An Orphan in a Period Novel

[Completed] [Next up: "I Was Raised by the Villain Anyway [Quick Transmigration]" / "I Build the Nation by Scavenging in Games". Please add them to your reading list!]

Xiao Yuanyuan is a boy who is a panda spirit in human form: adorable, fair-skinned, and beautiful. Wherever he appears, everyone cheers.

Xiao Yuanyuan was proud of himself, until he transmigrated into a period rebirth novel and became a minor villain destined to be eliminated by the reborn heroine. The real major villain was his mother...

Before Xiao Yuanyuan was born, his biological father went to work on a dam and fell to his death. His mother was ruthless. She simply took him, still in her belly, and the family fortune, and married the heroine's father, a wounded, discharged soldier who had also been cheated on.

As the saying goes, once there's a stepmother, there's a stepfather too. Xiao Yuanyuan's stepfather had been injured and could barely walk. Unable to have more children, he doted on Xiao Yuanyuan, his only boy, and raised him to be chubby.

The heroine, meanwhile, had to work to support the family and became skin and bones. In the end, her father and stepmother even planned to marry her off to an old man for the bride price.

The heroine was reborn while fleeing and swore to make everyone who had wronged her pay. As she fought to make something of herself, she met the male lead, a man from a distinguished family. The two joined forces against the leeches who kept exploiting her. She went to university, entered business, and grew into a powerful figure who could shape the world.

But by then, Xiao Yuanyuan had just arrived in this world. He was two years old, already walking steadily, and facing the reborn heroine, who glared at him with unmistakable hatred.

Xiao Yuanyuan suddenly felt overwhelmed and wanted to cry. It was so hard here! There were no luxury cars or planes to take him wherever he wanted, and there wasn't even any fresh, expensive bamboo. He went hungry every day. With no other choice, he would have to provide for himself.

Next planned novel: "I Was Raised by the Villain Anyway [Quick Transmigration]"

Blurb: Chu Tiandu, also known as Dudu, is a fossilized egg from an ancient peacock. To hatch, he must travel through different worlds and be raised to adulthood as the villain's younger brother.

As for changing the villain's fate?

Chu Tiandu: No. Villains are all big shots. I'll just cling to their coattails.

Planned worlds:

The landlord's mischievous little brother [1960s]

The silly little brother of a notorious actress

The younger brother of a former dynasty's crown prince, who's determined to restore his kingdom

"I Build the Nation by Scavenging in Games" is also worth a look if you like female-led stories with no romance.

Recommendations from my writer friends:

"The Secret Identity Expert's Layered Schemes" by Zimu Tao, no romance, male lead with multiple secret identities behind the scenes

"What Could Be So Bad About an NPC Who Wants to Farm?" by Zimu Tao, no romance, silly and lighthearted wuxia

"I'm Really Not an Evil God!" by Hai Shang Mi Wu, male-oriented, no romance

"Sinners of a Chaotic Era" by Po Yao Guan Zi, female-oriented, no romance

"The World Is Evolving" by Yu Zi Gui, female-oriented, no romance, nearing completion

Theme: Even in difficult circumstances, face your problems with courage and resolve, and work to solve them.