The newcomer's explosive statement instantly drew the attention of those who were busy.
[Ancient World Xu Huanhuan: I'm here. Beating up your husband and mother-in-law? How exactly did that happen? Spill the details.]
Xu Huanhuan's comment immediately received several likes. Even Ye Bingbing, who was wrapping things up in S City, popped in. The cleanup in S City was going smoothly—under absolute military suppression, apart from a few stubborn holdouts, the rest had already been sent to prison. The assets of the city's tycoons were almost entirely confiscated. The ordinary people who had been oppressed by these tycoons finally had a chance to catch their breath.
In Xiang Qianlan's world, having traveled back to the 1960s, she sat on a stone stool by the door of her thatched hut, idly flipping a sickle in her hands, examining it with great interest. She never expected that after spending several days in this godforsaken place, she would awaken such a golden finger.
Though she wasn’t entirely sure what this golden finger was good for, just being able to chat and talk with others made Xiang Qianlan incredibly happy. These past few days since her transmigration had been unbearably lonely.
The only odd thing was the location of this golden finger—it was embedded in the sickle. But that didn’t matter. From the very first day she arrived here, she had decided she would sleep with the sickle in her arms. This world was just too messed up, leaving her with zero sense of security.
Seeing the words flashing across the sickle’s surface, Xiang Qianlan casually picked up a stone and hurled it behind her. A sharp yelp confirmed that she wasn’t dreaming.
She stood up from the stone stool and barked, "Clean up the yard right now, or you’ll regret it."
Xiang Qianlan strode back into the room and plopped down on the kang.
[1960s Boxer Xiang Qianlan: Hey, there are actually people here? Am I dreaming? Are you all transmigrators too?]
Xiang Qianlan decided to gather some intel first. Soon, Xu Huanhuan and the others gave her a rundown. Once she confirmed the chat group was real, Xiang Qianlan was thrilled. Her gaze lingered on Lin Xi’s profile picture before she began sharing her own story.
[1960s Boxer Xiang Qianlan: So, my death was pretty ridiculous. I was cooking at home when I realized we were out of salt, so I ran downstairs to buy some. On my way out of the supermarket, someone on the upper floors of my building was trying to jump. I stopped to watch—luckily, the cops managed to save them. Just as I was about to leave, the jumper’s phone fell out of their pocket.]
[And wouldn’t you know it, that damn phone landed right on my forehead. I didn’t even have time to dodge. I’m not exaggerating—as I collapsed, I swear I saw my great-grandma doing a yangko dance to welcome me into the afterlife.]
[I thought my time was up, but instead of dying, I woke up to someone beating the crap out of me. And I mean a full-on, no-holds-barred beating.] Just thinking about it made Xiang Qianlan furious.
She never expected that her second chance at life would begin with a sweaty, stinking slap across the face.
[You think I’d take that lying down? I fought back instantly and nearly beat that bastard half to death. And that old hag who egged him on? I didn’t spare her either. After I cooled down, I realized I’d transmigrated into the 1960s.]
[You’ve all seen those tragic melodramas, right? Well, I became the female lead of one.] The thought of the character’s fate made Xiang Qianlan grimace in disgust.
With some time left before her flight, Lin Xi connected to the plane’s Wi-Fi and perked up at this.
[Earth Girl Lin Xi: What kind of female lead? Tell us more.] The group, including Xiang Qianlan, had six members. Apart from Ye Bingbing, who had transmigrated into a novel, none of them had scripts.
Remembering what Ye Bingbing had endured in her story, Lin Xi was curious whether Xiang Qianlan could break free from her plot.
Xiang Qianlan was naturally outgoing—she’d keep talking even if no one responded. But with Lin Xi egging her on and Xu Huanhuan and the others chiming in, she grew even more animated. Lying on the kang, she typed out line after line.
[1960s Boxer Xiang Qianlan: You know those tragic dramas where the female lead suffers endless abuse and humiliation but still forgives everyone with a saintly smile in the end? Yeah, that’s the one.]
The moment she said this, everyone in the group instantly recognized the trope.
Who hadn’t been emotionally wrecked by those idiotic shows at least once or twice a year? Thinking about those plots, Lin Xi and the others couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for Xiang Qianlan.
Xiang Qianlan was on a roll now: [The character I transmigrated into is the daughter of a mountain hunter’s family. Since there’s no farmland in the mountains and it’s a famine year, her parents married her off to the Qin Family in the plains.]
[The Qin Family is the poorest household in all of Qinjia Village. The family consists of Widow Liu, who’s been alone for years; Qin Aiguo, who has a slight leg disability; and Qin Ailian, the eldest sister who’s already married but keeps meddling in family affairs.]
[The Qin Family was so poor they couldn’t find a local bride, so they settled for the original host from the mountains. After she married in, the three of them decided they couldn’t let the new bride get too comfortable—lest she grow ambitious. So they adopted a strategy of "beat her hard every three days, lightly every two," all to keep her obedient.]
[In the original plot, the host would lose two children to beatings and have her legs broken twice. Later, Widow Liu would fall ill and become paralyzed. Qin Aiguo would have an affair with another widow, only to be beaten half to death by her lover. Qin Ailian’s family would collapse, and she’d abandon her kids, leaving the host to raise them.]
[After the host raised all three children, buried her mother-in-law, and nursed Qin Aiguo back to health, Qin Ailian would return to claim the rewards. The ending? The host is kicked out of her own home by the children she raised, collapses under a bridge, and is taken to the hospital. The kids finally show up, full of remorse, and cry out "Mom" at her deathbed.]
After summarizing the plot, every woman in the group felt their blood boil. It was the same old toxic narrative, the same disgusting tropes that made their skin crawl.
As usual, Lin Xi was the first to react: [Earth Girl Lin Xi: Holy hell, who even watches this kind of vile drama? As if all that suffering could be erased with a single cry of "Mom"?]
【Ancient World Xu Huanhuan: Who wouldn’t agree? I don’t even know who the target audience for this kind of drama is—it’s downright vicious. Just hearing the plot points Qianlan described, even one alone would be unbearable for me, let alone this whole string of them. Who on earth wrote this?】
【Primitive World Ahuahua: Probably a man. After all, what man wouldn’t want a woman who endures hardship without complaint, stays loyal even when beaten half to death, and never leaves his side?】
【Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland Lin Duxi: Speaking for myself, I’d never watch this.】
The group chat was lively, and Xiang Qianlan hadn’t experienced this kind of energy in a long time. She joined in:
【1960s Boxer Xiang Qianlan: Who knows which idiot wrote this script? Time travel really isn’t fair at all.】
【Honestly, the person who wrote this script should be the one to time-travel into the drama as the female lead and experience all the stupid plotlines they came up with. Let’s see if they’d still think getting beaten daily is fun.】
After a brief tangent, Xiang Qianlan continued: 【Do you all know what it feels like to wake up and immediately get slapped across the face? It hurts like hell. I’ve never been humiliated like this in my entire life. Especially after inheriting all the original host’s memories—I just wanted to poison this cruel world with rat poison.】
Xiang Qianlan took a deep breath: 【The night I time-traveled here, I had a dream about the original host. She thanked me for taking over her body. She had already been reborn once, but no matter how hard she tried or what changes she made, she couldn’t escape the fate of her past life.】
【For example, she didn’t want to stay married to Qin Aiguo and tried to divorce him, but she could never escape Qin Family Village. She refused to raise Qin Ailian’s children, but even when the Qin family wasn’t in crisis, those kids would still end up on her doorstep, forcing her to care for them. She tried to avoid the beatings from Qin Aiguo and his mother, but no matter how much she dodged, they’d always catch up to her. She wanted to protect her own child, but the baby was still lost.】
【It’s too cruel. Just too cruel.】
Xiang Qianlan’s words succinctly captured the original host’s suffering—another victim trapped by the so-called plotline. Just imagining it was enough to suffocate anyone.
【Ancient World Xu Huanhuan: I get it now. This is another person controlled by the so-called “plot.” Just like Bingbing, manipulated by the narrative, no matter where she hides, she can’t escape those idiotic CEOs’ harassment.】
On this topic, Ye Bingbing had the most to say: 【Domineering CEO’s Villainess Ye Bingbing: @1960s Boxer Xiang Qianlan, can you break free from the plot?】
【1960s Boxer Xiang Qianlan: I can. Didn’t I beat up the “main characters” on the first day? I thought about it—in the early plot, the original host was constantly abused, so domestic violence had to be the main theme. So I figured, if someone’s going to get beaten either way, it shouldn’t matter who takes the hits.】
【I tested it out, and it actually worked.】
This was the conclusion Xiang Qianlan had reached after careful consideration. She suspected the original host couldn’t escape the plot because she wasn’t ruthless enough. A widow and a cripple? Xiang Qianlan was sure that if the original host had been fiercer, dealing with those two would’ve been as easy as handling chicks.
Thinking of them, Xiang Qianlan’s mood soured again: “Hurry up and work! You’ve got hands and feet—can’t even clean the yard properly?” she shouted outside.
The noise outside grew louder, mixed with faint curses. Xiang Qianlan memorized every word, planning to teach them a proper lesson later.
In this life, Xiang Qianlan hated many types of people, but cheating scum and wife-beaters topped the list. Unfortunately, that crippled bastard Qin Aiguo was both.
Just as Xiang Qianlan was scheming how to dominate the Qin household, the bamboo gate creaked open: “Xiang Qianlan! Xiang Qianlan! You lazy sow, your mother-in-law’s back—why aren’t you greeting me? Hurry up and pull those cabbages in the yard. I’m taking them with me.”
Xiang Qianlan snorted and jumped off the kang bed: 【1960s Boxer Xiang Qianlan: Folks, someone’s itching for a beating. Gotta go teach her a lesson.】
After that message, Xiang Qianlan went silent.
Lin Xi’s plane had taken off. She turned off her phone, but the group’s discussion about Xiang Qianlan continued.
Who hadn’t spoken up for abuse victims before? Who hadn’t dreamed of fighting back when oppressed? But for various reasons, few ever did. That’s why Xiang Qianlan’s defiance felt so satisfying.
An hour later, Lin Xi landed at her hometown airport. The first thing she did was turn on her phone and check the group.
As soon as she opened the chat, a notification popped up: 【System Message: Group member Xiang Qianlan has invited you to watch a video together. Accept?】
Lin Xi clicked “Yes” without hesitation.
Her screen then displayed a poor village. Lin Xi carried her luggage, following the crowd out of the terminal, and sat down in the lobby.
Soon, familiar IDs appeared—the whole group had joined.
The video showed a dilapidated courtyard where Xiang Qianlan stood, gripping a sickle. She knew the livestream had started, and honestly, she was thrilled.
Since childhood, Xiang Qianlan had dreamed of being a martial heroine. She’d trained at Shaolin Temple for three years, later working as a martial arts instructor and even doing stunt work in period dramas.
She’d caught thieves, fought hooligans, and taken down criminals. But beating up domestic abusers? This was a first.
Across from her, the original host’s sister-in-law, Qin Ailian, was ranting, while Widow Liu and Qin Aiguo cowered behind her like quails.
If not for the memories of these two arrogantly abusing the original host, Xiang Qianlan might’ve believed they were innocent.
A crowd had gathered outside the fence, whispering and watching. Xiang Qianlan didn’t care. The Qin Family Village folks were tight-knit—right now, they were all criticizing her, but when the original host lost her first child to abuse, where was their sympathy?
“Xiang Qianlan, look at yourself! Is this any way for a daughter-in-law to behave? Everyone, see how this bride has beaten my mother and brother black and blue in just a few months? She’s nothing but a shrew!” Qin Ailian raged.
She had married into the commune and had long considered herself a city dweller. But city life came with its own hardships—no farmland, and during famine years, everything was rationed. Qin Ailian, who could fetch vegetables and grain from her parents' home, had always held a dignified position in her husband's family.
Today, with no vegetables left at home, Qin Ailian naturally took it upon herself to return to her parents' house to "borrow" supplies—while also putting her sister-in-law in her place. She wanted to remind her who truly ruled the household.
But she never expected that upon returning, she wouldn’t find her sister-in-law bruised and battered. Instead, it was her mother and brother who bore the marks of violence. This enraged Qin Ailian beyond measure.
Xiang Qianlan watched her with disdain. Her gaze shifted between Widow Liu, who was busy wiping tears in front of others, and Qin Aiguo, who stood silent with his head bowed.
It had been three days since she transmigrated into this world, and for those three days, she had been reasonable—only resorting to violence when provoked.
Unlike them. If they so much as disliked the original host, they’d drag her out of bed and beat her, even when she was recovering from a miscarriage. In the half year since the original host married into the Qin Family, she had already lost one child.
Just thinking about it made Xiang Qianlan’s teeth grind with fury. The original host had lived two lifetimes without ever having a child of her own. In her second life, no matter how careful she was, those two abusers would always find a way to take the child from her.
"Enough of your nonsense. Get out of here. This household is under my rule now. A married daughter is like spilled water—don’t come back looking for handouts." Xiang Qianlan mused how much the times could change a person.
Before transmigrating, if anyone had dared to say "a married daughter is like spilled water" to her, she would’ve beaten them senseless. Yet here she was, uttering those very words after just a few days. But she saw no issue with it.
After all, polite words were reserved for people. And which of the three in the Qin Family qualified as human? Weren’t they all just beasts? And beasts deserved nothing but a heavy fist.
Showing even a sliver of mercy to beasts was nothing short of disrespecting one’s own life.
"Leave before I lose my temper." Having reconnected with a fellow transmigrator from her hometown, Xiang Qianlan decided against violence today. She’d let Qin Ailian enjoy a few more days of freedom—days without beatings.
This only infuriated Qin Ailian further. She had always believed herself the smartest in the entire Qin Family village—after all, she was the only one who had married into the city. She treated her parents' home as her own.
For years, this was how she had lived: whenever her husband’s family lacked anything, she’d take it from her parents. Her mother doted on her, and her brother was a cripple who’d depend on her in the future. She had assumed her sister-in-law, married from the mountains, would be just as meek. But it hadn’t taken long for the woman to reveal her true colors.
Qin Ailian felt her authority was being challenged. "Qin Aiguo, look at the kind of wife you’ve married. How dare you pamper such a woman?"
Her implication was clear—she wanted Qin Aiguo to beat Xiang Qianlan. Even now, she was stirring trouble, and whatever pity Xiang Qianlan had for her vanished instantly.
Qin Aiguo, called out by name, glanced up at his sister. His limp made him painfully self-conscious, and his crippled body had left him both envious and fearful of Qin Ailian—envious of her wholeness, fearful of her strength.
Growing up, he had always been the one beaten by her. But after his marriage, that fear had lessened. His wife was whole too, yet he could overpower her effortlessly.
The thrill of controlling another’s life was intoxicating. Every time he saw Xiang Qianlan bruised and begging for mercy, an immense satisfaction filled him.
But now, that control was gone. Qin Aiguo was seething. He desperately wanted someone to put Xiang Qianlan back in her place—preferably by beating her into submission.
Looking at his sister, his eyes flickered. "Sis, I can’t handle her."
In Qin Family village, sons were favored over daughters—but the Qin household was an exception. Widow Liu spoiled her healthy daughter, leaving Qin Aiguo to live in Qin Ailian’s shadow.
Now, his emotions were conflicted. Part of him wanted Qin Ailian to beat Xiang Qianlan back into submission. Another part wanted Xiang Qianlan to beat Qin Ailian—to avenge him.
After some thought, he decided he’d rather see his sister take a beating.
"Useless." Qin Ailian spat the word and marched toward Xiang Qianlan. Today, she would teach her a lesson—she had to reassert her dominance in the Qin Family.
If she couldn’t suppress Xiang Qianlan, her life in her husband’s family would suffer. Why did her in-laws, city folk with rationed goods, treat her so well? Because they relied on her, a rural daughter-in-law, to bring them extra food.
If she returned empty-handed, what would her sisters-in-law think of her?
Widow Liu, seeing her daughter about to discipline her daughter-in-law, was overjoyed. Her reputation in Qin Family village had always been poor—widows raising children were easy targets for scorn, and her own behavior hadn’t helped.
What woman in the village didn’t despise her?
But lately, Widow Liu had found more acceptance. After all, a daughter-in-law beating her mother-in-law was an abomination, a violation of all norms. With someone even more detestable around, Widow Liu was suddenly more tolerable.
"Elders, look at my face, my head—all beaten by my daughter-in-law. There’s not a patch of unbruised skin left on me. What sin did I commit to bring such a curse into this house?" Widow Liu spoke weakly, displaying her wounds to justify her daughter’s actions.
Her daughter had married into the city—her reputation had to remain spotless. Otherwise, her son-in-law’s family might disapprove.
The women her age knew exactly what kind of person Widow Liu was—and what kind of life Xiang Qianlan had endured. But projecting their own fears, they worried their own sons might marry such a rebellious daughter-in-law.
So they lied through their teeth. "Your daughter-in-law is truly outrageous. No one strikes their mother-in-law. If it were me, I’d have my son beat her to death."
The women chattered away, eagerly exchanging tips on how to keep daughters-in-law in line.
Qin Ailian listened, feeling an extra surge of energy coursing through her. She was quite experienced when it came to fighting. When she reached Xiang Qianlan, her first move was to lunge for her hair. In her mind, once she grabbed Xiang Qianlan’s hair, she’d slap her face hard and kick her in the stomach.
The best outcome would be to kick her so hard that she’d never be able to bear children again. That way, her own child would be the only grandchild of the Qin Family, making it even easier for her to go back and take whatever she wanted from the house. And if she couldn’t afford to raise the child later, she could just dump it at her parents’ place—what could they possibly say then?
Once Xiang Qianlan became a barren woman, what right would she have to stop her? The more she thought about it, the more excited she became. But then, before she could react, Xiang Qianlan kicked her away, sending her crashing onto the dirt ground.
Xiang Qianlan tucked her sickle into her belt, straddled Qin Ailian, and began slapping her face relentlessly.
"I was just thinking of going to your in-laws’ place in a few days to settle the score, and here you are, asking for a beating. What’s the matter? Did you enjoy lording it over everyone at your parents’ house too much?" Xiang Qianlan punctuated each sentence with two sharp slaps.
She had inherited all of the original host’s memories. When the original host had first married Qin Aiguo, she had enjoyed a few good days. Qin Aiguo hadn’t intended to beat his wife—after all, he was nearly thirty when he finally managed to marry. Though thin and frail, she was still somewhat pretty.
She was diligent in her daily chores, and the cozy life of having a wife and a warm bed made Qin Aiguo very content. But the good times didn’t last.
When Qin Ailian came back to her parents’ house to freeload, she saw how well her sister-in-law was living and thought, This won’t do. If my brother’s wife gets too comfortable, she’ll grow ambitious and start running the household. That won’t be good for me.
Coincidentally, she noticed her own husband sneaking glances at her sister-in-law. Qin Ailian hatched a plan and immediately began sowing discord in front of Qin Aiguo. You’re physically flawed, she whispered. She’ll definitely start fooling around behind your back.
That was all it took to set Qin Aiguo off. That very night, he laid hands on the original host, causing her to lose her child. The loss devastated Qin Aiguo, and from then on, he beat her even more freely.
"You think you’re the boss of the Qin Family now, huh? You think you can stir up trouble and ruin people’s lives?"
"You dare accuse me of fooling around? Who are you to talk, you little tramp who got knocked up before marriage?" Xiang Qianlan didn’t actually look down on women who got pregnant out of wedlock. In her opinion, if men didn’t finish outside, how could women get pregnant? The real blame lay with irresponsible men who didn’t use protection!
But then again, Xiang Qianlan was biased—especially after transmigrating into this godforsaken melodrama. Her double standards had become even more pronounced. Anything the Qin Family did, in her eyes, was wrong.
The rhythmic slap, slap, slap sounds filled the air, making many bystanders uncomfortable.
Widow Liu, who doted on her daughter for bringing her so much face, couldn’t bear to watch. She abandoned her act of playing the victim and charged forward with a shriek.
Xiang Qianlan, who had been anticipating this, tripped her before she could even land a hit. Before Widow Liu could hit the ground, Xiang Qianlan’s foot was already on her.
"You old hag, isn’t this how you love beating your daughter-in-law? How does it feel to be on the receiving end, huh? Does it feel amazing?" In the Qin Family, whenever the original host was beaten, it was always a two-person job.
After Qin Aiguo finished, Widow Liu would take over. The mother-son duo had turned eat, sleep, beat the wife into a daily routine.
"I wasn’t going to hit you, but you just had to come begging for it." Since transmigrating, Xiang Qianlan had strictly followed the Qin Family’s original beatings schedule—just in reverse.
Basically, she gave them a major beating every three days and a minor one every two days, with casual kicks and slaps in between. But now, looking back, Xiang Qianlan felt she had been too merciful.
They had beaten the original host for two lifetimes—all that suffering had to be multiplied by two. She deeply regretted not realizing this sooner.
Furious, Xiang Qianlan increased the force of her blows. Just as she finished delivering three heavy slaps, someone rushed over and pushed open the fence gate.
"Stop this at once!" The voice was loud and authoritative.
Xiang Qianlan glanced over. It was Qin Qianjin, the village head of Qin Family Village. She leisurely gave Widow Liu one last slap before standing up.
"Oh, Uncle, what brings you here?" Qin Qianjin was, by familial hierarchy, an uncle to Qin Aiguo.
Qin Qianjin’s face was dark. "Higher-ups are inspecting the village today. What the hell is going on here?"
As he spoke, his gaze landed on Widow Liu’s face—once delicate and youthful, now swollen like a pig’s head—and his frown deepened.
When he saw Qin Ailian lying on the ground, his expression turned even more disgusted.
"Uncle, that’s not fair. How can you call this ‘making trouble’? You can see for yourself—Widow Liu, Qin Aiguo, and Qin Ailian, all three of them ganged up on me!" Xiang Qianlan lied without blinking.
Just like in the past, when the original host was beaten badly and Qin Qianjin was called over, Widow Liu would always start with tears before speaking. Her script never changed: The new daughter-in-law disrespects her mother-in-law, makes mistakes, and the family is just teaching her a lesson.
Qin Qianjin had always handled such matters lightly. After all, his mistress wasn’t the one suffering. So what if an outsider daughter-in-law got beaten? It wasn’t like they were killing her.
But this time was different. "Xiang Qianlan, have you no shame as a daughter-in-law? No matter what, your mother-in-law is still an elder. How dare you raise your hand against her?"
"And your sister is a married woman! How is she supposed to face her in-laws after you beat her like this?" In his forty-plus years of life, Qin Qianjin had never seen such an unfilial daughter-in-law!
Xiang Qianlan couldn’t care less what he thought. The old man was Widow Liu’s lover anyway—he’d never side with her.
"That’s not how it works. I’ve never heard of a mother-in-law who monitors how long her son and daughter-in-law stay in bed. And I’ve certainly never heard of one who treats beating her daughter-in-law as part of daily life."
"As for the married sister, she brought this on herself. She’s already married out, yet she still comes back to stir up trouble and sow discord. Beating her is going easy on her. Next time, I’ll do it again."
Xiang Qianlan’s words left Qin Qianjin fuming. She glared back. "What are you staring at? Don’t you have work to do? Get the hell out of here!"
Xiang Qianlan had no goodwill toward anyone in the Qin Family Village. In the original host’s memories, every single one of them had bullied her at some point.
She said to Qin Qianjin, who was panting heavily with a dark expression, "Uncle, you didn’t lift a finger when I was beaten half to death and lost my child. So now, you’d better stay out of my business. Otherwise, you won’t like the consequences."
After delivering her threat, Xiang Qianlan pulled the sickle from her belt, held it casually in her hand, and strolled leisurely back into the house.
She didn’t care whether Qin Qianjin took her words seriously—in fact, she hoped he didn’t. If he actually listened, how was she supposed to carry out her plans later?
She knew all too well that this old man was the worst of them all. He was the one who had prevented the original host from going to the hospital after being beaten so badly. If not for the original host’s sheer will to survive, she would’ve been long gone.
And why was the original host infertile? Because this bastard wouldn’t let her seek medical treatment. The most disgusting part? This old fool still expected her to take care of him in his later years.
Xiang Qianlan felt she had already shown him more respect than he deserved today. The only reason she hadn’t slapped him yet was that her body hadn’t fully recovered.
She had already decided to ambush the old man with a sack over his head in a few days. Sighing, she entered the house. The room she was sleeping in now belonged to Widow Liu—spacious and warm. As for Widow Liu? She had long been driven by Xiang Qianlan to share a bed with Qin Aiguo.
Whether it was appropriate for a grown man to sleep with his mother was none of Xiang Qianlan’s concern.
Sitting on the heated brick bed, she overheard people whispering that she had gone mad. Xiang Qianlan thought they were absolutely right.
Who wouldn’t lose their mind after transmigrating into a tragic melodrama set in the 1960s, only to land in a family full of abusers?
Lounging on the bed, the livestream video finally ended.
Xiang Qianlan skimmed through the flood of comments praising her bravery, chuckling to herself. Lin Xi, after watching the video of Xiang Qianlan’s triumphant rampage, felt thoroughly satisfied.
A message buzzed on her phone. Tucking it into her pocket, Lin Xi headed to the baggage claim to pick up Cao’er.
Cao’er was in good spirits, elegantly grooming herself inside the carrier. The water and cat food had been finished.
Reaching through the bars to pat her head, Lin Xi walked out of the airport. A wave of heat hit her—even after changing clothes at the airport, she still felt stifled.
She hailed a taxi, gave the driver the name of her village, and settled in after agreeing on the fare.
Her home was in Lotus Village, about an hour’s drive from the airport.
For the entire ride, Lin Xi’s gaze never left the window. The lush greenery, dotted with clusters of wildflowers, filled her with quiet joy.
As she neared home, someone tagged her in the group chat. She tapped in to read it.
[1960s Brawler Xiang Qianlan: @Earth Girl Lin Xi, heard you’re still in the original world? Can you do me a favor?]
[Earth Girl Lin Xi: Go ahead.]
[1960s Brawler Xiang Qianlan: Buy me some glucose or other nutritional supplements. This body is severely anemic. I need to recover fast so I can fight the Qin Family till the next lifetime.]
Lin Xi had helped many in the group with tasks, but this was a first: [Sure, but… don’t you plan to leave the Qin Family Village?]
Xiang Qianlan lay sprawled on the heated bed, legs crossed, typing: [No. This era has too many restrictions—you need household registration and travel permits for everything. If I divorce, I’ll have nowhere to go and be looked down upon. Might as well stay with the Qins. Widow Liu is still young and can work. Qin Aiguo’s a cripple, but he’s not bedridden—he can still labor.]
[Besides, if I leave, who knows who this family will torment next? Since someone’s bound to suffer, it might as well be me tormenting them.]
As she sent that message, Xiang Qianlan felt like tiny wings had sprouted on her back.
She truly believed she was a kind and pure little angel today.
As for other desires? Xiang Qianlan had none. Raised by her grandparents, who had long passed, she had no spouse or attachments in the modern world. Sure, the 1960s lacked modern comforts—no air conditioning, no Wi-Fi, no cold watermelon—but it had a bunch of idiots. She could spend the rest of her life playing with them. Slowly. Painfully.
