“Qianqian, are you really planning to move to the capital with your mom?”

A girl with short ear-length hair, looking every bit the model student, turned to her friend beside her.

“Yeah, my mom said she’ll come to pick me up the day after tomorrow.”

Yu Qian ate her potatoes, her tone carrying not even a hint of reluctance.

“Qianqian, you…… really don’t mind your mom remarrying?” Another friend sitting across from Yu Qian asked cautiously.

“Really.”

Yu Qian sighed helplessly. “I have no intention of being rebellious anymore. Besides, my mom and Uncle Bai are already legally married. If I keep making a fuss, what do you expect me to do? Make my mom go from remarried to divorced?”

She had been saying this for five days now, yet her friends still looked as if they couldn’t believe it.

As she looked at the three friends around her— each younger and more energetic than she remembered— Yu Qian occasionally found herself spacing out. This feeling was truly surreal. She had never imagined, not even in her dreams, that one day she would reunite with her family and friends inside a book.

That’s right, inside a book!

Five days ago, when she first woke up, she saw her younger mother and the old house where she had lived before high school. Shocked, she thought she had been reborn. Just as she was about to celebrate her second chance at life, her mother suddenly threw a marriage certificate in her face.

Her mother had even declared that whether she accepted it or not, she had already registered her marriage with Bai Jin. The way she said it made Yu Qian feel like she was some villainous stepmother trying to break up a couple. At that moment, Yu Qian almost lost her mind.

What the hell? A rebirth that comes with a stepfather?

It took her three days to accept the fact that she hadn’t been reborn— she had transmigrated into a novel.

A novel based on her.

Only, she wasn’t the protagonist. She was the villainess.

The experiences of the novel’s ‘Yu Qian’ were identical to hers— so identical that, when she first transmigrated, she genuinely thought she had been reborn.

While Yu Qian was lost in thought, her friend Wang Jiajia beside her tried to sneak a bite of the sausage in her hand.

Yu Qian quickly lifted her hand, dodging the attempt. Seeing the disappointment in Wang Jiajia’s eyes, she flashed a smug smile before bringing the sausage to her own mouth.

Just as she was about to take a bite, a thought struck her. Wang Jiajia was the author of the book she had transmigrated into. In a way, she was the reason this had happened to her!

Realizing this, Yu Qian hurriedly and eagerly offered the sausage to Wang Jiajia, letting her take a bite.

That’s right, she knew that the novel she had entered was written by her very own friend.

Because the first twenty chapters of the book mainly consisted of ‘Yu Qian’s’ childhood anecdotes and daily interactions with her mother and friends.

Even the embarrassing stories she had never shared with outsiders were written in detail. The only people who could have known about them were the three people sitting in front of her.

As for why Wang Jiajia had made her into the villainess in her novel? Yu Qian knew the reason all too well.

It was simple…… They had fought.

The argument started when Wang Jiajia, once again, came crying to her about her serial-cheating boyfriend. Yu Qian had finally lost her patience and scolded Wang Jiajia for not having any self-respect.

At the time, Wang Jiajia had snapped back viciously, “What do you know, you’re single! You’re criticizing me now, but I bet if you ever start chasing a guy, you’ll be even worse than me. You don’t believe me? Just wait, I’ll make you experience what it feels like to never get what you want!”

Yu Qian had thought Wang Jiajia was just venting and didn’t take it seriously— until she read the rest of the novel.

Yu Qian believed she was the female protagonist in the novel. But in it, her mother suddenly remarried into the wealthy Bai family in the capital and she became an unwanted stepdaughter, forcibly taken to the Bai family’s household.

The worst part? ‘Yu Qian’ fell in love with her stepbrother, Bai Qiming, at first sight. From that moment on, she became obsessed with him, dedicating herself to breaking up Bai Qiming and his childhood sweetheart.

For the next seventy-plus chapters, ‘Yu Qian’ constantly made a fool of herself, ultimately becoming nothing more than an annoying stain on Bai Qiming’s love life— one that refused to be wiped away.

After finishing the novel, Yu Qian had only one response.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

Wang Jiajia’s method of revenge was even lamer than a primary school student drawing a circle to curse someone.

But none of that mattered to Yu Qian. What truly mattered was that in this book, her mother was alive— alive all the way until the very end!

Compared to reality, where her mother had passed away five years ago due to stomach cancer, the version of her mother in the book was merely remarried. That was nothing in comparison.

“Honestly, Qianqian, you suddenly turning into a well-behaved kid is kind of unsettling.” Fang Yan said, reaching out to touch Yu Qian’s hair. The strands were smooth and silky beneath her fingers.

Thinking back to how Yu Qian used to deliberately do her hair in wild styles just to spite her mother, Fang Yan felt deeply moved. This neat and tidy look was far more pleasing to the eye.

“I’m really, really done with being rebellious.” Yu Qian said, letting Fang Yan ruffle her hair as she continued eating her sausage, her voice slightly muffled.

Her past defiant image was so deeply ingrained in her friends’ minds that now, everyone assumed she was just biding her time, waiting to pull something big.

“Qianqian, let’s help you pack your things tomorrow.” Qi Yu, who was sitting across from her, suggested. “It’ll be too much trouble for you to do it alone.”

“Sure!”

────ρя

This translation is by Pocketrobbin at S h a n g h a i f a n t a s y . c o m

After saying goodbye to her three friends, Yu Qian walked home with a smile on her face.

The moment she opened the door, she saw her mother sitting in the living room, speaking on the phone with a serious expression.

Yu Qian scooted over to sit right next to her, grinning widely. It felt amazing. After five years, she could finally see her mother again. She was once again a child with a mother.

“Qianqian, I have to go out in a bit. The auntie will come over to make dinner, so make sure you eat, understand?” After finishing her call, Wang Hui turned to Yu Qian, her tone stern.

Wang Hui was delighted by Yu Qian’s recent changes, but being strict had always been her nature. Now that her daughter had suddenly become obedient, she wasn’t quite sure how to adjust.

“I got it, Mom. You should remember to eat dinner too. Don’t skip meals.” Yu Qian responded sweetly.

She couldn’t help but sigh internally. Her perspective had truly changed. In the past, she would have found her mother’s nagging unbearable, just a never-ending stream of lectures. But now, she could sense the care hidden beneath her mother’s stern words.

After exchanging a few more words of concern, Wang Hui hurriedly left.

Yu Qian watched as her mother got into the car and drove away before finally looking down at the little black-and-white dog circling around her feet.

“Baibai, we’re moving to our new home the day after tomorrow.” She said, reaching out to pat Baibai’s head.

This little dog had only joined their home the year after her mother passed away. Before that, they had an old dog named Da Bai.

Da Bai had been with her for fourteen years. Two months after bringing Baibai home, one morning, Da Bai never woke up again.

It was only then that she realized why Da Bai, who had never tolerated another dog in the house, had suddenly brought a little one back and allowed her to keep it.

Da Bai had been entrusting her care to Baibai.

Da Bai knew it was dying, so it left her in Baibai’s paws.

Unfortunately, in this book, Da Bai still passed away. But since he had died of old age, she simply missed him and she had no regrets.

Perhaps for this reason, Wang Jiajia had simply recorded Da Bai’s life in the novel without altering it.

After playing with Baibai for a while and finishing the dinner the auntie had prepared, Yu Qian headed upstairs to sleep.

Before going to bed, she solemnly clasped her hands together and prayed to the heavens and…… to Wang Jiajia.

She wasn’t cursing her friend, of course. It was just out of respect for the author.

She sincerely hoped this wasn’t just a dream. But if it was, then at least…… let her finish dreaming it.