Yin Yin had jolted awake from a nightmare.

In that dream, the numbers 1234567 twisted into grotesque shapes, crowding the entire scene. Fortunately, Yin Yin didn’t suffer from trypophobia— otherwise, that sea of 1234567s would have driven her insane on the spot.

Sitting up in bed, Yin Yin rubbed her fluffy, disheveled head. Her heartbeat hadn’t yet settled.

In fact, she had already realized long ago that these dreams couldn’t just be coincidences— or rather, perhaps they weren’t dreams at all. She had simply refused to dig too deep into it. After all, transmigrating inside a novel was fantastical enough on its own, wasn’t it?

She had considered it before. Since she had entered this world, what had happened to her original body? But she didn’t find the question important. Even if she had never read transmigration novels, she still knew one thing— no one ever cared about that part.

At that thought, Yin Yin’s hand paused mid-rub. Right. She never read romance novels. Then how had she discovered 《All Splendor Fades》 in the first place?

This time, she thought about it for a long while, but even when tracing back her memories, she couldn’t find an answer. From the moment her memories began, she had already been reading that novel.

She let out a long sigh and lay back down again. Though it was still dark outside, Yin Yin had no intention of going back to sleep. She was afraid that as soon as she closed her eyes, all she’d see again would be 1234567.

What did it even mean? Were those seven digits looping endlessly some kind of hint?

A loop?!

Yin Yin flipped over and sat up abruptly, her heartbeat pounding faster than before. She felt as if she had just grasped something faintly.

The world-building of 《All Splendor Fades》 was a cycle.

She swallowed hard, tension making her breathing go uneven.

Could it be…… that the world of 《All Splendor Fades》 was stuck in a loop?

That hypothesis chilled Yin Yin to the bone. This really was a romance novel written by a science PhD.

If that were the case, then where did the cycle begin and where did it end? With Du Qianqian jumping off a cliff to commit suicide?

Yin Yin’s mind worked rapidly. The novel’s ending had Du Qianqian leaping to her death. If that counted as a bad ending, then perhaps once the story reached that conclusion, the system would auto-reset and start over?

That would explain a lot— like why Ji Ting had Du Qianqian commit suicide at just 110,000 words. It wasn’t about ending the story but about resetting the board. But after constant criticism during serialization, maybe Ji Ting had lost enthusiasm and just ended it there, chopping off the rest of the plot.

Du Qianqian’s so-called ‘rebirth’ might also make sense— because Ji Ting had originally planned for it.

If that hypothesis held true, then once Du Qianqian jumped off that cliff again…… would Yin Yin have to start over too?!

……

No. She. Would. Not!

She had worked so hard to raise the male protagonist’s affection to its current level. How could she possibly start over again? Besides, this wasn’t a game. She was now a character in a novel. If things kept looping endlessly, she’d go mad.

Yin Yin sat on the bed and took a deep breath. Regardless of whether her hypothesis was correct, she couldn’t just stand by and let Du Qianqian jump again. Since she knew the plot, preventing that outcome should be easy.

According to 《All Splendor Fades》, when Ling Long brought Du Qianqian and others to the capital to report back to Prince Luo, they encountered a string of missing girls. At the time, Du Qianqian hadn’t yet returned to Prince Luo Manor to acknowledge her lineage. Under Yin Yin’s coaxing, she had decided to act as bait to lure the culprit out.

Things progressed quickly— so fast that Ling Long didn’t even have time to stop her— and Du Qianqian vanished without a trace. By the time they discovered the culprit was the infamous flower-thief^[1]Someone engaging in illicit or underhanded romantic or sexual behavior, especially without consent Buwei Buxing^[2]No-Tail No-Go; a crude innuendo and joke about male anatomy and sexual capability, Du Qianqian had already been violated.

It was truly a tragic tale.

Even now, Yin Yin couldn’t understand how Du Qianqian had actually listened to the former Yin Yin’s advice and walked straight into danger. How foolish could one be?! Du Qianqian wasn’t some martial arts heroine. She’d practically volunteered herself as a sacrifice to Buwei Buxing.

Speaking of Buwei Buxing, they were actually two brothers— one named Bu Wei, the other Bu Xing. They used to work together, but after falling out over a woman, the elder brother, Bu Wei, retired from crime. The one wreaking havoc in the capital now was the younger brother, Bu Xing.

Yin Yin did the math. After all that had happened, the timeline now probably aligned with the original plot.

Du Qianqian had been reborn. Surely she wouldn’t be stupid enough to act as bait again and end up jumping off a cliff.

Still, Yin Yin couldn’t rest easy. Even if that didn’t cause Du Qianqian’s suicide, something else might happen along the way to lead to the same ending.

After some thought, she decided that her mission now was to make sure Du Qianqian did not jump off that cliff!

But then another question popped into her mind. After the 13-loop string of 1234567, there had been four more digits— 9527.

What on earth did that mean?

“Ahhh!” Yin Yin groaned and ruffled her hair in frustration. Why did other people transmigrate into novels to fall in love, but her situation felt more like solving a murder mystery?

The rooster outside had already begun to crow. Yin Yin looked at the faint light spreading across the sky and sighed silently. Whatever the case, life had to go on.

Just like always, she got ready for breakfast. But something felt off in the atmosphere of Zhuwang’s headquarters today.

Everyone was looking at her strangely.

Unable to bear the curiosity, she grabbed one of the workers and asked, “What’s going on? Why are you all looking at me like that?”

The worker hesitated, then stammered, “Miss Yin, you’d better go to the main hall and see for yourself.”

Yin Yin blinked and, filled with curiosity, headed for the hall.

The air in the hall felt oppressively heavy, so much so that Yin Yin nearly turned back on instinct. Ling Long and Helian Kong were both standing there, and when she stepped in a few more paces, she noticed there was another man as well— one who looked somewhat familiar.

Her eyes flicked toward the other party. Wasn’t he the man who had tried to strike up a conversation with her at the Lantern Festival? What was his name again? Shu Chen?

As soon as Shu Chen saw her, he beamed. “Miss Yin, I’ve been waiting for you for quite some time.”

“Waiting for me?” Yin Yin walked up with confusion. “Waiting for what?”

Shu Chen smiled. “I brought a small token of appreciation to present to you.”

Right as he finished speaking, a servant carried over trays full of gold and silver jewelry and set them in front of her.

Yin Yin: “……”

She really thought this Shu Chen had no sense of timing at all. Couldn’t he see Ling Long’s face practically radiating murderous intent?

Helian Kong took three steps back from the scene and chuckled. “I’m going to get breakfast. You two take your time.”

Coward! Yin Yin watched his fleeing figure and desperately wished she could run off with him. Why did she have to walk right into this mess?!

“Miss Yin doesn’t like these gifts? No worries, I’ll have someone replace them.”

“No need for that!” Yin Yin quickly stopped him as he prepared to send for someone. She forced a smile. “Young Master, as the saying goes, one shouldn’t accept rewards they haven’t earned. I truly can’t accept such a lavish gift.”

Shu Chen smiled with cultured grace. “Can’t Miss Yin tell? I’m trying to court you.”

Yin Yin: “……”

Someone save her! If he wanted to die, why did he have to drag her down with him?!

She could clearly feel the temperature around Ling Long drop even further. Yin Yin had to admire Shu Chen’s courage. At the same time, she couldn’t help but think, Sure enough, men who can afford to date in this era are all rich.

Her smile stiffened. “Young Master, I already have someone I care about.”

Shu Chen didn’t seem bothered. “That’s fine. Affection can be cultivated slowly. Besides…… I’ve already sent someone to Yin Manor to propose marriage to your father.”

That last sentence drained all the blood from Yin Yin’s face.

They’d only met once! Was that even the right pace for a proposal?!

Yin Yin didn’t dare look at Ling Long’s expression anymore. She didn’t need to— she could imagine it perfectly.

“Yinyin, go back to your room.” That one sentence from Ling Long came out frosted with icy intent. Yin Yin instinctively shivered and bolted from the hall without delay.

Only after sprinting to the kitchen did she feel alive again. Helian Kong was munching on a bun and casually handed her one.

“How bad was it?” He asked with his mouth full.

“Under siege from all sides.” Yin Yin replied, biting into her bun.

“Under siege?” Helian Kong blinked. “Shu Chen?”

“Me.” Yin Yin took a sip of water, then asked, “Who exactly is this Shu Chen?”

“From what I know, his family runs a bank.” Helian Kong said after swallowing. “Shu Chen’s a notorious playboy in the capital. I think he’s set his sights on you this time partly because you’re indeed quite good-looking, and partly because he probably wants to latch onto the high branch that is the Yin Manor.”

Quite the cunning little scheme. He wanted both beauty and power?

Yin Yin snorted, grabbed another bun, and headed out. Helian Kong called after her, “Where are you going?”

“Back to my room.” She waved at him without turning around.

……

Not long after she returned, the door creaked open.

It was Ling Long.

Yin Yin immediately straightened up.

Ling Long sat down across from her and asked in a cold tone, “That Shu Chen, how do you know him?”

“Reporting honestly, I don’t know him at all!”

“You don’t? Then why would he propose marriage?”

Yin Yin groaned inwardly. “The proposal was entirely his idea. I never gave any indication!”

Ling Long stared at her for a moment, then suddenly let out a soft chuckle. “No worries. The people he sent won’t reach Yin Manor anyway.”

Yin Yin: “……”

Let’s hope they didn’t end up in the underworld instead.

“That Shu Chen……”

“You care about him?” Ling Long’s tone, just softening a moment ago, sharpened once more.

Yin Yin shook her head frantically. “No, no! I just meant— Xiao Lingling, have you eaten yet? I still have a bun here~”

Ling Long glanced at the half-eaten meat bun in her hand and wrinkled his nose in disgust.

“You’re disliking me again?” Yin Yin’s voice rose an octave.

“I am.” Ling Long said breezily.

“I’m going to find Shu Chen!”

“You dare?!”