"Serves her right. God has eyes. Flaunting her looks and wealth—well-deserved death," others muttered in envy.
The village leader, knowing the truth, sighed. "She should blame herself for taking the place of the real Su family daughter."
The village doctor arrived and hurried inside.
He checked Su Miao Miao's pulse and eyes, then made his judgment.
The timid second daughter-in-law asked, "Is she really dead?"
The doctor scoffed. "Are you asking or stating? She's malnourished. Fainting from lack of food isn't surprising. The cause of death is blood loss, though she would have died eventually from poor nutrition.
It's a miracle she survived this long. Couldn't you have spared even a few mouthfuls for her? Seems like you lot don't even fear punishment in the next life for your stinginess."
Jiang Father's face turned red, but he had no rebuttal.
He glared at his wife, blaming her stinginess for his loss of face.
He did not realize she would not have dared it without his silent consent, but still, he blamed her.
Jiang Mother didn't notice her husband's discontent brewing.
The doctor paid no attention—he had more than a hundred households in the village to oversee and couldn't intervene further. He prepared the necessary documents, signed them, and left.
Some patients might already be waiting at his home.
Two months passed while Su Miao Miao floated unseen, eavesdropping on everyone's secrets.
She discovered many things the Jiang couple had never spoken aloud.
Her so-called husband had a kept man outside.
She didn't mind his orientation, but she despised being cheated.
She found out they had never shared proper intimacy in their married life.
Even the first time, which was witnessed by villagers, someone had slipped sleeping pills into her food, brought her to a shed, and undressed her. Nothing more had happened.
Later, whatever intimacy happened were not proper and it was done in hurry. She didn't realize it wasn't supposed to be that way as no one had taught her.
She hated herself for not understanding these things sooner.
She was educated, knew a lot, but had sought only her parents' recognition, consuming knowledge without ambition.
She discovered this truth by following her husband, seeing him pinned to the bed by his kept man, and overhearing their conversations.
She also uncovered family secrets—where money was hidden, what everyone was doing—and even learned many villagers' secrets.
She realized she could enter that strange space within her consciousness, where she could interact with objects freely despite being soul unlike her real world. In real world, she would pass throigh everything.
She explored the space and discovered its many functions:
The black soil area could grow crops, much faster than in real life. Seeds were found inside the house by her and experimented.
The green grasslands spread far beyond her sight. she couldn't see the end of it.
The bamboo forest was ideal for meditation and practicing martial arts methods she had found in books inside the bamboo cottage.
The spring water was extraordinary but had to be consumed in moderation; too much was dangerous.
She had died from excess consumption.
The cottage, though small outside, was vast inside.
It had five floors and a basement. The basement was endlessly expandable; anything kept there remained fresh indefinitely.
The first floor was living space: kitchen, bedrooms, dining room, living room, washroom—modern and usable. She got the hang of them after some time.
The second floor held martial arts books. She read them all, discovering her photographic memory and the styles aht most suited to her.
As a spirit, she could not practice physically, but the knowledge was hers.
The third floor contained medicinal books, which she studied slowly.
The fourth floor stored herbs and seeds, which she planted in the black soil area; they grew instantly.
The upper flours, she didn't know how many were there. They were locked.
The hills contained forests with complete ecosystems; flora and fauna.
Best of all, she could control everything inside this space with her consciousness. She could hunt, cook, farm—all without moving her body. Flora and fauna from hills could be collected.
...
Just as always, Su Miao Miao studied the medicinal books on the third floor.
There were both traditional and modern texts, but she focused on the traditional ones, learning how to take pulses and perform acupuncture with needles.
After reading, she drifted out as a soul to relieve her boredom by eavesdropping on gossip.
She noticed Jiang Mother and Jiang Father fumbling in their room with papers.
Jiang Father was writing a letter. Su Miao Miao hadn't known he could read, let alone write.
She leaned closer, surprised by his crooked handwriting. She found it funny.
At least he could write—that was unexpected.
Curious, she read the letter. It was about herself.
"Su Miao Miao died of extreme blood loss two months ago. —Today's date"
She was shocked. Who were they informing?
Her parents?
Two months after her "death"?
She felt a pang of sadness.
She didn't fully trust Jiang Mother's words that the Su family wanted her gone.
The next day, Jiang Father took a day off and headed to the country town. She floated closely behind him.
When she saw the address, her suspicion was confirmed—it was indeed mailed to her parents.
She remembered her life in City A.
She had lived there for fourteen carefree years, filled with love and laughter.
When she graduated high school at fourteen—having skipped grades because she was studious and hardworking—she came home to find her parents doting on a strange girl in the living room.
She felt uneasy seeing them so close. Su father, who always looked kind but cold was coaxing the little girl who looked about her age.
She felt envious and her unease grew even more.
Her unease was justified.
They revealed that the girl, Su Ran Ran, was the Su family's real daughter.
When she had been trafficked from the hospital at the time of her birth, they had retrieved the wrong child—Su Miao Miao herself.