In the spacious reception room, the servant placed the final fruit platter in its proper position, then quietly retreated to the side.
Two people sat on the sofa. One of them was Lu Qianling.
Everything before her left Lu Qianling momentarily disoriented. She rubbed her temples.
Across from her, a man spoke with an ingratiating expression.
“Miss Lu, are you tired?” His tone was thick with deliberate flattery. “Don’t worry—I’ve already arranged everything for you—”
Lu Qianling cut him off. “Who are you?”
The man’s expression stiffened, then he forced out another smile. “You’re joking. I’m Zhang Mian, Song Moli’s manager.”
Lu Qianling said nothing.
She had absorbed too much information in too short a time and hadn’t fully processed it yet.
The man before her continued, “It’s like this—we happen to have a very suitable candidate who can replace you on that sibling variety show. That way, Miss Lu won’t need to trouble herself by going personally.”
Zhang Mian kept smiling on the surface, but his heart was full of contempt.
Girls from wealthy families like this one might appear to be dressed in gold and jewels, surrounded by wealth and luxury, but in reality, they had neither brains nor substance.
Thinking this, a trace of disdain inevitably showed in Zhang Mian’s eyes.
Still, he maintained his beaming smile as he waited for Lu Qianling’s answer.
He had already coaxed her into compliance. She wouldn’t refuse him now.
“Replace me?” The woman spoke slowly, her tone lifting slightly at the end.
Zhang Mian’s body froze. He instinctively explained, “Now, listen, I didn’t mean—”
Lu Qianling continued, “And just now, did you say you were going to arrange everything for me?”
Her tone was calm and composed, yet Zhang Mian inexplicably felt his breath catch.
Only two sentences, but compared to moments ago, the woman before him seemed like a completely different person.
Must be my imagination, Zhang Mian thought.
He took a deep breath. “Miss Lu—”
“You can leave now,” Lu Qianling said lightly. “My affairs don’t need you arranging them.”
Zhang Mian: “…”
After being shut down several times in a row, his train of thought was in complete disarray.
The woman waited a few seconds, then looked at him with mild puzzlement. “Why haven’t you left yet?”
Zhang Mian stiffened and stood up on instinct. “Yes—then I’ll take my leave.”
The servant who had been standing in the corner stepped forward to show Zhang Mian out.
Zhang Mian followed in a daze. Only when he stood outside the villa gates did he finally snap back to reality.
What just happened? He had actually left like that?
She was clearly just a brainless rich girl—how did he end up intimidated?
But the only answer he received was the tightly closed courtyard gate behind him and the security guard’s cold stare.
…
Lu Qianling tried to piece together what had happened.
She had been in her office when everything suddenly went black.
Immediately after, a cold, mechanical AI female voice appeared in her mind.
Lu Qianling listened as it recounted the entire plot summary of a novel.
This was an entertainment industry story. The female lead was originally an unknown actress who shot to fame after appearing on a variety show, then steadily climbed to the top.
On her road to success, countless cannon fodder were trampled underfoot—but two people were most important.
One was Song Moli.
He first brought massive attention to the variety show the female lead participated in as a popular male actor. Later, he became her foil—highlighting her while his own reputation plummeted.
The other was Song Moli’s older sister.
They were biological siblings, but due to an incident years ago, the sister lived as a wealthy heiress with assets worth hundreds of billions, while the younger brother was left to fend for himself.
Neither sibling knew of the other’s existence until many years later, when their mother passed away.
Father Lu suddenly appeared, intending to bring Song Moli back into the Lu family.
This decision met with opposition from both siblings.
Song Moli refused to acknowledge this “father,” while the sister feared he would take away what should rightfully be hers and made things difficult for him at every turn.
In the end, Song Moli committed suicide.
In the end, Song Moli committed suicide, while the older sister also met a tragic fate. That was because the siblings’ cousin had schemed to seize the Lu family’s shares.
This so-called “cousin” was the novel’s male lead. With those assets, he rose overnight and helped the female lead secure countless resources.
After hearing the whole story, Lu Qianling finally understood.
The female lead’s explosive popularity relied on Song Moli serving as her stepping stone.
The male lead’s meteoric rise relied on the sister’s family fortune.
Everything the siblings possessed ultimately became the male and female leads’ assets—making them the two protagonists’ biggest “blood banks.”
Lu Qianling rolled her eyes internally.
What the hell? Forget the female protagonist, but the male protagonist actually built his success by stealing someone else’s family fortune?
Two things caught Lu Qianling’s attention.
First, the younger brother in the novel, Song Moli, seemed eerily similar to someone she had met in real life…
Second, the sister in the novel happened to share her name—also called Lu Qianling.
But in the end, it was just a book… she thought.
Yet when Lu Qianling opened her eyes again, everything had changed.
Before her was no longer an office, but an extravagantly luxurious room.
There was an ornate chandelier, an exquisitely crafted tea table, and servants in uniform presenting carefully arranged fruit platters.
There was also a boot licking man talking to her.
…
After Zhang Mian left, Lu Qianling sat on the sofa without moving for a long time.
The male servant waited a while before stepping forward. “Miss, would you like to rest?”
Lu Qianling’s thoughts were pulled back.
That mysterious novel in her mind, combined with everything she had just experienced, all pointed to one fact.
She seemed to have become the sister in that pair of cannon fodder siblings from the novel.
Looking at the male servant before her, Lu Qianling slowly nodded.
As she walked out of the room, two girls in uniform shirts appeared, standing quietly on either side of the staircase.
There was also an older woman in the distance, wiping down furniture.
The hall’s décor and furnishings were lavish to the extreme. Within sight were numerous priceless paintings and sculptures.
With just a slight lift of her gaze, Lu Qianling saw an enormous crystal chandelier hanging from the very top of the entire house.
She glanced around and noticed many candlesticks placed everywhere, all with lit candles.
The fragrance in the air was likely coming from these scented candles.
Lu Qianling made a rough estimate—just within her line of sight, there were over thirty burning candles.
Across the entire villa, there were probably over a hundred.
As for “Lu Qianling’s” ending, the original novel described it this way:
“Shen Junmeng heard from the servants that the former owner of this house, unwilling to live an ordinary life, ended her own life late one night.”
Shen Junmeng was the novel’s female lead.
As cannon fodder, “Lu Qianling’s” villa ultimately became the female lead’s property.
Lu Qianling felt that if not for the author wanting to leave this villa to the female lead, dying in a fire might have been an even more fitting ending for this side character.
Her gaze lingered on the candles a bit too long. The male servant beside her inquired, “Miss, is there something wrong with today’s candles?”
“Hm?” Lu Qianling didn’t quite understand.
A uniformed girl hurried forward in panic.
“Miss, I’m so sorry!” The girl bowed repeatedly as she apologized. “The plumeria-scented candles you mentioned last night are still being made by Sister Su, so I used osmanthus-scented ones first. I promise—tomorrow’s candles will all be replaced with the new fragrance!”
Lu Qianling: “…Hm?”
The girl, clearly afraid Lu Qianling might be angry, continued explaining urgently, “But the candles on the second and third floors have already been completely replaced! Just as you requested, the main notes are silk tree blossom and snow lotus respectively. Sister Su personally inspected them all—there definitely won’t be any mistakes!”
Lu Qianling: “…”
So this is what life as a wealthy heiress is like?
*
「Author’s Note:」Additional Content Warnings.
1. I will be blacking out the original female and male leads.
2. The female lead will take over the company and inherit the family business in the later stages of the story.
3. The brother and sister share the same father and mother. Why they were separated and why they weren’t reunited sooner will be explained later.
4. The male lead will appear after the VIP chapters. His presence will be weak in the early stages and moderate in the middle and late stages. The overall focus will be on family ties, with romance as a secondary element.
5. The female lead is super beautiful and rich, so she naturally has a “man-eater” (everyone-attracted-to-her) attribute and easily attracts the goodwill of the opposite sex.
6. There are both male and female antagonistic supporting characters. The presence of a female antagonist does not mean there will be “catfights” (female competition).
7. I politely decline writing guidance. If you drop the novel, there’s no need to inform me. Let’s part ways amicably. Thank you~
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The younger brother will appear in the next chapter~