“Ziii——”

With a sharp screech of brakes, Ning Qiuxiu felt her body lurch forward, her forehead knocking against a soft object in front of her.

It didn’t hurt, but it left her head in a daze for a while until the sound of someone speaking pulled her out of the darkness.

“Old Li, what’s wrong with you? Trying to kill us?” This was a woman’s sharp voice.

“Sorry, Madam,” a man replied apologetically, “A child suddenly appeared in front of the car, so I had to brake sharply. Are you and the young miss okay?”

“That cursed child scared me to death,” the woman cursed, clutching her chest.

She then noticed Ning Qiuxiu still had her head down and hurriedly reached out to shake her shoulder, “Qiuxiu, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Ning Qiuxiu raised her head and glanced at the elegant woman in front of her, “No big deal.”

“That’s good,” the woman signaled Old Li to continue driving, then reached out to tuck Ning Qiuxiu’s fallen hair behind her ear, revealing her delicate face.

The woman smiled and said, “Our Qiuxiu looks so beautiful today. You’ll definitely make Qingyuan head over heels and unable to find his bearings.”

Ning Qiuqiu: “…”

Is she a fox spirit to have such charm?

Before she could respond, the woman added in a sarcastic tone, “It’ll drive those little hussies mad. Let’s see if they still dare shamelessly stick to Qingyuan.”

Ning Qiuxiu didn’t know how to respond.

Because, in that instant, the person inside her body had changed.

She… had transmigrated again.

Why again?

Because before this, she had already experienced it once, transmigrating from a well-behaved citizen of the 21st century to a mediocre disciple in a cultivation world.

Due to her average talent, she could only diligently draw talismans for seven years. Just when she made some minor achievements in talisman drawing, she transmigrated again.

From the massive amount of information she received in that instant, she realized she had entered a novel.

Unfortunately, she didn’t become the protagonist with a halo, but rather a supporting character.

This supporting character was someone people often hated, who grew up with the male lead, considering herself his childhood sweetheart and constantly interfering with the main characters’ romance.

This role was the original Ning Qiuxiu.

In the book, to be with the male lead, she would use any means necessary, abusing her family’s wealth to do as she pleased and repeatedly making things difficult for the female lead.

After Ning Qiuxiu diligently acted as the villain to provide the main characters with enough experience points, her family went bankrupt, and she was left with millions in debt.

To repay the debt, she had to marry a wealthy, philandering, and abusive older man twenty years older than her, ending up in a miserable situation.

This kind of plot was satisfying in a novel, but actually becoming the character was a different story.

……

They were now on their way to the birthday banquet of the male lead’s grandfather, Zhan Qingyuan.

This was another opportunity for the supporting character to provide experience points.

At the banquet, the male lead brought the female lead, and in a fit of jealousy, Ning Qiuxiu, unable to control her rage, found a moment to corner the female lead.

She told her that she and the male lead were already engaged and that his family would never accept a woman of her status, telling her to leave before it was too late.

Due to Ning Qiuxiu’s overly arrogant and condescending attitude, along with her personal insults, the female lead slapped her on the spot.

The female lead, feeling wronged and unaware of the male lead’s supposed engagement, stormed off, leading to a series of dramatic chases and misunderstandings between her and the male lead, filled with explanations and refusals to listen.

As for the so-called engagement, it was actually a childhood betrothal mentioned jokingly by the male lead’s grandfather and Ning Qiuxiu’s grandfather when they were still in the womb…

“Qiuxiu, are you even listening to me?” The woman beside her raised her voice when she saw Ning Qiuxiu not responding.

Ning Qiuxiu was pulled from her thoughts by the somewhat sharp voice, looking at the typical “sharp-tongued and mean” woman in front of her with a complicated feeling.

The woman in front of her, Ning Qiuxiu’s mother Wen Ling, was just like the mothers of many other vicious supporting characters – equally malicious and brainless, a typical useless ally.

“I just…” Ning Qiuxiu almost blurted out something but swallowed her words, switching to a more modern way of speaking, “I was so scared just now, I feel a bit unwell.”

She needed some time to process the huge influx of information.

Seeing her pale face, Wen Ling said with concern, “Then you rest for a while. I’ll call you when we arrive.”

“Okay.”

Looking at the concerned face in front of her, Ning Qiuxiu felt a wave of guilt, unable to tell her that the person inside this body had changed.

The car soon arrived at the location.

Since it was not a significant birthday and Elder Zhan was quite old, the banquet was held at the Zhan family’s mansion with only close relatives and friends invited, making it more like a family dinner.

At that time, the main characters had not yet appeared.

After Ning Qiuxiu and Wen Ling paid their respects to Elder Zhan, she used the excuse of feeling unwell to ask for some rest.

Elder Zhan had the butler arrange a room for her to rest.

Wen Ling was called away by her friends, leaving Ning Qiuxiu alone for a while.

“The guest rooms on the second floor are all occupied, Miss Ning. I will take you to a guest room on the third floor,” the butler said politely, “However, Miss Ning, please keep your voice down as someone is resting on the third floor.”

“Alright, thank you,” Ning Qiuxiu replied.

The butler led her to a guest room on the third floor and then went about his duties.

Ning Qiuxiu sat cross-legged on the bed and closed her eyes to meditate, only to find she could barely sense any spiritual energy around her.

… which meant that cultivation was not possible in this world.

In the cultivation world, despite her mediocre talent, even the street vendors selling vegetables were in the Qi Refining stage.

She, being a disciple of a cultivation sect, could at least rely on the sect’s resources to build her foundation, preventing her from being embarrassed by being killed by small spiritual beasts outside.

“It’s bad enough to be given the role of a vicious supporting character, but at least give me some kind of cheat ability.” Ning Qiuxiu thought disheartenedly.

This was going to be difficult.

But she still had one special skill—drawing talismans.

In the cultivation world, talismans not only warded off evil and demons but also enhanced the practitioner’s progress and combat power.

They could be the sharpest weapon or the best buff.

A top-notch talisman artist, like a master alchemist or blacksmith, was highly sought after by major sects, often causing bloody conflicts over recruitment…

She didn’t know if her talismans would work in this world.

Unfortunately, without the necessary materials, she couldn’t test them right away.

Cultivating in this world seemed unlikely, but she hoped her talismans would still have some effect.

Even if their power was greatly reduced, a genuine protection talisman could fetch a good price in this mortal world.

That’s right, money.

As someone who had been poor for seven years in the cultivation world, in a sect full of paupers, Ning Qiuqiu’s initial motivation for learning to draw talismans was actually to make money…

Yes, that mundane.

Currently, she was a wealthy heiress with luxury cars and all, but in less than half a year, her family would face bankruptcy, turning her from a rich woman into a debtor.

Marrying an old man to pay off debts was not an option, and she was clueless about business matters without a golden finger to save her family’s business, so she needed to plan her future carefully.

As for being a supporting character…

She had no idea who the male lead was, let alone follow the plot to sabotage his relationship with the female lead.

Moreover, her relationship with the female lead was more than just a rivalry.

Previously, they both participated in a trainee talent show.

The highly talented female lead was squeezed out, later discovering that Ning Qiuxiu had bribed the show’s producers to replace her spot.

The female lead was furious but, as an ordinary citizen, had no way to confront Ning Qiuxiu directly.

However, she learned that Ning Qiuxiu had a deep affection for Zhan Qingyuan, the renowned head of the Zhan family.

To get revenge, the female lead seduced the male lead…

Then the novel’s story unfolded.

Before the female lead appeared, the male lead didn’t treat Ning Qiuxiu too badly.

Focused on his career, he found their families well-matched, didn’t dislike Ning Qiuxiu, and saw the alliance between the Zhan and Ning families as beneficial for his business.

As a businessman, he had no reason to refuse this marriage—unless true love appeared…

The cause and effect between the female lead and the original Ning Qiuxiu fit the cliché of a melodramatic novel.

The original Ning Qiuxiu’s vile personality and despicable actions made her deservedly unpopular.

However, since she had taken over Ning Qiuxiu’s body, watching the female lead steal her beloved and marry into a wealthy family seemed a bit too much to swallow.

So, why not live better than the female lead, climb higher, and always step on her? That would really piss her off!

That seemed like a good plan.

…

After roughly organizing the novel’s plot and integrating the original Ning Qiuxiu’s memories, she quickly adapted to this world.

She decided to observe first, see if there were any restrictions like not being able to go out of character, if deviating from the plot would incur hidden penalties, and if her talismans still worked here, then plan her future in detail.

Starting today, she wouldn’t go and get slapped by the female lead.

With this in mind, Ning Qiuxiu got off the bed, put on her shoes, and went to the room’s mirror to touch up her makeup.

Seeing the stunning beauty in the mirror, she was a bit surprised.

Wasn’t this supporting character a bit too good-looking?

Unlike the novel’s description of the female lead’s alluring charm, Ning Qiuxiu had a sweet and innocent look.

With light makeup and a pale pink dress, she looked very pure and lovely, exuding a youthful charm.

The exquisite, sparkling handmade high heels beneath her feet… After wearing flats for seven years, she had almost forgotten how to walk in high heels.

After touching up her makeup and smoothing out her wrinkled dress, Ning Qiuxiu prepared to go downstairs.

Wearing high heels, going up the stairs was manageable, but going down… Ning Qiuxiu decisively chose the elevator.

She walked to the elevator, and just as she arrived, the doors opened.

She was about to step in when a man pushing a wheelchair came out, catching her off guard.

The man pushing the wheelchair seemed surprised as well.

He glanced at Ning Qiuxiu with slightly furrowed brows but then gave her a polite smile. “Did I scare you, Miss Ning?”

“No harm done,” Ning Qiuxiu replied, not quite adjusting her speaking mode yet.

Her attention was entirely on the wheelchair.

Seated in the wheelchair was a man with his eyes closed.

Among the people Ning Qiuxiu had seen, this man’s appearance was exceptional.

However, he seemed physically frail, with a gaunt face and an unhealthy pallor.

He lay quietly in the wheelchair, like a delicate sleeping beauty.

Ning Qiuxiu was not entranced by his looks.

Instead, with her years of experience as a talisman artist, she instantly recognized that this sickly beauty had a rare “talisman cauldron” constitution!

A talisman cauldron was essentially a body suitable for nurturing talismans.

Normally, talismans required nurturing in a talisman array, using the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Some ruthless individuals would embed talismans into human bodies, absorbing their life force to nurture the talisman, often leading to the person’s death.

However, there was another type, like the man before her, who was a natural talisman array.

They were born to be compatible with talismans, similar to a mutualistic relationship in biology, where both the person and the talisman benefited from each other.

“Miss Ning, could you please step aside?”

The man pushing the wheelchair spoke again, breaking Ning Qiuxiu’s reverie—she was blocking their way.

“Oh.”

Ning Qiuxiu reluctantly stepped aside, letting them pass, but her eyes were glued to their departing figures, her gaze glowing with excitement.

Now, when she looked at the sickly beauty, it was like seeing a walking treasure trove, and she felt an overwhelming urge to snatch him up and take him home.