Chapter 1 Transmigrated as an Unlucky Guy
By He Fengsong
Exclusive publication
Originally posted on July 23, 2025.
It was the height of summer, and the sounds of cicadas and birds outside the window rose and fell incessantly.
It was midday, and the blazing sun shone through the narrow windows, illuminating the once dark little house.
Li Yan, who was lying on the wooden bed too lazy to move, turned over to avoid the scorching sun. Then she heard a voice coming from the small courtyard outside: "Aunt Xue, you won't actually soften your heart and keep her just because your new daughter-in-law tried to drown herself?"
Li Yan recognized the voice; it belonged to Zhang, the daughter-in-law from next door. She had been here for three days, and this was the third time she had heard Zhang gossiping at the Xue family's house.
Li Yan didn't know if her cheap mother-in-law, Aunt Xue, was tired of hearing it, but she certainly had a case of her ears being calloused from it.
Li Yan was already annoyed enough about transmigrating to this place and into such an unlucky body. Who wanted to hear people constantly talking about how unlucky and ominous she was?
Although she was referring to the original owner of the body, she is now occupying the original owner's body.
That's her.
Li Yan was really unlucky. Before she transmigrated, although she wasn't extremely wealthy in the 21st century, she lived a peaceful and leisurely life, with no worries about food or clothing, and her career was considered stable.
She started her own business during her sophomore year of college, trying to run an account on Xiaohongshu (a Chinese social media platform). She was lucky and happened to catch the right trend, running a cooking account called "Three Meals a Day in Four Seasons," which garnered over 100,000 followers.
Although she can't compare to those big bloggers, it's already quite good for someone who just graduated.
While others are busy looking for jobs after graduation, she only needs to cook and post videos every day.
Two years after graduation, she has a stable monthly income of 20,000 to 30,000 yuan.
For a student graduating from a regular undergraduate program, achieving this level of success in just two years is extremely rare, even within the entire university.
In today's challenging economic climate, finding a stable job is difficult, let alone a high-paying one.
Perhaps fate felt her life had been too smooth, so it decided to give her a trial, to make her suffer a little. That's why she transmigrated into the body of an unlucky girl in a koi-themed romance novel, becoming the contrast between the lucky heroine and the unlucky protagonist.
The original owner was also named Li Yan, and was the stepsister of Li Jiaojiao, the female protagonist in the book "My Lucky Koi Wife".
Li Jiaojiao and Li Yan are half-sisters. After Li Yan's biological mother passed away, her father, Li Shangping, remarried Li Jiaojiao's mother. Li Jiaojiao, on the other hand, was born to her mother and her previous husband; she was an adopted child.
Although she was a burden and her status was awkward, her mother was very capable and soon gave the Li family a son.
Then, her mother rose in status because of her son, and she, in turn, rose in status because of her mother, and her social standing also improved accordingly.
Of course, Li Jiaojiao herself was also very capable. Besides being gentle, beautiful, and understanding, she also possessed an amazing talent for business. Li Shangping was a carpenter who ran a carpentry shop in town, and several times when his business faced crises, it was Li Jiaojiao who resolved them.
After this incident, Li Shangping told everyone that his daughter was his lucky star, and he treated her even better.
Compared to Li Jiaojiao, Li Yan is not only slow-witted and clumsy, but also ugly. In fact, her father was upright, and her mother was beautiful when she was alive. As a child, she was a lovely child loved by everyone. Who knew that girls would change so much as they grow up, becoming more and more crooked.
But if that were all, it wouldn't be so bad; the real problem is that she also brought bad luck upon herself.
She almost ruined Li Shangping's business several times.
In the end, having no other choice, Li Shangping decided to send her back to live with her elderly mother in the countryside.
Several months ago, after his elderly mother also passed away, Li Shangping reluctantly brought the person home.
At that time, the eldest daughter had already married and moved to the county town. Her son-in-law had failed the imperial examination for many years, but he passed it immediately after marrying his daughter.
After the good news reached Qingshan Town, Li Shangping had an idea. He had people spread the word that his eldest daughter was destined to bring good fortune to her husband to several villages below Qingshan Town. Sure enough, people came running after hearing the news.
Although everyone wants to marry a good wife who will bring prosperity to her husband and family, the wife is someone to be used for daily life, so her appearance has to be acceptable. In the end, Li Yan's appearance deterred many people.
In the end, it was Aunt Xue who took Li Yan back with a dowry of two taels of silver, successfully becoming the sucker.
The imperial court is currently at war and is conscripting men everywhere. Those without money to bribe officials will naturally have to go to the front lines to fight the enemy.
Aunt Xue's eldest son was already dead, and her second son was missing on the battlefield. Aunt Xue wanted to marry a daughter-in-law who was destined for good fortune to bring good luck to her second son. Who would have thought that instead of bringing good luck, the marriage would end up killing her second son.
Originally, she was just missing, not confirmed to have died in battle. But on the second day after their wedding, two government officials came to their home, saying that her son Xue Yi's name was on the list of the dead. They hadn't found his remains, only a blood-stained robe. Aunt Xue recognized the robe at a glance; it was the one she had sewn for her second son the night before he left.
Aunt Xue couldn't accept it and cried uncontrollably.
Finally, seeing how difficult her life had been, the court officials left her an extra tael of silver as a pension.
But that very night, the six taels of silver in compensation, along with the small amount of loose silver that Aunt Xue had saved up through sewing and frugality, were all stolen.
She had only been married into the family for two days when she caused such a great disaster to befall her husband's family. In a moment of despair, she committed suicide by drowning herself in the river.
That's when she got a turn.
Originally, Aunt Xue was insisting on sending her back and getting the two taels of silver from the Li family as betrothal money back. However, after her daughter-in-law almost died, Aunt Xue began to hesitate.
This hesitation lasted for three days.
Outside, Aunt Xue's voice rang out: "Look at her broad shoulders and thick back, she must be very strong, she should be able to do the work. Let her stay and work to earn money, and help me raise Xu'er and Yue'er."
The Zhang family's daughter-in-law said, "Auntie, are you sure you want her to raise your two grandchildren? What if... she brings misfortune to someone else?" As she spoke, she moved closer to Aunt Xue furtively, her voice low as if afraid someone would hear, "I have a relative from my maternal family in Qingshan Town. I asked her to inquire around, and it turns out this Li woman has had a tough life since she was a child. She first caused the death of her mother, then her grandmother... It's because the Li family is immoral; they wanted to get rid of her quickly, so they lied to you."
“She is different from her older sister. Her sister has a very good life, and her life is just as tough.”
“Auntie, you’re kind-hearted, but Xu-ge’er and Yue-jie’er are still so young, what if…” Zhang’s wife didn’t finish her sentence. She left it at that.
Aunt Xue was also feeling uneasy and remained silent.
They were all neighbors, and Zhang's wife meant well. Having delivered the message, she excused herself, saying she had something to do at home, and left.
Li Yan had been lying like this for three days, praying every night before falling asleep that it was all a dream and that she would return to her world when she woke up. But three days had passed, and every time she woke up, she was still here. Li Yan gradually lost all hope.
If we really can't go back, we can't just lie here like this forever, can we?
If I lie down any longer, my limbs will atrophy, and I'll turn into a vegetable.
Li Yan had certainly considered going back to the Li family, after all, compared to the Xue family, the Li family was far better off. They had no worries about food or drink, and might even have maids to serve them. After all, she was Li Shangping's biological daughter; if she stubbornly refused to leave, could he really really send her away?
Besides, she could get closer to Li Jiaojiao and her husband after returning home. By establishing a good relationship in advance, she, as the sister-in-law, could benefit from her brother-in-law's success in the future.
But whenever she had this thought, Li Yan felt a force within her body resisting it, making her very uncomfortable.
Perhaps... it's the lingering will of the original owner within this body.
It seems that the original owner of this body had no feelings for her biological father, and she resisted going home with great effort.
Since that's the case, respecting the deceased's wishes is paramount.
The imperial court is currently at war, and the world is even more chaotic than in times of peace. If one were to divorce and establish one's own household, the risk would likely be very high.
And she doesn't even have a place to stay yet.
Given the current situation, staying with the Xue family is the only option left.
Although this path is not easy, if Aunt Xue is willing to take her in, they can help each other and their lives will gradually get better.
Although she was incredibly unlucky to have inexplicably transmigrated here, and although the original owner of this body was very unlucky, she didn't know if she would inherit the original's unlucky constitution. But since reality had already come to this, Li Yan felt that there was no other way but to work hard and change her fate.
After figuring this out, Li Yan stopped lying down and sat up on the wooden bed.
Just then, the wooden door was pushed open with a creak.
Looking at the peasant woman standing in front of the door, Li Yan wanted to call her "Mother" in a flattering way, but the word "Mother" got stuck in her throat and she couldn't say it no matter what she did.
Li Yan felt that the original owner's remaining will within this body was still very strong. She just didn't understand why she was unwilling to call Aunt Xue "Mother."
If they refuse to go back to the Li family, then they want to stay. If they want to stay, they should at least make some gestures of getting closer to the Xue family.
Li Yan struggled against the remaining will of the original owner within her body, and finally managed to squeeze out the word "mother" with great difficulty.
After calling out "Mother," the rest of the words came out easily.
"I felt ashamed before the Xue family and originally didn't want to live. But Mother, you are kind-hearted. Not only did you save me, but you have also taken good care of me for the past three days. I've thought it through. It's better to live than to die. I will not try to kill myself again. I want to stay and repay your great kindness." She wanted to stay, but the Xue family might not be willing to let her stay. So what she needed to do now was to promote herself as much as possible.
“People say, ‘Those who survive a great calamity are destined for good fortune.’ I have died once, and now I am reborn. Since I am reborn, all the bad luck from before must have disappeared.” She added, “Although I am a woman, I am in my prime. With me helping my mother, I will surely be able to raise Xu’er and Yue’er to adulthood.”
Clearly, Aunt Xue was also hesitant. Just as Li Yan said, if she stayed behind as a strong laborer, the two of them, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, could help each other and life would definitely be easier.
But she didn't dare to gamble.
If she truly is destined to be a jinx, what if she also brings misfortune to Xu'er and Yue'er?
Both her sons are gone. If something were to happen to her grandson, the Xue family line would be severed. How could she face her ancestors after she passed away?
After weighing the pros and cons, Aunt Xue still dared not gamble.
"Go away." Aunt Xue said sternly, her voice cold and weary with helplessness. "Consider it bad luck for our family. I don't want the two taels of silver anymore. Go back to your own home."
Li Yan refused to give up and tried to see things from the Xue family's perspective: "It was my father who was dishonest. He not only lied to you, but also took two taels of silver from you for nothing. Mother, we must get this silver back."
[Ding~ Congratulations, host! You have successfully activated the "Get Rich" system.]
[New player task 1: Chop the firewood in the yard. Target's favorability +10]
A note from the author:
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Hehe has a new story~~~ Let's get through this hot summer together~
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