Reborn:1983

Xia Xiaolan was woken by crying. She remembered leading her team to successfully close a challenging merger deal, followed by the celebratory party. Under her subordinates' constant toasting, Xia Xiaolan had drunk far too much. Her consciousness hadn't completely slipped away, though. On the way home, she overheard her new assistant talking on the phone with a boyfriend: "I'm seeing Ms. Xia home now. She lives alone, yeah, unmarried... Honestly, what's the use of a woman earning all that money if she can't even get herself married off?" Half-drunk and half-awake, Xia Xiaolan didn't confront the assistant on the spot. No matter how successful her career, a woman lacking the "decoration" of marriage was always fodder for gossip. Especially someone like Xia Xiaolan, known for her forceful style and rather plain looks. Some in the company whispered behind her back: "Ugly, old, and picky – she'd be lucky to find anyone!" – Xia Xiaolan generally brushed off comments about her personal life, but this new assistant had a loose tongue and a dim mind, foolishly thinking she was drunk enough to gossip about her boss right in front of her. I'll have her transferred in a couple of days. Time for a new assistant. Back home, Zhang Ayi, the nanny she hired, fussed over her, nagging Xia Xiaolan to drink less and urging her to take better care of herself. Xia Xiaolan collapsed onto her soft, luxurious bed and immediately fell asleep. She had a bizarre dream. She dreamed she'd become someone else, set in the 1980s. Unpleasant things happened in the dream; she got so angry she rammed her head into a pillar. Xia Xiaolan found it laughable. Suicide? That wasn't her style at all! Based on her years of clawing her way up from nothing, the stuff in the dream was nothing, absolutely nothing. But the dream felt unnervingly vivid. Now, a woman's muffled sobbing grated on her ears, making her head throb painfully. The quilt felt inexplicably damp and sticky, clinging uncomfortably to her skin. She felt drenched in sweat. Struggling to open her eyes, she was startled by a sallow, gaunt face looming over her! "Xiaolan! You're awake? You silly girl, you scared your mother half to death... Sob... Xiaolan, does your head still hurt?" That sallow face, that emaciated frame that looked like it could be blown over by a stiff breeze. Xia Xiaolan thought, Why isn't this damn dream ending?! The woman's tears streamed freely. "Xiaolan, promise Mom, okay? Promise you won't do anything so foolish again? Okay?" Xia Xiaolan nodded vaguely. The woman wiped her tears with her sleeve, a flicker of relief momentarily lifting the deep worry etched on her face. "Mom will get you something to eat. Wait here!" The woman closed the door behind her. Xia Xiaolan, fighting the headache, took in her surroundings. A dark, crude wooden bed that creaked and rustled with every move as the straw stuffing beneath the thin mat shifted. Yellowed mosquito nets were hooked up on either side of the bedposts. The faded quilt bore four patches. A thin rope hung beside the bed, connected to a bare light bulb. Xia Xiaolan tugged the rope. The light flickered on – probably less than 15 watts – barely illuminating the dim room. She forced herself out of bed, wincing at the pain in her head. The only remotely decent piece of furniture was a dressing table under the window. The glass mirror reflected a delicate face: a pointed chin, large eyes, a straight and elegant nose – stunningly beautiful in every feature! A blood-stained white bandage wrapped around her forehead added a touch of fragile vulnerability... Xia Xiaolan sucked in a breath. This was the face people called a "fox-spirit beauty"! This was definitely not her face! If she had possessed even a third of this face's beauty, people wouldn't have dared gossip about her behind her back. Xia Xiaolan smiled tentatively. The reflection smiled back, eyes shimmering like ripples, capable of making hearts melt. She made a silly, exaggerated face. The reflection mirrored it, yet even contorted, it couldn't look truly ugly. This is just unfair, Xia Xiaolan thought, recalling her original appearance. "Plain" had been a generous description; without significant financial investment in her looks, she had frankly been quite unattractive. The world wasn't entirely about looks, of course. The higher you climbed, the more competence mattered. But coming from poverty, with no connections to leverage, the early struggle had been brutal. While she was grinding away, other saleswomen, blessed with pretty faces and negligible professional skills, could flirt and giggle their way to securing orders. She stayed up nights mastering her field, yet couldn't even get past a receptionist to meet a decision-maker... If she'd been even slightly better-looking, maybe she wouldn't have needed to fight tooth and nail for nearly twenty years just to taste success. Her house, her car, her savings, her position – she hadn't even had much time to enjoy the fruits of her arduous labor. And now, after just one night's sleep, she had become another "Xia Xiaolan," sharing her name but living in 1983, barely eighteen years old, possessing this breathtakingly beautiful "fox-spirit" face, yet apparently driven to bash her head against a pillar! The original "Xia Xiaolan" was gone. For reasons unknown, Xia Xiaolan from thirty years in the future had woken up in this body. The memories flooding her during sleep were chaotic jumbles, yet she felt them with visceral intensity. Creeeak. The door opened. The sallow, painfully thin woman entered, carefully holding a chipped enamel mug. "Xiaolan, Mom steamed an egg for you. Eat it while it's hot." The woman was cautious, her demeanor almost servile. This was Liu Fen, Xia Xiaolan's mother. Xia Xiaolan opened her mouth, but the word "Mom" stuck in her throat. She didn't know what attitude to adopt towards Liu Fen. The memories showed the original "Xia Xiaolan" treating her mother with utter contempt. Should she continue being the unfilial daughter? Or pretend the head injury had changed her, and become a good daughter? Xia Xiaolan was still hesitating when the half-closed door was violently shoved open. Several people crowded into the small room. Leading the pack was Xia Xiaolan's grandmother, flanked by her two other daughters-in-law (excluding Liu Fen), and trailed by several grandchildren. Their expressions were fierce, radiating hostility! Grandma Xia, her prominent cheekbones taut, eyes blazing with fury, snatched the enamel mug from Liu Fen's hands and shoved her hard, sending her stumbling to the floor. "You gave birth to this shameless s**t, this town bicycle, shaming the entire Xia family! And you dare steal a family egg to feed her?! She puts on a show, bumping her head just because she got scolded? Think I'm scared?! If she wants to die, let her die! Banging her head didn't work? Try jumping in the river!" The venom in her voice bore no trace of a grandmother's affection; it was the tone reserved for a bitter enemy. Liu Fen crawled towards Grandma Xia, desperately clutching at the hem of her trousers. "Mother! The child just woke up! Please... please give her a way out..."