"Rosette, your brother’s doing this for your own good! Let Vivienne take your job posting, and you go to the countryside. This is me protecting you!"

"Your brother and I feel awful for you. We just can’t bear to watch you suffer with us, so this was the only way we could think of. If you stay in the city, life’s only going to get harder!"

"We may not have the same mother, but I’ve always treated you like my own sister. I’d rather stay in the city and take it all for you than let you be wronged here."

The moment Rosette Mercer opened her eyes, she saw three faces leaning over her, fake to the core. A wave of disgust rose straight from her stomach. Her brows drew together at once. The flood of memories that had just crashed into her mind churned and twisted, and for one sharp second, she wanted nothing more than to swing her fist at all three of them and beat them so badly even their own parents wouldn’t know who they were.

She had always liked reading those old-era novels, but never, not even in her wildest thoughts, had she imagined she would actually fall into one herself.

From everything that had just been stuffed into her head, she had clearly crossed into the very period novel she had finished reading a few days ago.

The title was A Lifetime Spoiled by a Hong Kong Tycoon. One look at that name and anyone would know it was supposed to be some sugary, pampered love story. Too bad she wasn’t the treasured heroine.

She was just the unlucky supporting character.

The original host had the same name as her too, Rosette Mercer, the daughter of the wealthy Mercer family of Hushi.

In the book, the original Rosette was written as stunningly beautiful, the kind of beauty that could topple cities, but also dim-witted, nasty, and forever causing trouble for others.

But judging from the memories now sitting plainly in her head, it was obvious that the so-called heroine, Vivienne Caldwell, was the truly scheming one. And her elder sister, Rosalind Mercer, was no better. Those two sisters had tripped up the original Rosette more times than she could count, smeared mud all over her name, and ruined her reputation completely.

The worst part was that the sisters were experts at putting on an act in front of others, so everyone around them thought they treated Rosette wonderfully.

And the original Rosette really had been foolish. She had been set up by the Caldwell sisters again and again, yet still took them for good people, especially Vivienne, who was around her age, and treated her like a close friend.

The Mercer family had money in Hushi. Rosette’s parents had died long ago, leaving only her and her brother Warren Mercer, who was ten years older than she was.

By rights, the Mercer family property should have been split evenly between the brother and sister.

But Warren Mercer had grabbed the whole lot into his own hands and left Rosette with nothing.

Back then, Rosette had been so naive it was painful. Her brother only had to say a few soft words, and her sister-in-law only had to coax her with a smile, and she truly believed he wasn’t trying to swallow the inheritance for himself. She actually thought he was only worried she was too young to manage money, so he was keeping it for her for the time being. She believed that once she was older and married, he would hand over the portion that belonged to her.

What a joke.

It was all lies from start to finish, and Rosette never got a single piece of what was rightfully hers before she died.

The moment Warren Mercer heard that the authorities intended to settle accounts with all capitalists, every last one of them, he immediately made plans to take his wife Rosalind Mercer, pack up the family fortune, and flee to Hong Kong.

This was 1970. Back when the campaign had first begun, the Mercer family had already handed over half their assets to the state. They had acted quickly and shown enough enthusiasm to avoid being purged in the beginning.

But a few days ago, Warren had gotten hold of new information. The people above had decided that capitalists were all bloodsuckers. Even those who had turned over part of their property before were still no good, because they had kept wealth in their hands and were still living off the sweat and toil squeezed from ordinary people. That meant all capitalists had to be dealt with, thoroughly and cleanly.

Warren Mercer might have surrendered half of the family wealth to the state, but the Mercers had simply been too rich. Even the half that remained, if taken to Hong Kong, would still be enough for his whole family to live there in complete comfort.

The state had laid down the rule: every family had to send one child to the countryside to support rural construction.

In the Mercer family, Warren Mercer was already married, so he didn’t have to go. Rosette Mercer had a job at the printing factory, so she didn’t have to go either.

But Vivienne Caldwell had no job. That meant she had to go.

There were three children in her family. Her eldest sister, Rosalind Mercer, was already married, so naturally she was exempt.

But Vivienne and her younger brother Chester Caldwell were both unmarried, and neither of them had work. Out of the two of them, one had to be sent down. Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell had always favored sons over daughters. They doted on Chester like he was the apple of their eye, and no matter what, they refused to let him go suffer in the countryside. So in the end, that quota landed squarely on Vivienne.

Vivienne knew exactly what being sent down meant. She would rather die than go through that kind of hardship, but she didn’t dare go against her parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell had nasty tempers. The minute something displeased them, they would hit her, kick her, and shower her with abuse.

With nowhere else to turn, Vivienne set her sights on Rosette Mercer, who held a proper state job. She figured that if she could get Rosette to hand that job over to her, wouldn’t that let her dodge the trip to the countryside?

And once she had a job, she’d have wages. She could move out and live on her own, never again having to watch her parents’ expressions or put up with their torment. So she went to her sister, who had always been close to her, hoping Rosalind could help her think of a way.

The moment Rosalind Mercer brought it up to Warren Mercer, his eyes shifted and he instantly realized this could work out very well for him. He wanted his sister to give her job to his sister-in-law, and then let his own sister go to the countryside.

He told Rosette that the authorities were cracking down on capitalists, and as the daughter of a capitalist, she definitely wouldn’t be able to avoid it. If she stayed in the city, she’d only become a target for struggle sessions. Going to the countryside for a while, lying low, was the only way to stay alive. Once things calmed down, he said, he would bring her back.

But what he was really thinking was something else entirely. His sister was getting older. She might not have found someone yet, but it wouldn’t be long before marriage talks started. Once that day came, the share of the family property he had taken from her would have to be returned. And meat already swallowed—who would willingly spit it back out? He would rather die than return her share. The best plan was to trick her into going to the countryside, then take his wife and run off to Hong Kong. That way he could avoid the coming reckoning and also keep the family property from being divided with his sister.

By the time his sister found out in the countryside that he and his wife had fled abroad, she could stomp her feet in rage all she liked. It would do her no good. She wouldn’t be able to touch him.

That rotten, black-hearted excuse for a brother actually pulled it off in the end.

The original Rosette had believed the lies of her scumbag brother, his wife, and her so-called “best friend” Vivienne Caldwell. She truly thought that handing her job to Vivienne and going to the countryside herself was for her own safety, that they were protecting her. Foolishly, she gave the job away to Vivienne and went down to the countryside.

But a girl raised like a young lady—how could she know how to do farm work? The people in the production team found her irritating the moment they saw her. On top of that, she carried the label of a capitalist’s daughter. Everyone in the village rejected her, picked on her, and made life harder and harder. Her days grew darker, with not a shred of hope in sight. In the end, cornered with no way out, she jumped into the river.

And what about the people who had harmed her? Every one of them lived just fine. Warren Mercer and his wife, along with Vivienne Caldwell, all made it safely to Hong Kong. Their lives were smoother than anybody’s—especially Vivienne’s.

Not long after arriving in Hong Kong, Vivienne hooked herself a wealthy businessman. The two of them got married, and after the wedding, that man spoiled her like she was some precious treasure. The children she bore were sensible and filial too. The whole family lived in harmony, enjoying all the wealth and comfort life could offer.

Come to think of it, wasn’t Vivienne supposed to have gotten the original Rosette’s job? Why didn’t she just stay at the printing factory and work properly? Why did she end up running off to Hong Kong instead?

The reason was simple. Once Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell learned that their daughter had gotten Rosette Mercer’s job, they forced her to hand the position over to Chester Caldwell. At first Vivienne refused no matter what anyone said. But later, by chance, she heard that her sister and brother-in-law were planning to sneak off to Hong Kong. She thought Hong Kong was far richer than the mainland, with far more chances to get ahead, and her heart was stirred. So she begged her sister and brother-in-law to take her along.

Warren Mercer was miserly to the bone. He hadn’t wanted to bring his sister-in-law at all. Boat tickets cost money, and Vivienne had none. Rosalind told him to pay for her ticket, and he hated the very thought of it. But Vivienne played hardball. She said that if they refused to take her, she’d report him for trying to flee illegally. Warren had his weak spot seized and had no choice. In the end, he could only grit his teeth, buy her a ticket, and take her to Hong Kong.

"Rosette, why aren’t you saying anything? Are you still thinking it over? There’s really nothing to think about. Just put your mind at ease, give me the job, and go to the countryside without worry... I’ve heard people say the countryside is full of green hills and clear water, and the villagers are honest and warm-hearted too. Once you get there, you’ll eat well, live well, and won’t have to worry about a thing. It’s basically going there to enjoy an easy life!" Vivienne said. Seeing Rosette sit there in silence, she started to get uneasy inside, afraid Rosette might change her mind and refuse, so she hurriedly kept persuading her.

Listening to that, Rosette Mercer was so angry she nearly laughed.

She opened her mouth and said straight out, "So the countryside’s beautiful, the villagers are honest and kind, you won’t have to worry about anything, and life there will definitely be comfortable. Sounds like going there is just to enjoy yourself, doesn’t it? Then why don’t you go? Are you brain-dead?"

Vivienne had just parted her lips to answer when Rosette immediately cut in again.

"And don’t start feeding me that rubbish about how we’re such dear sisters, so you’re staying in the city to suffer in my place. We’re not even born to the same parents!"

The moment those words came out, everyone there froze.

One by one, shocked looks spread across their faces. Clearly, none of them had expected Rosette Mercer to say something like that—let alone openly insult someone.

Vivienne Caldwell’s face darkened at once.