Chapter Two: Only by Gaining Favor and Changing the Ending Can I Return!

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Lin Xiang had a nightmare.

She dreamed of a man gripping her throat, beating and cursing her.

“Lin Xiang, you filthy slut! You seduced Secretary Wen back in the countryside, and you still can’t behave. You stick to any man you see. I’ve given you enough face, haven’t I?”

Lin Xiang woke in a suffocating panic, drenched in sweat.

Morning had already broken outside.

This dream was the fate of Lin Xiang in the book: after entering the city, she followed Lin Yun, hoping to marry a wealthy boss and meddled in everything.

Not only did she cause trouble for Lin Yun, she ended up marrying a man who was a beast in human form—a domestic abuser who beat her daily.

The pain in the dream was unbearably real.

She even heard a voice telling her that only by making the male lead like her and changing her ending could she return.

Seeing she hadn’t returned to her original world upon waking, Lin Xiang knew she couldn’t delay in gaining favor.

She washed her face with water nearby and looked at her reflection. It was still her own face—not dark, since the original owner rarely worked in the fields, but too thin, with no flesh on her cheeks.

Farmers of this era rarely got enough to eat; few were fat.

She put on the flowered jacket lying by her side, smoothed back her hair, and tied her jet-black locks neatly at the nape of her neck with a hair ribbon, looking energetic and tidy.

In the kitchen, Mother Lin hummed a tune while kneading a lump of yellow dough.

“Girl, you’re awake! Yesterday, Comrade Liu brought us a small bag of cornmeal. I kneaded it for you to make buns.”

Mother Lin boasted happily when Lin Xiang entered.

Comrade Liu, Liu Pei, was the supporting female character in the book who secretly admired the male lead.

After the male lead went to the city, she helped him quite a bit.

In this era, most people didn’t have enough to eat or wear, relying on work points to receive grain at the end of the year. Usually, a bowl of thin porridge with a few leaves sufficed, so for her to bring a bag of cornmeal was extraordinary!

But it made sense: the positive female characters in male-centered novels were always self-sacrificing, fulfilling male fantasies.

Sadly, she was not the official match for the male lead and never got what she wanted.

Lin Xiang glanced around the courtyard—just three rooms: a main house, a kitchen, and what should be Lin Yun’s room. She pushed open the door and found it was only a woodshed.

Suddenly she remembered: in the novel, the original male lead had always slept in the woodshed, without even a thick quilt.

“Mom, where’s my brother?”

“Your brother? He went to work! If he doesn’t work, how can he make up for your work points? After you eat the corn buns, you’ll come with me to work this afternoon. We don’t want to owe money at the end of the year.”

Lin Xiang suddenly remembered, “Mom, did my brother get breakfast before going to work?”

“Breakfast? Does our family have food for him?” Mother Lin’s reply made Lin Xiang understand immediately.

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Lin Yun was injured, not given food, yet made to do hard labor—wouldn’t he starve to death?

Seeing Mother Lin struggling to knead the dough, Lin Xiang quickly said, “Mom, take a rest, let me do it!”

Mother Lin’s eyes widened. “You know how?”

Heavens! The girl can cook!

“Didn’t you teach me, Mom? Don’t worry, I’ll handle it. Don’t tire yourself out!”

“Oh, my girl is so capable! With this, she’ll at least marry a worker, someone worthy of her!”

Mother Lin was in excellent spirits—her daughter was filial, how could she not be delighted?

Lin Xiang thought about it.

In 1970, you couldn’t just buy and sell things at will; labor was honored, and even intellectuals had to go work in the countryside. The most sought-after partners were factory workers with a steady wage.

The novel’s setting should be around the late 1970s.

Some regions had already begun recalling youth from the countryside, and just earlier in the year, the college entrance exam was reinstated. Within a year, the era of reform and opening-up would arrive, and everyone could do business—that would be the real time to get rich!

With her knowledge of the plot and the era, she might become wealthy herself—why settle for marrying a worker?

When Mother Lin left, Lin Xiang washed her hands and continued kneading. The dough was coarse, rough to the touch, and she knew it wouldn’t be tasty. In this era, having something to eat was already good.

But her priority now was gaining favor.

She tasted the dough out of habit—it was bitter and bland. Even steamed, it wouldn’t taste good.

Rummaging through the cupboards, Lin Xiang found a jar of sugar and a small bag of wheat flour.

Why not use the wheat flour?

She heated water, added a generous spoonful of sugar, let it dissolve, and kneaded it into the cornmeal. It was a bit thin, so she added wheat flour for a finer texture and sweetness, shaped it into buns, and placed them in the steamer.

In the real world, Lin Xiang had achieved financial freedom through live-streaming sales, and she loved experimenting with food.

Last night’s rice porridge had given her a headache.

Twenty minutes later, the buns were ready.

She broke off a piece to try—the texture was average, but much better than without wheat flour. If only she had milk and yeast, they’d be softer and tastier.

She stuffed a couple of bites in her mouth, then lost interest.

She was too used to good food; the fare of this era was hard to swallow.

She went out and saw Mother Lin chopping wood and called, “Mom, I’m going to find my brother. The buns are in the pot, remember to eat!”

“Alright!”

Mother Lin wiped her hands and stood up, watching Lin Xiang run off. “Wait, why are you looking for your brother?”

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No answer came, so Mother Lin went into the kitchen. A moment later, a shrill cry rang out, “You little brat! The last bit of wheat flour and sugar in the house, all wasted by you!”

She figured Lin Xiang was only pretending to look for Lin Yun—she was really rushing to deliver food to Comrade Wen.

But the corn buns mixed with wheat flour and sugar were truly delicious! When did that girl learn such skills?

*

Lin Xiang ran out, suddenly realizing she had no idea where Lin Yun was.

Fortunately, there was only one path to the fields, and she passed several children picking up cow dung.

“Hey, have you seen my brother?” Lin Xiang asked, not recognizing any of them, but they all lived in the same village—surely they knew her.

The boy in the lead pointed, “He’s in that field over there.”

“Thanks!” Lin Xiang quickly replied.

After she left, a little girl remembered, “Wait, Sister Niuzi asked about Brother Lin Yun, not Comrade Wen!”

“You must have heard wrong. Everyone knows Sister Niuzi likes Comrade Wen; she always goes looking for him!”

*

Lin Xiang followed the children’s directions and searched the fields but saw no sign of Lin Yun.

She thought maybe he’d gone off to relieve himself.

Just as she was about to look further, a scholarly young man with glasses approached and took the bowl from her arms without warning.

“Thank you, Niuzi, for bringing me food so early. You’re so considerate—any man who marries you will be lucky.”

Lin Xiang: ???

Wait, robbing food in broad daylight?

Seeing him about to bite into the corn bun, Lin Xiang couldn’t hold back. She snatched the bowl and bun from Wen Siyuan’s hands and slapped him on the back of his head.

“Stealing someone’s food in broad daylight—is there something wrong with you? If you’re sick, go get it treated!”

Lin Xiang’s slap was not light; it sent Wen Siyuan tumbling headfirst into the freshly planted rice paddy, landing face-first in the mud.