After filling her basket with pig feed, Juhua paid no mind to the dew and sat down on the grass by Jing Lake, staring blankly at the sparkling water.
The sun had already risen, casting a dappled, rosy glow upon Jing Lake.
To the east, all of Qingnan Village was bathed in this rosy light, covering the treetops and rooftops in a magnificent layer of color. A small path led from Juhua's home at the foot of Little Qing Mountain in the west, winding its way deep into Qingnan Village. Trees were scattered here and there along the roadside. At the path's end, the houses of Qingnan Village—some tall, some short, some new, some old—were arranged in a pleasing jumble. Interspersed among them, a few towering ancient trees rose above the rooftops, seeming to watch over the entire village.
To the north of the village, vast fields stretched all the way to the banks of the Little Qing River. The rice had already been harvested, leaving only neat rows of stubble in the paddies. The field margins and grassy riverbanks were covered in a riot of blooming, small golden wild chrysanthemums. Along with the early-rising villagers at work and the shepherd boys tending their flocks by the river, they formed an idyllic scene.
Looking at the picturesque countryside, then at the face reflected in Jing Lake, Juhua couldn't suppress a sharp pang in her heart. Those clusters of fleshy growths, like the skin of a toad, covered both her cheeks, turning a twelve-year-old girl who should have been in the bloom of youth into a terrifying monster.
In truth, this Juhua was no longer the original Juhua. Her body now housed a soul from another world, a woman named Lin Zhi.
For three whole days after waking up in the body of the ugly girl, Juhua, Lin Zhi had been in a daze, wondering if it was all a dream.
She had only been exhausted from the endless struggle, sick of the city's clamor, and had wanted to escape to the countryside for a quiet life. But instead, she'd been struck by lightning and sent to this strange place.
'Well, now she truly had her quiet life. Not only was she thrown out of her own time and space, but heaven had also blessed her with a face that would make ghosts flee in terror. Ha!'
She didn't even know where or when she was. She knew there was an Emperor, but as for who that Emperor was, she was completely in the dark. In the original owner's pitifully scarce memories, aside from her own family and a farm boy named Zhang Huai, even the other villagers were just blurry figures. There was hardly any other information—because of her ugliness, her life had been very isolated.
Lin Zhi—'oh, I should say Juhua now'—stood up. She patted down her blue-and-white patterned clothes, which were more patches than fabric, and stomped her feet in the tattered cloth shoes that revealed her toes. She let out a long sigh.
'I have to survive, don't I? I can't stay lost in confusion and despair. Pining for my old world is pointless.'
Juhua couldn't help but laugh grimly at herself. 'In a way, the heavens granted my wish.' Her friends used to joke that she was crazy, fighting tooth and nail to pass exams and claw her way from the countryside into the city, only to flee the urban jungle for a rural hideaway after all those years. 'A total nutcase!'
She slung the bamboo basket over her right shoulder and prepared to head home.
As she turned, she saw a farm boy of about sixteen or seventeen standing on the grassy expanse, amidst the waving golden chrysanthemums. He was leaning on a hoe. His hair was tied up in a bun and wrapped with a strip of cyan cloth. He wore a set of coarse gray clothes, patched at the knees and elbows.
He was staring at Juhua, his mouth agape in astonishment, clearly not expecting her to suddenly stand up and turn around.
'Isn't this Zhang Huai, the one who refused to marry me? Oh, right, he refused to marry the *original* Juhua. I hadn't arrived yet. But now that I *am* Juhua, I guess it makes no difference.'
Juhua sized him up. 'No wonder he didn't want to marry me.' The boy was tall and strong, with high-arched brows above long, narrow eyes that shone brightly. He had a straight nose and earnest-looking lips. 'It would be a miracle if a boy like that agreed to marry an ugly girl like me!'
She had inherited the original Juhua's memories, so she knew how much the girl had liked this Zhang Huai. Her heart would hammer in her chest whenever she saw him, and she yearned to see him when he wasn't around. He was good friends with her brother, Qingmu, and was a frequent visitor to their home. Without realizing it, he had completely stolen the little girl's heart.
'Sigh... having her first crush and talks of marriage at only twelve. It's just...'
Juhua watched him quietly, noticing how he glanced at her, looking anxious and as if he wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out. After waiting a moment longer and seeing that he wasn't going to speak, she simply skirted around him without a word.
'There was no way I could greet him.'
'If I smile, this face is bound to be terrifying. Glare at him coldly? What right do I have? Is it so wrong for him to want to marry a girl who looks... normal? And so, silence was the only option.'