Volume One, Chapter One: Slept with the Wrong Person?

On the large bed inside the room, an ambiguous atmosphere lingered.

The woman’s fair, swan-like arms gently wrapped around the man’s neck as she panted softly, “Brother Tingzhou~”

The man shuddered all over, gripping the restless waist straddling him with force, the veins on the back of his hand standing out, his voice laced with restrained anger.

“Shen Qingran, what are you doing?”

Who was shouting at her?

Shen Qingran opened her eyes in a daze.

So hot…

Her mind hazy, she instinctively lowered her head, rubbing at the source of comfort.

Such a real feeling… The touch was amazing.

Had heaven heard her prayers and gifted her, in this dream, a sports student with eight-pack abs?

Her soft, boneless hand wandered again.

A blush quickly crept across the man’s face.

He growled, both furious and annoyed.

“Shen Qingran, are you even a woman?”

“Hiss—”

Pain struck her waist and the man’s anger lashed out.

Shen Qingran became a little more lucid.

This female-above, male-below posture…

Was she forcefully taking the initiative?

Shen Qingran jolted in shock, suddenly wide awake.

“Well, um, if I say it wasn’t on purpose, would you believe me?”

Huo Tingxiao’s brows were sharp and cold, his handsome face dark and chilly.

He chastised her icily, “Get up.”

“Ah? Okay, sorry.”

Shen Qingran hurriedly scrambled off the man.

But unexpectedly, her foot slipped on something and she tumbled down with a thud.

Her lips landed directly on the man’s earlobe.

They were too close; the man felt the softness against his chest, the hot breath behind his ear, and his expression changed instantly.

His voice trembled with embarrassed anger.

“Shen Qingran, put your clothes on!”

Only then did she realize her dress had slipped halfway off, threatening to reveal too much.

Looking up at his fierce gaze, Shen Qingran felt a chill run down her back. Terrifying.

This was certainly not heaven’s gift of a sports student, but the very embodiment of doom.

At that moment, an anxious voice sounded from outside the room.

“Is Brother Tingzhou here?”

The man before her? Brother Tingzhou?

Wait… Why did that name sound so familiar?

Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed through her mind.

The next second, Shen Qingran froze.

Wasn’t she just taking out the trash?

Oh, damn it, someone dropped something from above, and as she was dying she saw a giant tortoise fall onto her head!

This was utterly absurd—she’d been killed by a falling tortoise.

Merging the memories in her mind, Shen Qingran had to accept the truth.

She had crossed over, back to the 1980s.

And the original owner of this body had been reborn, too.

But only days after her rebirth, Shen Qingran had replaced her.

She wasn’t sure who was more unfortunate, herself or the previous owner.

The original owner and her cousin Shen Chaoxi were about the same age; they had arranged marriages around the same time.

In her last life, Shen Qingran fancied Zhao Donglai from the city, while her cousin married Huo Tingzhou, a country lad from the neighboring village.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Donglai already loved another girl. He never touched Shen Qingran during their five years of marriage and died while on a mission.

She died, too, from years of pent-up grief.

Meanwhile, her cousin Shen Chaoxi married Huo Tingzhou.

Soon after their marriage, the Huo family was rehabilitated and moved to the capital.

Shen Chaoxi became the mistress of a wealthy household, enjoying prosperity all her life.

After rebirth, Shen Qingran believed she’d mastered the secret and planned to swap the marriage on the day Shen Chaoxi was to meet her suitor.

To ensure the swap worked, she had prepared a certain drug—making sure things happened was the safest bet.

Pretending to be ill, she waited for her mother to bring Huo Tingzhou, who had taken herbal medicine.

But she hadn’t expected that this time, Huo Tingzhou would come with his eldest brother, and Zhao Donglai didn’t show up for some unknown reason.

On the way, Huo Tingzhou got his clothes wet and exchanged outfits with Huo Tingxiao.

Seeing two men arrive, her mother naturally assumed they were Huo Tingzhou and Zhao Donglai.

Following her daughter’s instructions, she drugged the man in the shirt.

Then brought him to her daughter’s room.

The room was dim, the two men were of similar height and somewhat alike in appearance.

Shen Qingran, who had only seen Huo Tingzhou once in her past life, didn’t notice the difference.

But just now, for reasons unknown, she had suddenly transmigrated.

It was quite awkward.

Looking at the man before her, he truly was a specimen among specimens, though his fate was a bit short-lived.

Meanwhile, the voices outside the door grew more urgent, rising in pitch.

“Brother Tingzhou, don’t rush in like that—it’s not right.”

“What’s not right? Shen Qingran, that shameless woman, dared to drug my brother.” Huo Tingzhou, like an arrow loosed from the string, kicked at the door.

“What are you doing?” Huo Tingzhou missed his aim, and Huo Tingxiao grabbed him.

“Second brother, you can’t just barge into a woman’s room.”

Huo Tingzhou’s face flushed. “Brother, did she do anything to you?”

Huo Tingxiao frowned, not looking well. “Let’s talk in the courtyard.”

Shen Chaoxi eyed Huo Tingxiao’s clean, tidy clothes—had they not slept together?

That couldn’t be.

“Brother Tingxiao, where’s my sister?”

“Chaoxi, were you looking for me?”

In the dim light, Shen Qingran walked slowly forward, the glow illuminating her delicate face, vibrant and radiant. Her white dress made her look like a magnolia blossom poised on a branch, so pure none dared profane her.

Her slender waist swayed as she walked, graceful as a willow; charming but not vulgar. Her fair legs were clad in black leather shoes, giving her the air of a young lady from a wealthy family.

A vixen!

Shen Chaoxi’s shadowed gaze darkened further.

She stepped forward, half-embracing her cousin’s arm, feigning surprise and awkwardness.

“Sister, didn’t you want to marry Brother Tingzhou? How come you were with Brother Tingxiao…”

Her seemingly harmless words ignited Huo Tingzhou’s fury.

“Shen Qingran, you’re disgusting. You still want to marry me? Look at yourself—absolutely shameless…”

He almost called her a toad lusting after swan flesh, but upon seeing her pretty face, he forcibly changed it to, “Lowly!”

“Huo Tingzhou!”

Shen Qingran reflexively looked at the angry man.

Only now did she take a good look at him.

Under the sunlight, wearing a shirt and trousers, his broad shoulders and narrow waist exuded a cold, hard aura.

The sharp lines of his brows and lips warned others to keep their distance.

That chilly elegance and innate pride were second nature to him.

Shen Chaoxi, face full of awkwardness, stepped forward.

“Brother Tingxiao, my sister just likes Brother Tingzhou too much. Please don’t blame her.”

Shen Qingran’s lips curved, what a good sister!

Looking at the people peering in from outside, Shen Qingran realized that today’s incident couldn’t be quietly swept away.

In this era, marriage was the only way forward.

Otherwise, all that awaited her were village rumors, and her parents would be shamed beyond redemption.