Jing Mo took a deep breath, then slowly made her way to the top of the stairs and descended the broad spiral staircase.
“Good morning, Madam.” As soon as she reached the bottom, a line of young maids stood straight and bowed in unison to greet her.
Jing Mo jumped, but quickly recovered, keeping her expression composed.
“Mm.” She acknowledged them and walked over to the dining table.
Her stomach had just been growling with hunger. Whatever else mattered, eating came first. She would get something in her stomach, then figure out what to do.
But the table held only a slice of toast, a fried egg, and… a cup of black coffee.
Holy crap!
Jing Mo rolled her eyes inwardly.
She hated all three, and there was no way that would fill her up! Was the original Jing Mo trying to stay slim? But she already had a great figure!
She wanted soup dumplings! Beef noodles! Pan-fried buns, and fried dough sticks with soy milk!!!
“Madam, is something wrong?” Seeing Jing Mo standing beside the table in a daze, Nanny Wang hurried over to ask.
“Nothing.” Jing Mo took a deep breath, turned around, and sat down at the dining chair.
In the end, she imagined herself eating a feast and somehow forced down all three items.
After finishing, Jing Mo sat down on the sofa.
“Madam, aren’t you going to make Sir’s lunch?” Nanny Wang asked, puzzled.
Usually, after breakfast, Madam would start preparing an elaborate lunch for Sir, then personally take it to the company. She’d done so without fail for all three years of their marriage. Why was today different?
Nanny Wang’s question made Jing Mo frown slightly.
Then she quickly remembered.
Oh, right!
After the original Jing Mo married Chi Yan, she cooked for him every day and brought the food to his company.
But that was something the original Jing Mo did. She, Jing Mo, wasn’t going to do it. She didn’t even like the male lead.
Still, Jing Mo’s eyes shifted as an idea occurred to her.
She did need to go to the company. She remembered that whenever she went there, people would gossip about her. She could use the chance to gather some information.
After all, her mind was a blank. She only remembered what was in the book, and the book hadn’t said much about Jing Mo in its early chapters. She couldn’t recall much else. If she asked Nanny Wang and the others directly, it would only cause unnecessary trouble. Better to go to the company.
At the thought, Jing Mo smiled.
“I’m going to Chi Group,” she said, then asked Nanny Wang to call a driver. She was heading out.
“Huh? Madam, you’re not making lunch?” Nanny Wang only seemed to come back to herself when Jing Mo was already about to step out the door.
Cook? She didn’t have time for that!
“No. I have something to do today, so I won’t be cooking.” With that, Jing Mo went outside, where the driver was already waiting.
As the car traveled along the wide road, Jing Mo’s thoughts churned.
How on earth had she ended up inside a book?
And not just any book—she’d transmigrated into the body of a villainous female supporting character. She hadn’t done anything evil, as far as she could remember!
Jing Mo quickly recalled the general premise of Don’t Fall for Me, Dominant CEO.
In the book, Jing Mo was the female supporting character, and the male lead, Chi Yan, was her childhood sweetheart. They’d grown up together, and since both the Jing and Chi families were among Haicheng’s wealthiest, their families had arranged a marriage for them when they were young, saying they would unite the families once they were grown. The two had always been close, and as Jing Mo grew up, she fell deeply in love with Chi Yan. Chi Yan should have loved her too.
But later, Jing Mo went abroad for three years. During that gap, the female protagonist, Liu Ruyan, came into Chi Yan’s life.
That’s right—the female protagonist of this book was Liu Ruyan! The Great Ruyan!
Jing Mo shuddered. No wonder the original Jing Mo couldn’t beat Liu Ruyan. She was the Great Ruyan, the woman who had taken the whole internet by storm!
Liu Ruyan’s arrival stirred Chi Yan’s heart. Then, when Jing Mo returned to the country, she realized it was already too late: Chi Yan had fallen in love with Liu Ruyan and was insisting on marrying her.
But Liu Ruyan came from an ordinary family, and the Chi family refused to let Chi Yan marry her. In the end, under pressure from his family, Chi Yan married Jing Mo instead.
Chi Yan hadn’t wanted to marry Jing Mo, but the Chi family threatened that if he refused, they would make Liu Ruyan disappear without a trace. With no other choice, Chi Yan married Jing Mo.
Jing Mo had been overjoyed to marry the person she loved most. But Chi Yan believed she had suggested the idea to the Chi family to force him into marrying her.
So Chi Yan despised Jing Mo. After they married, he not only refused to touch her and slept in a separate room, but never once showed her any kindness.
Even though Chi Yan treated Jing Mo terribly, she didn’t give up. She truly loved him and believed that if she kept trying, one day he would understand how she felt.
But as time went on, Chi Yan fell more and more in love with Liu Ruyan, and hated Jing Mo more and more.
At last, Jing Mo, the pampered young lady, could take it no longer. She turned evil.
She kept picking fights with Liu Ruyan and sent people to deal with her, but Chi Yan rescued Liu Ruyan every time. After all, Liu Ruyan had the female protagonist halo, and Jing Mo’s actions only helped deepen the bond between the male and female leads.
Eventually, after Jing Mo had gone too far one time too many, Chi Yan couldn’t take it anymore. He had let things slide before because she was his childhood sweetheart and they had grown up together.
But this time, Jing Mo had actually hired someone to violate Liu Ruyan.
That was when Chi Yan flew into a rage.
If Jing Mo wanted to destroy Liu Ruyan, then he would make her suffer the consequences herself.
In the end, the people Chi Yan sent violated Jing Mo, and that was also when she fell off a cliff and died—the point where Jing Mo had stopped reading. The original Jing Mo had died in the book.
Jing Mo had no idea what happened after that. She sighed. If only she’d read the whole novel!
Just as Jing Mo was frowning in worry, the car came to a stop.
“Madam, we’re at the company.” The driver’s voice pulled Jing Mo back to the present.
“Okay. Wait here for me. I’ll be back in a little while.” Jing Mo opened the door and got out.
She stood outside the Chi Group building and looked up at the towering structure, then sighed.
Because of her status, as soon as she entered Chi Corporation, someone respectfully escorted her to the top floor.
But today, Jing Mo had come empty-handed, which seemed to surprise the person leading her inside.
“Madam, aren’t you bringing lunch to the CEO today?” The young woman escorting Jing Mo seemed surprised to see her arrive with nothing.
At the girl’s question, Jing Mo looked down at her completely empty hands.
Oh, she should’ve bought him a meal from somewhere along the way.
“It’s fine. I’m not here to bring him lunch today,” Jing Mo said with a smile.
The young woman was clearly surprised by her answer, but could only respond, “Oh.”
The elevator soon reached the top floor. When the doors opened, the young woman gestured for Jing Mo to go ahead.
Jing Mo nodded and walked out.
The book had said this floor was where Chi Yan rested, so hardly anyone came here besides Jing Mo.
As she walked, Jing Mo looked around and marveled at how spacious the place was. The decor was minimalist.
She went a little farther, then suddenly heard the faint sound of people talking up ahead.
Someone else was here?
Jing Mo slowed her steps and carefully crept closer.
“Manager Liu, look how much the CEO cares about you. You just said you felt dizzy, and he immediately had me bring you up here to rest,” a woman’s voice reached Jing Mo clearly.
At those words, Jing Mo raised an eyebrow.
“I was only a little dizzy. Ayan makes such a fuss over me. I’m almost used to it,” another woman replied, her voice lovely.
Jing Mo’s heart stirred. The woman had just called her Manager Liu, and this person had called Chi Yan “Ayan.” Could this be Liu Ruyan, the female protagonist from the book?