Chapter 2

Wen Xin stared at the middle-aged woman before her, who was furiously scolding her in a relentless barrage.

Her mind was a chaotic mess. One hand was busy fending off the woman’s pinches, while the other instinctively rubbed the back of her head—she had knocked it against a rock earlier, and it still hurt.

More than anything, though, she felt an overwhelming sense of panic and confusion.

Where was she?

This place… where was it?

She had been at the airport just moments ago, getting ready to board a plane.

She distinctly remembered picking out a pastoral-style floral chiffon dress that morning in her wardrobe. She had even braided her hair into two loose, squirrel-tail-like braids to match the outfit. After packing her suitcase, she arrived at the airport two hours early, checked in her luggage, and only carried a small woven rattan suitcase with her, containing a few essentials.

While waiting in the terminal, bored, she had taken out a novel from her bag to read.

The book had been handed to her mysteriously by a classmate, who said it was a newly published novel by her former best friend. Apparently, every girl in their dorm had a copy, and her classmate had urged her to read it “carefully.”

She and Song Qian, her ex-best friend, had actually fallen out three months ago.

During college, they had started a small business together. Wen Xin managed the supply chain, while Song Qian’s family had a prime retail location, so they partnered up. To their surprise, the business had taken off.

But what Wen Xin hadn’t expected was that once they started making real money, Song Qian and her family changed completely. They repeatedly pressured her to lower her prices and gradually reduced her share of the profits. What had initially been an even 50-50 split had dwindled to 80-20.

Fed up, Wen Xin finally cut off the supply chain and ended their business relationship.

Song Qian’s family had been quite pleased with themselves, thinking that with the store’s growing reputation, they no longer needed Wen Xin’s share. Now, all the profits would belong solely to them.

After losing Wen Xin’s supply chain, they introduced goods from another supplier at the same price, only to see the store collapse instantly. Their warehouse was now packed with unsellable, inferior-quality products.

Wen Xin sneered inwardly. Song Qian and her family always assumed she was just a middleman, merely linking the two sides while taking a big cut of the profits. They even scolded their own daughter for being foolish, saying business shouldn’t be conducted that way, that it was unfair. So, the whole family, including her so-called best friend, had long planned to cut her off and go solo. To force her out, they gradually reduced her share—what started as a 50/50 split dwindled to 20/80. Since there was no contract between them, given how close they were back then, they thought they could easily push her aside.

But what they never expected was that she wasn’t just a “middleman”—she was the direct supplier. The high-quality, affordable goods she provided weren’t available elsewhere, and if not for their past friendship, she wouldn’t have sold to Song Qian at all.

In the end, Song Qian’s family tried to be cunning but only ended up shooting themselves in the foot. The money they had made was all lost, and they were eventually forced to come begging her for help. But Wen Xin had no intention of revealing her supply source.

Because the source—was herself.

And that’s how their friendship completely fell apart.

But so what? She had already moved out of their shared place, and with graduation approaching, everyone was going their separate ways. She was upset for a while, but then she got over it.

She hadn’t even wanted to read Song Qian’s novel. But recalling the strange way her classmate had urged her to, she decided to skim through it since she had time. The more she read, the angrier she became—her cheeks puffing up in frustration.

No wonder her classmate had looked so weird when handing her the book!

Song Qian had actually written her name into the novel! And not just that—she made her the most tragic supporting character in Let Me Love You One Last Time.

This character wasn’t just called “Wen Xin.” Every detail—the height, looks, and even personality—matched hers exactly.

In the novel, Wen Xin’s father had initially tried to curry favor with the Yan family, only to later betray them during a certain political movement for personal gain. Unfortunately for him, within two years, the Yan family was rehabilitated, and just a year later, Yan’s father’s career skyrocketed, earning him three consecutive promotions.

According to the novel, the male lead’s father eventually reached a high-ranking position. While he wasn’t the most powerful man in the country, he was still an influential figure.

Realizing how much trouble they were in, Wen Xin’s family panicked—especially when her brother’s career kept hitting roadblocks. Desperate, they set their sights on her. They schemed to send her into the Yan household as a nanny, hoping she would seduce the Yan family’s only son. As long as they could appease the Yans and stop them from interfering with her brother’s future, it didn’t matter if their daughter was ruined in the process.

Wen Xin’s father was so confident in her beauty that he believed seducing a man would be a piece of cake. He wasn’t bragging—any man who had seen his daughter wanted her.

But to their shock, she didn’t even last a month in the Yan household before being thrown out. She never got the chance to seduce anyone—she couldn’t even touch the man’s sleeve! Worse, when she finally mustered the courage to make a move, she was caught red-handed by a group of people, leaving her reputation in ruins. With nowhere to turn, she could only cry herself to sleep every night.

Then, when she learned that Yan’s mother planned to marry her off to the foolish son of a local Party Secretary, she was so desperate that she took what little money she had and fled south to Haiguang.

Alone, unfamiliar with the area, and strikingly beautiful, she soon fell into the clutches of a scumbag. After being taken advantage of, she was tricked and half-forced into working as a hostess at a nightclub.

Because of her stunning looks—her ample chest, slender waist, long legs, and perky hips—combined with her mesmerizing dance skills and exceptional flexibility, she quickly became famous. Wealthy businessmen lined up to keep her as their mistress. Eventually, she was forced to fully enter the sex trade, descending into a life of prostitution.

By the end of the novel, her fate was sealed—she contracted a terminal illness and, with no money for treatment, sat haggard and destitute in a street corner. When the female lead passed by, she pitifully threw a hundred-yuan bill at her…

What the actual—?!

Fuming, Wen Xin tugged furiously at her fluffy braids. The moment she had seen her name appear in the novel, she’d had a bad feeling. But she never expected Song Qian to be so vicious—actually writing her as a prostitute?!

How blind was she to have once called this person her best friend?

Seething, she slammed the book onto her seat. With a huff, she flicked her braid over her shoulder.

Whatever! Just because the character had the same name didn’t mean it was her! There was no way she’d ever end up like that!

—

As she sat by the river, Wen Xin finally smacked her forehead in realization.

She had just finished saying those words, tossed the book aside, and gotten up to board her flight—when suddenly, the world spun, and she blacked out…

After that, she remembered nothing.

When she came to, she had opened her eyes to see an incredibly handsome man crouching in front of her, gazing at her intently.

Now that she thought about it—his features were truly striking. Defined brows, deep-set eyes like ink-dipped stars, broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and arms lined with lean, shifting muscles. Even as he crouched, his powerful, long legs couldn’t be hidden. And the water dripping down his sharp, chiseled face… He was unbelievably sexy.

Because of her unique condition, she couldn’t date just anyone—she had to be completely satisfied with a man before committing. Otherwise, it wasn’t worth it. And this guy? He was, by far, the most attractive man she had ever seen.

Her heart had pounded wildly in her chest.

Thinking she was still dreaming, she had feared waking up too soon—so she had grabbed his face and kissed him.

And not just once.

But to her shock, it hadn’t been a dream.

Barely a few seconds in, he had shoved her away so hard that she hit her head on a rock.

Then, without a word, he had turned and left.

She had struggled for ages before managing to sit up. Strangely, her clothes were wet. Her light silk dress was already thin—once soaked, it was practically see-through. If not for its many folds, she would have been completely exposed.

She had instinctively grabbed a nearby military jacket to cover herself, quickly slipping it on—only for a middle-aged woman to come storming in and start berating her before she could even defend herself.

The woman didn’t even give her a chance to respond.

Rubbing her aching head, Wen Xin listened as the woman repeatedly mentioned the Yan family, the Fu family, revenge, and… a nanny?

Nanny? Wen Xin suddenly felt as if she had grasped onto something, and her mind cleared up in an instant.

She silently pieced together the key words the woman had just mentioned.

Nanny. Yan family. Fu family.

Offended the Yan family, feared retaliation, forced to marry a fool…

Wasn’t this the exact plot from that novel she had read earlier?

No way.

Her eyes widened as she stared at the middle-aged woman in front of her.

Her gaze swept over the woman’s ear-length short hair, the outdated, plain short-sleeved blouse with a fabric that looked decades old, and the baggy, unstylish pants that were clearly nothing like modern fashion. Finally, her eyes landed on the cloth shoes embroidered with simple floral patterns.

Wen Xin was dumbfounded.

She hurriedly looked around, hoping to spot something familiar that would prove her guess wrong.

But the surroundings were completely unfamiliar. Beyond the trees, she even saw a red propaganda slogan on the wall?! Rows of low, aged houses stretched out before her, their walls mottled and worn—everything looked as though it belonged to a bygone era, decades in the past.

…

No, no, no. Impossible!

A cold sweat broke out on her back.

Could she have… transmigrated into a book?

But that novel was set decades ago!

Oh no!