25th century, in a small corner coffee shop in the Magic City.
A delicate-looking girl sat there, feeling down as she took a phone call.
"Sasha, you still haven't found a job?"
"No. What about you?"
"Same. I heard that Karen Wu got an offer from X Company yesterday."
There was a long silence on the other end.
After a while, Sasha pushed down the shock in her heart and asked, "Isn't X Company famous for its 996 schedule? Karen Wu doesn't mind that?"
"Sasha, Karen said X Company now does 007. But the salary is high, and there's also a housing allowance, so I guess it makes up for the harsh hours."
"Can her body handle that?" Sasha thought Karen had gone crazy, choosing a job harder than what farm animals had to do.
"Sasha, unlike you, we don't have your looks. You don't even need a job to find a good man to marry. You also know Karen's situation. Her parents promised to send her abroad after graduation, but after her brother did poorly on his college entrance exam, the overseas opportunity went to him instead. I heard he applied to G University in M Country. Her family spent a huge donation just to get him in, not counting tuition or living costs. Karen has no choice but to work hard now, or she'll end up with just a few blankets for her dowry."
Stacy Zhang lay on her bed, sounding like she had given up on life. She didn't have Sasha's beauty or Karen's luck. She planned to follow Gina Zeng's path and continue studying. Maybe after graduation, she could fight for a teaching spot at their school.
"Let's talk later. I haven't even had lunch yet."
Sasha listened to her best friend's depressing words, and her mood sank even lower.
She was the only customer in the coffee shop. It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
She sighed deeply, gave in to her situation, and turned her eyes back to her laptop. Resting her chin on her hand, she stared blankly while continuing to scroll through job listings on various websites.
Sasha: the main female lead. A senior at A University in Magic City.
Age: 18 (Very smart, started school early, skipped three grades)
Height: 175 cm
Appearance: Excellent (the kind of girl people say can survive on her looks alone)
Family: Well-off (only child, three large apartments in the city, a small villa in the suburbs, two storefronts, two mid-range cars)
Major: International Trade
Grades: Excellent
Relationship status: Single (many suitors, but she's not interested in any)
Personality: Shy and slow to warm up, a bit delicate
Best friends: Karen Wu, Stacy Zhang, Gina Zeng (roommates for four years)
An hour later, Sasha rubbed the inner corners of her eyes and closed her laptop, on the verge of tears. Why was it so hard to find a nine-to-five job close to home?
She had received several interview calls recently, but the jobs were either too far away or had strange schedules. Yesterday morning, one job finally showed some promise: close to home, not competitive. But when she asked about the salary, it was just 4,600. Still way below the tax threshold. That disappointment kept her awake all night.
Maybe she should do what Gina Zeng did and join the grad school crowd? Maybe by the time she graduated, there would be more opportunities everywhere.
As she thought about this, a wave of drowsiness hit her. She yawned and leaned over her laptop, quickly falling asleep. In a haze, her body felt light, like a feather floating in the air. It was strangely pleasant.
Time froze.
Sasha's body slowly became translucent, then completely vanished from the coffee shop.
When she opened her eyes again, she was in the middle of a deep bamboo forest.
She got up and rubbed her eyes hard. She looked around. No one was in sight. Tears streamed down her cheeks and fell into the dirt. A heavy feeling of helplessness and fear filled her chest.
"Is anyone here? Hello? Anyone?" She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted loudly.
Only the echo of her own voice came back to her, over and over, ringing through the quiet forest.
The bamboo forest was huge. Sasha had walked for a long time but still couldn't find her way out of this strange place. Her high heels sank into the bumpy, hard ground, making every step feel like torture. She had no choice but to take them off and break off the heels.
She opened her palm. It was red and raw, burning her eyes. Tears fell again uncontrollably.
"Why is this happening? Where am I?"
Through her blurry vision, she saw a narrow path ahead. It looked like her last hope. Ignoring the pain in her feet, she ran desperately toward it.
The ground was covered with sharp stones, even worse than the muddy pits before. The road stretched far into the distance, with tall green bamboo rising higher than the sky on both sides.
Suddenly, she heard fast hoofbeats behind her. When she looked back, two tall horses were charging forward, their necks stretched, letting out loud cries. The carriage they pulled shook violently and looked like it was about to tip over.
The horses' strong legs kicked up high, higher than Sasha herself. Her vision went black, and she fainted.
When she woke up, she saw wooden beams crisscrossing above her.
Everything around her was strange and unsettling. The ancient-style room was empty, with just a bookshelf, an old table, and the wooden bed beneath her.
The door creaked open. A young boy with his hair tied in a bun walked in, holding a tray.
He saw Sasha was awake and was first surprised, then became very happy. He quickly put down the tray and rushed to her side, speaking nervously.
"Miss, Doctor Xu just treated your foot. You can't get out of bed yet. Please lie down."
Treated her foot?
Sasha looked down. Her fair toes were swollen like ten fat radishes.
Her eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"Doctor Xu said your foot swelled like this because you stepped on green ants. The medicine from Jishan Clinic is really effective. You'll be fine in a few days. Don't worry." He then turned and brought the tray over.
"Did you save me?" Sasha studied his clothes and suddenly had a bad feeling. Could she have time-traveled?
"Miss, it was my young master who saved you. You ran onto the road out of nowhere and almost hit our carriage. It scared me and the young master a lot. My name is Yuno. You can just call me Yuno." He stirred the porridge gently with a spoon, then scooped up a spoonful, blew on it, and held it near her mouth.
"Thanks, but I can do it myself." Sasha took the bowl and stared at the thin, yellowish porridge. She hesitated, then took a sip.
It was hard to describe the taste. The rice had a sweet smell, but there was a strong fishy taste, like badly cleaned fish soup mixed with oily chicken broth.
She had never eaten porridge so disgusting. Her stomach churned, and she bent over quickly, trying not to throw up.
"Miss, are you okay? Does it taste bad? I can make you something else," Yuno asked nervously. He and his master had arrived in a hurry, so they didn't have much with them. The rice in her bowl was bought from Aunt Xu next door for two copper coins.
"No, no, it's good. Maybe I was too hungry and my stomach's upset." Sasha didn't want to trouble Yuno more, so she took a deep breath and drank two more big sips.
Her stomach warmed up a little, and she began chatting with the boy. But the more they talked, the more shocked she became. She started to answer more carefully.
This was a continent where men outnumbered women.
The world was divided into nine regions. Right now, she was in Xiahe Village, near Mistwater Town in Dayong. It was a small mountain village with only sixty households.
The one who saved her was Gordan. He was the son of a wealthy family in Liang City, the capital. Because he refused an arranged marriage, he was kicked out of the house and came here. This morning, he went to town to sell their carriage.
Sasha felt uneasy hearing that. Gordan and Yuno were already not well-off, and now she had added another mouth to feed. She felt nervous and guilty.
"Yuno, how much did you pay the doctor for my treatment?"
Right now, the most valuable things on her were her gold-plated hairpin and the ruby ring on her right hand. She didn't know how much silver they could get in this place.
Yuno heard her question and realized she misunderstood. His eyes turned red.
He didn't mean to make her feel bad. He was just worried she would look down on him and Gordan for living in this shabby house. That's why he mentioned the carriage, to show that Gordan had money and she wouldn't suffer with them.
Just then, a knock came from the front yard.
"Sasha, that must be the young master. You lie down and don't worry. We'll come see you in a bit."
Before Sasha could say anything, Yuno had already run out of the room.