Chapter 1

“Ji Changyin, could you stop bothering me? How can there be a woman as shameless as you?” The man tugged irritably at his tie, then snatched up something from beside him and threw it at the woman standing in front of him, who seemed to have drifted off into another world. “Take your things and get out of my sight. I’m busy. I don’t have time for you.”

Ji Changyin didn’t move. The man’s expression grew more and more impatient.

“Ji Changyin? Are you leaving on your own, or do I have to call security and have them throw you out?”

Ji Changyin’s mind was still foggy. She glanced at the man, then at the box on the floor. Before he could tell her to get lost, she hurriedly picked up the box and walked out.

She had wanted to throw it right back at him, but the unfamiliar surroundings made her hold back. The moment she stepped outside, she noticed people all around staring at her.

Now she was even more confused. She clearly remembered going to her room for an afternoon nap. Why had she opened her eyes here?

Once she was outside the building, Ji Changyin sat down on a stone bollard by the entrance.

The sun beat down mercilessly, and the stone was hot enough to cook on.

It took her ten minutes to sort through the jumble of memories in her head and realize she had transmigrated into a book.

Not just any book, either. She’d landed in an old-fashioned romance novel as its brainless, long-suffering heroine. The woman even had the same name as her.

A chill ran through Ji Changyin. She thought she might be dreaming, but the scorching stone beneath her told her otherwise.

She remembered reading this book and cursing it from beginning to end.

“Ji Changyin” was the most pathetic, most devoted doormat she’d ever encountered in a romance novel. No contest. She followed the classic plotline of “he can torture me a thousand times, and I’ll still love him like it’s the first time.” The Ji family was one of the wealthiest families in City A, yet she had somehow managed to live like a dog at the male lead’s feet.

The man who’d just thrown something at her was Wei Jingbo, the male lead. He was certainly handsome, but his temper was atrocious.

Ji Changyin couldn’t stand him, either. He was the poster boy for a terrible man.

She rubbed her temples. According to the original Ji Changyin’s memories, the heroine was still in the early stages of obsessively pursuing him. She hadn’t yet reached the amnesia, miscarriage, and kidney-removal portion of the plot.

That was a relief. If she’d landed in the story at that point, she might have lost her mind on the spot.

Ji Changyin let out a breath, feeling a little calmer. She got up and followed her memories to her car. As soon as she climbed in, her phone rang. It was her manager, Zhao Xi.

“Hello? Young Miss, did you go see CEO Wei again?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Someone took a picture of you sitting on that stone bollard by the entrance. It’s already trending.”

Ji Changyin: …

“Get it taken down.” She rubbed her temples. She’d almost forgotten that the heroine was a celebrity here. And mentioning that meant bringing up the male lead’s beloved, Xu Chaomu.

The heroine had joined the entertainment industry to prove she was better than Xu Chaomu. The two women looked somewhat alike, and ever since Ji Changyin had entered the business, people had accused her of getting plastic surgery to look like Xu Chaomu. A proper old-school romance heroine had to be hated by the entire world, after all.

“Are you okay?” Zhao Xi asked, hesitating at Ji Changyin’s calm tone.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry. The sun just made me a little dizzy.” Ji Changyin rubbed her temples. “I’m going home to rest.”

“All right,” Zhao Xi replied.

After a long pause, Ji Changyin realized Zhao Xi still hadn’t hung up. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll let you go?”

“Yinyin, there are plenty of fish in the sea. You know that, right?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Zhao Xi fell quiet again. “Huh?”

“I said yes. There are plenty of fish in the sea. I’ve come to my senses. This guy’s no good. I’ll find someone else to like.”

There was another long silence. Then Zhao Xi suddenly sounded panicked.

“Seriously? You’re not joking, are you? Did something happen to you? Where are you? I’ll come find you. Don’t do anything stupid!”

Ji Changyin’s mouth twitched. She couldn’t help sounding exasperated. “I’m serious. I’ll go home and rest in a bit. I’m rich, beautiful, and talented. I could have my pick of people. Why would I hang myself over him?”

Zhao Xi went quiet again. She even moved her phone away to check that she’d called the right person.

“I’m hanging up. Get that trending topic taken down.”

“Okay. Just promise me you won’t do anything reckless.”

Ji Changyin ended the call and followed her memories home.

As the Ji family’s young heiress, she lived alone in a villa in an upscale neighborhood. It was enormous. A swimming pool and walk-in closet came standard, and there was also a sauna, a gym, a dance studio, and a game room. Even the household staff had their own elevator, though hardly anyone ever used it. There was even a hidden room tucked away in one corner of the villa.

Sitting on the couch, Ji Changyin rubbed her temples and gazed at the empty swimming pool. She let out a quiet sigh. Would I ever get back?

She didn’t have much to leave behind in her old world, but she’d only just finished paying off her mortgage. She hadn’t even lived in her villa for long. It felt like such a waste.

Ji Changyin sighed again, took a shower, and climbed straight into bed.

A little after six, the sound of a reminder on her phone woke her. Today was the tenth anniversary of the day Ji Changyin and Wei Jingbo had met. She’d reserved a table at a restaurant, and that was why she’d gone to his office earlier.

Ji Changyin sat on the bed for a while, then got up and made herself presentable before heading to the restaurant. Of course, she didn’t call Wei Jingbo. She went only because she remembered how hard it was to get a reservation there. The original Ji Changyin had managed to cut the line thanks to her status as the Ji family’s young heiress.

By the time she arrived, the restaurant was packed. At places like this, Ji Changyin knew almost everyone dining there. And since they knew each other, they knew all about her and Wei Jingbo.

The strange looks were one thing. The people whispering about her right in front of her were another.

Whenever Ji Changyin read scenes where people badmouthed the heroine to her face and the heroine just stood there, hurt and miserable, she found it painfully awkward.

They might all be wealthy young ladies, but the original Ji Changyin was one of the city’s most prominent socialites. She wasn’t even on the same level as the women talking about her. How on earth did they have the nerve? She really wanted to ask.

“I’m dying. Young Master Wei doesn’t even like her, and she still goes after him every day.”

“How embarrassing.”

“Do my affairs have anything to do with you?” Ji Changyin walked up to the two women and fixed them with a cold stare. “Which families are you from? Tell me your names.”

The two women looked rattled. Clearly, they hadn’t expected Ji Changyin to come over.

“You talk about yourself all the time. Are we not allowed to talk about it?” one of them said, summoning her courage.

“Have I broken the law or something? Do I need you to pass judgment on me?” Ji Changyin’s lips curled. “You stand here pointing fingers at me. Do you think I’m nice, so you can say whatever you want?”

She lowered her voice. “Tsk. Maybe I should go home and ask my dad if the Ji family has fallen on hard times. Why are people always stepping on me and trying to humiliate me?”