Joy, an expert in the realm of romance novels, approaching her 30s with a reading history of 18 years, found the book she had unwittingly entered to be of an unimaginable level of mediocrity. Let's examine the ludicrous setup:
Amanda Smith, the protagonist and Joy's cousin, was raised by the Browns. The male lead, Christopher, is the son of the Browns' chauffeur. The two were childhood sweethearts. The secondary female character, Joy, was lost in childhood and found when she grew up. Upon Joy's return to the Brown family, Christopher, under Amanda's instructions, grew close to Joy, showing her kindness and concern.
(What a ridiculous premise! Joy scoffed: why would a good girl willingly make a fool of herself by making her boyfriend cheat?)
Joy, who had grown up in the countryside, became the heiress of a wealthy family upon her return. Despite her change of circumstances, she maintained a sense of inferiority, often being teased by her peers over her accent and lack of sophistication. Christopher was the only one who treated her with unmitigated tenderness, leading her to fall irrevocably in love with him.
(Joy sneered at the absurdity.)
When Joy's father fell ill, he wished for Christopher and Joy to be engaged. Christopher agreed, but the author forcefully depicted Christopher as a pitiable character, coerced into the engagement by the power of the Browns.
(A perfect example of wanting to have your cake and eat it too! Can such a man be the hero? Living off others and then complaining about it, what a disgrace! Joy despised such men!)
In the book, Joy is utterly oblivious to Christopher and Amanda's relationship, much less aware of Christopher's resentment toward being forced to separate from his beloved.
Therefore, in the original novel, Christopher feigned deep affection for Joy while secretly courting Amanda.
Christopher exploited a situation where Joy slept with another man, causing the original Joy to feel guilty towards Christopher and even the Johnson family, tolerating all kinds of insults from them. After their marriage, she even transferred all her valuable shares to Christopher and completely trusted her pleading cousin Amanda.
(What a naive girl, you are the one being played! Joy felt some sympathy for the Joy in the book.)
The ensuing clichéd plot involved the secondary female character stumbling upon the main couple, initiating a flurry of chaotic actions in an attempt to disrupt the unshakeable bond between the main characters. In the end, the male and female leads triumphed over the adversities together, culminating in a trite happy ending.
As Lucy pointed accusingly at her, hurling insults, Joy felt a surge of courage welling up within her:
Author, watch closely: she, Joy, would now rewrite this dreadful narrative!
Dean Reed's attention was wholly on Joy. He had watched as the woman who had clung to him passionately just the day before transitioned from initial confusion to a sudden realization, then to a gritted determination. Had she thrown him a pitying glance as well? He prided himself on his insightful gaze; that glance she had cast upon him must have been one of sympathy. Ha, she actually dared to pity him?!
Lucy and Christopher were driven to the brink of madness. When they cursed at Dean, he only kept his eyes fixed on Joy; when they turned to berate Joy, she remained silent, making it appear as though they were performing a solo act.
In a fit of rage, Lucy grabbed Joy by the hair, dragged her head and tried to hit it against the wall!