Chapter 1

A summer afternoon, the cicadas' calls rang out incessantly.

Sunlight filtered through the wooden lattice window, dividing the patches of light on the floor into eight equal squares.

Dust particles danced in the sunlight, accompanied by the music playing on the radio.

"I am but a small stone, deeply buried in the earth, willing to pave the way..."

The lingering melody stirred the person lying on the bed to open their eyes.

Lin Yilan sat up and reached for the radio’s play button. With a click, the music was cut off.

Hearing the meows from downstairs, Lin Yilan turned over to grab her watch.

It was a renowned Plum Blossom brand watch. Though its surface bore some scratches from use, its polished face still reflected the owner's care.

Hmm, it was about the hottest time of day.

At this hour each day, the little tabby cat at her grandparents’ house would be driven to meow loudly by the heat.

Though she couldn’t understand the cat’s words, she guessed it was angrily cursing this sweltering, maddening weather.

“From Old Niu’s place, did you hear? Professor Li’s country bride is going to meet her in-laws. And that girl from her ex-husband’s family is coming along too.”

“Can Sister-in-law Li stand it? She always holds her head high when she sees us country women—looking down on us all the time.”

“Not to mention, last time she saw me, she even deliberately covered her nose. So pretentious. Her face is all wrinkled, yet she acts so affected.”

“Poor Commander Li, truly unlucky to have such a daughter-in-law.”

“Hey, hey, enough about the Li family. Did you know the little granddaughter of Teacher Lin is back home?”

“Ahem, ahem…”

“Well, well, I have something to do. I’m off.”

“Yes, yes, I’m still cooking soup on the stove. I better go turn it off—no time to chat.”

“You cook soup in the dog days of summer?”

“Sister Zhang, why are they all in such a hurry? Everyone suddenly has things to do!”

Lin Yilan sat behind the window listening to their chatter. She hadn’t expected them to disperse so quickly. Originally bored, her eyes suddenly brightened at the mention of Sister Zhang’s name, and she swiftly pushed open the window.

“Aunt Zhang, long time no see! You’re here today too!”

Hearing her voice, the woman Lin Yilan called "Aunt Zhang" lifted her basket and, without a word, hurried away on her nimble legs.

Another woman, who had been talking to Aunt Zhang, froze in place, her face confused.

From afar, Lin Yilan saw the woman looking lost. Smiling, she waved at her.

“Good afternoon, ma’am.”

The woman replied blankly, “Good afternoon, young lady.”

“Which family are you from? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.” Once she registered Lin Yilan’s cheerful face, her interest was piqued.

Just then, Aunt Zhang suddenly reappeared from somewhere, grabbing the woman’s arm and quickly heading home.

“Sister Zhang, what’s going on? Why the sudden rush?”

“Don’t talk.”

“What do you mean, Sister Zhang? I was just talking to the little girl!”

“What were you talking about? Don’t you know who that girl was?”

“Who? The commander’s daughter? I hadn’t heard.”

“And doesn’t the commander’s family live elsewhere?”

“Shut up. She’s Teacher Lin’s little granddaughter.”

“Ah! Why didn’t you say so earlier?!”

Lin Yilan didn’t catch the rest of their conversation. Leaning out half her body, she watched the two women rush off and laughed quietly.

After a moment, she sighed, slumping onto a stool.

She pulled out her admission letter from the drawer. Seeing the bold calligraphy stating “Department of Architecture,” she couldn’t help but tilt her head back and sigh deeply.

Annoying, so annoying—why architecture again?

Seventeen years traveled back, only to return to pre-liberation times.

Who could she complain to? It was unjust.

In this era, studying architecture was said to have prospects, but also said to have none.

Walking the streets of the capital city, most buildings were made of red bricks; the better ones had whitewashed walls with slogans painted on top.

That was actually the best part. Outside the city’s third ring road, there were many brick houses, and some places even had earthen homes.

But that wasn’t the real reason she regretted studying architecture. The true reason was probably that she, a corporate drone, no longer wanted to die suddenly from overwork drawing blueprints.

She was close to developing PTSD from drafting.

Now, there were no computers—just a pencil and her hands.

Straining on her eyes.

“Sigh—”

Lin Yilan lay on the desk, tossing the new student admission notice aside.

“Knock, knock, knock—”

“Lanlan, I’m coming in.”

Her grandmother’s voice sounded outside the door.

Lin Yilan set the admission letter on the desk and turned her head toward the door. “Grandma, come in.”

Grandma Lin entered and saw Lin Yilan sprawled on the desk, looking listless.

She reached out to pat Lin Yilan’s head gently. “What’s wrong? Thinking about school starting?”

Lin Yilan nodded. “It’s just over ten days before school begins. I’ll miss you and Grandpa.”

Grandma Lin glanced at the open window and sighed inwardly.

She pulled over a chair and sat beside Lin Yilan. “Has someone been saying something again?”

Though she had spent little time with her granddaughter over the years, this summer they had been together more, and Grandma Lin quickly realized that this little granddaughter had a fiery temper.

Lin Yilan shook her head. People had talked about her and their family before, but after she acted a few times, no one dared anymore.

Lin Yilan’s grandparents’ house was at the far west of the compound, where retired senior officers lived. It was the only part of the compound not yet rebuilt or renovated—just some old bungalows.

But the place was cool in summer and warm in winter. Rumor had it a hundred-year-old cypress tree stood there, making it a popular spot for family members to chat.

It was the compound’s gossip hub—a perfect place to gather information.

Because of this, the news there was mostly trivial—either a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law quarrel or a young couple bickering.

And recently, Lin Yilan, who had just moved in, had become the favorite topic among the bored elders.

Yet no one noticed that Lin Yilan’s grandparents’ house was the closest to the ancient cypress tree, and her room had an ideal vantage point, allowing her to catch every bit of gossip circulating under the tree.

Including gossip about herself.

Indeed, she had overheard many of their secrets. The first time, she thought they were all civilized residents of the military compound and directly expressed her feelings and opinions.

But once was useless; twice, still no effect.

By the third time, Lin Yilan realized that the elders in the military compound were no different from those chatting at the village entrance.

So she decided to fight fire with fire—whenever someone gossiped about her family, she’d spread gossip about theirs.

After all, no one in the compound knew more or better gossip than she did. Such a treasure trove couldn’t go to waste.

After a few rounds, the elders were scared of Lin Yilan and promptly stopped talking about her family.

Because of this, Lin Yilan earned a notorious reputation in the compound, becoming someone none of the elders dared to provoke. Her retaliations even made her surpass the commander’s daughter-in-law in their esteem.

She became known among the elders as a “little devil.”

Grandma Lin realized belatedly, but by then, Lin Yilan’s bad reputation was already well established, and she could do little to save her.

Since this wasn’t a compound matter, Grandma Lin glanced at her granddaughter’s desk and said, “I had your grandpa ask around. There are only two girls admitted to the architecture department at the Industrial University this year. Do you want to switch majors?”

“If you want to change, I can have grandpa help inquire.”

Lin Yilan rested her chin on the desk, feeling the weight of her head. She momentarily felt her mind heavy.

“Forget it, Grandma. I’ll just study architecture.”

Grandma Lin patted her back. Her granddaughter’s luck was poor—originally accepted into the Chinese literature department, but just one spot short, the school reassigned her to architecture.

If she hadn’t been a science student, it might not have been her to be reassigned.

“All right, if you want to change, talk to Grandpa.”

“Oh, by the way, our little cat is looking for you to pour some water. Stop lying on the desk; she’s been waiting a while.”

Mentioning the little tabby cat, Lin Yilan perked up—she had worked hard to keep the cat alive.

“Grandma, I’ll go give her some water.”

“Did she have lunch?”

“Yes, yes, don’t worry. No one takes care of their cat as well as you do.” Grandma Lin said teasingly.

After confirming the cat had eaten, Lin Yilan quickly ran out.

She poured the previously boiled and cooled water into the cat’s bowl and gently stroked her furry companion’s head.

So soft to touch~

Watching the little tabby lick water under the sun, Lin Yilan’s mood brightened considerably.

“Creak—”

The grating sound of the iron gate opening made her cover her ears.

When would someone finally lubricate this rusty gate? The noise was unbearable.

The iron gate swung open; usually, that meant someone had arrived by car.

How unusual.

Thinking this, Lin Yilan brushed off her pants and walked to the door to look outside.

A military green jeep slowly drove into the compound.

Neighbors nearby also poked their heads out to see.

Though cars weren’t uncommon in the compound, few entered through the west gate.

So who was this important visitor?