Chapter 1
Before Cheng Jin had even fully awakened, she heard a weak female voice calling her name. With each call, the voice grew fainter, accompanied by bouts of coughing.
“Ah Jin… cough, cough. Xiaoxiao is knocking at the door. Hurry and wake up to see what she wants.”
The woman’s voice was frail and somewhat elderly. Seeing that Cheng Jin still hadn’t woken up, she continued calling her name. Irritated by the disturbance, Cheng Jin reluctantly growled, “Stop making noise.”
She had stayed up half the night reading a novel and had only slept for a few hours. She was so exhausted that she could barely think straight, so it never occurred to her that she lived alone. How could anyone possibly be calling her?
A few seconds later, her consciousness finally cleared. She opened her eyes and saw an elderly woman with graying hair, dressed in coarse linen clothes covered in patches. Her gaze was gentle, though tinged with anxiety.
Seeing that Cheng Jin was awake, the woman moved a little closer and said softly, “Ah Jin, Xiaoxiao might have something important to tell you. Hurry and open the door.”
The elderly woman’s legs didn’t seem to work very well, judging by the thick tree branch she was using as a walking stick.
But surely that wouldn’t prevent her from opening a door.
Something wasn’t right.
And the situation Cheng Jin was facing right now was even more wrong!
She jolted upright, scrambled out of bed, and looked around.
The place was terribly shabby, resembling the thatched cottages often seen in historical dramas. Even the spot where she’d been lying was covered with straw, which scratched uncomfortably against her skin.
Cheng Jin brushed the straw off her clothes and scratched herself a few times before turning to the woman. “What did you just call me?”
Surprise flashed through the elderly woman’s cloudy eyes, but her expression quickly became cautious again. “…Ah Jin. I called you Ah Jin.”
Something about the woman’s attitude seemed vaguely familiar to Cheng Jin, as though she’d encountered it somewhere before.
Could it be from that yuri novel with multiple potential love interests she’d been reading before falling asleep?!
And it was an ancient-era ABO novel at that!
Moreover, Cheng Jin had good reason to suspect that she’d transmigrated into the novel as the cannon fodder scumbag Alpha who shared her exact name—Cheng Jin!
The original character’s scumbag behavior wasn’t limited to her romantic relationships.
She obeyed her childhood sweetheart’s every whim while humiliating her own mother at every opportunity. She flirted with people left and right, only to turn around and become a shameless lapdog for her childhood sweetheart.
“Ah Jin, are you home?” A soft female voice came from outside the door, pulling Cheng Jin back to her senses. She turned toward the sound.
The elderly woman also glanced toward the door before looking back at her.
Her eyes seemed to be asking for Cheng Jin’s permission once again.
“Open the door.” Cheng Jin got up from the heated brick bed, brushed the bits of straw off her clothes, and casually gave the instruction. The elderly woman immediately began hobbling toward the door.
Cheng Jin froze for a moment and hurriedly called out, “I’ll open it.”
The room was simply too small. As Cheng Jin took a few steps toward the door, she inevitably brushed against the elderly woman’s arm. The woman flinched and tried to put some distance between them.
Her reaction was swift, but with her unsteady legs, she nearly lost her balance and fell.
Cheng Jin stopped heading for the door and instinctively reached out to support her. Unexpectedly, the elderly woman raised her hand to block her, looking utterly terrified.
Only then did Cheng Jin remember that the scumbag Alpha had done some truly inhumane things. She had been so resentful of her living conditions that she’d even raised a hand against her own biological mother.
“It’s okay. I was just trying to help you.”
As far as Cheng Jin was concerned, these were things she had done, yet at the same time, they weren’t things she’d done. Consequently, she felt a little awkward after saying that. Without looking at the elderly woman again, she went to open the door.
The person standing outside was Zhou Xiaoxiao.
She was the original scumbag Alpha’s childhood sweetheart. They had grown up as neighbors in the same village, and ever since Zhou Xiaoxiao differentiated into an Omega, the original Cheng Jin had set her sights on her. Their on-again, off-again relationship had left her hopelessly infatuated.
“Ah Jin, why did you take so long to open the door?” Zhou Xiaoxiao complained in a delicate, coquettish voice as she leaned against the doorway.
Ordinarily, the sight of her wearing such a pretty, delicate ruqun should have made the original Cheng Jin practically drool.
Zhou Xiaoxiao knew that perfectly well herself.
Unfortunately, the Cheng Jin standing before her was no longer the same person. With an expressionless face, she replied, “I was sleeping.”
Then she asked coldly, “Do you need something?”
In fact, Cheng Jin already knew exactly why Zhou Xiaoxiao had come.
The original character was a gambler who owed a gambling house three taels of silver. But the crucial point was…
The Ran family of Bai City was looking for an Alpha to marry into their family as a live-in spouse for their eldest daughter, Ran Zhixi.
The original Cheng Jin’s relationship with the Ran family was rather complicated. As someone from an impoverished household, she originally had nothing that would interest a family like the Rans. However, two years ago, Ran Zhixi had given birth to a daughter out of wedlock, causing the male Alpha she had been engaged to marry to break off their engagement.
In the society of this era, such a scandal could be devastating. Even though the Ran family was wealthy and influential, they couldn’t stop people from gossiping.
The most suitable solution was to find an appropriate Alpha willing to marry into the family and take responsibility for the child.
And the original Cheng Jin was one of the most suitable candidates. Unfortunately, she had rejected the opportunity for the sake of three taels of silver.
The reason lay in Zhou Xiaoxiao’s visit today. The original Cheng Jin’s gambling debts had accumulated with interest until they reached three taels, an amount she couldn’t afford to repay.
Zhou Xiaoxiao had come to give her the money, but in exchange, she wanted Cheng Jin to give up her opportunity to attend the Ran family’s academy.
In the past, the Ran family’s pharmacology academy had primarily trained talented individuals for its pharmacies throughout the country. However, Cheng Jin knew that this time, its main purpose was to find an Alpha husband for the female lead, Ran Zhixi.
Cheng Jin wasn’t particularly interested in becoming anyone’s Alpha husband, but the pharmacology academy itself…
“Ah Jin, what are you thinking about?”
“Ji Han will bring you the three taels of silver later.”
Ji Han was the main female protagonist of this novel.
Naturally, she was also the object of Zhou Xiaoxiao’s affection. As one of the many women in Ji Han’s pool of potential love interests, Zhou Xiaoxiao had always devoted herself wholeheartedly to paving the way for her.
If the original Cheng Jin’s family was poor, then Ji Han’s family was even poorer.
However, as the main protagonist, Ji Han possessed extraordinary luck that no one else had. And it all began when she met Zhou Xiaoxiao.
Or rather, it could also be said that everything began when she met the original cannon fodder character.
The original Cheng Jin’s family had once been among the wealthiest in Bai City and had maintained a close friendship with the Ran family. In fact, Ran Zhixi’s grandmother had once saved the life of Cheng Jin’s grandfather. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the two families shared a bond forged through life and death.
However, the original Cheng Jin’s grandfather was stubborn. When his family fell on hard times, he refused to accept help from Ran Zhixi’s grandmother, determined instead to rely on Cheng Jin to pass the imperial examinations and restore the family’s fortunes.
That was also how Cheng Jin had received her name.
A brilliant future ahead.
Yet the original Cheng Jin had repeatedly failed to live up to those expectations, eventually indulging in drinking, eating, and gambling.
She had even accepted the place offered to her at the Ran family’s academy, only to turn around and sell it to Ji Han.
“No need. I’ve decided to attend the Ran family’s academy.”
“Ah Jin?! How can you go back on your word?!”
There were actually quite a few differences between Cheng Jin and the original character.
Their appearances were identical. Both had sharp, sword-like eyebrows and bright, expressive eyes, with brows that swept upward. In particular, whenever the original Cheng Jin saw Zhou Xiaoxiao, she practically wanted to devour her…
But Cheng Jin was different. There was a certain coldness deep in her nature, and she made no effort to conceal it when looking at Zhou Xiaoxiao.
She had inexplicably ended up in this world and might have no choice but to clean up the original character’s mess. How could she possibly be in a good mood?
Besides, Zhou Xiaoxiao was exactly the kind of girl Cheng Jin had always disliked.
Affected and coquettish.
The sort who stood with her hands on her hips, convinced she could seduce anyone she pleased.
“When you and Ji Han brought up the three taels of silver last time, I never actually agreed to anything. So how exactly am I going back on my word?” Cheng Jin countered with a perfectly reasonable argument, leaving Zhou Xiaoxiao momentarily speechless.
Cheng Jin smiled at her, guessing that Zhou Xiaoxiao had remembered what happened during their previous conversation.
The original character had never been a particularly decent person. Although she liked Zhou Xiaoxiao, much of that affection probably stemmed from possessiveness. When she saw Zhou Xiaoxiao together with Ji Han, she had been so consumed by jealousy that she’d completely forgotten to agree with whatever Zhou Xiaoxiao was saying.
But Zhou Xiaoxiao was accustomed to the original Cheng Jin obeying her every word, so she’d simply assumed the matter was settled.
Of course, if Cheng Jin hadn’t transmigrated here, the arrangement would indeed have gone through.
Zhou Xiaoxiao had come this time to tempt the original Cheng Jin and warn her about the miserable fate awaiting her if the debt collectors came after her.
How shortsighted.
Then again, perhaps the original Cheng Jin simply hadn’t wanted to enter the Ran family in the first place.
She had been dreaming of marrying Zhou Xiaoxiao instead.
“Is there anything else?”
“If not, I’m going back to sleep.”
Cheng Jin’s mind was in a mess, and she had no desire to continue dealing with Zhou Xiaoxiao. She bluntly dismissed her, something Zhou Xiaoxiao had clearly never expected.
Zhou Xiaoxiao stared at Cheng Jin, her mouth slightly agape.
Cheng Jin ignored her and shut the door.
Then she turned around and saw the elderly woman wearing the same expression.
For the time being, Cheng Jin couldn’t bring herself to call her “Mother.”
Besides, even after living for so many years, she had never really known how to get along with a mother.
Her own mother had died from complications during childbirth. Her father remarried and stopped caring about her, leaving her grandmother to raise her until she was eighteen.
Whether emotionally or in terms of everyday interactions, Cheng Jin simply didn’t know how to handle this kind of relationship.
“Please… please sit down first,” she said stiffly.
The elderly woman didn’t move, so Cheng Jin had no choice but to reach out and support her, making sure to say beforehand, “Please don’t be afraid.”
At the same time, she couldn’t help cursing the original character in her heart.
What kind of person was that woman, anyway?
If Cheng Jin hadn’t arrived here, the original character’s fate would have remained unchanged.
After receiving the three taels of silver, she would have gone gambling again. Eventually, she would have accumulated even more debt and been beaten to death by the gambling house’s thugs.
The more Cheng Jin thought about it, the more a chill ran down her spine.
She was only twenty-five years old. It was bad enough that she’d ended up in this strange world. How could she allow herself to die for no reason?
She had to attend the pharmacology academy and put her abilities to good use.
Cheng Jin had majored in Traditional Chinese Medicine at university, so the academy was closely related to her field of expertise. Over the next few days, she devoted herself to preparing for her enrollment.
Zhou Xiaoxiao came to bother her several more times, and people from the gambling house also showed up twice.
She managed to avoid them all.
Unlike the original character, who had been arrogant and stubbornly self-righteous, Cheng Jin knew her own capabilities and limitations.
If she wanted to survive in this world, she needed to avoid confronting anyone head-on for the time being and focus on following her own path.
And so, after spending several days wandering around Bai City, Cheng Jin went to the Ran residence at the appointed time.
The Ran family was famous throughout Bai City, so their residence was particularly easy to find. Cheng Jin reached the main entrance with almost no effort.
The pharmacology academy was located inside the estate, but registration was being handled at the entrance. Holding the document the Ran family had previously given her, Cheng Jin stepped forward to ask the steward a question when something gently bumped against her leg.
She lowered her head and saw a little girl dressed in an apricot-yellow ruqun.
The child was very young, but exceptionally pretty and adorable. She tilted her head up and looked at Cheng Jin without the slightest hint of fear as she apologized, “Xiangxiang didn’t mean to…”
Xiangxiang?
She looked about two years old.
Cheng Jin’s eyes widened for a moment. In the next instant, she caught the faint fragrance of medicinal herbs.
A woman dressed entirely in white appeared before her and bent down to lift Xiangxiang into her arms.
When she raised her eyes to look at Cheng Jin, her expression was as serene as still water.
“My daughter was careless. Please forgive her, Alpha.”
Her voice was gentle and melodious, yet carried an indescribable sense of composure.
A woman standing at the entrance of the Ran residence with a two-year-old daughter.
It was obvious.
Cheng Jin had just encountered the female lead of this novel.
Ran Zhixi.
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