It hurt.

Every inch of her hurt.

She’d been old, sick, and living on her own for years. With no one around to take care of her, of course everything on her body had felt like it was falling apart.

But wait.

Back then she’d been in so much pain she could barely feel anything. So why was the ache now so sharp, so clean?

Chloe Morrison blinked in confusion. Through the gaps between the leaves above her, she could see a patch of bright blue sky. Birds were chirping nearby, lively and crisp.

She jerked upright, staring around in disbelief.

Deep in the woods… wasn’t this Phoenix Mountain? The very mountain she’d scrambled over since she was a little kid?

Back then she came here every day to cut pig grass and pick mushrooms. Heck, she could walk these trails with her eyes closed.

So how on earth had she ended up back on Phoenix Mountain?

As she wondered, she suddenly noticed her own hands—smooth, pale, soft. Not the shriveled, bony claws she’d grown used to seeing.

She touched her face. Soft as a peeled egg. Not a wrinkle to be found.

She was still lost in shock when a frantic voice came shouting toward her.

"Chloe! So you were hiding here! You heartless girl, trying to scare your mother to death?"

Chloe lifted her head. A thin woman with red-rimmed eyes was hurrying toward her, worry written all over her face. It was her mother, Josephine Anderson.

Seeing Chloe standing there unharmed, Josephine rushed up and smacked her a few times—angry, but her hands trembling with distress.

"What on earth is so great about that lousy boy? You’re willing to risk your life for him? Even if you don’t want your dignity, the Morrison family can’t lose face with you like this! You foolish child!"

Those scolding words—so familiar—struck Chloe like a bolt of lightning.

This… wasn’t this the very day she had fought with her parents over Vincent Shaw?

She’d wanted her dad to pull some strings and get Vincent an admission slot to the Worker-Peasant-Soldier University. Her dad had refused, no matter how she begged.

She’d gone on hunger strike over it.

And when her dad still wouldn’t budge, she stormed off and ran away from home.

She had left early that morning. By noon, when she didn’t show up for lunch, her family panicked and came searching the mountain for her.

Ever since she was little, her family had treated her like she was made of gold. If she’d asked for the moon, they would’ve tried to build a ladder tall enough to grab it.

But this time, no matter how she kicked up a fuss, everyone at home held their ground and refused to give an inch.

Josephine Anderson was throwing out all kinds of harsh words, and Chloe Morrison just stood there frozen, completely stunned.

She’d come back.

She really had come back. Back to 1975. Back to the year she’d been so blinded by Vincent Shaw that she couldn’t even tell which way was up.

For that good‑for‑nothing, she’d gone head‑to‑head with her whole family.

She’d sneak food out of the house for him, hand over the meat her brothers hunted from Phoenix Mountain for the New Year, even snatch candy from her little nephew just to sweet‑talk Vincent.

Those tiny stunts, her family had always turned a blind eye to, too tired to bother arguing with her.

But this time she’d lost her mind for real.

Lost it so badly that she’d begged her dad, the brigade leader, to meddle with the allocation and hand the brigade’s worker‑peasant‑soldier university quota to Vincent Shaw.

That quota belonged to the entire brigade. Every household had their eyes on it.

She never stopped to think what would happen if anyone found out, what kind of mess her family would be dragged into.

In her past life, it was on this very day Josephine came looking for her. But she didn’t go home. She’d run straight to the cliff edge, putting on an act like she was ready to throw herself off.

Her parents had no way to deal with her, so they finally gave in.

Vincent, that bastard, took the quota without blinking, then marched off to the city to study like nothing had happened. After that, he vanished from her world completely.

And she, Chloe Morrison, became the laughingstock of the entire brigade. Her dad’s meddling was exposed, and someone reported him.

The commune leaders chewed him out in front of everyone, tore him apart with their words, and he even lost his position as brigade leader. Soon the whole brigade was talking about it, whispering and pointing at her dad’s back whenever he passed.

Albert Morrison’s two boys got jumped at school, beaten until their faces swelled. Bernard Morrison and his wife fought nonstop because of the scandal, almost splitting up.

Calvin Morrison’s marriage prospect also fell apart.

Those who hated her dad cursed him openly during the day, and at night they’d dump buckets of filth at the door. Once, a group even tossed a sack over him and beat him half to death.

Those days, the whole house was a complete mess.

After that blow, her father fell ill and never really got back up.

Her mother kept wiping her tears in secret, thinking no one noticed.

The whole Morrison family could barely stay in the Tianxing Brigade anymore.

Just then, their neighbor, Isaac Hartwell, came home on leave. He showed up at their door saying he wanted to marry her.

Back then, everything at home was falling apart, and Chloe Morrison kept blaming herself. She even thought that maybe if she left, things would finally calm down.

So she nodded and agreed to marry Isaac Hartwell, packed her things, and headed to the army camp with him.

The day she was leaving, Melody Pemberton from the zhiqing station was also preparing to return to the city. She leaned close to Chloe and whispered, "Do you know who spread that rumor?"

Chloe froze.

Melody smirked proudly. "Let me tell you—it was me who reported it. Oh, right, take a look at this. Does it look familiar?"

She pulled out that jade pendant and waved it right in front of Chloe’s eyes. "Vincent gave me this as a token of love. Once I get back to the city, we’re getting married. Chloe, thanks for stepping aside for us. You better come drink our wedding wine."

Hearing all that, Chloe didn’t get angry. Instead, a deep ache washed over her, and she broke down crying, her chest tight, like her whole heart was being torn apart.

She couldn’t figure out why Vincent Shaw didn’t like her—why he liked Melody instead. What did Melody have that she didn’t? Back then, she’d been foolish enough to actually want to go ask Vincent about it.

Thinking of it now, Chloe wished she could go back and slap some sense into herself. Love really could scramble a person’s brain.

Josephine Anderson had been scolding her for ages, yet Chloe just stood there, dazed, staring blankly ahead like her soul had drifted off somewhere.

Josephine panicked, reached out, and pushed her shoulder. "Chloe! You silly girl! What’s wrong with you? Don’t scare me like this—look at me, hurry!"

Hearing her mother’s anxious voice, Chloe’s eyes slowly came back into focus. The moment she saw her mother clearly, tears rushed down her face again.

She threw herself into Josephine’s arms. "Mom… I’m sorry—really, I’m so sorry…"

She cried so hard that even the birds in the trees startled and fluttered away.

And still, she kept crying.

The three Morrison brothers came running over in a hurry.

From a distance, they could already hear Chloe’s sobbing. Calvin Morrison was the quickest; he rushed up the slope, panting hard as he pleaded, "Ma! Don’t—don’t be so worked up! Take it easy! Little Sis is delicate. If you really hit her like that, she wouldn’t stand a chance. Ma, she must’ve gotten spooked by something in the mountains. Don’t scold her anymore."

Bernard Morrison followed right behind, chiming in, "Ma, she just didn’t think things through for a moment. Saying a few words to her is enough. Look at her now—she’s a mess. Makes a man’s heart ache."

Albert Morrison stepped forward and pulled Chloe behind him, shielding her with a steady stance. "Ma, please calm down first. Let us talk to her. We’ll handle it."

Josephine Anderson rolled her eyes so hard it looked painful. "I didn’t even touch a single hair on her head! Who did I beat? Who did I curse out?"

She jabbed a finger toward them. "Go on, keep spoiling her! Look what she’s turned into! A whole pack of you giving me trouble every day. Must’ve been my rotten luck for eight generations to end up with you lot. Now hurry back to your chores! I’m done with this! No lunch! Especially you, Albert—two grown boys at home, and all of you just waiting to be fed."

Still muttering angrily, Josephine stormed down the mountain path.

Watching her mother’s retreating figure, then looking at her three brothers standing protectively in front of her, Chloe’s tears came down even harder.

Calvin somehow produced a handful of wild sweet potatoes and slipped them into her hand. "Alright, alright, stop crying. Your face is all streaky now. These wild yams are real sweet—have a couple. Give your Third Brother a smile, yeah?"

Bernard picked up a big taro leaf and started fanning her gently. "Your makeup—if you had any—would be a disaster right now. And you’re sweating all over. Not a good look, Little Sis."