Jiang yue facepalming "That doesn't help!!"
She goes back to groveling "Author-sama! Delete me! Let me be a background character, a floor tile, a passing cloud! I'll even take dying in chapter 3!"
System smugly answered "Request denied. The plot demands suffering, and you, Host, are the designated punching bag."
"...I hate you."
System: "Love you too."
The maid was scared out of her wits seeing her miss begging, groveling and talking to air wondering, if she has gone mad from the incident but still offered a glass of water. "Miss Jiang, you're still recovering. Please rest. Your fiancé is on his way."
She choked. "My what?"
The door opened.
And there he was.
Li Zhenkai entered like a scene director had choreographed his every step. His polished shoes tapped against the marble floor, each stride exuding power and detachment.
His cold eyes met hers for a fraction of a second.
"You're awake."
No warmth, No relief, Just a statement of fact.
Ruelle blinked at him. "Wow. Can you sound less excited?"
He raised a brow. "You still have energy to talk nonsense. You must be fine."
Okay.
So he's even worse in person.
She forced a smile. "Oh, I'm better than fine. I just found out I'm engaged to a robot. Joy."
The room fell into silence.
Li Zhenkai turned to leave. "Rest. You have a meeting with my grandmother tomorrow."
And just like that, he was gone.
Ruelle collapsed back onto the bed, groaning. "This is worse than death. This is literary punishment."
But deep down, a tiny spark of resolve lit up.
Fine. If she was going to be trapped in this ridiculous novel, she was going to survive it and rewrite it.
She wasn't Jiang Yue, the punching bag heroine anymore.
She was Ruelle Yin, and this story was about to get a brand-new plot.
With her terrible luck, she'd probably get struck by lightning on the way to breakfast.
But first… she had a cold CEO to warm up.
And maybe, just maybe, she'd make him fall so hard he'd forget what being emotionally unavailable even meant...
The next day:
The sun was barely up when the door burst open the next morning.
Ruelle or rather, Jiang Yue was still buried under layers of velvet and silk sheets when the shrill voice pierced the calm air.
"You pushed my daughter down the stairs, and you dare sleep soundly?!"
Her eyelids fluttered open. Not because she wanted to. But because someone had just ripped the covers off her with all the fury of a vengeful Greek goddess.
Jaing yue blinked against the morning light and found herself staring at a woman in a leopard-print fur coat, clutching a designer bag like it was a weapon.
"What in !!!"
A loud smack startled her.
Not at her, thankfully. But the woman had thrown her purse on the floor and was dramatically pointing at her like they were in a soap opera.
"You scheming little fox! First, you seduce Zhenkai, then you try to kill Feifei! Do you have no shame?!"
Feifei?
Ruelle's brain spun. She knew this scene.
Feifei , the stepsister from hell. Beautiful, innocent, supposedly fragile but built like a brick of pure villainy. In the original novel, the FL was always blamed for Feifei's misfortunes , even when Feifei clearly orchestrated them herself.
Which meant…
"Wait," Ruelle said, raising her hands. "You're saying I pushed someone down the stairs? Lady, I just woke up from a coma!"
The woman gasped like Ruelle had slapped her. "You admit it?! You don't even deny it?! Oh, the shame you bring to the Jiang name!"
"Calm down, ma'am"
"Don't 'ma'am' me! I'm Madam Gu, and Feifei is my daughter!"
Ruelle was about to respond when a new flurry of movement caught her attention.
Two figures rushed into the room, an elegant woman in pearls and a man in a crisp grey suit, their eyes filled with panic and concern.
"Yue'er!" the woman cried. "Are you hurt again?"
"Did they come for you?" the man demanded. "Who dared upset my daughter so soon after she woke up?"
Ruelle blinked. Wait, that's…
They were the Jiang couple. Her new parents.
And they weren't cold or calculating. They weren't suspicious or distant.
They were… worried.
The woman enveloped her in a warm hug that smelled faintly of lavender and expensive perfume. "My baby girl, you're awake. Thank God. You scared us."
Ruelle's breath caught. She hadn't been hugged like this in years. Her real-world parents were good people, but they were always busy. Always tired. This kind of affection, unfiltered and fierce was foreign.
"Are you okay, sweetie?" her new father asked gently, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
"I…" Her throat suddenly felt tight. "Yeah. Just a bit confused."
Madam Gu scoffed from the side. "She's pretending, Jiang Zhiyuan. Don't be fooled! Feifei is in the hospital!"
The Jiang mother turned with the ferocity of a lioness. "If Feifei is in the hospital, then perhaps someone should teach her not to pick fights with people recovering from head injuries!"
"She was pushed—!"
"There's no evidence of that!" Mr. Jiang snapped. "And we've installed security cameras all around the house. I've already sent for the footage. If anyone's guilty, we'll know soon."
Ruelle blinked.
Cameras?
That wasn't in the book…
Madam Gu paled for a second but quickly recovered. "Even if there are cameras, what about motive? Jiang Yue has always been jealous of Feifei !"
"She is my daughter," Madam Jiang said coldly. "She has no reason to be jealous of anyone."
And with that, the couple turned their full attention back to Ruelle.
"Do you want us to press charges for defamation, sweetheart?" Mr. Jiang asked softly.
Ruelle blinked again.
She opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
Then opened it again.
This was a trap, right? A test? One of those plot twists where the loving parents suddenly throw her into a dungeon the moment she lets her guard down?
"I… think I just need some time to rest," she managed.
Madam Jiang nodded immediately. "Of course. We'll have your favorite breakfast sent up. Congee with salted duck egg?"
"That sounds… amazing," Ruelle whispered.
She was living in a fever dream.
The maid, Xiao Tang, ushered the Jiang couple out gently and promised she'd clean up the mess Madam Gu made. The room settled back into a fragile calm.
Ruelle sat back against the pillows, dazed.
In the novel, Jiang Yue's parents were cold, indifferent, emotionally distant. They never defended her. Never stood by her side. Not once.
But now…
"They love me," she whispered. "Like… real parents."
Tears prickled her eyes.
In the real world, she'd always been strong. Self-reliant. Her parents were kind but absent. Friends came and went. She had no one to cry to when life fell apart, no shoulder to lean on when things got rough.
But now? Now she had this quiet warmth.
People who cared if she lived or died.
People who defended her even when she couldn't defend herself.
And in that moment, she made a silent vow.
She'd protect them.
Whatever this insane novel threw at her, trucks, stairs, poison tea, jealous women, she'd survive it all.
Not for herself.
But for them.
Because this version of Jiang Yue… was worth saving.
And this life?
She might just learn to live it.