1976, Yunfang Family Compound!

“Hey, listen! That noise… Hao’s niece is so shameless, sneaking around with a man at such a young age!”

“Oh my, this is so disgraceful!”  

“This is Xia Zhi’s room—who else could it be? So shameless! She always seemed so quiet and well-behaved, but look how wild she is in private!”

Inside the compound, enclosed by a bamboo fence, several women sat on the steps, bowls in hand, their heads wrapped in scarves and dressed in thick layers. Their eyes were fixed on the wooden house in front of them, listening to the unmistakable sounds of passion coming from inside.  

The aunties blushed furiously. Xia Zhi had some nerve! In a shared compound like this, with neighbors all around, how could she be so loud? It was impossible not to hear!  

Xia Zhi, wearing a floral-patterned blouse and patched blue trousers, her delicate features standing out against her sun-tanned face, stepped into the compound in her rubber shoes. She immediately noticed the crowd gathered around her room, whispering and pointing.  

What’s going on?

Holding the rice she had just bartered for, she asked Auntie Li, who was engrossed in the spectacle, “What happened?”

Without even looking up, Auntie Li kept her eyes glued to the door and snapped, “Hmph! What else? Xia Zhi’s in there fooling around with a man in broad daylight! Absolutely shameless!”

Truly, a girl with no mother to raise her—no sense of decency!

Xia Zhi froze for a second, then smirked. “If Xia Zhi’s in there, then who am I?”

The eavesdroppers jumped at the familiar voice behind them. Whirling around, they gaped at Xia Zhi standing there, then back at the door—where the sounds were still clearly audible.  

“Xia Zhi? You’re out here? Then who’s inside…?” 

Xia Zhi’s face darkened as the exaggerated moans continued. No wonder Hao Liping had been acting shifty this morning, making excuses to send her out on errands.  

So this was the plan—framing her! If she hadn’t come back early, with the door shut tight, everyone would’ve sworn it was her in there.

But this wasn’t in the original novel’s plot. Had something gone off-script?  

With a cold smile, she said, “Who knows? Let’s find out!”

Then, without hesitation, she kicked the door hard. It crashed to the ground, revealing the two inside in all their naked glory.  

Xia Zhi’s lips curled into a sneer. If rice weren’t so expensive, I’d throw it at their heads!

Hao Liping hadn’t expected Xia Zhi to be so bold as to kick the door open. She shrieked and scrambled to cover herself with a blanket, yelling, “Xia Zhi, are you insane?!”

Panic flickered in her eyes—why had she come back so early?

Xia Zhi crossed her arms, her smile icy as she took in the sight of her cousin and the man she’d been engaged to since childhood.  

With a dramatic gasp, she covered her mouth.  

“Brother Gu… didn’t you say you were focusing on studying for the college entrance exams? And cousin… why are you in my house? And you two… this… this…”

She couldn’t bring herself to finish, clutching her chest as if heartbroken.

Hearing her exclamation, the stunned aunties snapped out of their daze, their faces flushing red as they pointed and scolded.

“This—this is outrageous! Utterly shameless!”

“No sense of shame, absolutely no sense of shame!”

The women outside the door all pointed accusingly at the two inside. How could anyone be so brazen in broad daylight? Having an affair was bad enough, but to do it in someone else’s room?!  

Xia Zhi watched as the two scrambled to cover themselves, a smirk playing on her lips.  

Three days ago, she—a modern-day doctor—had transmigrated into this novel.  

She became the orphaned female lead in a 1970s-era story about educated youth, while the male lead was none other than Gu Yunshen, the man now caught in the act.  

But this wasn’t how the plot was supposed to go. How did these two end up together?  

Wasn’t Hao Liping supposed to marry the military officer, Lu Beiting?  

Judging by how tightly they clung to each other, they’d probably been sneaking around behind the original host’s back for a while.  

Xia Zhi felt sick to her stomach. If she had a scalpel right now, she’d have stabbed them already.  

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Spotting a nearby chair, she grabbed it and swung it at them.  

She hit them while yelling, “Hao Liping, how could you?! You’re my cousin! Everyone in this compound knows I’ve been engaged to him for years! How could you sleep with him?!”

Hao Liping and Gu Yunshen hastily pulled up their pants and dodged, but not before taking a few solid hits, yelping in pain.  

“Xia Zhi, have you lost your mind?! How dare you hit me?!” Gu Yunshen glared at her, shocked that the woman who had always obeyed him without question was now attacking him.  

Gu Yunshen was handsome, with the refined air of a scholar, always dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, giving off an elegant, moonlit-breeze vibe.  

Meanwhile, Hao Liping, well-raised by the Hao family, had fair skin and delicate features, making her look pitiable and sweet.  

Xia Zhi looked at them, tears streaming down her face—though inwardly, she was sneering. If only beating them to death would solve everything!

Fueled by the thought, she swung harder.  

“Aiyo, aiyo! Xia Zhi, stop! Stop! You’ll kill them!”

The onlookers finally snapped out of their shock and rushed to pull her away. If this turned into a murder case, it’d be a disaster.  

Seeing the aunties stepping in, Xia Zhi wisely dropped the chair and threw herself into Aunt Li Chunhua’s arms, sobbing dramatically.  

“Auntie, I waited three years for Gu Yunshen! I’m already twenty-one—what am I supposed to do now?!”

The women immediately comforted her while also scolding Gu Yunshen and Hao Liping.  

Xia Zhi smirked inwardly. As expected, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Soon, the two shameful culprits were dragged into the main hall, the wooden table pushed aside.  

Gu Yunshen and Hao Liping knelt on the dirt floor, bruised and disheveled.  

Xia Zhi sat to the side, wiping fake tears while discreetly scanning the room.  

Hao Dazhuang, the head of the Hao family (Hao Liping’s father), her mother Chen Xiuping, and a few nosy neighbors had all gathered to witness the spectacle.  

“Hao Liping, have you lost your mind?!”

Chen Xiuping, who had rushed back from the fields upon hearing the news, was too furious to feel sorry for her daughter. She grabbed Hao Liping and shook her.  

“In just a few days, you’re supposed to marry Battalion Commander Lu! What kind of nonsense is this?!”

Besides, Battalion Commander Lu was handsome, accomplished, and decorated with military honors. Hadn’t she been the one begging to marry him?  

So why was she backing out now?