Chapter 10: The Legendary Nightmare Arrives

The events that happened to the original owner and her cousin seemed all wrong.

If this were a book, her cousin would likely be the protagonist.

After all, with a biased grandfather, a powerful father in the aristocracy, an artist mother, an elite older brother, and a genius younger brother, not just anyone could have such a top-tier setup.

And she herself was also a talented artist.

Isn’t this the perfect setup for a beloved heroine?

Maybe this time, the runaway could be the CEO’s wife fleeing with a child, or perhaps the white moonlight returning from abroad to rekindle an old flame.

And I—should be the hollow, superficial supporting female character, or even the cannon fodder.

After all, when I look at my own setup, it seems unreliable at best.

My dad is the eldest son abandoned by the aristocratic family; my brother is a simpleton with a strong body and a greedy obsession with money; my mom is a fake aristocratic housewife with zero skills in domestic competition, but a master in gossip.

This is clearly a cannon fodder setup!

If I were the female protagonist reversing her fate, my parents’ personalities should be the simple, hardworking type, right?

And my brother—shouldn’t he be the genius character?

Even if not, he should at least be a devoted brother, or perhaps a jerk who could help the original character establish her pure and innocent persona…

But instead, everything about my situation is so ordinary. It looks like I’m just here to be the benchmark for others.

Meng Yitong sighed deeply when she thought of this.

Right now, her only plan was to figure out what kind of person Qin Zhuoran really was.

If Qin Zhuoran is the male lead, he might keep his chastity for her cousin and remain indifferent to me.

No, maybe he’s a psychopath who abuses his wife, forces her to have an abortion, and digs out hearts and kidneys to save his white moonlight.

If Qin Zhuoran is this kind of character, then maybe I could really become the female protagonist.

After all, someone who’s tortured to the brink of death but still loves the male lead unconditionally might need a clueless, sweet, and naive character to love them, right?

Thinking of this, Meng Yitong couldn’t help but shiver. If this is the kind of life ahead of me, just kill me now!

There’s also the possibility that Qin Zhuoran will end up being her cousin’s loyal dog, silently giving everything for her, while she’s the jealous, domineering, ugly contrast.

……

The more Meng Yitong thought about it, the worse it seemed. She could hardly stop the bitter tears from welling up.

At this point, she suddenly regretted her decision from the night before.

Of course, regret is one thing, but if given another chance, she would probably still agree. After all, the offer was just too good.

Meng Yitong self-deprecatingly thought: She and Meng Yuanliang really were siblings; their greedy looks were truly a family heirloom.

Grandfather Meng truly deserved to be the head of the Meng family—just one casual move, and he had the whole family under control.

Great, no one should laugh at anyone anymore.

Maybe she thought too much before bed, because that night, Meng Yitong had a nightmare about Qin Zhuoran.

In this dream, Meng Yitong watched from a god’s perspective.

She dreamed that the original owner was forced into marriage with the Qin family. Dissatisfied with the marriage, she vented all her negative emotions on the Qin family, especially her disfigured, unattractive husband, whom she despised in every way.

Qin Zhuoran, in turn, had no fondness for the arrogant original owner, and after the wedding, rarely returned home.

Through this sudden rise to wealth, the original owner, newly rich, began to squander money everywhere and got into many troubles.

However, because of the Qin family’s status, no one held it against her.

When the original owner’s cousin returned and learned of the events, she began to feel deeply guilty for the original owner’s plight.

The cousin believed that everything the original owner did wrong was because of being forced to marry in her place.

If her cousin hadn’t run away from her wedding, the original owner wouldn’t have married into the Qin family, nor would she have met these people and had these problems.

Feeling guilty, the cousin frequently stepped in to apologize on the original owner’s behalf, which gained her a lot of goodwill but also exposed all the original owner’s mistakes.

This was something the original owner could not accept, and it led to several confrontations between the two.

Later on, when Qin Zhuoran learned that the original owner’s cousin had been the intended bride, he became even more intolerant of the original owner, eventually initiating a divorce.

Unable to accept it, the original owner hired a private detective to investigate Qin Zhuoran.

Upon discovering that her cousin had been secretly meeting with Qin Zhuoran, the original owner confronted them in a public banquet, exposing their illicit relationship.

Although this act of revenge felt satisfying, it completely offended both the Qin and Meng families.

Not only did the original owner fail to salvage her marriage, but her entire family was also driven out and left to wander the streets.

Because the original owner had offended many people while relying on the Qin family, when she fell into misfortune, everyone was eager to trample on her.

A group of thugs began to harass the original owner, and during an attempt to protect her, her brother was stabbed to death, causing the original owner to go insane on the spot…

The dream felt so real that Meng Yitong woke up in fright.

After drinking a large glass of water, Meng Yitong gradually calmed down.

She glanced at the clock on the wall—it was already past 2 a.m., but she felt wide awake.

Meng Yitong couldn’t tell if it was just a dream caused by her thoughts during the day, or if it was a sign of things to come.

Based on this dream, she wasn’t sure whether Qin Zhuoran was the male lead in this world.

But one thing was clear—she was destined to be a tragic, supporting female character.

The dream was divided into two parts: the first part was a life of luxury, squandering money carelessly, but after the divorce from Qin Zhuoran, things took a sharp turn for the worse.

Being mocked and bullied became the norm, and the most tragic part was that the family couldn’t even maintain the basic necessities of life.

Meng Yitong thought she had imagined the worst-case scenario, but this dream completely shattered her final psychological defenses.

So, is her family really this useless?

Is this the true reason they endured so much suffering in the old mansion, refusing to move?

Well, of course—if they moved, where would they find free housing, free maids, and free meals and fruits?

After all, housing prices in the capital were so high, even renting would be a huge burden for ordinary people.

If her family ended up on the streets, they might really end up as badly off as in the dream.

After all, apart from herself, the other three people in the family all looked unreliable in one way or another.

Not to mention making money, they might even struggle with adapting to life outside the mansion.

And she herself wasn’t particularly capable. As a newly qualified intern lawyer, she was either being scolded by the director or on her way to being scolded by the director.

What ability did she have to support the whole family?

…

The more Meng Yitong thought about it, the more worried she became.