Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Has the Villainous Supporting Female Character Awakened? “What’s your name? Hmm?” The man’s husky, sensual voice sounded in Su Mian’s ear, sending tingles through her. At that moment, her whole body was weak. She was like a human-sized doll, entirely at the man’s mercy. His large, rough hands, with their prominent knuckles, roamed over her body until they reached— “Mmm…” Su Mian couldn’t help letting out a soft moan. Her hands also moved of their own accord, touching his shoulders and chest, her nails unconsciously digging into his back. What was happening to her? Was this a dream? Why did it feel so real? “My name is—” The man leaned close to Su Mian’s ear, as if he were telling her his name. She could feel his lips moving, but couldn’t make out what he was saying. “What’s your name…?” Summoning all her strength, Su Mian managed to ask. But before she could get the answer she wanted, the scene suddenly vanished. Then a child’s piercing cries rang in her ears. “Don’t hit my mom… Waaaah… Don’t hit my mom…” Pain. Her whole body hurt. Su Mian felt as if her scalp and hair were about to be torn apart. Who was pulling her hair?! Was someone beating her up? Which bastard was it?! She finally managed to open her eyes, but the sight before her made the world spin. Well, would you look at that! A middle-aged woman was yanking on her hair, cursing her nonstop. “You heartless thief! Of all the people you could steal from, you had to steal from me! You fat, ugly beggar! Take your two little beggars and get out of here!” With that, the middle-aged woman shoved Su Mian. Her brain hadn’t finished rebooting, so she couldn’t react in time. Ouch— The dirt and sand on the ground scraped the skin off her hand. Still dazed, Su Mian had no idea what was going on. What on earth had happened? Su Mian vaguely recalled that she’d been on her way to bring her father a meal… And then… then there had been that erotic dream… As she was thinking, a flood of memories that didn’t belong to her suddenly poured into her mind. The person in those memories was her, and yet not her. Her mind now held the five years of life she’d lost, along with every vicious, idiotic thing she’d done during that time. Su Mian felt as if lightning had struck her from a clear sky. That person couldn’t possibly be her. That vicious expression, those schemes to harm her own family, and—that fat body. As if she’d just thought of something, Su Mian hurriedly looked down at herself. Th-these thick arms, these chubby little hands, and these elephant legs… Somebody help! This couldn’t be her! Su Mian was close to tears. As far as she remembered, she’d only gone to bring her father a meal—and somehow, five years of her life had disappeared just like that. And now she’d become a fat, dark-skinned, ugly woman. That was what left her most devastated. The middle-aged woman was still cursing her, hurling one nasty insult after another. Su Mian searched through her memories and pieced together the situation. She must have taken a few steamed buns from the woman’s house, then been caught. Naturally, that had earned her a beating. Su Mian’s head was spinning. Even without seeing herself, she could guess that her face was badly bruised and swollen. Fortunately, the middle-aged woman hadn’t decided to call the police. Maybe she felt guilty after beating Su Mian. After all, an incident like this could easily be classified as a physical altercation, and calling the police wouldn’t do the woman any favors. A crowd of onlookers had gathered around, their faces full of disdain as they looked at Su Mian. “Tsk, tsk. Of all the things she could do, she had to steal from people.” “Exactly. She looks so young, and she’s got two good hands and two good feet. People like her just don’t want to work hard.” “She’s even got two kids with her, and they’re filthy too. What kind of mother is she?” “How does someone even end up living like this?” “Exactly! I hate thieves most of all. If anyone dared steal from my house, I’d chop their hands off!” Faced with a start this disastrous, Su Mian wanted to close her eyes and die on the spot. One second, she’d been having that kind of dream. The next, she’d plunged straight into hell. She had no idea what was happening. How had she suddenly become a fat woman everyone despised? Everyone hated thieves. No one was willing to speak up for her. A few kindhearted people saw that she had two children with her and wanted to say something in her defense, but their voices were drowned out by the crowd’s shouting. Just then, the two children who’d been crying off to one side ran over to Su Mian. The little boy grabbed her hand and said timidly, “M-Mom… my sister and I… We’re not hungry anymore. Let’s… let’s go home… Waaaah…” Hearing her child’s voice, Su Mian snapped out of her despair. Th-these were her children. They’d come out of her own body. No matter how unwilling she was to face it, no matter that she felt she hadn’t lived through those five years, she had indeed given birth to twins—a boy and a girl. There was no mistaking that bond of blood. But the boy’s words made Su Mian’s heart ache as if someone had stabbed it with a needle. She still didn’t understand how she’d ended up like this, but for the sake of her children, she had to pull herself together. Despite the pain wracking her body, Su Mian’s mind raced as she tried to think of a way out. Then she stood up, looked at the middle-aged woman, and said, “I was wrong to take something from your house, but all I took were two steamed buns from the stone table in your courtyard. That doesn’t mean you had to beat me until I looked like this, does it?” “They were only two buns. Even if you called the police and had me taken to the station, they couldn’t classify what I did as theft.” “Every family has hard times. I didn’t take anything valuable from you. I just wanted to put something in my two children’s stomachs.” “They were only two buns. When I earn some money, I’ll pay you back. Was that really worth beating me so badly?” After saying this, Su Mian showed everyone the injuries on her arms, neck, legs, and elsewhere. Everyone took one look. The wounds were shocking. It really wasn’t necessary to beat someone half to death over two buns. It was already the 1980s, and people’s lives were gradually getting better. Two steamed buns really weren’t worth all this. The crowd had been chattering just moments ago, but now the scene fell completely silent. Once they’d taken it in, someone immediately said, “Wait, she only took two buns? I thought she’d stolen something else.” “I thought she’d taken money or ration coupons too. She’s been beaten so badly—I figured it must’ve been something valuable.” “Who doesn’t make a couple of steamed buns for a meal? Beating someone this badly over them is a bit much, isn’t it?” “And she has two kids with her. Maybe she really had no other choice but to steal the buns.” See? Public opinion could turn in the blink of an eye. Just moments ago, everyone had been on the middle-aged woman’s side. Now they were all starting to feel sorry for Su Mian. The woman saw the blame shifting onto her. She’d already felt guilty for beating Su Mian, and now the onlookers were turning against her one by one. She felt even more uneasy. Seeing the situation begin to swing in her favor, Su Mian pressed her advantage and continued, “Call the police. I’m covered in injuries. I don’t even know how much it’ll cost to go to the hospital. I can’t afford to eat, let alone pay for treatment. Why is my life so miserable…?”