Chapter 33 – The Female Supporting Character Whose Life Was Taken Away by a Transmigrated Woman

The next morning, Wen Xin began her major shopping. Clothes, shoes, and socks—those essentials for traveling—had to be bought. Household items like blankets and bowls couldn’t be missed either.

She bought a lot of things, so she found a quiet spot to put some of her purchases into her space. Then, she went to a shop that sold bicycles and bought a three-wheeled bike. She placed the remaining items in the cargo space of the bike and began riding toward the village.

Halfway there, she passed by the labor market, where a group of people sat chatting by the wall. In front of them were many tools: frames, shoulder poles, and various shovels used for building houses. Wen Xin glanced at them and walked on.

The village had a construction team, and she had already spoken to the village chief yesterday, asking him to arrange for the village’s team to help build her house.

Wen Xin went directly to the village chief’s house. There were already people waiting there. When Wen Xin arrived, the village chief introduced her to the two men, and Wen Xin began discussing her house with Uncle Zhang, the leader of the construction team.

In her previous life, she had lived in the north, where the single-story houses were very different from those in the south. Wen Xin had gotten used to such houses, and in this life, she wanted to build a similar one.

Uncle Zhang had traveled through both the south and the north, and he had seen the northern-style courtyard houses. It wasn’t difficult to build. They agreed on the location, and Uncle Zhang would handle all the materials; Wen Xin only needed to pay.

Building a house in those days was cheap. With just two thousand yuan, one could build a good house.

Money was always insufficient. Wen Xin reflected on the fact that she had already spent more than six thousand yuan in just over a day.

The house Wen Xin rented in the village wasn’t big. It was a small yard with two rooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom, but it was old and in need of repair. Cobwebs were everywhere, and some of the mud on the walls had fallen off. The furniture in the house, except for a bed and a table, had been removed.

The village chief called his two sons to help Wen Xin clean the house. With more hands, the job was done quickly. Soon, the house was tidied up, and newspaper was pasted on the walls. The whole house seemed much brighter.

At noon, the village chief’s daughter came to invite everyone for lunch, including Wen Xin. Her name was Zhang Huachun. While talking with her family, she occasionally glanced at Wen Xin.

Wen Xin had already spread throughout the village. After all, it was rare to see a young woman who was both wealthy and beautiful, especially in these times. Last night, her parents had been discussing introducing their second son to Wen Xin.

However, Zhang Huachun thought her second brother was not good enough for Wen Xin, since her brother was just an ordinary guy, and Wen Xin’s height and appearance were far above his.

Wen Xin noticed Zhang Huachun’s gaze and smiled at her.

The village chief clapped his hands and said to Wen Xin: “Little Wen, come to my house and eat.”

Wen Xin had already eaten at the village chief’s house the day before, so she didn’t feel right going again today. She shook her head: “Uncle, I won’t go. I bought some buns. I’ll heat them up and eat them later.”

The kitchen had already been cleaned by Wen Xin, and there were a few large white buns on the stove. Compared to her usual cornmeal meals, these were much better. The village chief didn’t insist further and led his children back home.

The village chief’s wife was also warm-hearted. When she saw that Wen Xin hadn’t come, she scooped a small bowl of vegetables and asked her second son to deliver it to Wen Xin. Her second son, Zhang Chunliang, took the bowl, and just the thought of being alone with Wen Xin made his neck turn red, all the way to his ears.

Zhang Huachun saw her second brother acting all fidgety and said: “Second Brother, you’re really dawdling. Everyone’s waiting for you to eat, and you’re just standing here holding the bowl. Come on, let me take it to her.”

Zhang Huachun snatched the bowl and headed out. Zhang Chunliang stared after his sister’s back, his eyes nearly turning red. Was this sister really his? Surely not—she must have been picked up from some garbage pile by their mother.

Zhang Huachun happily skipped along, thinking to herself that her second brother was a blockhead, always listening to their mother. If he ended up with Wen Xin, he’d only end up ruining her, so from now on, she’d be the one handling all these little tasks of showing kindness.

The more Zhang Huachun thought about it, the more pleased she felt. On her way to Wen Xin’s house, she chatted with people in the village, eventually arriving at the small yard where Wen Xin rented. Wen Xin was surprised to see her.

Zhang Huachun, quite familiar, walked into the yard and said: “Wen Xin, my mom asked me to bring you some vegetables.”

Wen Xin, now nineteen years old in this body, saw that Zhang Huachun, at eighteen, was younger than her and thus should call her “Big Sister.” Wen Xin smiled. “Why are you bringing me food? I already had lunch.” Even though she said this, she still took the vegetables and cleared space on her bowl, adding a few buns inside.

Zhang Huachun refused, but Wen Xin firmly pushed the bowl into her arms. After a brief back-and-forth, Zhang Huachun left the yard, but then turned back. “Wen Xin, Big Sister, can I come over to visit you when I have nothing to do?”

Wen Xin nodded. “Sure, feel free to come by. I’m alone at home and often bored.”

Zhang Huachun left, overjoyed.

Thus, Wen Xin made her first friend in the village.

The construction team in the village worked quickly. In less than a month, a three-building, three-turned courtyard made of blue bricks was finished. The yard had a front and back area. The front yard was small, enough to hang clothes and plant some flowers. The back yard was larger, suitable for planting vegetables, growing a tree, and even building two livestock pens.

The house still wasn’t decorated, and it had no furniture. There was a family in the village that made furniture, so Wen Xin drew some designs and ordered a batch of furniture. She also made several trips to the renovation market to choose three types of tiles.

The tile shops were mostly for renovations. The day after Wen Xin picked the tiles, the workers arrived to install them. When Wen Xin saw the tile installer, she was momentarily stunned.

The person who came wasn’t just a familiar face—he was someone who had almost become her fiancé. 

As Zhou Wenhai’s fiancée, He Xiunian was no stranger to the Original Owner. Before Zhou Wenhai went off to join the army, he and Wen Xin often spoke together. Back then, the topic Zhou Wenhai mentioned the most was his cousin, He Xiunian.

In Zhou Wenhai’s eyes, He Xiunian was a silent and gloomy person, someone who never wanted to do any household chores and spent his days running off outside, driving his parents crazy. He wasn’t close to his cousin either; whenever they met, he treated him like he didn’t exist.

After hearing about He Xiunian so much, the Original Owner had already formed a negative impression of him. Even though they had grown up in the same village, they had barely exchanged any words.

Now, seeing He Xiunian, the Original Owner was surprised by how good-looking he was. He had sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, a high nose, and thin lips. He seemed not to smile much, and his face appeared cold and aloof, with a furrowed brow.

When He Xiunian saw Wen Xin, he was momentarily stunned as well. After all, since Wen Xin ran away from home, the Wen family had made a huge fuss about it. Even though a couple of months had passed, if one passed by the Wen family, they could still hear Wen Chengzhi’s curses from time to time.

He, as the one who indirectly caused Wen Xin to run away, was often mentioned in the village. People not only scorned Zhou Dashan and his wife but also talked about Wen Chengzhi’s cruelty as a father and how pitiful Wen Xin was. He, on the other hand, was just a side character in the story.

He Xiunian didn’t have much attachment to Danxi Village. He had been working outside since he was fourteen. Apart from occasionally making life difficult for the Zhou family, he spent most of his time in the Provincial Capital.

He didn’t know about Zhou Dashan and his wife’s plan to marry Wen Xin to him until after Wen Xin left. His attitude was indifferent. After all, no matter how well Zhou Dashan and his wife schemed, it wouldn’t affect him. He would never be controlled by the Zhou family.

As for Wen Xin, He Xiunian had always thought of her as just a follower of Zhou Wenhai. But when she ran away, he started to view her differently.

The tile shop where He Xiunian worked was his own. Recently, there had been a new batch of properties being handed over in the city, and the demand for renovations had increased. Since the workers were all out on jobs, when Wen Xin urgently needed the tiles, which were the most expensive ones in the store, He Xiunian happened to be free, so he came over. He hadn’t expected to run into her here.

The house on the mountain wasn’t fully furnished yet. Apart from the whitewashed walls, there was nothing inside. Wen Xin hadn’t moved in yet and was still staying in the rented small yard.

The unexpected meeting left them both in silence for a long time, until Wen Xin finally broke it. “Let’s go, the house that needs tiling isn’t this one.”

He Xiunian had ridden a motorized mountain bike, which was strong enough to climb the hills. His driving skills were good, and he parked the bike steadily at the door of Wen Xin’s house.

Wen Xin opened the door and let him in. He Xiunian didn’t say much. He casually glanced at the small house and then started measuring and working with his tools.

Wen Xin didn’t know much about renovation, so she didn’t interfere and stepped outside.

During the brief time when the house was being built, Wen Xin didn’t remain idle. She went to the mountain to gather thorn bushes and planted a circle around the land she had contracted. She also cleared out the weeds in the field.

Wen Xin planned to fill the mountain with peach trees. By next spring, the entire mountain would be covered in soft pink peach blossoms. The scenery would surely be beautiful.

In the gaps between the peach trees, Wen Xin planned to plant some vegetables and medicinal herbs, ensuring that no part of the land went to waste.

At this time, wild peach trees were abundant on the mountain. Every night, Wen Xin would take a walk around the mountain, gathering peach trees to place in her space, where she used spiritual energy to nurture them. After some time, she’d be able to transplant them.

It had been quite a while since it last rained. Wen Xin opened the faucet outside the yard and ran to the foot of the mountain to water the thorn bushes.

By the time she finished watering, it was almost noon. Health was the foundation of everything, and Wen Xin adhered to a regular routine of three meals a day. She returned to the rented house to cook.

In her previous life, Wen Xin didn’t spend much time in the kitchen. Even until her last days, she only knew how to cook basic dishes like boiling noodles, steaming rice, or making home-style dishes like scrambled eggs with tomatoes and stir-fried pork with green peppers.

If it was something more complicated, she couldn’t manage it. So, at lunch, Wen Xin made her usual dishes—stir-fried vegetables, stir-fried pork with chili, and stir-fried potatoes. When making the potatoes, she was worried they wouldn’t cook well, so she added a bit of water to boil them.

The stir-fried potatoes didn’t taste bad, but they were certainly not as good as when they were pan-fried. As Wen Xin ate, her thoughts drifted to He Xiunian, who was working on the mountain.

After thinking for a moment, Wen Xin packed up her food and added some of the chili sauce Aunt Zhang, the village chief’s wife, had given her. She grabbed a basket and headed up the mountain.

He Xiunian was having his lunch. His meal consisted of three steamed buns, two boiled eggs, a thermos of water, and a packet of pickled vegetables—purchased from a shop in the morning.

When Wen Xin saw him, she thought of his situation again, glancing at his exceptionally handsome face. As someone who loved good-looking people, Wen Xin couldn’t help but feel a bit sad. After all, what girl who liked beautiful things could stand seeing such a scene?

Coughing slightly, she placed the basket of food in front of He Xiunian. “I made extra food, so I brought you some. See if it suits your taste. You should eat a little.”

The aroma of the food made He Xiunian swallow. The large steamed bun in his hand suddenly didn’t smell so appetizing. “Thank you.” he said.

He Xiunian ate hungrily, swallowing the food quickly.

Wen Xin glanced at the progress of the construction. The floor tiles for the master bedroom had been completely laid, and the left side of the second bedroom had just begun.

Although they were from the same village, Wen Xin and He Xiunian hadn’t really interacted much before, but there were still some things they could talk about. He Xiunian didn’t ask Wen Xin where she got the money from, or why she was building a house here, nor did he promise he wouldn’t gossip about her to the villagers.

Wen Xin didn’t ask He Xiunian why he worked as a tile installer either. She wasn’t afraid that He Xiunian would tell the villagers about her whereabouts; after all, she had already made peace with the idea of encountering villagers while she developed her life in the Provincial Capital. However, for some reason, Wen Xin felt that He Xiunian wouldn’t talk. They chatted casually, not diving too deeply into anything.

In the evening, when He Xiunian was about to leave, he offered to give Wen Xin a ride to the foot of the mountain. Wen Xin sat in the back of his tricycle, the wind brushing past her ears as her hair fluttered in the breeze.

She got off at the foot of the mountain and walked back home. He Xiunian drove for a short distance before turning around, watching her figure fade into the distance.

It was a while before he finally drove his tricycle back to the city.

That night, as he lay in bed, He Xiunian had a strange, bewildering dream. In it, he was a Taoist Priest, and his favorite activity was feeding koi fish by an ancient, elegant corridor.

In the pond, there was one koi fish that stood out, its beauty captivating him. He seemed particularly fond of her, always telling her jokes and stories. Even while doing his work, he would speak to the koi fish about Taoist teachings.

Later, the koi fish transformed into a graceful young woman. When she turned around, He Xiunian was shocked to see that she resembled Wen Xin.

He Xiunian woke up, his bare chest rising and falling with his breath. He got up and went to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and splashed water on his face. His dark hair got damp as he looked up at the mirror above the sink.

The young man in the mirror frowned deeply. He thought back to the strange dream.

A Taoist Priest? Koi fish? The koi fish turning into a beautiful girl? What was all that about? That dream was far from ordinary.