by natastories
The lab explosion sent Amelia Lane back to an age of famine and poverty. Fortunately, she was linked to a check-in System. Before she'd even had the chance to open her newcomer gift, the man she'd been betrothed to since childhood came striding in, chin held high, demanding to call off the engagement. His reason: he was about to land a stable job—an iron rice bowl. Looking at this thoroughly ordinary man brimming with misplaced confidence, Amelia parted her full red lips and answered coolly, "...Fine!" Less than a month later, her ex-fiancé was fired, for reasons unknown. Amelia strolled through the county town at her leisure and, just like that, became a radio announcer at the cotton mill. Ex-fiancé: Is it too late to beg for her back now? Times were hard—unbearably so! Even though her three older brothers and her parents doted on her like she was made of glass, buying rice required rice coupons, buying cloth required cloth coupons, buying meat required meat coupons—even a single bar of soap required a coupon. No matter how tightly they tightened their belts, life remained a constant struggle. Staring down at a bowl of thin, murky black porridge, Amelia fell silent: "..." Good thing she had the System! Whatever she wanted? Just check in for it. ... Years later. A devastatingly handsome man looked at his petite, fair-skinned wife, struggling to keep his expression composed. "I heard that back in the day, you once killed a wild boar with just two punches?" A flicker crossed Amelia's eyes; her fingertips tightened without her noticing, and the enamel cup in her hand crumpled slightly out of shape. She said, solemn and composed, "What are you talking about? Don't listen to whatever nonsense people are spreading. We're both educated people—how could I possibly do something so violent!"
