Zhenniang: The Three of Us (Part 1)
Before the apocalypse, Luan Anchun, Luo Xi, and Qu Menghan were all considered successful in their careers and had a lot of savings. The others also had a lot of savings if they pooled their money together.
In the apocalypse, superpowers are not awakened overnight; food and medical supplies are crucial for early survival and recruiting people.
Of course, following normal logic, one could also inform everyone in advance that the apocalypse is coming.
But with such advanced technology before the apocalypse, and astronomical systems capable of detecting celestial bodies hundreds of millions of light-years away, how could they possibly be completely unaware of asteroids that were already approaching Earth?
The moment the asteroid entered the detection range, the world's top astronomical monitoring systems had already calculated its impact point. The fact that high-ranking officials of various countries could know about the impending apocalypse even before the reborn ones shows a serious underestimation of pre-apocalyptic technology.
After failing to intercept the asteroid in any way, the human leadership, along with the elite humans capable of ending the apocalypse, fled to the refuge.
While ordinary people were still welcoming the meteor shower, the hope of the apocalypse had already entered the underground city.
The asteroid impact doomsday theory that spread like wildfire after the news reports in my previous life was not uttered by the reborn person, but by someone in the know.
However, they underestimated the power of this catastrophe. Humans are ultimately just a speck of dust on Earth. When the entire Earth trembled because of this massive impact, no life on it could escape this devastating blow.
Even if all the world's resources were pooled together, nothing could stop the apocalypse from happening. What can these few office workers do to stop it? They should just focus on dealing with the second playthrough.
In the second playthrough, there's no need to repeat the same mistakes as the first. In this life, you can establish a women's alliance as soon as the apocalypse begins, preserving more awakened power and avoiding being as foolish as in the previous life, wasting so many women on useless reproduction.
Previously, I was forced by the unknown future to spend money recklessly even when I had it. Now that I know there's no use in keeping it, I can spend it however I want.
The doomsday theory has begun to take hold. Supermarkets are always the most informed and have the strongest sense of crisis. Every time there's a stockpiling event, there are always aunties rushing to buy salt and food. Rosie and her group are not particularly outstanding, and they can't even grab as much as the aunties.
The supermarket owner was overjoyed by their frenzy, working overtime to stock up on new products and earning in a month what he could only dream of making in a lifetime.
It has to be said that watching the storyline about hoarding goods with space is really enjoyable and stress-relieving. Ye Xiqing, watching from outside, regretted not choosing the hoarding route.
But while the rebirth and hoarding plot might seem exciting to outsiders, it's impossible for the person involved to actually relive it. The thought of having to do something already done again makes Ye Xiqing feel nauseous.
Reborn back to the main storyline, I used a few [Memory Engravings] to return directly to the system space.
Eating potato chips, drinking cola, and watching people hoarding goods on the screen—this is indeed the perfect angle to appreciate it.
Taking a big gulp of cola, Ye Xiqing looked up at the system and smiled—
"System, you've experienced another extreme world. Have you figured out how to heal my mind in the next world?"
system:……
Whose spirit is being healed?
The world that was supposed to suppress Ye Xiqing with its worldview has had its worldview altered, and the system is truly somewhat shattered.
Ye Xiqing is like a spring; she can always be compressed to the bottom, but she will always find a chance to bounce back. No matter how much force is applied to her, she will bounce back just as much.
The ancient world and the post-apocalyptic world are the two worlds with the most extreme worldviews, and also the two worlds with the fiercest backlash.
The system has now completely given up on treatment and just wants to spend the remaining four worlds peacefully, picking a few less popular ones to deal with casually.
Its Ace World and its mainstays can't withstand this kind of mischief!
Thinking of this, the system comforted itself, realizing that it was taking the wins and losses of the small world too seriously. Ye Xiqing and it were not on the same level at all. Ye Xiqing could win, but it would not lose.
If Ye Xiqing can revitalize its underpopular world, it will be grateful for Ye Xiqing's efforts.
The system, now comforted, instantly regained its confidence when facing Ye Xiqing, and said businesslike, seemingly without any psychological reservations, "Host, rest assured, the system will definitely choose a good world for you."
Ye Xiqing hadn't expected the system to have this side to it, and raised an eyebrow in disbelief: "Really?"
The system tilted its head back solemnly and replied, "Of course it's true!"
"Oh."
Even if Ye Xiqing trusted the system's heart, she couldn't trust its aesthetic sense. What the system considered good was clearly different from what normal people considered good. Who knew what kind of "good plot" it would arrange?
This world is too tiring. Nearly a thousand years have passed, and Ye Xiqing is too lazy to keep going into the next world. So she just relaxes and clears her mind in the system space.
Before giving up on my brain while lying in bed, I take stock of my finances: "How many points do I have in this world?"
The system fell silent.
Its suspicious silence made Ye Xiqing feel that something big had happened. Sure enough, after receiving the payment, Ye Xiqing also paused: 1,533,890, directly breaking the million mark, which was more than the total amount of her previous few worlds.
Looking at such a long string of numbers, Ye Xiqing couldn't help but laugh: "Wow, so many! What special plot twist in this world is making the audience so excited?"
system:……
"Perhaps the eight hundred years the host lived were truly astonishing."
"Ha ha."
Having lived the life of a protagonist in several worlds, Ye Xiqing had basically lost the concept of money, but the points linked to real currency still made her very happy.
In this world, she unleashed eight [Memory Imprints] in one go. What was initially annoying has now turned into a total score of 2, which is about to break through to 3, 2977855.
No one would be unhappy to see their bank account balance increase, and Ye Xiqing instantly became happy, giving her even more motivation to rest.
Lying on her large bed in the system space, she closed her eyes, not wanting to think about anything right now.
After the end of the last world, Ye Xiqing became noticeably lazier, losing interest in everything and even stopping reading the books she used to love.
She spends her days eating and sleeping, or watching people from the previous world struggle to survive in the apocalypse. She even changed the projection screen to the ceiling directly opposite her bed, so she doesn't have to get out of bed or access the system space.
At first, her corpse-like state gave the system a sigh of relief, finally allowing it to pretend that Ye Xiqing didn't exist.
But after she ate with her eyes open, slept with her eyes closed, and never even got out of bed for several months, the system finally realized something was wrong.
You've come here to retire in the system space!
Although Ye Xiqing hadn't done anything wrong, the degree to which a boss dislikes an employee depends on the employee's behavior, not on what the employee did.
Even if the employees stay at the company obediently and are too comfortable, the boss will get very angry and immediately drag Ye Xiqing out of the company, ready to start the next world!
Ye Xiqing opened her eyes from the bed, still unwilling to move.
Favorable circumstances always wear down a person's will more than adversity. Having spent decades or even centuries in the previous world to squander, Ye Xiqing had lost all fighting spirit.
Her goal had always been clear: to complete the mission, return to the real world, finish the college entrance examination that she had not yet completed, and put an end to her past obsessions.
But no matter how strong your obsession is, you have to consider the stakes. If one side offers immortality for thousands of years, and the other offers only the short life of an ordinary person.
So, does that mean she should choose immortality as long as she's not completely out of her mind?
Ye Xiqing may seem to have done nothing for the past few months, but she does occasionally reflect.
This time, her thinking, though seemingly simple, shook her world more than ever before.
Looking up at the system, he asked, "You told me before that after completing the mission, I could choose to return to my original world or stay in the mission world?"
The system was taken aback.
What troubles it most about Ye Xiqing is that she is too opinionated. She doesn't listen to anything others say to her, and once she's made up her mind, she won't change it. But now she's wavering.
Despite the system's relentless suppression before, she remained steadfast, but after reaching the pinnacle of success, she wavered.
Upon discovering this subtle change, the system was overjoyed, finally understanding what it meant for internal faith to collapse—more effective than external oppression.
You can hold a raw egg in your hand and no matter how hard you squeeze, you can't break it. But if the life inside wants to get out of the shell, it will peck the shell open by itself.
In an instant, the system had countless thoughts, but finally settled on one point and said gently, "Of course you can. As long as the host wants, you can stay in any world you want. Does the host have a world in mind right now?"
The system's gentleness has always been what Ye Xiqing is most wary of, but this time Ye Xiqing is different.
Choosing between reality and fantasy has always been a question that doesn't require much thought; I've never seen anyone choose fantasy in this binary choice.
But why is her reality so much worse than her fantasy?
If it were just a difference in wealth and status, she wouldn't have any hesitation.
But if even the length of life can differ, should she still cling to the reality she insists on?
The reality is so different from the dream. Should we return to the cruel reality or stay in the beautiful dream?
The Heart-Refining Dream, created for fun in the previous world, has now been applied to her as well.
No wonder immortals have to descend to the mortal realm to experience the suffering of ordinary people when they undergo tribulations. If immortals experience the suffering of ordinary people, they will try their best to go back.
If gods could experience the pleasures of being top-tier humans, probably no one would want to go back. They could keep reincarnating and enjoying themselves endlessly, so why would they want to go back?
Ye Xiqing is no longer experiencing the pleasures of a mortal while being a deity; she is experiencing the pleasures of a deity while being a mortal. Power and money can be refused, but what can she refuse immortality?
Steel will melt once it reaches its melting point. Ye Xiqing originally thought she was steel, but now she finds that she also has a melting point.
As long as there is a melting point, a person is no longer made of steel.
Ye Xiqing jerked off the bed like a zombie: Let's begin the next world.
...
Ye Xiqing's unusual quietness pleased the system greatly, as it was rare for one person to achieve a community of shared interests.
After forming a community of shared interests, the system immediately abandoned its previous plan to find a low-popularity world and just get by, and decided to find Ye Xiqing a particularly good world!
Ordinary good things probably won't move Ye Xiqing, so let's give her an unconventional world!
Literature is a continuous process of criticism and progress. When there are formulas, there will be anti-formulas, and new formulas will become old formulas. This world is a new world that criticizes old formulas.
Someone as unruly as Ye Xiqing will surely love this new world!
The system was full of confidence, and Ye Xiqing was also very curious. She didn't expect that such an old-fashioned system would have such a high-end theme of subverting the routine. She was really impressed with it.
Entering its unconventional world with curiosity, one falls into silence as soon as one steps inside.
The rudimentary workshop, the dim kerosene lamps, and the beams and pillars made of rotten wood all testify to the backwardness of this era and the poverty of this family.
Ye Xiqing looked at the system expressionlessly: "System, does your subversion of the usual tropes mean that other protagonists are born rich while I am poor?"
system:……
"Don't worry about the money yet, focus on the plot!"
After glancing at the impoverished starting point, Ye Xiqing didn't want to watch the plot anymore, but since the system had said so, she reluctantly took a look.
The protagonist of this story is Zhao Zhenniang, a tragedy of an era.
Zhao Zhenniang was born in an era of the collapse of the feudal system, when the old system was raging and the clarion call of civilization was sounding. The world was changing every day and everyone was moving towards a better future.
Under the oppression of the old world, she gradually merged with its flesh and blood. When the old world was burned down, her body was also burned down along with it.
She was uneducated and was taught from a young age to be obedient to her husband and to regard him as her heaven.
Her father arranged a marriage for her with someone she had never met, but in her heart, he was her husband.
After her father's death, Zhao Zhenniang, who was all alone and destitute, went to live with her husband's family.
The family she was betrothed to was a prominent local family, the Song family, who were wealthy and influential.
Although the imperial court was defeated, the Song family was not. The power of a mere scholar in feudal society was extraordinary, and the revolution could not affect everyone.
Song, the scholar, was very clever. He always chose the right side during the most critical periods of his life, and he was also good at having children. All three of his sons were outstanding individuals.
The eldest son was a warlord who controlled a region, the second son held an important position in the government, and the third son went abroad to study and learn the most advanced knowledge.
Zhao Zhenniang's engagement was arranged with the third young master of the Song family. Her father had once been lucky enough to save Master Song's life, and Master Song was very generous, so he made an engagement with the daughter of the Zhao family. Otherwise, Zhao Zhenniang, as the daughter of an oil mill owner, would not have been able to marry into the Song family.
After her father died, Zhao Zhenniang went to live with the Song family. Because of her down-to-earth, hardworking, honest and filial character, her parents-in-law were very satisfied with her and promised to marry her off to their third son when he returned.
But the world Zhao Zhenniang lives in is not a normal world, but a TV series.
Zhao Zhenniang is not the main character of the TV series. The main character is a "new type" female lead named Lan Shuyan.
The female protagonist, Lan Shuyan, was educated and received a modern education. She was also beautiful and had a unique free spirit, which made her irresistible to men.
After returning to China, the third young master of the Song family caught a glimpse of Miss Lan at the dock and instantly became infatuated, chasing after her all over the world as if his life depended on it.
A modern female student and a dashing young master, at a time when they most cherished free love, pulled at each other for a moment, instantly fell in love.
They fell deeply in love, their love was earth-shattering, but Zhao Zhenniang was left out in the cold.
She waited happily at her in-laws' house for her husband to return, only to receive news that he wanted to marry someone else, and the conflict erupted.
Song San insisted on marrying Lan Shuyan and breaking off his engagement with Zhao Zhenniang, but Master Song disagreed. He argued that the marriage was arranged by his parents and the matchmaker, and he couldn't just go back on his word!
Although it is a new era, Master Song, as a feudal patriarch, still holds the power to decide the fate of his children. The two were separated, and the third young master of the Song family was forced to marry Zhao Zhenniang.
After Lan Shuyan left the third young master of the Song family, as the female lead, she naturally attracted the attention of other male supporting characters. Although Song San broke up with her, he was still resentful, so Zhao Zhenniang became the punching bag for their extraordinary love story.
If Zhao Zhenniang were a vicious supporting character, that would be one thing, but instead she is a gentle, kind, and traditional woman who only knows how to endure and does not harm anyone.
After her in-laws schemed to get the third young master of the Song family to consummate their marriage, Zhao Zhenniang gave birth to a girl. However, she died from exhaustion during childbirth.
Her death had no impact; instead, it became the opportunity for the male and female protagonists to reconcile. The two of them pretended to cry for Zhenniang and said they would raise her child well.
Times have changed. In the past, people loved the Mary Sue heroine who had all men revolving around her. But now, compared to the heroine who was particularly troublesome and obsessed with love, tragic cannon fodder female supporting characters like Zhao Zhenniang are more pitiful.
If you like her, you'll definitely hate the female lead. That's how anti-cliché novels were born, and people started writing about time-traveling Zhao Zhenniang.
The actress who played Zhao Zhenniang was actually very beautiful. The reason she was disliked was because of her ignorance, which greatly diminished her beauty. The arrival of the transmigrator made up for this.
After being infused with the soul of a transmigrator who had received a modern education, Zhao Zhenniang possessed a natural elegance without needing to dress up. Combined with her traditional clothing, what was criticized as old-fashioned became classic.
Song San had been adamant about breaking off the engagement, but after meeting the gentle, virtuous, and well-bred new Zhao Zhenniang, he immediately fell silent.
Men, no matter how much they claim to be in love, will still be tempted when they see other beautiful women. The transmigrator scoffs at the love between the male and female protagonists.
However, she wasn't displaying her charm in front of Song San to attract him; she was there to avenge the original owner of this body from that despicable couple in the original story.
Lan Shuyan possesses a novel and unique beauty characteristic of modern women, while the transmigrators showcase the gentle beauty of traditional women.
Lan Shuyan, with her foreign language knowledge from the new school, began to stand out in social situations, while the transmigrators showcased traditional culture and even more fluent foreign language skills, garnering more applause.
In the end, all the halos of the original female protagonist were shattered one by one by the transmigrator. Only then did Song San realize that Lan Shuyan was just an ordinary woman, and that his arranged wife, whom he had despised, was the truly perfect and profound woman.
But it was too late for him to realize it. When Zhao Zhenniang finally changed her mind, she dumped him and went off to do her own thing.
Without Zhao Zhenniang's interference, Song San and Lan Shuyan did get together, but a white moonlight is only a white moonlight if you don't get it, and once you get it, it's just a grain of rice. Song San had already fallen in love with his original fiancée.
When she's in love, Lan Shuyan likes to show herself off in various situations, which she calls being confident and carefree.
When there's no love, they're like a half-full bucket of water sloshing around, always showing off and making a fool of themselves.
When she's in love, she has a ton of suitors; she's incredibly charming and loved by everyone.
When there is no love, it is called being fickle and unfaithful.
Lan Shuyan's unconventional behavior attracted many admirers, but it also foreshadowed her tragic future.
After marrying into the Song family, she couldn't even maintain the dignity of the original Zhao Zhenniang. She would make a scene regardless of the occasion, making the family scandal public and known to everyone in the county. The whole Song family's third branch was a laughing stock.
In a fit of anger, Song San published a divorce notice in the newspaper and kicked her out of the house.
Having lost her status as the third young mistress of the Song family and her reputation, Lan Shuyan eventually became a socialite, but she was quickly dumped because no one could tolerate her spoiled princess temper.
Abandoned by everyone, Lan Shuyan ended up wandering the streets, dying of hunger and cold. Song San felt no pity for her, only regret for giving up a better female lead for Lan Shuyan.
The time he spent with the female supporting character was his greatest humiliation. He wanted to win Zhao Zhenniang back, but Zhao Zhenniang had already become his sister-in-law.
That's right, the real male protagonist of this story is actually the warlord elder brother from the Song family.
While reading the book, the transmigrator disliked both the clueless Song San and Song Er, who fawned over Lan Shuyan. The only one she liked the most was Song Da, who stood with Master Song against Song San's fickle nature.
A group of people claim to be fighting for free love, yet they hurt the most innocent Zhao Zhenniang. What kind of people are they?
She felt that the most clear-headed and responsible characters in the original work were actually the antagonists, Master Song and the eldest son of the Song family.
So the moment she entered, she was headed straight for the eldest brother of the Song family.
Under the relentless pursuit of the transmigrator, even the conservative and old-fashioned eldest brother of the Song family couldn't resist the allure of free love and indulged himself by marrying his younger brother's wife.
Unlike the original novel's male and female protagonists, their union wasn't purely based on love. The transmigrator's knowledge proved useful for the new male protagonist's career, and in the end, the transmigrator even gave birth to three sons and a daughter for him, solidifying his position as the head of the family.
With the eldest brother's military power and the advanced knowledge of the transmigrator, Song's life became increasingly prosperous. Only the third brother regretted his past actions and could never let go of the past.
After playing out the plot, the system looked at Ye Xiqing with great confidence: "Host, this isn't a real transmigration. If even transmigrators in novels can turn the plot around like this, you can definitely do even better. With your knowledge and experience accumulated from so many worlds, are you afraid of not being able to turn this situation around?"
After a very long scene, Ye Xiqing slowly sat down, her gaze naturally falling on a certain spot as she moved.
She had just smoothed things over with the system, and there were some things she didn't want to complain about, but since she had already transmigrated, she felt uncomfortable if she didn't vent.
Ye Xiqing paused for a moment, then looked up at the system.
"System, if others eat shit but you don't, that's called going against the grain."
"Others use their mouths to eat, you use your mouth to eat shit, what do you call that?"
system:……
ah?
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