But of course, given the story's intent to torment her, everything here ran contrary to her real life.
In reality, she might not be a saint, but at least she was sensible and knew how to carry herself. Among her friends and family, her reputation was quite solid. To be honest, she'd crafted an image that many parents used as the model child, saying, "Why can't you be more like her?"
But as the story's despised antagonist, the book's Ji Ruyi was an ignorant, arrogant, and selfish brat—every nasty quality rolled into one. No matter how kindly the heroine treated her, she remained a traitorous ingrate. Essentially, she was a walking cliché of every hated female character, with all the worst traits rolled into one: shallow, manipulative, vain, and universally reviled. And this "she" wasn't just anyone; she was the "boss-level cannon fodder" in the novel—Ji Ruyi. If she had any redeeming quality, it was her seductive beauty. And "seductive" was the key word here. She was the type of beauty that made men think illicit thoughts and women see her as a threat.
Clearly, this was no compliment; her "little cousin" had used her remaining brain cells to figure out that making her ugly wouldn't serve the purpose of all the humiliating scenes, especially with her being constantly portrayed as promiscuous. Her cousin must have known the readers would question the sanity of any man interested in such a character otherwise.
As her roommates once concluded, Ji Ruyi's purpose in the story wasn't just to suffer; she was the reader bait for all the explicit scenes, with ninety percent of those scenes involving her.
Thinking about this, Ruyi felt a sudden urge to claw at the walls.
Then, of course, there was the heroine: kind, understanding, courageous, and virtuous—a model woman in every man's eyes. She was the perfect mix: angelic in appearance, with the body of a goddess, the heart of a saint, and the mind of a queen. To put it simply, she was a paragon of all virtues and the model of modern socialist values—a perfect symbol of goodness.
And then there was the male lead, Lian Zichen. Naturally, he was the embodiment of all things attractive and powerful, with charisma that could shake the heavens. His "abilities" were impressive in every sense. The upper body symbolized his intelligence, and the lower… well…
Lying in bed, Ruyi felt a chill run through her as she thought about "her" tragic fate in the story. This place was terrifying.
If she'd ended up in some ancient or fantasy world, she could at least pretend she was on a free vacation. But here, she'd been thrown into a story where everything was stacked against her. If she'd known the plot, she might have at least found some satisfaction in tormenting Wen Xinyu, but instead, she was now the despised character fated for endless bad luck. Beyond knowing her own grisly end and the heroine's eventual happiness, she had no idea what else was coming. How was she supposed to survive?
Ignoring the nausea and pain coursing through her body, Ruyi took advantage of a moment when the nurse wasn't looking, pulled out her IV, and slipped out of the hospital. After checking her surroundings, she reasoned that since the story was set in her city and focused on her and Wen Xinyu, the background details should mirror reality.
She flagged down a taxi, which took her smoothly to the university she attended in both real life and the novel.
She hurried straight to the library, ignoring familiar faces among her classmates along the way. Standing on the staircase, Ruyi hesitated for a full minute.
If her initial fall from these steps triggered this transmigration, maybe jumping again would send her back. But what if she couldn't return? And if she ended up somewhere even worse?
Enough stalling. At this height, she probably wouldn't die; at worst, she'd be half-dead. Suppressing her random thoughts, Ruyi closed her eyes and jumped.
When she opened her eyes, she was met once again with a stark white ceiling. Grimacing in pain, she sat up and pressed the call button.
In walked Dr. An, followed closely by a Wen Xinyu who looked like she'd just lost her husband.
…
Later, after watching Lian Zichen storm out again, Ruyi felt a sudden urge to scream in frustration.
There's no way this is happening! Determined, she pulled out the IV and headed back to school.
And so it went: she tried jumping off buildings, bridges, downing sleeping pills, attempting poison, cutting her wrists, and even ramming her head into walls.
Each time, she woke to the same sterile ceiling. Reaching over, she would weakly press the call button, and as Dr. An and Wen Xinyu walked in, she'd raise a hand, saying, "Don't. Just bring me some water."
After the latest round of scolding from the "Roaring Emperor" Lian Zichen, Ruyi lay in bed, resigned. Clearly, self-harm wasn't the answer.
A darker thought tugged at her. Could it be that my real self is already dead, and there's no way back? She quickly pushed the thought away. That can't be. It was only a few stairs, after all. I'm Ji Ruyi, Iron Woman! There's no way I'd die that easily. Forcing herself to dismiss the idea, she realized that if she couldn't return, her future here looked bleak. With her fate in this story set to be brutal, she couldn't allow it to play out as written.
She recalled that in the novel, Wen Xinyu had acquired a mystical space capable of storing and growing food before the apocalypse. Thanks to this space, Wen Xinyu had stockpiled supplies and thrived in the resource-scarce apocalypse. She only wondered… did Wen Xinyu already have that space?