A Novel Set in the Seventies

Only after her mother died did Shu Cheng understand why her mother had spent all those years staring into an old photograph.

They weren't friends or sisters.

The other person in the photo was her mother's lover.

The cemetery was cold to the bone. Shu Cheng watched the woman sobbing in anguish before the gravestone and shed tears numbly.

As her consciousness faded away completely, she thought... the ones left behind were always the ones who suffered.

-

When she woke again, the cemetery had become a rice paddy at harvest time.

Shu Cheng saw a familiar figure in the group of sent-down youth in the distance. She stood there in disbelief, tears streaming down her face.

It was her mother.

And Auntie.

She had returned to 25 years earlier.

Nothing had happened yet.

Her mother and Auntie had not yet endured pain, hardship, or lies. They had not yet been forced apart by their families, sent to a conversion camp, or driven to a foreign land. They had not yet endured a separation that stretched on without end.

There was still time to change everything.

She would save her mother and Auntie.

-

It was also when she returned to 25 years earlier that Shu Cheng learned the truth.

The world she lived in was a period novel, and her mother, Shu Ningwan, was the male lead's unattainable first love. Unable to have her, he framed her and exposed her relationship with Su Tingyu, leaving two women with limitless futures condemned by thousands and torn apart by death and separation.

Meanwhile, the male lead rose steadily through the ranks and achieved great success.

Years later, he even caused Shu Ningwan's death in a car accident to cover up the truth about his bribery...

Knowing the entire plot, Shu Cheng was consumed with hatred.

This time, she would use everyone as a pawn and be the one moving the pieces. She would show no mercy to anyone who had ever hurt her mother.

-

Sitting the college entrance exam, venturing into business, starting a factory: Shu Cheng pushed everything in a new direction. Everyone who had taken part in the persecution paid the price, while the male lead, the chief culprit, ended up in prison, disgraced and with his family ruined.

But...

Why was the woman who'd agreed to work with her and nothing more looking at her so strangely lately?

"President You." Shu Cheng put down the contract. "You..."

You Heyue, the ruthless and cold-hearted villain of the original novel, had founded a leading company of the future at a young age. She gently touched Shu Cheng's lips with her index finger and whispered in her ear.

"The shares are yours."

"And so am I."

★ Reader's Guide:

☆ A sweet and satisfying practice piece, with a few liberties taken. Please don't overanalyze.

☆ Shu Cheng was an abandoned baby. On a bitterly cold winter day, when she was close to death, Shu Ningwan took her home and adopted her. During their years apart, neither Shu Ningwan nor Su Tingyu dated, married, or had children. They loved each other from beginning to end.

☆ The mothers are reborn as well, and regain their memories midway through the story.

☆ Inspired by the lyrics of "At Least There's Still You": "It was so hard for us to get this far; we couldn't help ourselves."

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