Chapter 1: Rolled Out of Bed 1

The sun was high in the sky, scorching the earth with its fiery heat, and the air was filled with a nearly suffocating warmth.

In an inconspicuous village, an ordinary thatched cottage seemed almost on the verge of catching fire under the sun’s glare.

Waves of heat permeated the room. A young girl dressed in simple clothes stood by the bed, pushing hard against the person fast asleep on it.

"Sister, Sister, wake up!" The childish voice echoed for a long time within the thatched cottage, but the person sleeping remained completely unmoved.

Seeing this, the little girl looked at the sky outside, a hint of anxiety appearing on her face.

She then turned to look at the person sleeping on the bed, pondered for a moment, and a sudden spark of light flashed in her eyes.

She cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone, a trace of a smile in her eyes, and leaned toward the sleeper’s ear, shouting, "Sister, wake up! Father and Mother are coming back!"

The high-pitched tone startled the birds resting on the trees outside into flight. The little girl’s face turned bright red from the effort, and her voice reverberated endlessly within the room.

Yet, this earth-shattering shout had no effect whatsoever on the person sleeping before her.

Time passed slowly. The sun reached its zenith, and on the weed-covered path, many people dressed in coarse linen were walking home, hoes in hand.

The little girl’s brows knitted together. She glanced at the person on the bed once more, then gritted her teeth. She grabbed the sleeper’s sleeves with both hands, braced one foot against the bed frame, and used every ounce of her strength to pull her toward the edge.

This physical labor made her already flushed face turn even redder.

The person slept soundly, her body inching toward the edge of the bed, yet her sleeping face showed no sign of waking.

Time ticked away. Sure enough, hard work pays off; half of the person’s body was pulled off the bed by the little girl, suspended between the bed and the floor.

The little girl looked at those still-closed eyes, bit her lip one last time, and flipped her hands downward.

"Thump."

With a dull thud, the person on the bed fell magnificently to the floor.

Moreover, she landed face-down.

Fortunately, the floor was made of packed earth and not as hard as modern concrete, so the person did not die on the spot from bleeding from the seven orifices.

"Ouch." Although she didn't die, falling from the bed was certainly no light matter. The person who had been sleeping like the dead let out a groan of pain.

"Sister, Sister!" The little girl hurriedly flipped her over and looked at her with a grin.

When she smiled, two shallow dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth, making her look exceptionally cute.

Sister had finally woken up; she had finally woken up.

The little girl was eight years old this year, the youngest daughter of the Ye family, named Tian'er.

The girl who had just fallen off the bed was eighteen, the third daughter of the Ye family, named Xuan'er.

The two shared a resemblance in their features: large, watery eyes, small noses, and cherry lips. Tian'er looked very cute, and Ye Xuan'er was truly dainty and pretty.

"Sister, you’re finally awake. Father and Mother are coming back soon. Even if you can't cook, you should at least boil a pot of tea," Tian'er said very earnestly, looking at the dazed Xuan'er.

Upon hearing this, Ye Xuan'er looked blankly at the little girl, then looked around at her surroundings.