I Became the White Moonlight Who Hurt the Male Lead in a Period Novel [The 1970s]

Yu He stayed up all night spending money on the game and finally drew the game's gorgeous, incredibly lucky elf card.

Before she could celebrate, she opened her eyes again and found herself in the impoverished 1970s.

To make matters worse, Yu He had inherited the card's abilities, but aside from being able to communicate with plants, all she had was her useless beauty. That meant more and more idle men began prowling around her house at night.

Her body had also become delicate and weak. A few extra steps left her panting, and a little time in the sun drenched her in sweat. All she had going for her was a lovely, fair face. What could she do? The elf in the card had been designed as a fragile character!

When the village chief's son leered at her yet again, she had no choice but to grab some passerby and cling to him as she desperately urged him to walk away with her.

But as they walked, the atmosphere gradually turned strange. The passerby was tall and imposing, his presence far more oppressive than the village chief's son. His refined features stayed fixed on Yu He, leaving her no chance to catch her breath. "So you don't want to break up with me anymore? Hmm?"

Yu He:!!!!

What had she gotten herself into this time?

But under his intimidating gaze and the aura that seemed to surround her from every direction, she could only nod stiffly.

Later, she learned that the man was Yang Huaicheng, the male lead of an uplifting novel set in the 1970s that she had read before. Born into a distinguished family, he had been framed and sent to the countryside. Later, when his family was cleared of its accusations, he returned to the city with them.

He would ride the wave of the times into business, build a vast empire, and earn everyone's admiration and envy.

And she was the woman who had betrayed him, his first love. Egged on by her older cousin, she married the village chief's son, who abused and beat her. She died young from illness, locked away in a dark room.

But that was the original story. As for what was happening now...

She glanced at the opened cans of fruit on the table, and at the man cutting pigweed for her and staying up late to teach her to read. She shrugged and continued enjoying her canned fruit in peace.

As for her older cousin, who was conspiring with the village chief's son to harm her, Yu He listened to the morning glory's report while leisurely working on the homework Yang Huaicheng had assigned her.

*

Yu Xiulan had always been jealous that Yu He was prettier and smarter than her, and that even the male educated youth from the city liked Yu He best. Blinded by jealousy, Yu Xiulan was determined to ruin her.

She went so far as to approach the village chief's shameless son to harm Yu He. But for some reason, her schemes always failed. Every time she slacked off, someone reported her. She would trip over plants as she walked, and the mushrooms she gathered would mysteriously turn poisonous. She was tormented until she was barely recognizable...

Completed novels: I Made My Fortune in Chaotic Times with My Raven's Mouth, and After Becoming the Foil, I Thrived in the Compound [1950s]

Recommended ongoing novel: Everyday Life in Bianjing

Chen Yuanniang was born on the very day her father was demoted from assistant military instructor to commoner. She went from a pampered young lady of an official family to a farmer's daughter, spending her childhood cutting grass, herding cattle, and doing hard labor.

Even her betrothal arranged when she was a baby came to nothing.

With the family grain jar empty, Chen Yuanniang was scolded by her grandmother as a money-wasting burden and sent up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables. Fortunately, she had the sharpest eyes for miles around and always managed to gather more wild vegetables than anyone else.

Then great fortune fell from the sky: she would never have to dig for wild vegetables again!

Her fiancé's family had sent someone to break off the engagement!

Thick stacks of silver notes, countless chests of compensation gifts, even the house that had once belonged to her family. How could this be called breaking off an engagement? It was clearly the God of Wealth appearing to show her the way and deliver her from hardship.

But it also made the whole village jealous, and people seeking her wealth came knocking to ask for her hand in marriage until they wore a path to the door.

Her grandmother looked at her beautiful granddaughter, then at the young grandson old enough to begin his studies and pay tuition. She gritted her teeth and made her decision.

"We're moving! Moving house!"

The whole family quickly made their way to Bianjing, where they settled into a small courtyard with a shop facing the street and began a lively life among the city's ordinary folk.

Little scene one:

Her younger brother went to school, while her grandmother and mother kneaded dough in the shop to make steamed buns. As for Yuanniang...

She rolled up her sleeves, ready to help with the work, but her grandmother mercilessly smacked her arm. A rouge-red mark rose on her fair skin.

Her grandmother's forceful voice filled the entire room. "You silly girl! What well-brought-up young lady bares her arms and legs? Don't you want to find a husband? Do you think the family is counting on you to earn a few measly coins?"

Her mild-mannered mother silently rubbed the sore spot for her.

"Buy yourself a couple of pretty outfits." Her grandmother tossed down a heavy little purse and continued crossly, "Finding a good husband is what matters."

Yuanniang smiled without a word of protest. She quickly stuffed the purse into her sleeve and nodded repeatedly, like a little squirrel.

Her younger brother, just home from school, put on a solemn expression. "Sister, don't worry. I'll study hard and pass the highest-level exam one day, earning you and Mother honorary titles. We won't need outsiders to bring glory to our family."

Little scene two:

Her family was too conspicuous, so Yuanniang did as she was told and took the little purse out with her every day to buy rouge and watch the bustle with the young ladies from the neighborhood. She had become a true daughter of Kaifeng City.

Chen Yuanniang soon took an interest in a handsome scholar from a well-off family. He often came to the family shop to buy steamed buns, and his gaze always lingered on her. Pretending to be shy, she would occasionally lift her beautiful face to ask him for help with writing characters, until he was completely smitten and lost his heart to her.

After that, new gifts appeared in front of her family's little gate every day. Sometimes they were rouge, sometimes pastries, sometimes hairpins...

Their feelings for each other grew deeper.

Then the scholar revealed his identity and said he wanted to formally ask for her hand in marriage. Chen Yuanniang was struck as if by lightning, frozen in place.

Wasn't that the family of the fiancé whose engagement she had broken off...?

Theme: Grow toward the sun.