When Song Yining woke up from the soft, oversized bed, her mind was still foggy.
Just last night, she had been waiting for her flight at the airport. Out of boredom, she flipped through a domineering-CEO novel her friend had strongly recommended.
At the time, she had been complaining—
Why on earth did the useless wife in the story have the same name as her??? Not only did they share the same name, but that character barely got any screen time. From her first appearance to her downfall, she lasted only two chapters.
But now, after just one sleep, she had woken up lying in the CEO's bed in the book…
"Madam, Mr. Xu's lawyer has already arrived. He's downstairs. Even if you… are unwilling, there's nothing you can do about it."
The Xu family's housekeeper, Aunt Wang, stood nearby, her tone helpless, though her eyes carried thinly veiled contempt.
Song Yining rubbed her stuffy head and gave a faint "mm" in reply, before getting up to get ready.
Seeing that she was finally moving, Aunt Wang turned and left, deliberately letting out a sigh as she went.
Song Yining ignored her. Standing before the sink, she stared at the mirror. The face reflected was styled in a forced cutesy fashion, and she couldn't help raising her eyebrows.
In her past life, she had been a frequent flyer, practically living in the skies. To make things convenient, she had even cut her hair short. So, seeing this soft-banged, doll-like girl in the mirror now felt oddly unsettling.
After a quick wash-up, she opened the wardrobe… only to be hit with a wave of pastel tones. With no other options, she picked out the simplest dress she could find, slipped on her slippers, and headed downstairs.
Lawyer Bai, one of Xu Corporation's long-term legal partners, heard the sound and pushed up his glasses, glancing toward the staircase.
He saw the so-called "useless wife" of Mr. Xu walking toward him in a plain white dress. As a lawyer, he was used to judging people by their eyes. Yet the woman sitting across from him had eyes he simply couldn't read.
"Hello, Miss Song. I'm Lawyer Bai, representing Mr. Xu today to discuss divorce proceedings."
Song Yining nodded, reached for the divorce papers, and flipped through them with a casualness that made even Lawyer Bai feel her actions were unnecessary. Xu Corporation's contracts were ironclad—there would be no loopholes.
"As for the property and assets, do you have any objections?" Lawyer Bai explained professionally. "Objectively speaking, this is already the best outcome you could hope for. As for your earlier demand for half of Xu Corporation, that's neither reasonable nor—"
Before he could finish, Song Yining neatly signed her name.
Lawyer Bai instinctively glanced at the signature, stunned.
They say handwriting reflects character. Hers… was sharp, bold, and decisive.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way."
With that, Song Yining walked off in the direction her memory provided.
By the time Lawyer Bai left the villa in a daze, a black Porsche Panamera sped past him, the figure in white inside unmistakably Song Yining.
But none of that mattered.
He pulled out his phone and made a call:
"It's done. Notify PR—they can release the announcement."
That afternoon, Xu Corporation officially announced the divorce between Mr. Xu and Song Yining.
Ever since their marriage, people had speculated about when they would split. Still, the suddenness of the news sent the gossip mill into a frenzy.
But soon, society circles discovered something strange—Song Yining had vanished. Completely, without a trace.
While people scrambled to dig up dirt on her, Song Yining herself was calmly sitting in the garden of a suburban villa. Her phone, on the table beside her, showed 236 missed calls and countless unread messages.
She chuckled softly, then randomly tapped open one of the WeChat voice messages.
It was from the original body's father:
"Song Yining! Get back home immediately!"
"What trash," Song Yining muttered with disdain, turning off the phone.
During her disappearance these past few days, she had remained here in the villa.
She had just arrived in this world and needed time to sort through the original owner's situation. After all, know yourself and know your enemy, and you'll never be defeated.
The truth was, the original owner's environment was utterly rotten…
Song Yining and her older brother, Song Yixing, were the children of Song Boyuan and his first wife. As in every cliché story, the first wife passed away from illness, and Song Boyuan soon brought the mistress and her illegitimate child into the family. At the time, the siblings were still young, and so their stepmother successfully twisted their upbringing.
Her older brother, Song Yixing, was notorious as a playboy. Despite already fathering an illegitimate son (who was now three years old), he still constantly made tabloid headlines with young starlets.
As for the original owner, when Xu Jichen married her, it was right during the Xu family's internal power struggles. Her presence had served as a convenient distraction. But now that Xu Jichen had secured his dominance, he had no further use for this pawn.
Now that she had successfully divorced him, her next step was to clean up the mess at the Song family. After all, her stepmother and half-brother were still circling like wolves.
Since they had ruined the siblings' lives, they would have to pay the price.
That very afternoon, Song Yining "coincidentally" encountered a group of reporters at the villa's entrance and was "forced" into a short interview.
Faced with the barrage of cameras, without heavy makeup, Song Yining sighed softly, her expression tinged with sorrow:
"Am I such a failure? My mother passed away when I was very young. I was raised by my stepmother—she's a kind woman who always taught my brother and me to fight for what we wanted. Growing up, I had everything I could ask for. But now, as an adult… I find myself at a loss."
With those words, she stepped out of frame and walked away alone, back toward the villa community, her figure seeming forlorn.
In the past, she had been known for flaunting her wealth online, already gathering quite a following. Now, with her high-profile divorce, this clip quickly went viral, sparking heated discussion.
"She's this beautiful?? No wonder—her bangs used to hide it."
"Song Yining is just as crazy as her brother."
"I have a theory… Could her stepmother have intentionally raised both kids poorly?"
That last comment shifted the entire conversation.
Sitting at her desk, watching the flood of comments, Song Yining's lips curved into a knowing smile.
This little interview would surely rattle her image-obsessed stepmother.
And as that thought crossed her mind, her phone started vibrating wildly.
The caller ID showed "Dad," practically radiating anger.
"What kind of trash man dares call himself my father?"
Song Yining picked up her car keys and headed straight for the Song residence.
Half an hour later, at the Song family home—
As soon as she pushed open the door, an ashtray came flying straight at her head.