Chapter 1
It was October, a cold winter, when the first snow fell in Beijing.
Because it was the first snow, many daughters of officials' families rode in sedan chairs to watch the excitement. The streets were suddenly crowded with people and cars, and the scene was full of prosperity.
Even the beggars on the street, wearing thin clothes and with frostbite all over their faces, were full of joy.
Amidst this scene, a man with a pale face ran frantically through the snow on frail legs, holding an even thinner girl in his arms, muttering, "My dear girl, wake up! Daddy will take you to see a doctor right away."
It was snowing heavily. The braver ladies in the sedan reached out their hands to catch the snow to play with. They only hoped that the snow would fall heavier so that it would not melt when it fell into their hands.
But the man holding the girl couldn't help cursing the blindness of heaven when he saw such heavy snow. He looked at the shocking red on his daughter's forehead and gritted his teeth to persevere.
"Old Lin, what are you doing with your daughter?" Old Xu, the pork seller on North Street, saw the girl bleeding in the man's arms. His face trembled with anger. "She's injured. Was it that brat who did it? I'll kill him!"
The man named Lao Lin panted heavily: "Alright, where's your ox cart? It's still far from Huichun Hall in the snow. I only have one daughter, Zhuiyu. If anything happens to her..."
When Old Xu heard that Old Lin was about to cry again, he became very impatient and said, "Shut up! The oxcart is behind us. Hurry up."
Lao Lin drove his ox cart all the way to Huichun Hall. When the doctor saw Lao Lin coming, he frowned and said in a deep voice, "I don't need any medical books."
Old Lin was so anxious that his face turned red. "I'm not selling books today. My daughter is injured and has fainted. Please come and take a look."
When the doctor of Huichuntang heard this, he quickly asked several doormen to move the girl in. Sure enough, her forehead was covered in blood, some of which was still frozen tightly and stuck to her skin, crystal clear, like jewels from a wealthy family.
The doctor looked extremely nervous as he carefully treated the girl's wound, but he also chatted with Old Lin: "How did this happen? Did you not promise your nephew?"
Old Lin pursed his lips tightly, anger flashing across his face: "That's the shop that's been passed down in my family for generations, how could I possibly sell it!"
As the two were talking, the thin girl slowly opened her eyes, but suddenly felt a sharp pain and couldn't help but say, "Hiss, it hurts."
She was still unconscious when she saw a skinny old man rushing towards her crying, "My dear daughter, you are finally awake."
Where did this old man in ancient costume come from?
Jian Xinyi was a little confused and kept looking at the scene in front of her. Even though she had painted countless ancient backgrounds, she was still amazed by the level of detail here.
Looks like, very similar.
The old man looked at Jian Xinyi in a daze, and couldn't help but feel a little scared: "Doctor, is my daughter... stupid?"
The doctor looked serious and stroked his beard: "It's possible."
The old man grabbed her hand and looked her straight in the eyes: "Girl, do you know who I am?"
"No..." Jian Xinyi was about to say it, but scenes flashed through her mind like a movie.
Jian Xinyi looked at the pictures one by one and gradually understood what was going on.
She has painted time travel.
Now the first on the Orange Light Game Gold List, "The Princess Who Travels Across Time and Space Is Not Easy to Mess With", is her first work.
As an otome game designer, she understood this mechanism very well, but when it really happened to her, she was still a little shocked.
She looked at her cheap father in front of her, whose face was as bitter as if he had finished a bowl of Chinese medicine, but she couldn't bear it and said, "Dad, I'm fine, just a little dizzy."
Jian Xinyi finished speaking softly, then lowered her head in thought.
There is no mother in the original body's memory.
Is this world made of boys?
upscale.
She shook her head, feeling like she had an occupational disease. Her original mother probably left her a long time ago, so she had no memory of her.
When the doctor from Huichuntang saw her wake up, he put away the gauze and medicine, stood up and said, "Okay, you're awake. The total is five taels of silver. Go to the accounting office to pay."
When money was mentioned, Lao Lin's face flushed: "Doctor Zhang, we have been friends for many years."
Doctor Zhang was used to seeing Lao Lin's face, so he put the medicine back and said, "Even after so many years of friendship, you still have to pay. I'm telling you, you can't fool me with some lousy book this time."
When Lao Lin heard his book being criticized, he immediately retorted: "How can it be called a broken book? It is the only information left by the barefoot doctor of the previous dynasty."
The doctor shook his head and sent them out. Before leaving, he seemed a little reluctant and advised earnestly, "Old Lin, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but who else comes to your shabby bookstore besides students taking exams? Just sell it to your nephew and save your daughter from this suffering."
But Old Lin remained the same: "This shop has been the property of my Lin family for three generations. Even if I die, I can't sell it!"
Jian Xinyi didn't know what to say, so she just listened with her head lowered. However, the wound on her forehead was still aching slightly. If there was no medicine, it would be very uncomfortable.
But the doctor wasn't one to be trifled with, and her cheap father was also a tough guy. After deciding between the two options, she finally spoke softly, "Doctor, my injury was an accident, and my family doesn't have any extra money. How about I come to Huichuntang and help you out for a few days, and I can cover the medical expenses."
The doctor was a little surprised to hear Jian Xinyi say this, and praised: "You girl are smarter than your father. Let's do as you say. Danggui, take the girl to the back to boil the medicine."
"Yu'er, this..."
Jian Xinyi pretended to be angry and said in a very tough tone, "Dad, listen to me. The house was smashed and you haven't had time to clean it up yet. Go back first."
Old Lin felt a little guilty, but he also reminded Jian Xinyi, "Don't come back too late."
Jian Xinyi smiled and followed Danggui to the back to boil the medicine.
The process of decocting medicine was no easier than playing a game. After a busy day with a sore back, the doctor let her go and asked her to stay for a few more days and change the medicine before leaving.
Jian Xinyi was very grateful to Dr. Zhang. Knowing that he was a good person, she nodded.
But Doctor Zhang was still a little worried. He pulled her aside and said earnestly, "Xiaoyu, your father has a stubborn temper. The land of the bookstore has been coveted by the nephew of the wealthy family. You should try to persuade him. This time it's just a head injury. Who knows what will happen next time."
Jian Xinyi's eyes drooped. This was exactly the same as what she saw.
Dad's bookshop was in a prosperous place like Beijing, but without a good location and no connections, it naturally couldn't make much money. One owner suggested he sell fake books, but he resorted to his old scholar's pedantic theories, and the shop has since become increasingly run-down.
Even the wound on her head was caused by a falling bookcase when the nephew sent thugs to smash the store.
Suddenly, a pain came over her, and Jane Xinyi felt a little dizzy, as if the bookcase was falling down in front of her. The innate sense of fear quickly spread to every corner of her body, and she felt light and floating. The feeling of being on the verge of death made every pore of her body scream.
Jian Xinyi calmed herself down and thought that this must be because she was too scared.
I could only hear Doctor Zhang still trying to persuade me earnestly: "Since this bookshop doesn't make much money, why don't you join me and work with me? It won't hurt you two."
She smiled and said, "Doctor Zhang, you know that my father has a stubborn temper and is unlikely to listen to me. But if you need anything, just call me and I will definitely help you."
As the two were talking, a lady came over. She was wearing a blue cotton dress with a white print and a cross-neckline. She looked at the wound on Jian Xinyi's forehead and looked worried. "Hey, Xiaoyu, how did you get hurt?"
"Aunt Ting, I'm much better now, thanks to Doctor Zhang." Jian Xinyi smiled at the visitor. Aunt Ting was Doctor Zhang's wife. They had been childhood sweethearts. Seeing that her family was pitiful, she often took care of them.
"It's fine as long as it's much better. Be careful next time."
Aunt Ting gave Jian Xinyi a few instructions and then let her go back. It was getting dark and dusk. The only people on the street were children who had just finished school and vendors selling soup noodles. Although Jian Xinyi was hungry, she had no money, so she returned to the bookstore on an empty stomach relying on her memory.
The bookstore was located in a narrow alley on North Street, so it was named Narrow Alley Bookstore. Usually, the customers were poor scholars, and sometimes it also took on publishing work.
As soon as her father saw Jian Xinyi coming back, he jumped out from the pile of books and said with a smile: "Yu'er is back. You are so tired from decocting medicine. Take a rest. Dad will cook for you."
Jian Xinyi nodded, walked through the bookstore and came to the yard at the back. She looked at her home in a daze. There were three rooms side by side, and there was not even a front hall to receive guests.
This was in ancient times when housing prices had not skyrocketed.
"You've been waiting for a long time, haven't you? Don't worry, the meal is here." Her father happily brought the meal to the bumpy little table. "This bowl of vegetarian noodles was specially left for us by your Grandma Liu. I know you haven't eaten anything, so come and eat it."
Jian Xinyi was waiting for the meal with great joy, but she found that what was in front of her was a watery soup with no meat or vegetable noodles, which was a little hard to swallow, so she just ate some of it casually.
Seeing that she had only taken a few bites, Old Lin understood. Guilt grew on his face as he muttered, "Not tasty? How can you be so silly? Granny Liu was so kind as to leave some for us. Forget it. When the bookstore opens tomorrow, Dad will go to Old Xu, the butcher, and buy you some meat."
She hesitated for a long time, finally put down her chopsticks, looked up at her skinny father, and said sarcastically, "Are you really buying meat, or are you going to buy it on credit again?"
Old Lin was very surprised, his expression was as if the sky had fallen and the earth had cracked. His trembling hands could hardly hold the chopsticks. "Yu'er, why do you say that?"
Seeing him like this, Jian Xinyi realized that he knew everything, but he had been deceiving himself. She still had to say something harsh to provoke him. She straightened her expression and said in a deep voice, "Scholars' credit isn't called credit, right? The people of this entire North Street have been helping us for as long as I can remember. You know everything, but you say nothing, accepting this kindness with peace of mind. I know I can't blame you entirely for running the bookstore, but you can't keep wasting people's kindness."
When Old Lin heard this, his face turned pale. He put down his chopsticks with a bang and shouted, "You are disgusted with your father for being poor, right? I know you all despise me for being poor, but this shop has been passed down from my great-grandfather. Even if you want me to die, I will not leave this shop to do anything else."
Seeing that he was a little angry, Jian Xinyi had no choice but to comfort him: "Dad, no one despises you for being poor, but you can't use poverty as an excuse to beg others to give you things. You should understand the truth better than me."
She thought her father would scold her again, but she didn't expect that Old Lin just sighed and shook his head: "I've read so many books, the Four Books and Five Classics so many times, but I still don't know what to cook when I want to eat meat at night. It's because of all the hard work over the years that we two are still alive today. Yu'er, everyone else is fine, but you can't look down on your father."
Jian Xinyi was in a very difficult situation. Who had Old Lin been working for all these years? Of course, it was for Lin Zhuiyu, his daughter.
It’s not her, Jian Xinyi.
But now, Jian Xinyi died in front of her workbench after working overtime, and Lin Zhuiyu was hit to death by a bookcase on the way to Huichuntang.
She became her.
Seeing such words of deep love between father and daughter, she should have burst into tears and expressed gratitude for the kindness of raising her.
But she is not Lin Zhuiyu after all. Being able to feel this friendship is one thing, but whether to repay it is another.
Jian Xinyi said nothing, just stared blankly at the bowl of plain noodles.
Intellectually, she didn't want to care about her cheap father's affairs because it had nothing to do with her. She was just a newborn who had just come into the world, and her understanding of many things came from the second-hand knowledge of her original body.
She had just eaten a few mouthfuls of the hard-to-swallow plain noodles, but her original body had been eating them for almost her entire life.
Jian Xinyi doesn't want to eat it for the rest of her life.
She was thinking, it's not that there is no way to get out of this situation, it's just...
Jian Xinyi has no confidence in herself either.
Forget it, just go for it.
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