In the grand villa district perched halfway up the mountain, the glass windows rattled violently under the wind.
“Ah!”
Gu Shengsheng jolted upright, drenched in cold sweat, her clothes completely soaked.
She looked around in panic. A flash of lightning streaked outside the window, briefly illuminating where she was — a luxurious bedroom filled with strange ornaments and decorations she had never seen before.
Gu Shengsheng used to be the number one beauty of the cultivation world. Who could have imagined that one day she would be discovered to be an extremely rare “supreme cauldron” (perfect cultivation furnace). The men who once knelt under her skirt instantly turned into hunters chasing her for their own gain.
Cornered with no way out, Gu Shengsheng — the delicate girl who would cry even if her finger got a tiny cut — jumped into the Demon Abyss.
Something went wrong.
She didn’t die.
Instead, she crossed over into this unfamiliar world.
A huge flood of information suddenly poured into her mind. Gu Shengsheng clutched her head, dizzy and overwhelmed.
Thud—
A muffled heavy sound came from outside, as if something massive had fallen to the floor.
Gu Shengsheng startled and looked toward the tightly closed bedroom door.
“Who’s there?!”
No one answered.
But from beyond the door came a rough, deep panting — like the death struggle of some huge beast.
Gu Shengsheng grabbed a nearby metal object to use as a weapon, lifted the blanket, got out of bed, and silently moved to the door. She opened it.
The scene in the corridor made her freeze.
Under dim yellow light, a man in thin clothing had collapsed at the top of the stairs. His exposed neck was long and deathly pale. A wheelchair lay overturned beside him.
The man’s pale fingers were clenched desperately around the stair railing — just a little more and he would have tumbled all the way down.
Without time to think, Gu Shengsheng rushed forward and grabbed his hand.
So hot!
This man, pale as ice, had skin that burned like fire. A violent, scorching energy raged inside him, so hot that Gu Shengsheng instinctively let go.
The moment she released him, his body swayed and began to tip down the stairs.
Gritting her teeth, she grabbed him again.
“Be careful!”
The back of his hand was scraped and bleeding. His five fingers still gripped the railing so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Gu Shengsheng pulled hard.
“I’ll help you up.”
The moment he heard her voice, the man’s body suddenly went rigid. That hand still refused to let go of the railing.
Realizing he wouldn’t cooperate, Gu Shengsheng half-knelt at the edge of the stairs, using her own body to block him from falling, and said:
“Let go… I’ll help you up. I’m almost out of strength…”
No matter what she said, the man wouldn’t release his grip.
Finally, Gu Shengsheng simply slid her fingers between his, prying them open one by one.
At last, their ten fingers interlocked.
His palm was broad and dry.
Her palm was slightly sweaty.
They held each other tightly, and it felt as though tiny electric currents were running between them.
Only after she pushed him to a safer spot did Gu Shengsheng let out a breath of relief.
Then suddenly — one hand clamped around her throat like iron.
“Ugh—! What are you… cough cough…”
Gu Shengsheng couldn’t breathe. The air in her lungs was being squeezed out bit by bit.
Another flash of lightning lit up the man’s face.
His eyes were covered with a thick bandage.
His lips were bloodless.
His thin cheeks carried an unhealthy flush.
His whole person radiated a cold, ruthless, dangerous aura.
Gu Shengsheng suddenly remembered something from when she was ten years old. She had watched from the sidelines as cultivators ambushed a demonic dragon. That dragon had been bound by eighteen Immortal-Binding Ropes, its scales ripped off and claws broken, yet it still carried that same ferocious, ruthless aura. Its golden vertical pupils held endless, chilling murderous intent.
An overwhelming sense of fear rose along with suffocation. Gu Shengsheng understood with crystal clarity: this man truly wanted to kill her.
She flailed her hands wildly, clawing at his wrist, forcing broken sounds from her crushed throat:
“Let… let go… ugh…”
Her whimpers and struggles did nothing to stir any pity in the man. His grip remained steady — far too strong for someone who was supposed to be sick — squeezing until her throat burned with pain and her vision darkened.
A voice like a deep, seductive cello suddenly rang out, laced with viciousness:
“What are you trying to do now?”
Gu Shengsheng’s lips moved, but no sound came out. Her fingers weakly clutched his wrist. A surge of scorching yang energy flowed into her body, and a sharp, stabbing pain flashed through her mind. In that split second, like lightning, the memories of the original owner fused with her own.
Just as she was about to pass out from lack of air, the man’s hand suddenly dropped limply, as though he had used up the very last of his strength.
Gu Shengsheng scrambled away on all fours, huddling to the side while clutching her throat and coughing violently, barely able to catch her breath.
Everything came back to her.
This world was inside a novel called The Tyrannical CEO’s 33 Days of Demanding Love.
Gu Shengsheng was the vicious female side character in the book. She had been forced to marry the blind and crippled eldest son of the Shen family, Shen Wang, as a “good-luck marriage” ritual. Full of resentment, she tormented him in every possible way.
But no one knew that Shen Wang was actually the book’s biggest villain — ruthless in nature, cruel in his methods. After his rise to power and revenge… the original Gu Shengsheng’s ending had been utterly tragic.
Gu Shengsheng cut off that memory and stared in horror at the man lying not far away.
He was blindfolded, revealing only half of a face as cold and pale as snow. His chest rose and fell weakly. The bandages and thin sleepwear gave him an inexplicably abstinent, restrained aura.
No matter how she looked at him, he didn’t seem like the tyrannical, world-destroying big shot from the book.
And yet… just moments ago, this man — fragile as a wilting peony — had nearly strangled her to death.
Gu Shengsheng shivered hard. She remembered now.
At this point in the story, the original Gu Shengsheng had only been married to Shen Wang for three months. She blamed all her misfortunes on him. Not only had she cheated on him openly, she had also driven away his assistants and caregivers, tormenting and abusing him in every way she could think of.
To completely get rid of this burden, she had even gone so far as to secretly loosen the screws on his wheelchair…
What just happened was entirely her own doing.
Was it still possible to kowtow and beg for mercy?
Or… should she just kill him now and eliminate the future threat once and for all?
A flash of murderous intent appeared in Gu Shengsheng’s wet eyes!
She marched aggressively toward Shen Wang.
The man on the floor moved slightly —
Gu Shengsheng jumped back three steps in fright and clung tightly to the stair railing.
Under her terrified gaze, Shen Wang didn’t move again. His pale cheeks were flushed with an unhealthy red. Looking closely, his lips were cracked, faint traces of blood visible.
No matter how powerful and terrifying he might become in the future… right now, Shen Wang was on the verge of death.
People who cultivated placed the greatest importance on karma. The karmic debt between her and Shen Wang had already been created. Unless he died, it could never be resolved…
Gu Shengsheng’s heart pounded wildly.
If she just waited a little longer, this terrifying man would die on his own. She wouldn’t have to worry about her own miserable fate anymore.
Shen Wang’s breathing grew more and more rapid.
After hesitating again and again, Gu Shengsheng slowly moved closer. She reached out and took his hand once more. She tried her best to channel her weak spiritual energy, gently soothing him.
The fingers he had been clenching slowly relaxed. A faint trace of color returned to his pale skin. When Gu Shengsheng finally let go, he lightly furrowed his brow.
Noticing this tiny reaction, a chill ran down her spine. She began to stammer:
“Y-you… the floor is cold. I-I’ll go find a wheelchair for you…”
Her voice — usually sharp and mean — had turned soft, sweet, and timid. It was almost convincing.
To anyone who had seen her cruelty before, though, it only seemed ridiculous.
What new vicious trick was she planning now?
The sound of her footsteps — patter patter — faded away.
The dark world fell silent once again.
A cold, mocking curve slowly appeared at the corner of the man’s lips.
After who-knows-how-long, the patter-patter of footsteps returned. Her sweet voice came again, breathless but filled with delight:
“I found a spare wheelchair! I’ll help you up.”
How laughable. The same trick — did she really think she could use it twice?
Gu Shengsheng positioned the wheelchair to the side and crouched down to help him. She slipped both arms under his armpits, trying to lift him.
But the man refused to cooperate.
Gu Shengsheng muttered quietly:
“Come on, at least use a little strength yourself!”
Before she finished speaking, his heavy body suddenly fell backward —
Thud!
He dragged her down with him, and she crashed onto the floor.
This man looked thin, but he was extremely tall, with broad shoulders and a heavy frame. He nearly crushed her. And worse… his hard shoulder blade had landed right on her soft chest.
Gu Shengsheng almost burst into tears. It took her a long while to struggle out from under him.
She didn’t dare lose her temper with this future big shot, but she also couldn’t swallow her anger. She grumbled under her breath:
“You… you pressed on me…”
Her sweet voice carried a crying tone, like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on — soft, milky, and aggrieved.
The man’s thin lips pressed into a tight line.
When Gu Shengsheng tried to help him again, he no longer resisted.
But unexpectedly — she didn’t put him in the wheelchair.
Instead, she draped one of his arms over her shoulder and gritted her teeth:
“If you don’t want the wheelchair, fine… just… use a little strength yourself…”
The original owner’s bedroom was the closest to the stairs. Half-dragging and half-carrying, Gu Shengsheng finally managed to get Shen Wang onto the bed.
The large bed was covered in deep red silk sheets. Shen Wang sank into them, making his skin look even paler, almost like jade.
Gu Shengsheng pulled the blanket open and tucked it over him.
It was deep winter, and the mountainside villa was damp and freezing. Lying in the soft, fluffy bedding should have been comfortable, yet Shen Wang’s brows furrowed even tighter.
What on earth was this woman playing at?
But then Gu Shengsheng walked away again.
Soon, the sound of rushing water came from the bathroom. Steam and the fragrance of shower gel drifted out.
Shen Wang’s fingers twitched as though pricked by needles.
She… was taking a shower.
Gu Shengsheng stood under the shower, rinsing off. She had worked up a full sweat earlier, and having been pampered since childhood, she couldn’t stand even the slightest bit of dirt on her body.
She inwardly cursed this new body for having zero spiritual power — it couldn’t even support the weight of a frail sick man. How infuriating — though to be fair, her original body’s cultivation hadn’t been anything impressive either.
While showering, she kept glancing outside.
The bathroom was designed with a certain playful charm: the glass door turned transparent when heated by steam. Even though she knew Shen Wang was blind, Gu Shengsheng still felt shy. She hurriedly dried herself, threw on her pajamas, and stepped out.
A soft, moist fragrance approached the bed — not the usual sharp, overpowering perfume, but a light scent of roses.
Gu Shengsheng stopped three steps away from the bed and said cautiously:
“I wrung out a hot towel. I’m going to wipe your face. You… you won’t choke me again, right?”
The man lay quietly, not even twitching an eyebrow.
So Gu Shengsheng moved closer, unfolded the hot towel, gently touched it to his cheek first to let him get used to it, then carefully laid it over his face.
The warmth of the towel brought a faint tingling comfort. Gu Shengsheng kept chattering:
“Wiping your face will make you feel better. How many days has it been since your face was cleaned…? I-I’m not saying you’re dirty! I’ve never taken care of anyone before, so you have to remember how good I was to you. In the future…”
In the future, please spare my life.
Since the heavens had given her a second chance, she should at least fight for a way to survive. After all, those bad things weren’t really done by her.
Her sweet, soft voice rambled on, carrying an unconscious trace of spoiled and nervousness.
The big shot lying on the bed gave no response at all.
Gu Shengsheng ran out of things to say. With her imaginary little tail drooping, she went back to the bathroom. She changed the towel twice before finally getting Shen Wang’s face completely clean.
Young Miss Gu Shengsheng had no experience taking care of people — her movements were a bit clumsy. His pale cheeks were rubbed until they flushed a faint red. Yet he lay there indifferently, as if he felt nothing, letting her do whatever she wanted.
Under the light, his face had the smooth, jade-like quality that made people curious about what kind of stunning eyes were hidden beneath the bandages.
When Gu Shengsheng’s fingers hovered lightly over the bandage, the man suddenly lifted his head in alertness.
Even through the fabric, she could clearly feel the intense murderous aura and warning.
She quickly hid her hands behind her back and explained awkwardly:
“All done, all clean. You can sleep now.”
Gu Shengsheng returned the towel to the bathroom, then opened the wardrobe and started rummaging.
Shen Wang heard the wardrobe doors opening and closing, and the constant rustling near the bed. It sounded like a small animal busily making its own nest.
And that’s exactly what she was doing — making a floor bed.
Expensive silk quilts and cashmere blankets were spread thickly on the carpet. She folded the edges in to form a cozy silkworm-pupa shape. Gu Shengsheng crawled inside to test it and nodded in satisfaction:
“All set!”
Even though Shen Wang couldn’t see, she still announced it proudly, her voice tinged with smugness.
What exactly was she so proud of?
A strange feeling stirred in Shen Wang’s heart.
Gu Shengsheng switched off the light — whoosh — and dove into her makeshift bed as fast as if something were chasing her. It took a long while before she quietly lifted the blanket just enough to breathe fresh air.
To be honest, it was a little embarrassing: since childhood, Gu Shengsheng had been physically weak and especially prone to attracting evil spirits and yin energy. Even though her family hung countless warding talismans and objects, ghosts and spirits would still appear to scare her whenever she was alone.
Her parents had therefore chosen eight maids whose birth charts carried extremely heavy yang energy to accompany her around the clock — even during baths.
Thinking of her parents, Gu Shengsheng’s brows furrowed with worry. She had come to this strange world… would she ever have the chance to go back? To see her mom and dad again?
A flash of lightning and crash of thunder outside interrupted her thoughts. Wind howled through the treetops; the not-quite-closed window rattled and clattered as though countless ghosts were beating and wailing against it.
The room fell deathly silent.
After holding back for a long time, Gu Shengsheng called out in a tiny voice:
“Shen Wang… Shen Wang, are you asleep?”