Chapter 1

Shen Queying opened her eyes to find a plate of braised pork in front of her. The meat was glistening, reddish-brown, and beautifully marbled with layers of fat and lean meat. The dishes had just been served and were still steaming. Their delicious aroma wafted straight into her nose. She looked at the round redwood table covered with a plastic tablecloth. Six dishes and a soup filled the table. Before she could figure out what was happening, someone quickly snatched up most of the braised pork in front of her. Wasn't she supposed to be staying up late revising her thesis? How had she ended up here...? While she was still confused, unfamiliar memories suddenly flooded her mind. She had actually transmigrated into another era! It was now 1971. The original owner had the same name as her and had just celebrated her eighteenth birthday. Her father, Shen Bainian, was a university professor in the provincial capital, while her mother, Song Min, was the head physician at the Provincial People's Hospital. She had an older brother, Shen Yunzhou, who was twenty-two and worked as a technician at the provincial capital's steel factory. Her younger brother, Shen Yunqi, had just turned twelve and was studying at the Provincial Experimental Middle School. As for her, she was the pampered darling of the family, cherished by everyone. This lavish meal, which could be considered luxurious even by the standards of the 1970s, was her family reunion banquet! Eighteen years ago, two baby girls had been born into the two Shen families on the same day. Due to a nurse's mistake during a busy shift, the identification tags on their swaddling clothes had been switched, and she had been taken home by Shen Bainian's family. Meanwhile, Shen Yao, who was now sitting opposite Shen Queying, had been mistakenly taken home by the family of Shen Jianguo. Shen Jianguo was a worker at the city's machine tool factory. His wife, Wang Guilan, had no formal employment and had always worked in a small collective organized by the neighborhood committee. Shen Yao's older sister had married and moved to the neighboring city of Luo long ago. Her younger brother, Shen Jiabao, was the precious son whom the entire family treasured above everyone else! At that moment, he was stuffing his face with the food on the table, grease glistening at the corners of his mouth. The original owner had already been running a fever. That morning, Shen Bainian and his wife had vaguely coaxed her into coming out, and she had assumed she was simply accompanying the elders for a meal. It wasn't until Shen Jianguo blurted out, "The babies were switched. The two girls need to be exchanged," that she finally understood the truth. Unable to accept what had happened, the original owner became overwhelmed with emotion and fainted on the spot. When she opened her eyes again, someone else had taken over her body. "Queying! Are you all right?" Her mother, Song Min, asked worriedly as she supported her. "Why don't we stop here for today and discuss everything else slowly later?" Before Shen Queying could respond, Shen Jianguo spoke from the side. "This girl is far too delicate! Hic!" His burp was extraordinarily loud. For a moment, everyone fell silent. The only sound left was Shen Jiabao sitting beside him, noisily chewing and devouring the braised pork as if there were no tomorrow. Shen Queying resigned herself to her situation and briefly closed her eyes. "I'm fine. I just felt a little dizzy." Wang Guilan, Shen Queying's biological mother, immediately rolled her eyes and chimed in. "Oh, Sister Song, of course the child would be confused after suddenly learning something like this. But we're all family now, aren't we? What's there to discuss?" She spoke warmly, her eyes unconsciously drifting toward Shen Bainian. She and Shen Jianguo had been planning to get their precious son, Jiabao, into the military. If they could establish a connection with a professor's family, his chances would be even better. Besides, that little brat Shen Yao had promised that once she moved into Professor Shen's household, she would make sure to look after Jiabao and give him whatever good things she could. Across the table, Shen Yao looked at Shen Queying and finally spoke. "Queying, I'm Shen Yao." Her voice was soft, but there was a hint of excitement that she could barely conceal. She was indeed extremely excited because she had been reborn! In her previous life, she had been forcibly sent to the countryside that very summer. She had endured several miserable years there, waiting in vain for an opportunity to return to the city. Eventually, she had given up hope and accepted her fate, marrying someone in the countryside. By the time she died, her health had been ruined by years of hardship. Only shortly before her death had Wang Guilan tearfully revealed the truth about her birth. It turned out that Shen Jianguo and Wang Guilan had known for a long time that the two families had received the wrong babies. However, they hadn't cared. After all, both children were just girls, and girls were considered worthless. Besides, the authorities were encouraging young people to go to the countryside. The couple had been afraid that anything unusual might happen and jeopardize their precious younger son's future. Therefore, they had simply ignored the matter and allowed things to remain as they were. Now that Shen Yao had returned with memories of her previous life, she had gone to extraordinary lengths to persuade Shen Jianguo and Wang Guilan to acknowledge the mistake and bring her to reunite with her biological family. Shen Queying didn't respond. Although Shen Yao was dark and thin, it was still obvious that she had naturally attractive features. She also bore a strong resemblance to Shen Bainian. She wore a faded blue cotton jacket. Both the cuffs and collar were patched, and the stitching was crooked and uneven. Her hands, wrapped around her chopsticks, had large knuckles and rough skin. There was even dirt beneath her fingernails that she hadn't been able to clean out. Fate had played a cruel joke on the two girls, switching the courses of their lives for eighteen years. Now, they were sitting at the same table for the first time, with braised pork and steamed fish between them. They belonged to two completely different worlds. After a long pause, Shen Queying finally spoke, her voice hoarse from the original owner's fever. "Hello." Shen Yao felt uneasy under her gaze and instinctively straightened her back. So what if she was a thief who had stolen her rightful life? What did it matter if she looked prosperous and well-dressed now? In the end, she would still be sent to the countryside to suffer. Thinking of this, Shen Yao put on an awkward yet sensible expression. She lowered her head and rubbed the hem of her clothes. "I know this all happened so suddenly. If you're upset, I... I can stay away for now. We can wait until you've had some time to accept everything." Hearing this, Shen Queying raised an eyebrow. Wow. The fake sweetness is practically dripping off her. Shen Bainian's brows also furrowed almost imperceptibly. There was far too much eagerness and calculation hidden in this girl's eyes. Although she did resemble him, her personality seemed to have been molded from the same clay as Shen Jianguo and Wang Guilan. "What kind of nonsense is that?" Wang Guilan snapped at Shen Yao, her voice loud enough to shake the room. "You're all our own flesh and blood! Why talk about waiting and accepting anything?" As she spoke, her gaze once again stuck to Shen Bainian, and she plastered a broad smile across her face. "Both families are sitting here together today to correct the mistake that happened all those years ago. As for the child's household registration, shouldn't we settle that as soon as possible? Having our biological daughter registered under someone else's family has been weighing heavily on our hearts." Wang Guilan sounded deeply sincere. She even raised a hand to wipe the corner of her eye. "Queying is Jianguo and Guilan's biological daughter. Now that her identity has been acknowledged, it's only natural for her to return to her own family." The moment Shen Bainian said this, the entire table fell silent. Shen Jianguo froze with his wineglass halfway to his mouth. His mouth hung open, and for a long moment, he couldn't close it. He glanced at Wang Guilan, who looked equally stunned. Before coming here, the two of them had spent a long time discussing their plans. They had assumed that educated people like Professor Shen would care deeply about appearances. After raising a daughter for eighteen years, he certainly wouldn't agree to exchange the girls so easily. They had expected to negotiate for quite some time. But this professor had agreed so readily! Was it really that simple? Was it already settled? Wang Guilan was the first to recover. She slapped her thigh and immediately raised her voice several notches. "Ah! Professor Shen is absolutely right! Queying is our biological daughter, so transferring her household registration back to us is only natural! We've been feeling so..." She became so carried away that she almost said too much. Under the table, Shen Jianguo kicked her hard. Wang Guilan hurriedly swallowed the rest of her words, but the corners of her mouth had already stretched almost to her ears. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't suppress her smile. Beside her, Shen Yao gripped her chopsticks tightly. She quickly lowered her head and used the loose strands of hair over her forehead to cover her eyes, afraid that the people across the table might notice her expression. It worked! They had actually agreed just like that. Once Shen Queying's household registration was transferred, they could immediately submit Shen Yao's name for the arrangements. Then everything would be settled! She, Shen Yao, would finally be able to live in an apartment, eat fine grains, and never again have to go hungry or suffer in the countryside!