Chapter 1

She transmigrated?
“Why…why are you doing this to me?”
“What did I do wrong?”
Through the haze of fog, a thin boy knelt on the ground, crying out in despair, “Why, why?”
A deafening crack of thunder jolted Su Xiaoxiao awake.
She gasped for air, fumbling for the switch on her nightstand before flicking on the lamp.
The warm white light spilled across the room, revealing, nothing. No boy, no shadow, just the steady patter of rain outside her window.
Oh. That nightmare again.
Her breathing slowed as she grabbed her phone. It was only a little past two in the morning.
She had work in a few hours, so she turned the light off and tried to sleep again. But under the covers, sleep refused to come.
Who was that boy? Why did he keep showing up in her dreams?
She tossed and turned, unable to make sense of it.
Lightning split the night sky again, followed by another earth-shaking rumble.
Forget it. Since she couldn’t sleep, she might as well think about where she’d seen that boy before.
Why did he appear so often?
What was he trying to tell her?
Did he want her…to help him?
The rain eased. Lost in thought, Su Xiaoxiao drifted off again without realizing it.
When she next opened her eyes, the world had changed.
The furniture around her was unfamiliar. Before she could make sense of it, she caught sight of two small, unfamiliar hands resting on the blanket, and she screamed.
“Ah!!!”
She scrambled back, tossing the blanket aside, only to realize, belatedly, that the tiny hands were her own.
As a veteran reader of web novels, Su Xiaoxiao instantly understood what had happened. She’d transmigrated. Soul and all.
And judging by the small body she now inhabited, she’d landed in the body of a little girl.
She slipped on her slippers, picked up the discarded blanket, and cautiously looked around.
The room was small but neat, cozy even, clearly a place where someone cared.
Against the far wall stood a white desk with a round mirror on top and a pink schoolbag hanging from the chair.
Su Xiaoxiao lifted the mirror and stared at the reflection.
A round face. Round eyes. Thick bangs sitting neatly on a round little forehead.
She looked exactly like herself as a child.
For a moment, she couldn’t tell if she had traveled back to her own childhood or entered the body of a girl who simply looked like her.
She opened the schoolbag and pulled out a storybook.
On the cover, written in neat handwriting, were two characters: Su Xiaoxiao.
Even the name was the same. And the handwriting, was it hers?
Before she could look for more clues, a voice called from outside the door.
“Xiaoxiao, Xiaoxiao! Breakfast is ready!”
Before she could answer, the door swung open.
A gray-haired old woman stood there, her voice loud but full of warmth. “You’re awake? Why didn’t you answer me when I called? Come on, breakfast’s ready!”
That must be Grandma.
“Mm,” Su Xiaoxiao nodded and followed her out.
Grandma glanced back, frowning. “Why are you trailing behind me? Go wash up first, little rascal! You’re all sticky, honestly!”
The apartment was small, the typical three-bedroom, one-bath layout. One glance, and Su Xiaoxiao knew where the bathroom was.
When she came out, the dining table was already set. Besides Grandma, an elderly man sat at the head of the table, Grandpa, clearly.
But…where were her parents?
Su Xiaoxiao sat down quietly. Each person had a bowl of cornmeal porridge and a boiled egg. In a wicker basket lay steamed buns, dumplings, and flatbread. On the table were plates of stir-fried greens, tomato and egg, and a couple of pickled dishes she couldn’t name.
There was so much food that it felt almost decadent.
She’d grown used to the fast-paced city life, where breakfast meant a quick bowl of oatmeal or plain porridge, if she even had time to eat.
She took a cautious sip of the corn porridge. The coarse grains scratched her throat, making her cough twice.
“Oh dear, look at my memory,” Grandma chuckled, turning to Grandpa. “City kids can’t handle our country porridge.”
Grandpa smiled kindly at Su Xiaoxiao, his voice soft with affection. “Then make whatever she likes, old woman. Our Xiaoxiao should eat what she enjoys.”
Su Xiaoxiao kept her head down as she ate. The less she said, the fewer mistakes she’d make. Best to stay quiet and see how things played out.
Grandma noticed her lack of enthusiasm and, mistaking it for homesickness, said kindly, “How about this, Xiaoxiao? Grandma will take you to the zoo today, hm? There’s plenty of fun things here in S County. Once you start school here, I’ll take you somewhere nice every weekend.”
She added, “And it’s not that your mom and dad don’t want you, sweetie. They’re just so busy right now. You’re still little, and they can’t take proper care of you. Once you finish primary school here, they’ll bring you home again.”
Su Xiaoxiao only nodded in silence.
Grandma and Grandpa exchanged a look, thinking they’d said something to upset her again.
Still, that breakfast gave her a wealth of information.
Her parents were both doctors, constantly on call, juggling shifts. When they were together, they’d barely managed to take turns watching her. But now, her father had been accepted into a graduate program in another city starting in September, and her mother often worked night duty at the hospital. Su Xiaoxiao was only eight; it wasn’t safe to leave her alone.
So Su Junhua and Wu Xinyu had decided to send her back to their hometown to live with her grandparents for a few years, at least until middle school.
She’d arrived just yesterday. Her parents had dinner with the grandparents, then hurried back to the city that same night for work. After learning she’d be staying here long-term, little Su Xiaoxiao had cried on and off until morning, enough to break her grandparents’ hearts.
After breakfast, Grandma leaned out the window to check the sky. “Looks like the rain’s stopped. Old man, are you coming with us?”
Grandpa put on his hat and jacket, already slipping on his shoes at the door. “You two go ahead. I promised the guys I’d play a few rounds of chess.”
Grandma told Su Xiaoxiao to go change while she washed the dishes.
Truthfully, Su Xiaoxiao didn’t want to go to the zoo at all. The heat outside was unbearable; she’d much rather stay home with a fan and a cold drink.
But she had to go. She was supposed to act like a child, after all.
She opened the wardrobe to pick something to wear. Every single dress inside was pink, identical in her eyes, so she grabbed one at random.
After dressing, she stood before the mirror and couldn’t help sighing. Children really did have perfect skin.
Especially this body’s Su Xiaoxiao, so pale she looked like she’d never seen the sun.
Grandma pushed the door open without knocking. “Xiaoxiao, you ready yet?”
Su Xiaoxiao quickly grabbed a sun hat and put it on. “All ready!”
She was starting to realize Grandma never knocked and spoke loud enough to wake the neighbors.
“Hurry, then,” Grandma said, taking her hand. “The later we go, the more crowded it gets.”
Su Xiaoxiao didn’t like being touched by strangers, so she subtly sidestepped her grip.
Grandma didn’t seem to notice. She was slipping on her own shoes as she opened the door, and both of them froze.
A boy sat slumped against the opposite door, eyes closed as if asleep, his legs stretched out so far they nearly touched their doorstep.
“Good heavens, scared me half to death,” Grandma muttered, stepping over him impatiently. “That boy again, never goes home, just sleeps out here like a stray. Xiaoxiao, don’t you dare learn from him. Makes his poor parents worry sick.”
Su Xiaoxiao nodded obediently and stepped around him too, but her curiosity was piqued.
Who was he?
Why was he sleeping here?
Grandma clicked her tongue as they walked off. “Yongzhong and Xiaohong really drew the short straw with that one. What a burden. They’d be better off having another child, anyone else would be easier to raise. And Xiaohong, honestly… she’s got a saint’s patience.”
Yongzhong and Xiaohong, those must be his parents.
Su Xiaoxiao glanced back over her shoulder, and nearly stumbled.
The boy’s eyes were half-open now, dark and sharp as a blade, fixed right on her.
She shivered and quickly looked away.
No child should have eyes like that.
“Come on” Grandma urged, tugging her along. “If we don’t hurry, the zoo will be packed.”
Su Xiaoxiao didn’t dare turn back again. She followed Grandma downstairs in silence.
Behind them, the boy slowly pushed himself upright, face pale, eyes gleaming with venom. He spat in their direction, a soft, contemptuous ptui.
At the bottom of the stairs, Grandma ran into a young woman.
“Oh, you’re back!” Grandma exclaimed. “Your boy’s out there sleeping by the door again. You really need to do something, what kind of behavior is that?”
“He’s out there again?” Dong Xiaohong’s tone was edged with irritation. “Honestly, I think he’s doing it on purpose, to make people think I abuse him! If I hadn’t gone out to buy steamed buns just now, someone might’ve seen him and thought I locked him out. Maybe he’s waiting for his father to come back so he can tattle on me.”
Then, as if a thought struck her, she gave a humorless laugh. “Ah, that must be it! That’s why he’s always covered in scrapes, sitting out there looking pitiful, to make it seem like I’m the villain. Who would’ve thought a kid his age could be so calculating?”
Grandma blinked in surprise. “Yongzhong’s coming back?”
“Mm, next month,” Dong Xiaohong said with a small smile.
“Don’t worry,” Grandma said in a lowered voice. “When he comes back, I’ll vouch for you. You never mistreated that boy. But really, girl, you’ve got to think of yourself too, you can’t spend your whole life raising someone else’s child. If he were obedient, maybe, but…” She trailed off meaningfully.
Bored, Su Xiaoxiao kicked at a puddle on the side of the road. Grandma’s whisper wasn’t nearly as quiet as she thought, and Su Xiaoxiao heard every word.
She didn’t like it, her grandmother gossiping about other people’s family matters, judging what she didn’t understand.
“Grandma, come on” Su Xiaoxiao urged, tugging her hand. “Let’s go. I want to see the zoo.”
Dong Xiaohong seemed to notice Su Xiaoxiao for the first time. Her eyes widened theatrically, her mouth forming a perfect O. She clapped her hands and cooed, “Oh my, Xiaoxiao’s back already? You’ve gotten even prettier! Such a darling girl!”
As she spoke, Dong Xiaohong reached out, intending to pat Su Xiaoxiao’s head. But Su Xiaoxiao tilted her head and slipped behind Grandma Su, hiding completely. She rolled her eyes silently. Ha, what a fake woman.