Chapter 1

【Loading the livestream room for The Republic-Era Young Marshal's Substitute Lover!】 【During this livestream, you can watch the story unfold from beginning to end as if you were there in person. You can also send rewards to help the female lead change her fate.】 The livestream had not even started, yet the viewers were already rubbing their hands in anticipation. “Rewards? Just wait and see if I don't roast the female lead to death!” “The original story made me so angry I couldn't sleep at night. The female lead has something seriously wrong with her. Spending money on her is basically throwing meat buns at a dog.” The viewers had been waiting all night, just so they could tear the female lead apart the moment the livestream began! And honestly, you couldn't blame them for being so furious. The Republic-Era Young Marshal's Substitute Lover was a story about a trashy man and a shameless woman. The female lead was stubborn and incredibly single-minded. When she was little, the male lead gave her a butterfly pastry he didn't want. From that moment on, there was no turning her back. When she grew up, no matter how badly the male lead hurt her physically and emotionally, she still gave him her whole heart. She would suffer at his hands while desperately throwing herself at him— The viewers had feelings too, you know! Quite a few had been so furious that they felt like their breasts were swelling from anger, screaming for refunds. They wished they could crawl into the book and smack the female lead a few times just to knock some sense into her. 【Livestream starting in: Three… two…】 The viewers sat up straight, their fingers eagerly poised over their keyboards. 【One】 The screen suddenly went black before lighting up again. The scene showed a crude earthen house with a distinctly rustic feel. Pots, bowls, and pans were piled up haphazardly. A sharp-cheekboned woman in her thirties stood on the steps with her arms crossed, glaring furiously at two little girls below. The older girl was pretty. Her plain cloth clothes were simple but clean. At that moment, she was crying pitifully, clutching a pair of shiny pink leather shoes with butterfly bows. The younger girl looked like a little dirt-covered bundle. Her face was smeared with kerosene soot, and she was gripping the shoelaces so tightly that her fingertips had gone white. “Big Sis stole DouDou's money to buy shoes.” Compared to the little hand gripping the shoelaces with all its might, the girl's attitude was surprisingly calm. “Ma, can you make Big Sis return the shoes?” The viewers' carefully prepared barrage of insults suddenly came to a halt. “System! Who are these people? Where's the female lead?” The livestream system had always spoken in a cold, emotionless voice, but this time, there was an obvious trace of panic in it. 【Oh no! I picked the wrong timeline! I selected the five-year-old timeline!】 The comments were filled with question marks. After struggling for a while, the system finally gave up in despair. 【Forget it. Everyone, just make do with this. The timeline can't be changed anymore. The female lead is the little sister whose money was stolen. If you want to curse at her, you can start now.】 The viewers: “？？？” Wait, what kind of joke was this? Little Sister was only five years old! How were they supposed to curse at her?! ＊＊ DouDou's copper coins had been stolen by her stepsister. Ever since her father died, the only person in the world who had ever treated her kindly was gone. Her mother had taken her along when she remarried a drunkard. The man was drunk every day, and whenever he came home, he would sometimes vomit all over her. Her stepsister despised him, but she despised DouDou even more, always saying that father and daughter were both filthy and belonged together. DouDou had endured all of that in silence. But this time was different… These were the copper coins she had spent an entire year begging for in the foreign concession with a little bowl in her hands. She had finally almost saved enough. And now, every last coin was gone. She stood there, her dirty palm tightening around the shoelaces. No matter how loudly her stepsister cried, she remained unmoved. Liu Chunhua's anger toward DouDou kept rising, along with her disappointment in the child. What an ungrateful brat! She was making such a huge fuss over a few copper coins. In less than an hour, the manager of the largest auction house in Shanghai was coming to meet her older daughter. How could anyone take a liking to her if she showed up wearing a pair of broken shoes with her toes sticking out?! In the end, wasn't her older daughter using the money to buy new shoes for the sake of the family's future? This was a job worth eight silver dollars! There wouldn't be another opportunity like this anywhere else in the village. Whether the entire family could rise to prosperity depended on her older daughter! The more Liu Chunhua thought about it, the angrier she became. That filthy little hand irritated her even more. She suddenly reached out and slapped DouDou hard across the back of her hand. “Let go! Let your sister go inside and fix her hair and change her shoes!” How could a five-year-old child withstand an adult's strength? After Liu Chunhua's slap, the back of DouDou's hand immediately swelled red, looking painful to the eye. But DouDou neither cried nor made a fuss. She silently let go and watched her stepsister happily run into the house. She knew her mother would side with her older sister, but when her hopes actually fell apart, her heart still felt as though someone had dripped a few drops of spoiled green-orange juice into it—sour and bitter. “Why aren't you leaving? Still want to make a scene?” Liu Chunhua asked sarcastically. DouDou lowered her head, stubborn as an ox. “Big Sis shouldn't have stolen DouDou's money.” Liu Chunhua was even more disappointed. “How can you call it stealing when we're family? Why make it sound so ugly? Besides, I haven't even settled accounts with you over this. You have money but refuse to contribute it to the family and hide it away instead. What are you planning to do with it?” “To buy butterfly pastries…” She only got halfway through the sentence before she looked up and saw the disapproving look in Liu Chunhua's eyes. The rest of her words died in her throat. “How did I end up giving birth to such a selfish, ungrateful brat?” Liu Chunhua shook her head repeatedly in anger before scolding her. “Go stand in the woodshed and reflect on your mistake! Don't come out until you know what you did wrong!” The moment her words fell, the livestream's comments exploded. “This is even more infuriating than the original story!” “How can there be such an unreasonable mother?! Her own daughter is being bullied by her stepdaughter, and she's actually taking the stepdaughter's side?” “We blamed the female lead unfairly. Who wouldn't become twisted growing up in a family like this? Little Sister has been starved of love since childhood. No wonder she'll be tricked by that trash male lead when she grows up.” Amid the flood of anger and sympathy, DouDou held her swollen, reddened hand and walked into the woodshed with tears in her eyes. She leaned against the firewood and sat there blankly for a while before finally finding a piece of broken charcoal on the floor. She crawled over to the corner of the wall and added another mark among the countless lines already covering it. 【What are you doing?】 The system asked what the viewers were all wondering. “DouDou can't breathe. It hurts so much. DouDou doesn't want Ma anymore. Daddy told DouDou to give Ma a hundred chances and forgive her a hundred times.” As she spoke, DouDou rubbed her reddened eyes. “If they bully DouDou again, DouDou will go find a new Ma.” “！！！ ” The viewers were practically ready to set off fireworks in celebration. “Go! Right now! A mother like that isn't worth having!” The system relayed their message. DouDou, however, counted on her fingers. “But DouDou promised Daddy… Ninety-eight, ninety-nine… I still have to give Ma one last chance.” After finishing her count, the little girl belatedly raised her soot-covered face in confusion. “Who are you, Auntie? Are you a fairy from heaven?” 【No.】 The system explained: 【I'm a livestream system. I broadcast popular books for viewers to watch. As long as the protagonist makes the viewers happy, they can receive endless rewards, which can be exchanged for rare treasures and used to avoid the hardships in the original story, allowing them to effortlessly reach the peak of life…】 【Uh… did you understand any of that?】 “DouDou understands.” The little girl tossed aside the charcoal and looked at the invisible system with sparkling admiration. “You mean lots of kind fairy aunties are watching DouDou!” The viewers in the livestream were instantly overwhelmed by her cuteness. “So cute! She called us fairies!” “Waaah, why did my money automatically recharge and send a reward?!” 【Not exactly.】 The system thought for a moment before giving an extremely straightforward explanation. 【Simply put, whatever you want, I can make appear for you.】 With that, the system used the newly received reward to exchange for a butterfly pastry. The butterfly pastry landed with a soft plop in DouDou's hands. DouDou's eyes went wide. She had only ever seen a pastry like this from a distance, through the dazzling glass window of the Grand Hotel in the foreign concession. The young ladies dressed in fluffy skirts like porcelain dolls would poke at them with tiny silver forks. The pastries were displayed in colorful glass dishes, soft and pink beneath a coating of powdered sugar, looking as though… as though real butterflies might take flight at any moment! Very carefully, she used her blackened fingers to break off a tiny piece and put it into her mouth. A rich, sweet, crispy flavor she had never tasted before suddenly exploded across her tongue! The sugar coating melted softly, while the fragrance of butter mingled with caramel. It was as sweet as honey water, yet carried a warm, comforting aroma. As she ate, large tears suddenly rolled down her cheeks, dropping one after another onto the remaining half of the pastry. The comments instantly panicked. “Why is Little Sister crying?” “Did she choke? Quick, give her some water!” DouDou rubbed her eyes desperately with her little dirty hands, as though trying with all her might to swallow both her tears and her grievances. “Daddy… Daddy said…” She carefully held the pastry stained with her tears as though it were the most precious thing in the world. “When the dock paid him… he would take DouDou… to eat butterfly pastries at the big hotel…” “He also said that if DouDou ate delicious things, he would have more strength to work!” Her voice grew softer and softer. “…But… Daddy… Daddy was hit by a big ship and fell into the sea… How could Daddy lie to DouDou? He said he would bring DouDou a butterfly pastry when he came back.” “He didn't bring the butterfly pastry, and he never came back.” The person involved hadn't even cried, yet the viewers felt their hearts ache even more. Only then did some of them realize the truth. “No wonder Little Sister became completely devoted to the trash male lead over a single butterfly pastry in the original story. There was actually this reason behind it!” “Oh my God. That butterfly pastry isn't just a pastry. It's a symbol of her longing for her father.” “I used to call Little Sister a simp. I'm such a terrible person.” DouDou took tiny bites, but the butterfly pastry was only a small piece. No matter how slowly she ate, there would eventually be nothing left. She carefully licked the sugar from beneath her fingernails before lifting her head. Her little face was filled with trust and dependence. “Aunties are so good to DouDou. DouDou will keep Aunties in her heart. When DouDou grows up, she will repay you!” The viewers were stunned. Without exaggeration, every single person felt goosebumps at that moment— The young master is good to DouDou, so DouDou will keep the young master in her heart and repay him when she grows up. This… Wasn't that exactly what the female lead had said to the trash male lead in the original story?! “So the person Little Sister becomes devoted to has changed from the trash male lead to us?!” This was perfect! They were nothing like that trash male lead. There was no way they could bear to hurt such an adorable, heartbreaking little girl! Just as the livestream erupted in celebration, DouDou suddenly jumped to her feet and ran to the woodshed door, her face turning deathly pale as she stared outside. Her stepsister had changed into a new dress and braided her hair into two plaits. She was standing in the courtyard, practicing her lines as though rehearsing what she would say when she met the distinguished guest. Normally, there would have been nothing strange about the scene. Except for one thing— The dress her stepsister was wearing was the dress her father had made for DouDou! Working at sea was fraught with danger. He could easily fail to return one day. So when DouDou was born, her father had gone to the village tailor shop and bought the finest fabric he could afford. He visited the neighbors and asked them how to make clothes, learning everything from scratch before finally sewing a dress suitable for an eighteen-year-old young woman. “Other people's daughters all have coming-of-age gifts. Our little darling should have one too.” Whenever DouDou asked about it, her father would always say this with a smile. For five years, the dress had remained hidden inside a trunk. She had only ever dared to open it and look at it. She had never even been willing to touch it. It was the one and only special gift her father had given her. And now her stepsister was wearing it! DouDou trembled with rage. By the time she came to her senses, she had already run in front of her stepsister and grabbed the hem of the dress. “Take it off.” Her stepsister jumped in fright. “What are you crazy about?” “Take it off! Take it off!” The commotion outside drew Liu Chunhua from the house. The moment she saw what was happening, she cursed inwardly. Her younger daughter was causing trouble again! She walked over and waved her hand dismissively. “I took this dress out of the trunk. Doesn't your sister look beautiful in it? It'll make her look more presentable when she meets the guest later.” DouDou couldn't believe her ears. “But… but Daddy left it for DouDou…” Liu Chunhua found her reaction utterly baffling. “So what? Why bother making such a distinction between family members? Besides, your sister has never had a mother since she was little. You should have been more willing to give way to her.” Once again, her mother had chosen her stepsister. DouDou had never felt so wronged in her life. Her entire body turned cold, and anger clouded her mind. She grabbed the belt of the dress, trying to pull it off her stepsister. “Ah—!” A scream rang out. Her stepsister suddenly fell backward and burst into tears. Liu Chunhua was startled and hurriedly crouched down to help her up. When she took a closer look, she was so furious she couldn't speak. Her older daughter had spent the entire morning dressing up. After that fall, her makeup was ruined, her hair was a mess, and several scrapes on her palms were bleeding. Her stepsister shook her head through her tears. “Ma, if DouDou wants the dress, I'll give it to her. She didn't need to push me.” Liu Chunhua angrily turned her head toward DouDou and shouted. “Why did you push your sister?” “I didn't—” DouDou hadn't even finished speaking when Liu Chunhua slapped her hard across the face, knocking her to the ground. Her cheek burned with pain. The viewers were as anxious as ants on a hot pan. “Holy crap, this sister is such a scheming bitch! She threw herself down!” “Deadbeat dad, biased mother, scheming sister—Little Sister's life started in hell!” Liu Chunhua was furious. “The manager is coming any minute! And you're trying to ruin your sister's opportunity at a time like this! You—” She angrily searched for a stick. When she found one, she grabbed it and brought it down hard across DouDou's back! “I used to think you were merely useless and couldn't hold your own outside. Now I finally understand—you are actually vicious!” “You can't stand seeing your sister get a chance to make something of herself!” Every sentence was accompanied by another blow. “Do you know what you did wrong?!” “I didn't do anything wrong!” DouDou was afraid of pain, but no matter how much she tried to dodge, the stick seemed to have eyes of its own, striking only the softest parts of her body. Tears instantly blurred her vision. Through the haze, she saw the orange tree at the entrance of their home. Her father was laughing as he lifted her high so she could reach the oranges above. Her mother was shouting at them to be careful not to fall. The orange tree was still the same. But her mother had become a monster. Just as her consciousness began to fade, the system's voice suddenly rang out. 【The livestream viewers' anger level has reached an all-time high!】 【Reward requirements met. Selecting your special ability…】 【Selection successful: Unlocking a New Route—Adoption by a Wealthy Family】 What was this? DouDou was in so much pain that she curled her body into a ball. Before she could ask, the system's voice sounded again. 【You have been matched with Shanghai's most powerful newly risen wealthy family: the Governor's Mansion】 【Host: DouDou】 【Do you agree to be adopted by this wealthy family?】 【Yes / No】 Perhaps the commotion had grown too loud. One by one, the neighbors hurried into the courtyard. Everyone had watched DouDou grow up. Seeing the child beaten this badly, none of them could bear it. “Sister-in-law Liu, have you gone mad?! If you're this biased, don't be surprised if the child refuses to acknowledge you someday and calls someone else her mother. Wouldn't that just be handing someone else a daughter for free?!” Liu Chunhua threw the stick aside, still feeling unsatisfied. She planted her hands on her hips, spat toward DouDou, and cursed. “She's only my own daughter, so I'm stuck with her. Otherwise, who would want a good-for-nothing, ungrateful daughter like this? Even if I gave her away for free, I doubt anyone would want her!” At those words, DouDou finally couldn't hold it in anymore. The tears she had been holding back for so long began to fall one after another. Her heart felt cold and painful. 【Host: DouDou】 【Please make your choice!】