Chapter 1: Carrying a Cub in My Belly

"Zhaodi, Lu Chen is dirt poor, doesn't have a proper job, and is a repeat offender. Do you really want to spend your whole life with a hoodlum like that?"

"If you ask me, Diao Dekai is better. His family runs a coal mine, and he’s the only son. All that wealth will be his. Aside from being a bit better-looking, how does Lu Chen compare to Diao Dekai? Zhaodi, if you had married Diao Dekai back then, you’d be living in luxury now, wearing gold rings on all ten fingers. How comfortable that would be!"

"Diao Dekai still has feelings for you. When I ran into him last time, he said that as long as you have a change of heart, he’d still marry you in style!"

Several gossiping women were chatting away, spitting as they spoke while cracking melon seeds. The woman surrounded by them had a melon-shaped face and willow-leaf eyebrows; she was delicate and beautiful. She frowned slightly, looking a bit impatient, but she didn't say a word.

"Zhaodi is called Jiang Hanyan now. Stop calling her Zhaodi all the time. Besides, Zhaodi and Lu Chen already have a baby. Why would Diao Dekai agree to be a ready-made father?" a woman with a shrill voice said, sounding gleeful at the misfortune.

"Having a baby is no big deal. It’s only been three months; just go to the hospital and get rid of it. Zhaodi, Auntie is doing this for your own good. A long pain is worse than a short one. You won't have a good life following a hoodlum like Lu Chen. Listen to your aunt, you won't go wrong. Diao Dekai is deeply devoted to you; once you marry him, you can be the boss's wife!"

The chattering voices kept ringing in her ears. The confused and dazed Jiang Hanyan finally woke up, realizing that she had truly transmigrated into a book.

The book was titled *The Heart’s Darling of the Richest Man in the Nineties*. The female lead, Jiang Siyuan, was an ugly duckling who, after obtaining a golden finger—a spiritual space—became increasingly beautiful and turned into a swan that everyone loved. The male lead, a high-ranking official's son, fell in love with her. After they married, his career flourished, their family was happy, the male lead became the richest man, and the female lead became his heart’s darling.

It was sweet, charming, and satisfying, but it all belonged to the female lead, not Jiang Hanyan.

In this book, Jiang Hanyan was a stupid cannon fodder character, a "brother-obsessed" fool who was useless except for her beauty. In the end, she took the fall for her younger brother who had killed someone in a hit-and-run and died in prison.

What was even more infuriating was that the spiritual space that made the female lead a winner in life had been snatched away from this poor wretch.

Damn it!

Jiang Hanyan was thoroughly angered into full consciousness. She wanted to strangle this idiot, but she couldn't—this idiot's body was now hers.

She quickly cleared her thoughts and understood her general situation: eighteen years old, three months pregnant. The father of the child was Lu Chen, a good-for-nothing hoodlum. The two had a shotgun wedding, and the process hadn't been honorable; the original owner had drugged him to get pregnant.

Looking at it this way, Lu Chen was actually quite responsible and hadn't denied it. However, this marriage definitely wouldn't last; she would divorce him as soon as she could. Anyway, Lu Chen didn't like the original owner either.

Jiang Hanyan patted her forehead. Her mind was still foggy, and she couldn't remember many things. Her soul and this body were not well-integrated; she felt listless and weak. Too lazy to listen to the gossip of the women around her, she stood up, intending to go home and sleep.

"Zhaodi, think about it carefully. Once you've made up your mind, tell your aunt!" A middle-aged woman with a fleshy face and a short, stout build grabbed Jiang Hanyan, smiling without warmth.

This woman was the one who had been praising Diao Dekai to the skies earlier. She was also the original owner's biological aunt and Jiang Siyuan's mother, named Xu Donghua. This woman had played a significant role in the original owner's miserable death.

"Call me Jiang Hanyan. Is your brain too moldy to remember?"

Jiang Hanyan gave her a cold, white-eyed stare. Her pitiful, delicate face turned cold and ruthless. Caught off guard, Xu Donghua was startled, then her face darkened, and she shrieked, "Zhaodi, how are you talking to me? I’m your elder!"

However, her voice was drowned out by the noise of children outside.

"Black Tiger, bite him! Bite this little bastard to death!" a voice with a cracking, adolescent tone shouted arrogantly.

"Jiang Tianbao, stop it!"

Someone tried to intervene, but it was useless. The noise grew louder, yet no crying was heard.

"This little bastard can't even make a sound when he cries. How boring!" someone shouted, sounding quite disappointed.

Jiang Hanyan felt a chill in her heart as she remembered something. This time, when she returned to her maiden home for the New Year, she had brought Lu Chen's adopted son, six-year-old Doudou. He was a very beautiful little boy, but he was a mute, and his intelligence didn't seem very high either.

Pushing Xu Donghua aside, Jiang Hanyan strode outside. Behind her, Xu Donghua's curses could be heard.

Outside, it was even noisier. A group of teenagers stood there, laughing unscrupulously. A black dog with bared, white, sharp fangs was viciously chasing a beautiful little boy.

The boy's face was covered in tears, but his mouth was tightly shut, not making a single sound. He waved his little arms and kept running. Several times, the vicious dog was about to bite him, but the little boy would miraculously speed up and dodge the attack.

But Jiang Hanyan could see that the little boy was at the end of his rope and couldn't hold on much longer. Meanwhile, the group of older children was still watching the show from the sidelines. Fury surged up instantly. Jiang Hanyan clenched her fists; she hated bullying the weak most of all.

The leader of this group of bad seeds was the original owner's younger brother, Jiang Tianbao, who would kill someone in a hit-and-run four years later and let the original owner take the fall and die in prison.

Bastard!

Jiang Hanyan looked around, grabbed a hoe from the corner of the wall, and walked over with a dark face. She pulled Doudou behind her with one hand to protect him. The vicious dog stopped when it saw her and turned to look at Jiang Tianbao, as if asking its master if it should bite.

"Get the hell out of the way! Who told you to meddle in other people's business? If you don't get lost, I'll let Black Tiger bite you to death!" Jiang Tianbao shouted unhappily, showing no respect for his sister.

Black Tiger panted, baring its teeth viciously. If Jiang Tianbao gave the order, it would pounce and bite Jiang Hanyan to death.

Doudou, hiding behind Jiang Hanyan, bit his lip tightly. His beautiful, large eyes were filled with tears, but he gripped a sharp stone in his hand, staring fixedly at the vicious dog.

"Jiang Tianbao, today I'm going to teach you how to be a human being!"

Jiang Hanyan sneered. As soon as she finished speaking, she raised the hoe and brought it down on the vicious dog.

A shrill dog's howl rang out. The vicious dog, which had been lording it over the village, collapsed on the ground, its limbs twitching. Blood flowed all over the ground, and it let out occasional whimpers.

Everyone was stunned, standing rooted to the spot, motionless.

Jiang Tianbao was the first to react, lunging forward in a rage, "Jiang Hanyan, I'll kill you!"

Fifteen-year-old Jiang Tianbao was big and tall, charging over like an iron tower, his ferocious face looking like he wanted to eat someone. Jiang Hanyan wasn't in the best state; she had used too much force just now and felt a bit dizzy.

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Hanyan swung the hoe again, hacking down at the dying dog on the ground. Hot blood splattered onto Jiang Tianbao's face, and some even splashed into his mouth—it was fishy and hot.

"Come over here if you're not afraid of dying!"

There were a few drops of bright red on Jiang Hanyan's fair, beautiful face. She crooked her finger and smiled, looking extremely beautiful, but everyone felt a chill down their spines. They all shivered in unison and took a step back.

Jiang Tianbao stopped, staring blankly at the corpse of Black Tiger on the ground. Its stomach had been split open by the hoe, and its intestines were spilling out, along with its heart, liver, and lungs. It was a bloody mess, just like a crime scene. It made him feel a bit nauseous, and the lunch he had just eaten churned in his stomach.

My dears, Old Sheep has started a new book again. It's still a period piece, but the male lead starts off a bit miserably—he's in a mountain of debt and is a stingy miser, but that's only temporary.

(End of chapter)