"She's a talented actress. Maybe this drama will boost her popularity," Qi Jianyi remarked after a pause.
Despite disliking the couple in the novel, she couldn't bring herself to wish them anything but a happy ending. It wasn't because she supported their romance, but rather because Qi Jianyi was afraid. Afraid that any deviation from the story's original path might diminish her chances of returning home.
No matter how much she dislikes being forced to eat dog food in the future, she knew she had to bear it. As long as the novel's protagonists ended up together after overcoming countless obstacles, Qi Jianyi clung to the hope that she could return home when the story reached the ending.
However, having abandoned the novel early on, she had no idea what the ending might be. The best she could do was assume they would live happily ever after—after all, that's how most romance novels end.
Unaware of the turmoil in Qi Jianyi's mind, He Zeqing considered her words before replying, "If she performs well in this drama, she'll definitely become a sensation." His tone was professional, as he calculated Xia Ning's potential as an actress.
"I should get her autograph someday. Who knows, it might be worth something," Ling Xi mused, a silly grin on her face as she imagined auctioning off the actress' signature in the future—a quick and easy way to make money.
Rolling her eyes at her friend's naivety, Qi Jianyi said, "Unless Xia Ning doesn't go around handing out her autograph to everyone, you might make some money off it since it's rare. But she's an actress—her autograph is the cheapest thing she can offer."
Ling Xi pouted, annoyed at how Qi Jianyi always managed to ruin her daydreams. Couldn't she just let her enjoy her imagination for a moment? Did she really have to be so cold and realistic?
"You're no fun!" she muttered dejectedly, turning away from Qi Jianyi, who couldn't help but smile slightly at her friend's reaction.
Qi Jianyi shook her head and let Ling Xi sulk in peace. She didn't have the energy to continue the conversation. Instead, she took a sip of her drink and glanced at Song Chengfeng, who had long since finished his meal.
She found herself thinking that the man across from her ate incredibly fast, not considering that it was actually she and Ling Xi who had been eating leisurely, making the two men wait for them.
…
Qi Jianyi walked into her dorm room after bidding farewell to He Zeqing and Song Chengfeng. Ling Xi had already disappeared to hang out with her other friends, leaving Qi Jianyi alone to rest before her next class.
She placed her bag on the coffee table and sank into the couch. A long, deep breath escaped her lips, her body shuddered slightly.
Ever since Qi Jianyi heard He Zeqing's comment about Xia Ning's performance, an inexplicable sense of unease had settled within her.
It felt as though something was beginning to unravel, leaving Qi Jianyi with a deep discomfort. Yet no matter how much she mulled over the situation, the answers eluded her.
What went wrong? No—Qi Jianyi knew exactly what had gone wrong. It was her existence. Her sudden appearance in this world had set things off balance.
But this was something far beyond her understanding. From the very beginning, Qi Jianyi had never wanted to be here. She didn't even know what had pulled her into this world, let alone how to navigate the role of the original Qi Jianyi.
Though their appearances and personalities were similar, as someone who once led a carefree and leisurely life, Qi Jianyi found it difficult to adapt to the role of the Qi family's young miss.
The constant attention from everyone in their social circle made her feel like a desirable object rather than a person.
As she recalled He Zeqing's reaction to Xia Ning, Qi Jianyi rubbed her face with both hands, trying to dispel the growing anxiety within her.
"What should I do?" she muttered, her voice laced with anxiety.
"How can I go back?"
"Do I have to wait until the novel reaches its ending before I can return?"
"But... I don't even know what the ending is! What if the story continues until Zeqing is old? Will I have to stay in this world until I'm old too?"
These questions tumbled from Qi Jianyi's lips, each one heightening the fear in her eyes. Her hands began to tremble as if she were on the edge of a deep, dark abyss, threatening to swallow her whole. Tears welled up, blurring her vision, and in her frustration, she began biting her nails.
She bit down harder, her mind racing with thoughts of her uncertain fate. It wasn't until a metallic taste spread across her tongue that she finally stopped, the sharpness of blood snapping her back to reality. Glancing down, she saw her wounded fingers, smeared with crimson. She grabbed a tissue from the table and wiped away the blood, her movements mechanical.
Despite the sight of blood, Qi Jianyi felt nothing—not the pain that should have accompanied the injuries, nor the fear of it. Normally, she would have been terrified, but in this moment, her overwhelming emotions numbed everything else.
Qi Jianyi forced herself to calm down, though the unsettling feelings continued to creep up on her, wrapping around her like a suffocating fog.
She had no other choice. In this world, there was no one who could truly comfort her—only she could bear the weight of her fear and uncertainty. It felt as if she knew many people, yet none of them truly knew her.
Leaning back against the couch, she stared blankly at the white ceiling above, her mind adrift. A dark thought flickered across her consciousness, one she had pondered before.
"Should I die?" she murmured softly, the words barely audible as she wrestled with the grim idea.
The thought lingered, hanging in the air like a heavy cloud, as Qi Jianyi silently debated with herself. If she died, would she return to her world? Or, in the worst-case scenario, would she truly die, her life ending in this foreign world? Not being able to see her family one last time.
"Should I take this risk?" Her voice grew fainter with each passing second, as if the weight of the decision was pressing down on her, stifling her words. The more she contemplated it, the lower her voice became, as though she feared someone might overhear her darkest thoughts.
Despite the determined thoughts swirling in her mind, Qi Jianyi understood the weight of doing it. She had no idea what had happened to her parents in her real world. But if she died in this world, the parents here—who looked at her with the same loving eyes as her real parents—would be devastated.
Qi Jianyi wasn't one to harbour a saintly heart. She rarely concerned herself with the feelings of others. But her parents weren't just "others." Although they weren't her real family, they shared the same faces, the same warmth, and cared for her just as deeply as her true parents had.
Moreover, Qi Jianyi was inhabiting their daughter's body. If she were to take her own life, her soul might vanish—either returning to her real world or dissipating into nothingness. There was no guarantee that the original Qi Jianyi's soul would return.
And if the real Qi Jianyi didn't come back to reclaim her body, the young miss of the Qi family would die forever, leaving her parents and the twins in unimaginable despair.
"Let's not do that for now," she murmured, shaking her head to push those dark thoughts away.
For the time being, Qi Jianyi resolved to focus on living her life, even if she had no clear path to return home. Perhaps it was time to delve deeper into the life of the real Qi Jianyi, to understand the person whose existence she had taken over.
A nagging suspicion lingered in her mind that her sudden transmigration was somehow linked to the original Qi Jianyi, as if the woman had been the one to pull her into this world, leaving her no choice but to live on as the young miss of the Qi family.
But what had happened to the real Qi Jianyi? A chilling premonition crept into her thoughts—what if the woman was now living in her place, in the world Qi Jianyi had left behind? The possibility wasn't zero, and that thought alone made her heart race with unease and a little bit of anger.
"Qi Jianyi, if it's really you who created all this mess, I will find you and make you pay," she murmured, her voice trembling with a mix of anger and resolve. The thought of being a pawn in someone else's game stung deeply, fueling her determination.
"I'll find you, Jianyi," she vowed, her words carrying a fierce promise as she clung to the hope of unravelling the mystery and reclaiming control over her own fate.