The enamel mug clattered to the floor, bouncing several times. The ear-piercing sound of metal striking concrete startled nearly everyone asleep in the entire building.
"Zhu Yun," Wang Xianbing growled from outside the door, his teeth clenched. He had already pulled on some clothes after calming Lin Jin down. "I already agreed to your terms. What are you raising a fuss about in the middle of the night? You've had your sleep, so why can't you let anyone else get theirs?"
"Is this any way to take care of a sick person? Don't you just wish I'd burn up from this fever, die of thirst, or starve to death? Just to get me out of the way and protect your precious reputation while you chase after your 'true love'?"
"I slaved away for your family for seven years! When your parents were sick, I stayed up all night by their bedsides, tending to their every need—feeding them, cleaning up after them—I served them like they were lords of a manor."
"But when it's my turn, you just toss me in this tiny room and ignore me? No medicine, no water, no food? You're such a kind and responsible family, aren't you!"
Zhu Yun then snatched the jar of cold cream from the table—the one Lin Jin had given the original owner, now with only a dreg left at the bottom, the one they claimed she had taken without asking—and hurled it forcefully at the door.
Just as Wang Xianbing opened the door, the jar flew right at his face, smashing hard against his brow bone. It instantly started to swell and turn purple.
She felt not a shred of remorse. Crossing her arms, she sneered, "Well, look at that. Even the heavens couldn't stand it anymore. That jar went right for your head, trying to crack it open and see if it's full of donkey dung."
"You don't have to be so aggressive," Wang Xianbing said, his hand gripping the doorknob so tightly he could barely suppress the rage boiling inside him. "Can't we just talk about this civilly?"
"I want water, food, a bath, clean sheets, and a new duvet cover!" Zhu Yun demanded, struggling to sit up. Her tone was imperious.
Although her personality had changed drastically, Wang Xianbing had already figured out the new rules: don't resist, just obey. Otherwise, the retaliation would be even more ferocious.
Without another word, he flicked on the light, went into the kitchen, and poured her a glass of water. He made a bowl of egg noodles, topping it with two poached eggs. While she was in the bath, he changed the sheets and duvet cover on the bed in the small room.
Once inside the bathroom, Zhu Yun finally got a chance to examine the original owner's appearance in the dim, yellow light.
Technology in the future was highly advanced. They had not only developed time-space tunnels to send high-endurance, invisible instruments for filming, but could also link a person's brainwaves to a host, creating the reality of transmigration and rebirth.
In reality, the whole experience was like falling asleep and having a dream.
However, as a Mingxing in a reality TV series, her complex memories from each mission were typically packaged and stored away to prevent cognitive overload. This meant she rarely remembered past missions, allowing her to focus solely on the present.
Of course, as transmigrators on a mission, they were allowed to retain three skills, much like choosing your weapons before starting a game.
Zhu Yun loved a thrill, so she'd just randomized her three skills. 'All skills are good skills anyway,' she thought. 'It all just depends on how you use them.'
Her luck had always been pretty good, though. This time, she got: a graceful and supple body, immense strength, and excellent culinary skills. Her other abilities had merged perfectly with those of the original owner.
'No wonder,' she mused, 'even though my body felt so sore and weak, I was able to hurl that mug and jar with such astonishing force.'
'Throwing that jar of cold cream felt especially satisfying!'
Wang Xianbing might have come from a humble, rural background, but the mechanical factory had been converted from a military unit. They still held occasional field training exercises. He was hardworking, self-disciplined, and ran daily drills with his neighbor across the hall. He also sparred with others often, so his fighting skills were actually quite decent.
'Logically, he should have been able to dodge a sneak attack like that with ease. But this time, he took the hit!'
'Life really is full of surprises.'
Of course, as someone from the future, her advanced way of thinking and her knowledge of the general plot and historical setting were their own kind of invisible Golden Finger.
The woman in the mirror... how to put it? She looked like a red-hot piece of charcoal that someone had carved eyes, nostrils, and a mouth into.
She stared in mild horror, then bared her teeth at the reflection. The person in the mirror dutifully returned the gesture.
'Whoa, I look like a vampire bat!' The sight was so horrifyingly ugly it made her stumble back, clutching her chest.
Aside from the lively eyes, Zhu Yun couldn't fathom how this... creature... had ever earned the title of "village belle."
Her scalp tingling, she leaned closer to the mirror again, touching her face to get a better look. She even pulled at her collar to peek at the skin underneath.
If you looked past the skin—darkened from the scorching sun and chapped red from the wind—the original owner's features were actually quite delicate and beautiful. Her eyes were large with double eyelids, the corners tilting up slightly. It didn't give her a harsh or mean look, but rather a natural, foxy charm. Paired with the beauty mark beneath the corner of her eye, it was absolutely killer!
Her nose was straight and delicate, her lips were beautifully shaped, and her smile revealed faint dimples. Even the curve of her ears was graceful.
The skin below her neck, hidden by her clothes, was fair and pale. It formed a stark contrast with the sun-scorched areas, like the two halves of a yin-yang symbol.
The original owner was already sixteen or seventeen when she married into the Wang Family. Though she was thin, she was exceptionally pretty.
Because her husband was a good earner, she enjoyed over half a year of relative ease. At least she had a growth spurt and developed some curves. Even though life got harder later and her full figure withered away, it was nothing that couldn't be regained!
'All in all,' she thought, 'as long as I can whiten and smooth out my skin and put on a little weight, this body will be that of a celestial fox-maiden, born to be both pure and bewitching. A true man-eater. No wonder Lin Jin was secretly trying to sabotage her.'
Zhu Yun finally felt a sense of relief. She listlessly splashed water on herself, washing her hair and body while mulling over the brief, simple plot and her current mission.
She was from the Supporting Characters Department, so the roles she took were always supporting characters, cannon fodder, or random passersby.
Basically, she and most of her colleagues were a bunch of unambitious slackers. They were the type who couldn't tell wheat from rice, loved to eat, show off, and gossip, and never shied away from stirring up trouble. They were all so deeply entrenched in this department that they couldn't even be bothered to move.
Their roles were also simple: live wantonly, be pretentious and dramatic, and basically do whatever it took to get on the main characters' nerves. They'd live it up in the early stages, creating all sorts of difficulties for the protagonists, and then meet their demise with gusto when the time came.
The plot was as concise as ever. The male and female leads were Wang Xianbing and Lin Jin, in a story that was a very typical period piece from this era.
The male lead was a self-reliant and disciplined striver. Despite his peasant origins, he was intelligent, eager to learn, and one of the few university graduates around. Through his own hard work and a bit of luck, he dodged various schemes and plots. With the help of the highly skilled technician who lived across the hall—the second male lead—he eventually rose through the ranks to become the director of the mechanical factory, which employed tens of thousands of people.
As for the female lead, she came from a privileged background and had never known hardship. She also had the discerning eye to pick a man with high growth potential for herself.
From then on, her job was to be beautiful, outsmart opportunistic and scheming neighbors, and run circles around her own troublesome relatives. She provided the male lead with warmth and affection, gave birth to a brood of children, and handled all the domestic duties flawlessly.
The couple's life just kept getting better and better.
The second male lead across the hall had a mysterious past, always kept to himself, and was a brilliant technician. He yearned for the kind of fulfilling life the main couple had. Due to a certain scheme, he ended up reluctantly marrying the female lead's best friend and became the main couple's powerful right-hand man.