Chapter 6: Reborn as Pei Fuzhu

Pei Fuzhu, her face flushed from the sun and her head covered in sweat, marched aggressively toward Lingxi’s room.

With a loud *bang*, Lingxi’s door was shoved open with great force.

The wooden door struck the wall with a dull thud.

Lingxi, startled by the sight of Fuzhu glaring at her with red eyes, dropped the peach pastry she was holding onto the *kang*. She hurriedly reached to pick it up, but the floral bedsheet was already covered in crumbs.

Seeing Lingxi ignore her, Pei Fuzhu’s anger flared up. Then, looking at Pei Lingxi’s face—which was even more radiant than her own, possessing an ethereal, otherworldly quality—jealousy welled up from the depths of her heart.

In her past life, it was with that very face that Pei Lingxi had hooked that man at first sight, leading him to move heaven and earth to marry her.

Thinking of how that man would be coming to stay at their house next year to assist with disaster relief alongside her uncle, Pei Fuzhu’s heart began to pound...

In her past life, she was called Pei Hongzhu and lacked the reputation of a "blessed child." After growing up according to plan, she was married off by her family to Gu Qingnan, the third son of the production team leader in the next village.

The third Gu son was a factory worker in the city, and everyone said Pei Hongzhu had married well.

For a little village girl from a tiny mountain hamlet to marry a formal city worker—surely, the ancestral graves must have been smoking with good fortune!

But after marrying into the family, she realized the Gu family was exceptionally awful. They favored sons over daughters, were stingy and petty, and all the sons were foolishly filial. The fourth son was even a good-for-nothing layabout who stayed home and refused to work.

It was true that her husband, the third Gu son, was a city worker, but Pei Hongzhu was not.

She didn't have a city household registration, so she had no grain rations in the city. Her husband couldn't afford to support her, so she had to work in the fields at home or go hungry. Having never worked the land before marriage, she now had to labor in the fields, manage the household, feed the chickens and pigs, wash clothes, and cook—she lived like a servant.

And what about Pei Lingxi?

With the most successful uncle in the family as her backing, she married a high-ranking cadre’s son from the capital.

When Pei Hongzhu got married, the third Gu son came to pick her up on a bicycle.

When Pei Lingxi got married, the wedding car was a sedan.

After marriage, Pei Hongzhu lived apart from her husband; his salary supported his whole family, leaving almost nothing for her, and she still had to toil in the fields and manage the house, living the life of a drudge.

After marriage, Pei Lingxi was doted on by her husband, lived a life of luxury, and was given an easy job. Even in her forties or fifties, her eyes remained as clear as a young girl’s.

The more she recalled her past life, the more jealous Pei Fuzhu became. She wished she could replace her immediately and reach the pinnacle of life.

Lingxi felt the gaze fixed upon her growing increasingly scorching, and she felt a bit guilty and timid.

With Grandma not around, she was afraid of what this "Heaven’s favorite daughter" might do to her. If something happened, there would be no one to call for help.

Lingxi’s clear, moist eyes darted around, not daring to look at her.

Pei Fuzhu took in Lingxi’s reaction. Pei Lingxi was feeling guilty—but what was she guilty about?

She thought of how the old lady had just made her go out to work in the fields, and Pei Fuzhu immediately turned it into a conspiracy.

Could it be that Pei Lingxi had instigated it?

Pei Fuzhu’s already unpleasant expression darkened.

"Pei Lingxi, I just went to the fields to deliver food. I am Heaven’s own daughter, and even I had to go.

Tomorrow, if you don't go, my father—the Heavens—will be angry. I can't guarantee what he might do if he gets angry..."

As Pei Fuzhu spoke, she suddenly felt her face stop hurting, her legs stop aching, and her whole body fill with energy. How could she be so clever?

*Come on, let’s hurt each other!*

If they both had to bake in the sun, Pei Fuzhu felt she was coming out ahead.

In her past life, no one had ever been able to make Pei Lingxi work in the fields.

Pei Fuzhu felt like a winner in life at this moment. She couldn't do anything about the old lady, but she still had a trick or two for Pei Lingxi, whom the old lady protected.

After all, Pei Lingxi was afraid of the Heavens!

It had worked every single time since they were children.

Pei Lingxi was a fool who had never once doubted whether the Heavens were real or not.

Lingxi, who had been wondering what Fuzhu was going to say or do, moved her eyes and felt her tense nerves relax slightly.

*Go to the fields to deliver food?*

Lingxi tried her best to suppress the little flutter of excitement in her heart; it was a perfect excuse to go out for a stroll.

This "Heaven’s favorite daughter" was actually quite nice!

Lingxi was cheering inside, but she was still truly timid and didn't dare to be too brazen, so she nodded very earnestly and obediently.

Seeing Lingxi’s expression, Pei Fuzhu assumed she was unhappy but forced to endure it.

Pei Fuzhu felt incredibly satisfied!

She lectured Lingxi a few more times, saying things like: Grandma might dote on Lingxi, but she, Pei Fuzhu, was doted on by the Heavens, so her status was no lower than Lingxi’s. She warned that the Heavens were watching, and if Lingxi tried to incite the old lady to make things difficult for her again, the Heavens would strike her down with lightning. Finally, she made Lingxi promise to deliver the food tomorrow before leaving.

Lingxi nodded and nodded again, muttering to herself that she really hadn't had any intention of inciting the old lady to make things difficult for Pei Fuzhu—at most, she just hadn't stopped the old lady when she was disciplining her, right?

But why should she stop her?

The old lady was venting her anger for her!

If she hadn't incited her a bit more, she would have felt she was doing a disservice to her own heart, which had been suppressed for over a decade and was itching to go out and cause some trouble.

Lingxi blinked and took a sip of canned fruit syrup to calm her nerves.

She pondered and pondered for a long time, finally concluding that while Heaven’s favorite daughter looked fierce, she didn't intend to use her status to bully her, nor did she intend to strike her dead with lightning.

What a good person!

She was so different from those people she heard about in the Immortal Realm, who were always talking about killing, slitting throats, and accidentally scattering people’s souls to the winds!

After handing out the "good person" card, Lingxi knew her life had a few more layers of protection, so she began to think about hoarding food.

There was only one year left until the great famine described in the storybook.

If she didn't want to starve to death, she had to properly hoard food, water, and all kinds of useful supplies.

When the droughts, floods, blizzards, and earthquakes all hit at once, and factories shut down, she would need to have plenty stored up.

But...

With her weak little body, being in an unfamiliar place, and living with so many people, it would be fine to hoard a little bit on the sly, but could she really hide it from everyone if she tried to hoard three to five years' worth of supplies?

Besides, shouldn't she also arrange for the food of the others in the house?

They had been providing her with good food and drink for all these years!

Just thinking about the workload made Lingxi feel a bit distressed.

As for telling the Pei family about the famine—which would last for three years—she really didn't have the guts.

She wasn't Pei Fuzhu, who could have the Heavens send her dreams every few days.

Lingxi was inexperienced and had been spoiled into being naive, but she wasn't stupid.

If things went wrong and she made a mess of things, what if people discovered she wasn't the original owner?

Even though her conscience was clear, others wouldn't listen to her explanations!

The old lady doted on the original Lingxi. If she knew her own Lingxi was gone and that a wandering ghost was now occupying her body, she might just burn her at the stake.