Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't imagine how the original owner could have been so arrogant and domineering. Yet, Zhou Huai'an had never once lost his temper with her and was regarded as a good man who endured everything silently.

No wonder the women outside were talking about her so openly. Another thing puzzled Lin Xiaoxiao greatly: since the original owner had made such a mess of things, why hadn't they gotten divorced?

Lin Xiaoxiao looked around the room—it had two sections. The inner room, where the original owner slept, contained nothing besides a double bed.Against the wall in the outer room was a single bed with a neatly folded army-green quilt—where Zhou Huai'an slept. There was also a cupboard, a stove, and a small dining table. The place was simple and shabby.

Lin Xiaoxiao let out a long sigh. In this era, where you needed a permit to go out, coupons to eat, and faced limited supplies of sugar and oil, she wasn't even sure how she was going to survive.

Outside the door, the group of women had started discussing what to make for lunch. Lin Xiaoxiao felt her stomach growling. It seemed the original owner had thrown a tantrum the previous night—she hadn't eaten dinner before going to bed and hadn't gotten up in the morning either.

Then she woke up—as the current Lin Xiaoxiao.

Rubbing her stomach, Lin Xiaoxiao pondered that the reason she had entered this body was likely because the original owner hadn't eaten regularly and argued with others every day, leading to a temporary shock from myocardial ischemia. Seizing this opportunity, she had crossed over.

As an excellent surgeon, Lin Xiaoxiao never neglected her health. Since she might be staying in this body for a while, she decided she ought to take good care of it—eat well first, and then figure out how to live from there.

At that thought, Lin Xiaoxiao shivered. In late March, the northwest was still very cold. Outside, the snow and ice were melting, but indoors, without a fire, it was as chilly as an icehouse.

She reached out and touched the cold stove. Having grown up in a wealthy family, Lin Xiaoxiao had no idea how to light it. After a moment's thought, she decided to ask someone for help.

She turned, pulled open the door, and squinted as the slanting sunlight streamed in. When her eyes adjusted, she saw several women who had been sitting in the sun not far away stand up. Some hurried away, holding their children.

The two who remained watched her with wary eyes.

Lin Xiaoxiao felt a headache coming on. She couldn't recall all their names, but the original owner had quarreled with every one of them. The woman wearing the blue floral-patterned cotton jacket was her next-door neighbor. Once, because she had stir-fried dried chili peppers and the smell irritated the original owner, the latter had thrown a pot of water at her window and cursed her out.

The other woman, holding a child with her short hair tucked behind her ears and a round, honest-looking face, had been scolded by the original owner in the yard for letting her child cry during naptime.

Because of Zhou Huai'an's high position, these family members didn't dare to curse the original owner openly, but in their hearts, they probably resented her deeply—otherwise, they wouldn't speak of her with such bitterness.

Remembering all the wrongs the original owner had committed, Lin Xiaoxiao had no idea how to start a conversation now.

The two women, seeing that Lin Xiaoxiao had opened the door without yelling at them, exchanged glances. Then, carrying the child and the stool, they hurried back into their homes, shutting their doors with a bang as if Lin Xiaoxiao were some kind of ferocious beast.

Lin Xiaoxiao stood in the yard, squinting at the row of houses. There were eight units in a row, each divided into two sections with a small front yard. The neighbors' yards had already been cleared of snow, ready for planting vegetables when the weather warmed up a bit more. Some also had chicken coops.

But the original owner's yard was a complete mess, cluttered with branches and sticks piled up haphazardly. There was some coal placed near the corner of the window. Lin Xiaoxiao took a deep breath. Since there was no one to ask for help, she would have to rely on herself.

She had never made a fire before, but she had watched plenty of wilderness survival shows. As long as she could light the sticks and then add the coal, once the coal caught fire, the room would warm up.

She rolled up her sleeves, gathered the branches and sticks from the yard, carried them inside, found matches, and got ready to light the fire.

The branches were too damp, and Lin Xiaoxiao was inexperienced. She couldn't get the newspaper to catch fire. Finally, she had an idea—she poured the last bit of oil from the enamel jar onto the branches.

This time, it lit—but the room instantly filled with smoke. Lin Xiaoxiao, who had never endured such conditions, choked and coughed, wiping tears from her eyes as she desperately tossed coal into the stove.

Chief, your house is on fire!

Hearing his subordinate's warning, Zhou Huai'an saw black smoke rising from the direction of his home. Frowning, he rushed back.

Although Lin Xiaoxiao had no sincere intention to live with him, he had made a promise back then—it was his duty to take care of her. Besides, he couldn't let anything happen to her here.He kicked the door open. Smoke billowed out, and then he saw Lin Xiaoxiao squatting on the floor, her eyes red and tear-streaked, looking like a soot-covered kitten as she stared up at him.