Early in the spring of the year, Twin Blue Mountain, which had slumbered all winter, gradually awoke.
At the foot of the mountain, the winter jasmine and apricot blooms vied to display their stamens, bursting with life and vigor.
When Lin Tang became conscious, she felt a severe pain on her scalp as if someone was gripping her hair, pulling her out of the ground just like yanking a radish.
In her confusion, she opened her eyes to see a young girl with a distorted face, dragging her by her hair with a look of jealous hatred on her face.
"... Ptui, you vixen, always seducing people!" The person scratched Lin Tang harshly and spoke with a mix of hate and smugness.
Where the fingers had clawed, a nail mark appeared on Lin Tang's fair face.
Wang Zhaodi was so angry she could burst just thinking about how Liu Guohui had given Lin Tang, that foxlike temptress, a couple more glances yesterday.
The foxlike temptress, relying on her face to flirt and seduce everywhere!
As Lin Tang regained her senses, her scalp stung with a burning pain.
Before she fully reacted, her arm was pinched.
A cold light flashed in her eyes and with a raise of her hand, she flipped over the person who was pulling her hair.
The next second—
There was a 'thud...' sound.
Wang Zhaodi fell sprawling, her dry body crashing against the trunk of a nearby tree.
"Ow!"
"Lin Tang, you're asking for death!" she said, supporting herself up by the waist, furiously and hatefully.
Lin Tang ignored Wang Zhaodi, taking a quick glance around her, her face a picture of shock.
Had she... traveled back in time?
Wasn't she just conducting an experiment in the laboratory?!
Father, mother, brothers, sisters-in-law, and Goudan, Choudan...
Have I really returned?
Lin Tang looked at the distant mountainscape, her expression a mix of disbelief and unstoppable joy.
After a long while, she suddenly laughed heartily, murmuring to herself,
"... I'm back, I've finally returned..."
Wang Zhaodi found Lin Tang a bit strange and wanted to move forward to continue reprimanding her, but her waist was so sore from the blow that it hurt terribly when she moved.
So, she temporarily abandoned the idea of continuing to punish Lin Tang, hatingly said,
"Hey, you nerdy twit, I told you to stay away from Liu Guohui, did you hear me?"
Lin Tang didn't bother with her.
"Lin Tang!" Wang Zhaodi gritted her teeth, "Are you stupid or deaf? Did you hear me talking to you?"
Her voice was particularly shrill; it split through the air, causing Lin Tang's ears to buzz.
And, this is Wang Zhaodi?
Wang Zhaodi had just been... pulling her hair, and even pinching her?
Lin Tang's icy gaze fell upon Wang Zhaodi. She took a step forward, raised her hand, and slapped her across the face.
'Slap!'
With a slap, Wang Zhaodi was completely stunned.
"You think you're fit to give me orders?" said Lin Tang with a cold smile on her face, "This slap is a warning to you, stay away from me in the future, or you'll learn how the word 'death' is written!"
After speaking, she rubbed her sore scalp, damn, that was too harsh!
Her scalp felt like it had nearly been ripped off.
Unable to hold back, she swung another slap.
Wang Zhaodi's complexion was very dark, and despite Lin Tang's slaps, no red marks showed on her face.
Wang Zhaodi was dazed by the slaps, then erupted into a string of uncontainable curses.
"Lin Tang, you little bitch, you dare hit me! You believe I won't kill you!" she shouted, rage in her voice, frightening the sleeping birds into flight.
Lin Tang had no time to deal with her just then.
Because she was so hungry her body felt weak, and her head throbbed painfully as memories she hadn't dared touch for over twenty years flooded her mind crazily.
The memories from two worlds entwined, very confusing...
Head splitting with pain, her body staggered.
Wang Zhaodi felt snubbed when Lin Tang didn't even glance her way.
Her chest, flat as a tarred road, heaved with anger.
In a fury, she picked up a stone and, taking advantage of Lin Tang's unpreparedness, smashed it viciously against the back of her head.
The stone was sharp as a dagger, and with that strike, a sticky red patch appeared on the back of Lin Tang's head.
Her hair was dyed red as she fell to the ground.
Regaining her senses, Wang Zhaodi immediately panicked.
Had she, she murdered someone?
In utter disarray, forgetting the pain in her waist, she rushed down the mountain.
-
When Lin Tang awoke again, it was already afternoon.
She lay in a modest adobe room, with wooden beams for the ceiling and dust falling from the earthen walls.
It was so desolate that not even a mouse would visit such a house.
Lin Tang quickly sat up, staring at the familiar yet unfamiliar room, tears streaming down her face.
After more than twenty years, she had truly returned!
She always remembered she was Lin Tang of the Lin Family from Shuangshan Brigade, killed accidentally by the Wang Zhaodi who had bullied her since childhood, before she transmigrated to the 23rd century and became an orphan.
It was an alien world where she was alone, with not a single relative.
Luckily, she had a good head on her shoulders and, with the support of kind-hearted people, she made it into a prestigious school and smoothly entered the Medical Research Institute.
Her last memory was of a laboratory explosion.
Lin Tang took some time to sort out her memories; it seemed she had just lived through a famine.
People were cold and hungry, everything required ration tickets...
It was a time of extreme scarcity of goods.
As soon as Lin Tang had sorted out her memories,
suddenly, a "ding..." echoed in her mind.
The abrupt mechanical sound left her stunned.
Auditory hallucination?
"System integration successful!" The system, seemingly aware of her doubting her life, piped up again.
"System?" Lin Tang blinked.
As a capable individual from the 23rd century, she had seen all sorts of situations.
She had already transmigrated twice; having a system wasn't strange anymore.
Right at that moment, her stomach growled loudly—she couldn't bear the hunger any longer. Lin Tang asked, "System, do you have any food?"
She clutched her stomach, which ached from hunger.
"Insufficient system points, exchange function is abnormal," the voice replied.
Lin Tang wrinkled her nose, "So weak?"
Aren't other people's systems all incredibly powerful?
The system, as if realizing it was being looked down upon, quickly said, "Congratulations to the host for obtaining the newbie gift pack. Would you like to draw your prize now?"
There's a prize draw?
Lin Tang's eyes lit up.
Of course, she had to draw; she must draw, especially if there was food included.
A wheel of fortune appeared before her, and nearly half of its area was occupied by the words "Thank you for your patronage."
The other sectors bore small, clear words like biscuits, toothbrush, thermos bottle, pen... and other items.
In these times, they were all precious commodities.
Lin Tang stared at the word "biscuits" and couldn't help swallowing, her hands trembling slightly.
Before she could utter the word "draw," a ruckus erupted from the courtyard.
"Liu Guohui! Say that again!" Li Xiuli said sternly, her thin face all frost.
Facing her menacing eyes, Liu Guohui felt jittery inside.
But knowing this chance was rare, he suppressed his apprehension, stood his ground, and said, "I'll say it again, I want to cancel my engagement with Lin Tang. Anyway, there's no engagement gift, so it saves trouble."