Chapter 1

After a busy day at work, Zhu Xinyue finally clocked out and headed home.

The smell on the bus was mixed and unpleasant, and Zhu Xinyue started coughing as soon as she boarded, feeling dizzy.

Adjusting her prescription glasses, she made her way to the back row, opened the window, put on the cheap wired earphones she bought from a dollar store, and started listening to the novel she hadn’t finished yesterday.

The novel’s plot was both melodramatic and engrossing, featuring a rich heiress who shared the same name as Zhu Xinyue.

Zhu Xinyue, a small-time money-grubber working a 996 schedule, couldn’t make a fortune in real life, so she dreamed of the wealthy life of the “Zhu Xinyue” in the novel.

The gentle AI voice played through her earphones. Despite the lack of noise-canceling features, she could still hear the wind and the engine noise of the bus.

“Zhu Xinyue could never understand why the childhood friend she grew up with would fall in love with someone other than her.

“Even though she gave so much for him, Ji Qingyuan’s attention was always on Jiang Rui!”

In reality, Zhu Xinyue frowned, feeling something was off.

“She gave up her inheritance for Ji Qingyuan, devoted herself to him, rejected all suitors, and even left home to enter the entertainment industry, starting from the bottom in variety shows. She even went against her morals, knowing Jiang Rui was allergic to silk, yet still made her wear a silk mask on a show, embarrassing her in front of the cameras.

“But all her efforts only earned Ji Qingyuan’s cold words: ‘I’ve always seen you as a sister, never liked you, even if you stood naked in front of me, I wouldn’t feel a thing.’

“Zhu Xinyue’s heart was utterly broken. If she couldn’t be Ji Qingyuan’s lover, she would become the person he would never forget.

“So, Zhu Xinyue jumped off a tall building, dying instantly…”

Zhu Xinyue paused the audiobook and deleted the novel from her library!

Her life was so tough, yet she worked hard to live, and this other “Zhu Xinyue” degraded herself for a man who didn’t love her?

In frustration, Zhu Xinyue pulled off her earphones, accidentally yanking her glasses off as well.

Being severely myopic, losing her glasses was like being half-blind. She crouched down to search for them on the floor.

Before she could find her glasses, a sudden loud crash occurred, and a massive impact flipped the entire bus over.

Zhu Xinyue’s last thought before losing consciousness was—at least she had insurance, so her family could receive compensation.

[System Loading…]

The sound of crackling electricity filled her ears, and Zhu Xinyue’s head felt like it was about to explode as unfamiliar memories were forcibly implanted into her mind. These memories were shrouded in thick fog, leaving her with only a vague sense of them.

[Would you like to help the supporting character “Zhu Xinyue” fulfill her wishes: 1. Reconcile with the Zhu family. 2. Protect Ji Qingyuan’s career.

Choosing “Yes” will make you the supporting character, Zhu Xinyue, in the novel “Star Glory”;

Choosing “No” will result in immediate death.]

What a deal!

Without hesitation, Zhu Xinyue chose “Yes.”

As the system’s electronic voice faded, the strange electrical sounds disappeared too.

In the darkness, the first thing Zhu Xinyue felt was the cold, damp wind, and icy water droplets hitting her feet. Her ears seemed muffled, making the sounds around her unclear—there was music and voices.

“Xinyue, don’t you like Ji Qingyuan? Go confess to him now, he just won the Best Newcomer Award, he’s in a good mood, he might say yes!”

“Yeah, yeah, if you get together with Ji Qingyuan, you won’t have to work so hard as a variety show extra anymore. Just post a couple photos and you’ll become incredibly popular!”

“Don’t forget about us when the time comes!”

Ji Qingyuan, Best Newcomer Award, variety show extra…

Zhu Xinyue remembered this part of the story.

The novel had just begun, and the female lead, Jiang Rui, had not yet appeared. Ji Qingyuan, who had skyrocketed to fame in his debut year, was extremely popular and had won the Best Newcomer Award. “Zhu Xinyue,” his childhood friend, had left home to follow him and became a variety show extra, but her acting was so poor that she never got any screen time.

At Ji Qingyuan’s celebration party, “Zhu Xinyue” was egged on by her two influencer friends to confess her love to him. After being rejected, she became furious and tried to push him, but ended up slipping into the swimming pool herself.

The next day, the video of her confession spread across the internet, making “Zhu Xinyue” a laughingstock in the industry. Out of their childhood friendship, Ji Qingyuan not only helped her buy a house in Tianze City but also gave her numerous resources.

Zhu Xinyue, a diligent worker constantly overshadowed by nepotism, often dreamed of someone inexplicably giving her money.

Buying her a house and providing her with resources!

What was this?

This was her great benefactor!

What was the original owner’s wish again? To protect Ji Qingyuan’s career, right?

My dear namesake and half-sister, rest in peace. From today onwards, I will protect your childhood friend! He is my great benefactor. If he serves food, I will never turn the table! If he takes the mic, I will never cut the song!

Filled with determination, Zhu Xinyue suddenly sat up from the lounge chair.

Her two influencer friends were startled, one of them, with heavy smokey eye makeup, nearly dropped her camera.

When Zhu Xinyue opened her eyes, all she saw was a blur of mosaics.

Despite it being nighttime, the place was brightly lit. It was like someone had overturned a paint palette—blues, whites, blacks, yellows, all colors mixed together, with shadows flickering around. She couldn’t make out any facial features, and she couldn’t even tell if the distant figure was a crouching person or a dressed-up pet dog.

Oh no! Why did her severe myopia carry over to this world? In other transmigration novels, this wasn’t the case! Which protagonist crosses over with poor eyesight?

[System: Each time you fulfill a wish, the system will help you reduce a certain degree of myopia. When you complete all wishes, you will regain normal vision.]

Got it, this was to prevent her from slacking off by offering a reward system.

Having been pua^[1]a tactic where a supervisor or colleague seeks to control your behavior or attention in the workplace. This can manifest through criticism, sarcasm, direct or indirect directives, creating pressure … Continue reading by her company boss for so long, Zhu Xinyue was wary of the system being too nice, fearing it might lead her into a trap later.

In this unfamiliar environment, Zhu Xinyue could only rely on common sense to judge.

In front of her, the irregular blue pool rippled with light, surrounded by people in colorful swimsuits, occasionally cheering. Not far away, loud music played, and many people gathered around a long table. Behind the pool was a three-story white villa, with warm lights on the first two floors facing the pool, while the upper floors were dark.

Zhu Xinyue’s seat was closer to the villa, in a flat-roofed pavilion. Her two influencer friends kept persuading her to confess now, amidst the noisy music.

Scanning the area, Zhu Xinyue tried to identify Ji Qingyuan among the moving figures.

Based on her novel-reading experience, the male lead in a romance novel was usually the best-looking one.

Her gaze quickly locked onto one person, narrowing her eyes slightly.

She had noticed this person from the beginning. Among the shifting mosaics, he was the tallest, with the best figure and most upright posture. Others vaguely surrounded him, either sitting or standing.

Even as a mosaic, he stood out with his distinct features.

“I got it.” Zhu Xinyue stood up. “I’ll go confess to him now!”

The smokey-eyed influencer immediately pulled out her camera, aiming it at Zhu Xinyue. “Go ahead, I’ll record this highlight of your life!”

In the camera, without the heavy glasses, Zhu Xinyue’s eyes were large and deep, shrouded in a mysterious and cool mist over her light brown irises.

She walked carefully towards the man, wary of stepping on anyone due to her poor vision.

Unaware, the smokey-eyed influencer gossiped with the red-haired influencer beside her, “Zhu Xinyue must really like him. She’s so hesitant, probably afraid that confessing will ruin their relationship.”

The next moment, Zhu Xinyue stood behind a man in a suit, looking up at him as if she had something to say.

As she got closer, she caught a clean scent from him.

To see him more clearly, she stepped even closer, standing just a step away, hands behind her back, looking up to identify if he was the male lead.

The flickering lights occasionally landed on his black short hair or dark gray suit, pausing briefly before sliding away.

Zhu Xinyue thought, Ji Qingyuan should be wearing a suit since he went to receive an award today, right?

“Mr. Ji, the driver is at the door,” a bodyguard-looking man approached, speaking respectfully to the suited man.

Mr. Ji? Ji Qingyuan? Zhu Xinyue was about 70-80% sure, but seeing him put down his champagne glass and about to leave, she boldly grabbed the suited man’s hand.

All sounds quieted down, and everyone’s attention turned towards them, even the music lowered.

Under the flickering lights, the man turned around, and the silvery light, like fluttering butterflies, crossed his shoulder and fell into Zhu Xinyue’s eyes.

He was indeed the best-looking man in the room. Seeing his face clearly for a moment, Zhu Xinyue was momentarily dazed.

The blurred light and shadow were like the work of a master sculptor—his features were distinct and sharp, his skin pale, with only his thin lips having a hint of color. His dark eyes were like the ocean at night, filled with coldness, making Zhu Xinyue shiver instinctively.

With a slight blink, the coldness in his eyes receded like a tide, as if the coldness Zhu Xinyue felt was merely her imagination.

The man raised an eyebrow slightly, seemingly asking her, “What’s the matter?”

Zhu Xinyue’s eyes were red and dry from the harsh light, making her naturally photophobic eyes even more uncomfortable.

Tears streaming down her face, she confessed, “From the first moment I saw you, I fell in love with you. You’re so special, just standing there seems like you’ll shatter. I want to give you a home…”

Before she could finish, a man with light blond hair emerged from the pool, and someone jokingly said, “Ji Qingyuan, your childhood sweetheart Zhu Xinyue is running off with your brother!”

Zhu Xinyue froze.

Her vision was poor, but her hearing was fine.

If the person who just came out of the pool was Ji Qingyuan, then the person she was holding onto was…

Ji Linyu withdrew his hand from Zhu Xinyue’s grasp, his dark eyes fixed on her. His lips curled into a polite yet distant smile, and he spoke courteously:

“Miss Zhu, it’s our first meeting. Isn’t it a bit too soon to talk about marriage?”