Coughing fit tore through her chest, dragging Sue Ning out of the dark void. Bitter, acrid smoke burned her throat, thick with the stench of boiling mugwort and cheap tobacco. Cold sweat coated her forehead as she tried to lift her arms. Heavy as lead, her limbs refused to obey, pinning her down onto a rough, straw-stuffed mattress that poked through thin grey fabric. Where was she? Screaming metal, the smell of burning gasoline, and the sickening crunch of her own bones should have been the last things she felt. Instead, a damp chill clung to her skin, smelling faintly of mildew and wet earth. Shadows flickered across a low, dirt-caked ceiling held up by rough-hewn wooden beams. "Drink it while it's hot, you useless girl." An unfamiliar, grating voice rasped from somewhere nearby, accompanied by the clatter of chipped porcelain. Sue Ning tried to turn her head, but a sharp spike of pain shot down her neck. Her eyes strained in the dim light, catching the outline of a stooped figure in a faded blue tunic. Memories that did not belong to her suddenly rushed into her brain like a tidal wave of ice water. Images of muddy paths, endless fields of green wheat, and a harsh, unforgiving sun burned behind her eyelids. This body was not her own. She was no longer forty, dying in a crumpled Mercedes on a rain-slicked highway. Now, she was a sickly eighteen-year-old girl in a remote village during the height of the Cultural Revolution. A nobody. A burden to a family that could barely afford to feed her. --- Rage, pure and blistering, ignited in her chest as the truth began to settle. It was not just the car crash that haunted her; it was the face she had seen right before the flames took her. Lin Wei. Her "best friend" of twenty years. Beautiful, perfect Lin Wei had stood on the rain-slicked asphalt, holding an umbrella, watching Sue Ning bleed out with a serene, mocking smile on her face. "You never understood, did you, Ning Ning?" Lin Wei’s soft whisper had drifted through the broken windshield, defying the roar of the fire. "Every life you have, I take. Every man who loves you, belongs to me. You are just the fertile soil for my harvest." Those words had cut deeper than the glass piercing her lungs. In her final moments, a veil had been lifted, revealing a horrifying cosmic joke. Lin Wei was not a human friend. She was a monster, a time-traveling predator who had tracked Sue Ning across multiple timelines, systematically stealing her accomplishments, her lovers, and her very destiny. In her first life, Sue Ning had been a brilliant scholar, only for Lin Wei to plagiarize her work and marry the crown prince who was meant to be Sue Ning's husband. During her second life, Sue Ning had been a successful modern businesswoman, only for Lin Wei to frame her for embezzlement and steal her doting fiancé. Every success Sue Ning had ever worked for had been subtly diverted into Lin Wei’s hands. Every man who had sworn to love Sue Ning had mysteriously ended up in Lin Wei’s bed, leaving Sue Ning abandoned, broken, and wondering what she had done wrong. Now, she was back in the past, stuck in a body that could barely stand. "Get up, you lazy wretch!" A heavy hand smacked her shoulder, jarring her back to the freezing reality of the mud room. A middle age woman with deeply lined skin and a sour but worried expression glared down at her. This was Mother Song, the matriarch of the household Sue Ning’s new body belonged to. "You've been shivering and whining for three days," Mother Song grumbled, shoving a chipped bowl of black, murky liquid toward Sue Ning's face. "The family cannot afford to keep feeding a corpse. Drink this and get to the fields." Sue Ning stared at the bowl. Her hands trembled violently as she reached out, her fingers thin and skeletal, covered in dirt and calluses. Taking the bowl, she forced the bitter liquid down her throat. It tasted like ash and rotten roots, but she swallowed every drop, desperate for any warmth to chase away the deathly chill in her bones. Hunger clawed at her stomach, a savage, empty ache that made her vision swim. This body had been starved, neglected, and pushed to its absolute limits. Setting the bowl down, she lay back against the scratchy straw, her mind racing. If she was here, in this remote village in the 1960s, then where was Lin Wei? Instinct, sharpened by lifetimes of betrayal, told her that her tormentor was close. Lin Wei wouldn't miss an opportunity to watch her suffer in a place like this. Slowly, the pieces began to click together. This village, this era... it was the starting point. Lin Wei must have traveled back to this specific timeline to claim her next prize. And Sue Ning had been dragged along, reborn into a weak, miserable vessel, meant to be nothing more than a stepping stone once again. "Not this time," Sue Ning whispered, her voice a dry, raspy scrape. A cold, calculated resolve hardened within her, replacing the initial shock of her rebirth. She would not play the victim anymore. If Lin Wei wanted to play with destinies, Sue Ning would tear hers apart piece by piece. She would take everything Lin Wei cherished, starting with the very foundation of her perfect life. Reputation in this era was everything. A single rumor could ruin a person; a whisper of impropriety could lead to public ruin. To survive and conquer, she needed to be ruthless. She needed to learn the rules of this new, brutal world and turn them to her advantage. --- Dragging herself out of the wooden bed, Sue Ning stood on shaky legs. The earthen floor was freezing beneath her bare feet, sending jolts of ice up her spine. Poverty clung to every corner of the small room. A broken wooden stool, a cracked washbasin, and a single chest of drawers were the only furniture. Placing a hand over her hollow stomach, she closed her eyes, trying to master the physical weakness. The hunger was a visceral reminder of her utter helplessness in this current state. She needed food. She needed strength. Above all, she needed a plan. Stepping toward the small, grime-covered window, she peered outside. Bleak landscapes of mud-brick houses, grey skies, and leafless trees shivering in the winter wind met her gaze. People dressed in identical, faded green and blue cotton jackets moved like ghosts through the mist, their faces grim and hollow. This was an era of scarcity, where survival was a daily battle. Yet, amidst the bleakness, a spark of pure malice burned bright in Sue Ning’s soul. She would find Lin Wei's target—the husband, the lover, the man Lin Wei was destined to steal or had already claimed. And she would take him. Not out of love, but out of absolute, destructive vengeance. She would make him crave her. She would make him betray Lin Wei in the most humiliating, secret ways imaginable, right under her perfect nose. Every stolen touch, every hidden encounter, would be a nail in Lin Wei's coffin. Sue Ning would watch her "best friend" slowly unravel, never knowing why her perfect destiny was slipping through her fingers. A low chuckle escaped Sue Ning's dry lips, sounding dark and menacing in the quiet room. The pain in her chest seemed to ease, replaced by the intoxicating thrill of anticipated ruin. "You thought you won, Lin Wei," she whispered against the cold glass of the window. "But you brought me back. And I will make you regret ever crossing my path." Her fingers curled into tight fists, her dirty nails biting into her palms. The physical pain was nothing compared to the burning fire of her hatred. She was ready. She would endure the hunger, the cold, the abuse of this family—anything to get close enough to strike. --- Walking over to the cracked washbasin, she splashed freezing water onto her face. The shock cleared the remaining cobwebs from her mind, revealing the sharp, delicate features of her new face in the reflection of the dirty water. Despite the dirt and the pale, sickly complexion, the girl in the reflection possessed an undeniable, fragile beauty. Her eyes were large and dark, shaped like almonds, capable of looking incredibly innocent or devastatingly alluring. This was a weapon. In a world as rigid and repressed as the 1960s, a woman's vulnerability could be a deadly tool if wielded correctly. Sue Ning traced her collarbone, feeling the sharp, prominent bone beneath the thin fabric of her patched shirt. She would need to cultivate this fragility, using it to draw in her targets. Seduction in this era could not be overt. It had to be a slow burn, a series of seemingly innocent accidents, lingering glances, and brief, electric touches that left a man breathless and confused. She would start slowly, establishing herself as a helpless, tragic figure who needed protection. Men in this village, bound by traditional values of chivalry and duty, would find themselves drawn to her weakness. Once they were hooked, she would tighten the leash, dragging them into a web of forbidden desire they could never escape. Anticipating Lin Wei's reaction when she discovered her perfect husband was sneaking out to touch another woman made Sue Ning's heart race with dark anticipation. She would not just steal him; she would ruin him, and in doing so, ruin Lin Wei. --- Footsteps echoed outside the door, followed by the harsh scraping of wooden chairs against the floor in the main room. "Is that useless girl still asleep?" a shrill voice complained. It was sister-in-law Zhao, a woman known for her sharp tongue and lazy habits. "The sun is already up, and she hasn't even fetched the water. We are working ourselves to the bone while she plays the sick lady." "Keep your voice down," Mother Song’s raspy voice replied. "She drank the herbal soup. If she doesn't get up soon, I'll drag her out myself. The production team leader was already asking about her absence. We'll lose work points if she doesn't show up." Sue Ning smiled coldly in the dark. She knew exactly how to handle these small-minded tormentors. "I am sorry, Mother," Sue Ning whispered, stepping into the main room and keeping her eyes lowered. "I will go fetch the water now." Mother Song grunted, tossing a wooden bucket toward her feet. "Be quick about it. The well is frozen, so you'll have to break the ice first. Don't come back until it's full." Nodding silently, Sue Ning picked up the heavy wooden bucket. The wood was rough, biting into her soft palms, but she welcomed the pain. It was a physical reminder that she was alive, and that she had a purpose. Stepping out of the house, the freezing winter air hit her like a physical blow. The wind howled through the narrow dirt lanes, carrying the scent of burning coal and dry pine needles. With slow, deliberate steps, she walked through the village, her body shivering beneath her thin cotton jacket. Her mind, however, was sharp and focused, analyzing every detail of her surroundings. She needed to find the well, and more importantly, she needed to find out who the key players in this village were. Reaching the village well, she found several women already gathered there, gossiping in hushed tones as they drew water. As Sue Ning approached, the whispering stopped. Curious, pitying, and malicious eyes turned toward her. "Look, isn't that the Song family's second daughter?" one woman whispered, nudging her companion. "I heard she fell into the river three days ago. Some say she tried to drown herself because of the wedding proposal." "Hush, don't let the village cadre hear you," another warned, casting a nervous glance around. "In these times, such talk can get you sent to the re-education camps." Sue Ning pretended not to hear, focusing on lowering her bucket into the deep, dark well. The water below was black and still, reflecting a tiny, distorted patch of the grey sky. With slow, burning effort, she hauled the heavy bucket up, the coarse hemp rope scraping against her skin until her hands were raw and bleeding. As she worked, she listened intently to the snippets of conversation around her. "Educated youth from the city arrived yesterday," a young girl whispered, her cheeks flushing with excitement. "There's a handsome young man among them. I think his name is Lu Chen. He's the son of a high-ranking official." "Don't get your hopes up," the older woman snorted. "I saw that Lin Wei girl from the eastern district already lingering near his quarters. She was offering to help him carry his luggage. You know how she is, always clawing her way to the top." Lu Chen. This was the target. This was the man Lin Wei was after in this timeline. And Lin Wei was already moving. Sue Ning's chest tightened, not with fear, but with an electric surge of predatory instinct. She would let Lin Wei think she had the upper hand. She would let her make her move, and then, she would strike from the shadows. Dragging the heavy, sloshing buckets back to the Song household took every ounce of Sue Ning's remaining strength. Her shoulders screamed in protest, and her breath came in ragged, frosty gasps. When she finally pushed open the door and set the buckets down, Sister-in-law Zhao merely rolled her eyes and muttered a curse about her slowness. Sue Ning did not look at her. She walked straight back to her small, freezing room, her body trembling with exhaustion. She collapsed onto the dirt floor, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. Her raw palms bled onto the cold earth, her stomach twisting in a painful knot of hunger. Suddenly, the air in the room seemed to freeze. A strange pressure pressed down on Sue Ning's chest, making it difficult to breathe. Panic flared briefly in her mind as she clutched her throat, wondering if this weak body was failing her already. But the sensation was different. It was not physical illness; it was an external force, wrapping around her soul like a band of hot iron. A high-pitched ringing filled her ears, drowning out the distant sounds of the village. She gasped, falling to her knees on the cold dirt floor. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. Just as she grapples with the impossible reality, a metallic voice echoes directly inside her mind: 'Host bound. Welcome to the Home Wrecker System.'

Chapter 1: Ashes, Dust, and Rebirth