Plop—

A huge splash erupted, water spraying everywhere.

The villagers of Lushui Village shouted at the top of their lungs:

“Someone jumped into the river!”

“Looks like it’s the Jiang family’s youngest daughter!”

“Why would she jump into the river for no reason?”

“I heard she just witnessed her elder sister rolling around on the bed with her fiancé, the one she was betrothed to since childhood. He fell for her sister, wanted to break off the engagement, and she was so devastated that she jumped into the river!”

“Isn’t Jiang Rao the village’s beauty? She’s so pretty, why would her fiancé not want her?”

“What’s the use of being pretty? She’s lazy and spoiled, never lifts a finger to do any work, eats three eggs a day, and has a terrible temper. She’s not someone you can build a life with. Who’d want to marry a wife like that and bring her home?”

“Enough gossip—someone figure out how to save her! If she dies, it’ll be a real mess.”

When Jiang Rao plunged into the river, her mind was blank. She couldn’t understand why she had done something so foolish as to attempt suicide. The icy water wrapped around her limbs, flooding her senses. She had no time to think. Instinct drove her to hold her breath and struggle toward the surface. But the weeds at the bottom coiled around her ankle, dragging her downward.

The more she struggled, the faster she sank. In her panic, mouthfuls of river water poured into her nose and throat.

Her heart sank with a chill. In the instant her consciousness began to blur, a bitter thought came to her: Am I really going to drown like this?

At that moment, someone seemed to be swimming toward her. In the next instant, strong arms wrapped around her waist. She was pulled into a firm, powerful embrace. That person propped her up and swam with her toward the surface until they reached the riverbank.

“It’s Lu Shen, the eldest son of the Lu family from the Qingshan village!” someone recognized him.

“Lu Shen saved Jiang Rao!”

Lu Shen hauled the girl onto the riverbank. Her long, jet-black hair, soaked by the river, clung to her pale cheeks like strands of seaweed. Seeing her eyes tightly shut, Lu Shen placed his hands one over the other and pressed down on her chest.

“In broad daylight, why’s he touching her there?”

“The Jiang family’s youngest girl sure is pretty, and that figure…”

Several older men in the village chuckled lecherously.

“Don’t talk nonsense! That’s a resuscitation method,” a woman shot the old perverts a glare.

With each firm compression of Lu Shen’s palms, Jiang Rao suddenly coughed, spitting up water. Her dark, clear eyes fluttered open, dazedly scanning her surroundings.

Before her stood a tall, broad-shouldered man; his features were sharply defined. His skin, a healthy bronze; his gaze, deep; his nose, straight and prominent—altogether a very masculine face.

He wore an army-green vest that revealed two muscular arms. At that moment, his bronzed hand was pressed firmly against her chest…

“You…” Jiang Rao’s dark, water-bright eyes widened, glaring at him.

Only then did Lu Shen withdraw his hand. A faint red spread across his tanned cheeks, even coloring his ears. “You fell into the water. I was saving you.”

Jiang Rao pursed her red lips. She wanted to say something, but just then, a translucent panel appeared before her eyes.

On it were countless lines of text:

【Hahaha, the story begins.】

【Jiang Rao may be just a cannon-fodder supporting character, but she really is beautiful!】

【She and Lu Shen together look so much like a couple!】

【What’s the use of looking like a couple? Jiang Rao’s a drama queen. Even if she marries Lu Shen, she can’t sit still. After marriage, she cheats multiple times, until Lu Shen can’t stand it anymore and divorces her. In the end, she winds up destitute on the streets, a miserable fate.】

【Such a pity for that beautiful face.】

More and more comments flooded into Jiang Rao’s mind. Her head throbbed, and she shut her eyes in pain. When she opened them again, the confusion had cleared, replaced by a startling lucidity.

She had awakened.

She, Jiang Rao, was actually a cannon-fodder supporting character in a period novel—a control group for the female lead. Her very existence was meant only to set off how beautiful and blissful the female lead’s life was.

The female lead is her half-sister from the same father, Jiang Yu. In the book, Jiang Yu snatched away her childhood engagement and married the book’s male lead, Song Dechao. From then on, her days were harmonious and beautiful, slapping faces and trampling scum, walking toward the peak of life.

And she herself was the one being slapped in the face by Jiang Yu, because she accidentally saw this pair of adulterers rolling on the kang. In a fit of agitation, she tried to attack and scratched Jiang Yu’s face. Song Dechao was furious, protecting the pitiful Jiang Yu and threatening to break off the engagement with her. Stimulated and hurt, she could not take it for a moment and wanted to throw herself into the river to end her life. Later, she was saved by the rough man from the neighboring village, Lu Shen. Because Lu Shen pressed on her chest to perform CPR and rescue her, he touched her chest. Right after, her stepmother and father rushed over. Her stepmother had always regarded her as a thorn in her eye, unable to stand her living better than Jiang Yu. Seeing that Lu Shen was a poor and rough man with nothing, she used the excuse that Lu Shen had ruined her reputation and forced Lu Shen to marry her.

Song Dechao was the driver of the town mayor, having the enviable “iron rice bowl” job of this era. His family was well-off and lived in town. Jiang Yu married into his family and lived a life of luxury, while the rough man was only a dirt-poor farmer. After she married him, she ate coarse grains and lived poorly. She hated her stepmother and Jiang Yu for stealing her marriage and ruining her life. After marriage, she was also restless, constantly resenting the rough man and even cheating multiple times… Until she got divorced, fell into disgrace, and ended up miserably.

She remembered that in the latter part of her dream, Lu Shen started a business, rising from a poor nobody to becoming the richest man. However, he overworked himself too much, wore out his health, and soon after died suddenly.

And the reason why she had sought death over those adulterers and acted so extremely was because she had been controlled by the plot. But now, she has awakened.

She would no longer be a cannon-fodder control group. She wanted to be the female lead of her own story!

Seeing Jiang Rao in a daze, Lu Shen appeared somewhat at a loss. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to take advantage of you, I was just—”

“I see you, you bastard, are definitely trying to take advantage of our family’s Second!” A sharp voice suddenly sounded. Everyone turned toward the source of the voice and saw a woman in a dark blue Dacron dress hurrying over. This was Jiang Rao’s stepmother, Chen Cuihua, and the man rushing alongside her was her biological father, Jiang Tianhua.

Jiang Rao usually hated it the most when Chen Cuihua called her “Second.”

Her biological mother was a capitalist, her family was wealthy, and she had been pampered since childhood. But later, because of her family’s class background, they declined. Not long after, her biological mother overworked herself and passed away. Her father, who had always loved her, soon brought along the stepmother and Jiang Yu, who was born just two days earlier than her, into the house.

It was only when she grew older that she learned, back when her parents had just married, Chen Cuihua had already seduced her father. At that time, Chen Cuihua was a twice-married widow and was even her mother Lin Mei’s close best friend. Jealous of her mother’s good life, she turned around and seduced Jiang Tianhua.

What was laughable was that now she repeated her old tricks, letting Jiang Yu seduce Song Dechao, snatching away her engagement. This mother and daughter were truly skilled at stealing men.

After awakening, Jiang Rao only found it laughable.

Men, there were plenty. She did not care at all about a scumbag who could not control his lower body.

Song Dechao could just be given to Jiang Yu.

Chen Cuihua knew Lu Shen. This lad was dirt-poor, and according to relatives from the neighboring village who knew the situation, this boy also had a pair of cruel parents who constantly exploited him… Looking at Jiang Rao’s seductive fox-like face, even if she had lost the engagement with the mayor’s driver, there was no guarantee that some other wealthy family would not set their eyes on her. How could she possibly allow her own daughter to be stepped on by this little slut Jiang Rao? If she could force this poor lad to marry her, Jiang Rao would not only suffer a bitter life in the future but would also be tormented by her cruel parents-in-law…

Chen Cuihua came up with a scheme.