Yu Yue was dreaming.
In her dream, the sun was about to set, and she found herself following a young woman to the edge of a small river.
Then she heard the girl say smugly, "I heard everything you said to Meng Jianyang that day. You were throwing yourself at him, but he wasn't interested in you, right?"
"Who would be interested in someone as unlucky as you? Look at yourself! You're just as cheap as your mother. No wonder even your father doesn't want you two. I saw your father having dinner with another woman in the city the other day! Soon you and your mother will be kicked out!"
Yu Yue heard herself angrily retort, "You're the cheap one, and your mother is even cheaper! You're just jealous because our family is doing well now, and you regret that you didn't marry my father before!"
Upon hearing this, the girl's face flushed with anger and embarrassment. In a fit of rage, she suddenly pushed Yu Yue.
Caught off guard by this action, Yu Yue lost her balance and fell. Neither of them had noticed the sharp rock on the ground right where she was falling.
The last thing she saw was the girl who pushed her running away without looking back, as if being chased by a ghost.
Yu Yue was furious. It had been years since she'd been wronged like this. Just as she was about to grab the girl and fight her to the death, she found herself standing in a pitch-black place.
"What the hell? This dream isn't fun at all! I didn't even get to tear her apart, and now it's over!"
Yu Yue grumbled, annoyed. Strangely, she was aware that she was dreaming while in the dream.
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw a bright light in the dark space, and suddenly a beautiful young girl appeared before her.
That wasn't the important part. What was crucial was that the girl looked exactly like Yu Yue did when she was in her teens!
"You're here," the girl said, not seeming surprised at all to see her.
Yu Yue looked at her uncertainly, "Do you know me?"
The girl smiled, "I am you."
Yu Yue was shocked. What kind of statement was that? And this dream was getting way too weird!
"I have to go now. You... live well."
With that, the girl's body simply vanished into thin air like the wind.
"Hey! Explain yourself! What do you mean you're me—" Before Yu Yue could finish her sentence, everything went black, and she lost consciousness.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw a triangular roof with crisscrossing beams and a sudden flood of information in her mind.
After finally processing the memories in her head, she turned to look around. Earthen brick walls and a well-trodden clay floor, a cabinet in the room with some wooden combs and other items on top. What caught Yu Yue's eye was a small mirror about the size of her palm.
She quickly got out of bed and ran to the mirror.
The face in the mirror was bare of makeup, yet it looked as if it were made up.
Beautiful eyebrows, clear bright eyes, thick long eyelashes as if lined with kohl, nice features, though the complexion looked poor. The body was thin, and with a bandage wrapped around the forehead, she looked somewhat pitiful.
As she blinked slightly, the person in the mirror moved too. Yu Yue was shocked. This was her face, but not her, because she wasn't this young.
This face was at least ten years younger!
It was identical to the girl's face in her dream.
Looking at this face, Yu Yue's expression was complex. Trading a hefty bank balance for being ten years younger... this didn't seem like a good deal!
How could a face be more appealing than cold, hard cash?!
After processing her memories, Yu Yue knew she was seventeen years old and an only child.
She had returned to the 1970s, with over a year left until the college entrance exams.
Logically, at this time, every household had several children, and only daughters were rare. But her family was different.
Her mother, Gao Fang, had lost three pregnancies before finally giving birth to a boy. However, the boy didn't survive even half a day after birth.
This dealt a massive blow to both her psychology and physical health. After struggling for several years, she finally conceived Yu Yue.
After giving birth to Yu Yue, Gao Fang never conceived again, so Yu Yue became an only child.
In her generation, her two aunts and two uncles all had sons, while her father had only her, a daughter. She should have been doted on.
Unfortunately, Yu Yue's grandparents didn't like her mother, so naturally, they didn't like her either.
Old Man Yu and his wife favored their youngest son, Yu Guangming, who was Yu Yue's father.
He was sweet-talking and good at pleasing people, and he worked at the bearing factory in the county town. Old Man Yu and his wife would beam with pride whenever they mentioned this son.
When Gao Fang married Yu Guangming, it was during the family's poorest time.
Old Man Yu and his wife had five children. Although they lived in the countryside, they had managed to send all five children to school.
However, due to limited conditions, the highest education any of them received was junior high school before they had to stop. Just as they were getting back on their feet, they had to pay for the weddings of their two older sons. By the time it was Yu Guangming's turn to get married, there wasn't much money left, so their options were naturally limited.
They married Gao Fang because the bride price was low, only ten yuan.
After the marriage, Old Lady Yu complained that Gao Fang was unsophisticated and embarrassing to the family.
Additionally, over the years, Gao Fang had only managed to give birth to and raise Yu Yue, which made them even more displeased, extending their dislike to Yu Yue as well.
As for Yu Guangming, he and Gao Fang were harmonious as a couple in the first few years. But as they lived together, with the added complication of mother-in-law conflicts, he gradually became less inclined to come home, and the couple grew emotionally distant.
Just as Yu Yue's expression fell at these thoughts, she heard a commotion of footsteps outside, sounding like several people approaching.
Before she could return to bed, several people burst into the room. Seeing Yu Yue standing there, they were momentarily stunned, apparently not expecting her to be awake. But then Old Lady Yu, with her dark yellow skin and wrinkled face, pointed at Yu Yue and started scolding her angrily.
"You troublemaker! You have a good life but insist on going out looking for death. Who goes to the riverside late at night? Why didn't you just fall to your death and be done with it!"
"Do you know how much money we spent on your medical treatment? Ten yuan! A whole ten yuan! Do you know how long it takes to earn that much? The older ones are useless, the younger ones are trouble. If you can't live properly, why don't you just bash your head in and die! At least we'd save some food!"
Old Lady Yu pointed at a sharp corner of the cabinet, her face filled with anger. That was ten yuan, after all!
This child's temperament was usually strange enough, but now she had caused them such a big trouble. If they didn't teach her a good lesson this time, who knows what she might do next!