Chapter 3: Transmigrating to the 1970s

Before dawn, Bai An, still deep in her sleep, groggily reached for her constantly ringing phone. She managed to gather some focus and answered the call, then collapsed back onto the bed with a soft “thud.”

A familiar voice came through the phone. “Little girl, your goods have arrived.”

Bai An immediately sprang up from the bed, excitement evident in her voice. “Okay, I’ll come over right away.”

Yesterday, Bai An had been working on figuring out how to store things in her space. She had accidentally discovered that items placed inside seemed to stop aging or changing.

For example, if you cooked a pot of porridge and moved it into the space, no matter how much time passed, the temperature and texture of the porridge would remain unchanged.

This meant that anything stored in the space wouldn’t spoil.

Now, standing in the warehouse, Bai An made sure there was no one around. She quickly moved everything from the warehouse into her space.

Looking at the fully packed space, Bai An felt incredibly relieved.

“Everything’s ready. Now, we just wait for the apocalypse to arrive,” Bai An clenched her fist, confidently declaring, “As expected, I am the chosen one.”

As Bai An happily walked back home, her bracelet in hand, she suddenly heard a loud “bang!”

Before she lost consciousness, she glared angrily at the broken flowerpot in front of her.

“I will never forgive the person who threw something from above!”

Floating in the air, Bai An, now semi-transparent, had her cute face twisted with anger.

“That’s it! That’s it! I’ve prepared everything, and yet I die right now!” Bai An shouted toward the sky, “Since you’ve given me this space, you have to let me come back to life, or what’s the point of it!”

Just as she finished speaking, a burst of white light suddenly filled the sky. Just before Bai An was pulled into the light, she saw a man—Ren Dong—holding her deceased body and muttering something.

“Well, at least someone is taking care of the body.”

“Why is there a child?”

Snowflakes fell thickly, and in the frost-covered fields, Lu Demin, who had just finished working, was walking along a muddy dirt road. He wore a thin, patched-up cotton jacket, rubbing his almost frozen arms. The breath he exhaled formed a white mist on his glasses.

Even through the fog on his glasses, Lu Demin could spot Bai An, lying in the middle of the road.

“How can she be dressed like this on such a cold day?”

Hurriedly, Lu Demin took off his jacket and wrapped the five- or six-year-old Bai An in it, holding her in his arms.

He wiped the fog from his glasses, looked around to ensure there was no one else nearby, and quickly ran home, braving the heavy snow.

“Wanqing, open the door!”

When the door opened, the woman inside, even in her shabby cotton clothes, couldn’t hide her gentle demeanor. “You’re back a bit late today. Did something happen?”

“Ah, why did you bring a child back?” Wanqing was surprised when she saw Lu Demin holding a small child. “What will we do if her parents can’t find her?”

“There was no other choice. This child was lying in the middle of the road wearing just this thin piece of clothing. If I didn’t bring her back, she would freeze to death out there.”

Lu Demin placed Bai An beside their sleeping son.

Lu Jin’an woke up groggily, blinking as he saw his father placing a child into his bed.

Wanqing softly spoke to Lu Jin’an. “Let this little sister sleep here tonight. It’s fine, go back to sleep.”

Lu Jin’an nodded slowly, pulling Bai An closer to him and using his body heat to warm her.

Lu Demin quietly observed them both, lowering his voice as he spoke to Wanqing. “Let her sleep here tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll take her to the police.”

Wanqing nodded and, seeing her husband’s pale, frozen face, gently said, “I’ve made some hot water for you. Go clean up.”

Lu Demin lowered his head and wiped the fog off his glasses with his sleeve. “Now that we’re here, we don’t need to be as particular as before.”

“What are you talking about? Go clean up. You’ll catch a cold if you don’t,” Wanqing urged him gently.

They only had one room, and everything from daily life to washing up happened in that room, with a cloth serving as a partition for privacy during bath time.

Listening to the sound of water, Wanqing gazed at Bai An, who had fallen asleep. She admired the delicate features of the child—her ink-like eyebrows, her slightly upturned nose, and her small, graceful mouth. “She’s such a beautiful child.”

“It’s time to sleep.” After finishing his washing, Lu Demin lay down beside Wanqing. “Let’s sleep now. We’ll have to wake up early to help in the cattle shed tomorrow.”

Wanqing, staring at the cold wind blowing outside, seemed to be lost in thought. She quietly responded.

The next morning, Wanqing and Lu Demin woke up early to start preparing things. Just as Lu Demin was about to light the oil lamp, Wanqing took his hand, glanced at the two children still sleeping, and shook her head.

“Just tidy up with the moonlight outside, that should be enough.”

“Alright.”

Wanqing placed the metal lunchbox with rice onto the stove, wrote a note and placed it under the lunchbox, then finished organizing everything and turned to Lu Demin. “It’s ready, let’s go.”

As soon as the door opened, the biting cold air hit them. Wanqing looked at the dark sky and the desolate surroundings, feeling a bit down.

Just as she felt a little melancholic, a warm hand reached out to her, and a soft voice said, “Let’s go.”

Bai An groggily opened her eyes and, seeing the worn-out roof in front of her, blinked in confusion.

“Where am I?”

“You’re awake.” Lu Jin’an looked at the girl who suddenly appeared in their home the night before and spoke with a calm tone, “If you’re awake, come eat.”

Bai An looked at the little boy in front of her. He had a delicate appearance and sat upright, creating a striking contrast with the worn clothes he wore.

She shifted her gaze away from him and slowly looked around.

Is this what it’s like here?

The beams above her seemed unstable, the windows and doors letting in the cold wind, the simple stove in front of her, and the faded cloth hanging in the center of the room.

Just as Bai An was processing all of this, she was about to get up when—

“Ahhh!”

Hearing Bai An’s scream, Lu Jin’an immediately ran over, thinking she might have gotten hurt. “What’s wrong?”

Bai An pointed at her small hands, trembling. “My hand, my hand!”

Lu Jin’an took her hand and looked closely, seeing only soft, smooth skin and no injuries. “What happened to your hand?”

“It’s gotten smaller!” Bai An exclaimed.

Lu Jin’an: “…”

Bai An, shaken and trying to calm herself down, thought, It’s okay, it’s okay. Even if I’ve shrunk, it’s fine. I’ve ended up in a poor family, but I’m alive, and that’s good enough.

She carefully checked her body. There were no injuries, and her body seemed to be about four or five years old, meaning she was at the age when she first entered an orphanage.

“By the way, I don’t have any clothes to wear.” Bai An looked down at her short-sleeved shirt. “Do you have anything thicker? Also, could I possibly look in a mirror?”

Lu Jin’an quietly watched Bai An, who hesitated about whether to get out of bed in her current clothes and find a mirror. Just then, he walked over.

“There are clothes.” He spoke softly.

Lu Jin’an climbed onto the bed and rummaged through the sandalwood chest at the foot of the bed. He pulled out a piece of clothing from the bottom.

It was a light blue cotton jacket, with a few buttons on the chest.

So vintage.

Bai An couldn’t help but admire the jacket.

Lu Jin’an directly put the jacket on Bai An and pulled her hand, leading her down from the bed. “Let’s eat. I’ll get you a mirror after.”

The two yellow steamed buns on the table were today’s breakfast.

“Where are you from? Isn’t the country supposed to have fully eradicated poverty? How come you’re still eating this?” Bai An looked at the boy across from her, eating with such relish, and couldn’t help but try a bite. But the taste was so unpleasant, she didn’t want to try another.

Lu Jin’an glanced at Bai An, not quite understanding what she meant, but urging her, “Hurry up and eat. Otherwise, they’ll be cold and tough to bite.”

Bai An stared at the bun in her hand.

I wonder if the space brought food with it. When I have time, I’ll try it. I really don’t want to eat this bun.

Having finished one bun, Lu Jin’an noticed Bai An staring blankly at the food. He knew she couldn’t get used to it, but said nothing. Instead, he gently patted her head.

“I’ll go check if there’s anything else to eat outside.”

Lu Jin’an adjusted his collar, glancing at Bai An, who looked especially delicate sitting on the chair. After a moment of thought, he decisively closed the door with a click.

The sound of the door locking came from outside.

“Alright, let’s try this now. The space is my only comfort right now,” Bai An murmured, pointing to her head.