Chapter 4: A Fake?
“Cousin, the notebook is already torn up, and I’ve already taken the money. As for those leather shoes I borrowed from you a few days ago — you can keep them. Everyone here can be our witness: we’re even now. I won’t come asking you for anything again, and you’d better not come asking me for anything either.”
After settling the matter, Ning Xiyue didn’t want to waste another breath on her. She clutched her head weakly and groaned, “Aiyo… my head hurts so much. No, I can’t… my wound is killing me. Cousin, do as you please.”
Hearing that, Ning Xiaoxiao turned and left without hesitation. She had no idea what other tricks Ning Xiyue might pull if she stayed. She shouldn’t have come at all today. Who cared what happened to that little wretch? With such a big wound, she was bound to be disfigured anyway.
Ning Xiyue watched as Ning Xiaoxiao bolted faster than a rabbit and vanished in the blink of an eye. She clicked her tongue, then covered her head and turned to thank the onlookers before closing the door, shutting out all the gossiping voices outside.
Back inside her room, Ning Xiyue took out the small, ordinary-looking black stone and shone a flashlight over it carefully.
Muttering to herself, she said, “So… this is the thing that later becomes the female lead’s golden finger? Other than being dark, there’s nothing special about it. Could it really contain a spiritual spring space that you can plant things in?”
Ning Xiyue was doubtful. She carefully recalled the contents of the novel. The book was called “The Little Koi Brings Her Space to the Countryside and Flirts With a Rough Man.” From the title alone, it was obvious the female lead was the author’s precious daughter.
From the original owner’s memories and the story itself, it was clear that for more than ten years, the female lead had nothing to do with the term “koi luck” — quite the opposite, in fact. She only earned the nickname “little koi” after a few prophetic dreams came true.
The story opened with the heroine signing up to go to the countryside to support rural development. After that, she had a series of dreams for several nights. The first dream predicted an event involving ginseng. The second predicted a string of bracelets. The third foretold her life after moving to the countryside.
At first, the female lead didn’t believe it. But after dreaming the same dream several nights in a row, she decided to follow the clues from the dreams. And sure enough — she found two century-old ginseng roots. The 200 yuan in her cousin’s pocket? That money came from selling those very ginseng roots she picked up in the mountains.
Later, she remembered seeing a bracelet from her dreams with her younger cousin. So, she went and “borrowed” it to examine. She couldn’t figure anything out from it — but then the cousin fell, hit her head, and died. And just like that, the bracelet naturally became the heroine’s possession.
The heroine believed that since the bracelet had appeared in her dreams, it must be important. She wore it on her wrist and prepared to head to the countryside.
On the way there, while riding an ox cart, she accidentally cut her hand. Her blood seeped into the bracelet and was absorbed by the smallest black stone on it. That night, the heroine discovered she could enter a mysterious space. With that space, she thrived in the countryside and eventually reached the peak of her life.
As for the original owner’s parents, their fates were grim. Because of her death, her mother fell into grief and illness, and her job was taken over by the heroine’s mother. Within a few days, she died.
Her father, devastated by the double blow of losing his wife and daughter, either due to mental instability or simple misfortune, was accidentally pulled into a machine at work and also died.
In the end, it was the heroine’s family who profited. They received all the factory compensation and benefits. The heroine even managed to get a job and return to the city early.
As for the original owner’s two brothers — the elder, who served in the army, disappeared without a trace, and the younger, who stayed in the countryside, died for various reasons — all of which were at least partially connected to the heroine’s family. The entire family had been nothing but cannon fodder.
Thinking about this, Ning Xiyue was speechless. The original owner really was nothing more than a tool to hand over equipment to the heroine. She was written to die just to make the transfer of the bracelet smooth and reasonable.
And moreover, the truth was that the bracelet wasn’t “borrowed” by the heroine — she had schemed to get it.
The original owner’s entire family had been nothing but stepping stones for the heroine and her family — tools for the author to make their lives brighter and easier.
All the tragedies that befell them happened after the original owner’s death, when the heroine gained her golden finger and went to the countryside.
But none of that mattered anymore. What mattered was that she hadn’t died. She had cut off the source before anything started. None of those future events would happen now. She finally had a family again — and she would never allow them to suffer like that.
From now on, the heroine would never learn the true purpose of that bracelet. The small stone that was part of the golden finger was now back in her hands. Just thinking about it made Ning Xiyue laugh out loud like a goose.
Thankfully, the small stone was extremely hard to drill into. The original owner had spent a long time grinding a small groove in it to attach the string. With a little technique, Ning Xiyue had easily removed it. Otherwise, she would have had to tear her face off completely with the heroine and snatch the bracelet back by force.
But now, no one knew that the golden finger was in her possession. She wanted to see how the story would progress without the space — how the heroine would “thrive in the countryside” or “reach the peak of her life.”
Ning Xiyue took a needle from a sewing box, pricked her finger, and smeared a drop of blood onto the stone, waiting quietly to see what would happen. To the naked eye, the blood was absorbed by the small stone.
Drop after drop of blood was absorbed, but nothing happened. Ning Xiyue poked the stone and threatened it:
“Come on, take me inside already! All you do is drink my blood without doing anything — believe it or not, I’ll smash you to bits.”
The small stone seemed to understand, flashing with a brief pulse of black light before returning to silence.
Could it be that this stone was specially designed by the author for her precious heroine — and only her blood could activate it?
Ning Xiyue refused to believe that. She tried everything she could think of. Even after pricking all ten fingers and letting more blood out, nothing worked.
Glancing around the room, she pulled out a green brick she had been using to prop up a table leg. Furious, she raised the brick and slammed it down with all her strength.
Crack!
Oh no! Don’t tell her she’d smashed it to pieces!
Hands trembling, Ning Xiyue lifted the brick — and the sight beneath made her heart sink. It was broken. The golden finger stone was smashed into several pieces.
The brick was completely undamaged. Since when were golden fingers so fragile that even an ordinary brick could smash them?
“Did I just get a fake? No… this isn’t how the story is supposed to go. This isn’t the result I was supposed to get.”
Ning Xiyue wanted to cry but had no tears. How had she so easily shattered such an important golden finger? Weren’t they supposed to be indestructible? Was this some kind of sick joke?
And now that the stone was shattered, could it still be used as a golden finger?
She gathered the fragments into her hands, pricked her finger again, and smeared a drop of blood on the four broken pieces, watching intently to see if anything would happen.
This time, her hopes were not in vain — the stone did react. Ning Xiyue’s face lit up with joy, but before she could even let out a laugh, her expression froze halfway — stuck between a smile and disbelief.
