Chapter 1: Ten Years  

The sound of heavy rain grew louder, its rhythmic pattering creating perfect white noise for sleep. Yet in this environment, one person remained wide awake.  

Shen Zhansi tossed and turned in bed, her heart floating weightlessly one moment and searing with anxiety the next. The relentless downpour outside only amplified her unease.  

Having just finished her college entrance exams, she had made the most important decision of her life.  

Tomorrow, she would confess her feelings to Yan Qingye!  

Just mulling over the word “confession” sent a jolt of heat through her chest, setting her entire body ablaze with restless energy. She curled into a ball, clutching her blanket as she rolled around silently, screaming internally to vent the mix of urgency, joy, and nervous fear bubbling inside her.  

With such heavy rain tonight, what would the weather be like tomorrow? Would her confession go smoothly?  

Shen Zhansi buried her face in the blanket, cheeks burning with embarrassment. She scolded herself for being so flustered—hadn’t she lived twenty-six years in her past life? Had starting over as a child somehow regressed her maturity, making her this timid and inexperienced?  

It was just confessing to someone she liked! Yet here she was, a complete mess.  

But as the initial embarrassment faded, her face slowly paled. She didn’t know if confessing was the right choice, but she wanted to fight for herself, just this once.  

Seventeen years had passed since she transmigrated into this novel’s world. At first, she hadn’t even realized it was a fictional setting—until she was seven, when she met two little girls.  

One was named Yan Qingye. The other, Chu Zhi.  

It was then that she vaguely recalled a yuri novel she had once read, the very one that had infuriated her to no end. Weren’t the female lead and second lead named exactly that?  

The realization that she was in a novel’s world had initially left her dazed, but she quickly shrugged it off.  

So what if it was a book? The people around her felt undeniably real—flesh and blood, with thoughts and emotions of their own. Besides, her name had never appeared in the original story, so there was no need to dwell on it.  

As for the main characters’ fates, she neither knew nor cared to know. Living her own life was enough; she had no intention of getting involved in their world.  

Mostly because the novel had been too infuriating. The female lead, Yan Qingye—ostensibly the only child of the Yan family in Huaicheng—had been in love with Chu Zhi, her childhood friend.  

But Chu Zhi was far from worthy of that love. She took advantage of Yan Qingye’s feelings, playing with her heart while flirting shamelessly with others, even humiliating her repeatedly.  

Such a convoluted, rage-inducing plot was unbearable enough in text form—there was no need to experience it in 4D.  

Shen Zhansi bit the corner of her blanket, her face pale. Yet who could have predicted how things would turn out? Not only had she ended up in the same high school and class as them, but she had also fallen for Yan Qingye.  

The same Yan Qingye who, in the novel’s early chapters, had been as fragile as a dodder flower. But through their interactions, Shen Zhansi had caught glimpses of the real person beneath—someone far more complex.  

And in the process, she had fallen for her.  

Shen Zhansi was terrified. She didn’t know if confessing would be like opening Pandora’s box. But a voice inside her insisted: she had to take this step.

Otherwise, if she allowed the plot to unfold as it was, watching helplessly as Yan Qingye ended up with Chu Zhi and suffered humiliation at his hands, she would feel resentful and regretful.

The sound of rain outside remained steady, but Shen Zhansi’s thoughts had already turned to what she should wear and what gift to bring for tomorrow’s confession.

Suddenly, Shen Zhansi sat up in bed and frantically grabbed her phone.

No, she had to do some research—she couldn’t let Yan Qingye think her confession was half-hearted or careless!

Her thumbs trembled as they hovered over the screen, hitting several wrong keys before she finally managed to type out her question.

How to confess to a girlfriend.

The moment she saw the words she had typed, Shen Zhansi squeezed her eyes shut as if burned, embarrassment flooding through her.

What was this? How shameless of her—she hadn’t even confessed yet, so where did “girlfriend” come from?

Nervously, she buried herself in research, hoping to distract from the anxiety of tomorrow’s confession. The night grew deeper, and her eyelids grew heavier. The exhaustion from preparing for the college entrance exams still lingered, and now, when she should have been relaxing, her emotions had been tossed between highs and lows, leaving her utterly drained.

In her drowsy state, the sound of rain continued in her ears.

I hope the weather is nice tomorrow.

Hmm… I definitely need flowers for the confession.

And a gift… a ring?

No, a ring might be too much—this is a confession, not a proposal.

What else…?

Lost in her thoughts, Shen Zhansi’s consciousness grew hazier until she didn’t even realize when she finally drifted off.

She slept deeply, soundly—no longer disturbed by the rain, and even catching a faint, pleasant scent in the air.

A scent?

Why would there be a scent in her room?

Blearily, she opened her eyes, only to immediately shut them again from the harsh daylight, her brows furrowing in confusion.

She distinctly remembered closing the curtains before going to bed.

But soon, her expression softened into a smile. If the sunlight was this bright, then the weather must be beautiful today.

With that thought, her mood lifted. When she opened her eyes again, they had adjusted to the light, but just as she excitedly tried to get out of bed, she abruptly realized something unusual.

This wasn’t her room.

Shen Zhansi froze, sitting motionless as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings.

The room was decorated in a dreamy mix of pink and blue—a color scheme she neither loved nor hated.

She looked down at the pale blue bedsheets, her mind grinding to a halt.

A silent panic began spreading through her chest. Frantically, she scrambled out of bed to find a mirror, but the moment her feet touched the soft carpet, a series of hurried knocks sounded at the door.

The noise startled her so badly she flinched—her nerves were so frayed that even the slightest sound unsettled her.

But she paid no further attention to the knocking. Instead, she stared down at her legs, then at her arms, her entire body stiffening in shock.

This… didn’t seem like her body.

Even the distance to the floor looked different. Her previous body had been youthful and slightly immature, but now, she looked fully grown.

Had she transmigrated again?

Shen Zhansi raised her hand to touch her face, the unease in her heart growing stronger. Before she could dwell on it further, the sound of the door lock turning came from outside after several unanswered inquiries.

Shen Zhansi quickly looked up, her gaze meeting that of an unfamiliar auntie, further confirming the terrifying suspicion in her heart.

“Xiao Shen, you… why are you so pale?”

The auntie had intended to say something else, but upon seeing Shen Zhansi’s ashen face, she immediately panicked and hurried forward to support her, trying to guide her back to bed.

Shen Zhansi tightly gripped her wrist, her voice hoarse yet laced with urgency as she asked, “What did you just call me?”

“Huh?” The auntie was taken aback, looking at her tense, pale face with concern. “Xiao Shen, what’s wrong with you? Don’t scare Aunt Zhang. You know if anything happens to you, Miss Yan will be furious.”

Shen? Yan?

Shen Zhansi suddenly released Aunt Zhang’s hand and stumbled toward the bathroom.

When she saw her reflection clearly, the heavy stone in her heart finally dropped, only to be replaced by utter bewilderment.

She was certain this was her own face—now matured, it looked exactly as it had in her previous life.

But how had she gone from being seventeen to her current appearance overnight?

“Xiao Shen, what’s really going on with you?” Aunt Zhang stood at the bathroom door, watching Shen Zhansi with worry.

“It’s nothing.” Shen Zhansi quickly composed herself. Though her face was still pale, her emotions were no longer as frantic as before.

Having experienced this once already, she should be able to steady herself now.

Aunt Zhang observed that aside from her pallor, there didn’t seem to be any other signs of discomfort. Still, she said uneasily, “If you’re really not feeling well today, I can inform Miss Yan and cancel today’s training session.”

“Training?” Shen Zhansi turned to look at her.

Her mind, however, was fixated on the “Miss Yan” Aunt Zhang had mentioned.

Was it Yan Qingye?

“Xiao Shen, why are you talking like this today?” Aunt Zhang looked increasingly troubled. “Even though you argued with Miss Yan last night, you still need to train. Otherwise, she’ll be even angrier.”

Shen Zhansi suddenly didn’t understand what she was saying. She had argued with Miss Yan last night? And why did Miss Yan care so much about her training?

She did have a habit of morning workouts, but today’s events had been too overwhelming. She wasn’t in the mood to exercise—she needed time to process her sudden transformation and figure out her current situation.

“You can go now. I won’t train today,” Shen Zhansi said, forcing her tone to remain calm.

“But… what about Miss Yan?” Aunt Zhang hesitated, her words faltering.

“I’ll explain it to her later. You don’t need to worry about it.”

“Alright, alright. You do look unwell—you should rest. I’ll bring breakfast up for you later,” Aunt Zhang finally relented.

“Okay, thank you.”

After Aunt Zhang left, Shen Zhansi stared blankly at her reflection in the mirror. The face that had shed its youthful innocence now appeared even more refined between the brows, yet it was shrouded in an unshakable gloom, making her seem much more dispirited.

Regaining her composure, she noticed Aunt Zhang had already entered the room again with a tray during her wash-up, quickly setting things down before leaving once more.

Finishing her routine, Shen Zhansi stepped out and frowned at the breakfast Aunt Zhang had placed on the bay window.

Why was it a soft-boiled egg?

She didn’t like soft-boiled eggs.

With a soft sigh, she decided not to eat it anyway, as she had no appetite. Instead, she began carefully examining the room.

The room was spacious, connected to a large walk-in closet. Small decorative items scattered throughout revealed the owner’s meticulous attention to detail.

Shen Zhansi couldn’t understand—had she changed so much now?

But nothing was as shocking as the large wedding photo hanging above the headboard.

Her feet carried her forward involuntarily, stopping at the foot of the bed as she looked up at the photograph.

It was the typical red-background photo taken at the civil registry office. Both figures wore white shirts, shoulders pressed together as they faced the camera.

Shen Zhansi gazed blankly at the familiar yet unfamiliar faces in the photo. One was undoubtedly herself, but the other…

That once delicate and gentle girl had also shed her youthful innocence, now radiating a beauty that was impossible to look away from.

Those slightly upturned phoenix eyes smiled at the camera, as if capturing the joy of stepping into marriage with a beloved.

Reaching out, Shen Zhansi gently traced the features of the person in the photo, her heart inexplicably weighed down.

Even though the person in the photo seemed genuinely happy, she couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t the truth.

Yan Qingye wasn’t happy.

Her throat tightened as she sat down on the bed, her thoughts in complete disarray.

She and Yan Qingye were married?

Her bewildered eyes stared ahead, unable to comprehend how things had escalated like this just from a night’s sleep.

Before she went to bed, she hadn’t even confessed her feelings—how had she fast-forwarded straight to marriage?

Had her confession the next day succeeded?

The more she thought, the more tangled her mind became. Had she lost her memories, or had she traveled through time?

Suddenly remembering something, she frantically searched for something to check the time and noticed the phone charging by the bed. Picking it up, she turned it on—and froze.

Staring blankly at the date displayed, she realized ten years had passed since the night she fell asleep.

Ten years. A whole decade.

Her shoulders slumped weakly.

With so much time gone by, what was the outside world like now? What had become of her?

Just as she was lost in thought, the muffled sound of high heels tapping against the floor seeped through the door.

Looking up, she frowned slightly, puzzled as to who would wear heels indoors.

Before she could dwell on it further, the sound of heels grew closer, stopping right outside her door. Shen Zhansi instinctively lifted her gaze.

The door swung open.

When her eyes met those icy ones, Shen Zhansi was utterly stunned.

Was this… Yan Qingye now?

But the words that followed instantly crushed her flickering hope, plunging her heart into despair.