After transmigrating into a book, Xu Zhiyue became the foil to the female lead.
The female lead was gentle, while the original owner had a fiery temper.
The female lead was magnanimous, while the original owner was selfish and greedy.
The female lead was a beloved, capable partner; the original owner was a spoiled young lady everyone disliked.
In the novel, the original owner couldn't bear the humiliation of her own brother selling her to pay off his debts, so she ran headfirst into a wall and died. The once-wealthy young lady met a tragic end, while her country cousin suddenly became a rich man's wife, leaving countless onlookers sighing over her fate.
Xu Zhiyue, who had transmigrated into this world, was mild-mannered. Her own brother pressured her into another blind date, but she went to the wrong place and met the wrong person. In the end, she and that man, brought together by a series of mishaps, registered their marriage.
On their first day of marriage, Xu Zhiyue, used to a life of hardship, got up before dawn to make breakfast. Her brand-new husband asked, "Where are you going?"
Xu Zhiyue said slowly, "To make breakfast."
Her husband swept her into his arms and tucked her under the covers. "I'll do it."
After breakfast, Xu Zhiyue wanted to wash the dishes.
Her husband glared, grabbed the dishes, and took them to the kitchen, where he scrubbed them with a clatter.
When the floor got dirty, Xu Zhiyue had just picked up the broom.
Her husband darted over and barked, "Sit down!"
Xu Zhiyue blinked. "Oh."
What her husband said most often was: "A cultured person's hands are meant to hold a pen and serve the nation. Just focus on your studies and research. I'll take care of everything else."
*
In her previous life, Xu Yangyang moved to the city and stayed with relatives, awestruck by their wealth. The cousin she envied most was Xu Zhiyue, beautiful as a flower and from a well-off family. Even after her family's fortunes declined, she married a rich man and lived a carefree life.
After being reborn, Xu Yangyang persuaded her cousin to squander the family fortune ahead of time. Then she sowed discord around Xu Zhiyue, successfully snatching away the rich husband Xu Zhiyue was destined to marry.
But Xu Zhiyue didn't die after hitting her head against the wall. Instead, she quickly registered her marriage with someone else.
Xu Yangyang went along with her husband to offer wedding gifts, only to discover that Xu Zhiyue had married her husband's distant uncle from the military, a man who had died young in her previous life.
She waited for the widow to become a laughingstock, but kept waiting for the rest of her life.
*
While Xu Yangyang was busy currying favor with her in-laws and chasing her husband all over town to catch him with his mistress, Xu Zhiyue was fixing fans and building air conditioners at home.
While Xu Yangyang worked from dawn till late at night without a moment's rest, Xu Zhiyue built a mechatronic excavator with her own hands.
When Xu Yangyang nearly died giving birth and was then scorned for having a girl, Xu Zhiyue stood on the shoulders of giants and brought the laptop computers of the future to the 1970s, astonishing the world.
While Xu Yangyang worked herself to the bone serving her family, she looked up to see Xu Zhiyue receiving an international science medal on television. The two had become as different as heaven and earth.
She was lost. Suddenly, she no longer understood what the point of being reborn had been.
Theme: Education is the only way forward
