The map drawn by the guesthouse staff member was simple and clear. She followed it, turning this way and that, until she wound up on a side path.
Something felt off—had the map misled her?
If she kept going, she’d get lost. She decided to find a passerby to ask for directions.
A female comrade not far ahead was walking quickly, a cloth bag slung over her shoulder.
Ning Qiao quickened her pace to catch up. “Comrade.”
The other woman kept walking and didn’t respond.
Ning Qiao hesitated, then said again, “Excuse me, I’d like to ask—”
The woman turned around.
She had a cool, pretty face, her brows slightly furrowed, her gaze indifferent.
When their eyes met, Ning Qiao froze.
“What do you want to ask?”
Ning Qiao snapped back to reality. “Could you tell me how to get to the cooperative store?”
She raised her hand and casually pointed in a direction. “Over there.”
With that, she turned and walked away swiftly, not waiting for Ning Qiao to thank her.
Ning Qiao watched her retreating figure.
So the dream really was true.
In her dream, Ning Qiao had seen her before. Her name was Su Qingshi, and she was the original female lead of the story.
This was the original plot.
Su Qingshi was born in the countryside, raised in a family that favored sons over daughters, and indoctrinated with the idea that she must sacrifice herself unconditionally. But deep down, she had always yearned to leave the mountains. She fought for the chance to go to school, but when she reached middle school, her family refused to let her continue, wanting to marry her off for a betrothal gift to benefit her brothers. Su Qingshi, however, had a sweetheart—a boy she’d grown up with who had joined the military years earlier. He had promised to come back for her and marry her. She waited for him to take her away, but all she got was news of his death.
Su Qingshi’s world collapsed. Around that time, the original male lead happened to return to his hometown to visit family and fell for her at first sight. It was her only chance to leave the mountains. Even though she felt nothing for him, Su Qingshi didn’t hesitate—she decided to follow him to the military compound.
Su Qingshi was too cold. Everyone said she was impossible to warm up.
Until Ning Qiao, the foil in the original plot, also arrived in the compound as a military spouse.
The military wives loved to compare Ning Qiao and Su Qingshi.
So what if Ning Qiao had been a pampered daughter in her maiden home? After marriage, who would spoil her? She went to great lengths to steer her younger siblings onto the right path, while Su Qingshi ignored everyone and was doted on by her in-laws.
In the original plot, as a supporting contrast, Ning Qiao’s presence created many comical scenes.
For instance, when the third and fourth children of the Jiang family ran away from home, Ning Qiao chased after them. Meanwhile, Su Qingshi, feeling down, went out and was coaxed back home by her husband and mother-in-law. The stark contrast between the two scenes was obvious.
Such things happened often. Gradually, the original female lead began to open up, a smile appearing on her face, and she grew closer to the male lead.
The female supporting character, Ning Qiao, became synonymous with misery and bad luck.
In the mouths of others, it all boiled down to four words—she had bad fate.
The original plot’s message was: What good is a fine background? It’s better to marry well.
Ning Qiao didn’t know how the original male and female leads ended up in the period novel, nor did she know her own fate.
But she refused to accept the destiny arranged for her by the original plot.
Her fate was excellent!
Jiang Heng and He Yongyan carried potted plants from who-knows-where and set them securely in their small yard.
With this decoration, the yard seemed to have become a place of birdsong and floral fragrance.
Everyone in the compound had already seen Jiang Heng’s future father-in-law and brother-in-law.
They figured the new bride would arrive soon.
Just as they were full of anticipation, Su Qingshi happened to come back.
For the military wives, only the arrival of a delicate new bride could add a bit of interest to their otherwise routine lives. They were always eager for young officers to get married, just for something to talk about. But Su Qingshi was different—she was an enigma. Beautiful, yes, but not the least bit delicate. Unlike most female colleagues, she’d been cold to everyone since arriving at the military district a few months ago.
The way she and her husband got along was also rather baffling. Deputy Battalion Commander Tang devoted himself to being good to her, but every time, his warmth was met with cold indifference.
Last month, Deputy Battalion Commander Tang was injured and filed a request for his mother to come stay temporarily to help take care of her.
At the time, the aunties had been watching the drama unfold, thinking that when his mother saw her son being neglected, she’d surely feel resentful, and the Tang household would erupt.
But to their surprise, the mother-in-law turned out to be very easygoing, eager to help with all the chores, and sang Su Qingshi’s praises to everyone she met.
The aunties in the compound didn’t quite understand, but they had to admit—this new bride was a lucky one.
Still, a lifetime is long. If Su Qingshi stayed this cold forever, even Deputy Battalion Commander Tang might grow disheartened.
So the aunties in the compound were busy—keeping an eye on the new bride Su Qingshi on one hand, while eagerly awaiting the arrival of the even newer bride, Battalion Commander Jiang’s wife, on the other.
They had their hands full.
And Battalion Commander Jiang, in his little yard that had become a haven of birdsong and floral fragrance, was tinkering away with great seriousness.
“Where did the little ones run off to play?” He Yongyan asked.
“To pick up their little sister-in-law,” Jiang Heng said.
He Yongyan raised an eyebrow. “How did the little sister-in-law win them over?”
Su Qingshi lived right next door to Jiang Heng. She passed by them without expression, went inside, and showed no curiosity whatsoever.
Jiang Heng smiled faintly.
That was a long story.
“So mysterious.” He Yongyan nudged him with his elbow. “Even I get a headache just looking at your younger siblings. Can she really handle them?”
Everyone in the compound stopped what they were doing, perked up their ears, and looked eager.
But He Yongyan was a careful one—he kept his voice low.
Unable to catch the gossip, the military wives started making up their own.
“I heard from the driver who took the military truck to pick up Battalion Commander Jiang that his fiancée is gorgeous!”
“I don’t believe it—could she be as pretty as Comrade Luo Qin from the broadcasting station?”
“Was that driver Old Zhang? Old Zhang’s not reliable—he says his own daughter looks like a fairy and his son is handsome and extraordinary.”
Ning Yang stepped out of the house Old Master Jiang had borrowed and overheard the chatter. He felt a wave of emotion.
It seemed that no matter which compound you were in, everyone’s gossip radar worked the same.
But then another question struck him—and a man’s intuition made him jolt.
Who was Comrade Luo Qin? And why was she singled out for comparison?
He shot a sharp glare in Jiang Heng’s direction, with all the authority of a brother-in-law.
Jiang Heng didn’t notice.
He was busy fussing with the flowers and plants in his pot.
Ning Yang: !
His brother-in-law was ignoring him!
Ning Qiao had been cautious about the directions Su Qingshi had given her, so she asked someone else again.
Sure enough, the passerby pointed in the exact opposite direction from what Su Qingshi had said.
Following the correct directions, she reached the cooperative store before long.
The cooperative store on the island was no smaller than the one in Ancheng, with a wide variety of goods. She carefully browsed the counter and bought a rattle-drum.
This was her first gift as an aunt to the baby in the family.
She also brought sugar ration coupons and picked out some fruit candies she usually liked. There was White Rabbit creamy candy too, but it seemed a bit extravagant. Ning Qiao figured that times ahead might be tight, so she should save her money.
The sales clerk bagged her purchases. Ning Qiao took them and headed back to the guesthouse, following her memory.
In her dream, she had only been the target of pranks by the mischievous children. All she had to do was ignore them and stay far away.
Once she sorted that out in her mind, her steps felt lighter.
But as she neared her destination, she spotted three familiar little faces.
The siblings beamed at her, showing off a row of white teeth.
Their little sister-in-law didn’t even know their names yet—they needed to introduce themselves.
They announced their names one by one, loud and clear.
Ning Qiao had already sorted out the original plot.
The second one was Jiang Yuan. He loved fighting—if a problem could be solved with his fists, he wouldn’t use his hands. He was the fiercest of the three, had no sense of boundaries, and could scare her to tears. The third one was Jiang Qi, clever and full of schemes—he was the ringleader behind many of the pranks. The fourth was Jiang Guoguo, adorable-looking but the most spoiled, completely inconsiderate of others’ feelings. She’d say whatever made people lose face, and even the adults were afraid of her.
But now, the three of them were enthusiastically calling out, “Little Sister-in-Law!”
They scrambled to pull candy from their pockets and stuff it into her hands.
“Little Sister-in-Law, this candy is the best!”
“Try it, quick.”
“If you like it, I have more—I’ll give you all of them!”
Ning Qiao’s hands were opened for her.
In her pale palm lay several pieces of creamy candy.
The three kids looked at her with bright, hopeful eyes.
In their past life, they had done wrong and made their little sister-in-law sad.
In this life, they would treat her so well—so unbelievably well!
Ning Qiao looked at them silently.
What was this about?
“Thank you.” She put the candy away. “I need to go find my dad and brother.”
“They’re at the family compound—we’ll take you!” Jiang Qi said.
The three kids immediately took the lead, clearing the way and escorting her.
Otherwise, with so many strangers in the compound, their little sister-in-law would be scared!
Ning Qiao: …
So strange—but strangely adorable.
Yet didn’t the original plot explain everything?
For all she knew, the candy wrappers might have been swapped out with little bugs inside.
Ning Qiao bit her lower lip gently, reminding herself not to be fooled.
Her motto now was to lock her heart and be as hard as stone.
The three kids had no idea what their little sister-in-law was thinking.
They glanced back quietly and saw that she had already slipped the candy into her pocket.
The siblings: !
Their little sister-in-law treasured the candy they gave her so much that she wouldn’t even eat it.
So touching!
Leave a Reply