Chapter 1: Transmigrating into a Book

Song Yiyi never imagined this in her wildest dreams. She had only stepped out to buy a cake, and somehow got caught in the middle of a gang fight between two groups of melodramatic teenage boys. Amid the chaos, someone shoved her. The next thing she knew, a speeding car came straight at her—then everything went black.

When she opened her eyes again, a man and a woman were standing in front of her.

“Yiyi, don’t get the wrong idea. It was just windy just now, and some dust got into Yingzi’s eyes. I was helping her blow it out,” the man said anxiously. He was dressed in a military uniform, his delicate face full of worry.

As soon as he finished speaking, the short-haired woman beside him nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, don’t overthink it. Bo Wen and I grew up together. If something was going to happen, it would’ve happened long ago. There’s no room for you in that equation. We’re nothing more than pure revolutionary comrades.”

As she spoke, the woman casually smacked the back of the man’s head. “Right, Cen Bowen?”

The man didn’t back down and smacked her right back. “Of course! I don’t like tomboys! What we have is purer than brotherhood—purer than just being bros…”

That slap hit harder than expected, and the woman’s expression shifted. But she quickly brushed it off with a scoff. “Tch! I’m three years older than you. You’ll always be a little brat to me. Don’t forget, I used to teach you how to eat with a spoon. Say ‘Daddy’ for me!”

“You’ve got some nerve bringing that up. In the end, you ate all the food! I went home hungry—what kind of brother does that?”

The two of them went on and on, reminiscing like no one else was around, arms slung over each other’s shoulders.

Song Yiyi was stunned for a couple of seconds. Her first instinct was to check her cake.

The enamel bowl was still in her hands. She let out a sigh of relief.

Whatever just happened—it must’ve been from staying up too late reading webnovels. Her brain must’ve short-circuited.

She opened the bowl and froze.

This wasn’t her bowl. She had bought a new one. This one was old and worn. And instead of cake, it held braised pork and rice.

She looked up and around.

Dusty courtyard, brick houses with tiled roofs, clotheslines made of bamboo poles with labor uniforms hanging from them. Military-green rubber shoes drying upside down on a wall.

Something was definitely off.

Before she could figure out what was going on, a wave of dizziness hit her. A rush of memories poured into her brain like a floodlight reel spinning out of control.

Clang!

The sound of the enamel bowl hitting the ground drew the attention of the bickering duo.

The braised pork rolled twice in the dirt, its once-glossy surface instantly dulled.

Cen Bowen rushed over first. “Yiyi, what’s wrong?”

Kang Ying stayed where she was, watching Song Yiyi crouched on the ground, holding her head, face pale.

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes slightly.

What a little act she’s putting on. That delicate, seductive face, plus this damsel-in-distress routine… Clearly a vixen reborn.

Since Song Yiyi arrived, the usually dense Cen Bowen had suddenly awakened to his feelings.

Kang Ying was practically grinding her teeth.

She had grown up with Cen Bowen—he had never had another woman around him. Any who did appear left quickly on their own.

She had fought with her family countless times waiting for him to marry her.

Just last month, before Cen Bowen went on a mission, she had a huge fight with her parents and conveniently moved into her aunt’s place.

Cen Bowen’s uncle worked in the same military district, and when he saw her red-rimmed eyes, he had even teased, “Yingzi, your family trying to force you into another blind date? If it gets too bad, bring me home next time and say we’re together!”

Clearly, Cen Bowen had been thinking about marrying her!

But all of that was ruined by the sudden appearance of Song Yiyi.

While she was stargazing and longing for Cen Bowen to return to the compound, he came back with another woman.

Everyone in the compound was curious. When they asked, Cen Bowen beamed and introduced her: “Song Yiyi is Deputy Commander Gu’s younger sister—and she’s my girlfriend.”

She had never seen that expression on his face before—as if Song Yiyi were a precious treasure to be held and cherished with care.

“Yiyi is young. From now on, she’ll be living here in the compound. Everyone should look out for her—no one is allowed to bully her!”

Those words felt like a knife, slicing her heart wide open.

Even now, reliving it again, it was just as painful.

Kang Ying clenched her fists and swore silently.

Cen Bowen could only be hers! In the last life, and in this one too!

Song Yiyi? She was nothing more than a stepping stone in her and Cen Bowen’s relationship.

Now that she had been reborn, she would never let the same thing happen again—Song Yiyi had to disappear early!

Kang Ying quickly wiped the expression off her face and ran over, voice laced with concern. She shoved Cen Bowen aside just as he reached out to carry Song Yiyi.

“If she fainted, take her to the clinic! Why are you standing there like an idiot?”

Cen Bowen blinked a couple of times, finally snapping out of it. “Right, right, I’ll carry her!”

But before he could move, Kang Ying had already hoisted Song Yiyi onto her back, gritting her teeth. “I’ve got her! If people see you carrying her, your reputation will take a hit. Girls are just troublesome. Not like me—I won’t hold you back.”

Meanwhile, Song Yiyi was force-fed a flood of unfamiliar memories.

With her many years of reading webnovels, she figured it out quickly—

She had transmigrated into a book!

Before all this, she had just been heading downstairs to buy a cake, Bluetooth earphones in her ears, listening to an audiobook.

The book’s title? Too long. She didn’t remember it.

But she had read the book summary. The female lead was named Kang Ying, the male lead Cen Bowen. It was a period novel, telling the story of how Kang Ying, unlike ordinary women of her time, first became wealthy through business, then turned her long-time crush into reality and married her childhood sweetheart. Together they had four children in one go, achieving both love and success—a true winner in life.

In the book, the character sharing her name, Song Yiyi, was the white lotus side character who shamelessly clung to the male lead.

Cen Bowen had been sent on a mission that happened to be near the original Song Yiyi’s hometown. Her eldest brother, Gu Chengze, had asked Cen Bowen to deliver some money and supplies to their family. That’s when the original Song Yiyi fell in love with him at first sight.

She insisted on following him back to the military compound under the excuse of visiting family.

On the way back, she fell ill with a fever, and Cen Bowen took care of her personally. After spending time together like that, he became infatuated with her.

The book explained that Cen Bowen was young and inexperienced at the time, and had mistaken sympathy for love. It also described how the original Song Yiyi was very good at pretending to be sweet and gentle—a total white lotus who deceived the male lead.

Eventually, the two even got married.

After marriage, the original Song Yiyi was lazy and greedy. She didn’t lift a finger at home and spent money like water—even using Cen Bowen’s salary to support her own family.

For her sake, Cen Bowen even took risks and went into business with Kang Ying. Song Yiyi was extremely jealous and suspicious, constantly fighting with Cen Bowen over Kang Ying, and even went as far as to report him to the military district.

It was Kang Ying who took full responsibility so that Cen Bowen wouldn’t be punished.

Disappointed and heartbroken, the male lead focused entirely on his career and future.

Not long after that, as if “heaven finally opened its eyes,” Song Yiyi had an accident and died unexpectedly.

The book had just reached the part where it described how the original Song Yiyi died—

—and that’s when the real Song Yiyi fell into the story like a skydiver.

Now, lying on Kang Ying’s back, listening to her huffing and puffing with every breath, Song Yiyi recalled the memories she had just absorbed.

And realized—things weren’t like how the book had described at all.