A wave of dizziness washed over Lin Yan as she recovered from the aftereffects of time travel.
She recalled her brief exchange with Liang Minghao earlier. The fact that she had received his news and confirmed he was safe brought her a sense of peace.
Lin Yan rubbed her still-aching head before beginning to survey the room where she had woken up.
It was a room decorated in a very vintage style. Or perhaps not vintage, she mused. She noticed the candlestick on the table, which showed signs of use.
Moreover, the floor of the room was gently swaying. Was she on a ship?
Lin Yan examined the room again, trying to deduce the approximate era from the decor. It seemed to be a second-class cabin on a ship. The room wasn't large, and the decoration wasn't particularly exquisite. Based on the furnishings, it appeared to be in the style of the early 20th century.
"La la la," she hummed internally. "System, transmit the memories and plot!"
Lin Yan addressed the system in her mind, sinking back into the high-backed chair and leaning against it.
This was a world set in the Republican era. The male protagonist was a transmigrator, an ordinary person who, upon arrival, became the eldest young master of a fallen aristocratic family.
His father had squandered the family fortune to fund his opium addiction, while his mother was a woman whose life revolved around her husband. She had no recourse but to cry when faced with trouble.
He also had two younger siblings from his mother and a younger brother from an concubine. After his father fell ill and became bedridden due to opium use, the burden of supporting the family fell upon the newly arrived male protagonist.
To improve his family's living conditions, the male protagonist, lacking any special skills, drew upon his vast reading experience from his previous life and devised many ways to earn money. However, he couldn't make soap or refine soda ash.
After much consideration, he chose to serialize novels in newspapers. This was also difficult; he could recognize traditional Chinese characters but couldn't write them. Fortunately, as he began to write, he gained the memories of the original owner, which allowed him to complete his first novel.
At this time, the vernacular movement had just begun to gain traction, and the male protagonist's novels garnered significant attention. He then went on to write many novel and innovative stories based on his knowledge from his past life.
Each of his works was a groundbreaking creation. Except for the first one, every subsequent book brought the male protagonist considerable wealth. He used this money to move to the Shanghai concession.
He cited that Shanghai offered higher manuscript fees and more publishing houses, saving him the trouble of mailing his manuscripts. Since he had become the family's pillar of support, his mother, concubine, and the three children moved to Shanghai with him.
It was also in Shanghai that he met the original owner. The original owner was the sole daughter of a rising family in Shanghai. She had returned from studying abroad and taught foreign languages at a middle school. They met by chance.
Later, as the male protagonist's sister began attending the same middle school, they had more opportunities to interact. The male protagonist greatly admired the gentle and generous noble daughter. Moreover, having studied abroad and been exposed to Western ideas, the original owner shared many common topics with him.
However, the original owner did not accept the rising star of the literary world. Later, due to her family siding with the wrong faction and offending powerful figures, her family fell into complete decline. The original owner then vanished amidst the chaos of war.
As the situation grew increasingly turbulent, the male protagonist's family boarded a ship to Hong Kong. Onboard, they met the female protagonist, who was also traveling to Hong Kong.
The female protagonist was a fan of his novels and greatly enjoyed his writing, so she struck up a conversation with him. Their relationship grew closer. Eventually, after living near each other in Hong Kong and becoming increasingly familiar, they decided to be together.
Upon arriving in Hong Kong, the male protagonist continued to write novels, using his writing to support his family and winning numerous awards. Later, his novels were adapted into films, and his fame continued to grow.
Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, he contacted the government and donated more than half of his assets to the new regime. However, he chose not to return himself. Nevertheless, he remained a renowned patriotic writer.
The male protagonist was included in textbooks, but the original owner was lost to history.
However, Lin Yan, with the original owner's memories, knew that the original owner's father had been working for the new party. The reason for the Lin family's decline was the discovery of his identity, and the original owner's disappearance was not due to war.
The original owner was captured. When those individuals failed to obtain information from the original owner's father, they turned their attention to her.
After her capture, the original owner endured severe torture. But she revealed nothing. She was aware of her father's connections and the methods of communication with those people.
Having studied abroad, the original owner was proficient in several languages, so her father often brought her along as a translator. Much of the intelligence was overheard and translated by the original owner for her father.
Yet, she gritted her teeth and persevered, claiming to know nothing. Even when beaten to a pulp, she remained silent. Finally, she died of infection in that dark, dismal dungeon.
After receiving the memories, Lin Yan remained motionless for a long time, not interacting with the system.
"Host, are you alright?" The original owner's tragic end was too bleak, and the system worried that its host would find it difficult to accept.
"I'm fine, just a bit emotional," Lin Yan sighed softly. Fate plays cruel tricks, and in the torrent of war, everyone is but an ant.
Lin Yan's history studies weren't particularly strong, but she understood the chaos and darkness of that period. Wasn't the male protagonist's situation similar? He fled to Hong Kong to escape the war.
However, Lin Yan did not wish to flee. This period of history was too tragic, and she felt she could do something for this ailing nation. Moreover, the original owner's father was already caught in this torrent; she couldn't persuade him to leave, nor would he leave.
She trusted this country deeply and loved it. This country was now in ruins, and she, with the ability to act, could do something. If she did nothing, how could she bear it!
"Knock, knock, knock." A knock at the door. After Lin Yan said, "Come in," a middle-aged woman entered with a meal.
"Young lady, I've brought your dinner," the middle-aged woman said, placing the meal on a coffee table in another part of the room.
"The food on the ship is rather monotonous, mostly bread and steak. It's expensive and not very good! When we get back to Shanghai, I'll make you some soup!"
"Mama Zhang, have you eaten?" Lin Yan stood up and walked to the washbasin to wash her hands and eat.
Mama Zhang was the original owner's wet nurse. She had stayed by the original owner's side when she went abroad to study.
"Yes, yes, I have," Mama Zhang waved her hand. "I had some bread and the soup of the day. Sigh, after eating Western food for four years, I still can't get used to it. It seems I can't enjoy life abroad.
But it's good that we're finally going back. I really miss soy milk and fried dough sticks now!"
"I miss them too!" Lin Yan said, sitting at the table with a smile.
She also disliked Western food, soft bread, and overly sweet pies. She preferred rice, steamed buns, and distinctly flavored Chinese dishes.
She truly had a Chinese stomach. Even when she studied abroad in her original world, she had brought a nanny and all her seasonings from China.