Chapter One: Becoming a Stepmother

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[Ding, this is the Payment System No. 01 Siri at your service.]

As the gentle, intelligent female electronic voice faded away, Ruan Tang awoke in a haze. Wait, Siri? Her eyes flew open. The unfamiliar surroundings greeted her—bare walls, a roof barely holding back the wind and rain, the entire structure on the verge of collapse. She was stunned.

Where was this?

At the same time, a dull pain throbbed at her neck.

[Please spend one hundred yuan within an hour. Failure to do so will result in an unknown punishment.]

“Wait, wait, wait—!” Ruan Tang’s eyelids twitched, her head spinning.

Why was she being forced to spend money right away?

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, heavy pounding sounded at the wooden door, so forceful she feared the already dilapidated door would shatter. Heart pounding, Ruan Tang got out of bed and went to open it.

As soon as the door opened, three or five burly, grim-faced men pushed past her, glanced around the room without finding anyone, then turned to her. “Where’s Ruan Tang?!”

Ruan Tang froze. “Huh?”

They were looking for her!?

Judging from their menacing demeanor, Ruan Tang braced herself and shook her head. “I don’t know. Why are you looking for her?”

The leader sneered. “A daughter pays her father’s debts. Her old man owes us a hundred yuan and thinks sending over a little brat will settle it? Dream on!”

As he finished, a strong sense of déjà vu struck Ruan Tang. She thought for a moment, then realization dawned.

A hundred yuan, a child being used to pay a debt—

And this scene—wasn’t it straight out of the period novel she had just finished before falling asleep?

She had transmigrated into a book!

In the story, the reborn, vengeful heroine Ruan Li and the favored son Song Yu entered a marriage of convenience. She was a clear-eyed beauty from a struggling family, forced by her relatives to marry Song Yu—a man with a previous engagement but no affection for his fiancée—because of the high bride price.

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He was an ascetic, reserved young man, marrying Ruan Li only to appease his family’s pressure and because of a preexisting engagement between the families. After their marriage, they remained courteous and distant until Song Yu left for the military to do research. Ruan Li was required by the Song family to follow him, and only then did their icy relationship begin to thaw.

Through a series of domestic and military events—intertwined with the heroine’s quest for revenge and Song Yu’s ups and downs, as well as both families’ obstacles—they finally achieved their happy ending.

Remembering the electronic voice she’d heard upon waking, Ruan Tang reached into her pocket and found, indeed, a wad of cash—the very hundred yuan the system required her to spend.

Steeling herself, Ruan Tang spoke calmly, “I am Ruan Tang. A hundred yuan, right? Hand over the child first, and I’ll repay my father’s debt.”

In the story, the cannon-fodder Ruan Tang had been married off to one of the village’s rare intellectuals, Huo Yanxiu. Because Huo Yanxiu already had a child in his care, Ruan Tang became a stepmother from the outset, much to her displeasure.

Yet her gambler father, in order to pay off exorbitant debts, forced her to marry the highest-bidding suitor—Huo Yanxiu. Huo Yanxiu, needing a wife to look after his child while his work as a civil servant required him to relocate without family, had given her fifty yuan before leaving, but Ruan Tang’s gambler father seized it. He even kidnapped Huo Yanxiu’s precious daughter, Huo Qingqing, to use as collateral for his debts.

Moments ago, her father—trying to snatch the money—accidentally killed Ruan Tang. Panicked, he’d staged her body to look like she was sleeping. That explained the dull ache at her neck when she woke.

The lead thug’s expression darkened. “Trying to fool me!”

Ruan Tang’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly retreated several steps, her face gaining a hint of coldness. “Just protecting myself—”

The man sneered. “If you say you have money, then hand it over first. We’ll give you the child after!”

He signaled to another man, who immediately understood and brought out the unconscious Huo Qingqing.

Ruan Tang checked Huo Qingqing—she was breathing, unhurt. Relief flooded her heart.

Seeing that the girl was unharmed, Ruan Tang wasted no time. She pulled out the cash from her pocket and said crisply, “Money for the child, at the same time!”

The lead thug, seeing she actually had the money, relaxed, his posture less threatening, his tone softening.

He even managed a friendly smile. “If you’d said you had money from the start—”

He’d underestimated this little girl—

His eyes darkened as he subtly signaled his companions.

The other men, catching the cue, shifted their attention to Ruan Tang.

She noticed, her heart pounding, immediately aware of the danger she was in.

A lone woman against five strong men—there was no way she could get out unscathed—

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Ruan Tang felt a twinge of regret as her mind raced.

At this hour, everyone would be working in the fields. These men must have crossed the ridges and asked for directions to get here. Their menacing appearance would surely have been noticed and remembered. Which meant, if anything happened to her at home, these men would be the prime suspects—there would be no way for them to explain themselves to the police—

Taking a deep breath, tense but outwardly calm, Ruan Tang took two more steps back and warned, “Are you sure you want both the money and the girl? The villagers must have remembered you asking for directions. Aren’t you afraid the police will come looking for you?”

Her words made the leader’s expression shift.

The others also realized the implication. They stopped in their tracks, all eyes turning to their leader.

The main thug stared at Ruan Tang, his gaze growing indecipherable.

He was just a debt collector. The money was what mattered—the people didn’t. He’d only wanted to wrap things up neatly.

But if the police got involved—

With just Ruan Tang and a child, it wasn’t worth the trouble.

After weighing the risks, he decided to abandon the idea of taking Ruan Tang and the child away.

He waved the other four men aside, his eyes deep. “You got lucky.”

Ruan Tang relaxed a little inside, but didn’t let down her guard. She pressed on coldly, “What about the IOU? Hand that over too!”

A debt repaid meant the IOU with the fingerprint must be destroyed, or there would be endless trouble later.

The thug raised an eyebrow, then nodded. “Lao San.”

Lao San came forward with Huo Qingqing and the IOU, handing them both to Ruan Tang without expression. He took her money, counted it, then nodded to the leader.

The leader nodded back and sneered, “We’re leaving.” The money was paid—there was no point in staying. Money had been his goal from the outset.

The five men left, leaving only Ruan Tang and Huo Qingqing behind.

Still wary, Ruan Tang carried Huo Qingqing to the doorway. Only after making sure the men were gone did she finally relax.

[Mission complete. The corresponding reward has been credited to your system wallet.]

[Current balance: One hundred yuan.]