Chapter 1
When Bai Li carried a bamboo basket full of shoots and passed by others, he heard mocking voices around him.
"That useless guy is breaking bamboo shoots… I wonder what he's planning to do. Maybe he wants to feed the shoots to his Gao children."
"Ha! Even if he breaks bamboo shoots, I bet it's not for his family. It's just for himself to eat."
"Ptui! That trash still hasn't realized anything. It's a good thing the Bai family kicked him out. His family will die sooner or later anyway."
"If he had killed himself, that would've been one thing. But he has two Gao children. That trash is probably raising them just to sell them when they grow older."
"Speaking of which, I heard that his Gao, Shao Han, went fishing in the river the other day. But autumn has already arrived, and the river water is cold. Besides, Shao Han's body has become weak from all the abuse he suffered. I heard he's sick now."
"Yeah, Shao Han is sick. No one is feeding him, so he must be surviving on bamboo shoots like this."
Although Bai Li heard every word, he lowered his head and kept walking, pretending not to notice even the weeds on the ground around him. Only when he was far away did he let out a heavy sigh.
The people of this village despised him greatly and never gave him any respect. Even so, they couldn't say he was entirely wronged—after all, the original body had been a vile and detestable person.
When Bai Li woke up this morning, he realized he had entered another person's body and inherited unfamiliar memories. The original body shared the same name and appearance as him, but their personalities were vastly different. Unlike him, the original was crude, selfish, and base.
Although the original was twenty years old, he did nothing but live off his family, indulging in gambling and lust, spending all his time in such places.
The Bai family, one of the more respectable households in this small Nan Creek village, had long suffered under his abuse. He often borrowed heavily at gambling dens, leading debt collectors—sometimes even from brothels—to come knocking at their door.
For twenty years, the Bai family had endured, but eventually, they realized that their hardships all stemmed from the original's cruelty. They went to town, warning gambling houses and brothels not to lend him money or allow him entry again.
Thus, the original became a laughingstock of the whole town.
The Bai family firmly told him that if debt collectors came again, they would no longer repay his debts. If he stole anything from home, they would send him straight to court.
With nowhere left to turn, he grew furious. One day, while storming down to the river to bathe his anger away, he happened to encounter Shao Han bathing alone.
Shao Han was a Gao from the Shao family. Bai Li learned from the memories of his original body that in this world, there were three genders: male, female, and Gao. Gaos were male, but they possessed certain female traits that allowed them to conceive children.
Although Shao Han was a Gao, he was already fifteen years old and had not yet consummated a marriage. In ancient times, children would consummate at the ages of thirteen or fourteen, and marry at fifteen or sixteen. However, because the original body was extremely notorious, no one wanted to marry him, and he remained unmarried until the age of twenty.
Shao Han also had his own fate. He lived with his mother-in-law, who was waiting to sell him to a wealthy man for a good price instead of letting him marry. Shao Han was not exceptionally handsome, but he had fair skin and a sweet appearance, which had made the original body lust after him for a long time. When the original body encountered Shao Han alone during a moment of frustration, he could not restrain himself.
Bai Li, upon recalling this, could only say to the original body: "You truly were despicable." Not only did the original body assault Shao Han, but he also threatened him not to tell anyone and had no intention of taking responsibility. He thought that since Shao Han would eventually become someone's concubine, it did not matter whether he was pure or not. But the original body was wrong.
That evening, the village head's son happened to pass by with his buffalo and overheard the threats the original body made against Shao Han. The original body, being familiar with brothels, used particularly cruel methods, leaving Shao Han covered in injuries that could not be hidden. The village head's son, being a righteous man, beat the original body on the spot and took both him and Shao Han to the village head's house, demanding that he take responsibility.
Since the matter had become public, the original body could no longer avoid marrying Shao Han. The village elders decided, and neither family could oppose it. Shao Han's mother-in-law, however, claimed compensation as if someone had stolen the pig she had raised for years, loudly demanding a large sum from the Bai family. This angered the Bai family, but in the end, the marriage proceeded.
The Bai family, however, drove them out of the house, giving them only a small home with a hut, a plot of land, and a field, but nothing more. The original body felt no regret. He rented out the land for money but never gave Shao Han even a single coin. When Shao Han became pregnant, he still showed no compassion and ignored him.
Although the Bai family was furious enough to want to beat the original body wherever they saw him, they still helped ensure that Shao Han could give birth, because the child in Shao Han's womb carried their bloodline. Shao Han gave birth to two Gao children, who were very lovable. Yet the original body, who loved only himself, could not bring himself to love anyone else. No matter how much Shao Han struggled to raise the children, the original body remained indifferent, and even abused him further.
Two days earlier, when the original body had no money left to buy food, he suddenly craved fish. Without caring about the cold weather, he ordered Shao Han to go fishing. Shao Han's health, already weakened from years of abuse, gave way, and he slipped into the river, nearly drowning. Though he survived, he fell ill with a fever. The original body, however, ate the fish all by himself and slept peacefully, completely indifferent.
Thus, in the body of the wicked man and wretch, Bai Li awakened with a violent shiver. As soon as Bai Li inherited those memories, he felt an overwhelming urge to strangle this body in anger, but since this body was now his, there was nothing he could do. He knew his own past life had been tragic, yet compared to Xiong Han and the children's lives, his suffering was not the worst.
Although Bai Li was a man of the 21st century, his parents had been deeply traditional. Because of that, he had hidden the fact that he was gay all his life, deciding to live alone. Unexpectedly, his family eventually found out and beat him nearly to death. He could not tell whether it was his father and elder brother who had truly beaten him to death, but in the end, he awakened in the body of a stranger. Bai Li thought this situation was much better. His parents would finally be happy, no longer ashamed to have a son like him, whom they considered disgraceful and repulsive.
So, without dwelling on his past life, he decided to move forward with his new one. Xiong Han was burning hot with fever, like a furnace, and the two little ones were curled up weakly beside him. From their condition, Bai Li realized that if Xiong Han died, the children would not survive either. Through the memories of this body, he learned that none of the three had eaten for nearly two days. He began to worry. Xiong Han was terribly ill, and the children were only about two years old. If things continued this way, all of them would die.
Thus, Bai Li picked up a bamboo basket and a knife and went to chop some bamboo shoots. From the body's memories, he understood this was an ancient era, where food was scarce and bamboo shoots were not even considered proper food. He wished he could feed Xiong Han and the children something better, but with nothing else available, bamboo shoots would have to do.
When Bai Li returned home, he sliced and boiled the bamboo shoots, moved the children slightly aside, and used wet cloths to bring down Xiong Han's fever. Then, he ran to the Bai family home. The Bai family were the blood relatives of this body, but when he arrived, they slammed the door tightly shut and refused to open it. Bai Li was left both laughing bitterly and crying helplessly. Were the villagers the only ones who hated this body, or even his own family?
As he was about to leave in despair, a teenage girl with two braids approached. "Second Brother…" The body he now possessed had been the second son of the Bai family, and from the inherited memories, Bai Li recognized this girl as Bai Min, the youngest daughter of the family. In the original memories, the body's owner had dearly loved Bai Min, always bringing her snacks from town. Though he had bought them on credit, Bai Min had always believed her second brother purchased them just for her. She was the only one in the family who still cared for him.
Bai Li imitated the original body's tone: "Xiong Min, sneaking out the back door again?" Indeed, the memories showed Bai Min always did this when meeting him.
"Yes, I overheard Mother say you were here. Take this quickly. If I stay too long, Mother will grow suspicious. I'll go now!" she said, thrusting a small bundle into his hands before running off.
When Bai Li opened it, he found some coarse rice inside. The memories confirmed that whenever food ran short, the original body often asked Bai Min to secretly bring him rice. Bai Li couldn't help but smile faintly. In truth, he had come hoping to borrow some rice from the Bai family, believing that if he asked openly, they might reluctantly lend some. But seeing the firmly closed doors, he realized it was only Bai Min who would dare give him anything.
Though the Bai family pretended to despise their "disgraceful" son, Bai Li now knew they could not entirely harden their hearts. A faint warmth stirred within him.
He returned home with the rice, cooked porridge, and stir-fried the bamboo shoots plainly. He first served the two children, but they shrank away from him, unwilling to come closer. He had no choice but to place the bowls on the table: "I'll leave it here. Eat when you're ready."
Then, he woke the fevered Xiong Han and softly coaxed him: "You haven't eaten for so long… get up and drink some porridge."
Xiong Han's vision was blurred from fever, and he could hardly believe the man feeding him was Bai Li. The gentle voice made him think it must be someone else. Once Xiong Han had eaten, Bai Li saw the two little ones finishing their food and even washing their own bowls. He felt a quiet satisfaction. Though they were still so young, they already showed such good manners.
Finally, Bai Li ate his own portion of porridge and bamboo shoots. The rice was rough and coarse, but the bamboo shoots were sweet enough that the meal was not so unbearable after all.