He Yan felt a little dizzy. She blinked, and the darkness before her eyes slowly began to fade.
Once her vision cleared, she realized a strikingly handsome man was sitting across from her. He had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, his thin lips pressed together in a slight line, his face betraying no emotion.
He Yan thought back. Did she know this person?
She didn’t, right? She’d never seen him before.
And wait, wasn’t she working overtime at the office? Where was this?
Confused, He Yan looked around, trying to figure out where she was.
“As we agreed earlier, once the arrangement is in place, we’ll get divorced. You’ll receive a compensation of one hundred million. Sign here.”
A cool, composed voice reached her ears. He Yan raised her eyes to look at the man across from her.
The dialogue. He Yan understood now. She had transmigrated into a book, one that had been abandoned by its author.
She really shouldn’t have cursed at it yesterday!
What had the author said? “I hope you transmigrate into the book tonight!”
Well. It came true.
Judging by the situation, she must have become the cannon fodder female supporting character, the small-time actress who shared her name.
Forced by her parents to marry the second male lead, Jiang Mingcheng, she was actually infatuated with the male lead, Pei Yanchuan. Stubbornly determined to bring down the female lead, she’d eventually dress seductively and try to seduce the male lead late one night, only to be thrown out the door by him.
That same night, the video of her attempting to seduce him was leaked online. The Jiang family flew into a rage and kicked her out immediately. And because of her repeated schemes against the female lead, both the male and second male leads reached their limit and blacklisted her.
“Jiang Mingcheng?” He Yan ventured tentatively.
The man across from her didn’t deny it. He gave a slight nod, his gaze fixed steadily on her—utterly devoid of emotion.
He Yan pressed her lips together and reached for the contract in front of her, reading it carefully.
This involved a hundred million. She couldn’t afford to be careless.
The contract stated that while Jiang Mingcheng’s grandfather was still alive, the two of them would pose as a married couple. After his grandfather passed away, they would divorce, and she would receive a hundred million in compensation.
Mm. Just like in the novel. Her late grandfather had once saved Jiang Mingcheng’s grandfather’s life. Now that the elder Mr. Jiang was terminally ill with cancer and didn’t have much time left, He Yan’s parents had gone to the Jiang family, clutching the verbal promise made between the two elderly men years ago. They demanded that the Jiang family marry He Yan off into their household and pay them a bride price of thirty million.
Old Mr. Jiang was advanced in age, and his mind had grown somewhat clouded due to illness. Unwilling to see the favorite granddaughter of the man who saved his life trapped in such a family environment, he had—momentarily confused, agreed.
And so, this melodramatic scenario unfolded: the second male lead’s wife, utterly devoted to the male lead.
The original owner couldn’t see past it. But could He Yan? A hundred million, wasn’t that enough? With a hundred million, who needed some lousy man?
The corners of He Yan’s mouth couldn’t help but curl upward. With a grand flourish of her hand, she signed her name.
Her handwriting was bold and unrestrained, one could even see just how thrilled and exhilarated the signer was.
Jiang Mingcheng’s gaze flickered for a moment, sweeping lightly across He Yan’s barely suppressed grin. He said nothing, simply took the contract and handed it to the respectfully waiting lawyer behind him.
He Yan watched Jiang Mingcheng rise to his feet, his tall, slender frame impossible to ignore. His well-defined fingers adjusted his cuffs, and without a backward glance, he turned and gracefully ascended the stairs.
Not a single word left for her.
Ah, well. She had to admit Jiang Mingcheng was stunningly good-looking, the kind of handsome that bordered on otherworldly. Such a shame, though. Young as he was, his eyes were already blind, utterly bewitched by that white lotus female lead.
He Yan still remembered the female lead’s quintessential line: “Mingcheng, I’m so sorry. I upset your wife. I truly didn’t mean to, I never imagined she would think of me that way.”
And then, a single crystalline tear would fall, landing squarely on Jiang Mingcheng’s heart.
Tsk. What a classic, guileless act of green tea dramatics.
He Yan silently resolved: she would focus on her career, steer clear of this melodramatic mess, and work hard toward her future life as a rich woman!
The lawyer had just left when a maid entered with a smile, leading He Yan to her room on the second floor of the villa, the guest bedroom.
He Yan glanced toward the master bedroom door next door, raised an eyebrow, and pushed open her own.
The room was spacious, but what truly caught her eye was the enormous balcony.
She scurried over, grabbed the railing, and peered down. A sapphire-blue pool sparkled not far away, its surface shimmering.
“Ahhh, the rich really know how to live! This decadent capitalism!”
Her brows lifted and the corners of her mouth practically stretched to her ears. Then she turned and there, on the adjacent balcony, stood Jiang Mingcheng, watching her without shifting his gaze.
Her legs suddenly felt weak. Steadying herself, she lifted her hand in a mechanical wave. “Hey! What a coincidence.”
Jiang Mingcheng gave a slight nod but said nothing. A breeze swept over him, catching the collar of his shirt and pulling it open just enough to reveal his elegant collarbone.
Ha! If she hadn’t heard him speak downstairs earlier, He Yan might have genuinely suspected he was mute.
The man was practically a miser with words.
She didn’t feel like engaging him. Turning away from the balcony, she stepped back into her room and came face-to-face with a mirror.
Her eyes lit up. In a few quick steps, she was standing before it, scrutinizing her face closely.
“Ahhh! I’m way too beautiful! How is this face even possible?!”
He Yan was stunned. Her current appearance shared about forty or fifty percent resemblance to her original face but it was far more refined. Fair, delicate skin so soft it looked like it might yield water. Innocent, yet laced with a subtle, alluring charm.
No wonder the original owner had managed to churn out one flop film after another while clinging to the male lead, film emperor Pei Yanchuan, for scandal after scandal and still retain a devoted following of fans who stuck around purely for her looks.
With a face like this, even if she just stood there on screen doing nothing, she’d eat two extra bowls of rice!
“Look at this waist! Look at these legs! Incredible!” He Yan couldn’t help but twirl.
The glass door to the balcony was still open, and every bit of her exuberant self-praise carried clearly into the adjacent room.
Jiang Mingcheng lowered his gaze slightly, recalling the image of He Yan moments ago.
Her pale arms draped over the railing, eyes and brows alight with joy, ink-dark hair cascading over the fair nape of her neck.
She was beautiful.
And very different from the He Yan he had met before.
At the memory of their first encounter, his brow furrowed. He dimmed the light in his eyes, turned, and retreated into his bedroom.
Once her initial excitement subsided, He Yan began to think clearly, analyzing her current situation.
She searched her own name online.
All negative press:
Three consecutive box-office flops, the highest score across any platform barely reaching 2.1.
Obsessively clinging to film emperor Pei Yanchuan for publicity. Anywhere the male lead appeared, she found a way to be there, leeching off his fame.
Then there were the endless comparison pieces, a B-list, almost C-list actress forcibly pitting herself against A-list stars, only to be ganged up on by their respective fanbases.
Even the few loyal fans she had, those who supposedly admired her looks had thrown in the towel and resigned themselves to public ridicule.
He Yan let out a long sigh.
Life really wasn’t easy.
In her last life, she worked herself to the bone, never accomplishing anything before dying suddenly late at night. In this life, the least she could do was scrub away this mountain of bad press.
As for Jiang Mingcheng and Pei Yanchuan? She didn’t care. Once she got divorced and became a rich woman, with a face like this, she’d have no trouble finding handsome men.
She typed “Pei Yanchuan” into the search bar, curious to see what the novel’s famed male lead actually looked like.
Just as she hit enter, her phone rang.
A glance at the caller ID: Sister Jingyi—the original owner’s agent.
“Hello, Sister Jingyi.”
“Why aren’t you back on set yet? Didn’t you say you’d only be out for two hours?”
Huh? The original owner was filming today?
“How much longer do you need? I’ll have Xiao Li pick you up. If you don’t get here soon, the director’s going to blow his top.” The voice on the other end seemed to be deliberately lowered.
“I’m done with what I needed to do. Have Xiao Li come get me. I’ll send you the address. Sorry for the trouble, Sister Jingyi.” He Yan hurried downstairs, asked the maid, Aunt Qian, for the exact address, and sent it over.
Lin Jingyi stared at the message she’d just received from He Yan, momentarily dazed.
Did she just say “Sorry for the trouble, Sister Jingyi”? Since when was this girl so polite? In the past, wouldn’t she have snapped an annoyed “So annoying” and hung up immediately?
Suppressing her confusion, Lin Jingyi arranged for Xiao Li to pick He Yan up.
Over here, He Yan got into the car, feeling a bit nervous. She had no idea what role she was even playing; the original novel hadn’t detailed the original owner’s daily life very thoroughly.
“Xiao Li, is my script in the car?” He Yan asked tentatively.
“Yes, it’s right in the pocket in front of you,” Xiao Li replied cheerfully.
He Yan then noticed a script stuffed into the storage pouch on the back of the front seat.
She took it out and opened it. It was clean and pristine, as good as new.
“Xiao Li, which scene am I filming today?” He Yan asked, bracing herself and risking exposing her situation.
Surprisingly, Xiao Li didn’t find the question odd at all. He still answered happily, “I just heard Sister Jingyi say it seems to be the part where Qiu Chuchu pretends to be pushed into the pool by Qi Ruanruan to frame her.”
He Yan quickly flipped through the script and realized she was playing the vicious female supporting character, Qiu Chuchu. And the scene Xiao Li mentioned was the classic one where the supporting character sets up the female lead.
A white lotus, huh? She can play that!
With her current face that looked pitiable and delicate with the slightest furrow of her brow, it would almost be a waste not to play a white lotus.
He Yan hurriedly studied the script and memorized her lines to avoid blowing her cover.
Arriving at the filming location, He Yan was led by Xiao Li into the makeup room.
“Oh wow! Finally decided to show up! I thought we couldn’t afford to host such an esteemed presence.” A sharp, piercing voice came from a woman in front of her.
He Yan paused mid-step. Who are you?
She quickly pulled out her phone and searched for information about this drama. Only then did she confirm that the woman before her was named Lin Jingxi, and she played the female lead, Qi Ruanruan.
Seeing that He Yan ignored her and was instead playing on her phone right in front of her, Lin Jingxi’s brows furrowed deeply. She clenched her fists, ready to unleash another sarcastic remark, when He Yan finally spoke.
“Hello, Sister Lin. I really did have some urgent business today, which caused the delay. My apologies.”
This only made Lin Jingxi angrier, a stifled rage blocking her chest.
This time, she and He Yan are playing the role of real and fake heiresses of the same age. As soon as the official announcement was made, netizens began discussing it. While most praised her acting skills and criticized He Yan’s lack thereof, there was still a small group of people commenting that she was too old to play a character of the same age as He Yan. Some even said that regardless of acting ability, He Yan’s appearance and temperament made her more suitable for the role of the real heiress.
And now He Yan calling her “Sister Lin”—wasn’t that just a dig at her age?
“Ha, I’m not like you. I don’t act willfully just because of my looks and keep a whole crew waiting.” She dragged out her final words, her tone dripping with sarcasm and derision.
He Yan frowned slightly. Her comment earlier wasn’t pleasant, but she let it slide because she really did arrive late. But she explained and apologized, why was she still acting so relentless?
“Oh my, Sister Lin, there’s no need to be so insecure. You can’t exactly help how you look. Let’s just focus on acting well, right?” He Yan blinked innocently as she spoke. Who couldn’t play the little white lotus?
“Pfft—” The makeup artist behind Lin Jingxi couldn’t stifle a laugh.
Lin Jingxi shot the makeup artist a fierce glare.
How dare this He Yan talk back to her so openly today? Wasn’t she always meek and cowardly before, never daring to retort no matter how much she was scolded?
How could she swallow this insult?
“Ha! You dare bring up acting skills? Well then, I’m really looking forward to your performance today. Hope you can exceed expectations and finish in under 20 takes.” She may not be able to compete with her in looks, but in acting? Let’s see you keep up that tough talk. She’s bound to embarrass herself soon enough! Let you soak in that pool all night long!
Lin Jingxi felt much better just thinking about it. Today’s pool scene—there was no way He Yan would get through without at least twenty NGs. And it was late autumn now. She’d really suffer!
**