Volume One, Chapter 1: Transmigration

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July 21, 1975. The weather was bright and pleasant.

At the harbor of South Bay Island, a large ship was slowly making its way toward shore.

“Hey! Comrades aboard the ship! Wake up and get yourselves together. We’ll be docking soon, so gather up your parcels and belongings. Don’t leave anything behind...”

At the announcement, Shen Nian’an pulled along her little suitcase and stepped out of her cabin, intending to queue early for disembarkation.

Shen Nian’an was a time traveler.

She had worked for several days and nights without sleep while researching components for a new type of weapon, and had died suddenly from exhaustion. After death, she had awakened in the body of Shen Nian’an, a young capitalist heiress.

She had come to the island to find her fiancé, marry him, and escape the coming disaster.

Unfortunately, the original owner knew almost nothing about this fiancé.

Shen Nian’an’s memories from childhood were hazy. Afraid she would be unable to find him, her father had specially written down the basic information about her fiancé’s family on a slip of paper and given it to her.

But when the original owner learned that she alone was being sent to the island for refuge while her parents were being sent to suffer in the far northwest, she had torn the note to shreds in a fit of anger.

Time had been short. The moment her parents hurriedly shoved her aboard the ship, she had been taken away by officials from the administrative office.

Worried about her parents, and suffering from the discomfort of being on a ship for the first time, the original owner had developed a high fever and died aboard the vessel in the middle of the sea.

Shen Nian’an could only sigh at her fate. There was nothing she could do about it, so she decided to live on in the original owner’s identity. From this day forward, she was Shen Nian’an, a capitalist heiress from Shanghai in 1975.

She would save her parents—but for now, she needed to establish herself on the island and make her plans slowly.

When the ship’s doors opened, Shen Nian’an had already expected the crush, yet she was still squeezed flat as a pancake. The stench of sweat and the salty, fishy odor of all kinds of seafood invaded her nostrils. Her brows drew together in a deep frown as she gripped her suitcase and struggled down the gangway.

The moment she reached shore, Shen Nian’an began scanning her surroundings, unaware that a pair of eyes hidden in the shadows was fixed intently on her suitcase.

During this season, naval personnel of this era generally wore white above and blue below, with red-star badges on their caps. A ring of black ribbons was fastened around the cap band, bearing the words “xxx Navy.”

Shen Nian’an had learned these scattered details from books while researching the history of weapons development.

There was no one to the west. Nor to the east.

Then, suddenly, her gaze halted to the north.

A large sign bearing bold characters caught her attention.

It was not facing her directly, and she could barely make out two words: “Shen” and “An.”

Following the sign downward, Shen Nian’an’s eyes fell upon a man whose face was visible only in profile.

He was conspicuously tall, with an excellent stature and an upright bearing. His striking uniform made him stand out sharply from the crowd.

Through the throng, Shen Nian’an clearly saw his high, straight nose and tightly pressed, thin lips. Although he restrained the chill emanating from him, a small vacuum seemed to have formed around the man.

The name on the sign—and he was a naval officer?

Could this man be the fiancé the original owner had never met?

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As though sensing her gaze, Si Jinnian turned to look at her.

When he saw that it was a woman—and one so pale and radiant that she seemed to glow—the hostility in his dark eyes faded.

At that moment, sunlight spilled down and illuminated the woman. She gave him a sweet smile, and Si Jinnian froze for an instant.

Then his gaze grew even colder.

Shen Nian’an sighed inwardly. He was handsome, certainly, but what a pity... He was not her kind of man, and he clearly had no interest in her.

Suddenly, a powerful tug came from her wrist, and Shen Nian’an stumbled.

She immediately realized what was happening.

“Thief!”

“A thief?”

At her cry, everyone anxiously checked their own belongings. When they felt the bulging bundles at their sides, they sighed in relief.

Almost in the very next second, countless curious gazes shot toward them, making the already-crowded exit even more congested.

Liu Mazi had not expected Shen Nian’an to be such a tough opponent. She possessed a face that would make even a passing dog turn its head for a second look, yet her reactions were astonishingly quick, and she was far stronger than she appeared. He had been tugging for ages, but still could not wrench the suitcase from her hand.

That only confirmed his belief that he had caught a very big fish this time.

The crowd continued to grow. A vicious glint flashed through Liu Mazi’s eyes. Since he had already started, he might as well finish the job. He raised his foot and kicked viciously toward Shen Nian’an’s lower back.

“Look out!”

The crowd cried out in alarm.

Hearing the commotion, Si Jinnian looked over. His pupils contracted at the sight.

As a soldier, his sense of duty made him choose to rescue her without hesitation. With his strong, powerful arm, he shoved aside the people in front of him and strode toward Shen Nian’an.

But the woman abruptly released her suitcase and arched backward, revealing a slender waist so pale it seemed to glow.

Si Jinnian glanced at the suitcase being snatched away, then at Shen Nian’an, who was on the verge of falling, and could not help frowning.

He thought of the women who would cry for ages at the slightest scrape. After a brief hesitation, he chose to save her. However, he did not want to become entangled with her, so he extended the sign in his hand and pressed it against her waist, attempting to halt her fall.

What happened next was entirely beyond Si Jinnian’s expectations.

Shen Nian’an’s body was extraordinarily nimble. She twisted to the side, seemingly unwilling to collide with him, and began falling in the opposite direction.

That thought made Si Jinnian’s body move faster than his mind. He reached out a hand.

But in the very next instant, his pupils widened slightly as he watched the woman’s waist twist in an utterly unbelievable manner before she landed steadily on her feet.

Her waist was slender and very white.

But even more remarkably, it was soft.

When Si Jinnian realized what sort of nonsense he had been thinking, his stern expression grew even colder. Yet the tips of his ears had turned an enticing red.

Once she had regained her balance, Shen Nian’an let out a long breath of relief.

Fortunately, the original owner had studied dance. Otherwise, Shen Nian’an would certainly have ended up sprawled on the ground like a dog gnawing at a bone.

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However...

Shen Nian’an looked at the large sign before her and gave Si Jinnian an ingratiating smile.

“Let me borrow this.”

What Si Jinnian saw next was the most unforgettable scene of his life.

The girl who, a moment earlier, had been smiling sweetly, soft and harmless, suddenly hurled the sign away.

Her slender legs—barely thicker than his arm—moved with astonishing speed. Shen Nian’an seized the man who had taken advantage of the chaos to steal her suitcase and proceeded to beat him mercilessly.

How dare he steal her suitcase?

He was finished!

A girl who did not even look old enough to be an adult had actually beaten a grown man until he clutched his head and screamed in agony.

If he had not witnessed it with his own eyes, Si Jinnian would never have believed it.

For some reason, seeing this scene tugged the tightly pressed corners of his mouth upward.

It seemed... she no longer needed his help.

He picked up the welcoming sign lying on the ground nearby.

The spot where it had landed happened to be where someone had previously butchered fish. There was still some undried blood beneath it, and the sign had been stained, obscuring the middle word of her name.

Si Jinnian placed his broad palm on Shen Nian’an’s shoulder.

“Stop if you don’t want to go to prison.”

The words were clearly meant kindly, but coming from Si Jinnian’s mouth, they sounded more like a reprimand for having gone too far.

Sure enough, he really did dislike her!

Just listen to that tone. Anyone who knew they were engaged would think they were sworn enemies.

Shen Nian’an curved her brows into an extraordinarily obedient expression, then released the man.

The next second, the dispirited Liu Mazi sprang to life as though fitted with a tiny motor. He rolled and crawled away as fast as he could.

Shen Nian’an blinked at Si Jinnian, her tone utterly innocent.

“You told me to let him go. You can’t blame me for that.”

Si Jinnian knitted his brows. The next instant, he strode forward on his long legs. A gust of wind swept past, and he vanished from sight.

Shen Nian’an watched from behind, a gleeful expression just beginning to rise on her face, when Liu Mazi was already being dragged back by Si Jinnian.

This man... had quite impressive fighting ability.

She could not beat him. Definitely not.

With a clear understanding of the strength of both sides, Shen Nian’an immediately clenched her hand into a fist the moment Liu Mazi was brought back and delivered a devastating blow straight to his chin.