As the reborn female lead, everything went smoothly for her. Initially, the male lead only wanted to find a woman to take care of his son, but gradually, he was also conquered by the female lead.

As for the male lead himself, being a novel male lead, he naturally had a protagonist’s aura. Without a doubt, he prospered throughout the story, despite being born in the countryside and lacking education. Later in life, his career went smoothly.

The sweet and happy ending of the story—even the extra about the male and female lead’s grandson—was written. The grandson was clearly the child of high-ranking officials. In other words, as the grandfather, the male lead definitely achieved a high position. The female lead aimed for this.

The ending was harmonious, with a full house of descendants and a big “Happily Ever After.”

As for the original Qiao Weiwei, who never showed her face in the main text, she was briefly mentioned as having “ran away with someone and later died” and was never mentioned again.

Her husband and son never brought her up again. In their eyes, there was only the shining female lead.

Cannon fodder—Qiao Wei understood. The original Qiao Weiwei was what was commonly called cannon fodder.

Unfortunately, she was now Qiao Weiwei.

After receiving Qiao Weiwei’s memories, she understood what had happened—Qiao Weiwei did run away with someone.

Qiao Weiwei had a first love, and that first love went to the capital to study after passing the university entrance exam.

Meanwhile, Qiao Weiwei’s father died when she was in high school, and her mother passed away several years ago. She suddenly became orphaned, and she had to drop out of school to take over her father’s job. However, her father was a skilled worker, and she couldn’t do his job. Someone else took over the position, and the factory assigned her a small job, but she couldn’t handle it and felt bitter every day.

Others couldn’t bear watching and suggested to her, Why not find a man and get married?

Coincidentally, there was a collective matchmaking arranged by the military at that time, and her unit recommended that she participate. The male lead chose her. The male lead was a soldier, which was a well-treated and prestigious profession in that era, so Qiao Weiwei got married.

After marriage and accompanying the military, the organization would arrange job positions for military dependents. However, she worked for only two months and was unwilling to continue. Moreover, she soon became pregnant, so she put work aside.

After giving birth, Qiao Weiwei stayed at home to take care of the child and did not go back to work.

Actually, deep down, she didn’t want to work either. Although they say being a worker is honorable, she wanted to study and go to college. However, taking care of the child and doing household chores were not easy tasks. As a new mom, she was exhausted every day, with no energy left for studying.

Dreams gradually faded away amid the child’s cries and the cold war with her husband.

When the child was three years old, her first love came back. He graduated from college and became a technician at a diesel engine factory in the provincial capital, shining brightly.

The technician sent Qiao Weiwei a few books through someone. Nowadays, some books are not available in local bookstores and are brought back by college students from the capital. Touched, Qiao Weiwei wrote a letter to the technician.

The technician replied, and they reestablished contact.

Through back-and-forth letters, the past’s ambiguous feelings were rekindled. The technician’s literary talent made even ordinary words sound like love confessions, making Qiao Weiwei unable to resist.

In a moment of impulsiveness, Qiao Weiwei suggested divorce to the male lead.

The male lead naturally disagreed. Divorce was a shameful matter in those days, and people would gossip about it.

Being infatuated with love, Qiao Weiwei, disregarding everything, entrusted the child to the neighbors and went to the provincial capital to pursue happiness.

Little did she know that she arrived during the technician and the factory owner’s daughter’s wedding. When the technician saw her, his eyes avoided hers. It turned out he only considered himself romantic and just wanted to have a spiritual romance, not a real relationship with Qiao Weiwei. Originally, he thought that Qiao Weiwei, as a married woman, would be safer. Who would have thought that Qiao Weiwei would get passionate and come looking for him?

Qiao Weiwei didn’t make a scene; he even ate a piece of wedding candy at the wedding. With the sweet candy in her mouth, she left, laid down upon returning home, and didn’t eat or drink for a whole day and night, eventually running a high fever.

Continuing like this, her life would be in danger.

No wonder, in the beginning of the story, the male lead became a single parent and had to find a stepmother for the child.

Reflecting on these memories, Qiao Wei sighed.

She desperately wanted to live but lost to the disease, while Qiao Weiwei didn’t cherish her life at all.

When she first transmigrated, information about the cannon fodder supporting the female character’s life was forcibly injected into Qiao Wei’s mind like force-feeding, causing her brain to ache like it was pierced by hundreds of needles. Qiao Wei could only stay still.

These pieces of information carried a lot of emotions—resentment, dissatisfaction, regret, and anger. Most of them were negative, with the only somewhat different emotion being guilt.

This guilt wasn’t directed towards the male lead but towards her and the male lead’s child. She had no feelings for the male lead, and the only warmth she had left before dying—the only thing she couldn’t let go of—was her son.

Actually, Qiao Wei, who had read the original text, knew that Qiao Weiwei’s son and the female lead’s stepmother took good care of him in other people’s eyes.

Although the female lead in this story had no other plot device besides rebirth, she had spent her previous life as a housewife, skilled at household chores. The male lead was a military officer, belonging to the high-income group, and they lived a good life. The original Qiao Weiwei’s son ate well and dressed well, although he was quiet and reserved. Later, he entered college, where he excelled academically.

Everyone praised the female lead as a good stepmother.

Occasionally, when others mentioned Qiao Weiwei, the cannon fodder supporting female characters, they would scoff and say, “Ungrateful in good fortune.”

There were even insults like “lazy and gluttonous fool,” some even from the male lead’s relatives, said in front of the male lead and son. After insulting the supporting female character, they would add, “Take good care of your stepmother in the future.”

At times like these, the supporting female character’s son would remain silent and say nothing.

The male lead and son never actively mentioned her again, not even once. At least, there were no mentions in the text. Qiao Wei didn’t know whether the male lead and son had ever thought of her or mentioned her in the parts not covered by the author.

In short, the supporting female character, Qiao Weiwei, was undoubtedly cannon fodder.

Qiao Wei closed her eyes and accepted Qiao Weiwei’s emotions.

After a long time, when the chaotic information in her mind finally stopped, Qiao Wei opened her eyes. From now on, she was Qiao Weiwei.

Someone’s wife is someone’s mother.

Actually, Qiao Weiwei didn’t graduate from high school and start working; she got married in less than a year of working. Now the child was only four years old, and she was only twenty-two. She was younger than Qiao Wei’s real age.

For Qiao Wei, gaining a new life and a younger body was nothing less than lucky.

The most urgent task was to find someone to help her. This body was running a high fever due to some magical power preventing death, but it was very weak.

Qiao Wei tried to struggle to get up but fell off the bed. Fortunately, this “bed” was not a proper bed. It was built with bricks underneath, with a board placed on top, possibly a table or a door, serving as a bed. The overall height was very low, and the fall didn’t hurt.

Qiao Wei weakly sat on the ground, catching her breath.

This was a very small room with no proper windows and poor lighting, and it was dilapidated. There was only a simple bed and an old wooden table.

Qiao Weiwei ran away from home to this provincial capital and went straight to the diesel engine factory, but she didn’t see the technician there. She had no introduction letter and couldn’t stay at the guesthouse, so she asked around near the diesel engine factory for a place to stay. Fortunately, she met an old lady who said she had an empty room with a bed.

Qiao Weiwei followed her, and the so-called “room” was a corner she privately set up among a pile of houses, just big enough to turn around. Inside, there was indeed a “bed,” but not even a proper window.

But Qiao Weiwei was unfamiliar with the city, and as she couldn’t stay at the guesthouse due to having things on her mind, she had to make do. She agreed with the old lady to pay three yuan per day for lodging, and the count started anew each day, plus one meal. Qiao Weiwei settled in this place.

She initially thought the technician would return to work after a short leave but was surprised to find out that he took leave to get married. She stumbled to the wedding venue, witnessed her dream prince marrying someone else, and collapsed upon returning, running a high fever.

In theory, after a day and a night, her body should have cooled down. However, it was Qiao Wei’s transmigration that brought Qiao Weiwei “back to life.”

Qiao Wei was lost in her thoughts when she vaguely heard the sound of a car engine and tires rubbing against the ground.

The sound was too clear because this world was too quiet. There were no car engine roars that could be heard anywhere and anytime, which one could easily hear in the future. Even the occasional bicycle bell in the alley was audible, let alone the sound of car tires, with a penetrating power that carried quite a distance.

Qiao Wei felt a slight movement in her heart and slowly tried to get up while supporting herself on the bed.

Indeed, after a while, footsteps entered the courtyard. The footsteps were heavy, as if each step carried a substantial force.

There were voices outside—a man’s voice asking if an out-of-town woman rented a room here. The old lady vehemently denied it, unwilling to admit it.

Although Qiao Wei had received Qiao Weiwei’s memories, those memories were like black-and-white old movies neatly arranged on a shelf and needed triggering to take effect. After all, she was not a person of this era, and she didn’t immediately understand why the old lady wouldn’t admit it.

But her current situation was terrible, and she needed help. She tried to shout but found that her throat was dry and sore, making it impossible to make any sound.

In the courtyard, the man sternly questioned, “Do you dare to guarantee that what you’re saying is the truth? I asked others, and they all said there was a young woman you brought home.”

“What kind of person is she? Do you know and dare to take in someone without a clear identity?”

“Does she have an introduction letter? A work permit? Who allowed you to privately take in someone with an unknown identity?”

Oh, that’s why.

At this point, Qiao Wei had already guessed the man’s identity outside in the courtyard.

Come in! I’m in here!

She opened her mouth, but her throat hurt too much. It was dry and painful, only producing a few hoarse sounds.

Qiao Wei looked towards the door; the bed was the furthest inside, and the broken table was a bit closer. If she wanted to go to the door, she would have to walk over there, probably about five or six steps away. As long as she could get there, she could push the door open and ask for help.

Qiao Wei first leaned on the bed and then on the table, taking slow and weak steps, one after another…

In the courtyard, the old lady, with no way to deny it, was indeed scared by the man. She stammered and admitted, “It’s just a girl, not a beggar, not… she came to the provincial capital to find someone.”

The man asked, “Where is she?”

The old lady pointed to the small house she had built in the corner of the yard and told a white lie, “I saw her come back yesterday, and I haven’t seen her go out today. She should be in.”

The man pursed his lips and, striding over, directly kicked the door panel with a bang! The door hinge’s joint fell off.

The old lady shrank back in fear.

Qiao Wei, anxious that the man might not hear her response and leave, then heard a loud bang. The door opened, and sunlight poured in, cutting the small room into light and shadow like a waterfall.

The door frame was low, and the tall man lowered his head to step in, standing firmly in the light waterfall, staring coldly at her.

In a green military uniform with broad shoulders and a tall figure. The light hit the side of his face, dividing it into light and dark halves.

One side was sharply defined, with a sharp gaze. The other side had a high nose, casting a shadow like a mountain.

He pressed his lips and, after a moment, spoke with a low voice, “Qiao Wei…”

“I’ll give you one last chance; make your choice.”

“Divorce or come back home with me.”

As Qiao Wei expected, this man was none other than the husband targeted by the female lead, Yan Lei.

He always called Qiao Weiwei as Qiao Wei, quite a coincidence.