Chapter One: The Whole Family Travels Through Time

"Where's that wretched girl? Hurry up and bring her out to me!"

"Sister-in-law, you want to sell my daughter to that old miser? Keep dreaming!"

"Oh, so you’ve grown bold today, haven’t you? Daring to talk back to me now?"

"Shameless woman! Get out of my house this instant!"

"I don't care what you say. Today you must hand over that wretched girl. The Wang family is waiting!"

What on earth was going on?

Lin Sangqian had just opened her eyes, still groggy, when she heard two women quarreling outside. One of the voices sounded very much like her mother's. But hadn’t her mother gone years without raising her voice to anyone?

She struggled to sit up in bed, and when she saw her surroundings, her pupils contracted in shock. The place was almost bare, with nothing but a bed and an old, worn cabinet. There was even a hole in the roof, large enough for a basin.

She looked down and saw that she was wearing coarse, ancient-style clothing. The strangest thing was her body—her hands and feet were small, as though she were only about ten years old.

Her mind buzzed. A terrifying thought occurred to her—had she transmigrated, just like in those novels?

Yes, she remembered—the plane crash...

Just then, she heard a jumble of hurried footsteps outside.

A thickset, brutish woman burst in. Seeing Lin Sangqian, she sneered, "So here you are, you little wretch, hiding in this room! Come with me, now!"

A frail-looking woman rushed in after her, stepping protectively in front of Lin Sangqian like a mother hen. "You want to take my daughter? Over my dead body!"

Lin Sangqian froze when she saw the thin woman. She looked exactly like her mother—only much younger and much thinner. Judging by her words, she was indeed the mother of this body Lin Sangqian now inhabited.

"Since when is it your place to speak?" the plump woman, Lai Ruyu, snapped impatiently.

"Pah! Lai Ruyu, you’re truly heartless. Qianqian is your niece, and you’d sell her to that old lecher? She’s only ten!" Liao Xiashu cried out in anguish. "Do you have any conscience left?"

Lin Sangqian was bewildered, for she was slowly piecing together the original host’s memories. The original’s mother had been a meek woman, enduring scolding and beatings without complaint. But the woman before her was fierce, a far cry from the word “timid.”

"Heartless wretch!" Liao Xiashu continued to curse.

Lin Sangqian’s whole body trembled. That phrase—it was her own mother’s favorite saying!

Could it be...

"Pah! With a useless girl like yours, you should be grateful anyone would take her off your hands for silver! I’ve already arranged it with the Wang family. What are you all standing there for? Come in and drag that wretch out!"

Two burly men entered as soon as she finished speaking.

Liao Xiashu roared, "I dare you to try!"

Lin Sangqian reached out and tugged gently at Liao Xiashu’s sleeve, whispering, "Mom?"

Liao Xiashu turned, shock in her eyes. "Little Puppy?" she gasped in disbelief.

That settled it! "Little Puppy" was the pet name her mother had given her.

"Mom, what’s happening here?"

"This isn’t the time to explain," Liao Xiashu declared, rolling up her sleeves. "Let me deal with these villains first!"

Lai Ruyu burst out laughing. "What can you do—a toad in a scale pan, with no idea of her own weight!"

The two men advanced on Lin Sangqian, but just then, another set of hurried footsteps sounded outside. A tall, thin man strode into the room.

Lin Sangqian and Liao Xiashu’s eyes lit up at once. Dad!

But Lin Sangqian wasn’t yet sure if this was the original host’s father or if her own father had transmigrated as well.

"Well, the drunkard’s back," Lai Ruyu sneered. "Let me give you some good news: soon you’ll be the father-in-law of Master Wang!"

Lin Hongda’s cold, piercing gaze swept over her, then the two men. He growled, "Get out of my house."

"Feeling tough, are you, you old drunk?" One of the men jeered, raising a fist as he approached. But Lin Hongda was faster—he seized the man’s arm and threw him hard to the ground in a single fluid motion.

Lin Sangqian and Liao Xiashu exchanged a glance. Both mother and daughter were now certain.

Yes, it was her own father!

Lai Ruyu shrieked, trembling as she pointed at him. "You… you…"

The other man cursed and lunged, but Lin Hongda felled him with a few swift punches.

"I’ll say it one more time—get out of my house. Otherwise, you’re next," Lin Hongda said icily to Lai Ruyu.

"You… fine, you bunch of drunkards and invalids, just wait!" Lai Ruyu blustered, but her fear was plain. She couldn't fathom how the usually timid drunkard had suddenly become a different man entirely.

She slunk away in a hurry, and her two companions, clutching their bruises, quickly followed.

Only the family of three remained. Lin Sangqian couldn’t hold back and cried, "Dad!"

Lin Hongda, about to speak, froze when he heard the term of endearment.

"Big Puppy!" Liao Xiashu called.

Joy broke over Lin Hongda’s face. He rushed over, arms wide. Lin Sangqian opened her arms for a fatherly embrace.

But Lin Hongda didn’t even look at her; instead, he swept Liao Xiashu into a tight hug.

"Wife! I thought I’d never see you again!"

"So did I!" Liao Xiashu sobbed. "I can’t believe we’ve reunited here!"

Lin Sangqian: "?"

So, the two of them were true soulmates, and I’m just a bonus?

"Qianqian, you transmigrated too?" Liao Xiashu pushed Lin Hongda aside and sat by the bed. "I thought I’d picked up a ready-made daughter!"

She’d only just woken here and finished sorting through the original host’s memories when her sister-in-law, Lai Ruyu, burst in threatening to sell her daughter into concubinage for the Wang family. She hadn’t known her own daughter had crossed over too, but her motherly instincts had flared, and she’d fought back.

Lin Hongda’s experience was similar; he’d awakened outdoors, sorted through his memories, and rushed home. He arrived just in time to find Lai Ruyu causing trouble with two men. After all, he’d once been a national taekwondo champion—how could he tolerate such bullying?

"Father, Mother, Little Sister—we’re home!"