Too hot!
A wave of sweltering heat had Emily Reed feeling totally out of it, her whole body practically steaming.
It was pitch black around her, and she fumbled around, trying to cool off, when her hand landed on something firm and unusually cold—a set of rock-solid abs.
Emily’s brain was fried, running purely on instinct as she clung to the body beside her and somehow managed to shove the person down onto the bed.
Who knew how much time passed like that. Only when a harsh beam of light cut in through the window did she suddenly snap back to reality.
She tried to leap up, but all she did was wobble on the bed.
Looking down—hold on, had she gained three hundred pounds?
There were rolls on her waist like floatation rings stacked one on top of the other. Her thighs were massive, arms pudgy, and her face as round as a pancake.
The shock almost knocked her out. A pig-like shriek burst from her throat.
Alright, time travel to the 70s? Maybe she could accept that. But into a supersized body? Seriously, was the universe pulling a prank?
Her startled scream jolted the guy next to her awake.
He looked like he’d walked straight out of a black-and-white movie—cool, aloof, and annoyingly handsome.
Thick dark brows sharp as blades, sleek eyes, a straight nose, thin red lips, and that sharply defined jawline.
He frowned hard, opening his eyes to glance at her with an icy stare that made Emily instinctively shrink back.
From the patchy memories in her head, she figured out what happened. The original Emily had gotten drunk, fallen into the river, and this guy—some new educated youth who’d just started work in Ping’an Village—had pulled her out. But somewhere in all that chaos, she kinda… forced herself on him?
“I’m sorry! Really sorry! Let’s just pretend this never happened, okay? Don’t worry, I won’t say a word, and I won’t ask you to take responsibility!” she blabbered, scrambling to throw on her clothes as fast as she could.
But karma hit faster than she could run. Just as she was inching toward the door in her pants, hoping to sneak off quietly, the lights outside grew brighter, and with a bang, the old wooden door got kicked open.
Half the village was outside, holding torches and flashlights. Leading the pack was none other than William Parker, the man the original Emily was supposed to marry.
William looked like he was going to explode. Face red, finger jabbing at her as he yelled, “You shameless fat woman! Your parents said you hadn’t come home all night—we looked for you everywhere, and here you are cheating on me with some guy! You’ve made a fool of me. We’re done! I’m calling off the engagement!”
“My God, Emily Reed is unbelievable! I’ve never seen anyone so indecent!”
“Exactly! William’s the first one in our village to get into college. Marrying her in the first place was already lowering his standards, and she still dares to cheat?”
“He’s good-looking, smart, and he's got a huge future ahead of him. He could marry a rich girl from the city anytime. And this fat woman still isn't satisfied?”
“No man could stand this! Just look at their messy clothes—bet they’ve already done the deed!”
“That new educated guy only arrived yesterday, good-looking but clearly not smart—he actually hooked up with someone like Emily Reed!”Hearing the villagers gossiping all around, Emily Reed could tell—if it were the original owner of this body, that timid girl would've probably run off and drowned herself by now.
But Emily had gone through those memories in detail. Something didn’t add up. The whole thing smelled fishy.
Supposedly, today was a dinner at the Parkers’ place. Diana Parker and her son William had invited the original host to celebrate him becoming the village’s first college student. But if it was really a family celebration, why invite only her? And what was with all that pushing her to drink?
And then there was that part where she remembered being walked halfway home. William Parker was indeed with her at the time. But when she fell into the river—it felt less like an accident, more like someone gave her a little push.
And the man who saved her—the young man from the city—was supposedly sleeping. How come he just happened to wake up at the exact right moment?
"Emily Reed! You shameless hussy! My family’s not gonna feed a daughter-in-law like you! We're done with this engagement—over, do you hear me? Over!" Diana Parker's voice pierced through the noise as she threw herself forward, hand raised to slap Emily.
But the slap never landed.
Emily looked up to see the city guy already dressed, towering over her. He stepped in between, grabbed Diana’s wrist midair, and pushed her aside with a calm but firm voice. "Can’t we talk like decent people? Barging in and hitting someone—how’s that right?"
Diana staggered back, nearly losing her balance. She instantly burst out crying, stomping her feet and slapping her thighs dramatically as she pointed at Emily and the man behind her. "Look at ’em! That pair of shameless dogs! Hooking up behind our backs and now daring to lay hands on me! And you—from outside, sneaking around with my son’s fiancée, and now you're trying to bully us locals? People! Say something, please!"
"Call the Party Secretary! This educated youth just showed up in Ping’an Village, hasn’t even started working yet—and he’s already stealing someone's woman and getting violent!"
"Exactly! If word gets out about this, none of us can show our faces anymore! What will people think about Ping’an Village? It sets a terrible example! What'll happen if all the young people from the city act like this? How are our boys supposed to get wives?"
Diana's rant fired up the crowd again.
"Call the cops! Let’s report him for adultery. Let him do some time behind bars!"
"Yeah! He needs to be taught a lesson—haul him over to the station! Maybe even a firing squad is too good for scum like this!"
"Back in the old days, what Emily did would’ve gotten her drowned in a pig cage!”
“You've humiliated not just me, Emily, but our whole Parker family!” William Parker barked through gritted teeth, face darkening as the muttering around them grew louder. “This wedding—consider it off. We're done here!”
Just then, Margaret Reed finally squeezed through the crowd, reaching the front. She grabbed onto Emily’s wrist, eyes bouncing back and forth between her daughter and the man standing behind her. Her eyes were red, voice trembling. "Emily, what on earth happened, huh? You’re about to marry William! Why were you with someone else? What’s going on?"
“She’s not coming into our family, not a chance!” Diana Parker shot Margaret a cold glare, chin raised like a queen handing down a verdict. “Like William said—this engagement is off!”
