Heat—
That was Shang Wan’s first sensation.
A sticky, sweltering wave crawled over every inch of her skin. Sweat seeped densely from her hairline, her face flushed crimson, and her eyes glazed with a hazy, feverish sheen. Unable to hold back, she cursed under her breath.
Unlucky—
This was just so damn unlucky.
Shang Wan had toiled diligently in the entertainment industry for ten years, painstakingly rising from an unknown extra to a recognizable supporting actress. Relying on the acting skills she had honed through years of struggle at the bottom, she had miraculously landed a role that closely mirrored her own life experiences, ultimately winning the Best Actress award at that year’s Golden Rose Awards.
Just as she had finally gained some recognition and saved enough for retirement, ready to pack up and leave the industry to begin her idyllic retired life—
Who could have imagined that in the blink of an eye, she would so abruptly find herself transmigrated into a cheesy romance novel she had read during a book drought?
And not just any character—she had become the despicable, scheming female antagonist from the original plot, whose fate ended in utter tragedy!
In the bathroom of the penthouse suite atop a luxury hotel, the sticky, suggestive heat pressed in on Shang Wan from all sides. The only source of coolness was the hand resting against her neck.
Its knuckles were distinct, its fingers slender and jade-like.
If it weren’t for the fact that the owner of this hand was currently choking her neck with a death grip, Shang Wan thought she might have been tempted to press her cheek against it for relief.
The owner of that hand was now glaring at her intently, his teeth clenched as he spat out, “Shang Nanzhi, you are utterly shameless!”
Shang Nanzhi—
The female antagonist in the novel Starlit Path.
A stunningly beautiful yet viciously scheming villain.
The stumbling block in the sweet romance between the male and female leads, the fly in the ointment for readers shipping the couple.
Desperate for the love of the male lead, Fu Chen, and repeatedly rejected, Shang Nanzhi had resorted to drugging him.
Shang Wan clearly remembered that in the original novel, due to her inexperience, Shang Nanzhi had administered enough drugs for five or six people in one go.
As a result, this domineering CEO—whose mere step could make City A tremble—not only endured two hours in cold water on a winter night but also used broken glass to carve several gashes over ten centimeters long into his own arm.
Only the bone-chilling cold and searing pain had allowed him to resist breaking his restraint.
The comments section for that night’s update had been a colorful mix of outrage, and even Shang Wan herself had once typed furiously, venting her anger in a passionate rant.
But now, Shang Wan couldn’t bring herself to curse.
Because Fu Chen’s hand was still clamped around her neck, tightening relentlessly. She was about to be strangled to death.
Stars danced before Shang Wan’s eyes. Instinctively, she groped behind her, grabbing a toothbrush cup that had rolled to her feet, and smashed it against Fu Chen’s head.
With a clatter, Fu Chen’s hand finally loosened.
Shang Wan turned and bolted.
No joke—in the original novel, after this night, Shang Nanzhi had thoroughly offended Fu Chen. Not only was she blacklisted across the entire industry, but he also set traps that led to scandals tarnishing her reputation. In the end, driven to despair by fans whose love had turned to hatred, she was splashed with sulfuric acid, disfigured, and ultimately jumped to her death under a storm of public condemnation.
If she didn’t hurry now, gather her bank cards, and flee abroad by plane, she would be truly finished once Fu Chen sobered up tomorrow and came looking for revenge.
Stumbling and staggering, Shang Wan rushed to the bathroom door, only to freeze in disbelief the moment she tried to open it.
The lock on the bathroom door had been violently smashed by something, now hanging crookedly and askew—clearly beyond repair.
Shang Wan tried turning the doorknob a couple of times, but the bathroom door didn’t budge.
Shang Wan: “…”
Damn this original body—where did it get such brute strength day after day?!
Behind her, Fu Chen’s pained, suppressed breaths echoed in the bathroom.
To bolster her courage for this forced encounter, the original host had downed over half a bottle of red wine before coming to see Fu Chen.
Just now, as the alcohol surged through this body, Shang Wan’s trembling hands hadn’t mustered much force when she struck Fu Chen’s head. The reason he let go was because the effects of the drug in his system were growing increasingly severe.
In this tightly locked bathroom, there was a half-drunk, feverishly dazed drunkard.
Plus a drugged, disoriented man.
What to do, what to do??
Just as Shang Wan was anxiously pacing in circles, suddenly, an electronic voice rang in her ear:
“System connecting. Please wait patiently, Host.”
Shang Wan was startled by the sudden sound, and then the electronic voice spoke again.
“Account activated.
“Hello, Host. It has been detected that your body in the original world has died. Considering your superb acting skills and ability to accurately portray different types of characters, the System has specially invited you to join the book transmigration world. As long as you complete the tasks issued by the System, you can exchange for sufficient Life Points and return to your original world.”
“I… I died?”
Shang Wan stared blankly at the empty air before her. Just a foot away, a warm ball of light glowed with a radiance only she could see.
And right now, that ball of light was speaking to her.
“Yes, Host. We apologize for delivering this unfortunate news.
“At 2:13 a.m. last night, you were taken to the hospital due to fulminant myocarditis. Unfortunately, resuscitation efforts were ineffective, and you passed away forty-two minutes after entering the intensive care unit.”
Shang Wan’s head buzzed.
In a hazy daze, she seemed to hear many sounds.
At her doorstep, someone knocked for a long time but received no response, finally forcing the door open with a loud bang that nearly prompted the neighbors to call the police.
Downstairs in the residential complex, the blaring of an ambulance siren echoed all the way.
Outside the intensive care unit, a crowd huddled around the small glass window, their hushed conversations faintly drifting in, as if from a lifetime ago.
She had died.
But her memories of death were nothing more than fleeting fragments.
Shang Wan stared at the ball of light before her, taking a long while to process the news.
She asked urgently, “You mean I can still go back alive, right? I need to complete tasks—so what are the tasks?”
“Yes, Host. Our task is to collect Bond Points with the main characters in the book. Before the original story’s grand finale arrives, you must ensure that your Bond Points with each of the main characters reach 100.”
“Task loading…”
“Task loaded successfully. Please click to accept, Host.”
Shang Wan reached out and clicked to accept.
A panel appeared before her eyes.
Main Characters: 1/5
It seemed there were five characters in this book from whom Shang Wan needed to collect Bond Points.
At the moment, four of their portraits were grayed out and huddled in the corner. The only one illuminated was Fu Chen, who was currently trapped in the bathroom with Shang Wan.
Shang Wan quickly clicked into the main characters’ Bond Points section to check her progress. As expected, a series of zeros filled the screen.
To her surprise, when she clicked into Fu Chen’s page, the Bond Points actually displayed as 1.
Shang Wan was startled and immediately asked the System, “System, what’s going on? How are these Bond Points calculated?”
The System replied, “Hello, Host. Bond Points refer to all the entanglements you have with the main characters from the original story in daily life.
“Whether positive or negative, as long as you leave an indelible mark in their lives, the Bond Points will deepen.
“Just like you and the male lead, Fu Chen. Fu Chen hates being controlled more than anything in this lifetime. By drugging him and making him succumb to desire, you’ve essentially left a bold and vivid stroke in his life.
“Congratulations, Host, for firing the first shot so quickly. Please keep up the good work!”
Shang Wan: “…”
Is this really the time for congratulations? You’re just congratulating blindly!
In the bathroom, the sound of cold water splashing echoed with Fu Chen’s movements.
He submerged his entire body in the bathtub, his lips turning purple, yet he still couldn’t suppress the effects of the drug coursing through him. In desperation, he shattered a nearby glass, grabbed a shard, and prepared to cut himself.
Shang Wan watched in horror and quickly pleaded for help, “System, System, can you pick locks? Can you find a way to get us out of here?”
The System replied, “Sorry, Host. The System cannot interfere with the original world’s plot development. Everything depends on your own efforts.”
Shang Wan was speechless. Shang Wan fell silent.
The bathtub full of cold water brought a chill, slightly easing the heat and alcohol-induced haze from her body.
Gritting her teeth, she turned and took a few steps toward Fu Chen, intending to find a way to make him drop the glass shard and discuss things calmly. But she was startled by the unfathomable gloom in his eyes.
Fu Chen’s consciousness was already somewhat hazy, but when his gaze fell on Shang Wan, it sharpened slightly, like a hawk eyeing its prey.
A moment later, Shang Wan heard him say, “Take one more step, and I can guarantee this glass shard will slit your throat.”
Shang Wan: “…”
Seriously, how desperate was the original host to want such a terrifying man? Was sleeping with the unattainable flower really that appealing?
As Fu Chen spoke, the veins at his temples tightened further.
Amidst his increasingly heavy breaths, he exhaled and clenched the glass shard in his hand.
Drops of blood splattered across the surface of the bathtub water, filling the air with a thick, metallic scent.
Shang Wan felt every hair on her body stand on end.
After a long pause, she steeled herself and thought, If I die, I die.
She bravely approached Fu Chen, grabbed the glass shard in his hand, and stopped him from cutting his arm.
There was really no other way. The enmity was already established. If she could alleviate even a fraction of his suffering now, she might earn a bit more goodwill when Fu Chen sought revenge later.
Fu Chen was being tormented by the drug Shang Nanzhi had given him.
Even in the winter night, the bathtub full of cold water couldn’t suppress the relentless heat rising from within him. Only the sharp pain from the glass shard cutting into his flesh allowed him to face his current predicament clearly.
He must not become a slave to desire.
He must not be controlled by anything.
The voice from the depths of his memory kept whispering in his ear:
No.
As the shards of glass slowly dug deeper into his palm, Fu Chen tasted the familiar metallic tang of blood from his memories and instinctively wanted to slash his own arm.
Just then, a hand seized the glass in his grip.
The blood gushing from the other person’s hand quickly mingled with his own. He heard the person before him call his name.
She said, “Fu Chen, no.”
Her tone was as light as a thin layer of early spring snow.
Fu Chen instinctively looked up and met the gaze of the person before him.
It was still Shang Nanzhi’s face—strikingly beautiful, almost garishly so—but her eyes were surprisingly calm.
Holding the shard of glass in his hand, letting it cut into her palm, Shang Nanzhi said, “Fu Chen, I’m the one who did wrong, so I’m the one who should pay the price.”
Then, he watched as Shang Nanzhi, with that bleeding hand, guided his hand to slice a long, deep cut across her slender wrist.
Fu Chen stood frozen in place.