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Outside the green train, there was a bustling crowd, many of them there to see off their loved ones.
Jiang Ning leaned against the window, feeling somewhat speechless about her current situation.
She had ventured into the niche world of transmigration.
The carriage was full of people, the noise was deafening, and the aisles were cluttered with stacked luggage, leaving only a narrow path for people to pass through.
Looking around, Jiang Ning saw that everyone was dressed in dull, old-fashioned colors, mostly black or gray, with only the younger women wearing more colorful clothes.
Jiang Ning fiddled with her long braid, which contained all the hair she had in this world, and now she had two such braids.
She picked up one of the braids and held it to her nose to block out the indescribable smell in the carriage, where some people had even brought live chickens and ducks, making the smell even worse.
Leaning against the window, Jiang Ning sorted through the plot in her mind.
In her previous life, she had just attended the Lasker Medical Award ceremony when she inexplicably transmigrated into a motivational novel titled “1970s Counterattack: How a Rural Girl Becomes Wealthy,” set in the year 1978.
At that time, she had been intrigued by the novel because one of the supporting characters shared her name, so she decided to give it a read.
Halfway through, Jiang Ning left the author numerous negative reviews, leading to a heated argument between them in the middle of the night.
Although the novel’s title seemed inspiring, it was actually a melodramatic story disguised as a motivational one.
The rural girl in the story was actually a reborn, overpowered protagonist, while Jiang Ning herself was just a substitute bride, a disposable character.
The reborn protagonist, Jiang Ting, was originally supposed to marry Shen Mo, who was in the military. However, she spent many years at home, essentially living as a widow, until she learned of Shen Mo’s death in battle ten years later.
Determined not to live a life of widowhood again, Jiang Ting, upon her rebirth, hatched a plan to have her younger sister, Jiang Ning, take her place in the marriage.
Three years ago, Jiang Ting secretly sent Jiang Ning’s household registration book to the military to marry Shen Mo, and then pretended to be a victim, claiming the book had been sent by mistake.
From that point on, there was no more news of Jiang Ning in the novel. Instead, it focused on Jiang Ting’s efforts to take the college entrance exam, receive her university acceptance letter, and become engaged to a military officer, who was also the male lead of the story.
The male lead came from a wealthy family and could even bring Jiang Ting’s family to live in the city. However, as a married woman, Jiang Ning was not accepted by the male lead’s family and was left to live in the countryside alone.
In the novel, Jiang Ting excelled after the college entrance exam was reinstated, eventually becoming the richest person in the world through countless opportunities and hard work, living a happy life for decades to come.
Determined to finish the book, Jiang Ning wanted to know if the original owner, who shared her name, would have a different fate. Unfortunately, the original owner ended up living a life of widowhood and eventually died a hardworking, lonely death in the countryside.
Jiang Ning felt sorry for the protagonist. Although the original owner was just an insignificant minor character, everyone in the book had wronged her.
Jiang Ting, the reborn protagonist, had swapped the household registration book without consulting Jiang Ning to secure her own future. Jiang Ning’s mother, Wang Lihua, did nothing about it, and once it was done, she only advised Jiang Ning to accept the situation. Her unseen husband was even more irresponsible, having never once thought of her in the three years since their marriage.
In this era, a woman was expected to follow her husband, but he had never mentioned bringing her to his home.
Jiang Ning was not going to sit idly by. It was said that a military marriage could not be dissolved.
She didn’t care; even a military marriage had to be ended.
As soon as she transmigrated, she told her mother, Wang Lihua, that she was going to the capital to find Shen Mo. Her mother readily agreed and sent her off on the train without hesitation.
“Ningning, Ningning, Jiang Ning!” Suddenly, someone called her name from outside the window.
“Second sister, second sister!”
Jiang Ning turned her head and saw a woman with short hair wearing a gray-blue coarse cloth jacket calling her. Beside the woman stood a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy.
Seeing Jiang Ning look over, Wang Lihua, looking at her daughter, suddenly teared up and handed her the items she was holding. “Ningning, these are some food and clothes I prepared for you, and there’s also five yuan inside. If you need anything, be sure to find a train officer.”
Jiang Ning glanced over with a cold expression and did not reach out to take the items.
Meeting her gaze, Wang Lihua was startled. Her daughter had always been obedient and gentle, never daring to resist anyone. Why had she suddenly changed, not even calling her mother?
Looking at her gentle and obedient daughter, Wang Lihua regretted not arguing with her eldest daughter’s husband’s family, at least to keep her second daughter by her side for another year or two. But her husband had left and never returned, leaving them as widow and orphan. As a woman, she didn’t dare to argue.
“Thank you,” Jiang Ning said after looking at her for a moment and then took the package.
The dark-skinned teenager next to Wang Lihua clung to the train window, his big eyes fixed on Jiang Ning. “Second sister, will you come back?”
Jiang Ning had a good impression of her youngest brother in the Jiang family. In the original story, he moved to the city with Jiang Ting but still occasionally came to the countryside to help the original owner with heavy work.
Jiang Ning reached out and patted his head. “Maybe, maybe not.”
As soon as she said that, the train began to move, and Jiang Ning turned her gaze away, not looking back.
The green train rattled along the tracks, and the scenery outside the window flew by.
Jiang Ning had already come to terms with the fact that she had transmigrated into the novel. Leaning against the window, she exuded a sense of laziness.
People around her occasionally glanced in her direction.
Appearance has always been an important factor in making a first impression, and Jiang Ning happened to be one of those who made the best impression.
Her face was delicate and petite, her skin as fair and smooth as water. Her phoenix eyes were bright and seemed to carry the ripples of a lake, exuding an oriental charm. Her eyebrows were gracefully curved, and her features had a natural allure. Her nose was high and straight, with a small, delicate tip, and her lips were tinged with a light red. Every movement of her lips was captivating.
However, her exquisite and bright features carried a hint of coldness.
The occasional glances from those around her told Jiang Ning that the original owner of this face must have been quite beautiful. To have such fair skin despite years of working in the countryside was a rare blessing. As the saying goes, fair skin hides a hundred flaws, and this was truly a gift from heaven.
*
Meanwhile, Jiang Ting had just received her acceptance letter to Capital University in the city. Her fiancé’s family was very pleased and even booked several tables at a state-run restaurant to celebrate.
However, Jiang Ting was clearly distracted.
In her previous life, her tragic fate was due to her choosing the wrong path. She should not have hastily decided to send her household registration to marry Shen Mo just because he was in the military. He had only said he would marry a daughter of the Jiang family, not specifying which one.
She had lived comfortably on the money Shen Mo sent each month, at least for a while. But then she saw Jiang Ning return from working in the city with her husband, who was an officer. Compared to her own husband, who was just a low-ranking soldier, Jiang Ning’s husband was far superior!