Chapter 1: Her Name Is Chi Mo, Guan Yizhou's Girlfriend

Zhou Xing'er felt like she was burning up, as if a fire were roasting her from the inside.

She blinked her eyes open in a daze. Everything around her was pitch black. The air carried an indescribable musty smell, mixed with a faint trace of soap. She reached out and touched something hard and ice-cold.

It felt too damn good. Like a giant block of ice radiating cool air in the dead of summer. Zhou Xing'er couldn't help pressing her body against it, whimpering softly about how hot she was.

"Get off."

A man's voice rose from the darkness—low, freezing cold, and slightly hoarse.

It sounded nice. Like ice clinking together in winter. Cold, but enough to make your ears itch.

Zhou Xing'er's brain was fried by the fever. She figured she was dreaming. And if it was a dream, what was there to be afraid of? She'd never even held a man's hand before. In a dream, she was absolutely going to cop a feel.

She didn't let go. Instead, she climbed right on top of him, wrapping both arms tightly around that rigid body.

She pressed her face against his chest. "Don't move. Let me stay here for a bit. Just a little bit," Zhou Xing'er mumbled softly, her voice sweet and whiny, like she was acting spoiled.

The man's breathing instantly turned heavy. He reached out a big hand and grabbed her waist. His fingers were as hard as iron, squeezing until it hurt.

"I told you to let go. Did you hear me?" His voice grew hoarser, laced with suppressed pain.

Zhou Xing'er wasn't listening. She lifted her head. She couldn't see his face clearly in the dark, but she could feel it right in front of hers.

She got bold and leaned in to kiss his lips.

That one kiss changed everything. His lips were cool and soft. Zhou Xing'er thought it was fun, so she bit down harder.

The man's body jolted violently, a muffled groan escaping his throat. The next second, the world spun, and she was pinned firmly underneath him.

"You asked for this." The man leaned over her ear, grinding the words out through clenched teeth.

Then, kisses hit her like a storm. There was nothing gentle about his movements. He was downright rough, hurting her badly.

She wanted to scream, wanted to push him away, but his strength was terrifying. He locked both her hands above her head.

The temperature in the room kept climbing. The bed frame creaked and groaned. Zhou Xing'er drifted in and out of the dream, feeling like her whole body had fallen apart. It hurt so much tears streamed down her face, but there was also some strange feeling she couldn't describe.

They tossed around for a long, long time that night. It wasn't until dawn approached that things finally quieted down.

……

The next morning, a sliver of sunlight slipped through a gap in the tattered curtains, landing right on Zhou Xing'er's face.

She twitched her eyelids. Her whole body ached, especially her waist and legs. It felt like a semi-truck had run back and forth over her several times.

She sucked in a sharp breath and snapped her eyes open.

This wasn't her studio apartment.

Above her was a ceiling coated in whitewash. Old newspapers from the nineties were pasted on the walls. The red wooden window was shut tight.

Zhou Xing'er's heart dropped. Why hadn't she woken up from this dream yet?

She turned her head, and her mind went completely blank.

There was a man lying next to her.

His back was to the light, eyes closed, fast asleep.

He was handsome. Thick brows, high nose bridge, thin lips pressed tightly together. Even in his sleep, his face carried a don't-fucking-touch-me kind of coldness. His shoulders were broad. The blanket only covered him down to the waist, leaving his bare back exposed—covered in dried sweat marks and a few red scratch lines.

Zhou Xing'er gasped. Those scratches... why did they look so familiar?

She looked down at herself. One look nearly gave her a heart attack. She wasn't wearing a single thing. Her skin was covered in red marks, and on the sheet beneath her were a few glaring drops of red.

This wasn't a dream.

This was real!!!

Just as Zhou Xing'er was about to scream in terror, a violent pain exploded in her head. Countless memories that didn't belong to her flooded in like a tidal wave.

Zhou Xing'er. Twenty years old. A village girl. Her family was dirt poor, but she was stunningly beautiful, especially those peach-blossom eyes that seemed to hook people when she looked at them. With her plump, curvy figure, she never lacked suitors.

And the man she'd just slept with was named Fu Yusheng. Twenty-five. On the surface, he was a wealthy businessman from the big city who ran a massive factory—rich and powerful.

The original Zhou Xing'er was a vain girl, obsessed with marrying into the city for a good life. She found out Fu Yusheng was staying at this guesthouse, spent every penny she'd saved to buy some dirty drug off the black market, and had someone slip it into his tea.

Then, while the drug took effect, the original owner snuck into his room and forced the issue.

To keep herself from chickening out, she'd taken a little bit of the drug too.

According to the original plot, after sleeping with Fu Yusheng, the original owner ran away that very night.

She knew Fu Yusheng was a cold, ruthless character. If she stayed to demand a title, he'd definitely throw her in the police station. Even if she got pregnant later, he'd force an abortion.

So her plan was to run away pregnant, have the baby, and then show up at the Fu family's door holding the child.

The Fu family was a prestigious household. For the sake of their reputation and the kid, they'd have no choice but to grit their teeth and make Fu Yusheng marry her.

The original owner was extremely confident she'd get pregnant in one shot, because her family had a genetic trait for easy conception!

Her mom got knocked up on her dad's wedding night. Her grandma was the same way.

But after marrying into the Fu family, the original owner had no idea how to behave. She caused trouble every single day, bullied the servants, spent money like water, and complained that Fu Yusheng was too cold. Eventually, Fu Yusheng couldn't take it anymore and divorced her. Without the Fu family's protection, she got scammed out of all her money by street thugs and ended up dying miserably in a stinking ditch.

And only after the original owner died did the real female lead of the book appear. A young lady from an equally prestigious family who entered a business marriage with Fu Yusheng. They respected each other and lived happily ever after.

As for the child the original owner bore—growing up without a mother made his personality weird and gloomy. When he grew up, he became a foil for the real female lead's child, living his entire life in the shadows, and ultimately meeting a bad end too.

Zhou Xing'er sat on the bed, completely numb.

The sky was falling.

How did she transmigrate into the body of such a death-seeking side character?

No. She absolutely could not follow the original owner's path. Absolutely no having kids. Absolutely no going to the Fu family. And definitely no dying miserably in a stinking ditch!

Zhou Xing'er looked at Fu Yusheng, still fast asleep beside her, trembling all over. He looked peaceful now, but once he woke up and realized he'd been played, he'd strangle her for sure.

She had to run. Run right now.

Zhou Xing'er gritted her teeth, enduring the ache in her body, and carefully lifted the blanket.

Her clothes were thrown on the floor in a messy pile.

She quietly climbed out of bed. The moment her feet hit the ground, her legs buckled, and she nearly collapsed. She quickly grabbed the edge of the table, not daring to even breathe heavily, and glanced back at Fu Yusheng.