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“Next stop, Lu City North Station. Passengers getting off, please take your belongings and exit in an orderly manner…”

Accompanied by the announcement from the loudspeaker, the green train finally came to a stop after creaking for a while. It was already morning, and the faint light of dawn spread out in the distance, with the sunrise tinged with a hint of red, slowly rising in vivid colors at the corner of the sky.

Passengers got off the train in small groups, and one or two people with large bags boarded the train. Footprints were left one by one on the steps still covered with morning mist.

The station attendant yawned. Lu City was a small station, and it was considered a good day if twenty people got off the train that arrived on time every day. So her job wasn’t that complicated, but the early start still made her feel sleepy.

“Hello, may I ask…”

The young attendant, with a lingering gleam of sleepiness in her eyes from yawning, looked up groggily.

Then, her eyes instinctively widened.

In the chilly early spring wind, a young woman wrapped in a coat with a thin black down jacket on top stood gracefully. She had a tall, slender figure, bright eyes and delicate brows, with a large suitcase by her feet. In her hand, however, she carried an old-fashioned handbag, the kind sold at train station entrances for twenty-one yuan.

Even so, the outdated bag, held in her hand, gave off a vintage charm, as if it were something from a second-hand store, with a blend of old-fashioned and stylish weight.

She smiled and asked the attendant, “Excuse me, is there a direct bus to Yanxia Mountain?”

The attendant, suddenly struck by the woman’s beauty, was wide awake now, more alert than if she’d had three bottles of Red Bull: “Yes, there is. Are you going to Yanxia Mountain for sightseeing?”

The attendant picked up a brochure, excited to help: “I recommend that you go to the station across the street after exiting here. There are direct buses to the scenic area. The ticket includes both the bus fare and the entrance ticket. It’s not expensive. If you want to get there faster, you can also take a taxi outside, which will take about an hour and a half.”

The young woman smiled, “I’m not going to the scenic area. I’m going to Fangping Town in Yanxia Mountain.”

This surprised the attendant a little, but she still responded dutifully: “That might be a bit more troublesome. Fangping is an undeveloped area. You’ll need to take a shuttle bus to Jingshui County first, and from there, you can catch a bus to the mountain.”

Lin You received the correct information, thanked the attendant, and picked up her suitcase as she left the station.

The Lu City station had been around for many years, and since the bus station was directly across from the train station, there were still plenty of people outside, despite the early hour.

Among the passing travelers, the breakfast stalls had opened, and a white mist of steam rose from the food. It instantly whetted Lin You’s appetite.

After sitting on the train for more than ten hours, even the sleeper train was enough to tire someone out. Lin You, who hadn’t eaten anything since last night, felt a bit tempted.

Perhaps Lin You’s gaze was too obvious, as the busy breakfast stall owner seemed to notice it even through her black mask.

“Little miss, come try this. Freshly steamed buns and dumplings, soy milk, fried dough sticks, spicy soup, and instant noodles are all available.”

Lin You hesitated for a moment but eventually decided to have breakfast first. Even if the food outside the station wasn’t that great, it was definitely better than staying hungry all morning.

“I’ll have a bowl of soy milk, and then…”

At this moment, there was a sizzling sound behind her, and the breakfast stall owner, wearing a white apron, poured a well-mixed batter into a large, flat, circular pan. Neatly arranged in the pan were white, tender dumplings. As the batter touched the oily surface of the pan, steam rose as the dumpling bottoms sizzled, quickly cooking in the boiling water.

After covering the pan for a few minutes, an irresistible aroma filled the air. When the lid was lifted again, the dumplings had crispy, golden bottoms, topped with chopped scallions and sesame seeds. The dumplings were glistening white and tender, and with a bit of scallions and sesame seeds, they were so oily that a slight nudge with chopsticks could make the juicy filling ooze out.

Lin You instinctively swallowed, “I’ll have ten of each, the meat and the vegetarian!”

“Okay!”

The owner’s wrist moved quickly, the spatula clinking lightly against the pan, snapping the crispy bottom of the dumplings: “The meat ones are with pork and scallions, and the vegetarian ones have chives, eggs, mushrooms, and carrots with vermicelli.”

Lin You couldn’t wait any longer, grabbing the chopsticks and dipping a dumpling into the chili oil and fragrant vinegar before popping it into her mouth. As she bit down, the crispy skin made a satisfying crunch. The dumpling skin released a rich broth, and since they were just made, the soup was a bit hot, steaming with fragrance, and instantly made her appetite soar.

Lin You ate all twenty of the pan-fried dumplings in one go, followed by a large bowl of soy milk, and then, feeling satisfied, let out a contented burp.

“Boss, how much is it?”

“Ten yuan.”

Lin You paid and sighed at how low the prices were.

She grabbed her luggage and headed to catch her bus when a girl in a middle school uniform rushed down from the second floor of the breakfast stall.

“Mom, I’m going to be late! Why didn’t you wake me up?”

The owner slapped her forehead, “I really forgot! It’s already this late, hurry up, tell your dad to grab you two buns and a box of milk!”

The young girl passed by Lin You and froze for a moment.

The owner had been busy all morning, only realizing that her daughter was about to be late, so she quickly began to arrange things, and the man started to fumble: “Uh, uh, get that one with the sauce meat, she doesn’t eat radish, don’t get the one with radish and meat.”

Turning around, the daughter was still standing there, staring out the window.

“Goodness, aren’t you going to be late? Hurry up!”

The young girl’s eyes lit up: “Mom, mom, mom, the person just now! I know her!”

The owner was startled by her daughter’s sudden excitement: “So you know her, just go…”

The young girl interrupted: “She’s a celebrity!”

The young girl wanted to say something more but was hurriedly pushed out the door by her mother: “Yes, yes, yes, a celebrity. Go talk about it at school!”

The young girl stomped her foot, having no time to argue with her mother. She bit into a fragrant bun, planning to tell her classmates all about it at school.

—

Lin You followed the crowd and quickly squeezed onto the bus to Jingshui County.

She sat in the last row by the window, while people continued to board in front of her.

“Move further back, put your bag on the rack.”

“Hey, I’m telling you, I’m going to a wedding feast, my second brother’s kid…”

“Mom, I already told you I’m on the bus. I’ll be there before noon!”

“Make way! I’ve got ducklings in this basket…”

—

Lin You pulled her mask down and exhaled a breath.

Although it wasn’t her world, the everyday hustle and bustle felt familiar—this was the life she knew.

Her phone lit up with the name “Xiao Zhuo,” the original owner’s assistant. Lin You opened the window a little and answered the call.

“Hello?”

Xiao Zhuo hesitated for a moment before speaking: “Sister Youyou, are you free to talk?”

Lin You looked at the noisy bus, with people talking on the phone, eating, and chatting with their companions…

“Sure.”

Xiao Zhuo was silent for a moment before slowly saying, “Sister Youyou, there’s something you need to be mentally prepared for.”

“The surplus part of the termination fee you paid during your contract termination, the company can’t approve it now. They say that when you signed the contract, there was a non-compete clause that prohibits you from engaging in the entertainment industry for a year. So now the company says the five million they should pay you will only be given to you after one year.”

Lin You frowned. She had only been here for a few days when she mentioned terminating her contract, and the lawyers from both sides had argued for half a month before reaching an agreement. In order to terminate the contract, she had used up the original owner’s ^[1]“Eight-figure” refers to an amount of money that has eight digits in it. This means the amount is between 10,000,000 and 99,999,999 in the given currency.eight-figure savings and the money from selling a house. But the lawyer had calculated that even after paying such a large termination fee, she would still have five million in savings. So why is the company backing out now?

“This clause is unreasonable and conflicts with other terms. Didn’t both sides’ lawyers negotiate this during the termination talks? The company’s lawyer also agreed on the compensation and refund amounts, so why are they suddenly coming up with an excuse to hold it back?”

Xiao Zhuo’s voice was low: “But this is what the company is saying. Sister, maybe you should come back again?”

Lin You exhaled a puff of white air, suspecting something: “Xiao Zhuo, tell me the truth, is this the company’s decision, or Zhang Kai’s?”

Xiao Zhuo was silent for a while: “Sister Youyou, please don’t ask… To be honest, you can’t really leave this industry. Maybe we should both step back. After all, Brother Kai was the one who brought you into this industry…”

Lin You sneered. That’s right. In the original book, the original owner had fallen for this sense of gratitude and some hidden girlish emotions. In the end, it led to her quitting the industry and committing suicide.

“Tell Zhang Kai to wait for the summons.”

Without hesitation, Lin You hung up the phone.

Xiao Zhuo sat in the office, the curtains still drawn, making the lit room feel like nighttime.

“Brother Kai, Sister Youyou said… to wait for the summons.”

Zhang Kai, who had stayed up all night, had bloodshot eyes. Hearing this, he chuckled and casually placed his legs on the desk: “Heh, well, she’ll have to wait and see if she can even get one.”

He had calculated that after Lin You quit the industry, she only had around fifty thousand in liquid funds left, with the remaining five million being the company’s owed share.

Now that he was withholding the share, Lin You’s life was already at risk. Where would she get the money to sue him?

“From extravagance to simplicity is easy, but from simplicity to extravagance is hard. After experiencing the entertainment industry’s ^[2]Metaphorically, a “gold rush” refers to a sudden, intense, and widespread pursuit of wealth, success, or opportunity, often in a specific area or industry. It suggests a frenzy of … Continue readinggold rush, can she live a life without money, brands, and fame?”

Zhang Kai lazily spoke: “Next time she contacts you, remember to make her wait for half a month.”

On the other end, Lin You hung up the phone and cursed Zhang Kai, the annoying third male lead, for the tenth time, while also lamenting once again how she ended up in such a ridiculous novel.

Originally, after graduating from a prestigious university, she was tired of the competitive life and returned home to become a farming blogger. Over the years, she had become a top influencer, with a beautiful life that included mountains, rivers, land, and savings.

Who knew that a random encounter with a mudslide would cause her to “time travel” into a novel she had read before.

The novel, being a bit older, followed an outdated ^[3]“Mary Sue style” refers to an unrealistically perfect character who excels at everything, is universally loved, and faces little meaningful struggle, often seen as wish fulfillment.Mary Sue style with a brave, determined heroine and her entanglements with the male lead, second lead, third lead, and so on.

Unfortunately, Lin You became a minor supporting character in the story.

She was considered unimportant because the truly villainous second female character had a bigger role. Lin You was just a malicious, and vague background character.

Because she secretly had feelings for the third male character, Zhang Kai, who, from the start, used her as a stepping stone to elevate the heroine.

Zhang Kai, skilled in the art of entertainment industry hype, used the somewhat famous original owner to help the unknown heroine. He arranged for both women to appear on the same variety show, using the original owner’s fame to support the lesser-known heroine. Later, he made sure they were pitted against each other, publicly positioning the original owner as a person who steals resources.

Meanwhile, the heroine didn’t have to do anything, gaining a lot of sympathy. As the heroine, Mu Qingqing, grew in fame, Lin You’s reputation plummeted. Naturally, the heroine wasn’t just supported by Zhang Kai, and as Mu Qingqing became more popular, Lin You ended up being portrayed as a resource thief, stealing from the heroine.

In the end, after the original owner quit the entertainment industry, the third male lead confessed his true feelings to the heroine. The heroine, shocked by his unscrupulous methods, rejected him. The third male lead fell into a deep depression, staying silent for a long time, then decided to turn over a new leaf, hiding his love and becoming the heroine’s manager.

Lin You: …

What did the original owner do wrong?

Just because she wasn’t the protagonist of your love story, she deserved to be criticized, cyberbullied, and forced to leave the industry, right?

When Lin You came into this world, a variety show was airing, and she was exposed for bullying the lesser-known heroine using her fame.

These days, anything can be manipulated, and with the manager’s tacit approval, public opinion quickly turned against Lin You.

Lin You was also called to “get out of the entertainment industry.”

Lin You touched her chin and thought for a moment. Getting out of the entertainment industry wasn’t impossible.

After all, the original owner had been in the industry for several years, and her eight-figure savings would allow her to start a new life without any burden. Even after paying the termination fee, she still had a seven-figure sum left.

So Lin You immediately proposed termination, and a month had passed since then. After spending most of her fortune, she finally became a free woman.

At first, she thought her few million would provide a solid foundation for her “lying flat” lifestyle, but now…

Lin You smiled coldly. She had a good temper, but she wasn’t a soft target.

Zhang Kai thought he could control her with five million? Dream on!

If necessary, she would return to her old profession. As for the lawsuit, she had already made up her mind to fight it!

The car slowly made its way, and after a long detour, Lin You finally arrived at the original owner’s hometown.

Yanxia Mountain, Fangping Town.

Like her, the original owner had come from a small mountain village. Lin You’s parents had passed away when she was young, and she had only been able to finish college thanks to her uncle and aunt. The original owner had it worse, she was an orphan.

But fortunately, whether here or in the original world, the people in their little village had simple, and kind-hearted ways.

So this time, when Lin You returned to her hometown, she had already contacted the original owner’s neighbors. They said they would come to pick her up in Fangping Town.

That’s right, the original owner’s hometown was, strictly speaking, Yanxia Mountain, Fangping Town, Lianhua Village.

However, due to difficult mountain roads, getting to the town was already the limit, and to get to the village, you had to rely on individual transportation.

Lin You stood under the sign waiting for someone, but after a long time, no one came.

Until…

“Lin You?”