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Chapter 1 — Arrival in Hong Kong

Summer, 1980.

Under the scorching sun, flecks of golden light scattered across the undulating sea, spreading shimmering ripples as far as the eye could see. Out on the boundless open ocean, only a single four-deck white freighter sailed steadily, its sharp bow slicing through the calm turquoise waves, sending up frothing white spray.

On the deck, the salty, humid sea breeze brushed past. Lin Keying looked back toward the southeast from the grand ship, but in the hazy distance, not even a shadow of the mainland remained in sight.

This ship, carrying a full load of light textile goods from Ning City to Port City, would dock at Port City before the cargo was exported overseas — an important means of earning foreign exchange for Ning City.

Aside from the cargo hold, the ship had three passenger decks. The first floor held a spacious and grand hall along with a dining area. During the five-day voyage, the hall had hosted several concerts and dances, with lavish gourmet meals served throughout.

The second and third floors were reserved for prominent and influential passengers; Lin Keying had heard that many high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants were aboard.

Naturally, she did not stay in the luxurious quarters on the upper decks. Instead, she shared modest rooms next to the first-floor hall with the ship’s crew. Although smaller and more sparsely furnished, it was already a privilege for someone like her — a traveler to Hong Kong without proper documentation.

It was certainly far better than smuggling herself across the border.

Leaning on the ship’s railing, her bangs fluttering in the breeze, Lin Keying’s two sleek, black braids rested obediently on her shoulders. Dressed in a patched, deep-blue floral top and black trousers, she could feel occasional glances cast her way.

No words were spoken, but the disdain and contempt in those gazes were plain to see.

Lin Keying lowered her eyes to look at her clothes — indeed, she looked quite rustic. But she had no choice; she didn’t have a cent in her pocket.

Three days ago, Lin Keying — who had worked hard for ten years, finally getting a promotion and buying her first apartment — had collapsed and died suddenly at work. She had awakened inside a period novel, becoming a pitiful character with the same name.

In the novel, the original Lin Keying had no family or friends when she appeared. Though young and pretty, she was insecure and fragile due to her upbringing. She served as a foil to the confident and generous female lead — hopelessly infatuated with the male lead and selflessly giving everything to him, she clashed bitterly with the second male lead (who loved the female lead) and ultimately was forcibly married to the possessive third male lead. Even during the booming economy, her life remained miserable — living on scraps and never knowing a good day.

As for her backstory, the novel only skimmed over it. Orphaned at a young age, she was rescued and adopted by a wealthy family. Thanks to her cleverness and obedience, she was betrothed as a child bride to the family’s eldest grandson and educated alongside him.

But good fortune didn’t last long.

Two years later, the political climate shifted. Sensing danger, the wealthy family tried to mitigate it by donating factories and buildings but ultimately had to sell off their assets and relocate their entire household to Port City, taking a large sum of money with them.

Because of rising tensions, only blood relatives managed to leave successfully. Lin Keying, as a child bride, along with the servants, was blocked and left behind.

For decades afterward, due to political barriers, the mainland and Port City had little contact. Lin Keying never saw her adoptive family again. Only after reform and opening did the old butler, after much difficulty, reestablish contact with their former masters — but passed away before he could set out. Lin Keying, alone, traveled to Hong Kong to search for her adoptive family but was rejected by her fiancé, the young master, and eventually returned to the mainland. There, she became entangled in more than twenty years of melodramatic love affairs with the novel’s main characters.

Now, having crossed into Lin Keying’s body on a ship bound for Hong Kong — she was exasperated!

She couldn’t find her adoptive family; as a mainland girl, she’d face discrimination in Hong Kong. And back on the mainland, a whirlwind of melodrama awaited her.

Yet with nothing but endless ocean around her, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and reach Port City first.

As for what would happen once she got there…

Lin Keying carefully recalled the novel’s plot and remembered a brief, unremarkable piece of backstory: her “fiancé,” the young master, was handsome, wealthy, and generous — but he despised the feudal concept of child brides. He’d rather pay a huge compensation of one million dollars than marry a country bumpkin from the mainland.

Having struggled half her life only to die suddenly before enjoying anything, Lin Keying had no desire to struggle anymore.

If he wanted to reject the marriage, fine — as long as she got the hefty compensation!

After all, one million (even in Hong Kong dollars) was an astronomical sum — equivalent to over 300,000 RMB!

In the 1980s, that made her an outright tycoon!
Back then, pork cost only 0.8 RMB per kilogram, a black-and-white TV could be bought for 500–600 RMB, and a courtyard house in Beijing cost just 10,000 RMB.

With that money, she could return to the mainland, buy a few courtyard homes, invest casually, and live a life of ease and wealth.

“Dear passengers, we will be docking at Kowloon Wharf shortly…”
The alternating Cantonese and Mandarin broadcast snapped Lin Keying back to reality. Brushing her hair back with slender fingers, she hurried back into the cabin — greeted instantly by a scene of extravagant luxury.

While the mainland was just beginning its economic rise in the 1980s, Hong Kong had already developed rapidly, and even the ship revealed a glimpse of this prosperity.

The Blue Danube Waltz drifted through the first-floor hall, where merchants and elites clinked champagne glasses, watching couples waltz gracefully on the dance floor.

Lin Keying wasn’t in the mood to admire any of it. She rushed to her room to pack, oblivious to the lively gossip filling the hall.

“I heard Young Master Cheng clashed with the Chairman — the Chairman even lost his temper at the board meeting…”

“Young Master Cheng is handsome, rich, and has made Huanyu Shipping flourish at such a young age — far better than those playboys who only know how to gamble and race horses. The Chairman really should be more satisfied.”

“Apparently, the Chairman wants to arrange a marriage between Young Master Cheng and the daughter of HSBC’s director. If that happens, the Cheng family will dominate Hong Kong completely.”

This Huanyu freighter was one of five major vessels owned by Huanyu Shipping Group under the Cheng family, bought seven years ago from the U.S. for 900,000 USD.

After gossiping to their hearts’ content, the passengers prepared to disembark.

Accompanied by a deep foghorn, the freighter docked at Kowloon Wharf. Crowds swarmed the deck — merchants and elites in sharp suits filed out one after another. Amidst them, Lin Keying, in her deep-blue floral blouse and braids, looked like an outsider who had accidentally wandered into a new world, completely out of place.

After several days at sea, her feet finally touched solid ground, and she felt a wave of disorientation.

Before her rose rows of towering buildings; behind her, dockworkers labored energetically loading and unloading cargo. The bustling scene dazzled her — so different from the mainland.

Surrounded by unfamiliar language, Lin Keying’s heart grew tense, and she couldn’t help but worry.

The novel had glossed over her backstory and never mentioned any concrete details about the wealthy family that adopted her. She didn’t even know her fiancé’s surname — only vaguely remembering that the original Lin Keying called him “Young Master” or occasionally “Brother Songxian.”

However, the author had mentioned that when the old butler reestablished contact, someone would be waiting with a token to pick her up when the ship arrived.

Looking around anxiously, she finally spotted a young man in the crowd holding that token!

— “Are you Miss Lin Keying?”
A familiar accent rang out, evoking a sense of warmth.

“Miss Lin, the Young Master sent me to pick you up.”
Ah Hui approached, holding a silk handkerchief embroidered with peonies — distinctive of Ning City.

Ah Hui had smuggled himself into Hong Kong five years ago and was later taken in by the Chen family. Thanks to his strength and skills, he became a bodyguard for the family.

Lin Keying climbed into a spacious, elegant sedan and curiously gazed out the window at the bustling streets.

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At the same time —

At Jardine Matheson’s headquarters in Causeway Bay, security guards opened the doors, and a tall figure in black emerged.

The man, dressed in a black suit, composed and imposing, took long strides and lowered himself into a Rolls-Royce Silver Spur parked roadside.

As soon as he sat down and the engine roared to life, his secretary in the backseat began briefing him:
“Young Master, if the Chairman finds out about today’s meeting with Jardine’s directors…”

Sitting upright, the man flipped through that day’s Hong Kong Daily and glanced up, his cold gaze silencing the secretary instantly.

“Don’t let the old man find out about this,” Cheng Wanting said in a low, seemingly casual voice.

“Yes, sir.” Secretary Yang nodded awkwardly, caught in the power struggle between two generations of the Cheng family. “But Kowloon Wharf is a hot property now — Jardine won’t let go, and Mr. Liu is eyeing it too. It won’t be easy for us to snatch it.”

Cheng Wanting had probed Jardine’s attitude during today’s brief business talk and had already drawn his conclusion:
“Let them fight first — the stock price will be pushed higher. We’ll watch quietly.”

Secretary Yang quickly brainstormed and asked again,
“What if Mr. Liu actually seizes it?”

“HSBC won’t allow it.” Cheng Wanting didn’t even look up, his words decisive. As he quickly scanned the newspaper, his eyes flickered with exasperation upon spotting a headline in the entertainment section — a scandalous rumor about the Chen family’s eldest son and a newly crowned Miss Hong Kong.

“Erase this nonsense about Songxian — if he keeps showing up in tabloids, it’ll give Aunt a headache.”

“Yes, sir.”

Halfway through the drive, Secretary Yang noted the young master’s instructions, then brought up another matter:
“Young Master, Mr. Chen has requested a meeting with you at the Mandarin Hotel.”

Cheng Wanting originally had no intention of going but changed his mind, remembering that his aunt’s 50th birthday was coming up next week.

The car veered toward Central and soon stopped in front of the Mandarin Hotel. In the quiet, private suite on the 23rd floor, Chen Songxian — eldest grandson of the textile tycoon Chen family — sat obediently, listening to his cousin Cheng Wanting lecture him with rare patience.

Three years older, Cheng Wanting often had to clean up after his cousin’s scandals and couldn’t help but warn him sternly:
“Aunt’s health isn’t good. If you care about her, stop making headlines with this nonsense.”

“Yes, yes!”

Chen Songxian, playful and spoiled, was uncontrollable by his parents and unmonitored by his aging grandfather — but he feared one person alone: his cousin Cheng Wanting.

After all, Cheng Wanting had already seized half of Hong Kong’s shipping market at a young age — even more capable than his uncle. Lowering his head, Chen Songxian explained,
“Cousin, Lily and I are seriously dating — those tabloids are just spreading false rumors. Please don’t misunderstand me.”

Although his girlfriends changed constantly, his charm and generosity left each ex-girlfriend praising him endlessly.

Cheng Wanting disapproved of his cousin’s womanizing but couldn’t interfere in the Chen family’s affairs.
Since he knew Songxian had a request today, he stayed silent and focused on his meal.

Lately frustrated and unable to use his Chen family status to solve things, Songxian could only turn to his powerful cousin:
“Cousin, I need your help. I have a child bride back on the mainland…”

“The old child bride from back then?” Cheng Wanting frowned upon hearing this, clearly disapproving of such outdated customs.

“That’s right! It’s modern times now — how could a child bride betrothed when I was a kid still count? I don’t even know what kind of northern country bumpkin is coming — it’s terrifying…”
Songxian was utterly against it. He dated Miss Hong Kongs and young actresses; how could he marry a rural mainland girl?

But his autocratic grandfather would force the marriage if he knew the bride had arrived — how could Songxian not panic?

“Cousin, you have to save me! I can’t just fall into this trap. That mainland girl arrives today — I arranged for Ah Hui to pick her up, but I can’t meet her. If Grandpa sees her, you’ll be drinking my wedding wine tomorrow.”

His dramatic pleas gave Cheng Wanting a headache.

Setting down his chopsticks, Cheng Wanting’s deep gaze exuded quiet authority:
“Oh? Then tell me — what exactly do you want me to do about your child bride?”

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