An Ancient Bodyguard in the 1970s

[Pre-release: Nine Zeroes: The Professionalism of a Redemption Novel's Heroine. Please add it to your collection.]

Qin Peiyi was a secret guard raised by a prince's mansion. After failing a mission, she was struck by an arrow and died, only to find herself in the body of a pitiful girl in a small mountain village in the 1970s.

The poor girl had endured countless hardships from childhood, relying on her family for support, but had accidentally fallen into a ravine.

Qin Peiyi opened her eyes. Since you'd given me another life, I'll keep your family safe and well.

Qin Peiyi couldn't let go of her failure in her previous life. Even in her dreams, she would see herself pierced through by an arrow.

Just then, a new group of educated youths arrived in the commune and needed places to stay. A handsome young man with thick eyebrows and bright eyes stood before the Qin family's home, beaming with vitality.

"Hello, comrade. My name is Qi Mian."

Qin Peiyi stared at his face and repeated each syllable: "Qin Mian?"

Qi Mian found her accent amusing. "The brigade leader just assigned me to stay here. I don't have to change my surname, do I?"

Facing someone whose face was identical to her enemy's every day, Qin Peiyi couldn't help suspecting him of something. She secretly watched his every move and tested him with a question. "Comrade Qi, how good are you with a bow?"

After a hard day's work, Qi Mian panted in the scorching sun. "I'm a complete failure! I've accomplished nothing!"

He often exasperated Qin Peiyi so much she felt she might keel over. She decided he was cunning and cursed him behind his back as a black-hearted dog.

Qi Mian protested, "Qi Mian's the one who did all that. It has nothing to do with me, Qin Mian!"

Qin Peiyi: "Have you no shame?"

Qi Mian: "Feel better? If you do, I'll take my shame back."

[Reading note]: A slow-burn, slice-of-life story.

Updates whenever a chapter is finished, no fixed schedule.

[Revised on December 2, 2022]

[Pre-release blurb] Nine Zeroes: The Professionalism of a Redemption Novel's Heroine

In 1998, Tao Xuqiu dreamed that someone told her she was the heroine of a tragic redemption novel.

The hero's father didn't love him, and his mother didn't care for him. Though exceptionally clever, he had a miserable childhood and grew into a stubborn, withdrawn person.

A second grader suddenly had something on her mind. She slept too much, ate too much, and let her thoughts wander, so her parents dragged her off to school.

Tao Xuqiu, who had just decided to look up the meaning of "redemption" in the dictionary: Never mind. Studying is exhausting!

A new student had recently joined her class. He was handsome and did well in school, so the teacher seated him beside Tao Xuqiu.

Tao Xuqiu adored her new deskmate. When milk was handed out during break, she gave him one first. When he choked on it three times, she suddenly understood. She rushed over and cried:

"The book! Save the book!"

In high school, Tao Xuqiu became hooked on romance novels. She thought of the hero's description: his father didn't love him, his mother didn't care for him, he had a miserable childhood and was sickly, and he was stubborn and withdrawn...

She leaned back against Ren Congyu's legs.

"So novels really are all lies."

Ren Congyu asked, "Could it be that you got the wrong person?"

Tao Xuqiu answered with absolute conviction, "Impossible!"

The boy gave her a faintly amused look. "Really? The campus heartthrob next door seems to fit that description pretty well."

Tao Xuqiu clutched her heart. "How can you doubt my professional standards!"

After the college entrance exams, Tao Xuqiu showed off her score report, which ranked first in the province. "After more than ten years of hard study, you lost top scorer at the last moment. Ren, aren't you terribly heartbroken?"

Ren Congyu reached out and pinched her cheek. "Where are your professional standards?"

Tao Xuqiu threw herself into his arms. "You're just a passerby. Don't ask for too much."

"I'm the heroine, so I make the rules!"

When he was eight, Ren Congyu also had a dream. In it, he was merely a passerby in a romance novel.

[Pre-release blurb] Falling in Love Starts with Collecting Rent

In their second year of middle school, Ding Juan was a sharp-tongued brat. "My family's so rich, all we have left is money. See that building over there? Some people couldn't afford it in a lifetime."

In their second year of university, Ding Juan's family went bankrupt, and Jiang Zhihua bought all their homes sold at auction.

"It's fine. A lifetime is short. It'll be over soon enough."

That day, Ding Juan saw her post on his social media feed.

[Two-bedroom school district apartment, fully furnished, rent: 3,000 a month. Student discount: 2,700. Rent goes up by 10 for every drop in grades, 20 if you're at the bottom of the class.]

Ding Juan: "Who does she think she's looking down on? It's only 20."

[Studio apartment in the business district, convenient transport, tenant may redecorate, rent: 10,000 a month. Current tenant's request: no men.]

Ding Juan: "Fine. I was worried there wouldn't be enough room to move around anyway."

[Detached seaside villa, move-in ready, rent: 300,000 a month. Tenants must be clean in body and mind, have no bad habits, be good-looking (according to the landlord's taste), and have a high, steady income.]

Ding Juan: "...Is this a rental listing or a dating profile?"

He gritted his teeth in resentment, then suddenly noticed the last line.

[Rent may be paid in kind. One person only: @Ding Juan.]

After Jiang Zhihua was reborn, she gained some memories she hadn't had before.

For example, in their second year of middle school, Ding Juan had told her she would never be able to afford his family's house. But in private, he'd cried like a baby: "I don't even have a home. What's the point of having some lousy house? Boo-hoo-hoo..."

His words had come true.

Jiang Zhihua looked at the tenant who had come to rent a place and sighed. Silly boy, if you don't have a home, you should treasure a house all the more.

Ding Juan sat at the door, clutching his precious helmet. "Can we discuss the rent-in-kind thing again? I don't sell my looks."

Jiang Zhihua smiled sweetly. "There's a shortage of properties, and rent is expensive. Take it or leave it."

Ding Juan immediately replied, "I meant, instead of just my looks, how about taking all of me?"

A landlady who gets rich overnight × a racer whose family has fallen on hard times

Theme: Helping one another and living life with positivity