Nancy Thorne had transmigrated.
She had transmigrated into a book.
It was a period novel she had just finished reading—one she had promptly given a one-star rating. She had gone to sleep, and when she woke up, she found herself lying on a large, carved maroon bed that evoked a strong sense of a bygone era. The grayish-white canopy above had several holes in it and was held up on both sides by brass hooks.
The bed was huge and ancient. Nancy had only ever seen such an old-fashioned, carved bed in a museum. There were also camphorwood chests stacked in the corner and a cabinet painted red. On top of the cabinet sat an enamel mug, which bore several large, bright red characters—
Millstone Peak Brigade Labor Model, August 1975.
A shiver ran down Nancy's spine. Clearly, she had landed in the 1970s, an era when people struggled just to stay fed and warm. Judging by the bare-bones look of the place, her new family couldn't be very well-off.
'But in an era where poverty was glorious, being too wealthy was its own kind of misfortune. Better to eat wild greens with a lump of sugar on the side than to wear gold and silver out in the open!'
"Sigh…"
Nancy heaved a heavy sigh, but she also felt a sliver of relief.
'Fortunately, she had just maxed out all of her credit cards. She'd enjoyed everything she possibly could in her past life, so there were no major regrets.'
'Might as well make the best of it.'
'Still, she had to figure out who she was. It would be perfect if she was the female lead, blessed with a protagonist's halo. She'd get to breeze through life, cherished and adored by everyone, the unattainable 'white moonlight' in every man's heart. Then she'd marry the male lead and live a life of blissful happiness that even immortals would envy.'
'Please, please don't let me be the idiotic side character, Nancy Thorne—fat, stupid, and lazy, with a family of deadweights dragging her down, only to meet a tragic end with her family ruined and dead.'
It was because the author had made the side character who shared her exact name so incredibly stupid—and then killed her off—that Nancy had gotten angry enough to leave a one-star review. And now…
'Her heart skipped a beat. In these kinds of stories, the odds of transmigrating into a side character with the same name were frighteningly high. The main female lead was protected by her protagonist's halo; her body couldn't just be taken over. So that meant… No, it couldn't be, could it?'
"Nancy, you're awake! Come and eat your egg custard. It's delicious."
A short, stout middle-aged woman entered the room, carrying a bowl of egg custard. She smiled lovingly at Nancy, then reached out a plump hand to feel her forehead and sighed in relief.
"The fever's gone. Next time, don't you go playing on the mountain with that jinx again. He nearly got my precious girl killed."
The woman muttered a string of curses through gritted teeth, but her expression softened back into a loving gaze when she looked at the astonished Nancy. Her pudgy face broke into a smile so wide that her chin formed three new rolls, making her neck disappear completely. Seeing this, Nancy's frantic heart calmed down a little.
'Although she had become the unbelievably stupid side character Nancy Thorne, in the book, the Thorne family was one of the more well-to-do households in the Millstone Peak Brigade. At least she wouldn't starve.'
'As for the Thorne family's tragic ending in the novel—well, she was the new and improved, luck-bringing Nancy Thorne! Now that she was here, the family's fate would naturally change for the better.'
'Most importantly, Nancy had just discovered her short, chubby arms and legs. She was six or seven at most. She had instantly become twenty years younger! She was practically blooming with joy.'
Ever the optimist, Nancy quickly adjusted her mindset and turned her attention to the egg custard in the stout woman's hands.
The golden egg custard was steamed until it was fragrant and tender. She could even see a few glistening droplets of oil on its surface. Oil was a precious commodity, and the fact that they were willing to use it on a dish for a small child showed just how doted upon Nancy was at home.
She was, without a doubt, the apple of the Thorne family's eye.
The aroma of the egg drifted up to her, and Nancy couldn't help but swallow hard. Phoebe Huxley's smile grew even warmer, and she was just about to feed her precious daughter when an angry shout erupted from the outer room.
"That damn jinx Adrian Hawthorne dared to hurt Nancy! I'm gonna go kill him!"
It was Nancy's older brother, Howard Thorne.