"Miss, Mr. Gu is here. Sir and Madam are asking you to come downstairs," the servant said respectfully.

Mr. Gu?

Gu Cheng?

Ye Xiao took out her phone to check the date and couldn't help covering her chest.

It was indeed Gu Cheng! Game over, the plot is starting!

She had mysteriously transmigrated into this world and it had already been three days!

At first, she thought this transmigration wasn't too bad.

The true daughter of a great family, fallen on hard times and having suffered a lot outside, had just been found and brought back home.

Wasn't she set to start a life doted on by her clan?

But then.

Several books appeared in her mind.

Her oldest brother, second brother, and third brother, as well as that fake daughter Ye Bingtong, were characters from different books.

However.

Her three brothers were merely tragic supporting characters in their respective books, while Ye Bingtong was the protagonist of one.

And her?

She was the exact template of a vicious female side character. Constantly provoking Ye Bingtong, only to be embarrassed by her, then provoking her again and being humiliated all over.

When she died, not even a single person cared to collect her body!

Tragic! It was an unspeakable tragedy.

The only consolation for her was that the other members of the Ye Family were just as miserable; at least she had company!

In the living room.

Gu Cheng sat in a wheelchair, talking to Ye Bingtong, who gently responded. The two of them appeared to be a perfect match.

Father Ye Ming'an and mother Du Yaru both looked at them with relief and contentment, clearly very satisfied with Gu Cheng as their future son-in-law.

The moment Ye Xiao came down the stairs, her gaze fixed on Gu Cheng.

Gu Cheng frowned slightly, glancing over with a hint of indifference, "Miss Ye."

"Gu Cheng, this is your first meeting with Xiaoxiao. This is my newly found daughter, Xiaoxiao. Xiaoxiao, this is Gu Cheng, Bingtong's fiancé," Ye Ming'an said cheerfully.

Ye Xiao was about to speak.

Suddenly, the system's voice rang in her mind.

[Critical plotline prompt. Please do not deviate from the female side character's persona, and earnestly enact the key scenes.]

Then, a simple plot scenario emerged in Ye Xiao's mind.

"Upon seeing Gu Cheng—who, despite being in a wheelchair, possessed an air of nobility and handsomeness—Ye Xiao was filled with jealousy. A fake daughter like Ye Bingtong, how could she deserve such an excellent fiancé?"

What followed was a lengthy stretch of the female side character's machinations followed by being humiliated.

Ye Xiao's lips twitched involuntarily.

Damn it.

This crappy plot, she couldn't even avoid it if she tried!

The next moment, the system's voice sounded again.

[System benefit: The first time the host goes through the plot, you can get the privilege to modify one word in the plot three times. The first modification starts now. Countdown of sixty seconds, and if no modification is made within sixty seconds, it will be deemed as giving up the current benefit.]

Subsequently, a pen appeared in Ye Xiao's mind, and she could modify any one word in the plot as she pleased. Beside it was a countdown timer.

Ye Xiao: "..."

One word!

At most, she could change the meat bun she had for breakfast to a vegetarian bun.

What's the use of that?

The system began to urge her already.

Ye Xiao quickly flipped through the plot, immediately noticing: "...on Ye Bingtong's fair face, tear stains remained, looking pitiful and lamentable to anyone who saw her."

Ye Xiao blinked her eyes, well then! That's the spot!

She picked up the pen in her mind, somewhat curiously erased a word from the book, and then changed it to the word she wanted.

Right after Ye Xiao had finished making the change.

Ye Bingtong had already stood up, her eyes pitiable as she looked at Ye Xiao, "Xiaoxiao, you haven't left your room much these past few days, you must loathe me. I specifically asked Brother Gu Cheng to come today because I wanted to say that the marriage arrangement between the Ye Family and the Gu Family should be yours and Brother Gu's. I'm not of the Ye Family's bloodline, now that you are back, this marriage arrangement shouldn't be mine to keep."

As she spoke,

crystal clear tears began to slide down Ye Bingtong's eyes.

However, those slowly falling tears suddenly turned pitch-black in color.

A dark trail ran from her eyes down to her chin and kept going downwards…

Ye Xiao couldn't help but cover her mouth.

Pfft!

She had just changed the word "tear" to "ink" in the phrase "with lingering tear stains."

So, the plot turned into.

The heroine's fair face stained with ink smudges.

This system was pretty literal; looking at the darkness of that ink, it must be of high quality!

"Bingtong, your face..."

Du Yaru was somewhat flabbergasted.

Ye Ming'an and Gu Cheng, likewise, had expressions as if they'd seen a ghost.

Ye Bingtong was startled for a moment.

What's wrong?

Is there a problem?

She had practiced in the mirror many times, ensuring a look of 'pear blossoms bathed in tears' that would elicit sympathy.

Theoretically, dad, mom, and Gu Cheng should all be consoling her with heartache.

What kind of expressions were they showing right now?

Ye Bingtong reached out, wiping her face unconsciously.

Then.

What was originally a single ink stain was now spread across her face by her rubbing, turning the entire face jet black.

Gu Cheng and the others were still just stunned.

Staying true to the persona of a malicious female side character, Ye Xiao burst into laughter, "Bingtong, what's with your face? Did your eyeliner pencil use such cheap material that it's smearing? Ah, even a country bumpkin like me knows not to skimp on things for the face. How can you still skimp like this after living with dad and mom for so many years?"

Ye Xiao looked at her parents sincerely, "Dad, mom, are we going bankrupt soon?"

Ye Family's parents: "..."

Listening to Ye Xiao's mocking voice and looking at her own palm, blackened completely, Ye Bingtong screamed sharply and rushed straight to the restroom.

The few people left all turned their gazes toward Ye Xiao.

Ye Xiao looked innocent, "Did I say something wrong?"

Gu Cheng furrowed his brows and spoke softly, "Ye Xiao, now that Bingtong isn't here, there are some things I need to make clear to you in front of your aunt and uncle."

Gu Cheng's voice was tinged with coldness, "Ever since you returned, Bingtong has been unsettled every day, feeling that she took what belonged to you—your family and the marriage arrangement. But for me, the one I like is Bingtong, and only Bingtong. As for you, I hope you don't harbor any inappropriate desires."

Ye Xiao had to fight back the urge to roll her eyes.

[Ding: Crucial plot point! Please follow according to the plot!]

Ye Xiao retracted her desire to roll her eyes, and with a somewhat collapsing expression, she roared loudly, "Harboring inappropriate desires? Isn't it that Ye Bingtong stole what was originally mine? My parents are mine, the marriage arrangement is mine, she is nothing but a thief!"

Ye Xiao walked through the plot.

Yet internally, she yawned.

[Tsk tsk tsk. This Gu Cheng looks good but isn't too bright. Who willingly chases after someone else like a lapdog? You, the second male lead, I, the villainess—why must we make things difficult for each other?]

Hearing Ye Xiao's roar, Gu Cheng was about to retort angrily.

But then, he heard Ye Xiao's snark resonate in his head.

Gu Cheng stiffened on the spot.

What the heck!

After Ye Xiao had finished speaking, her lips hadn't moved, yet he could still hear some odd things.

Ye Ming'an and Du Yaru were also taken aback at the moment.

Were they getting old, or did they just experience auditory hallucinations?

Gu Cheng stared at Ye Xiao, unable to speak for a long while.