Chapter 1: Arriving Six Years Early
Zhou Wanfeng leaned against the train window, watching the scenery pass by. As the train cut through villages, the countryside of the late 80s and early 90s filled her vision—a sight she had only ever seen in photographs and television dramas.
Vast fields of tall corn grew lush and green. At the edges of the fields and behind the houses stood large poplar trees, their dense branches swaying in the wind. The sight alone was enough to lift one’s spirits.
Despite the carriage being bustling with people, with all sorts of luggage bags underfoot leaving not even a sliver of space to stand.
People were crammed shoulder to shoulder in the narrow aisle, amidst the chatter of adults and the shrieks of children. To top it all off, the stench of sweat permeated the carriage.
This space, which should have been utterly irritating, did not disturb her inner tranquility in the slightest.
Amidst the clamor, she actually began to feel drowsy. After all, she had snuck out at five in the morning, avoiding everyone to take a bus to the town, then another to the county seat, and from there a bus to the city to catch this train.
This body was only twelve years old and had just recovered from a high fever of several days; it was incredibly weak.
Leaning back against the seat, she closed her eyes to feign sleep, but couldn’t help but go over the details of her situation in her mind once more.
She had woken up three days ago to a startling fact: she had transmigrated.
Same name, same surname, but this wasn’t a parallel version of herself. She had become a character in a book. For the past three days, she had been burning with a fever, her head muddled, her mind flooded with a jumble of unfamiliar memories.
In her previous life, a young woman under her command had been a fan of anime, manga, and especially online novels.
When the girl found a novel with a supporting character who shared her name, she had disregarded their difference in status and cozied up to her, eagerly recounting the plot.
At that time, Zhou Wanfeng had been under close scrutiny, and it was rare to have someone so simple just want to talk to her, so she had allowed it.
Thanks to that girl, she knew some of the plot. Combining that with the new memories in her head, she had a rough grasp of the current situation. The original Zhou Wanfeng’s grandmother had been widowed young and had painstakingly raised her only son until he was eighteen. The old woman wanted him to marry and have a son as soon as possible, but the original owner’s father, who had just turned eighteen, had ideas of his own and stubbornly refused to marry. However, the old woman resorted to tears, tantrums, and threats of suicide, using her own life as leverage to force the original owner’s father, Zhou Zhiru, to relent.
The old woman had set her sights on the original owner’s mother—an orphan with nothing to her name, but a diligent worker. They never got a marriage certificate; the old woman thought spending money on a piece of paper was a waste, and after one delay and then another, the original owner’s mother died shortly after giving birth, still without a certificate.
A year or two later, the old woman tried to use the same tricks again, but this time, Zhou Zhiru left to work in the city and didn’t return for many years. He only sent money home, never showing his face.
The current situation was rather complicated. Zhou Zhiru had fallen in love and remarried. His new wife’s family was wealthy, and even though she was a divorcée with a child, it didn’t stop him from moving in with her family. He even had a son who took his wife’s surname.
The old woman was filled with resentment. Her only son had become a live-in son-in-law, and her only grandson didn’t carry the family name—it was a disgrace. She died resentful, her heart heavy with this unresolved bitterness. Before her death, she told everyone she had no son and refused to see him.
And Zhou Zhiru had indeed obeyed. He sent money to cover the funeral and all related expenses, and the villagers helped arrange the services.
Zhou Wanfeng was left behind in the village to live with her paternal uncle, Zhou Zhicheng, and his family. They kept her under their thumb, using her to squeeze money out of Zhou Zhiru. They raised her to be spoiled and ignorant, with a mountain of bad habits. After failing her college entrance exams spectacularly, she ran off to Yunhai City. From there, the book’s plot began to unfold, culminating in her committing a crime, receiving a sentence, and rotting in prison for life.
It was a bad hand, but she had been dealt an even worse one before. In comparison, what was a bad hand for the original owner was, for her, a good hand she could only have dreamed of.
She was Zhou Zhiru’s eldest daughter. Their bond was shallow and they weren’t close, but he had never been stingy with money. Otherwise, the relatives back home wouldn’t have been so eager to “take care” of her.
This point alone made it worthwhile for her to go find him six years early.
In a state between waking and dreaming, she heard an announcement from the front of the carriage.
“…The train is now approaching Yunhai City South Station. Passengers disembarking, please gather your luggage and belongings and make your way to the doors to wait for your stop.”
“Dear passengers, the next stop is Yunhai City South Station. Please have your personal belongings ready for disembarkation.”
As the broadcast announced the stop, passengers getting off at Yunhai City all rose to grab their luggage.
Zhou Wanfeng’s only belonging was a backpack. Squeezed in the crowd, she was pushed and shoved off the train.
The station exit was a sea of people, a chaotic mess of pushing and shoving. Zhou Wanfeng was bumped from behind several times, whether intentionally or not. Just as she was about to fall again, an arm grabbed her and pulled her up.
“Little sister, are you alright? It’s not like they’re rushing to be reincarnated, what’s the hurry? What difference does a minute earlier or later make? Bumping into someone without so much as a word of apology.” A woman in a polka-dot dress, high heels, and permed curls, kindly placed a hand on Zhou Wanfeng’s thin shoulder, as if to protect her from being bumped again.
Zhou Wanfeng pushed her hand away, creating distance between them. She glanced back over her shoulder, ignored the woman’s concerned smile, and continued walking.
The woman followed closely, trying to take Zhou Wanfeng’s arm. “Little sister, are you alone? Where are your parents? I’m a local here in Yunhai City. Where are you headed? I can take you there. It’s not safe for a child like you to be alone.”
Zhou Wanfeng stopped, her brows knitting slightly. Her eyes held a coldness that didn’t belong to someone her age as she warned in a low voice, “You, and the man in the hat following behind you, both of you stay away from me.” With that, she walked past the woman and continued on her way.
The smile on the woman’s face froze for a moment.
Only when the man in the hat behind her gave her a look did the woman snap out of it and hurry after Zhou Wanfeng, explaining with a smile, “Little sister, you’ve misunderstood. I don’t know that man. I just saw you, a child all by yourself without any adults, and I was worried you’d get tricked. There are all kinds of kidnappers and swindlers at the train station. Little sister, where are you going? I’ll pay to take you to your destination. I’ll leave as soon as I hand you over to your family.”
Smack. Zhou Wanfeng’s hand shot up and slapped away the woman’s outstretched arm. The force was considerable, leaving a visible red mark.
“A kidnapper or a swindler? Do you have a criminal record?”
Zhou Wanfeng’s face was expressionless, her eyes fixed on the woman. “Is that a knockout drug on your hand? Or something else?” A faint smile touched her lips. “Oh, right, you might not call it that. You call it… ‘Fairy Water’? ‘Obedience Water’?”
The woman instinctively hid her hand behind her back, her eyes darting around nervously, afraid someone might have heard. The smile on her face was plastered on stiffly. Before she could explain, she heard the girl continue, “You just asked where I’m going? I’m going to the police station. The Public Security Bureau. You, and your accomplice back there, want to come with me?” Zhou Wanfeng had heard people say that in the 80s and 90s, bus and train stations were crawling with kidnappers and swindlers. They would see you alone, cozy up to you, follow you, and then find a deserted spot to drug you and take you away.
She had been on alert from the very first bump.
The woman glanced behind her and forced a dry laugh, denying it.
In reality, she and her accomplice had targeted the girl the moment they got off the train. A girl of about ten, who walked straight ahead without looking back or glancing around—a clear sign she was traveling alone.
The girl was fair-skinned and pretty, with large eyes that took up half her face. She was still young, but she would undoubtedly be a stunner when she grew up.
Getting their hands on her would be a huge score.
“That kid’s uncanny. It’s like she has eyes in the back of her head. The moment I reached out, she slapped my hand away. She even knew you were my accomplice and guessed what I had on my hand. It’s too freaky. Look, the goosebumps on my arm still haven’t gone down. You didn’t see the way she looked at me. It sent a chill down my spine. I think we’ve run into the King of Hell disguised as a little ghost today; we’re in for it.”
Her hatted accomplice stood on his toes, scanning the area, his malicious intent still alive. “Where’s the girl?”
“She went that way.” The woman pointed, frowning. “She’s already seen through us. Are we still going after her?”
“She’s just a scrawny little girl with no strength. Let’s find a less crowded place and jump her together. That face is worth several months of our work.” The man’s eyes were vicious. He pulled his hat down lower and quickened his pace to follow.
From the corner of her eye, Zhou Wanfeng saw that the two hadn’t fled but were following her instead. She feigned ignorance, using her small stature to squeeze into the dense crowd. After a few twists and turns, she spotted her target: a man wearing brown leather sandals and carrying a square black bag. When he wasn’t looking, she snatched the black bag and ran.
The man’s hand suddenly felt light. His bag was gone. He immediately yelled, “Stop the thief! My bag’s been snatched! Someone stole my bag, stop the thief!”
His shouts made the people around them stop in their tracks, instinctively checking their own luggage.
“Stop the thief! It’s her, that girl is the thief!”
Bag in hand, Zhou Wanfeng even turned to wave it at its owner, further agitating him.
Every era has its good Samaritans. Soon, a group of people was chasing her, shouting, “Stop the thief! Get her!”
Zhou Wanfeng turned and ran.
The two traffickers were still trying to figure out what was happening when they saw the girl they were targeting being chased right toward them.
The woman and the man exchanged a look. What was going on?
Zhou Wanfeng spotted them. She forcefully shoved the square black bag into the woman’s hands. She hid behind the two like a child who had done something wrong, grabbing onto a piece of each of their clothing. Facing the kind-hearted people who had surrounded them, she lowered her head, twisted her face, and shouted loudly, “They made me steal it! They said they’d kill me if I didn’t!”
The man and woman stared with wide, astonished eyes. The sudden turn of events left them momentarily dumbfounded. “No, listen to us, we don’t know her!”
“What do you mean, no? She stole my bag and ran straight to you. Why would she shove it into your hands if she didn’t know you? You two have sharp eyes, don’t you? That bag has the payment I just collected for my goods. I can’t believe you almost stole it.” The bag’s owner opened the black leather bag, revealing neat stacks of cash inside.
A collective gasp went through the crowd. It was a good thing they’d caught them.
“Brother, could I trouble you to do me a favor? I think there are patrol officers in the square up ahead. Please go get one for me.”
Seeing that no one believed their explanations and hearing the bag’s owner mention the patrol officers, the man and woman’s faces turned pale with fright. They immediately tried to run, ignoring the people blocking their way.
Zhou Wanfeng clung tightly to their clothes, refusing to let go, wailing relentlessly, “I don’t want to steal anymore! Stealing is wrong!”
In the struggle, their clothes were torn. Two fists are no match for four hands; the pair was forcefully wrestled to the ground.
“If you have a clear conscience, why are you running? It’s obvious you’re no good.”
“Exactly! Look how scared you got when you heard ‘police.’ Who’d believe you’re innocent?”
Lying on the ground, her polka-dot dress now filthy, the woman wailed and cursed, her eyes filled with a hatred so intense it seemed she wanted to tear Zhou Wanfeng apart and eat her flesh. “You little beast! You framed us! You’ll die a horrible death!”
Zhou Wanfeng’s lips curved into a smile. “I did say I was going to the police station.”
The patrol officers arrived quickly. The train station was a high-traffic area with people from all over, so scams and crimes were common. They slapped a pair of silver bracelets on the suspects and hauled them directly to the police station.
The bag’s owner, a man surnamed Xiao, recounted the robbery to the police officer.
Beside them, the man and woman were extremely agitated, kicking the table and chairs, swearing on their lives that they weren’t thieves and had just been passing by. No matter how the recording officer questioned them, they refused to give their names, ages, or addresses.
Zhou Wanfeng’s side of things went very smoothly. The recording officer was a young policeman.
“What’s your name?”
“Zhou Wanfeng.”
“How old?”
“Twelve.”
“Home address?”
“Xuxu Village, XXXXX, Yinshan City District, Dongshan Province.”
As the officer continued his questions, a problem arose. He looked up at the fair-skinned, pretty little girl across from him. “You’re saying you came to Yunhai City by yourself? And you don’t know those two?”
Zhou Wanfeng nodded. “You should interrogate those two thoroughly. They probably have a criminal record. They’re either con artists or human traffickers. They targeted me the moment I got off the train, probably planning to find a deserted place to kidnap me. I’m just a kid with no adult around. If I had tried to fool them by saying my parents and I had a fight and they’d left in a huff, I would have been in deep trouble. That’s why I snatched that man’s bag.”
Her voice was soft, but her eyes and expression were calm and unwavering. She was so composed that she even offered the young officer a direction for his investigation. “The woman should have some kind of knockout drug on her. You can have a female officer search her thoroughly. The man probably has a knife or a thin needle. If not on his person, then in his hat or the sole of his shoe. They usually have some kind of tool of the trade for self-preservation.”
“Oh, right. Could I trouble you to make a phone call for me? I don’t know the address, but I remember my father’s phone number.” Zhou Wanfeng recited a string of digits, waiting for someone to come and pick her up.