Chapter 1 I'll Take Care of You, Sister

A midsummer night, even breathing was hot.

Tang Banxia knew clearly she was drunk, but a different, unsettling heat was rising from her lower abdomen. It surged upward, burning until her mind grew hazy. Instinctively, she pressed herself against the person beside her, seeking relief from the unbearable sensation.

Suddenly, a hand reached out and grasped her throat. “Get lost!”

Tang Banxia opened her eyes, glazed with desire, and saw a beautiful, refined man's face before her—now twisted with disgust.

She thought she was still in the bar, and smiled dreamily, “Little brother, how old are you? Out working already?”

As she spoke, her hand wandered, exploring his muscular chest—quite the sensation! Ignoring the hand at her throat, she leaned in, mingling their breaths. “Tell me, how much for one night? I’ll pay you.”

Feeling the rise and fall of his chest beneath her palm, Tang Banxia let her hand drift lower, and lower...

This man was unexpectedly to her taste; a delicate, handsome face paired with a well-built body—honest, too.

“Little brother, you’re exactly my type. Why not stick with me? I’ll take care of you.” She took the opportunity to plant two kisses on his face.

Sensing his body had stiffened, as if frightened, she kindly reassured him, “Don’t be afraid. I’m very gentle.”

Wen Mubai’s face was flushed, eyes flashing with fierce light as he glared at the woman wreaking havoc atop him. Her brazen actions made his temple veins bulge, and he forced himself to restrain his desires.

He would not let her have her way!

His trembling hand pushed her cheek aside, coldly questioning, “Tang Banxia, have you no shame?”

Looking at his beautiful, blushing face, Tang Banxia shook her head, flung his hand away, and smiled, “Little brother, you want shame in this business?”

With a swift move, she straddled him, looking down from above. “Now, it’s your turn to perform.”

“The arrow’s already nocked, and you’re still acting coy?”

She muttered, leaning down...

Wen Mubai’s reason snapped entirely; he flipped her over, pinning her beneath him...

Outside, the cicadas continued their relentless song.

The two tangled fiercely, their struggle lasting until the moon hung high in the sky and the sounds within finally faded.

When the storm subsided, Tang Banxia felt as though her waist had snapped in two. Still, she smacked her lips—he was skilled enough!

As she drifted toward sleep, she mused that having a man to dispel her loneliness wasn’t so bad, especially since she was wealthy.

“Little brother, what’s your name? Why not stay with me? I have money, I’ll take care of you.”

Wen Mubai’s face was livid as he looked at her restless hands, wishing he could strangle her. He hissed, “Stop pretending. You don’t recognize me?”

Tang Banxia found his words odd, but she was exhausted and didn’t think much of it, sinking into slumber.

Listening to her steady breathing, Wen Mubai took a deep breath, suppressing the fury within, and shoved the woman from his embrace.

His gaze drifted downward, noticing ambiguous marks on her body. His breath caught, fingers curling involuntarily. Realizing what he was doing, his expression stiffened, then turned mocking.

This woman had dared to drug him?

And with pig breeding drugs?

Disgust flickered in his eyes. If not for that, he would never have touched her at all.

He was curious how she would explain herself tomorrow.

###

Tang Banxia was awakened by voices outside the door. She opened her eyes, the sunlight stabbing so fiercely she saw only white, and raised her aching arm to shield herself.

With that movement, memories of the previous night flooded her mind.

Last night... she’d slept with a handsome man? And not just any man—a man with a special place in her memory.

That man was absolutely her ideal; she didn’t regret a thing!

She had barely opened her eyes, and before she could savor the memory, she was jolted by her surroundings.

What was this place?

A dim earthen house, thatched roof, paper windows, the hard surface beneath her—her mattress was gone, even the bunk she’d used in high school was softer than this. Everything was so impoverished it defied her imagination. The blanket she pulled over herself was rough and scratchy.

Had she been sold to the mountains to be someone’s wife?

Such a good-looking man, a human trafficker?

No, she had to get away—she wasn’t going to marry some old man.

She tossed aside the blanket, blushing at the marks on her body, endured the discomfort, dressed, and bent down to climb out.

Wait! What was written on that calendar?

Tang Banxia squinted, reading carefully: May 20th, 1968.

A fine day, indeed~

No, 1968?

Who was playing this joke? Didn’t they know she couldn’t handle such pranks?

And what about Su Nianhua? Where was her Su Nianhua?

Su Nianhua’s name seemed to be a switch. The moment Tang Banxia thought of it, her vision blurred, her mind stabbed with pain, and a book appeared before her eyes:

[Rebirth in the Sixties: The Supporting Character Strikes Back]

The title itself was hardly respectable.

And indeed, it wasn’t.

Wasn’t this the first novel her wretched best friend wrote?

A bad feeling grew in Tang Banxia’s heart.

Just then, a flood of unfamiliar memories washed over her.

After absorbing them, she raised her middle finger skyward.

“Su Nianhua, damn you, you jinx!”

That shameless friend—when she couldn’t think of a name, she borrowed Tang Banxia’s for a disposable character.

She’d even joked, suggesting Tang Banxia read and memorize the entire novel, just in case she ever transmigrated and wouldn’t be caught off guard.

What had Tang Banxia replied? She’d said she was a committed materialist.

But now...

She put on her clothes with a mournful face.

She regretted not listening to Su Nianhua back then.

Thinking of Su Nianhua’s irritating face made her grind her teeth. Most importantly, she’d only read the beginning of the book—and that was just because Su Nianhua had forced her to skim it.

Tang Banxia felt that unless she’d destroyed the planet in her previous life, she would never have met someone as unreliable as Su Nianhua.

There was a family named Song—so poor they were starving most of the time.

But since their youngest granddaughter, Song Yu, was born, their luck changed.

Song Yu’s previous life had been as a koi spirit, able to bring fortune.

So whenever Song Yu went to the mountains, there would always be a wild boar waiting to die for her to pick up; whenever she went to the commune, she’d meet influential people. With her koi luck, the Song family became one of the leading households in Guyue Village.

But that wasn’t all. The reason the book was named as such was because Song Yu’s cousin, Song Qing, was reborn.

By chance, Song Qing discovered Song Yu’s true identity. After her rebirth, she used her foreknowledge to seize the heroine’s opportunities step by step, employing every trick to suppress her.

Tang Banxia had seen how Song Qing rushed to claim the privilege of burying a well-connected educated youth—she couldn’t stand it.

And that well-connected educated youth? None other than the original Tang Banxia.

The original character had no real connection to either heroine.

She was just a pure passerby in the story. The only reason someone rushed to bury her was because of the Tang family.

The Tang family was a large clan, and in those turbulent times, they couldn’t avoid trouble. Fortunately, their wise patriarch had arranged for the younger generation to go to the countryside early, seeking safety.

The original Tang Banxia was a well-bred girl from a scholarly family—polite and pretty, but too naive.

Not long after arriving in the countryside, she received a letter from home: her parents had been sent down, and she was told to be cautious. While she was lost and anxious, her fake friend gave her a rotten idea—find a man to marry.

The naive original believed everything she heard, and soon set her sights on a man—none other than the unlucky Wen Mubai.

She chose him for a simple reason: he was known as a martyr’s orphan.

Who first spread this rumor was unclear, but by the time they heard it, Wen Mubai’s status was the talk of the village.

For the original Tang Banxia, this was a godsend.

So the two girls conspired, acquired some pig breeding drugs, and, while Wen Mubai was unguarded, spiked his water.

Out of fear, the original Tang Banxia took half the dose herself. Whether she was allergic or it was just bad luck, not long after, she died.

Her death wasn’t the worst part—it was Wen Mubai who suffered most. Early the next morning, her fake friend brought people to catch them. Seeing Tang Banxia lifeless, Wen Mubai had no way to defend himself. He was taken away, never to be heard from again.

Because the original had tarnished the reputation of the educated youth station, her so-called friends just dumped her body in the back hills, leaving her to rot.

Thus, the Tang family’s story intertwined with both generations of heroines.

Song Yu, always venturing into the mountains, found Tang Banxia’s corpse and, pitying her, dug a grave.

Later, Song Qing was reborn and rushed to bury Tang Banxia first...

Afterward, the Tang family became the heroines’ blood bank; when the heroines went to Beijing, they supported them, gave them houses, helped them make money, and even lured away Tang Banxia’s eldest nephew.

Yes, both generations of heroines set their sights on Tang Banxia’s nephew.

Thinking about this, Tang Banxia felt speechless. Was this pit so valuable?

Even a straw mat wasn’t provided?

She now understood her situation well enough—it was time to talk to Wen Mubai.

Thinking of him, Tang Banxia clicked her tongue. The original’s fake friend was truly ruthless.

Speak of the devil!

“Banxia, Banxia, are you there?”