"Bang, bang, bang!"
"Evelyn Ward, get up right now! How can you sleep in the middle of the day? Look at you, so lazy! Is there any girl in the village who sleeps as much as you? It's disgraceful! Get up! Right this instant!"
Evelyn had been dozing, her mind floating in and out of sleep, until the loud banging on the door and sharp yelling rudely pulled her back to reality.
She hadn't been sleeping well these past few days. After finishing her chores earlier, she'd finally found an opportunity to catch up on some rest. Who was so determined to drag her out of her dream?
Rubbing her temples, Evelyn sat up groggily, her thoughts gradually organizing themselves. That voice outside... She recognized it.
Her mom. Or rather, the mother of her current body.
Suppressing her rising irritation, Evelyn threw a look of pure exasperation before striding to the door and yanking it open.
Margot Ward, standing outside, hadn’t expected the door to suddenly swing open. She stumbled forward, nearly losing her balance. If Charles Ward hadn’t been quick to catch her, she would’ve landed face-first in an embarrassing fall.
Shaken but recovering quickly, Margot straightened herself, her tone brisk and accusing. "You little brat! Did you do that on purpose? Hoping to see me eat dirt, huh?""Didn’t you tell me to open the door?" Evelyn Ward yawned, her eyes scanning the older couple at her doorstep. "Well, isn’t this a surprise. What brings you both here from the city today?"
"Evelyn..." Charles Ward frowned, clearly displeased with her tone.
"Listen to yourself! Like we’re not supposed to come back!" Margot Ward shot her a glare. "Let me remind you, young lady, this is *our* house! Not just yours! How dare you, a little girl, act like you can tell your parents whether they can come home or not!"
Margot Ward, formerly known as Margot Holland, had grown up in a family that favored sons over daughters, and after having her own children, she carried on the same mindset. To her, Evelyn Ward wasn’t really family, just a daughter who was bound to marry out sooner or later.
"This house belonged to Grandpa!" Evelyn retorted sharply. "Everyone knows it! Grandpa made it clear before he passed. He left this house to me and Derek! So yeah, this *is* my home!"
Margot’s face turned red with anger. If she’d known this ungrateful girl would cause her so much trouble and humiliation, she would’ve smothered her at birth.
"You really think your grandpa gave you this house out of generosity?" Margot snapped, practically spitting each word. "If you hadn’t gone and gotten yourself knocked up, embarrassing the whole family while pretending to be too good for anyone, he wouldn’t have pitied you enough to let you stay. Don’t kid yourself into thinking it was out of love!""This house should’ve gone to your brother. Who do you think you are, claiming it for yourself? Shameless, that’s what you are!"
Every time Margot Ward came over, she had to drag Evelyn Ward’s past mistakes back into the conversation. These cruel words no longer stung—Evelyn was numb to them.
The truth was, Evelyn didn’t belong to this time at all. She was originally the heir of a prominent 21st-century medical family, but she died in an accident during an emergency operation.
Her whole life had been dedicated to medicine. Young, famous, constantly in the public eye—she’d never even had the chance to fall in love. Before she died, her biggest regret was never having experienced that simplest, most primal kind of happiness.
Then, out of nowhere, she woke up, lying next to a man who perfectly matched her ideal type.
For a foolish moment, she thought maybe the universe was rewarding her for her life spent saving others—giving her what she’d missed out on before she was gone for good.
It wasn’t until the next morning, when reality sank in, she realized this wasn’t some cosmic blessing. No, she’d crossed over.
She had somehow been thrown into a parallel version of 1977.
Terrified, she fled.
Two months later, she found out she was pregnant. And ten months after that, she gave birth to a boy—unmarried.
In this era, having a child out of wedlock was a scandal so shameful it made her feel like she couldn’t breathe under the weight of all the accusations thrown her way. In this situation, the type of man willing to marry Evelyn Ward was pretty obvious, and Evelyn naturally refused to settle for it.
Her grandfather, who cherished her deeply, had left her the usage rights to half of the house shortly before he passed away.
But in Margot Ward’s eyes, that house was meant for her eldest son, Jonathan! At the very least, it should be split between him and Derek. Evelyn? A daughter? What right did she have?
Evelyn let out a cold laugh. "Doesn’t matter what you think. Grandpa already gave the house to me. You and Dad don’t get a say, and Jonathan? He’s got no claim to it either. What now? Feel wronged? Go ahead, why don’t you try arguing it out with Grandpa at his grave?”
It couldn’t have sounded more like a curse, practically damning her mother to hell.
Margot trembled with anger. What kind of ungrateful, trouble-making daughter would dare to talk back to her own mother like that? This was just—
“Stop it, Margot,” Charles Ward tugged at her sleeve, whispering, “Don’t forget why we’re really here today.”
Evelyn cast them a quick sideways glance.
These parents of hers had three kids altogether—two sons and a daughter—Evelyn being the youngest. Her eldest brother’s name was Jonathan Ward, the second was Derek Ward, and she was Evelyn Ward.Among the three kids, this daughter had never been taken seriously. Her second brother, Derek Ward, was almost invisible in the family, while only her eldest brother, Jonathan Ward, was deemed the prized gem in Margot and Charles Ward's eyes.
And to be fair, Jonathan didn’t let them down. Handsome and sharp, he got into the Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers University through recommendation after high school.
After graduating, he landed a teaching job at the county's high school, married a woman from the city, had a son, got a house from his workplace, and even brought Margot and Charles into town to enjoy their golden years.
Margot and Charles took pride in Jonathan, but because their daughter Evelyn Ward brought them nothing but shame in the village, they had nearly stopped coming back home altogether.
It wasn’t hard to guess their rare trip today wasn’t just for a casual visit.
Evelyn leaned against the door frame, waiting for them to get to the point.
"What kind of attitude is that?" Margot's face softened briefly but flared with annoyance the moment she saw Evelyn's nonchalant expression. Her irritation visibly bubbled up again.
"If you’ve got something to say, spit it out," Evelyn said impatiently. "If not, I’m not wasting my time standing here."
She could barely keep her eyes open.
"Alright, alright," Charles quickly cut in, trying to mediate. "Evelyn, we’re here to ask… is Oliver’s father that intellectual who came to the village back then? The one they called Jack Frost?"Evelyn Ward froze. That night, when she opened her eyes and saw that man still asleep, she’d slipped away in a hurry. It wasn’t until later that she realized he was the educated youth everyone in the village called "Jack Frost."
Jack wasn’t actually crazy—it was his ruthless nature that earned him the nickname.
They said he was both withdrawn and quick-tempered, with a hint of insecurity. Most of the time, he either worked in the fields or shut himself up in his room.
But don’t mistake him for someone you could bully. He was vicious when pushed. If anyone dared provoke him, they’d end up beaten so badly they couldn’t tell night from day. He never held back.
After that night, Jack left for the city not long after. These educated youths came from all over, and Evelyn figured she’d never cross paths with him again.
So why were her parents suddenly bringing him up now? Why were they outright asking if Jack was Oliver’s father?
Could they have already found out?
"It’s not—" Evelyn tried to deny it.
"Not what? You’re still trying to lie to us?" Margot Ward immediately cut her off. "That bastard..."