[This story is set in an alternate timeline. Any discrepancies with historical facts are purely fictional.]

"Ugh... that hurts!"

She struggled to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt like lead. A throbbing headache and dizziness overwhelmed her.

When Shen Qinghuan finally managed to rouse herself through the splitting pain, she found herself alone, lying on the icy cold floor.

Taking in the unfamiliar surroundings with caution, she gingerly sat up and scanned the cramped space. The tiny room was packed to the brim with furniture, leaving barely any breathing room.

Peeling walls and the musty odor in the air bore testament to the place's "vintage charm."

Then, like a dam bursting, a flood of memories that weren't hers came rushing into her mind. As the foreign recollections settled, Shen Qinghuan felt her blood run cold before resigning herself to the impossible truth—she had somehow traveled back to the 1970s.

The present Shen Qinghuan was no longer the original owner of this body, but a transplant from the 22nd century.

As for the original host? She'd met her tragic end during a violent family argument, bleeding out from head injuries. And now, 22nd-century Shen Qinghuan had taken her place.

The thought of the original owner's miserable family situation sent chills down her spine.

The cramped room contained bunk beds on the left where the eldest and second sisters slept, while the right side held another set of bunk beds for herself and the youngest sister. A dilapidated desk crammed into the northwest corner served as the little sister's study space.

The narrow pathway to the door was so tight that turning around required careful maneuvering.

Yes, the original owner...

This tangled tale would take some time to unravel—or perhaps the signs had been there all along.

The original owner of this body was also named Shen Qinghuan—same name, but a vastly different fate. Born into a dual-income family that favored sons over daughters, she was the third child. Her parents, both ordinary workers at a Shanghai textile mill in the 1970s, had met through an arranged introduction and married before having four daughters and one son.

In those days, having even one factory worker in the family was considered honorable, let alone two. At a time when not everyone had enough to eat or wear, the Shen household was relatively well-off. The parents were diligent and unassuming, the type who kept their heads down and focused solely on work. Their lack of social finesse meant they never got promoted, but the factory benefits were decent, and the family managed to maintain a semblance of harmony.

A closer look, however, revealed the truth behind their dynamics—starting with the children’s names.

The eldest daughter, Shen Mingxi, now 21, had been the firstborn, carrying her parents’ hopes despite being a girl. She was still somewhat cherished and currently worked as a temporary employee in the printing factory’s cafeteria.

The second daughter, Shen Pan’er

"Hope for a Son"

, 20, made their parents’ wishes painfully clear—they had wanted a boy to complete the "perfect pair." When she turned out to be another girl, they pinned their hopes on the next pregnancy. Now, she remained unemployed, idling at home.

The third daughter—the original Shen Qinghuan

"Please Swap for a Son"

—was 17. Disappointed yet again, her parents barely acknowledged her existence. Growing up neglected, she became a ghost in her own home, silently toiling in the shadows, desperate for even a scrap of their affection.

The fourth daughter, Shen Xinshan

"Heartache"

, also 17, was a premature baby born at seven months. Yet another girl. The parents, disheartened by four daughters in a row, had named her in quiet despair. They had considered giving her away, but in those lean times, an extra mouth—especially a girl—was unwanted. As she grew older, though, Xinshan’s beauty and silver tongue won her parents over, and she managed to carve out a tolerable life at home.

Then came the long-awaited son—the youngest, Shen Jinbao

"Golden Treasure"

, now 16. The family’s crown prince, doted on to the point of absurdity. His parents treated him like fragile porcelain, terrified he might break or disappear. They had made it clear: everything in the house would one day be his.

"Boys carry on the family line—they’re the roots of the Shen family," Shen’s mother often declared. So long as Jinbao wanted something, the family would bend over backward to provide it.

Unsurprisingly, this bred a spoiled, domineering brat who did as he pleased.

As for the original Shen Qinghuan? She was the family’s doormat. Parental neglect and favoritism had turned her increasingly withdrawn, timid, and insecure. Head perpetually bowed, she shouldered nearly all the household chores, yet received neither love nor respect—not from her parents, nor her siblings.

Originally, the family had planned for her to drop out of school early to save money. But the original host was an exceptional student, and when the principal and homeroom teacher came for a "home visit," the Shen family—who cared deeply about their reputation in the residential complex—had no choice but to let her continue through middle and high school.

This year, both sisters had just graduated from high school and were now facing the daunting task of finding jobs. With all three daughters unemployed at home, it was inevitable that they’d have to answer the nation’s call to "go rural" as educated youths to support countryside development.

The Shen family had no connections, no influence, and little access to insider information. As the situation stood, it seemed all three daughters might end up being sent away. The local youth mobilization office had quotas to fill, and with unemployed young adults being targeted door-to-door, the Shen household—with five children, three of whom were jobless—quickly became a prime candidate.

Shen Xinshan was desperate to avoid the countryside. These days, she was out every day, scouring for job openings in factories or government units. Just in case, she also worked tirelessly to "brainwash" her mother, hoping that if all else failed, she could take over her mother’s position.

Shen Pan’er, on the other hand, was playing a dual strategy—searching for jobs while also sizing up eligible bachelors in the neighborhood. If push came to shove, she’d marry to escape the fate of rural exile.

It wasn’t that the second sister hadn’t considered angling for their mother’s job—she simply knew it would never fall into her lap. She wasn’t about to humiliate herself by begging for it.

Besides, Huang Meijuan, their mother, still felt young and vibrant. The idea of handing over her job to a daughter was out of the question!

Earning her own wages meant financial freedom—whether it was occasional visits to her parents’ home or handling daily expenses. She’d lived through the days of having to ask for money as a young girl and had no intention of reliving that dependency.

Still, out of love for her daughters, she spent every day asking relatives and friends for leads, hoping to keep them in the city.

As for the original host, Shen Qinghuan, it was as if she’d been forgotten. No one spared her a thought. The family had likely already decided: since the policy required at least one child to go rural, and there was no way around it, she—fresh out of school—would be the sacrificial lamb.

The original host wasn’t stupid either. She had no desire to be sent away, especially after hearing that most who went never made it back to the city.

She also knew full well that her family had no means to pull strings for her return.

Fortunately, her academic excellence had earned her the attention of her teachers, who were somewhat aware of her family situation. Thanks to a discreet tip from her homeroom teacher, Mr. Chen, she learned about a job opening at the machinery factory. She secretly took the exam—and passed!

Overjoyed by the news, she thought her worries were over. With a job secured, she wouldn’t have to go to the countryside!

The position was in the factory’s office—a cushy, respectable job. But when she happily shared the news with her family, she unwittingly stirred up a hornet’s nest!

Not a single family member shared her joy—instead, they all turned against her!

Her second sister accused her of being selfish, only caring about herself. The youngest sister lashed out, calling her heartless and ungrateful, completely devoid of sisterly affection. Her parents scolded her for being an ingrate, thinking only of herself, too "independent," failing to consider the bigger picture. They berated her for not consulting them first, for being cold-blooded, for making decisions behind their back—her wings had hardened, and so had her heart...

The eldest sister stood by, watching the drama unfold, her thoughts unreadable. As for their brother, he went straight for the jugular: the job was his now, and he intended to sell it off for cash—to buy meat, to get that wristwatch he’d been coveting for ages. He’d envied his deskmate Huang Jiaxuan’s watch for so long, and now, finally, he’d have his own. The family had always refused to indulge him before.

The original host never expected things to turn out this way. Wasn’t this supposed to be a joyous occasion? How had it somehow become her fault?

All these years, she had toiled without complaint, shouldering the household chores, obedient and dutiful. How could her family treat her with such hostility?

What she hadn’t realized was that their habit of exploiting and blaming her had long become second nature to them.

Quiet as she was, she was no fool.