Chapter 1 – Chaos Comes in Pigtails
By the time Lin Yue turned seven, she was already known in Sujin District as the leader of the most chaotic girl gang the village had seen in years.
They weren't bullies.
Just... creative.
"Alright," Yue whispered, crouched behind a stack of hay. "Mei Qi, you distract Uncle Tao. Shu Fen and Tao Lin—go for the laundry rope. On my signal."
The other girls nodded, faces serious. They wore mismatched belts with wooden daggers, ribbons tied like headbands, and dirt proudly smeared across their knees.
Behind the haystack stood a prized piece of laundry—Madam Wu's wedding night gown. Bright red silk, floral embroidery, and worth more than Yue's family's house.
"Why are we doing this again?" Shu Fen whispered.
"Justice," Yue said flatly. "She scolded Lan Yu for crying when he saw a chicken get its head chopped off. Said it was unmanly."
"She's not wrong," Tao Lin snorted.
"She's cruel," Yue countered. "Lan Yu's tears are valuable. Like pearls."
The girls nodded solemnly.
Operation: Silken Justice commenced.
Five minutes later, Madam Wu came out to find her precious wedding robe flying like a flag atop the village watchtower. Yue's gang was long gone, already eating fruit they didn't pay for and giggling like devils.
---
Yue's gang had four members and one unofficial mascot—Lan Yu, the sweet-faced boy who always got dragged along when they wanted to test something "boy-safe."
Yue had no shortage of affection from the boys in the village. Not only was she fast and witty, she was sharp with her tongue but weirdly gentle with them. She never teased them for crying or blushing—in fact, she often encouraged it just to watch the reactions.
One morning, she and her girls cornered a group of boys weaving flower crowns in the community pavilion.
"Aw, look at you all," Tao Lin said, picking up a crown and plopping it on her own head. "Which one of us do you wanna marry?"
All the boys shrieked and scattered, except Lan Yu, who simply hid his face behind his crown and whispered, "I vote Yue…"
Yue smirked and ruffled his hair. "Good choice."
---
Of course, not everything was play.
Sometimes the gang did real work. When Auntie Zhen's roof caved in during the rainy season, they spent two whole days helping repair it. They lifted beams, handed out tools, and patched leaks with whatever they could steal—borrow—from their homes.
Yue made it a point to help any struggling villager, not because she wanted praise… but because it felt good. And part of her remembered how hard life could be in her past one, when no one helped anyone unless they had something to gain.
---
Then there were the secret missions. The ones that always started with "Don't tell anyone" and ended in someone's mother chasing them with a broom.
Like the night they peeked through the cracks in Old Madam Yao's tea house, where she entertained her three husbands. It started as innocent curiosity. But then came the moans, the low murmurs, and Tao Lin yelling "I THINK HE'S DYING—"
They ran faster than ever that night.
Yue never forgot the look on Shu Fen's face: equal parts horror and fascination. "Do women… really do that with men?" she'd asked.
"Apparently with three at once," Mei Qi whispered, traumatized.
Yue had stared into the night sky, wondering what kind of future waited for her.
Would she have a husband? Or several? Would she be powerful enough to never need one?
One thing she knew for sure: she was going to be extraordinary.
---
At nine, Yue was already taller than most of the boys her age, and could carry more buckets of water than half the adult women. But she didn't care much for status. She cared about moments.
Like the moment she swapped all the tea leaves in Madam Shu's cupboard with crushed mint leaves, causing the village's weekly book club to erupt in coughing fits.
Or the time she painted mustaches on every wedding portrait in the village hall.
Or when she stopped little Jin Jin from being forced to eat dirt by older girls, then helped him braid his hair to cheer him up.
Yue lived for chaos and kindness in equal measure. And though she still hadn't regained the memories of her past life yet…
There were nights she sat beneath the stars, staring at the sky like it owed her something.
One day, she thought, I'll remember everything. And when I do, this world better be ready.