Chapter 70 Extra: Return to the Past (Part One)
Li Zhenguan felt beside him, cold and unfamiliar to the touch. There was no one there. He suddenly opened his eyes.
An unfamiliar yet familiar ceiling came into view.
He was stunned for a moment, thinking he was dreaming.
Sitting up, he turned his head to look around. The bed and everything around it were so familiar, yet so strange.
On the snow-white wall opposite the bed hung an ancient quartz clock, still ticking away. Li Zhenguan got out of bed and leaned on the windowsill to look outside, seeing a row of low buildings and bluestone pavement.
He was stunned for a moment, then looked down at his own body. He seemed much shorter, and his hands had become smaller.
As if realizing something, he quickly ran to the bathroom sink. There was a large mirror here. In the mirror appeared a familiar face, yet it seemed to have shrunk considerably, giving the face in the mirror a natural childlike appearance.
His long-gone childlike features.
He pinched his still slightly chubby cheek. It didn’t hurt. He pinched again, and this time it hurt, leaving a large red mark on his cheek as if he had slept on it.
Had he returned to the past?
Li Zhenguan stood dazed in front of the sink. He remembered that just a second ago, he was lying in Wang Zhao’s arms. If there was anything in his life he wasn’t satisfied with, he had gotten everything he wanted. Wasn’t returning to the past something that only happened to unsuccessful and foolish people?
After all, smart people wouldn’t be reborn in the past, because smart people always lived long lives.
For a moment, Li Zhenguan thought a lot. Had he come back to now because he died, or was it just a temporary return to the past? He hoped it was the latter, otherwise all his previous efforts would be wasted. He had finally managed to live such a life with Wang Zhao, with two daughters. He had no complaints, only one regret, so insignificant yet like a persistent ailment.
As he stood there dazed, a voice came from downstairs.
“Zhenguan, come down for dinner.” It was his grandmother’s voice. Before he started high school, they had always lived in the town.
Li Zhenguan looked at himself in the mirror for a long time before replying, “Coming right down.”
He walked to the desk and flipped through it, finding that he should be in the second year of junior high school now. Looking at the calendar, it should be just after the start of school, now only October. Li Zhenguan found the mobile phone from Qinbaobei Novel Network, staring at the old-fashioned button phone for a long time before finally pressing a series of numbers on the keypad.
The phone quickly connected, and a dialing tone came through. After a few seconds, the call was answered, and a woman’s voice came through.
Cold and light, it was a very pleasant voice.
Li Zhenguan had heard people say before that Wang Zhao could make men aroused just by her voice. He had heard her voice countless times in bed.
Not hearing any sound from this end, she asked again: “Hello, can I help you?”
Li Zhenguan still didn’t speak. Soon, the call was hung up by the other side. Perhaps she thought he had dialed the wrong number.
Li Zhenguan clutched the phone tightly, only going downstairs in his slippers when he heard another call for dinner from below. The first floor was the living room and dining room, most houses in the town had this layout.
The person setting the table in the dining room saw Li Zhenguan coming down and couldn’t help but nag a bit more: “Be careful coming down the stairs.”
Li Zhenguan smiled as he sat at the dining table, looking at the dishes on the table – one vegetable dish, one meat dish, and a soup, just enough for the two of them to eat, sometimes even with leftovers.
He had a small appetite, and his grandmother, being old, didn’t eat as much as before.
He picked up his chopsticks and ate silently, his mind still dwelling on the phone call to Wang Zhao. Ms. Yang at the dining table didn’t find it strange. Having lived here for several years, her grandson wasn’t the type with an outgoing personality, but he was quite obedient. The old and young lived happily and harmoniously.
She was old and needed someone for company.
Li Zhenguan finished eating, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and seemed to be silent for a moment before telling Ms. Yang opposite him his thoughts: “Grandmother, I want to go back to Jiangcheng to study.”
Ms. Yang’s hand holding the chopsticks paused. She had been an official before and carried an indescribable seriousness. Even Li Zhenwei was somewhat afraid of her, but Li Zhenguan, for some reason, had never been intimidated since he was young.
“I want to go to Jiangcheng No.1 High School.” Jiangcheng No.1 had both junior and senior high school sections. Currently, Wang Zhao should be in the third year of senior high at Jiangcheng No.1.
Ms. Yang continued eating, and after chewing the food in her mouth, she calmly asked, “Why do you suddenly want to go back to Jiangcheng to study?”
Initially, it was Li Zhenguan who had insisted on studying in this town. Because Yang Jin and his mother were often away for work, and Li Zhenwei had also gone to high school and university, living on campus year-round, he was the only one at home. Later, when he came to the town for the New Year, he became attached to it. Additionally, the housekeeper at home wasn’t taking good care of him at that time, so Ms. Yang suggested taking the child to live with her.
Yang Jin and Li Zhenguan’s mother considered it, also frightened by the incident with the housekeeper at home, and didn’t refuse. In the first year of junior high school, they sent Li Zhenguan over.
Li Zhenguan couldn’t find an excuse for a moment. His mind was full of wanting to go back to Jiangcheng to see Wang Zhao, and he hadn’t thought much about anything else. When Ms. Yang asked like this, it stumped him. After a pause, he said, “The education here isn’t as good as in Jiangcheng. When I chat with my old classmates, I find that I’ve fallen behind a lot.”
This was nonsense. Since Li Zhenguan came here, he hadn’t been in much contact with his old classmates. He was young in appearance, and although sometimes too aloof, he was cunning. In just two years, he had made quite a few friends here, or perhaps it would be more appropriate to call them minions.
Li Zhenguan’s persona at this time could be described as a “white-cut black” from romance novels. He was gentle and polite when dealing with outsiders, always appearing to be considerate of others, thus having a good reputation.
Ms. Yang glanced at Li Zhenguan. She would never believe that her grandson was someone who would suddenly want to study hard. However, she had always refrained from interfering in the decisions of the younger generation, so she didn’t directly refuse, but said, “I’ll discuss it with your parents first.”
Li Zhenguan finally breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. As long as his grandmother didn’t refuse, his parents would most likely not object either.
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If you’re like me…
Too tired of reading stories where the female lead is often foolish, weak, feeble both physically and mentally, usually in a subservient and oppressed role in society such as a maid, secretary, concubine… or to put it bluntly, typically the one who has to serve and please the male lead, always needing protection and rescue from male leads, while the male lead is often described as talented, strikingly handsome, powerful,…
Then please continue reading.
Hi there, girls!
I’m Yuushi L.
Every day, movies and comics continuously reinforce the notion that women are weak, that they can only handle trivial matters in the background, that women are petty-minded and constantly jealous, mocking, and laughing at other women, while men are strong, wealthy, and solely focused on conquering the world, with countless mindless women ready to fall into their arms.
Believe me, once you read Female-dominant (FEDO) novels, your mindset will change significantly.
I am deeply inspired by strong, independent, and rational women who have the power to take control of their lives, and I am fascinated by the way society’s gender roles are reversed in this genre compared to real life.
So I have created this web with the noble purpose of promoting the “Female-dominant (FEDO)” genre of novels.
In my country, there was a rare renowned female poet in ancient times who wrote the following about the fate of women in that era:
“Damn this life of sharing a husband,
One wrapped in warmth, the other left cold.
I’d rather have stayed single from the start,
Than to endure a life so torn apart.”
Perhaps my penchant for reading female-dominant stories is partly a way of rebelling against the realities of life.
On my site, there will be stories that are not only female-dominant novels, as long as they align with my taste, featuring strong female protagonists and fresh, captivating storylines. Usually, they will be modern or fantasy novels.
I rarely read ancient novels that aren’t female-dominant because they often contain details that easily trigger me. These include the portrayal of men having multiple wives and concubines, which was considered utterly normal in ancient society, and the frequent disdain towards women.
I cannot change the world, as the societal structure that discriminates against women and elevates men has existed for thousands of years. Changing it to truly give women an equal role in society is not something that can happen overnight. If you want gender equality now, it’s laughable. It will never happen when over 90% of national and business leaders are men.
But I can start by changing the mindset of women, sisters, and young girls. Don’t just read dull slogans urging women to be strong and independent; it’s hard to imagine. Read Female-dominant (FEDO) novels to see clearly what true female empowerment looks like.
I believe there will be more and more independent and strong women who prioritize their careers and personal stability over seeking a man to rely on.
In the future, there will be more successful female entrepreneurs, politicians, and thought leaders.
As for me, I will start by making this website grow stronger day by day.
I especially like the concept of “the male lead falls in love first, the female lead is the cold-hearted and rational one, and the male lead suffers because the female lead doesn’t reciprocate his feelings.”
Therefore, you’ll see that most of the novels on my website will belong to this trope. Of course, there will be exceptions.
In the future, I also plan to write my own novels following this concept, where the female lead in my stories will never be the weaker party. I hope I can do it soon.
The novels I highly recommend will be listed under the category:
There will be exceptionally brilliant stories, but there will also be mediocre ones. As the Female-dominant (FEDO) genre has fewer authors and readers, the number of high-quality novels is limited.
Therefore, I want to promote this genre to reach a wider audience, which will encourage more talented authors to choose to write in this style, leading to the birth of more outstanding Female-dominant (FEDO) novels.
The Chinese versions of the novels I use for translation are all sourced from various websites on the internet. You know, I don’t have much budget to purchase so many novels.
Therefore, if your financial situation allows, please support the authors by purchasing the original works. You can find the original works using the Chinese titles of the novels.
*
WARNING:
In some novels, there are certain unhealthy ideologies and illegal actions held by the main characters (for example, treating human lives as worthless, or casually deciding to kill someone, forcing others to do things they don’t want to do, arbitrarily imprisoning others, plotting to harm others, using violence to retaliate against violence,…).
This may be because the authors are still young and inexperienced, unaware that what they’re writing goes beyond moral standards and can negatively influence young readers.
It’s important that readers under 18 years old need to recognize these are illegal actions, not permitted to be carried out in real life, always keep a clear head while reading, treat these works only as entertainment, and don’t let yourself be influenced by those plot points.
*
If you want to join me, support me, recommend novels, or simply want to connect with me privately, please contact me via email: yuushi.l.me@gmail.com
Or join my Discord to connect with others who share the same taste for novels:
With love and appreciation,
YUUSHI L
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*Spotlight on Finished Novel Translations*
The Male Lead’s Obsessive (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: She is his lifelong obsession, to the point where he was willing to be a third wheel, scorned by society, just to wedge his way into her relationship with her fiancé.
Synopsis:
Cold-hearted and indifferent female lead + Scheming and subservient CEO male lead
Summary:
Rong Xiu’s biggest regret in life was missing out on Fan Xia.
He secretly loved Fan Xia for 7 years.
Watched her go public with her boyfriend.
Watched her kiss her boyfriend at their wedding.
Until that man blissfully nestled in Fan Xia’s arms, obtaining everything he could only dream of.
The crazy jealousy stripped away his hidden secret love, layer by layer, burning like wildfire.
Fan Xia, how can I have you!
【Reading and Trigger Warning Guide】
1. Female dominant, male submissive, male pregnancy
2. Male lead schemes his way to the top, male competition
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Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
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